Next, designers turned their attention to the room itself. Exhibit facilities manager Ed Gorczyk wanted to give it a "high tech" feel. The 15sq.ft room was set up like a Saturday Night Live stage of the Seventies, with a huge, slowly whirling fan set into the wall behind m
It's the sixth year that HSL has supplied technical production to the UK's best-known dance event. They brought ML Executives onboard as their audio partners to deal with all-things sonic, and all departments worked closely with event production manager Lee Charteris.
HSL's on site co-ordinator was Ian Stevens, He collaborated with project manager Mike Oates who oversaw all the paperwork, advance logistics and prep.
Two dedicated HSL crew chiefs - Dave Jolly and Jonny Harper were appointed,
In fact Production House, the Belfast-based company set up back in 1995, had already made the decision to purchase by the time the sound engineer arrived at this year's event on Lake Geneva - for which Digidesign were again a major sponsor. Placing an order with Digidesign resellers, Marquee Audio, he admits "I'd had my heart set on it."
The order included a complete Venue D Show System with Sidecar extender and FOH, Stage Rack, DSP and HDx cards. At the same time Production House purchased a second digital multicore system.
The company has been buying from Marquee Audio since its inception - commencing with an L'Acoustics dV-DOSC rig. "While we may not be their biggest customer we have always enj
The most prestigious accolade was presented to Audio-Technica in Germany, which was declared 'Distributor of the Year'. The award recognises the best overall performance by an international distributor during Allen & Heath's 2007 fiscal year, and was presented to the company's product manager, Markus Sinsel, by Allen & Heath's sales director, Bob Goleniowski, at a ceremonial dinner hosted during the show.
Konsbud Audio in Poland received the award for 'Most Improved Territory in Europe', Stagecraft Intl in The Philippines was awarded 'Most Improved Territory in Asia', and 'Most Improved Territory in The Americas' went to Sonotec in Peru.
"We are extremely ple
SuperMAC technology is the basis of Audio Engineering Society standard AES50-2005: AES standard for digital audio engineering - High-resolution multichannel audio interconnection.
Klark Teknik will promote the use of AES50, SuperMAC and HyperMAC and license the use of the technology. Support for existing licensees will transfer from Sony Oxford to Klark Teknik. Compliance with the Audio Engineering Society patent policy will be unaffected. Klark Teknik will additionally seek standardisation for the Hy
The appointment was confirmed by the manufacturer's business development manager, Claus Renner, at PLASA07, where Marquee was presenting the digital Variodyn D1 system.
AV Digital was created in the year 2000 out of the former AV-TS division of Siemens Austria, who have accumulated widespread knowledge of highly complex sound systems, especially in the field of public address and conference technology, over a long period of time.
The Variodyn D1 allows processing, distribution and permanent control of near limitless functions and tasks. The system modules, each with its own DSP, can be connected via Ethernet and standard cabling, while existing local area networks may be shared. At the same time the processing capacity of t
A little over two years after Nexo and Yamaha announced the formation of a strategic alliance for product development and distribution, the first fruits of the collaboration were revealed at Earls Court.
The integration of amplifier, available in two 4-channel sizes, with the Nexo TDController is a cooler, cleaner and more efficient solution which will bring cost and operational benefits to live use as well as fixed installation, says the company.
The TDController function provides crossover, sensed amplifier control and system alignment, using digital software algorithms to combine this calibrated data with sensed voltage and current measurements, precisely controlling the temperature and disp
The SD7 is based around a new technology developed at DiGiCo, called Stealth digital processing, and could ultimately bring a whole new dimension to digital mixing, says the company.
"The party was mainly to celebrate our MBO," says DiGiCo marketing director David Webster. "But it also gave us the chance to let our guests have a sneak preview of what we're working towards. The SD7 is purely a concept, but who knows what the real possibilities could be."
Stealth is a culmination of embedded FPGA and the new Tiger Sharc from Analogue Devices. John St
With the show floor packed on Monday morning, PLASA Events also announced its acquisition of the A.C. Lighting North trade show, bringing the PLASA Events' team's expertise and drive to this fast-growing event for the north of the UK.
