Business

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UK - Rane Corporation and Serato Audio Research have launched the Official Scratch LIVE DJ Forum, where DJs can download the new Scratch LIVE software version 1.1. The companies say this is a free, public forum offering valuable multi-way communications between DJs and the developers and support personnel at both Serato and Rane. Serato is hosting the Official Forum since most topics involve the software's current and future features. The new Scratch LIVE software version 1.1 offers over 50 new features and fixes and can be downloaded from the Official Forum. Topics on the Forum include News, Downloads, Help, Feature Suggestions, Tips and Tricks, Known Issues and the catch-all General Discussion.

(Lee Baldock)

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Greece - TV companies throughout the world are in the final stages of preparing for the 2004 Olympic Games, and production teams on both sides of the Atlantic will again rely on Sennheiser. The German TV companies ARD and ZDF are lining up with a total of 100 wireless channels: around 300 wireless Sennheiser microphones and receivers will be on hand to transmit the sporting events and to provide internal coordination and communication.

For Gunnar Darge, technical director, it is not only the reliable sound transmission of the Sennheiser systems that is vitally important but also the on-site service. "Dozens of TV stations will be reporting live from the Olympic Games and there will be huge amounts of radio communication taking place. It's therefore all the more reassuring to be able to rely on the support of Sennheiser." Sennheiser's RF specialist Klaus Willemsen will

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UK - Star Events Group demonstrated its versatility by designing and installing a set of staging and rigging that dealt with the radically different requirements of all the shows in Hyde Park during June and July. These consisted of the record-breaking three Red Hot Chili Peppers shows, 95.8 Capital FM's Party in the Park for The Prince's Trust and the reunion of Simon & Garfunkel.

The run of events began in June, with three shows by the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Star Events Group was a key part of the production team assembled by the band's production manager, Bill Rahmy, and promoter Clear Channel Entertainments, whilst simultaneously providing huge VerTech stages for the band's other UK dates in Scotland and Wales. The stunning visual impact of the 2004 Chili Peppers show, seen by over a quarter of a million fans in Hyde Park alone, centred around superbly mixed animation, film

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USA - Symetrix, designers of the successful SymNet Audio Matrix line of audio processorshas introduced SymNet Express. Representing the next generation of SymNet hardware development, Express will be available in two versions - Express and Express Cobra. The Express series includes seven new audio processors that extend the utility of the SymNet technology into new applications, scenarios and price points. All models are now shipping.

Express (non-Cobra) is available in three models - 12x4, 4x12, and 8x8, targeted at stand-alone applications where a single DSP unit is sufficient to handle all of the processing between the source gear (all inputs are line- or microphone-selectable) and the amplifiers.

Express Cobra is available in four models - 12x4, 4x12, 8x8, and 4x4. Along with analog I/O, each includes an 8x8 CobraNet license, supporting Peak Audio's industry standard prot

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UK - Production Services, the UK manufacturer of professional loudspeaker and amplifier products, has announced its relocation to a new factory in South Wales. Heavy investment in CNC machinery will ensure greater accuracy and production capability. The company reports it is now in full production of its LST and AMT speaker systems and SP Series amplifiers and processors, and will soon be introducing new products, and has "solid long-term financing and a continued determination to push technological barriers to the limit, providing our industry with superior sonic solutions."

The company's new website (address below), includes information on all the new products including its horn-loaded family of line array systems. The website is just the start of a major promotion campaign that will see its products exhibited at international trade shows, supported by ongoing trade

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USA - Production Resource Group provided a complete lighting package for the 2004 Democratic National Convention in Boston. The package included many items traditionally available from PRG, as well as many new Vari-Lite technologies added to the company's inventory as a result of its June 2004 merger with VLPS Lighting Services.

"It's been great to work on this high profile project as part of the new PRG", said Susan Tesh, general manager of PRG's Los Angeles office. "We were able to pull together all of our resources on time to provide the volume and variety of equipment that our client needed."

PRG's lighting package included a Virtuoso VX control system, 171 VL5 and 194 VL5Arc wash luminaries, 30 VL6C, 38 VL7and 90 VL3000 spot luminaries. Also included were 181 Martin Professional MAC 2000 wash lights, 116 Par Bars, 58 Source Four 19°, 48 Dome Strobes,

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UK / Austria - Software provider Stardraw.com has appointed leading Austrian pro audio sales, distribution and systems specialist, Audiosales Vertriebs GmbH, as resellers throughout Austria for the entire range of Stardraw's design and documentation software packages.

