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UK - Thanks to three triple-platinum UK albums, four number one singles, a BRIT Award, a Q Award, a Smash Hits Award and two Elle Style Awards, the Sugababes have already secured their place in British music history. The quality of their music has allowed them a level of success beyond their rivals, a fact proved beyond doubt when they became the first pop group ever to grace the main stage of Glastonbury in 2003.

Promoting their current album Taller in More Ways, the girls have recently completed a successful UK tour using Sennheiser's SKM 935G2 wireless mics supported with Evolution EW300G2 IEMs. The cardioid SKM 935G2 features nine frequency banks each with up to 20 directly accessible presets and Sugababes monitor engineer Chris Trimby states: "The SKM 935 vocal mic has proved to be an excellent choice due to the usual Sennheiser RF reliability, and it also provi

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USA - Pharos Architectural Controls has announced a new North American distribution agreement with ETC (Electronic Theatre Controls Inc) at Lightfair International 2006 in Las Vegas. The show was an ideal opportunity to introduce the Pharos product line to ETC's dealers, reps and customers. There was much interest and enthusiasm about how well Pharos will fit with the ETC product line, and the contribution the Pharos Lighting Playback Controller (LPC) will make to forthcoming projects. Both companies are delighted at the positive response and the show was a great success.

The award-winning Pharos LPC is ideal for architectural, retail and themed entertainment environments that require sophisticated control of colour mixing, dimming, moving light and LED sources. Its advanced timeline-based lighting control, versatile triggering options and rugged solid-state construction make it

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USA / UK - This year sees ETC celebrating 30 years as one of the world's most popular names in entertainment lighting equipment, and 10 years of serving the UK and European markets. A record 250,000 ETC Source Four luminaires were shipped in 2005 and the company expects to exceed that this year, which also sees the highest number of product releases of any year in ETC's history.

Seen at ABTT was a new model in ETC's SmartPack range of economical and compact dimming solutions. The Wall Mount version of SmartPack is now available with six 20A dimmers and is ideal for architectural applications requiring high performance dimming at an affordable price. This convenient, low maintenance unit can be installed directly, without any other parts, anywhere there is free space, say ETC. SmartPack is usually controlled via DMX, while for architectural purposes ETC offers SmartLink with the

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UK - Flight case specialist 5 Star has invested in a new highly specified extrusion cutting saw and a NC measuring length-stop, which have been installed in the cutting department at 5 Star's Cambridgeshire HQ.The new machinery will aid efficiency and work-flow, and was needed to keep pace with the exceptionally healthy 2006 order book, says the company.

The new systems include a Kaban AA1020 400mm diameter semi automatic up-cut profile saw with a plus and minus 20 degree mitre capability and dual pneumatic holding clamps. This will be used primarily when bulk cutting profiles to length, either prior to being fitted on to the case, or before 'V' notching by other machinery.

The other purchase is a Pertici Visual RF length-stop. This unit has been installed onto an existing GTI Kombimatec 'V' notching twin blade saw and will control the position of the 'vee' cuts that are requi

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UK - Adlib Audio has placed an initial order for two new Soundcraft Vi6 digital audio consoles, after trying out the desk at rehearsal sessions for the Scissor Sisters in London. Dave Kay of Adlib says the Vi6 is his "board of choice" for their forthcoming US and UK tours.

After just one gig at a student venue (engineered by Adlib's Richy Nicholson), Dave Kay was confident about putting the new console in front of the Scissor Sisters, as they prepared for their summer festival dates. "It's a very stable digital platform, delivering fantastic audio quality," said Kay. "It's the first digital console I've used where the metering and the dynamics behave like an analogue console. The Vi6 uses the same language as an audio engineer, and I feel it's really smoothing out the transition between analogue and digital."

As one would expect from an experience

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South Africa - UK cable specialist VDC Trading has supplied a range of high quality cables to South African audio distribution company Surgesound for installation into Sequoais, a new bar that is designed to bring the ultimate "mixology" and dining experience to Johannesburg.

Sequoias (pronounced Se-koi-as), which opened its doors to the public at the end of May, features a bar counter made of solid ice, a spectacular view of the city and a bar and cocktail menu designed by two of the best 'mixologists' and cocktail flairers in the world. Christian Delpech, 15 times world flair champion and World Champion mixologist Toby Ellis, both from Las Vegas, were brought to South Africa specifically to help design the menu and to train Sequoias' barmen in flair, mixology and technical bartending.

