Sound

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Accessibility is high on the agenda for the Oxford-based Creation Theatre Company. Its aim is to encourage people who’d not normally set foot in a theatre, to participate in and enjoy their innovative work.

The company doesn’t dumb down Shakespeare in an attempt to make it popular or trivial, rather it reworks his canny psychological takes on human behaviour and intense storylines into a relevant and contemporary context. To add further appeal, the company also chooses to perform in non-conventional spaces.

Since 1996, Creation has performed its summer season in the grounds of Magdalen College School, Oxford. The stage area backs onto the natural fork between two arteries of the River Cherwell, and this constantly in-motion backdrop can include anything from screeching wildfowl to walkers, cyclists and inebriated students on evening punting trips! Creation’s first

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The MOBO (Music of Black Origin) Awards is the fastest-rising star of the international music awards circuit. In just four years the event has grown from its niche origins, through last year’s production at Alexandra Palace, to the London Arena in 2001. The star-studded event included performances from R. Kelly, Mis-Teeq and Usher, plus Beverly Knight and the legendary Dionne Warwick, amongst others.

Production managing the event was Mick Kluczynski of MJK Productions. "It was definitely the best MOBO Awards ever - the show has finally grown up, and I really enjoy working with the team. This year we had a new director, Nicky Parsons, and new producer, Lisa Chapman, with a 3,500 live audience. In spite of the events in America, we managed to retain most of the artists - only Luther Vandross pulled out."

Sound contractor Britannia Row decided to take the unusual step of

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Industry software provider Stardraw has announced the appointment of Link srl as Premier Partner in Italy. The agreement was struck at the IBTS 2001 show in Milan and took effect from October 8th. David Morrison, sales manager for Stardraw explains: "We were particularly happy to build a relationship with Link because their profile and positioning is ideal for the current range of Stardraw products. As a leading Italian supplier of cable, connectors and connection solutions they have all the right contacts in audio, AV and lighting. Everybody in systems integration needs the 'glue' that Link supplies, and everybody in systems integration needs Stardraw. It's a perfect fit."

Link's managing director Assunta Fratocchi adds: "Link has built its reputation by observing and driving the technological evolution of equipment used for system interconnection. We are now implementi

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ARX Systems, the Australia-based manufacturer of pro audio products announces the release of the new ARX Product CD-ROM V5, the total resource centre for all things ARX. Completely revised and updated the V5 CD includes new products such as the SPL8, SPL20 and SPL 28 powered loudspeakers, 8 Pre mic preamp, ZAT multi-channel transformer packs, updated application notes and much more.

To obtain a copy you can either register online at the ARX website below.

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Newbury Racecourse has had a sophisticated new public address system, involving 6km of cable, installed into its new Tattersalls Grandstand by Racecourse Technical Services Ltd (RaceTech). Owned by the Racecourse Association, RaceTech is responsible for upgrading and maintaining the public address systems throughout all the UK's racecourses. They are also responsible for the starting stalls, photo-finish, and with a five-camera television unit roaming the course, providing pictures to the race stewards to ensure race integrity and produce the on course television programme. On the 28 race days that take place each year at Newbury, signals are sent to TVs dispersed around the course, while a RaceTech PA engineer feeds commentary and information announcements from a broadcast PA office in the Weighing Room.

Newbury's three-storey Grandstand - designed by Foster & Partners and built at a

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TSC Music recently completed an extensive audio-visual installation for Dragons Health Clubs Plc at their newly opened Milton Keynes venue. As a leading supplier of business music solutions, TSC is proud to have built up a professional working partnership with Dragons to supply all their new and existing clubs with music and audio-visual systems. At Dragons Milton Keynes, TSC installed their latest state-of-the-art Hard Disc music management system to run 'Dragons FM' bespoke simulated radio service, incorporating a maximum of up to 10,000 purposely selected tracks as well as audio commercials and messages. In addition, TSC also installed an eight-hour CDi music system and audio-visual system in the gymnasium together with an audio communication system in the aerobics studio. TSC offers a complete design and installation service covering the whole of the UK with an extensive portfolio of

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A multi-purpose arts centre in Leamington Spa entered the latest phase of its redevelopment this month when new Turbosound trapezoidal Floodlight enclosures were installed by Marquee Audio as part of a high-quality sound specification, jointly designed by the Shepperton suppliers and the venue's technical manager, Chris Whalley. Flown as a three-wide centre stage cluster under six Turbosound TFL-118 (1 x 18") bass bins, the unusual configuration at the Royal Spa Centre in a confined space meant that Turbosound's Danny Cooklin, working with Marquee Audio's Scott Wakelin, had to design special flying hardware. Cooklin explained: "There wasn’t really sufficient height above the cluster for the bins so we had to create a lot of angle to enable us to array them properly."

