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Israel - Kolot Ramim located in Upper Galilee, Kibbutz Manara, recently became the first Israeli Adamson partner in the Adamson Network. A medium sized company of 20 employees headed by founder and owner Yossi Ba, the company mainly focuses on concerts for 500 to 5000 heads, corporate shows, and theatre productions, offering full lighting, staging and backline services.

Alongside Yossi Ba, Gadi Reik, Kolot Ramim's head audio engineer with 25 years of studio and live experience, currently FOH Engineer and Technical Director for celebrated Israeli performer NOA, Kolot purchased 16 Spektrix cabinets and eight Spektrix Subs adding to their already wide-ranging inventory consisting of Meyer Sound speakers, Midas consoles, Lab. Gruppen amps and Clair & D&B monitors among others.

Kolot Ramim's first show with their new Adamson system was at the three-day, Caesarea Jazz Festival

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USA - Technomad reports that DevonWood Equestrian Centre, among the premier horse show facilities in the United States, has reached 10-years of trouble-free, continuous outdoor event audio with Technomad loudspeakers.

With one indoor and three outdoor competition rings, four warm-up rings, a boarding stable and several commons areas, the specialised, international-level equestrian sports facility continues to expand its zoned audio system with Technomad at the core. The privately-owned, 42-acre facility recently added multiple Technomad Vernal and Vienna loudspeakers in the VIP seating and other outdoor areas including a beer garden, picnic area and several lengthy walkways; and converted its zoned audio distribution system to an all-digital infrastructure.

DevonWood Equestrian Centre has used Technomad Paris loudspeakers since first opening its gates, installing four in each

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UK - Lighting designer Max Conwell of Naked Eye used a grandMA full-size and a grandMA2 light as backup to control lighting Morrissey's Tour of Refusal, which concluded with three sold-out shows at London's Brixton Academy.

The tour has been out since January, and Conwell has worked with the artist for the last five years. For the last year, he has exclusively been using MA Lighting's grandMA control platform for this and all his other work.

"I wanted a totally reliable console and operating system," he says commenting on his switch to MA. "It's a good all round moving light desk, does exactly 'what it says on the tin' and I am really confident about using it."

The starting point for his Tour of Refusal lighting design was the distinct backdrop, complete with a haunting giant snapshot of 1960's Italian actor, Walter Chiari. This was carefull

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Switzerland/UK - For its fourth sold-out year the Basel Tattoo employed TiMax delay-matrix processing and show control software to make the marching players' audio follow their movements on stage. The system also helped eliminate musical timing problems due to the large scale of the performance area.

An import of the Edinburgh military pageant which also uses TiMax, the Basel Tattoo is likewise staged al fresco in front of the 18th century Kaserne Hof barracks next to the Rhine. The performers are spread out over a 70m by 25m parade arena surrounded by audience seating on three sides.

Swiss sound designer Thomas Strebel this year specified a 32x32 configuration of the new TiMax2 Soundhub, following the successes achieved with the TiMax Classic Rack systems in previous years.

The TiMax matrix received MIDI preset control and twelve groups of MADI audio from a Soundcraft Vi6 c

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Germany - Dortmund-based production company, B+B Veranstaltungstechnik, has added two new Soundcraft Vi4 consoles to its inventory of digital mixing desks. The investment follows the company's policy for regular inventory upgrade, and although a multi-brand operation, the company chose the Soundcraft digital platform based on the impressive features-to-price ratio.

While these are the first Vi4's to appear in B+B's rental fleet, the company's Sebastian Müller-Eckhard has previously designed installation systems based around the Vi4 (at the local Konzerthaus), and a Vi6 in FZW, a 1,500-person capacity live venue.

"The Vi4 is all about the sound," he says. "It's one of the best sounding desks on the market and you don't need any external hardware because everything is already in the desk - in fact the internal dynamics and effects are perfect.

"As for the

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UK - Offering views over the city, London restaurant Galvin at Windows (on the 28th floor of the London Park Lane Hilton) opened in May 2006.

With chef Chris Galvin at the helm, the restaurant quickly became one of the most talked about in London, as patrons either headed right into the restaurant or left into the elegant cocktail bar on exiting the lift.

However, the one aspect of the bar's infrastructure that was found wanting was the sound system, and in due course general manager Fred Sirieix decided that in order to complete the perfect atmosphere this would need to be upgraded. "The old ceiling speaker system was not sufficiently powerful for our private events and there were 'pockets' where there was no coverage," he said.

