UK - Audio-visual equipment supply company LSH Events (part of the London Speaker Hire family) has been an enthusiastic supplier and promoter of Shure equipment over the last 10 years, and was closely involved with testing the mic manufacturer's technically ground-breaking dual-diaphragm KSM8 even prior to its official launch in January 2016. Throughout the microphone's launch year, LSH supplied KSM8s to many high-profile artists and engineers, and even helped it to play an important part in the setting of a new world record, as LSH managing director Grant Turner relates.

"Since we opened our event and band rehearsal facilities in East London, LSH Spaces, we've been involved with a lot of current high-profile bands and their technical support staff," explains Turner from LSH's London HQ. "We put some KSM8s in one of the rehearsal rooms there alongside the usual SM58s, and peop

UK - Hull launched its year as the 2017 UK City of Culture with Made in Hull, a week of innovative and engaging mixed media sound, lighting and visual installations telling the story of the city and its people over almost a century. Audio specialist tube uk joined in the excitement, specifying, rigging and fine-tuning audio systems for six separate interactive works around the city centre.

Made in Hull was designed to thrill, excite and intrigue the public and was created by the core creative team of Sean McAllister, Ala, Lloyd, Rupert Creed, Durham Marenghi, Dan Jones and producer Niccy Hallifax, working alongside numerous artists. The installations ran for seven days from 1-7 January.

tube - based in Manchester and London and known for its penchant for invention and thinking 'out-of-the-box' was working closely with BAFTA and Ivor Novello Award winning soun

Germany - Following a construction period lasting 10 years, the long-awaited moment came on 11 January 2017, when the Norddeutsche Rundfunk (NDR) Elbphilharmonie Symphony Orchestra under its principal conductor Thomas Hengelbrok opened the spectacular Big Concert Hall in Hamburg's new landmark building with a musical journey from the Renaissance to present times.

The concert was recorded and broadcast by German public broadcaster Norddeutscher Rundfunk (situated in the North of the country) from an audio control room in the same building as the performance - using a Lawo mc

UK - PLASA Focus Glasgow has announced its final programme of events, including support from the BBC who will provide a unique opportunity to visit the BBC Scotland production facility. PLASA Focus Glasgow - Scotland's sole entertainment technology show - returns to the Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre (SECC) on 18-19 January 2017.

John Carmichael, BBC Radio operations manager for Scotland, will host a tour of the studio for the Quay Sessions, a live music programme recorded in front of an audience, including a run-through of the state-of-the-art studio technology in use. The studio is in the BBC Scotland production facility at Pacific Quay, just a few minutes' walk from the SECC.

Other highlights on the Glasgow programme include a networking event at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, who will host a drinks reception and technical tours. Seminar sessions

Italy - Powersoft's mission to strengthen the company further in 2017 has begun with the appointment of the experienced Klas Dalbj

The Netherlands - The OCA Alliance, the AV industry alliance promoting awareness and adoption of Open Control Architecture, also known as OCA and standardized as AES70, is proud to demonstrate new examples of how this technology is evolving at ISE 2017.

On booth # 7-V250 the OCA Alliance is showcasing multiple examples of OCA (AES70) in action, including hardware and software reference designs, new web-based GUI interfaces for OCA (AES70) solutions, a demonstration of the synergy of AES67 and AES70 in creating complete media networking solutions, and integration examples of selected products implementing OCA (AES70), available on the market today.

"The OCA Alliance has been looking forward to exhibiting at ISE this year, as the OCA (AES70) ecosystem is evolving in several very interesting ways," commented Ethan Wetzell, platform strategist for Bosch Communications Systems.

Italy - Proel has launched a major upgrade of its Pronet remote control software. Based on the stable and reliable Can Bus communication protocol, Pronet AX enables remote control of all Axiom powered loudspeakers, DSP amplifiers, and system controllers in a network of devices equipped with the Core DSP platform.

The new Pronet AX software offers a totally redesigned user interface with improved object identification and management - thanks to colour-coded items, intuitive icons and panels, desktop grid, and docking Editor Panel.

Three different operating modes are provided: Setup, Edit, and Live; these can be chosen depending on whether systems are to be set up for the first time, units are to be edited individually, or operated under live conditions; and on the operations to be performed on the loudspeaker system.