Owner of Sequoias, Shelley Chadwick, a South African ex-pat now living in Washing

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UK - The Central School of Speech and Drama is one of the pre-eminent Drama schools in the UK, and has built an international reputation for "total" theatre training - working closely with the theatre and performing arts industries to provide both traditional and up-to-the-minute knowledge and skills across the wide range of disciplines necessary to create live performance.

Central offers degree-level training in all aspects of theatre production, management and design, and is the only UK-based institution that offers a full-time degree course specifically in Theatre Sound Design as a separate design discipline. Sound Design is one of the most rapidly developing of the specialist theatre disciplines and digital technology has dramatically increased the practical potential for the creation and realisation of sonic environments as part of the dramatic narrative.

The Sc

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Australia - With a century old façade, a stunning new interior and many years of planning behind it, the new Drum Theatre in the heart of Dandenong is finally completed; and what a magnificent sight it is. In a town with an abundance of artistic expression and limited outlets to express it, The Drum aims to bring a new sense of artistic culture and style to the City of Greater Dandenong.

The massive job of converting the site of the heritage-listed old town hall fell to Kane Constructions, who through the design of William Ross Architects and Denis Irving of theatrical consultants Entertech, combined the traditional façade of the old town hall, with a modern, practical and visually appealing theatrical space. The task of coordinating the creation of this venue was given to the City of Greater Dandenong's director of cultural faculties, Paul Streefkerk. Having been involved in

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UK - Richard Ashcroft ended his latest tour in style rocking out in front of a hugely enthusiastic 'home' crowd of 26,000 at the Old Trafford Cricket Ground in Manchester.

Bandit Lites supplied tour production lighting and crew for LD Jonny Gaskell throughout May, project managed by Bandit's Lester Cobrin.

Gaskell's work with Ashcroft dates back to the days of the phenomenally successful Verve. For the Old Trafford show, working with Tim Flemming, he also designed and produced a series of custom video visuals, which were beamed onto an LED backdrop onstage and integrated into the lightshow for Ashcroft's set.

The rig comprised three overhead lighting trusses and six vertical truss towers on the floor. The system included 28 Martin MAC 2K profiles, 34 High End Studio Beam wash fixtures, 60 2-lite Molefeys, 16 Atomic strobes and Source Four profiles for key-lighting. In additi

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USA - A grassy desert oasis in Indio, California 125 miles east of Los Angeles has become home to the annual two-day Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival at the end of each April. Now in its seventh year, Coachella concert-goers enjoy music from some of rock's biggest stars and upcoming bands with a stunning backdrop of polo fields, mountains and palm trees.

Coachella is slated as one of the most forward-thinking music and arts festivals in America. This requires a sound system that can live up to this ethos. Accordingly, rental company Rat Sound provided Turbosound Aspect loudspeakers for two of the five main performance stages. This year, the attraction of Madonna's festival debut drew record numbers of fans - reportedly in excess of 60,000 on each day - out into the heat, which soared close to 100 degrees. Thousands packed into and around the Sahara tent, which was double

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Italy - Il Migliore is a quiz show hosted by Mike Bongiorno, which selects its contestants within specific professional categories - teachers, naval officers, engineers, pilots and archaeologists - for a battle to the last question. The program bases itself on the English format coined by Celador, which was broadcast on ITV1, Britain's Brainiest, which received a 33.5% audience share.

Aldo Solbiati, director of photography on the show, says: "At various stages of the quiz, before the commercial breaks and when we return to the studio, the 'bamboo' camera follows along the entire length of the studio in a move that encompasses the stage of the host, the nine contestants' podiums, and the audience gallery. This 'dynamic' situation, repeated many times throughout the show, intensifies its own movements thanks to beams of light which have been studied to combine w

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USA - The Black Eyed Peas have plenty to celebrate as they make their way around North America on the 2006 Honda Civic Tour. The tour commemorates The Black Eyed Peas' sixth anniversary together, and marks the stage-wide adoption by the multi-platinum band of Sennheiser Evolution Series wired and wireless G2 microphones and instrument systems. The Pussycat Dolls, who are opening for The Black Eyed Peas on the tour, are also fully-equipped with Sennheiser Evolution Wireless G2 microphone and personal monitor systems.

According to production manager and production designer, Anthony Randall, The Black Eyed Peas' four vocalists - Will.i.am, Fergie, apl.de.ap and Taboo - have already been using Evolution Wireless in-ears for three years. Also, two of their four backing musicians upgraded to the second generation EW 300 IEM G2 systems for the tour. But this year, The Black Eyed

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France - L-Acoustics reports that one year on from the launch of its Kudo system, the product has generated unprecedented sales records for the company. There are already 2,000 cabinets in use worldwide, utilized by more than 60 service providers; over 1,500 events have already taken place with Kudo as the main sound system and 40 fixed installations are in operation, say the company.