Located 15km south of Vienna, AudioSales specializes in four areas of business activity: recording and post-production, fixed installations, broadcast, and professional live sound. The company also has an impressive portfolio of brands under exclusive distribution, including Audix microphones, Drawmer and Klark Teknik signal processors, Midas and SSL mixing consoles, Peavey MediaMatrix, Samplitude hard-disk recording, and L-Acoustics and Work loudspeakers.

AudioSales sales manager Reinhard Brummer is pleased to number the Stardraw product range among these brands. "We have a long history in digital recordi

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Italy - Allen & Heath's iDR programmable DSP system has been installed in the newly-opened Ferrari Store in Rome, to manage sound distribution in the luxurious retail outlet. Launched in the wake of the success of Ferrari Stores in Maranello and Bologna, the Rome store is situated in the heart of the city and designed by leading architectural studio, Iosa Ghini. The three-storey building houses luxury merchandise on the ground floor, toys and children's goods in the basement, and on the first floor, books, scale models and much sought-after memorabilia from Ferrari Granturismo and Formula 1 cars.

The visitors can experience the thrill of driving thanks to a simulator equipped with a number of technological devices that reproduce the feel of Ferrari's most famed supercar - the Testarossa. The simulator is furnished with plasma screens, including a huge 5m x 1m screen, with a spe

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USA - High End Systems West Coast is offering free one-day Catalyst and DL1 training classes from 8-10 September at its Van Nuys, California office. Anyone interested in taking the class must have Wholehog II or Wholehog III console programming experience to train on HES' newest digital lighting products. Classes run from 9am to 5pm and lunch will be provided. Space is limited to no more than 12 persons each day, so please RSVP as soon as possible by calling High End Systems at +1 (818) 947-0550.

(Lee Baldock)

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USA - Italian lighting manufacturer Studio Due has appointed Florida-based Techni-Lux as the exclusive US distributor for all its product range, including the City Color and Hercules architectural colour wash fixtures and other intelligent lighting fixtures. "Studio Due is one of the world's major industry innovators of architectural and entertainment lighting whose trendsetting concept luminaires have been guiding industry developments for years. This elite manufacturer is a real ambassador of Italian quality, technology, style and elegance capable of encapsulating all of the values and symbols of a new vision of professional lighting," says Luciano Salvati, president and CEO of Techni-Lux.

Studio Due offers some of the highest quality architectural lights available, which have been used for many high profile projects such as Hong Kong's ongoing Symphony of Lights, l

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UK - ChainMaster of Eilenburg, one of the world's market leaders in the manufacture of chain hoists and chain-hoist controllers for the stage, has now become a member of the Professional Lighting and Sound Association (PLASA). Frank Hartung of ChainMaster commented: "We applied for admission to the Association in order to be able to drive forward the international dialogue with colleagues, customers and users. With its considerable influence, the PLASA represents an attractive platform."

At this year's PLASA show in London, ChainMaster will again be presenting its latest products. The venue for the fair, as in previous years, is the Exhibition Centre in Earls Court. ChainMaster can be found on stand C79.

(Lee Baldock)

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UK - Since its launch this spring, Avolites' eDMX wireless control system has been utilized in a huge variety of projects and locations around the world with great success. AP Services put the system through its paces at the 'Bauma 2004' exhibition in Germany at the Munich Messe convention centre, for a high profile Perkins Engines launch - the first eDMX use outside of the UK.

The show finale revealed the engine itself, mounted on a revolve. There were no spare slip rings available, so getting data to the equipment on the revolve was tricky. As the show was repeated up to 20 times, manual cable management was out of the question - so Avolites' eDMX was an obvious choice. The radio DMX link controlled a mixture of James Thomas Pixelline battens (run in 54-channel mode), Martin MAC 250s and Atomic 3000 Strobes, with the balance of the rig controlled via a conventional, wired, sys

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UK - Dido's Life for Rent tour uses the G-LEC ClassicFrame system to add a touch of elegance to her set. Following the success of the American leg of the tour, the size of the G-LEC system has been increased by 50% for the European dates, from 10.5sq.m to 15.75sq.m, and nine extra custom-made panels have also been added.