The interface allows different choices of information

USA - Electro-Voice is kicking off its 90th birthday year with a Loud & Clear pledge to portable speaker customers at the upcoming NAMM show in Anaheim, California:

Under the Loud & Clear banner, EV's new NAMM booth will serve as a live performance venue to showcase talent playing through EV's best-selling family of portable loudspeakers and new ND Series microphones.

Nine different artists spanning a broad scope of genres will perform through various system setups at the booth over the course of the four-day show, including ZLX, ELX, EKX and ETX models, so visitors can hear EV sound quality for themselves. Multiple product experience areas will give guests a chance to compare and contrast the various features each series offers to suit a range of portable applications and budgets.

EV is also launching the new #EVsound social media campaign at the show -

USA - The Georgia World Congress Centre in downtown Atlanta is the site for the semi-annual Bronner Brothers International Beauty Show, a three-day professional beauty industry event that is the largest multicultural/multi-textural tradeshow in the United States.

More than 30,000 beauty professionals were in attendance for education, workshops and entertainment. The show culminated with the televised, legendary hair battle on the main stage.

Locally based AEE Productions provided an Eastern Acoustic Works (EAW) KF line array sound reinforcement system that was the driving force behind the show's entertainment and fashion events, including the televised competition.

"We were on site for full production except for the broadcast trucks," explains Tracy Towne, production manager for AEE. "We designed and set up the EAW system to ensure the audience received the full impact

France - French artist Jeanne Added has found the perfect complement for her powerful, harmonic voice - a DPA d:facto Vocal Microphone that allows her to convey emotion without changing the timbre of her singing. Jeanne, who last year released her debut solo album Be Sensational, was introduced to the d:facto by her sound engineer, Gilles Olivesi.

"I was looking for a very flat microphone that wouldn't try to enhance anything in her voice," Olivesi explains. "French engineer Malik Malki told me about the d:facto, so we tried it with Jeanne in the studio and compared it to a number of other vocal mics. We all agreed that it was the right one because it keeps her voice sounding natural. It also works for the FOH mix and the monitors - in my opinion vocalists sing better when they can hear themselves clearly without stretching the monitor's EQ."

Jeanne's tour is also a

Europe - Heralding the New Year 2017, ALC NetworX has announced that German telephone hybrids, audio codecs specialist AVT Audio Video Technologies has joined the RAVENNA community to contribute their expertise and provide yet another building block in the ever-growing landscape of RAVENNA/AES67-enabled products.

AVT are experts in the field of telephone hybrids or talk show systems, which are technologies that convert an incoming phone call into an audio signal that is suitable for a studio environment. Naturally, Voice-over-IP technology is playing an increasingly important part in this crucial domain. Another field of expertise for AVT concerns audio codecs that are needed for high quality audio transmissions over different networks. Once again, the transmission standard is now AoIP rather than ISDN or 2-Mbit/s that were used in the past. It is therefore a logical step for

Finland - Organized for the first time this year, Slush Music took place in the Finnish capital of Helsinki. Its aim was to enhance the dialogue between tech entrepreneurs and music, with its exciting setting being an additional draw. Part of this event's offering was its Silent Disco, where Sennheiser's MobileConnect technology provided a very personal experience.

Held on 30 November and 1 December, Slush Music is the music and tech exclusive vertical of Slush, which started in 2015 and has been described as 'Burning Man meets TED'. It gathered 1,500 industry professionals, including over 80 speakers, for an exchange of thoughts about exceptional ways to push music forward with technology.

The intense agenda of Slush Music featured topics including global music consumption, the revenue distribution of streaming and the revolutionary aspect of using blockchain technologies

Ireland - Award-winning Irish singer-songwriter Gavin James has played one of the biggest shows of his young life, at the 3 Arena in Dublin. It was also one of the biggest indoor shows of the year for Irish rental company Sound Design, using its new Nexo STM Series modular line array systems for the first time on an arena-sized live music event.