Kudo has demonstrated its ability to adapt to different formats with an unmatched flexibility level: horizontally or vertically, with a directivity of 55° or 110° symmetric, or 25/55° or 55/25° asymmetric. Two tours in 2005 illustrate Kudo's flexibility: the Mamma Mia! world tour, uses two hangs of 10 Kudo as the FOH system in theatres ranging from 500 to 5,000 capacity. The Simple Plan world tour has used 2 x 21 Kudo hangs as the FOH system in arenas from 5,000 to 20,000 cap

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Germany - beyerdynamic's TTS 300 system is allowing visually impaired fans can enjoy live football commentary along with the electric atmosphere at German stadiums during this year's World Cup. Dedicated live commentary is delivered via a specially adapted mobile TTS 300 System, which includes custom headsets for the fans, a transmission unit for the commentator and a transport case with integral charger.

During last season this system was used and appreciated by fans at several local clubs. Holger Ahrens, visually impaired member of the 'Sportfreunde Ronhof' fan club, said: "The technology was good and reliable throughout play. The system enables a clear reception of the factual reporting and, at the same time, allows users to participate directly in the stadium atmosphere."

Spielvereinigung Greuther Fuert, a Bundesliga football club, has now installed permanent sea

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UK - Drapes specialists J&C Joel has produced a new fabric sample card, illustrating 54 of their most popular and wide ranging fabrics 'in the flesh'. The idea is to give clients a practical, user-friendly reference media - that hangs on the wall - offering an immediate impression of what specific fabrics feel like to touch. Information relating to each sample includes construction, dimensions and fire retardancy, and is printed in English and Mandarin - reflecting J&C Joels' increasing export trade with Asia.

The reverse of the sample card showcases the diverse range of J&C Joel projects. It includes some fabric related projects - like Belfast Opera House, The Coliseum in London and Blackpool Grand - all Matcham Theatres, where J&C Joel's fabric expertise has been instrumental in recreating period internal draping and curtaining. There's also plenty more projects involving stag

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USA - D-Tools Inc, a specialsit in system integration software, today announced that StarTech.com has joined the D-Tools Manufacturer Vantage Point (MVP) program. StarTech.com is an ISO 9001:2000 registered manufacturer of a broad range of unique, audio/video and IT products. StarTech.com's Converge A/V line includes a comprehensive selection of A/V converters, extenders, splitters and switches supporting cutting-edge, legacy and IT-based systems. Detailed information on StarTech.com's products is now available to users of D-Tools' award-winning System Integrator software.

"Having instant access to hard-to-find AV and computer parts is crucial for successful system integrators," said StarTech.com product manager, John Mardinly. "We joined the D-Tools MVP program to help ensure that system integrators and custom installers would have direct access to the largest se

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USA / UK - Color Kinetics Inc has announced that Dialight Corporation, the US subsidiary of UK-based Dialight plc (FTSE: DIA.L), will license Color Kinetics' full patent portfolio to support its LED application initiatives in the architectural, entertainment and general illumination markets. The worldwide license applies to sales of Dialight products in all markets covered by Color Kinetics' patent portfolio. The agreement also gives Color Kinetics access to Dialight patents as they may relate to enhancements to Color Kinetics' technology.

Dialight specializes in the application of LED-based lighting technology and enables OEM partners to develop complete LED-based lighting solutions. Dialight says that the agreement with CK will allow it to offer its partners the unique features that are covered by Color Kinetics' patents - complementing Dialight's SpectraMix control system and

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USA - Starting from humble roots in a Montgomery, Frazer United Methodist Church has served its growing congregation for over a century. By 1990, Frazer had the largest worship attendance of any United Methodist church in the U.S., enough that seven services are held every Sunday. To accommodate its large and active congregation, Frazer constructed the new 2,000 seat Wesley Hall worship centre.

Frazer's front-of-house engineer, Steve Wolfe wanted to be sure the church selected loudspeakers offering both high intelligibility and musicality. Working with project manager Brian Smith of the Whitlock Group, a listening session with two candidate loudspeakers was set up to help determine their best choice.

"With the shootout, we were able to make an A-B comparison, which was great," says Wolfe. "The heads of the church made the decision, and based on sound, the Meyer

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USA - The Oregon Shakespeare Festival (OSF) began its 71st season at its three-theatre location in Ashland, Oregon operating in true rotating rep, meaning a different show plays each afternoon and evening; 11 plays are currently rotating at the 360-seat Black Box New Theatre, the 600-seat Angus Bowmer Theatre, and the 1200-seat outdoor Elizabethan Theatre.