Sirieix had worked with the Sound Division Group in a previous guise - back in his days as general manager of another London bar/restaura

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UK - In The Times' annual index of Britain's leading privately-owned technology companies, London-based stage equipment and automation specialist Stage Technologies came in at number 55 in the 'Tech Track 100' table.

The ninth annual Tech Track 100 league table was published in The Sunday Times on 20 September 2009. It ranks Britain's fastest-growing privately-owned technology companies, based on sales growth over the latest three years, from 2005-2008, or 2006-2009. Growth among these companies ranged from 38% pa to 189% pa, with sales typically between £5m and £30m.

Stage Technologies, founded in 1995 by managing director Mark Ager and operations director John Hastie, has grown its sales 55% a year from £4.2m in 2005 to £15.5m in 2008, according to The Times. In 2009 it received the Queen's Award for Enterprise 2009 in the categor

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Germany - The IAA Frankfurt car show is the world's most important trade fair for the international automobile industry, taking place this year from 17-27 September, with exhibitors from 30 countries showing their newest and most innovative cars to an international audience. Many brands have chosen Barco's creative and indoor LED solutions to highlight the exclusive cars on display.

The Barco LED display solutions are represented via some of Barco's worldwide rental partners including AVS System (Fiat and Alfa Romeo), Imagini (Ferrari), CT UK (Ford and Jaguar), VPS (Peugeot and Renault) and ICT (Rolls Royce).

(Jim Evans)

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UK - Built in 1844, and the third oldest Roman Catholic church in Belfast, St. Malachy's has been dramatically redeveloped, with between £3.5m- £4m committed to the restoration of the brickwork and plasterwork, complete with marble altar, mosaic floor and magnificent 'wedding cake' fan-vaulted ceiling.

Closed for 15 months while the renovation was carried out, when parishioners returned they also found a new QSC sound system, which they discovered not only blended in with the white aesthetic but delivered an intelligibility which they had not imagined possible.

A pair of white polystyrene AcousticDesign AD-S282Hs, yoke-mounted vertically onto the sanctuary walls on either side of the altar, provide the dispersion for both the gallery and ground floor seating tiers, while a pair of outfacing high-output AD-S82H speakers (using the IntelliDock intelligent mounting sy

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Germany - RTS/Telex is intensifying its programme of system training. After seminars in Western Europe and the Middle East, the broadcasting and intercom specialists are broadening their focus to include practical seminars in Eastern Europe.

"Our training and educational activities are pillars of our strategy for achieving greater market penetration for RTS/Telex products," says Kamil Swobodzinski, sales director RTS/Telex EMEA. "For this reason, we are intensifying our international activities and expanding our educational programme to ensure that not only product but also system expertise is conveyed."

In Russia, the manufacturer of intercom systems is relying on a comprehensive transfer of expertise. Shortly before the IBC in Amsterdam, RTS/Telex organized a set of seminars as a means of sharing know-how with Russian dealers. "In terms of area, Russ

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France / UK - Robert Juliat, the French lantern and followspot manufacturer, reports a successful PLASA09 exhibition. The French manufacturer exhibited alongside UK distributor White Light at the exhibition at earls Court, London, last week.

"Although the turnout may have been lower than previous years - which is to be expected in the current climate," says sales director, Lionel Garraud, "we noticed a marked improvement in the quality of visitors who came to discuss serious projects. Several new dealers will be appointed as a result of meetings at PLASA.

"One interesting development is the increased demand for extra followspots we have received from rental companies. This seems to be a direct result of the global financial downturn. Consequently, we will be very busy fulfilling our customers' requirements between now and the end of the year, with Victor an

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UAE - Italian loudspeaker manufacturer K-Array recently showcased its products to both the rental and installation fraternity in the UAE. The demo was orchestrated by Middle East distributor, Sennheiser UK and supported by UAE partner for K-Array, AMB.

"K-Array produces a wide range of products representing a new breed of cutting edge loudspeaker technologies and embracing a new era of slim stylish audio solutions, which are very relevant to this emerging market," said Nigel Miller, AMB's general manager. "We were happy to engage with Sennheiser and The Palladium to make this happen."

Amongst the compact products on display were the Redline Systems - the KR-100s, consisting of a 12" sub-woofer and a single unit of top section, and the KR-200s, consisting of an 18" sub-woofer and two units of top section.

Both products have DSP built into the sub

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Malaysia - FBT's Modus and Verve Speakers have been installed in the Xin Fu Yuan Methodist Church in Sibu, Sarawak, East Malaysia. One of the largest churches in Sarawak, the Xin Fu Yuan has 30 over branches in Sibu and 70 other branches throughout Sarawak.

