UK - A.C. Entertainment Technologies' audio division has supplied a second Soundcraft Vi1 digital mixing console to Leeds based rental and technical production specialist 3D Productions. This follows high demand for the console since the company made their first investment.

3D's David Whittlestone decided to purchase the Soundcraft Vi1 consoles after considering many options. He chose them primarily because of the quality of the mic preamps, the competitive price of the console and the flexibility and expandability of the control platform. He adds that the quality of the onboard effects is excellent, "our engineers are all very happy."

(Jim Evans)

UK - The award winning Hot Ice Show at top UK amusement park, Pleasure Beach Blackpool is one of the many shows around the world taking advantage of the Jands Vista lighting and media control system to run their lighting during their ice skating spectacular.

Hot Ice has been running for over 70 years, with the 2011 show, Aura, performed twice daily, six days a week, to entertain and enthral nearly 20,000 visitors a week. This makes it one of the UK's most popular attractions.

Hot Ice is created, produced and directed by Amanda Thompson and presented by Stageworks Worldwide Productions at the Pleasure Beach's ice skating theatre, The Arena. Stageworks head of production, management & events, Scott Hope, specified the Jands Vista T2 in consultation with his team, when the time came to upgrade and replace the show's lighting control desk.

Key to his

UK - Britannia Row Productions has recently boosted its investment in Lake's LM Series Digital Audio Processors, having recently purchased another 17 units of the new LM 44 and a dozen LM 26s to add to its existing Lake inventory. This new purchase means Britannia Row now holds a total of 70 Lake LM Series units in stock.

Explaining his company's ongoing investment in Lake, Mike Lowe, finance/production director, Britannia Row, said, "We got into Lake in the very early days when the late, great Bruce Jackson came and visited us here in Britannia Row two or three times and it was pretty amazing the stuff that he showed us then. On top of the fantastic facilities that the Lake processor brought to the party, the end result was a great improvement in sound quality, and that was really the kicker for making the move in the first place."

Bryan Grant, Managing Director at

UK - Manchester's Ritz Ballroom has re-opened after a complete £2m refurbishment, including a state Turbosound Flex Array audio system installed by Dimension Audio.

The HMV Ritz is one of Manchester's top live music and club venues, featuring in the coming months such diverse artists as Switchfoot, An Evening With Cake, Alabama 3, Thurston Moore, George Clinton with Parliament Funkadelic, Roots Manuva, and Steve Harley's Cockney Rebel.

Dimension Audio's project manager Andy Laurie headed up the install team of Ian Silcock and Pete Morgan to complete the job to a record six-week schedule, ensuring the timely delivery of the vast range of equipment and the commissioning of the Flex Array PA system.

The Ritz's main room has a capacity of 1,500 people over two floors in the style of a classic Victorian ballroom. Dimension's Andy Laurie describes the audio specification in

World - Dolly Parton is performing across America, Europe, and Australia on the Better Day World Tour in support of her recently released album of the same name. FOH engineer and production manager Mike Fechner and monitor engineer Jason Glass, both of whom have been with Parton for several years, insisted on a Meyer Sound reinforcement system consisting of MILO and MICA line array loudspeakers.

For the US legs of the tour, Livonia, Mich.-based Thunder Audio provided a Meyer Sound system comprised of 24 MILO and 16 MICA line array loudspeakers; eight 700-HP subwoofers; eight UPJ-1P VariO loudspeakers; 18 MJF-212A stage monitors; and a Galileo loudspeaker management system. In Europe, equipment support came from Major Tom Ltd. A Countryman ISOMAX headset microphone is provided for Parton in all of her shows.

Systems Engineer Patrick Johnston describes Parton's performanc

UK Brighton venue, The Haunt, has carried out a major upgrade, installing a Soundcraft Vi1 digital console and highly specified PA system.

Situated opposite Brighton Pier, the converted cinema, which operated most recently as the Kuku Club, wanted to extend its scope from pure playback facilities to become a genuine 350-capacity circuit venue.

The technical team opted for the versatility of a Soundcraft Vi1 digital console, purchased from dealers Crystal Pro Audio and installed by experienced local production and installation company, C3 Productions.

Run by John Crawley and John Castrillon, C3 Productions was chosen for the fit-out, based on their extensive experience with high profile events, including Great Escape, the Brighton Festival, Gay Pride, Brighton Fashion Week, and Brighton and Sussex Universities' Freshers' Balls.

