Sound

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Europe - SAE Institute is incorporating Euphonix MC Control and MC Mix media controllers into 25 SAE Institutes across four continents. The SAE Institute's audio curriculum includes training on the world's leading digital audio workstations to help prepare students for real world production situations.

"SAE is the world leader in audio and creative media training, and we are very excited to have our MC Control and MC Mix chosen for their state-of-the-art institutes," stated Martin Kloiber, Euphonix CEO. "The power and flexibility of the Artist Series is the perfect match for SAE's innovative teaching approach, and provides students with cutting-edge media controllers that can be used with virtually any audio or video application."

"We are delighted to be installing Euphonix MC Control and MC Mix media controllers in so many of our campuses around the w

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Eurovision Update - Andrew Lloyd Webber has unveiled the six hopefuls he has chosen to bid for glory at the Eurovision Song Contest. Two male soloists, two female singers, a duo consisting of twin sisters and an all-male quintet will do battle in the BBC One show Your Country Needs You. Lloyd Webber will write the song for the successful act, set to take part in May's competition in Moscow. After a series of live shows, the winning act, which is chosen by the public, will be revealed on 31 January. The first live programme takes place on Saturday 10 January on BBC One.

In The Money - Madonna's Sticky and Sweet show was the highest-earning tour of 2008, taking $281.6m (£193m) worldwide, according to music trade publication Pollstar. It also became the eighth highest-grossing tour of all time in North America, Pollstar said.

Celine Dion's

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USA - The Joint Training Initiative of The ESTA Foundation and the United States Institute for Theatre Technology (USITT) has announced a Control Protocols Workshop to be held two days prior to the annual USITT National Conference in Cincinnati, OH. The registration deadline is 9 March 2009.

This two-day course is designed for entertainment technicians at a basic to intermediate level. The session will be held 16 and 17 March at the Duke Energy Convention Centre. Training will cover current control protocols including Remote Device Management over USITT DMX512-A and Architecture for Control Networks. This course qualifies for ETCP Certification Renewal Credits for ETCP Certified Entertainment Electricians.

The Control Protocols course will be taught by ETCP Certified Electrician and ETCP Recognized Trainer Milton Davis, of Doug Fleenor Design. Davis is a member of the Control

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Taiwan -Mipro has introduced the new MA708 portable wireless PA system, available for shipping worldwide during the second quarter of 2009.

The MA-708 combines the best features of the popular MA-707 and MA-808 wireless portable PA systems, producing 180W of power with D-class amplification and two-way speakers. Improved "limiter" circuitry reduces distortion and increases intelligibility for guaranteed powerful and clear sound, say Mipro.

The Mipro MA-708 is designed for portable wireless PA applications for medium-sized audiences. The system, with rugged, compact and lightweight enclosure design, is suitable for schools, places of worship, corporate multimedia presentations, trade shows, auctions and special events.

Designed for ease of use, the system features the industry's easiest and fastest channel set-up via AutoScan and ACT technology (common through most

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UK - Stage Electrics has specified and installed a new RSS M-400 V-Mixing System into The Byre Theatre in St. Andrews, Scotland. The RSS digital console and two snakes are part of a package of kit supplied this year, which includes Sennheiser radio microphones and RCF monitor speakers.

As its name suggests, The Byre Theatre started life as a semi-derelict cow-shed, cleaned out and set up by a local theatre group, whose audiences sat on cushions on the floor. With the support of donations and local authority funds, a permanent theatre opened in 1970. Its latest incarnation, built by architects Nicoll Russell Studios of Broughty Ferry, was completed in 2001.

Named after its founder, the main theatre in The Byre is the A.B.Paterson auditorium, with a seated capacity of 220. Stage Electrics has installed the M-400 front-of-house console at the rear of the auditorium, with two S-16

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UK - XL Events is supplying audio and video equipment plus four crew for the CBeeBies Live Treasure Hunt UK arena tour which is being production managed by Nigel Mousley for BBC Worldwide.

XL Events' Rich Rowley says: "This is the fourth year that I have been involved in this project and every year brings a new set of challenges. This year we were looking at big rear projected images with the addition of a 'lifesize' giraffe and elephant to contend with. As you can imagine some pretty creative keystoning was needed to allow the beasts to move around backstage."

Ade Moore is looking after the video for XL Events, which consists of a 32 by 24ft centre stage projection screen being fed by a triple stack of rear-projecting Barco ELM R18 'Director' machines fitted with 1.2 wide angle lenses.

