Sound

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UK - In a landmark building at the heart of South East London's thriving arts community is the largest purpose-built contemporary dance centre in the world. Laban is the UK's first conservatoire for music and dance. Electro-Voice ZX Series loudspeakers have been installed throughout the faculty.

Laban's remarkable modern building, situated on a two-acre site beside Deptford Creek, has won many prizes for architects Herzog and de Meuron, who also designed the Tate Modern and the National Stadium for Beijing's Olympic Games. Dedicated to dance, it is probably the largest and best-equipped contemporary facility in Europe, with 13 purpose-built studios, fitted with the latest sprung flooring and large windows for natural light.

The Deptford facility opened in 2002, but the student environment has already proved too demanding for the music playback systems originally installed in t

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Italy - The Baladì Disco has turned the once sleepy Italian town of Torre San Patrizio into a rallying point for people from the entire Marche region. After an extensive and lavish renovation by architect and designer Massimo Cadamuro, the disco now boasts a restaurant, four differently equipped dance floors designed to cater to a variety of musical tastes, and a spacious lounge. One of the Baladì Disco's key feature is its new sound system from Dynacord.

With help from Milan-based specialists dSound PRO, the Baladì management put its faith in equipment from Dynacord - a balanced spread of Alpha Concept loudspeakers, Pl-one, and D-Lite cabinets, and power amplifiers from Dynacord's LX and CL series.

(Jim Evans)

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USA - Technomad LLC reports that the local government for Coweta County Georgia in suburban Atlanta is using three Technomad Turnkey PA systems within its Fairgrounds and Conference Centre. The organisation recently installed two 70-volt Turnkey systems inside the Conference Centre for events covering 6,000sq.ft of meeting and exhibit space, delivering intelligible voice and high-quality musical audio to attendees.

According to Tom Corker, administrative and operations director for Coweta County Georgia, the new Technomad 70-volt systems replaced a poor quality in-ceiling audio system. The decision to upgrade to Technomad was partially based on the longevity of the outdoor Turnkey PA system in operation since 2004 at the W.C. Adamson Horse Arena, an uncovered horse arena show ring with large spectator and concessions areas.

"The outdoor system has been untouched since ins

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Egypt - The Red Sea resort of Sharm El Sheikh, as well as being one of Egypt's top tourist destinations, hosts the region's most sophisticated conference facilities, in the shape of the Maritim Sharm El Sheikh International Congress Center, whose 2,000 main conference hall been equipped with a Renkus-Heinz Iconyx Digitally Steerable Array loudspeaker system.

Since its opening, the Congress Center has hosted numerous glittering occasions, including the International Conference of Foreign Ministers on Iraq Security and the World Economic Forum Conference. At the heart of this gathering place for politicians and power brokers, operated by the German Maritim Hotel Company, is its 2,000 seat main hall, fully equipped for world-wide broadcast and teleconferencing.

With a demand for high speech intelligibility and clear sightlines for TV cameras, its main stage has been equipped with

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UK - The new M-48 personal monitor systems from RSS by Roland have made their debut in the UK, providing direct mix control for band musicians of the Life Church in Folkestone, Kent, and playing a key role in an extensive AV refurbishment being implemented by installer Midas ProSound.

The dynamic Life Church ministry regularly reaches capacity with nearly 800 people attending every Sunday. Growing congregation sizes, and an increasing focus on music and performance in its services, led the Church into consultation with Midas ProSound, the Salisbury-based installation specialists, who helped them draw up an extensive upgrade schedule for all audio and video facilities.

Midas ProSound was able to provide the team from Life Church with system designs and in-situ demonstrations of all the main components save for one: the M-48 personal monitor mixers from RSS which, together with

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France - Richard McHardy has joined Innovision as business development director and becomes part of the Innovision senior management team.

Richard's key responsibility will be to further develop and implement Innovison's new business strategy domestically and internationally.

Andrew Douglass, chief executive, Innovision said: "Richard has had a very successful career to date and worked with some of the best agencies in the industry. I believe he is one of the best and very much at the top of his game. I am just delighted to welcome him to Innovision, where I know he will thrive."