At The Haunt, there had been no technical infr

USA - Audio-Technica is celebrating its 18th year of supporting the Country Music Association (CMA) Awards by providing an extensive selection of vocal and instrument microphones for its annual awards show.

The 45th Annual CMA Awards aired live in 5.1-channel surround sound Wednesday, 9 November, on the ABC Television Network from the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, and featured over 200 Audio-Technica microphones, including an impressive array of hard-wired mics and Artist Elite 5000 Series UHF Wireless Systems.

The team responsible for the audio at this year's CMA's again included a who's who of broadcast audio. The audio was supervised by award-winning audio producers Michael Abbott and Tom Davis; ATK/Audiotek provided the sound system with FOH mixers Patrick Baltzell and Rick Shimer; the broadcast music mix was handled by New Jersey/California-based M3's (Music Mix Mobile'

Germany - The organisers of the papal visit to Berlin, Freiburg and Erfurt used comprehensive communication and AV systems from Riedel Communications to ensure successful events. Riedel delivered a solution that included digital trunked radios (TETRA), Artist digital matrix intercom, as well as the fibre based media network MediorNet and the digital audio network RockNet.

Both the strict security requirements as well as the technical demands were extremely high for the five main events associated with the visit. It was crucial to build a reliable communications infrastructure in each location that was also secure from eavesdropping. In addition, the locations needed to be ready to distribute audio and video signals to both broadcast networks and to the on-site video walls.

The two largest events were held in Freiburg, including a vigil and the farewell celebration at the local

UK - Britannia Row Productions is enjoying a busy autumn and winter season, with its entire Midas digital inventory out on major international tours.

Two XL8s continue on Jamiroquai's world tour, with Rick Pope at FOH and Tristan Farrow on monitors. "Out of all the digital boards that I've used in the live environment, the XL8 is sonically by far the best," says Pope of the XL8. "The definition in one's mix can only be described as 3D; I have not heard separation like this before."

Another XL8 has been out with Cliff Richard, with James 'JJ' John on monitors, while FOH engineer Mike 'Bunny' Warren has been using a PRO6. An XL8/PRO6 combination is now being used on Kasabian under the control of FOH engineer Paul Ramsey, with a PRO6 being used by monitor engineer Yogi.

PRO Series consoles are also out on other BRP tours including a PRO9 on Tinie Tempah, wit

UK - Roland Systems Group (RSG) products are currently touring the country with one of the most familiar faces in British rock - Toyah Willcox. Toyah kicked off the final leg of her autumn tour, From Sheep Farming To Anthem 2011 at the beginning of October in Southampton to rave reviews and the hotly-anticipated concerts will see Toyah perform a selection of material from her first three albums and a concentration of songs from her 1981 Platinum-selling album Anthem, which celebrates its thirtieth anniversary this year.

Paul Nicholson who runs Salisbury based Midas ProSound and Red Square Audio has toured with Toyah for almost 20 years and is in charge of specifying, supplying, and operating the sound equipment for the Toyah band and her other project The Humans. For the UK Toyah tour, Nicholson specified the Roland M-300 Live Mixing Console together with the Digit

France - Belgian lighting designer Francis Mannaert is currently using a raft of Philips Vari-Lite VL3000 Spot and Wash Luminaires to create a dynamic supernatural lightscape for the National Opera Ukrainia's touring ballet, set to the hauntingly evocative music of Carl Orff's Carmina Burana.

Conductor Grigori Penteleîtchouk originally commissioned the production for a small classical music festival - Festival des Nuits Sainte Victoire, in 2009. However, so successful was it that producer Franck Dompietrini and Maestro, Penteleïtchouk, decided to take an expanded version of the production across France and play to the largest audiences possible.

Mannaert used VL3000 spots and washes, as part of a traditional ballet lighting rig, he explains: "I use the Vari-Lite's for punchy key, back and side lighting. There are no props or scenery on stage except for a p

USA - Chauvet is a sponsor of Academy of Production Technology three-day seminars dedicated to the advancement of education and safety in the live event production industry. Led by Richard Cadena, a 24-year veteran of the entertainment lighting industry with a background in electronics and electrical engineering, the classes travel the country to capture a wide-ranging audience.

November's class will be set at Chauvet headquarters in Sunrise, Fla. The class covers theory and practices of entertainment technology for the working electrician and technician.

Attendees will learn essential training in safety, codes and regulations, control systems, and basic electricity to advanced power distribution. The course work also counts towards renewal credits for ETCP Certified Electricians.