Lighting designer Andi Watson is especially pleased with the ClassicFrame and chose it because of its numerous strengths, the most important of which for Watson is its unique appearance: "It's the fact that they are see-through," he said. "They can disappear into the set when they are not in use and they are an integral part of the show because of this." During the show the G-LEC ClassicFrame is used to display a range of innovative graphics and abstract images from the High End Catalyst system, as well as 'oscilloscope' type wave images in

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UK - Harman Pro UK has supplied Derby-based sales and installation specialists Pro Technical with a wide range of JBL speakers for various Aruba late-night bar installations around the country. One of the most recent is in Hanley, Stroke-On-Trent, which features a sound design utilizing three different types of JBL Control Contractor enclosure.

The Aruba roll-out for The Dukedom Group, now contains 32 venues around the UK, each one of them different and individually designed. The Stoke site is a single large room with a central bar, designed by Mason Wood Architects - who also do all the Revolution Vodka Bars. Each site's audio design and installation is also unique and specific to that venue. At Stoke, the client wanted both a variable loudness foreground music system, and a punchier DJ-led dancefloor area, operational five nights a week. Aruba Stoke is divided into three soun

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Bosnia-Herzegovina - Three LSC maXim lighting desks, LSC Delta data splitters and ePRO dimmers were used to control the main lighting rig for the historic re-opening of Mostar bridge in Bosnia-Herzegovina - the biggest staged event in the country's recent history. All lighting production for the symbolic occasion was supplied and operated by LSC's Bosnian distributor, Masters Commerce d.o.o., based in Capljina.

The 16th century bridge was blown up in 1993 during bitter fighting in the Bosnian War between the City's Muslims and Croats. It's hoped the reopening will help encourage a new era of peace, tolerance and increased co-operation between the two ethnic communities. Over $13million has been spent on restoring the elegant single-arch structure spanning the Neretva River: the reconstruction has employed the same methods and materials as the original Turkish architects nearly 5

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Italy / Singapore - Italian Audio Manufacturer dB Technologies has appointed Sajeev Nair as director of sales for the Asian region. Sajeev, who will be based in Singapore brings a wealth of experience to the position. He first started work in the music & audio industry in 1985 as a freelance musician and moved on to work as a sales and marketing manager for a number of well-established pro-audio distributors, representing such brands as Electro Voice, JBL, Shure, Klark Teknik, Tascam, Canare, Mackie, etc. Subsequently he worked as a manager for manufacturers based in Singapore, including Sennheiser, Behringer, Numark and Alesis, overseeing their operations in the Asia Pacific region, the Middle East and Africa. Nair commented on his appointment: "With almost 20 years of experience the industry, I have had the opportunity to build up an extensive database of customers, not onl

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USA - Kenny Chesney, US chart-topping country and crossover artist is using Audio-Technica microphones on tour, and is the latest high-profile touring artist to join the growing roster of Audio-Technica endorsees. "Kenny never endorses anything, so that tells you a lot about how we've all come to rely on A-T microphones on this tour," says Phillip Robinson, monitor mixer with Chesney and his band for the last four years. "These microphones are as road-worthy as we all are, and they prove it every night."

The band is using a wide array of A-T microphones, including the company's Artist Elite 5000 Series UHF Wireless System (AEW-5233) that Robinson says Chesney has found to be his vocal soul mate. "We have never, ever had a dropout with that microphone system, and the audio quality is pristine," he says. Other A-T microphones on the tour include an AE

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The Netherlands - Rijnweek 2004 held in Rhenen earlier this month is a big event on the Dutch national music calendar. A week-long multicultural festival in which disabled people play a central role, Rijnweek attracts a broad range of artists from rock groups to folk bands. Established nearly a decade ago, the festival attracts more people each year, with the recent 2004 event boasting attendance figures of over 120,000. Audio contractor for the festival was ST Sound based in Tiel who opted for a 48-channel Midas Heritage 1000 for FOH on the main stage running an ElectroVoice XLC rig with EV X-Subs. Klark Teknik DN9848 processors handled system control.

ST Sound is well known in the Dutch market for supplying festival equipment, and Rijnweek represents one of the larger festivals on their summer schedule. "I like this festival for a number of reasons," says ST's propri

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USA / UK - Ray Malpocher, CEO of Telex Communications, has made the journey to Mitcham in south London for the official opening of Shuttlesound's new demo room. The new facilities provide 800sq.m. of space and is more than six metres high. Designed to host demonstrations of ElectroVoice and Dynacord line-array systems, a Midas Legend control desk and racks of Klark-Teknik outboard are permanently installed. All of the sound reinforcement products distributed by Shuttlesound are available for demo here, from the successful Dynacord Powermate and Midas Venice consoles to the sophisticated EV Precision Series of remote amplifiers and IRIS management software.