The two sets of bins sit either side of the flybar which supports the central three trapezoidals bo

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The Ministry of Sound has unveiled the only DTS Digital Surround DJ station and multi-channel sound system in the world. The booth - relocated to the far end of the main room - is the first to incorporate eight decks, along with seven sound mixers and seven other input sources in a DTS Surround Sound environment. ProMedia Systems were called in to specify the system, working closely with the venue’s technical consultant, Keith Hardy.MoS selected a Martin Audio Blackline monitoring system to meet the high-system specification of its newly-commissioned DTS 5.1 Digital Surround DJ station and multi-channel sound system - the first in the world. Aware that other superclubs had adopted the Blackline F12 for their house booths, the Ministry of Sound decided to go one better, and on the recommendation of ProMedia’s Matt Bate, Hardy asked to demo a pair of Blackline F15s at the club

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Yates Group is striving to give a more contemporary feel to its traditional Wine Lodges, using the latest technology to add a younger, metropolitan concept to its brand portfolio. The new-look venues will give higher priority to dynamic music and lighting, as demonstrated by the most recent conversion - in Peterborough’s trendy leisure strip, The Broadway.

The Yates Group has a long association with Martin Audio loudspeakers, and the company’s technical manager Les Farmer, had no hesitation in returning to their catalogue to create even coverage across the new 525-capacity, 3000sq.ft bar. The requirement from the designers, Mason Wood Architects, was for discrete lighting and sound reinforcement. Thus four recessed white C516 ceiling speakers, with their own volume control, have been concealed in the far corner chill-out area of the four-zone venue, to complement the eight

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French PA System manufacturer L-Acoustics has announced the appointment of several new distributors. Representing the company in the territories of Belgium and Luxembourg is ASC, one of the leading multi-brand pro audio distributors in the region, involved in the sale of high quality products as well as complete audio systems since 1978. ASC also designs and services turnkey systems for the pro-audio industry as well as leisure facilities such as theatres, entertainment centres and multi-purpose venues, interior and exterior paging systems for public areas, broadcast radio and TV studios and music recording and AV studios.

On the other side of the world, Random Audio has been appointed as the Australia and New Zealand distributor for L-Acoustics. Random Audio was established in the late 1980s to service a growing demand for consultative services to the Australian professional audio ind

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Soundcraft has announced the appointment of Ian Staddon as product development director - a newly created role at the head of a team of experienced product managers. Staddon assumes responsibility for Soundcraft's strategic product development activities, including market research, new product definition and specification, project management and new product introductions.

Staddon has been with Soundcraft for more than 10 years, working in purchasing, project management, production and sales, where his most recent role has been as regional sales manager for Asia and South America. He has been in the audio industry for over 16 years, having started at Bandive where he became production manager for the last SECK range of mixers.

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DPA Microphones has released its next-generation model of waterproof microphones - the Type 8011 - which, according to the company, is the only high-quality phantom-powered hydrophone in the world.

The 8011 is the only 48V phantom powered waterproof microphone specially designed to handle the high sound pressure levels and the high static ambient pressure in water and other fluids. With a full bandwidth of 100Hz-20kHz, the 8011 hydrophone uses a piezoelectric crystal sensing element which is enclosed in a capsule so that it can withstand high pressure encountered at depths of up to 50m without being damaged or suffering changes in its performance characteristics. The sensing element gives the hydrophone a dynamic range of more than 100dB, so that even large fluctuations in the SPL emitted from a sound source, or in the distance from the sound source to the hydrophone, will cause no dis

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Soundcraft and BSS Audio have announced the creation of a new centralised communications strategy, under the direction of Dave Neal. He assumes the new position of marketing and communications manager at the two companies' Hertfordshire HQ, and heads a team which sees Elizabeth Gates and Paul Bass respectively focusing on the Soundcraft and BSS Audio brands.

