Russia - Moscow's CSKA EuroLeague Basketball Champions recently upgraded their home court system with a D.A.S. Aero 38A powered line array system. The task of modernizing the sports club's audio system and acoustically conditioning the arena was assigned to the Boss Man company, distributor of D.A.S. Audio's products in Russia. The audio specialists at Boss Man decided to install a linear array system consisting of a central speaker cluster using 16 Aero 38A modules and eight Aero 218Sub for low-end reinforcement.

The decision to use the Aero for this application was based on the system's features and performance which, in addition to meeting the facilities' audio requirements, provide the convenience of its light weight and simple integrated rigging system which makes it extremely easy and fast to install.

Moscow's CSKA is an athletic complex which has earned great distinctio

Australia - ARX Systems, the Australian based manufacturer of professional audioequipment is very pleased to announce the appointment of N Power Audio and Visual Supplies Co. Ltd as their new distributor for Hong Kong & China.

ARX's Managing Director Colin Park said: "I've known N Power's managing director Patrick Chung personally for many years from his time at Pacific Audio and Bose China and have great respect for his technical, marketing and communication skills. Patrick's knowledge of the Chinese Pro Audio Industry is second to none.

"The Chinese Audio market has always been important to ARX, We both agreed thatARX's Product ranges offered N Power the opportunity to become a total solutionsprovider, especially into the very competitive Installation market."

Along side ARX, N Power are also representing Nakamichi and T.R Loudspeakers in the Hong Kong and C

UK - As a recent addition to the new Martin lighting range, the Mac 700's made an impact at the recent Lord's Taverners Charity Concert held at the Royal Albert Hall this April.

With the likes of Rhythm and Blues greats including Bill Wyman's Rhythm Kings, Paul Young, Geno Washington and Eddie Floyd performing, and the nature and venue of the show, the brief given to Lighting Designer, Baz Halpin was to create an intimate atmosphere.

The lighting rig comprised eight of the new Mac 700's, alongside Mac 500's, parcans, ACL's and Molefays, set up by specialist lighting company LXCO, Baz incorporated the architecture of the venue into his lighting specifications. The use of the Mac 700's was also a welcome addition to the set up, Halpin says: "I've found the Mac 700's have the features you miss when you work with the alternative light designs. Martin has combined the best ele

Africa - Star Events Group Ltd are proud to announce their involvement in an exciting project in Guinea-Bissau, one of the poorest countries in Africa.

Following on from their involvement with Live 8 last summer, the company resolved to act upon the philosophy that was adopted for the iconic event, the message being to unite and address unacceptable levels of poverty across the World, particularly in Africa.

Taking this on board, the team at Star Events Group have committed to make a difference by sponsoring the development of an educational facility, aptly named The Star Events Group School of English. By funding the rental of the school premises, and by providing basic classroom supplies, the company hopes to make a huge difference to the lives of the local community in Guinea Bissau.

Maddy Sheals, director of HR at SEGL, said: "We have always had a social conscience

UK - Every four years, one of the world's largest trade events for the printing and publishing world moves into the NEC. Once again, leading event services company PSL was chosen as joint official AV and IT suppliers to the IPEX 2006 show by organisers IIR Exhibitions.

From its branch location at the NEC near Birmingham, PSL provided plasma screens, TFT monitors, laptops, computers and sound systems to the show.

In addition to individual exhibitors, PSL supplied equipment and crew for the special Innov8 Theatre, where influential CEOs of companies like Hewlett Packard, Heidelberg, Kodak, Xerox and Canon were speaking. Every presentation was filmed so that a compilation of highlights could be made after the show.

PSL Gary Davis explained: "In terms of turnover, IPEX is the single largest exhibition that we've handled through our NEC subsidiary since we formed it in 2001.

Denmark - Industry veteran Hans V. Madsen, former director at Martin Professional's audio division Mach Systems A/S, has announced the formation of a new company, Cornered Audio Systems. The backbone of the new company, says Madsen, is a range of extruded aluminum installation speakers with "a unique triangular design".

The design enables the speaker to fit discreetly into corners or to be mounted directly onto walls or ceilings without the use of a bracket (patent pending). The triangular design also allows for two, three or four boxes to be coupled together, offering 180, 270 or 360° coverage.