This was in fact the first deployment of Sound Design's newly-purchased STM system with M28 omnipurpose cabinets, purchased after a successful pilot event in Croke Park stadium, a multimedia spectacular for the 1916/2016 commemoration, and the RTE Centenary show in the Bord Gais Energy Theatre, Dublin.

With 12,000 people attending Dublin's 3 Arena, high production values were in place for the Gavin James show. At FOH was well-known live sound engineer Marc Carolan, supported by Eddie O'Brien, one of his regular techs who is also sy

UK - Solid State Logic has announced three key new appointments to its product management team as part of its strategy to accelerate the development of new products and updates for current ones.

John Hourihane is the new director of product management for SSL and becomes part of the senior management team. He has extensive experience in product management with Harman Professional, Gibson Brands, Stanton Group, and iZotope. Hourihane will oversee product management for all three of SSL's primary markets - studio, broadcast, and live.

Richard Ferriday joins SSL as product manager, live. Previously with LMC, Midas Klark Teknik, and Cadac, Ferriday is well known as an innovator in live sound technology and will continue to develop SSL's growing Live product range. Ferriday teams up with Nathan Hernando who, as business development manager, has done much to develop SSL's Live b

USA - MUSIC has implemented the first of its many plans to win the installed sound market. The company has appointed Jason Bethune as director of business development USA, and Stephan Grawe to the position of director of business development EMEA.

Bethune and Grawe will work directly with Van Williamson, who was most recently appointed as MUSIC's VP of installed sound. Together they will be working with business partners to ensure MUSIC are as customer centric as possible.

"I love MUSIC's obsession for customer experience, innovation and dedication to make a difference! We are laying the foundations for MUSIC to develop the most outstanding product solutions by involving users at every stage of product development, "comments Bethune

Grawe adds: "As well as our focus on customer engagement we will be strengthening MUSIC's market expansion and to do this we will continue

UK - The Tourflex Cabling brand will be showcasing its bespoke cable assembly service for the professional entertainment industry at PLASA Focus Glasgow 2017, SECC, Glasgow, UK, stand A7, this week.

Knowing how critical cables and connections are to the entertainment sector, Tourflex Cabling prides itself on providing the best connections, for a faultless performance.

Although recently re-branded, the service has over 40 years of experience and has earnt an enviable reputation for quality, reliability and a very fast delivery turnaround, as it understands when 'the show must go on' - often turning around emergency orders in 24 hours, including during weekends.

Last year alone, Tourflex Cabling made over 100,000 cable assemblies, including more than half a million metres of exceptional quality cabling. It holds a vast level of stock and choice of raw cables & connectors

Canada - Allen & Heath's dLive S Class and ME mixing systems have been installed in Southview Alliance Church, in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, as part of a major audio refit.

The new, combined FOH and monitor system was designed, supplied and installed by Sapphire Sound, which specified a dLive S5000 Surface with a DM48 MixRack for FOH, and a ME personal monitoring system for the musicians on stage, starting with the drummer in the initial roll out.

"dLive has many advantages," explains Ben Burrell at Sapphire Sound. "The high channel count and number of output busses was a major factor for this project. On top of that, the seamless integration with the ME-1 system, plus the dLive OneMix and MixPad apps for remote control, made the system particularly attractive.

"Additionally, the ease of use for volunteers was a big selling feature. Finally, the number of network expans

USA - Point Source Audio (PSA) an audio equipment manufacturer specializing in the development of miniature microphones and headsets has completed its move into a new corporate headquarters in Petaluma, California. The new office will be just a mile away from the previous location, but is 50 percent larger and offers a more efficient layout to support the company's administrative and operational functions as well as product development, sales and marketing, and assembly staff.

The move comes as a result of the company's "phenomenal growth" attributed to the adoption of its miniature performance microphones and audio headsets. In 2016, the company celebrated its 10th year in business and also received a granted patent for design of the world's first modular in-ear audio headset known as the CM-i3.

It currently has another innovation, the customizable fitted Embrace Micropho

Bosnia & Herzegovina - If you look closely, you'll see one of each of Audient's 8-channel mic preamps ASP800 and ASP880 on YouTube videos from Jam With Friends, a weekly music session recorded live, set up by four skilled friends in Bosnia & Herzegovina and broadcast on YouTube.