These receive content programmed into two Coolux Pandora's Box digital m

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USA - Rat Sound has taken delivery of a stadium-sized L-Acoustics K1 concert sound system. The K1 is the next generation of full-sized, line source enclosures for arena, stadium, and festival tour sound applications from L-Acoustics. Rat Sound is a member of a pilot program offered to top-level existing members of the DOSC network (V-DOSC and KUDO owners) who have interest in the advance field-proofing of the new K1/Kudo/LA8 system architecture.

Dave Rat, founder of Rat Sound Systems Inc, spoke about the decision to acquire the system: "Over a decade ago, I went down and listened to the L'Acoustics V-DOSC and heard something entirely unique. It's amazing sound clarity and line source configuration changed the industry. Through my work as sound engineer for the Red Hot Chili Peppers, I have mixed on every sound system on the market, and the K1 is the first time I have heard

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UK - The Script, the band from Dublin that hit number one with their self-titled debut album and toured with N*E*R*D, The Hoosiers and Newton Faulkner, became household names in Britain in 2008. And the band did it with a range of Sennheiser microphones in their audio arsenal - including SKM 935s and wireless e 935s for lead and backing vocals.

"I've been using the 935s for a long time now," says the band's front of house engineer John Delf. "I first bought some when I was touring with a band called The Departure. These mics give you so much level you never need to worry that you won't be able get the vocal over the rest of the band. They sound clear and crisp, with bite. I'd been using the wireless version with Lily Allen with great success. I'd always been happy with the results when using the 935s at her shows, so it was always going to be my first choice for T

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Germany - With a set created by Brian Edmonds and lighting by Pink Floyd's designer Marc Brickman, Sony's massive booth at the IFA 2008 exhibition was a formidable production. Limelight Veranstaltungstechnik from Gilching-Munich was responsible for orchestrating the smooth performance of extensive lighting, sound and video technology, and deployed more than 40 of Nexo's new Geo S12 compact cabinets in a combination of vertical and horizontal line arrays.

The IFA in Berlin is deemed to be the world's largest consumer electronics fair. The biggest showcase by a single exhibitor is that of Sony, which takes up a whole hall, an area of 6,000sq.m, this year developing an enchanted forest concept, with thick white floors to absorb sound, soft round shapes and bare white trees.

Under the direction of technical director Peter Mader, Limelight Veranstaltungstechnik was responsible for

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UK - An estimated 500,000 people turned out to watch London's annual New Year's Day Parade, one of the city's biggest charity fund-raising events. Marching bands, 1000 cheerleaders, Chelsea pensioners and car clubs were among the performers who wound their way from Parliament Square to Green Park.

Lining the 2.2 mile route, scores of Electro-Voice SX Series loudspeakers were deployed to provide live-to-air commentary, announcements and general sound reinforcement for the biggest crowd ever seen in the event's 23-year history, squeezed into grandstands and along crowded pavements.

Watford-based PA company NSR Communications have provided PA for this event since it started in 1986. By choice and experience, they favour "the workhorse speakers" from EV's SX range for the task, spaced along the route and beside the large grandstands which demark the six 'sites' of the pa

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Germany - An extensive programme of renovation and refitting has required the Deutsches Theater in Munich to temporarily bid farewell to its permanent home in the city centre. For the next three years, the company will continue its theatrical tradition in temporary accommodations at a four-marquee, 3,750sq.m facility within a colony of marquees in the suburb of Fröttmaning, north of Munich.

Sound reinforcement in the temporary venue was installed by minos Sicherheitstechnik who opted for a Dynacord ProMatrix 4000 system complemented by Electro-Voice loudspeakers. Comprehensive 3D simulations were conducted using the programme Ulysses to ensure adequate intelligibility in all the requisite areas.

Thomas Sterling of EVI Audio comments: "To create our 3D model, we had to enter not only the room's dimensions, but also the nature of every material in the room, from the tarpau

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UK - Twickenham Stadium has undergone an audio upgrade using D.A.S sound systems installed by Sysco, led by Hugo Roche. They were advised by audio consultant and job project manager, Roland Hemming who also works for D.A.S. Audio's distributor for the United Kingdom, Sennheiser UK.

The RFU (Rugby Football Union) contracted an independent consultant firm, Vanguardia Consulting, directed by Jim Griffiths, to supervise the install. On site consultants working for Vanguardia were Mark Murphy, John Staunton and Mike Bedford. To complete the install Sysco used 22 kilometres of cable and seven different delays to ensure that the whole system was synchronised to perfection.

"There were acoustic shadows in the rows of seats below the balcony where live sound could not be heard and this problem really needed to be solved," says Eva Argandona. "So we decided on systems fro

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Australia - ARX has added the ISO-Combiner transformer isolated combiner to its established Audibox range of pro audio tools and problem solvers.

