USA - NYC based RF Pro has recently supplied Trantec's internationally award winning S6000 radio mic system to NY based theatre sound rental specialists Sound Associates. Specified by sound designer Tom Morse, the system has been deployed as the lead wireless system on Good Vibrations - the new Beach Boy musical staged at the Eugene O'Neill Theater in the heart of Broadway.

Tom Bensen of RF Pro commented: "The S6000 performed superbly on the show. Its exceptional bandwith and frequency agility was invaluable in an extremely RF hostile environment, which is a constant problem for Broadway shows. Trantec is synonymous with innovation and quality and we're looking forward to supplying the S6000 system complete with its new hand-held mic on many upcoming Broadway productions."

The system provides an alternative across a number of sound production levels, its two U

Spain - Perhaps one of the most popular and colourful carnivals in the world, as well as Spain's oldest is the Tenerife Carnivals held in Santa Cruz de Tenerife. Such is the diversity of the people who attend the carnival that it has been declared an International Tourist Interest event. This year, the Santa Cruz de Tenerife carnival's main theme was "The Great Comedy" inspired by famous Broadway musicals and D.A.S. Aero line array systems provided sound reinforcement for the event.

The Plaza de España hosted the stage that has seen 27 years of murga (a traditional carnival song) contests, dance groups, live concerts and the crowning of the Great Queen of the Santa Cruz de Tenerife Carnival. This year's gala event was broadcast live by RTVE (Spanish National Television) to over 30 million spectators worldwide. The stage, reinforced with D.A.S. Audio's Aero 48 and Aero

Canada - Interalia, a leader in the design and manufacture of call processing and voice announcement solutions, has launched what it calls "one of the world's most advanced promotional on-hold music/message announcement systems". Called iProMOH, the new system overcomes all of the problems associated with traditional systems and provides a much greater level of power, flexibility and choice than the simple devices integrated with new telephone switches, say the company. The iProMOH utilises IP technology to remotely renew messages and schedules by "calling home" for updates.

Unlike CD or tape players, there are no moving parts and it does not require media to be sent out when the unit needs updating. A whole network of systems can be updated from one server and set to play the production at a predetermined time. Providing two solutions in one, the iProMOH is

Czech Republic - Corporate audio specialists, Audio Alliance, recently provided an extensive sound and communication system for the sales conference for Roche UK, set in Prague. Roche, a leading research-based healthcare company, has been established for over 100 years and is headquartered in Basel, Switzerland.

Audio Alliance has worked with the UK business on several occasions, and was invited back to supply its services to production manager, Peter Woods and production company CCL-Live, the companies responsible for staging this week long conference.

Nearly 700 delegates were hosted at Prague's Hilton Hotel. The conference operated in and around 10 rooms, comprising a main auditorium and nine breakout facilities. Audio Alliance supplied specific systems for each location. Peter Woods, the event's production manager, says: "I chose Audio Alliance because of their renow

Germany - t&m Systems will unveil the new FG Series of loudspeaker enclosures at ProLight&Sound in Frankfurt next month. Following the exhibition, the range will be available in the UK through the German company's exclusive UK distributor, Fuzion plc.

The full range includes the FG61 (6" + 1"), FG81 (8" + 1"), the FG101 (10" + 1"), the FG122 (12" + 1.5") and the FG152 (15" + 1.5"): all are compact 2-way loudspeakers in trapezoidal enclosures. For the low end are the FG112S (single 12"), the FG115S (single 15") and the FG118S (single 18") subwoofers.

(Lee Baldock)

Italy / USA - At the end of December 2004, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) granted a design patent (US D500,306 S) to Italian pro audio manufacturer Outline, for the design of its Butterfly line array (hi-pack C.D.H. 483 element). The patent's priority is dated 9 July 2002.

Outlien has told us: "This acknowledgment, granted after a lengthy period of examination by the US Patent Office, gives Butterfly a great added value and, following the International WIPO patent, is further confirmation of the originality of the Butterfly's design, relegating the numerous variations that have appeared at international level to the role of mere imitations."