The top-boxes are highly compact and pleasing to the eye as well as the ears, says Madsen: the product line includes near-field and medium-throw top-boxes as well as subs. "The idea behind the new company is to design installation speakers that blend discreetly into

Denmark / USA - Martin Professional A/S has entered into a licensing agreement with Color Kinetics Inc which will give Martin access to Color Kinetics' worldwide LED patent portfolio. According to Martin, the licensing agreement will allow it to expand its product portfolio with a range of multicolour LED-based lighting products developed to its own high quality and performance standards.

"This agreement marks an important relationship for Martin as we look to bring our first LED-based products to market this year and help drive adoption of this fast-emerging technology," said Christian Engsted, president and CEO of Martin Professional. "We recognize that LEDs will prominently impact the global lighting market, and believe that leveraging Color Kinetics' developed patent portfolio will strengthen our competitive position in this new and highly anticipated market d

Spain / UK - Spanish loudspeaker manufacturer Beyma have appointed Adam Hall Limited as their exclusive distributor in the UK. Stock will be arriving in early May and is based on Beyma's sales in the UK across the last couple of years, so current customers requirements should be available for next day delivery from then onwards.

Adam Hall are also very pleased to announce that well known industry figure 'Levi' who has had a long association with Beyma joins the Adam Hall team representing loudspeaker sales and service. M.D. Bob Mundy expressed his own excitement and enthusiasm for this new opportunity. For more details contact Adam Hall 01702 613922.

(Chris Henry)

UK - The PA system requirements for Charlotte Church's recent UK tour naturally focused on impact with clarity and detail. Freelance sound engineer Chris Madden, and Luton-based tour sound rental specialists Concert Sound, requested HK Audio's COHEDRA line array system as his PA of choice for the three-date UK tour.

Front-of-house engineer Madden already had experience of the HK COHEDRA set-up, having used it on a Waterboys tour earlier this year, where dynamics and detail in the amplified sound, based around mainly acoustic instruments, were equally critical. Having declared himself impressed with the COHEDRA performance throughout the Waterboys gig, Madden and Concert Sound again specified COHEDRA.

The main FOH set-up for Charlotte's tour featured 12 CDR 208C plus 12 CDR208S mid/high cabinets for the flown line array columns, plus 16 CDR210S with four CDR210F subs. Driving t

UK - Adlib Audio is supplying full sound production and crew including a Nexo Alpha system to the current and highly acclaimed José González UK tour.

Nexo Alpha was one of a number of choices of PA offered by the Liverpool based company, and chosen jointly by Adlib's systems engineer Chris Sudall and González' FOH engineer Don Alsterberg. "It's a particularly good system for acoustic work, great in the low mids and overall it has a very musical sound - I love it" says Alsterberg, who is working for the first time with Adlib.

The system was also designed to be highly versatile, with a wide range of venues on the itinerary - from city halls and large theatres to smaller more intimate concert type venues. They're using a total of 32 boxes including highs, bass and subs. The full rig is eight Nexo Alpha M3 highs a side, six B1 bass boxes and four S2 subs - four

UK - The Cliffs Pavilion in Southend-on-Sea has taken delivery of a new 40-channel Midas Legend touring console package, which will be permanently available in its huge 1630-seater auditorium, the largest in Anglia and the south-east of England. Supplied by MBI in Brighton, the console's first heavy duty will be the theatre's summer jazz festival.

Technical manager Simon Francklin explains that the theatre didn't cut any corners when it came to bringing its sound control up to date. "We see a lot of desks come through this venue with different touring productions, and everyone tells us that we should be using Midas.

"With 40 channels plus four stereo channels, the Legend allows us to handle our monitor mix from the same console, as well as giving us a lot more functions and a far superior sound to our previous desk.

"The parametric EQs are phenomenal, and the

Enttech S.A. Entertainment Technology, based in Athens, has taken delivery of 48 Adamson Y-10s and 12 'Y-Axis Sub Companion' T-21s - becoming the fifth Adamson Y-Axis partner in Greece. There is now enough Adamson product in the country to design two stadium-sized venues simultaneously - and Enttech will be the official sound provider for this year's Eurovision Song Contest, to be held in Athens between 18-20 May 2006, as well as serving the Greece dates on a handful of international tours this summer. The deal was negotiated by DV2 Adamson Support Europe.