Paul Barretta, MD of Shuttlesound, describes the new demo hall as "a rare treat for specifiers and installers of sound systems, giving them a realistic opportunity to evaluate the performance of high-end sound reinforceme

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UK - LiteStructures, the company that was instrumental in putting together the first set for the revolutionary music programme The Tube, has recently provided the set to the newest music channel, the Musicians Channel, a free-to-air channel aimed at budding musicians.

The Musicians Channel's set designer Shaun Burley wanted a versatile adaptable stage set that could be changed according to the segment being featured. LiteStructures' solution was an effective combination of AstraLite and LiteDeck, both of which are ideal for creating interest in a variety of configurations. Adrian Brooks, managing director of LiteStructures explained: "We used LiteDeck and AstraLite because they are both light enough to manoeuvre easily and flexible enough to set up in a variety of combinations. They are also quick and easy to put together - which is, after all, the point!"

Jonathan M

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Belgium - Many of the world's top performing artists are touring through North America and Europe supported by Barco equipment this summer. For Barco's worldwide rental partners, this is the busiest time of the year. Bob Brigham of Nocturne Vidicon says: "No doubt this is one of our busiest summers to date. Our entire LED fleet is on the road as part of concerts and tours by Paul McCartney, Cher, Madonna, Van Halen, Simon & Garfunkel, The Eagles, KISS, Bare Naked Ladies & Alanis Morrisette and many others. Luckily, all Barco's LED screens are cross-rentable with tiles from other batches and run-time ages, which allows us to rent in LED tiles from other Barco Rental Partners to help satisfy the demand."

IMAG, another of Barco's leading North American rental partners, is taking to the road with Barco Dlite 7 and R18 projectors, which can be seen on shows by Three Doors

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UK - Guests and VIPs of Rolls-Royce motor cars were treated to a visual feast when lighting designer Durham Marenghi turned the outside walls of the Goodwood plant into a canvas for a large format slide projection of 18 high colour, high contrast images as part of celebrations for the 100th anniversary year of Rolls-Royce.

Working on behalf of the event management company Smyle, onsite crew chief Ross Corbett of Fourth Phase London and his six man team battled with sheet rain and winds of 50mph while setting up a Pani BP6 Gold projector, Martin Mac 2000 profiles and washes housed in weatherproof domes and Studio Due City Colours. Both the projector and the moving lights were controlled from a WholeHog 2, programmed by John Sinden.

The weather cleared up in time for the exclusive cocktail party on 25 June at the Rolls-Royce Chichester plant. The evening was just one of a range

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Germany - This summer, DJ Sven Väth has opened a new dance venue, CocoonClub, in Frankfurt, creating an international meeting point for the music avant-garde, with an impressive interior design, and high-end sound, video and lighting systems throughout.Located in Frankfurt's Ostend district, the club has a total area of 2.664sq.m. Design agency 3deluxe created four zones, differing in atmosphere and function. The main floor, with its moving light installation, is the heart of the club: this is surrounded with a 'stroll' area from all sides and has an integrated lounge - the so called 'InBetween' - which connects the club with two restaurants - 'Micro' and 'Silk'.

A striking feature of the Club's interior design is a 100m long white membrane wall enclosing the main floor. Here some comfortable Cocoons - soft padded seats - offer some temporary relaxation. The structure of the me

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UK - SSE hire has had a busy summer supplying main stage systems at many major festivals, including Glastonbury, T in the Park, Oxegen and Download, with more to follow in August. It is therefore easy to overlook the fact that SSE are equally comfortable in smaller venues and can supply systems for a variety of applications.

A recent in-store appearance by up and coming UK act The Honeymoon at HMV's Birmingham store provided an opportunity for SSE to showcase one of its compact systems. The Honeymoon performed in the new releases section and a Midas Venice 160 was used with Nexo PS15 speakers, ideal for working in the limited space available but maintaining flexibility and quality of output.

The Venice 160 represents one of a number of compact Midas consoles, which SSE has invested in over the summer. Stocks now include a 40ch Verona, Venice 240 and two Venice 160s. Emma Barwe

  1. Proel Korea makes major purchase
  2. A.C. supplies Jands Vista for Mini Adventure
  3. Showlight 2005 announces first speakers
  4. V-Squared creates Red Hot visuals
  5. Rosco offers free professional workshops
  6. Universal Events produces AEO Awards
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