The following is a list of patents and numerous applications for patents (some still at the approval stage) regarding the overall Butterfly system: U.S. - D 500,306 S (Butterfly Design) - Granted; Ital

Bolivia - "Festimusic", the music event which premiered in Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia, held live concerts for two days at the Santa Cruz Royal Stadium. Friday's headliner was Paulina Rubio, the "Golden Girl", who shined on stage, while Saturday's main event was Café Tacuva's live show. About 4,500 people attended the event each day to enjoy the first ever musical festival organized by "Paceña" the country's most popular brewing company, with sound reinforcement provided by D.A.S. Audio's Aero line array system.

Sonilum, the Santa Cruz based sound reinforcement company, was in charge of all the technical details and audiovisual setup under the direction of Abelardo Suarez. As with the recent Chayanne concerts held in Bolivia, the area technicians were Juan and Paulino Montaño for stage and structures, Carlos and Walter Paichucama for audio

UK - It's been a case of in with the new at Scottish lighting specialist black light, with two new faces on the team. Hire manager Alan Jackson has decided to return to his native England, so managing director Gavin Stewart has taken the opportunity to reorganize the company's hire department.

Richard Hogg was already doing a fine job running the day-to-day business of the department and Seonaid "Shonny" Aitkenhead has now joined him, having worked with black light as a freelancer at the end of 2004.

This has allowed Jackson's successor to fulfil an expanded role. Phil Haldane has now joined the black light team as events manager to actively develop the company's specialist events work.

"We are seeing our events business develop with an increasing amount of themed weddings, presentations and corporate projects running alongside events like the Edinburgh Fringe

Germany - Electro-Voice is introducing the latest member of its line-array family: the X-Line Very Compact, which comes in two variations for different applications: the ultra-compact 1 x 8" XLE and the somewhat larger and more powerful 2 x 8" XLD. Each of the two full-range line-array elements contains two ND2S compression drivers for maximum high-frequency headroom and each can be complemented by the matching XS212 bass cabinet for low frequency extension.

With the X-Line Very Compact, EV is setting new standards in terms of the precision of its coverage and dynamic headroom. The XLD281 combines a three-way design with CCT (Coverage Control Technology) to control the horizontal coverage to 250 Hz. It contains an 8" neodymium LF transducer, an 8" neodymium LF/MB transducer and two ND2S neodymium 2" voice coil compression drivers combined through two Hyd

France - VTG Holdings is exploring digital snake technology with EtherSound. "We know that digital distribution is the 'next big thing' in professional audio," says VTG executive vice president, sales and marketing Darius Seabaugh. "VTG intends to be a leader in this trend and we've decided EtherSound is the platform we need to build the next generation of products for concert touring sound companies, video and sound contractors, recording studios, audiophiles and musicians."

In keeping with VTG's Custom Shop approach to guitar cables, XLR-balanced microphone cables and snakes, direct boxes, splitters, speaker wire, audio transformers, connectors and bulk wire, VTG will display a 16-channel rack mount device using D-sub connectors on the rear for analog audio and RJ-45 connectors on the front for the Ethernet-compliant EtherSound network. "This is a prot

UK - The world's first amateur production of the musical The Hunting of the Snark was staged at the open-air Minack Theatre in Cornwall, with sound control from three Allen & Heath mixers.

Originally produced and performed in London's West End in 1991, The Hunting of the Snark is Mike Batt's adaptation of Lewis Carroll's 'nonsense' poem about a voyage in search of a mythical creature. Batt, who flew down to watch the first night at the Minack, had declined all previous requests to stage the production until Croydon-based amateur performers, The Mitre Players, approached him in 2004.

"Apart from Batt's original elaborate production, there was no formula to follow, just a script, a score, a few production stills, and a poor quality audio 'bootleg'," comments the Mitre Players' drummer, Richard Wear. "The original show featured a full, on-stage 50-pi

France - The organizers of France's annual domestic entertainment technology exhibition again announced an impressive 25,000+ visitors to the event this year. This is certainly a well-attended event, with a good steady buzz around Hall 5 where the majority of the lighting, sound and staging exhibitors were, but many visitors seemed to be crammed into the 'Siel Nuit' hall downstairs, which catered for late night entertainment - more of a crowd puller than LEDs and line arrays.

Upstairs, there was entertainment technology aplenty, with the hall dominated by a number of the country's leading distributors. Impact is one of the major presences, representing brands such as Prolyte, EAW, MA Lighting (reporting continued strong business), Robe Show Lighting, a wide range of LED lighting effects from Pulsar and Color Kinetics, DMX tools from ELC Lighting, the Pandora's Box media server f

UK - John Houldcroft has had a distinguished career in the Public Address industry, having worked as chief engineer for Eagle International, and with engineering positions with Millbank Electronics and Federal Signal. A specialist in amplifier and PA loudspeaker design, John has expertise in the field of voice evacuation and it is this regard that he and ADSworldwide have come together.