(Lee Baldock)

UK - The University of Glamorgan is rapidly developing into one of the leading institutions for lighting in the UK. Having recently become an Associate Member of the Professional Lighting and Sound Association (PLASA) the University has now been successful in setting up the first and only Certified WYSIWYG centre outside of London. As a CSP, the University is able to offer industry the full range of CSP services including large-format plan printing, rendering and animations.

The University of Glamorgan has also become the only university in the UK with an Authorised WYSIWYG Trainer (AWT). "These exciting developments put the University at the forefront of the industry and will ensure that students get the highest quality of WYSIWYG tuition possible," comments senior lecturer and lighting designer Stuart Green.

In addition to benefiting students on the BSc (Hons) Ligh

UK - Leeds rockers and triple BRIT awards winners the Kaiser Chiefs have embarked on the UK leg of their European tour with Midas XL4s at FOH and on monitors provided by Skan PA Hire.

"This tour is my first opportunity in a while to use an analogue console," says FOH engineer Martin Hildred. "There is only one analogue desk to use when you have the choice and that's the XL4. The band leans towards a retro rock and roll sound, and I have a complete wish list of valve gear which is perfect to use together with the XL4; it just sounds great."

Hildred is recording every show for future live release, taking a direct output from the XL4 to his PC-based multitrack recorder which has accompanied him throughout the tour. "Once again the XL4 is great for this application as I can take the live output from the desk using the pre insert, pre eq and pre fade functi

UK - Blitz, one of the UK's leading technical staging specialists, has been showcasing its expertise to some of the key players in the City. Blitz was recently appointed the sole AV supplier for ExCel International Exhibition Centre and completed the installation of AV equipment for Reuters. Blitz also worked with the in-house events team at Deloitte, the business advisory firm, to provide technical AV and staging support on a number of the firm's flagship events.

The three year contract sees Blitz supplying ExCeL with the latest in AV equipment. Blitz also has an on site technical team to provide any additional support for the venue's clients. The alliance will ensure that ExCel's clients continue to benefit from the option of in-house expertise and technical staging services of the highest and most creative professional calibre. The service will be available to organisers usin

Germany - German LED rental company Screen Visions, specialist in large-scale video screens for indoor and outdoor use, has been working with Triple-A-Production from Berlin to develop an advanced construction consisting of a total of 25 FlexiScreen modules for the German tour of the Schiller band with Christopher von Deylen. Five columns of five modules each will be positioned in a semi-circle behind the band, creating a unique atmosphere during the concerts with a specially composed light choreography.

"Anyone who has had the chance to experience Schiller live knows that the audience can always expect a very special sound and light experience", says Roger Rinke, CEO of Screen Visions. Two years ago, the specialists from Screen Visions provided the screens for Schiller's Live Erleben Tour 2004. This year again, Bodo Schulte's team at Triple A Productions will r

USA - Wybron has been manufacturing some of the world's most popular colour changers since inventing them over 25 years ago, and for over 15 years, the high-quality gelstrings that go into them. Wybron's ColorExpress department has been making strings for every make, model and size of scrolling colour changer manufactured. To date, over 500,000 gelstrings have been made, with the last few months seeing an especially high turnout.

ColorExpress assembles an average of 4,000 gelstrings per month, but that average is growing: the team produced a record 4,600 gelstrings in January alone - and broke that record again in March with 4,800 gelstrings, including a large order of 442 custom-made large format CXIs for The Villagio mall in Doha, Qatar. Because the CXI allows colour mixing via dual scrolling gelstrings, the order required 884 gelstrings in a 36" width. Denise Clark, Colo

Worldwide - Roland Corporation is pleased to announce a brand-new, worldwide venture to concentrate on Pro Audio, to be called 'Roland Systems Group'.

Incorporating the existing EDIROL group and the newly formed Roland System Solutions (RSS) division, Roland System Group's (RSG's) main focus is on providing video and audio solutions for all aspects of the professional market. New products such as the S-4000, 40-channel Digital Snake, and V-440HD high-definition video mixer are just the start of a continuing development programme aimed squarely at the professional audiovisual market.

With many years of industry experience, RSS UK technical sales will be handled by Martin Thomas. Martin has a proven background in both professional audio and video and is well known throughout the industry.