The new department, which carries a wealth of experience, will take responsibility for all communications functions, including PR, advertising, brochures and technical publications, website development and exhibitions. Dave Neal aims to introduce a new dynamic to the marketing initiative. "We are constantly looking at new media methods, and will be taking advantage of the new avenues of communication available to us," he stated.

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Out Board Electronics, the manufacturer of sound and power control products, is to go into creditors voluntary liquidation. The Cambridge-based company, founded in 1987, has designed and developed a number of audio control systems, most notably the award-winning TiMax matrix system, together with the SS2 fader automation system, the Octopus automated sound effects console and the QP4 manual quad panner. A shareholders’ meeting will be held on 30 November ar 10.30am when a resolution to wind up the company voluntarily will be proposed and a liquidator appointed.

Directors of the company include managing director Robin Whittaker, operations director John Drake and commercial director David Haydon, who joined the company from BSS Audio in July 2000.

Further information can be obtained from chartered accountants Martin Sklan & Co, telephone +44 (0)20 8455 8248

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Peter Boizot MBE, the man who made his fortune from Pizza Express, has unveiled his opulent new leisure extravaganza - a £15 million restoration of Peterborough’s Odeon cinema, as part of a larger, fully-featured leisure complex.

Architect Tim Foster set about fulfilling Boizot’s dream of recapturing the splendour of traditional cinema in a state-of-the-art modern facility.

Strand luminaires, control and networking components form the lighting backbone in the 1,200-capacity art deco auditorium - specified by Northern Light, who won a competitive tender issued by Theatre Projects Consultants. Northern Light also undertook all the house electrical contracting, working with builder Marriot Construction, while for the specialist lighting they reported directly to Peter Boizot’s company, Mistvalley Ltd over the duration of the 10-month contract. The lighting designer on

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TSC Music has announced a new partnership with Smith and Western Restaurants. TSC recently fitted out Smith and Western’s restaurant at Boxhill, Surrey with a state-of-the-art Hard Disc music management system to select and play the finest in country music to enhance the restaurant’s ambience. TSC will also be providing similar music systems to restaurants at Chichester and Horsham in the near future.

Douglas Scheller, TSC account manager for Smith and Western said: "When Smith & Western met TSC at a recent exhibition they were looking for a music system that was not only more reliable than their existing CD players but one that could virtually run itself. They also required very specialist country and western music to create the correct atmosphere in their authentic American themed restaurants. The perfect solution was our soundserver hard disc player, which is design

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Known for decades as ‘Hollywood’s talent factory,’ the legendary Pasadena Playhouse launched the careers of dozens of notable actors, writers and directors. But in recent years, the Playhouse’s ageing audio system had fallen far short of the venue’s tradition of excellence. To design a new system on rather short notice, Tom Ware, producing director for the Playhouse, called on independent sound designer and audio engineer Rick Boot. Working closely with Lori Burke at Delicate Productions in Camarillo, Boot created a system design based around Martin Audio Wavefront loudspeakers. The main left and right systems each comprise two Martin Wavefront W8C full-range three-way cabinets augmented by a single W8CS bass cabinet. A removable centre cluster utilizes two Martin Wavefront Theatre WT3 three-way systems. Sub-bass comes from a pair of discreetly-placed Martin

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A cast of hundreds, with armies, horses, camels and even an eagle: this was the ‘mega-opera’ spectacular ‘Aida’ staged for a sell-out crowd of 78,000 at the Stade de France in Paris. The huge circular football stadium, home to the last World Cup, is an unusual setting for Verdi’s monumental opera, but Dutch production company Companions Opera took full advantage of the 75m x 120m pitch, presenting a 130-piece choir, the 90-piece Radio France Philharmonic Orchestra, and more than 550 extras.