PLASA 07's radical new layout saw an easy-to-navigate, one-floor event occupy both Earls Court 1 and 2, combined with lower noise limits and a smoke-free atmosphere - plus exhibitors' determination to make the most of the new opportunities with brand new stand designs. The massive growth in innovative video a
Among the projects was fitting a Kawai MP8 electronic grand piano into the shell of a classic instrument. The classic piano, also made by Kawai, was shipped directly to Fineline's warehouse in Bristol from the factory in Japan with no keys or strings. Liaising closely with Muse backline technician Des Broadbery, Fineline's Dave Harris then took delivery of a Kawai MP8 electronic grand piano, which had to be fitted inside the original.
The grand piano was carefully inserted into Fineline's 5-axis router, where the key bay was machined into the correct shape to receive the MP8 keyboard. The MP8 was then stripped right down to its component parts and mounted correctly into the grand
"We are absolutely delighted to announce that Bill is joining us." says group managing director Ian McCarthy. "This is the first appointment we've made since the companies merged in March this year and Bill will assume all sales and marketing responsibilities for the group."
Bill Woods, a highly respected veteran of the pro audio industry, has been living with his family in the USA for the past three years and for some of that time, he worked on a freelance basis representing Quested. Later he returned to live sound, working for Ashly Audio to help them establish Camco in the US Market.
McCarthy continues, 'Having known Bill for many years, I knew that the skills and professionalism he offers are exactly what we would
Launched just one year ago at PLASA06, Audica Professional reports exceptional growth in its first year and its MICROseries audio systems for background music and commercial AV are now distributed in over 25 countries worldwide. The company chose to celebrate its first anniversary by giving an award for the distributor that has shown the highest level of market development.
Derek West, sales director of Audica Professional, presented the award to CUK Audio's MD, Stuart Thomson, sales manager Alan Lochhead and general manager Stuart Cunningham. On giving the award, which will now be made annually, West commented that business development, service and support were all given equal consideration when making the choice of the winner.
Glasgow-based
"We are very excited about the release of DShow 2.6 and the ANO A-Net output card," states Digidesign live sound market manager Robert Scovill. "D-Show 2.6 offers many new workflow and setup enhancements aimed at making a live sound mixer's job even easier, as well as making the system engineer and contractor's task simple when dealing with numerous Venue systems.
"Our ANO A-Net product offers some never before seen hardware features and software integration that Aviom users are sure to find
Shure Distribution GmbH is QSC's new distributor in Germany. Greg McLagan, vice president global sales at QSC Audio, commented, "We were looking for a partner sharing our passion for sound and performance, being dedicated to QSC and our products. We are very happy having found exactly this partner in Shure Distribution."
Shure Distribution's newly-appointed product manager for QSC, Marcus Bäumler, responded: "We see the complete line of products as having huge potential in the German market. Over the years QSC has put together a very competitive portfolio of products, all of which have a convincing set of features and strong benefits for customers and users in Germany."
QSC Audio has appointed Int
"When a regular cardioid is not directional enough, or a miniature cannot be mounted on the speaker, a shotgun is the answer, and we feel we the 4017 addresses these issues perfectly."
DPA carried out extensive R&D to create a high-end shotgun mic with extremely smooth off-axis responses. The company says it has also pushed the limits to produce a shotgun which combines high spec
The site includes a 20,000-seater stadium, the O2 Arena (which is being used for large-scale live concerts such as this Autumn's run of Prince dates, and will also be hosting Olympic sports in a few years), an 11-screen multiplex Vue cinema, a smaller live music venue/nightclub known as IndigO2 and an extensive district of restaurants, shops and piazzas connected by indoor streets, called the Waterfront.
In all of these areas, Harman equipment has formed the basis for the audio systems used, and in many areas the engineers at Harman Pro UK have been instrumental in desig
Commenting on the deal, Fleetwood's director of finance and corporate affairs Ian Cooper said: "Fleetwood is looking for ways to strengthen its position as Europe's leading independent live audio business, and as such the BBC opportunity would fit with our strategic objectives."