Neal Tomlinson, who has a long history at Roland UK Ltd., will handle RSS product develop

USA - ESTA - the North American Entertainment Services and Technology Association - has announced that BSR E1.17, Entertainment Technology - Multipurpose Network Control Protocol Suite, the draft standard commonly called "ACN," is now available for public review until 19 June 2006.

The draft standard is a suite of protocols offering needed services in network management, device management, device description, and device control with reliable multi-cast transport on data networks that use the common Internet Protocols. There are 21 documents that describe various aspects of the suite of protocols, and they are all contained in the approximately 2.5 megabyte compressed file ACN.zip. Reviewers should also read the Readme.pdf file. It is not part of the draft standard, but it explains the structure of ACN and the changes that were made since the last public review.

Costa Rica - In Latin- America, outdoor festivals create a big draw, and Costa Rica is no exception. Ramon Mendiola, director of the Costa Rica Brewery, recently staged 'The Imperial Festival 2006', which included some of the biggest local, latin and international stars. Names such as Jamiroquai, who headlined day one, Hector el Father, and The Rasmus, performed for the first time in Costa Rica. Day two's headliner Sting added this event to his 2005-2006 Broken Day World Tour.

La Guacima racetrack, just outside San Jose, was host to the two-day concert held on 1-2 April and saw more than 30,000 attendees over the weekend. Sound contractor RSTV Sonido supplied main arrays of 12 Adamson Y18s and four Y10s per side, which provided enough sound pressure to fill La Guacima. The setup was designed by RSTV 's owner Virgilio Azofeifa and techs Elias Arias and ManriI Vargas, using

UK - Entertainment lighting supplier White Light is this year returning to its roots: supporting the Royal Court Theatre, the theatre from which White Light was founded, during the Court's 50th Anniversary Celebrations.

The Royal Court Theatre in London's Sloane Square is Britain's leading theatre company dedicated to new work by innovative writers. The Court's 50th anniversary celebrations are centred around 8 May 2006, fifty years to the day from the 1956 opening of John Osborne's Look Back In Anger, widely judged to be the play that marked the beginning of modern British drama. Since that time, the Court has premiered plays by many writers, who include: Edward Bond, Peter Gill, Christopher Hampton, Athol Fugard, Howard Brenton, Sam Shepard, and Hanif Kureishi.

The Court's influence on theatre design has been equally important, with the theatre leading the way in the

USA - Rock climbing, like most extreme sports, is equal parts skill and attitude. Learning the art of threading oneself to the side of a mountain is a task best undertaken by those who have learned to channel their adrenaline, and the staff at Earth Treks are among the best. The company, which operates offices and climbing centres in the towns ofColumbia, Timonium and Rockville, Maryland, specialises in rock and ice climbing instruction and mountaineering expeditions, and has guided several thousand climbers through international expeditions on six continents, including the Himalayas and Everest. Their facilities have even been used to train for the recent Athens Olympics.

Earth Treks recently opened their newest training facility in Rockville, a state-of-the-art indoor facility with 44 foot walls and over 15,000 square feet of varied climbing surfaces, including overhangs and s

India - Bangalore may rank as one of the fastest growing cities in Asia but it still suffers from erratic power conditions and high temperatures - important considerations when planning any major installation of lighting and sound into a venue. When Bangalore-based Acoustic Control was contracted to both design and install a high end sound and lighting system for Christ College's new auditorium, they chose LSC Lighting products.

"The LSC dimmers and consoles are suited to India's unpredictable power conditions and extreme temperatures," said Sanjay Mudartha, director of Acoustic Control. "The dimmers have saved our lamps on many occasions when voltages exceeded safe limits, by shutting down. And despite very hot and humid conditions have never shut down due to thermal issues."

Situated on the third floor of the new block at Christ College, the auditorium se

US - Bandit Lites are servicing US singer Hilary Duff's UK and European tour, part of a world tour that started last year, promoting her hugely successful "Most Wanted" album.

Lighting designers Seth Jackson and B.K. Waggoner put their heads together at the outset to devise a very flexible rig that could be toured extensively, and broken down into different component parts and versions for the various sections of the tour - depending on the type of venues being played.

Their lighting company of choice on both sides of the Atlantic is Bandit Lites. Waggoner, who is also out operating the tour says, "Bandit's gear is always in excellent condition, their crew are fantastic and the service is second to none." He adds that it's also great to have continuity of supplier across the two continents.

For Bandit Lites, Lester Cobrin handles all UK and European requi

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