Louis Buskens was responsible for the choir (from the Sofia Opera House in Bulgaria), who would be moving around as well as singing during the performance. The job of choreography was critical because of the microphone technique: a DPA 4061 miniature mic was mounted on the shoulder of every fourth choir member, for his or her own voice and that of three other singers. S

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BassBox Pro and X.Over Pro are a suite of programs designed to give the constructor a hassle-free method of constructing their own speaker cabinets.

BassBox Pro has a selection of seven cabinet styles with user-customizable parameters including dimensions, driver choice and vented or enclosed styles. A wide variety of drivers are available from including single, dual and three-way cone drivers and flat radiators. The BassBox software is aimed at the home/semi-professional constructor looking to build cabinets for the home hi-fi, small venue or car.

To this end the software has a section depicting typical home and car acoustics to help the constructor choose their design. X.Over Pro is a standalone crossover design program that is quite comprehensive and allows the user to design their own crossovers or modify examples. All parameters are calculated and response graphs updated as va

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Arbiter Group has launched the ProVocal from dbx Professional. The ProVocal is a unique, dedicated and powerful vocal processor, featuring state-of-the-art microphone and preamp modelling, award winning compression and dynamic effects, a 24bit digital effects section and a selectable 44.1 or 48Khz digital output. There are 18 microphone models and 10 microphone pre-amp models. Effects include compressor and de-esser, as well as chorus, flanger, delay parametric EQ and reverb. The ProVocal features a 24-bit, 44.1 or 48kHz digital S/PDIF output and is MIDI controllable.

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Marquee Audio hs supplied a Trantec S5000 8-way radio system - including CTX handheld transmitters, active antenna distribution units (ADUs) and splitters - as part of a communications upgrade at The International Convention Centre in Birmingham. Currently celebrating its 10th anniversary, the ICC is a long-standing customer of Marquee Audio, who in turn are main dealers for the Trantec award-winning UHF diversity systems. The order was placed by the venue's technical facilities manager, Paul Dipple, for use in the main Hall 1 of their 11-hall complex. "We use several radio systems throughout the Centre and we systematically identify products for upgrade," said Dipple. "In this instance price wasn’t an issue - we bought the Trantecs purely on the quality of the product."

Having carried out their own research the ICC arrived at their decision after witnessing t

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SigNET AC Ltd, an electronics manufacturer in Tyne and Wear has been named North East regional winner in the Trade Partners UK National Languages for Export Awards 2001, in the category for small business, sponsored by NCM credit Insurance. The company won the award for noticeably changing its attitude and ways of doing business in a number of export markets.

The company which specializes in the design and manufacture of voice alarm, paging and background music systems, believed that early exporting initiatives were conducted tentatively. Richard Sice, marketing manager said: "In order to be more competitive in international markets we have taken a strategic approach to the use of our human resources and polices. We have taken steps to hire people with native language skills and also to employ UK graduates who have studied a foreign language. In addition, we are taking a fresh loo

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Adam Hall has announced the opening of their new Spanish sales office, based in Barcelona. The company has been targeting the Spanish market for the past two years in preparation for this event and says it is confident, even in the current economic climate, that this is the right way forward. The Spanish sales office contact is Gabriel Medrano Bultel, known as 'G' to his friends and colleagues. Bultel has been with Adam Hall for two years and has become and important member of the team in this time.

Adam Hall can be reached in Spain on tel: +34 93 213 3644.

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In the wake of the recent launch of Midas's latest innovation, the Legend 3000, the Klark Teknik Group hosted a two-day event at their Kidderminster factory for over 30 customers of EVI France in order to introduce them to the new console. The company also took the opportunity to present an in-depth, hands-on demonstration of the Klark Teknik DN9848 loudspeaker processor, as well as give their guests a full factory tour.

Guest enjoyed both presentations and the factory tour with ample opportunities for Q&A sessions in just one afternoon. Delegates were shown a full DVD presentation of the new Legend console in French, and French-speaking staff were on hand throughout in order to minimize communication difficulties. According to EVI France's Cecile Dehlinger: "Events like this where we can really concentrate one-on-one with our customers and offer them the opportunity to meet the m

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  3. PSA Get Together at Vari-Lite
  4. Nady's Competitive UHF Package
  5. A-T On Tour with Roxy
  6. The DJM-3000 Rack Mount Mixer
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