Coming at the end of a busy summer where Fleetwood has recorded major festivals throughout Europe as well as working with the BBC on major live broadcast events including the Diana concert and Live Earth, Fleetwood joins a list of potential bidders for the BBC's trucks.
Fleetwood's operations director Tim Summerhayes adds: "After another successful summer we are looking for ways to grow the bus
Satis&Fy entrusted responsibility for stage and system equipment to Rüdiger Nürnberg and Tobi Hoff, a team who work together with consistently outstanding results. Equipped with EV's X-Line they were able to provide an optimal balance of power and flexibility. "We took a total of 24 tops and 20 subs with us on tour," reports Nürnberg, "driven by six amp racks charged with EV TG-7 amplifiers, though the exact configuration for each show was determined by the demands of the venue."
In Wiesbaden's Bowling Green, where Lionel Richie delighted an audience of 9,500, nine Xvls and three Xvlt enclosures were deployed on each side of the stage, with eight Xsubs per
The hugely popular 'boutique' style music festival produced by Loudsound Events is now in its fourth year on the Isle of Wight and has expanded to a capacity of 30,000. The site surface area at its Robin Hill Country Park location has also increased. Main stage headline acts for 2007 were the Chemical Brothers (Friday), The Beastie Boys (Saturday) and Primal Scream (Sunday).
HSL has been involved with Bestival since its inception in 2004, and once again worked closely with event production manager Lee Charteris and Loudsound's Jim King and Jo MacKay in co-ordinating all the site's technical production and infrastructu
Innovative direct coupling of the DT 60 PRO's transducers help to provide users deep bass, balanced mids and clearly defined highs, says the company. The in-ear headphones also offer additional sound isolation from ambient noise. To ensure an ideal fit, the DT 60 PRO comes equipped with three different pairs of silicon ear pads. Users have an option of black, white and beige models, allowing the headsets to be inconspicuous.
"For monitoring applications, professionals are looking for superior sound reproduction as well as safe volume levels," explains Paul Froula, beyerdynamic's pro audio manager. "The high leve
Zhang joins Community after receiving dual Masters in Acoustic Studies and Recording/Production at the prestigious Peabody Institute of Johns Hopkins University. Sumoro also holds a Masters in Acoustics from Peabody and a BA in Music Production and Engineering from Berklee College. Sumoro is a talented jazz pianist with a strong academic background in psychoacoustics, architectural acoustics and system design.
(Jim Evans)
Adlib Lighting has spent a further £250,000 on improving its stock level of moving heads purchasing 48 Martin Professional MAC 700 fixtures plus 16 MAC 250s along with two Avolites Pearl Experts, one High End Systems WholeHog 3 and a High End Road Hog.
Another £250,000 has been sunk into redesigning and developing totally new office spaces and warehousing within their current premises in Speke.
On the personnel front, Tony Szabo has joined the company as tour sound co-ordinator, while four young technical apprentices have joined the team to continue Adlib's ethic of investing in its future.
Says, Adlib's Andy Dockerty: "This all reflects the generally increased levels of business over the last two years and Adlib's commitm
Perry's primary focus is providing in-depth technical support for all EAW Commercial products, in addition to assisting with the entire EAW line. He comes to EAW from Loud Technologies support and service, and as an active sound system operator and musician, he also brings a great deal of relevant real-world experience to his new position. Based in Woodinville, Washington, Perry adds additional hours to the company's US support basis and is fluent in Spanish.
Walker is responsible for service requests and return issues, as well as providing technical su
The Festival is now in its tenth year, and for the past seven of those, Suffolk-based Pyramid Audio has been nominated main contractor for the sound stages. For the first time this year they committed themselves to using a single loudspeaker brand - and filled all six stages with DragonSpirit systems.
Fleece, the owner of Pyramid Audio, starting using DragonSpirit speakers almost two years ago and has subsequently featured them at various events around the