Michael Maag, master electrician for OSF, orchestrates an impressive routine to light these performances, with around two-and-a-half hours between curtain down on one show and house open on the next. The lighting crew changes colour, gobos, and shutter cuts on the rep lights in each theatre. With such a demanding schedule, there are very specific requirements. They needed fixtures that would operate easily and quietly, while still giving excellent colour. Maag chose the Wybron Nexera CMY colour-changing fixtures for two of the

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Germany - Meyer Sound made the initial public presentation of its new M'elodie ultracompact high-power curvilinear array loudspeaker to great acclaim in a series of high-profile demonstrations in Germany in May. M'elodie is the newest and smallest member of the company's MILO family of loudspeakers, which grabbed the industry's attention with the 2003 release of the original MILO, and has subsequently grown into a complete product line of curvilinear array solutions.

Named for John and Helen Meyer's granddaughter, Elodie (sister of Milo), M'elodie was rolled out in four events staged in Hannover and Wiesbaden attended by owners and engineers from major rental and installation companies from all over Germany. The demonstrations, the first public showings of M'elodie anywhere in the world, were organized by Jim Sides, managing director of Meyer Sound's German office, as part of th

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Spain - A new nightclub, Mission 439 has opens its doors to the Guipuzcoan night life. The locale has become the top showcase for DJs wanting to promote their work in the Basque country. Located in the city of Irura, each Friday and Saturday night it draws clubbers from as far away as France to see the latest national and international DJs.

The sound for the club disco has been installed by sound and lighting company Audio Skan based in Guipúzcoa and headed by Santiago García Bou who designed both lighting and sound. The audio system is made up of eight D.A.S. Audio Reference series RF-215 systems reinforced by eight Sub-218 for the low frequencies powered by external amplifiers.

The power capacity of the loudspeaker systems and their high efficiency provide high level sound for club's busy dancefloor, say D.A.S. According to Santiago García Bou: "The choice of the D.A

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UK - Britain's pre-eminent jazz performer Courtney Pine has been working with Shuttlesound's technical team to customise a microphone for his bass clarinet. The new prototype made its debut at a special concert staged in the remarkable Turbine Hall at Tate Modern in London. Part of the first ever arts festival to be held at Tate Modern, Pine was playing the world premiere of his new film score for the recently restored cult film Borderline.

Pine approached Shuttlesound to find a solution to the problem of micing his bass clarinet for the live performance. This particularly long wind instrument, which produces sound from top, middle and horn, should ideally be served by two microphones. However, as Pine's microphone of choice is an EV RE920TX condenser in conjunction with a RE1 wireless system, this would have meant two beltpacks strapped to the instrument, making it cumbersome.<

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UK - Theatre sound specialist Orbital is pleased to announce another hugely successful showcase as part of The ABTT Theatre Show (14-15 June, Royal Horticultural Halls, London). Having exhibited at the show for eight consecutive years', the company claimed a record traffic flow on their stand over the two-day event, which underlines the Show's position as a key event in Orbital's marketing calendar.

Scoring a hat-trick for Orbital at the ABTT's annual industry awards and gala dinner, its CSC Show Control software scooped the Sound Product of the Year award. Representing the third time the company has received this prestigious accolade, CSC is solely distributed by Orbital, and offers a unique blend of flexibility and ease of use. It delivers an advanced software based sound playback and system control to a wider audience.

Robin Townley, the ABTT's Honorary Secretary, pr

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Finland - Top Finnish metal superstars Nightwish used 28 Robe Show Lighting ColorSpot 1200 AT moving lights and 24 Wash 250 XTs on the final concert of their Once world tour, staged at the Hartwall Arena in Helsinki.

The fixtures were specified by the band's LD Tommi Stolt and supplied by one of the leading Finnish rental companies Akun Tehdas. The Nightwish crew chief Villie Kauhanen asked Akun Tehdas to supply lighting again, after they serviced band's last Finnish tour. The company has a good reputation in terms of equipment and crew on the road in Finland - which now includes a selection of Robe Show Lighting products.

The Robe's where positioned on main rig over the stage and back wall horizontal trusses. They were creating basic effects for the show. Stolt particularly likes Robes for their high output and fast movements. The 1200 ColorSpots also have good gobos.

  1. Turbosound and Phoenix in force at PALM
  2. Ampetronic gains ISO certification
  3. University partners with Shuttlesound in initiative
  4. Gearhouse SA Turn To Soundcraft
  5. Lux: Light & Luxury
  6. Jands Vista S3 sold to Stage Light Design
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