Europe - Digigram, a world leader in PC audio interfaces and innovative networked audio devices, has announced the expansion of its European distribution network through partnerships with Community (UK), Audio Systems (Switzerland), Ivamod (Croatia) and Media Chip (Portugal).

Digigram's business development manager Philippe Onillon says he is pleased to welcome these new partners on board as it takes the company another step forward in its goal of bringing sales, consultancy and support closer to its customers and end users: "Digigram has built its success on a strong track record of partnerships, from OEMs to distributors, and we are committed to continuing to serve our end-users by extending our relationships with carefully selected and highly skilled local partners", said Onillon.

Digigram has already established a global network of best-of-breed technology and di

UK - Greg Oliver has joined RCF as technical sales consultant, tasked with supporting RCF's dealer and distributor network, which will include on-site demonstrations of their larger speaker ranges including Acustica, 4PRO and the newly launched TT+.

Oliver originally worked for RCF and then Mackie, before joining KV2 Audio in 2003. "I thoroughly enjoyed my time with KV2 and I felt I learned a great deal from the team," he says. With KV2's move to new offices in Harrogate, he decided not to relocate.

RCF's Phil Price added: "I am really pleased to have Greg back with RCF. With the introduction of the new pro speaker products at this year's ProLight&Sound, it has become even more important to present them direct to the our clients. Greg will be offering complete loudspeaker system audio demonstrations to our client base by visiting either with on site demos or pre

UK - Thanks to three triple-platinum UK albums, four number one singles, a BRIT Award, a Q Award, a Smash Hits Award and two Elle Style Awards, the Sugababes have already secured their place in British music history. The quality of their music has allowed them a level of success beyond their rivals, a fact proved beyond doubt when they became the first pop group ever to grace the main stage of Glastonbury in 2003.

Promoting their current album Taller in More Ways, the girls have recently completed a successful UK tour using Sennheiser's SKM 935G2 wireless mics supported with Evolution EW300G2 IEMs. The cardioid SKM 935G2 features nine frequency banks each with up to 20 directly accessible presets and Sugababes monitor engineer Chris Trimby states: "The SKM 935 vocal mic has proved to be an excellent choice due to the usual Sennheiser RF reliability, and it also provi

UK - Adlib Audio has placed an initial order for two new Soundcraft Vi6 digital audio consoles, after trying out the desk at rehearsal sessions for the Scissor Sisters in London. Dave Kay of Adlib says the Vi6 is his "board of choice" for their forthcoming US and UK tours.

After just one gig at a student venue (engineered by Adlib's Richy Nicholson), Dave Kay was confident about putting the new console in front of the Scissor Sisters, as they prepared for their summer festival dates. "It's a very stable digital platform, delivering fantastic audio quality," said Kay. "It's the first digital console I've used where the metering and the dynamics behave like an analogue console. The Vi6 uses the same language as an audio engineer, and I feel it's really smoothing out the transition between analogue and digital."

As one would expect from an experience

South Africa - UK cable specialist VDC Trading has supplied a range of high quality cables to South African audio distribution company Surgesound for installation into Sequoais, a new bar that is designed to bring the ultimate "mixology" and dining experience to Johannesburg.

Sequoias (pronounced Se-koi-as), which opened its doors to the public at the end of May, features a bar counter made of solid ice, a spectacular view of the city and a bar and cocktail menu designed by two of the best 'mixologists' and cocktail flairers in the world. Christian Delpech, 15 times world flair champion and World Champion mixologist Toby Ellis, both from Las Vegas, were brought to South Africa specifically to help design the menu and to train Sequoias' barmen in flair, mixology and technical bartending.

Owner of Sequoias, Shelley Chadwick, a South African ex-pat now living in Washing

UK - The Central School of Speech and Drama is one of the pre-eminent Drama schools in the UK, and has built an international reputation for "total" theatre training - working closely with the theatre and performing arts industries to provide both traditional and up-to-the-minute knowledge and skills across the wide range of disciplines necessary to create live performance.

Central offers degree-level training in all aspects of theatre production, management and design, and is the only UK-based institution that offers a full-time degree course specifically in Theatre Sound Design as a separate design discipline. Sound Design is one of the most rapidly developing of the specialist theatre disciplines and digital technology has dramatically increased the practical potential for the creation and realisation of sonic environments as part of the dramatic narrative.