The ISO Combiner is a totally passive device with no power requirements making it suitable for use in applications where two sources need to be combined into one output silently and easily, says the company.

A pair of transformer balanced female XLR inputs combine to deliver a single transformer isolated male XLR output. The ISO-Combiner is available in single channel or double header format.

(Jim Evans)

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USA - Supporting their 9th studio album, Death Magnetic, Metallica is hitting arenas across the US and Canada in a monster sized in-the-round production which includes Apogee X-Series converters for both A/D and D/A conversion. Building the production from head to toe, Thunder Audio of Taylor, Michigan chose an all-digital drive system setup for unprecedented sound quality with eight Apogee converters for 64 channels of I/O.

"When designing this system we had a criteria set forth for achieving the highest quality in uncompromised audio," states Thomas Hejnicki, project manager for Thunder Audio. "Based upon reputation and experience, we needed to look no further than Apogee for our AD/DA solution. In fact, we tried. With Apogee as our reference, we found no acceptable alternative."

Four Apogee AD-16X converters are placed shortly after the FOH console as th

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USA - Leonard Cohen and his nine-piece band, led by bassist Roscoe Beck, kicked off their first tour in 15 years with dates across Canada and Europe. Montreal-based Solotech is providing support for the tour, using a Meyer Sound system featuring Milo and Mica line array loudspeakers.

As FOH Engineer Mark Vreeken explains, the Meyer Sound system was chosen for flexibility in the face of an assortment of venue sizes and shapes, from London's O2 Arena to the Olympia, the oldest music hall in Paris. "We brought a number of different Meyer speakers along, so we can interchange and still maintain consistent tone everywhere. And the Galileo loudspeaker management system and SIM 3 audio analyzer are both excellent tools."

Solotech systems technician Étienne Lapré typically configures the rig with 16 Milo and 12 Mica line array loudspeakers per side, with each a

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USA - Community Professional Loudspeakers has introduced its new MX41E series of stage monitors, a compact, versatile two-way bass reflex floor monitor.

Available in 90 x 40 (MX41E-94) or 60 x 40 (MX41E-64) degree coverage patterns, the MX41E is voiced for live performance use, providing balanced, full-range musical performance with powerful, focused coverage. Both models feature rotatable horns for narrower horizontal coverage. Angled backs allow the MX41E to be positioned at 30- or 45-degree angles.

The MX41E is designed with a host of professional features, including Community's Ferrofluid-cooled LF driver technology, solid birch plywood construction, 16-gauge perforated, powder-coated steel grille, heavy-duty steel handles, solid steel input panel with Passive/Bi-amp switch, and pro-quality Neutrik input connectors. MX41E monitors are also protected by Community's PowerSen

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UK - Strand Lighting have confirmed their presence at evenTech Scotland 2009 in partnership with their Scottish distributor Audio Light Systems.

Audio Light Systems provide sales, installation project management and consultation for a wide variety of spaces that require audio, lighting, AV and specialist systems throughout the UK. The company says it is "set to make a serious impact on their debut at the second instalment of the exhibition - having booked the largest stand space by far on the show floor".

As well as Strand control desks and dimmers, Audio Light Systems will be exhibiting equipment from Crestron, EAW, QSC, NEC, Sennheiser, Tecpro, TOA and more for theatre, corporate and education markets.

(Lee Baldock)

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Sweden - Lab.gruppen has announced its acquisition of the Lake trademarks and the exclusive rights for use of Dolby Lake Processor (DLP) technology for both touring and permanent sound reinforcement markets, from Dolby Laboratories.

The technology currently referred to as 'DLP technology' as used in the PLM Series will, in the future, be called 'Lake technology or Lake Processing'. The Dolby Lake Controller (DLC) PLM Edition software will be forthwith known as 'Lake Controller software' as new versions of the software are expected to be compatible with both the stand alone DLPs as well as the PLM Series products.

Lake technology is used in several successful products including the original Lake products, Mesa Quad EQ and Contour; the Dolby Lake Processor from Dolby Laboratories and the PLM Series Powered Loudspeaker Management systems. Specifically, this agreement allows Lab.

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USA - For the fifth time in as many years, Texas-based LD Systems travelled to Las Vegas in December for the 49th annual Wrangler National Finals Rodeo (WNFR), a 10-day event many consider the Super Bowl of rodeo. LD has partnered with the WNFR since 2004 as the event's exclusive light and stage producer. 2007 marked the first year that LD also supplied sound reinforcement for the event.