"We are pleased to open the doors to our facility for an educational endeavour," said

Poland - L-Acoustics' Polish rental network agent Fotis Sound has provided a K1 WST line source system for the opening of the Olympic Stadium in Kiev in preparation for UEFA Euro 2012 Football Championship.

The opening ceremony, under the guidance of director Alexey Batkovsky, was based on Ukrainian history, with more than 2,000 volunteers and dancers involved in the larger performances. At the concert's finale, Shakira appeared on stage to a backdrop of spectacular fireworks before an audience of 50,000, including Ukrainian president Victor Janukovich.

The event's technical coordinator Vlad Voloshuk, from Concert Bis in Moldova, invited freelance system engineer Andrey Akhromeev to design a sound system for the event. Drawing on L-Acoustics' proprietary acoustic design software Soundvision, Akhromeev's solution consisted of 18 K1 boxes and 6 K1-SB subs per side, with side- ha

UK - BBC's The One show returns to the small screen with this year's hosts including Lenny Henry, Jasper Carrott and Griff Rhys Jones. The sketch shows will also include an array of special guests.

Richard Martin Lighting (RML) support lighting designers Oli Richards and Martin Kempton to create a simple and elegant setting for the shows. The specification includes Stage Zoom 1200's, MAC 500's, MAC 600's, 900mm Chroma Strips, GLP Impressions and GLP Impressions XL, Alpha Beam 700's and Stage Bars.

In addition to the main lighting rig, RML also liaised with Rosco to supply gobos for the show.

(Jim Evans)

Brazil - Three-times Grammy-nominated Brazilian sound engineer Gabriel Pinheiro is well-respected recording engineer in the Latin American music world. He is the owner of two DPA SMK4061 stereo miking kits, which he recently discovered during a live concert recording.

"The PA company had a few of them and I decided to try them on piano, double bass and cello," says Pinheiro, who has been chief engineer at Biscoito Fino Records' recording studio for the past 10 years. "It was the first time I'd used a microphone on a live double bass that gave me a great sound. Right there I decided I needed some of these."

Having purchased two of the kits, which include a carefully selected pair of DPA 4061 miniature omni mics with mounting accessories, Pinheiro went to work trying out the mics on his projects. "I do a lot of live recordings as well as those live in th

UK - Trans-Sport Ltd, based in Retford, Nottinghamshire, has been providing custom solutions for customers since they were established in 1990. Now 21 years on and despite the recession they are looking to the future of the business and have been investing heavily in the future of the company.

What started out as an agricultural & mining engineering company, soon became established as a player in the entertainment market when Bill Morris (now of CTV - Outside Broadcasts) asked the MD Shaun Cope if they could manufacture some in-pocket cameras for the World Snooker Championships. The custom cameras were made, and Trans-Sport was born. Roll forward to today and now they work in all aspects of live TV transmissions and televised sports including Darts, Poker and Snooker for both BSkyB and The BBC.

Now working globally in the TV and live media events industries, the decision was m

Australia - Rockhampto's ' Pilbeam Theatre is renowned for staging fabulous musicals throughout the year and the delicate subject of sweat can be an issue for the venues' sound technicians.

Fortunately the theatre has purchased several Shure UHF-R wireless microphone systems which are not only compact and lightweight but also sweat resistant.

"The Shure UHF system has been very reliable," commented Holly Newcombe, senior sound technician at Pilbeam Theatre. "Sometimes we run up to 32 in one go and there's never any issue. Occasionally we get a little bit of sweat on the microphones but it's not a big deal as I just give them a wipe with contact cleaner and they're fine - and believe me some of the people we get are quite sweaty.

"We also have four hand-helds. We use the packs with the jack adapters for guitars and keyboards - we have a battery powered key

USA - Home to the University of Minnesota Duluth (UMD) Bulldogs men's and women's hockey teams, the all-purpose AMSOIL Arena is part of the Duluth Entertainment Convention Centre on the city's downtown Lake Superior waterfront. The complex also includes exhibit halls, a symphony hall, an Omnimax Theatre, and another arena.

One of the first LEED certified arenas in the world, the AMSOIL Arena seats 6,600 for hockey and ice shows, and more than 8,500 for concerts and other entertainment. Its sound system was designed and installed by TSI Technology Solutions LLC, the systems division of TSI Global LLC, in St. Charles, Missouri, with consulting provided by Gary White of WJHW in Dallas.