The Sc

Germany - Meyer Sound has announced the appointment of Jim Sides to the position of managing director of the company's office in Polch, Germany. Sides has been brought in to "energize the office in response to an upsurge in interest exemplified by recent large purchases of MICA and other products by German rental companies," according to Meyer. Previously sales manager for the Western US region, Sides brings extensive experience working closely with the Berkeley, California-based factory to the German operation.

Other changes announced for the Polch office include the promotion of Sascha Khelifa to operations director and the addition of Frank Martin as installation sales manager.

Meyer Sound says: "Sides will focus on developing resources at the German office and infusing it with more of the corporate culture of service, support, and accessibility embraced at t

Australia - With a century old façade, a stunning new interior and many years of planning behind it, the new Drum Theatre in the heart of Dandenong is finally completed; and what a magnificent sight it is. In a town with an abundance of artistic expression and limited outlets to express it, The Drum aims to bring a new sense of artistic culture and style to the City of Greater Dandenong.

The massive job of converting the site of the heritage-listed old town hall fell to Kane Constructions, who through the design of William Ross Architects and Denis Irving of theatrical consultants Entertech, combined the traditional façade of the old town hall, with a modern, practical and visually appealing theatrical space. The task of coordinating the creation of this venue was given to the City of Greater Dandenong's director of cultural faculties, Paul Streefkerk. Having been involved in

USA - A grassy desert oasis in Indio, California 125 miles east of Los Angeles has become home to the annual two-day Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival at the end of each April. Now in its seventh year, Coachella concert-goers enjoy music from some of rock's biggest stars and upcoming bands with a stunning backdrop of polo fields, mountains and palm trees.

Coachella is slated as one of the most forward-thinking music and arts festivals in America. This requires a sound system that can live up to this ethos. Accordingly, rental company Rat Sound provided Turbosound Aspect loudspeakers for two of the five main performance stages. This year, the attraction of Madonna's festival debut drew record numbers of fans - reportedly in excess of 60,000 on each day - out into the heat, which soared close to 100 degrees. Thousands packed into and around the Sahara tent, which was double

USA - The Black Eyed Peas have plenty to celebrate as they make their way around North America on the 2006 Honda Civic Tour. The tour commemorates The Black Eyed Peas' sixth anniversary together, and marks the stage-wide adoption by the multi-platinum band of Sennheiser Evolution Series wired and wireless G2 microphones and instrument systems. The Pussycat Dolls, who are opening for The Black Eyed Peas on the tour, are also fully-equipped with Sennheiser Evolution Wireless G2 microphone and personal monitor systems.

According to production manager and production designer, Anthony Randall, The Black Eyed Peas' four vocalists - Will.i.am, Fergie, apl.de.ap and Taboo - have already been using Evolution Wireless in-ears for three years. Also, two of their four backing musicians upgraded to the second generation EW 300 IEM G2 systems for the tour. But this year, The Black Eyed

UK - Sennheiser has introduced the e 602 II cardioid dynamic microphone to its line-up of evolution series microphones as a successor to the popular e 602. The e 602 II is designed especially for use with kick drums, bass guitar cabs, tubas and other low-frequency instruments. More than 40% lighter than its predecessor, it features a more robust, lightweight aluminium housing which allows for greater stability when positioning the microphone on a long boom arm. The shock-mounted capsule offers a fast attack, coupled with an extended low-frequency response, enabling the e 602 II to provide smooth, deep and clear reproduction of bass instruments for sound reinforcement and recording applications.

The e 602 II features lightweight, high-performance voice coil construction, a shock-mounted capsule, fast transient response and extended low-frequency response. The mic is suitable for

France - L-Acoustics reports that one year on from the launch of its Kudo system, the product has generated unprecedented sales records for the company. There are already 2,000 cabinets in use worldwide, utilized by more than 60 service providers; over 1,500 events have already taken place with Kudo as the main sound system and 40 fixed installations are in operation, say the company.

Kudo has demonstrated its ability to adapt to different formats with an unmatched flexibility level: horizontally or vertically, with a directivity of 55° or 110° symmetric, or 25/55° or 55/25° asymmetric. Two tours in 2005 illustrate Kudo's flexibility: the Mamma Mia! world tour, uses two hangs of 10 Kudo as the FOH system in theatres ranging from 500 to 5,000 capacity. The Simple Plan world tour has used 2 x 21 Kudo hangs as the FOH system in arenas from 5,000 to 20,000 cap

Germany - beyerdynamic's TTS 300 system is allowing visually impaired fans can enjoy live football commentary along with the electric atmosphere at German stadiums during this year's World Cup. Dedicated live commentary is delivered via a specially adapted mobile TTS 300 System, which includes custom headsets for the fans, a transmission unit for the commentator and a transport case with integral charger.