The installation, which completed on 23 August, featured FBT active line array systems and Verve loudspeakers, plus various Modus loudspeaker cabinets including 40A, 15A and Sub A.In addition, FBT active monitor speakers were installed in the main hall and the balcony areas. All the FBT loudspeakers were supplied by Pana Micro Electronics Sdn Bhd.

Dennis Law of Pana Micro Electronics Sdn Bhd, who is the system integrator of the church, commented that the sound reproduction from the speaker system is like 'live' performance. "Some church members thought that the speakers were not in use or not turned on, as the performa

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UK - Robe's ROBIN 300 Plasma series fixtures won a PLASA Innovation Award at the four-day exhibition in Earls Court, London, last week.

Over 60 products were nominated and evaluated by a panel of independent judges, with eight receiving PLASA Awards for Innovation. These were presented by the Shadow Minister for Innovation, Universities & Skills, Adam Afriyie MP, on the second day of the exhibition.

The judges' comments on the ROBIN 300 Plasma series included: "The opportunity to deploy new technology in the form of the PLASMA lamp has led Robe to perform a ground-up rethink and redesign of the traditional moving light. The result is a fixture that impressed us with its quality of light, low power of operation and rich list of features."

Robe's MD Josef Valchar states: "We're absolutely delighted. This is a real recognition of the 15 years of constant R&D that

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Mallorca - Gerriets has provided three large roller screen systems for the show Come Fly with Me at the Gran Casino Mallorca. The project was realised in close cooperation with Gerriets Germany and Gerriets Great Britain (GBB).

The show, set in 1959 in the city of New York, is a mix of swing music, acrobatics and dancing. It transports the audience back in time to the 'Rat Pack' era. Three large roller projection screen systems are used in the show. At the left and right side of the stage, Gerriets installed two Tube top roller screen systems, each equipped with a 36ft (11m) wide x 26ft (8m) high Opera white front projection surface. In the centre of the stage, Gerriets installed a 39ft (12m) wide bottom roller Megascreen projection screen system. Here the carbon tube rolls up and down with the screen surface. When unrolled the screen is fully open and the carbon tube is

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UK - JAP Sound, one of the early adopters of the digital sound reinforcement technology from RSS by Roland, is also the first to service a sizeable concert using two M-400 consoles with shared input gain. Linked by REAC (Roland Ethernet Audio Communication) via the RSS S-1608 Digital Snake, the desks controlled front-of-house and monitor mixes for top tribute bands The Bootleg Beatles and The Counterfeit Stones at a large 5000-plus festival, promoted by Twinwood Events.

The show, staged outdoors at the Twinwood Arena in Clapham, is a regular gig for JAP Sound, featuring a 40-piece orchestra on the first day, and the tribute bands on the second. However, this was the first occasion that Jason Price of JAP Sound was able to deploy the full suite of RSS digital tools, including the new M-48 personal monitor mixers.

With the support of RSS's Simon Kenning, the JAP Sound team opted

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South Africa - In early August, Electro-Voice seminars were conducted in Johannesburg and Cape Town, South Africa. "We made further inroads into the South African market", says Oliver Sahm, director of the technical support team pro audio.

From 3 -7 August, two intensive courses of Electro-Voice seminars were held. Seminar leader Anthony Sawyer, technical support manager in the EVI Audio team, schooled young technicians from SARA and students at the SAE Institute in fundamental aspects of audio technology. In each case, the content of the seminars was tailored to the knowledge level of the participants.

The first seminars, comprising a live sound workshop, were held at the South African Roadie Association (SARA) in Johannesburg. Since 1992, this well-known institute has been offering young South African technicians a well-rounded curriculum with excellent job prospec

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UK - German lighting company GLP enjoyed one of its most successful trade shows ever at this year's PLASA 2009 show in London.

By the time they broke down the stand after four days' heavy trading, the company had sold more than 300 units of its newly launched Impression 120RZ (Zoom).

However, even more valuable than the sales was the quality time with customers and specifiers that the company enjoyed. GLP says that having the ability to meet and discuss in detail with their rental partners, lighting designers and other specifiers is a core part of the company's philosophy, and on this front PLASA proved to be "a massive success".