John will be heading up the engineering team and will be responsible for R & D engineering quality control as well as customer services in terms of maintenance. ADSworldwide has enjoyed ISO9001 and Investor in People status for the last 12 years continuously, but according to company chairman David Hopkins OBE, a company is only as good as the level of service that it offers. John Houldcroft will strengthen the team considerably, bringing in-house a level of expertise that few companies in the in

France - Lab X Technologies recently announced a new ESX Ethersound I/O Module The new module is mechanically compatible with CobraNet CM1 and CM2 modules and therefore offers an easy upgrade path to EtherSound network technology.

The ESX uses an advanced FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array) that provides increased input/output channels, GPIO (General Purpose Input Output) control functions and signal processing capabilities. This "soft core" architecture allows each implementation to be tailored for a particular product, and lowers parts costs by enabling the ESX module to perform product-specific functions.

The ESX is based on a Xilinx Spartan(TM) 3 FPGA. In addition to its EtherSound duties, the Spartan 3 has an embedded microcontroller. The chip can be programmed via firmware to perform EQ, mixing and other audio processing. It provides scalable input/output sche

UK - Orbital Sales has been appointed as an official UK dealer for the internationally acclaimed 'Stage Research' show control software. With over a decade's experience Orbital was selected by SFX as a specialist in its field. The company's in-house technical support team provides the know how and ability to offer 24/7 system support, in line with SFX's rigorous standards.

SFX offers a contemporary alternative to traditional playback equipment. It boasts automated facilities that increase control, enhance operations and maximize creative potential. It enables the creation of a rich landscape of sound, thus making shows and installations more interactive and realistic. It promotes cohesive sound design, whilst simplifying FX operation.

Developed from the ground up by a team of theatre specialists, it gives total control over sound and playback. Based around its Cue List and GO

France - Proving that some people will go to any lengths to procure their mixing console of choice, French sound, lighting and video company ETF-Procon recently hired a JCB to install a Midas Heritage 2000 at front of house for the Festival International des Pyrénées, Olorons Ste Marie, France.

The concerts during the festival took place at various outdoor venues, including the town square, where the front of house position was in a control room constructed above the performance area. As 800 temporary seats for the public had already been installed in the town square, access for the 56-channel console into the control room was restricted. Heads were put together, and it was decided that the easiest way of delivering the console was through the rear window of the control room.

The remainder of the equipment, which included a Midas XL250 for monitors, was delivered to the squa

France / Switzerland - Digigram, the creator of innovative digital audio network solutions, has announced the appointment of Decibel S.A., of Vevey, as its new Swiss distributor. Digigram says that Decibel will guarantee sales, consulting, and support for Digigram's networked audio devices including EtherSound products, Hitplayer, NCX, and audio management software, in the Installed sound and Sound reinforcement markets. The company adds that J & C Intersonic remains the Swiss Digigram distributor for sound cards.

Decibel director Jean-Pascal Ruch is thrilled to include Digigram products in his portfolio: "Especially Digigram's EtherSound line is unique in the market place. We already had the opportunity to use it at the Convention Center Montreux, and business benefits and customer satisfaction were simply amazing. Digital audio distribution is here to stay and we believe

Australia - Only the second time it has taken place outside Edinburgh in its 55-year history, a landmark production of the Edinburgh Military Tattoo was recently staged in Sydney's Aussie Stadium with a cast of over 1,200 performers. Playing to an audience of more than 160,000 people over five days, sound reinforcement for the spectacular show featured the TiMax audio imaging system, specified by Tattoo sound consultant John Del'Nero.

In contrast to the Edinburgh event, where for several years John Del'Nero has used TiMax to subtly move amplified content alongside the natural acoustic output from the bands, the sheer scale of the Aussie Stadium required a different approach. Fully amplified moving audio images were created to track the various marching bands as they traversed the length and breadth of the massive stadium in front of a life-size replica of the famous Edinburgh C

UK / Germany - Tannoy will show a number of new products at the Frankfurt ProLight&Sound exhibition next month, throughout its diverse commercial loudspeaker and studio monitor ranges. Commercial installation products can be found in Hall 8.0 stand C22 whilst their studio range will be exhibited in Hall 5.1 stand B43 / 53.