"We are basically group of volunteers who've got together with the desire to discover all the music genres, sub-genres and subcultures wandering through the city of Mostar," says Gabrijel Prusina, one of the founding four, and owner of Studio Groove, which provided the gear for the recordings.

"I was recommended Audient's ASP880 some time ago as I needed more channels. So I read up about it, then watched a lot of reviews and blind shootouts against much more expensive preamps, and I bought one," Prusina explains. "One day I compared it with my existing preamp - and the ASP880 sounded way bet

Tajikistan - Located in Dushanbe, the capital and largest city in Tajikistan, the newly built Loft nightclub opened its doors for visitors at the end of 2016. Modern technology and a friendly vibe have combined to create an attractive space for local and international artists, musicians and DJs.

The owners' desire to create the best nightclub in the city - in terms of sound and lighting - led to Moscow-based design and system integration company, Muztorg.PRO, being awarded the contract. It had been the success of the luxurious Versal Club, also located in Dushanbe and equipped with Martin Audio systems, that had made such a positive impression on the future LOFT owners - and so the choice of a Martin Audio loudspeaker system for the new venue became obvious.

The main speaker system includes five Martin Audio W8LM Mini Line Array elements, plus a W8LMD Downfill on each side

Europe - In early 2016, Status Quo announced their final electric tour, the appropriately-named Last Night of The Electrics, for which London-based Capital Sound deployed their Outline GTO C-12 rig. Long-standing FOH engineer Andy May agreed to use the system following a recommendation from Dave Roden (who used it for The Stereophonics during the summer) and has subsequently taken to it.

"The Status Quo 'sound' is so well-known that nearly anyone with a passing interest in music from 60's / 70's / 80's will recognise a Quo song, even if they don't know the title. The band are very 'brand aware' and play the card well. I try to mix the show the way I would want to hear it, nice and punchy with lots of vocals so the crowd can sing along.

"The GTO C-12 has easily accomplished that task. The system sounds even across the whole spectrum and didn't seem to shift its tonal balanc

Final Curtain - The curtain is coming down on the most celebrated circus in the US, the Greatest Show on Earth, run by Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey. After 146 years in the business, the owners said declining tickets sales and high operating costs were to blame. Activists who campaigned for decades against the travelling circus's animal acts welcomed the news.

"After much evaluation and deliberation, my family and I have made the difficult business decision that Ringling Bros and Barnum & Bailey will hold its final performances in May," said a statement from Kenneth Feld, CEO of Feld Entertainment, the family business which has run the circus since the late 1960s.

Sep Outside Love - A life-size bronze statue of Cilla Black has been unveiled outside Liverpool's Cavern Club as the venue celebrates its 60th anniversary. The club, credited with launching

The Netherlands - ISE 2017 sees Alcons Audio returns to its 'home show' both as an official ISE Technology Partner and with an expanded Alcons Pro-Ribbon Immersive Experience.

The Pro-Ribbon Immersive Experience was one of the highlights of ISE 2016 and returns this year in expanded form, having also enjoyed critical acclaim at the CEDIA home technology exhibition in Dallas last year. Taking place in an acoustically-optimised demo room on Alcons stand 6H148 in Hall 6, the company will be demonstrating systems for both the residential/home theatre and professional installation markets.

The residential/home theatre demos are taking place in co-operation with Barco, DreamScreen and Trinnov. This kind of co-operation between manufacturers shows visitors the very best home theatre experience, combining exceptionally detailed, HiFi sound at concert SPLs with high impact, high re

The Netherlands - Pliant Technologies, the new professional products division of CoachComm, is exhibiting its innovative professional wireless intercom product, CrewCom, at Integrated Systems Europe 2017 (ISE, Booth 7-E223). The CrewCom wireless intercom system marks the first product launched by Pliant since the Professional Division was announced last year.

CrewCom is based on a new technology platform that offers the industry's highest user density, unparalleled range and scalability. The product features excellent voice quality, the industry's smallest fully-featured professional full-duplex wireless radio packs, multiple simultaneous frequency bands, as well as a host of user features, says the company. With CrewCom, production crews large or small can now easily and quickly deploy communications solutions to connect more people in more places than ever before.

"Since

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