Along with the Impression 120RZ, two other new products were showcased; the Volkslicht, which is a compact Rebel LED moving head priced at budget-driven shows which don't want compromise, and the Meisterstuck, which is designed to meet lig

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The Netherlands - De Flint Theatre, based in Amersfoort, has purchased a Midas PRO6 live audio system from Midas Consoles Benelux after its sound technicians carried out a market survey of available digital consoles.

The crew were unanimous in their decision that the Midas digital platform would prove to be the best investment guarantee for the future, and were additionally impressed with what they considered a stunning sonic performance.

"The Midas PRO6 proved by far the easiest digital console to work with as well as being the best sounding one around," says Klaas Spoelstra, chief technical director. "Our audio engineers were impressed from the moment they saw the PRO6, and compared to other digital consoles out there they described the PRO6 as being in a league of its own."

The PRO6 system takes care of running the theatre's entire digital audio multic

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Jordan - Distant Heat is an annual summer dance party that takes place in the desert of Wadi Rum in Jordan. The goal is to bring people together in an exquisite setting and help showcase Jordan as a peaceful destination. The all-night party hosts some of the world's top DJs playing to a dancing crowd of 2000 partygoers from all over the world until sunrise. The event continues the next day with beach and pool parties at the Red Sea resort town of Aqaba, 50 kilometers away.

The 2009 event featured Glen Morrison and DJ, Armin Van Buuren, backed with lighting supplied by TriTec AV. TriTec built the lighting rig for the party consisting of a free-standing truss structure installed in the middle a spectacular yet challenging desert backdrop.

TriTec covered the structure in a variety of Clay Paky fixtures including 30 Alpha Wash 575 fixtures, 24 Alpha Spot 1200 HPE, and 16 Al

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UK - Goboland reports a very positive response to this year's PLASA09, finding it both a profitable and enjoyable event.

"There may have been fewer visitors this year but the quality of the enquiries was high and were of great value to the company," says Goboland UK director, Vicky Fairall. "The new Credit Crunch custom gobo went down extremely well - people just love it since it has brought custom gobos within the budget constraints of our customers in these financially challenging times."

Credit Crunch custom gobos are an economical, uncoated alternative to the award-winning Goboland Black Steel gobos.

"People were also very excited by our new iPhone App which allows customers to access our Black Steel Gobo Catalogue - which now holds over 1,250 designs - on the move! It is the first free gobo App ever to be launched and our customers were even dow

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USA Hip-hop artist Jay-Z brings new flavour to his current tour by deploying the AKG WMS4500 wireless microphone system and the AKG C5900 vocal microphone on stage. Production manager/FOH engineer Bryon Tate selected the AKG wireless system for its ability to capture and accurately deliver Jay-Z's lyrics on stage.

The WMS4500 provides a wide-range of versatility in many areas such as frequency selection and diversity, efficient set-up and delivers outstanding sonic quality. "I find that my show day setups are easily adjusted inside any venue size and complexity, from the small house of blues show to heavily populated frequency areas such as large scale television events," Tate said.

The wireless microphone system offers improved audio capabilities versatile enough to handle multiple users and multi-channel applications simultaneously. The WMS4500 is available in two

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UK - After introducing VQ Series in the UK at last year's PLASA show, Tannoy returned to the Earls Court this year with the latest evolution of the series, VQ Live. Developed for the rental sound market rather than fixed install and available exclusively in the UK through Red Square Audio, the compact system formed one of the centre points of RSA's bustling stand at PLASA09 - with a pair of VQ NET 60 Live tops and VNET 218DR Live subwoofers being demonstrated to a host of potential customers throughout the four-day show.

"The response from customers was overwhelming, especially in view of the generally lower key atmosphere surrounding this year's show, and the Red Square Audio stand was clearly a target destination for those looking to judge for themselves whether VQ sounds as good as reports suggest. Some visitors had first heard VQ Series at last year's show and were retu

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Spain / UK - At PLASA09, VMB launched the TL-A220, the latest in its line array lifters series. The TL-A220 can lift 220kg of PA to a height of 5.5m and is a smaller, more compact version of the TL-A320.

The lift is designed for those requiring a quick set-up for their line array. The PA is loaded directly on to the forks of the lift, cranked up and in a matter of minutes the system is suspended from the lift and ready to play. The lift has a transport weight/height of just 95kg/1.7m so is easy to transport.

The TL-A220 incorporates the ALS (Auto Lock Security) a system patented by VMB 12 years ago, and now a standard in most of its lifts. The ALS automatically locks the lift in place, releases all the pressure from the cable and guarantees the load will not fall.

Says VMB: "With any other conventional frontal load lift the further along the forks the load is placed the

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