"The budget for this job was smaller than what we typically have to work with for a sports stadium or coliseum," says Scott Durham of TSI, "so we had to be creative. We wanted to han

Romania - Ilie Oan? Stadium in Ploiesti is the current home of the football club FC Petrolul Ploiesti. The stadium opened in September 2011 and has a seating capacity of 15,500 people.

The construction has been built in the place of the former Ilie Oan? Stadium, which was completed in 1937. The old stadium was demolished and a complete new one has been built featuring all top modern facilities and already appointed by UEFA to host the group matches and semi-finals of the Champions League.

An RCF audio system has been installed to cover all areas of the stadium. Romanian RCF distributor FBS Lines provides the audio system project.

The audio system design for the Ilie Oan? Stadium was done in collaboration with the RCF project department that specified the individual product system solution, documentation, acoustical simulation, measurement and more.

"Simply a milestone

UK - The new Chroma-Q Color Charge Plus is a higher output version of the original battery powered, wireless DMX fixture. It is suitable for temporary indoor lighting applications where wiring is a challenge or where install speed is critical, transforming a venue in minutes.

The Color Charge Plus utilises the very latest generation of LED and optics, resulting in 50% more output (900 lumens) than the original Color Charge (600 lumens) from the same size unit.

The Color Charge Plus fixture's environmentally friendly design includes a recyclable long life battery cell and an interchangeable LED head for upgrading in the future. The highly efficient nickel-metal hydride (NiMH) power cell delivers up to 30 hours usage from a single charge and provides up to 1,000 charges; approximately double the life of lead-acid batteries. The fixture also features a built-in mains charger that

USA - Pink wristbands, T-shirts and ribbons are a common sight during National Breast Cancer Awareness Month - but a pink hospital? West Jefferson Medical Centre(WJMC) wanted to do something special to celebrate the life of breast cancer survivors and honour the memory of those who lost their battle with the disease, so the New Orleans-area hospital 'turned pink', putting its 10-story front entrance aglow in brilliant pink lights for the entire month of October.

The traffic-stopping pink lighting display was created by Abstract Productions, LLC (Baton Rouge, LA), using Rebel Pro Par RGB LED pars from Acclaim Lighting. Adrian Miceli of Abstract said that power draw was "a huge factor" in selecting a fixture to colour wash the 120ft long by 10-story-high exterior space, since the lights were to remain on continuously for 12 hours daily.

The Rebel Pro Par's energy effic

UK - Manchester-based dbn Lighting supplied lighting design and equipment - including trussing and all necessary rigging - to the main stage at the 2011 Ramsbottom Festival staged at Ramsbottom Cricket Ground in Bury, a picturesque riverside location in Greater Manchester.

As in previous years, the boutique style Festival was a partnership between The Met, Bury's renowned live arts venue and Ramsbottomonline.com. dbn's Nick Buckley was asked to create a production design to cover the three days of live music, headlined on the Friday by The Animals & Friends, followed by The Guillemots on Saturday, concluding on Sunday with The Waterboys.

His design had to be flexible enough to deal with the different sounds and styles of these and the other artists on the line up each day, and took the Waterboys spec (LD Craig McCleary) as a general starting point. Buckley wanted to give them

More Metal - A re-formed Black Sabbath, including lead singer Ozzy Osbourne, have been announced as the second headliners for next year's Download Festival. The band, who last played together at Donington Park in 2005 as part of the Ozzfest touring festival, will then embark on a world tour. Metallica were announced as the first headliners of Download, which takes place at Donington between 8-10 June.

Ahead of their Download performance on Sunday 10 June, Black Sabbath are to record their first album with their original line-up for 33 years. The 1968 incarnation of the band, which also includes guitarist Tony Iommi, bassist Geezer Butler and drummer Bill Ward, will record new material with producer Rick Rubin. Black Sabbath have released 18 albums since 1969, when they formed in Birmingham.

Music Business - EMI has said it will sell its recorded music unit for £1.

Russia - For coordinating the communications at the celebration of the 864th Birthday of Moscow, the organisers and the technical team used an Artist digital matrix intercom system from Riedel Communications. Riedel delivered the system that enabled the 4-D projection mapping show created and produced by David Atkins Enterprises. The celebration was a gift to the city of Moscow by Russia's largest private bank, Alfa-Bank.

The birthday celebration for Moscow was a spectacular mega event, which included a cutting edge 4-D projection mapping show taking place on the walls of the Moscow University and a fireworks show. For providing a reliable communications system for the whole area, the organisers split up the area into to dedicated zones: The control tower and the university building.

The two areas were interconnected via fibre. Artist 64 and Artist 32 mainframes at both positi

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