During last season this system was used and appreciated by fans at several local clubs. Holger Ahrens, visually impaired member of the 'Sportfreunde Ronhof' fan club, said: "The technology was good and reliable throughout play. The system enables a clear reception of the factual reporting and, at the same time, allows users to participate directly in the stadium atmosphere."

Spielvereinigung Greuther Fuert, a Bundesliga football club, has now installed permanent sea

Denmark - TC-Helicon is excited to announce the immediate availability of a new range of simple setup compact monitors mountable on standard microphone boom stands eliminating the need for bulky floor monitors. The VoiceSolo range comprises the passive VSM-200P monitor, the active VSM-200 monitor (EUR 320 and GBP 220 retail ex. VAT), and the active VSM-300 with advanced connectivity and personal mix controls. All three VoiceSolo monitors are shipping now.

Commenting on TC-Helicon's venture into the live monitor market, CEO Kevin Alexander, states: "The availability of VoiceSolo marks a turning point where singers can enjoy being in control and hearing themselves just as other instrumentalists with amps have been for years. VoiceSolo monitors are compact, easy to set up and most importantly, they cut through the mix so your can hear great vocals."

The VoiceSolo monito

USA - Starting from humble roots in a Montgomery, Frazer United Methodist Church has served its growing congregation for over a century. By 1990, Frazer had the largest worship attendance of any United Methodist church in the U.S., enough that seven services are held every Sunday. To accommodate its large and active congregation, Frazer constructed the new 2,000 seat Wesley Hall worship centre.

Frazer's front-of-house engineer, Steve Wolfe wanted to be sure the church selected loudspeakers offering both high intelligibility and musicality. Working with project manager Brian Smith of the Whitlock Group, a listening session with two candidate loudspeakers was set up to help determine their best choice.

"With the shootout, we were able to make an A-B comparison, which was great," says Wolfe. "The heads of the church made the decision, and based on sound, the Meyer

Germany - Meyer Sound made the initial public presentation of its new M'elodie ultracompact high-power curvilinear array loudspeaker to great acclaim in a series of high-profile demonstrations in Germany in May. M'elodie is the newest and smallest member of the company's MILO family of loudspeakers, which grabbed the industry's attention with the 2003 release of the original MILO, and has subsequently grown into a complete product line of curvilinear array solutions.

Named for John and Helen Meyer's granddaughter, Elodie (sister of Milo), M'elodie was rolled out in four events staged in Hannover and Wiesbaden attended by owners and engineers from major rental and installation companies from all over Germany. The demonstrations, the first public showings of M'elodie anywhere in the world, were organized by Jim Sides, managing director of Meyer Sound's German office, as part of th

Spain - A new nightclub, Mission 439 has opens its doors to the Guipuzcoan night life. The locale has become the top showcase for DJs wanting to promote their work in the Basque country. Located in the city of Irura, each Friday and Saturday night it draws clubbers from as far away as France to see the latest national and international DJs.

The sound for the club disco has been installed by sound and lighting company Audio Skan based in Guipúzcoa and headed by Santiago García Bou who designed both lighting and sound. The audio system is made up of eight D.A.S. Audio Reference series RF-215 systems reinforced by eight Sub-218 for the low frequencies powered by external amplifiers.

The power capacity of the loudspeaker systems and their high efficiency provide high level sound for club's busy dancefloor, say D.A.S. According to Santiago García Bou: "The choice of the D.A

UK - Britain's pre-eminent jazz performer Courtney Pine has been working with Shuttlesound's technical team to customise a microphone for his bass clarinet. The new prototype made its debut at a special concert staged in the remarkable Turbine Hall at Tate Modern in London. Part of the first ever arts festival to be held at Tate Modern, Pine was playing the world premiere of his new film score for the recently restored cult film Borderline.

Pine approached Shuttlesound to find a solution to the problem of micing his bass clarinet for the live performance. This particularly long wind instrument, which produces sound from top, middle and horn, should ideally be served by two microphones. However, as Pine's microphone of choice is an EV RE920TX condenser in conjunction with a RE1 wireless system, this would have meant two beltpacks strapped to the instrument, making it cumbersome.<

UK - Theatre sound specialist Orbital is pleased to announce another hugely successful showcase as part of The ABTT Theatre Show (14-15 June, Royal Horticultural Halls, London). Having exhibited at the show for eight consecutive years', the company claimed a record traffic flow on their stand over the two-day event, which underlines the Show's position as a key event in Orbital's marketing calendar.