One of the major highlights will be a preview of an active version of Tannoy's V Series range of installation loudspeakers. The new V Net Series incorporates a networkable embedded amplifier system providing a complete installation solution by combining high performance signal processing, amplification, networked control and telemetry. Installers will be able to use customized PC interfaced software to configure a number of V series cabinets connected on an RS485 cable network.

Also showing will be Tannoy's high power loudspeaker solution for live or fixed

Northern Ireland - Light & Sound FX of Coleraine, Northern Ireland, kicked off the usual busy start to the year by attending and promoting KV2 Audio at the Christian Resources Exhibition at the Kings Hall, Belfast. Having successfully completed several denomination church refits as well as two complete rebuilds last year, expectations were high of the exhibition.

Darren Gardiner, owner of L&SFX reported a clutch of new leads and at least two more new build projects as well as numerous new contacts. Light & Sound FX has been the sole Northern Ireland agent and supplier of KV2 Audio since its introduction to the market place two years ago. The company has fulfilled a diverse range of applications so far, including night clubs, civic centres and sports halls, as well as ongoing projects to include a city centre Cathedral, one new build Presbyterian church, a Town Hall refit and cit

UK - One of the UK's leading loudspeaker system manufacturers, Logic System Pro Audio, has completed a move into a new 10,000sq.ft, purpose-built manufacturing facility in Gainsborough, Lincolnshire. The move was prompted by recent orders placed by UK customers and several large orders from the company's new overseas distributors.

Sue Ellis, operations director, commented: "Large orders from the likes of Electro-Systems in Singapore meant that we were working 24-hour shifts before Christmas and it became obvious that we needed to move into new premises such that we can meet customer's expectations more readily in the future."

The new facility incorporates all manufacturing processes, from CAD drawing through to new CNC manufacturing, R&D facility and office space for administration. Managing director Chris Scott commented: "All our cabinet manufacturing is in-

USA - Loud Technologies announced today the appointment of Colin Evan Quek to the position of South East Asia sales director. Quek brings to Loud an extensive background in the MI and professional audio industries.

Schooled at the SAE Institute of Technology, Quek has managed operations, sales, and marketing, for Roadie Communications, NVM multimedia, Casio MI, Celviano Music, and Trektech, representing brands such as Behringer, Sonex, Blue Mics, Chauvet and Layered Sound Technology.

As Loud's new South East Asia sales director, Quek will be the primary contact for all Loud Technologies-related sales business in Singapore. This includes expanding the South East Asia distribution network, as well as managing all regional marketing efforts, and facilitating greater communication with Loud Technologies' worldwide headquarters, in Woodinville, Wash., USA.

"Colin will be an

UK - Equipped with Sennheiser mics and in-ear monitoring (IEM) throughout, Keane finished a full UK tour in late 2004, before flying on to concerts in San Francisco, Vancouver, Osaka, Tokyo and Nagoya throughout December. The band then completed 17 US dates during January and February this year, and a European tour followed in March.

FOH engineer Iain Slater and monitor engineer, Alistair Artingstall, are both enthusiastic about the performance of the Sennheiser products. Iain commented on the mic setup: "We are using e935s on main and backing vocals, for Tom and Tim, and they are working out very well. They're extremely smooth with a nice presence at the top end and they also have good feedback rejection. e604s are used on the toms and they do an excellent job as well as being discreet and durable. We've got e614s, which are good sturdy condensers, on overheads and hats a

UK - Paul Weller commenced life on the road as a solo artist in 1991; 14 years later Canegreen are still supplying the PA system to his current tour. Weller's most recent album, Studio 150, contains 12 cover versions performed with his own unique twist. In his current live show these numbers joined a set that spanned his career back to his early days in the Jam. The relationship between Canegreen and Paul Weller also goes back to those early years, when Canegreen used to store The Paul Weller's own PA and supplement equipment when needed.

10 years ago Canegreen supplied Paul Weller one of the first Meyer MSL4 PA's in the UK. On the current tour (rescheduled due to Paul having a throat infection in 2004) Canegreen are still supplying state of the art equipment, as MD Yan Stile explained: "We have a very strong relationship with Paul and his management team, so we are especi

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