Last year, LD used an Electro-Voice XLC rig to provide coverage at the 18,500-seat Thomas and Mack Centre on the campus of the University of Nevada Las Vegas. This year the WNFR returned to the Thomas and Mack Centre, and so did LD Systems' XLC rig.

The system, comprising XLC127DVX cabinets and XLC215 subs in two-over-six combinations, was deployed in four arrays surrounding the arena's central scoreboard and video wall.

Robert Ausmus, director of production services, LD Systems, reports, &q

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Germany - Meyer Sound has added welcomes Jan Frederick Christoph Meyer aka Freddy to its European Technical Support team. "I am happy about becoming a part of the Meyer Sound family and joining the European Tech Support team," says Meyer. "I am fortunate to have had the opportunity to participate in many different productions with Meyer Sound's versatile and reliable gear. This experience will allow me to support Meyer Sound customers and provide the level of service the company is known for."

More recently with Munich-based technical event supplier, Gerhofer, Meyer brings to the company experience in rigging, lighting, pyrotechnic and laser techniques and a keen understanding of Meyer Sound products, as well as IT and digital networks. He studied communications engineering at University of Applied Sciences Cologne and is currently finishing his Bachelor Prof

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France - The town of Asnières sur Seine just outside Paris has decided upon a new Innovason Sy80 digital mixing console to complete its AV inventory.

Thierry Plenier, who runs the AV department with department head William Baruch, comments: "I was fascinated by the Muxipaire (digital snake) when it first came out, and when we bought our first digital console in 2002, if I'd had the budget, I'd have bought a Compact Live. As it was, we went for another solution, which has served us well until now, but we are reaching the ceiling of its limitations in terms of mix capacity, and our analogue console just doesn't offer us the flexibility we need to handle monitors."

Regarding the Sy80, Plenier notes: "From a technical point of view, first and foremost, the sound quality is excellent. Secondly, to our huge delight, you don't have to configure your patch to the conso

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UK - London-based Insync Productions provided all technical design, equipment and staging for a recent private event at the Dorchester Mayfair, using a combination of their Martin Audio W8LM/W8LMD line array, WMX and WS218X subs, W8VDQ differential dispersion enclosure and LE12JB stage monitors. They also provided Martin Audio's Blackline F12s and S218 subs for coverage in the purpose-built nightclub, annexed off the main ballroom.

With an artist roster headed by Girls Aloud and Katherine Jenkins, and also including Ian Waite and Camilla Dallerup from Strictly Come Dancing, the Band of the Scots Guards, Corolla and Rhydian Roberts, the production values had to meet top concert spec.

Commissioned by party planners Jamie Walters & Co, Insync Productions' managing director Scott Tompkins said: "We always try and set high production values, whatever the event, and for

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Live in the USA - Beyonce, U2 and Bruce Springsteen are among the musicians who have signed up to perform at an inaugural celebration for US President-elect Barack Obama. Stevie Wonder, Usher, Mary J Blige and Sheryl Crow are also scheduled to perform at the event on 18 January at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington DC. Historical passages will also be read by singer Queen Latifah and actors Jamie Foxx and Denzel Washington. Mr Obama, who will be sworn in on 20 January, is expected to attend.

Executive producer of the show, George Stevens Jr, said he was taken by surprise by the eagerness of stars to perform once he was given the go-ahead by the Presidential Inaugural Committee. "On that first day, we asked Springsteen, Bono and Garth Brooks within a period of 45 minutes and got three 'yeses'," Stevens told the Associated Press. The artists have been asked to perform so

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Korea - Audiences attending the production briefing and casting announcement for the Korean musical, Dreamgirls at the Seoul Plaza Hotel recently, were treated to transparent sonic clarity - due to the use of a premium sound reinforcement system from QSC Audio.

The company's Korean distributor, Sama ProSound, provided a matched, end-to-end solution, using advanced QSC line array technology, amplifier and network audio control.

The Korean version of the musical is co-production between OD Musical Company, headed by Shin Chun-soo, and American producer John F. Breglio.

To match the importance of the occasion, Sama ProSound supplied a WideLine-8 system comprising 12 x WideLine 3082 enclosures, four WL212-sw and two WL218-sw subs - powered by 12 of QSC's new PL380 and four PL340 PowerLight 3 amplifiers, with a DSP322ua digital network device. The rig was under the managem

  1. Butteflies in action with Will Young
  2. Martin Audio supplies ace of bass for The Prodigy
  3. Out Board confirms Timax distribution for Ireland
  4. NSR Communications wins contract for Driffield Show
  5. Auralex debuts in-store kit at Winter NAMM
  6. A&H launches compact digital system
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