Scoring a hat-trick for Orbital at the ABTT's annual industry awards and gala dinner, its CSC Show Control software scooped the Sound Product of the Year award. Representing the third time the company has received this prestigious accolade, CSC is solely distributed by Orbital, and offers a unique blend of flexibility and ease of use. It delivers an advanced software based sound playback and system control to a wider audience.

Robin Townley, the ABTT's Honorary Secretary, pr

China - PALM Expo 2006 was slated as China's premier international exhibition for the entertainment technology industry. Running from 31 May to 3 June, it spanned 60,000sq.m over its four days and covered a total of 12 halls at the China International Exhibition Centre in Beijing, where Turbosound exhibited in conjunction with Chinese distributor Phoenix Audio & Lighting Technology Ltd.

TA-890 touring enclosures and TA-880 trapezoidal install products were on show, along with the TSW-218 double 18" horn-loaded sub from the widely acclaimed Turbosound Aspect range of loudspeakers. Also making an appearance was the TCS-101C and TCS-151C from the TCS Compact series.

"We also displayed the TCS-C50T ceiling speaker - a product designed specifically for the voice evacuation, paging and background music markets - and custom designed TCS Compact products, which illustrate th

UK - Induction loop systems specialists Ampetronic has announced that it has been awarded ISO 9001:2000 quality management certification.

The standards required to achieve the internationally recognised ISO 9001:2000 certification don't just affect a company's output. They form a fundamental part of its entire operational structure, giving customers total confidence that every single part of the organisation is functioning to the highest possible level, says the company.

"Gaining ISO 9001:2000 certification demands the very best of any business," says Ampetronic managing director Julian Pieters. "We want to demonstrate to the world the excellent standards of quality and performance that are at the very heart of Ampetronic's business.

"Certification is a good way to propel the company to the next level, to encourage us to be proactive in improving everythi

Canada - Meyer Sound has announced that Jerry Placken joined Meyer Sound as sales manager for LCS Series products. The newly created position makes Placken the primary contact at Meyer Sound for all LCS Series product sales. Placken will perform a critical role as the link between users in the field and Meyer Sound's internal process for developing and selling LCS Series products. In this position, he will foster customer relationships and work with all Meyer Sound departments on LCS Series issues, while also creating broader awareness and more complete understanding about LCS Series products in the user community.

Placken comes to Meyer Sound bearing extensive experience with LCS Series products gained from his tenure working for White Radio, the Canadian distributor for what was LCS Audio's products before Meyer Sound's 2005 acquisition of the company.

"Jerry worked qui

UK - Buckinghamshire Chilterns University College (BCUC) has teamed up with a new entertainment industry partner to add value to its successful BA (Hons) degree course in Music Industry Management and Live Production - Shuttlesound, the UK distribution subsidiary of the Telex EVI Group.

The BCUC has purchased a substantial sound reinforcement system from Shuttlesound, featuring a Dynacord XA2 loudspeaker system, with Electro-Voice ZX4 floor monitors, powered by EV's CP2200 amplifiers. There is a 32-track Midas Verona mixing console at front-of-house and a 24-track Siena on monitors, and the outboard pack includes Klark-Teknik DN370, DN504 and DN514 audio processing units. Shuttlesound has also supplied a complete inventory of Electro-Voice microphones, including N/D767s and RE200s.

The system's use is being maximised through a reciprocal arrangement with the University's Stude

South Africa - The Easter period is normally a very busy one for equipment supply companies in South Africa and 2006 certainly proved no different for Gearhouse SA.

Management and staff were deployed countrywide servicing an impressive array of concerts and shows including tours by Robbie Williams and Snoop Dogg as well as Freedom Day national concerts and smaller events. Included in this massive equipment delivery were the 20-plus Soundcraft consoles owned by Gearhouse SA. Mixing desks ranging from M8, E8, K1 and MH 3 and MH4 series took care of everything from small conferences to massive concerts.

Running concurrently with these shows Gearhouse also kitted out The Rand Show 2006. The show welcomed over 500,000 visitors this year with the two main entertainment venues playing host to the country's biggest artists, with the Main Arena and the Esplanade Lake Stage being

Latest Issue. . .