"I am really impressed and excited by the culture and vision at Innovision, which are very much in tune with my own aspirations" said McHardy. "The breadth and quality of work the company is producing is genuinely exciting and I believe the new business potential is exponent

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Australia - The Exchange Hotel, built in 1863, has become one of Brisbane's most iconic venues. Located in the centre of the CBD, the building has undergone many changes but none as impressive and extensive as the renovations completed this year. Under the guidance of renowned architects Brand & Slater, the Exchange aims to set the standard for Brisbane establishments. With a multi-million refurbishment, sophisticated ambience, cutting-edge AV equipment and a new and exclusive roof top terrace, the Exchange Hotel is set to revitalize the inner city social scene.

With responsibility for the audio design, JVG Sound Lighting & Visual recommended a Crown driven JBL sound system. "JBL has such a good sound and offers a really competitive price," said Jade Golar, managing director of JVG. "We've been using JBL powered by Crown on quite a few installs. We've also been us

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UK - Trantec, the UK wireless microphone manufacturer, has introduced the latest addition to their popular Racked'n'Ready range. Compact, rugged, and extremely user-friendly, the S5.3 Cube has been designed to fill the needs of wireless mic users who prefer not to be overwhelmed with complex arrays of sound equipment, says the company.

This 1/2U system comes ready installed with 4 UHF channels of Trantec S5.3 which can operate up to 12 simultaneous channels within an 11MHz window (854-865MHz). An antenna distribution unit is included, and built-in mains distribution provides power to each receiver and the ADU. For larger events a remote antenna kit is also available.

Both handheld and beltpack transmitters operate for up to 10 hours on a single AA battery, and computer monitoring software means that users benefit from realtime system status. "The S5.3 is already recognise

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USA - Work was proceeding normally in the design and construction of the new 550-seat sanctuary for the Vineyard Church in Duluth, Minnesota, when something unexpected occurred. Dan Redman, president of Spinnaker Multimedia Solutions (Malvern, PA), audio-video-lighting (AVL) integrator for the project, reports, "Everything had been moving forward nicely when the builder hit bedrock in the foundation causing a delay in the project. About that time, our rep called to say Allen & Heath had announced the iLive-T at the NAMM show. We looked at the specs, looked at the numbers and realised the digital console we'd been waiting for had finally arrived, and we would be able to have it installed by the Easter launch of the new facility."

The Vineyard Church does a contemporary rock presentation, with two guitars, keyboards, bass and drums, usually with three vocalists. With a l

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The Netherlands - With more than 20,000 in the audience and not a spare seat in the house, Nick & Simon used its 9 and 10 May Rotterdam performances to cement their status as the hottest act in the Netherlands. The tumultuous reception that followed the pair's performance on the second night seemed to last forever - an indication of the passion the duo inspires. The venue's management reported the applause was the longest any act has ever received in the Ahoy.

The success of the two concerts was due largely to the outstanding sound quality provided by Triple Show Techniek, the same company that recently provided reinforcement to the successful Jan Smit concerts in the same arena. To create the best possible sonic environment the Techniek team employed an extensive and highly sophisticated sound system from Electro-Voice. The concert rig included X-Line and XLC array cabinets, TG

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Italy - Audio system provider Madema SpA deployed a large, multi-array JBL Vertec system for the Primo Maggio festival in Rome on 1 May. The free annual public event commemorates the Italian Labour Day. Held in Rome's Piazza San Giovanni in Laterano, the temporary stage for Primo Maggio is traditionally set up in front of the historic Basilica of St. John Lateran, the first church to be built in Rome, with first construction dating to 313 A.D.

Once each year the historic religious site comes to life as hundreds of thousands of live music fans converge on the plaza. Many arrive early, camping in the square to claim the best seats. This year's event drew a crowd estimated at more than one million spectators, largely due to the special appearance by legendary rock singer Vasco Rossi. In addition to Rossi and his band, performers for 2009 included Edoardo Bennato, Alessandro Mannari

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USA - For over 40 years, the Daytona Beach International Festival (DBIF) has served as the official US home to the London Symphony Orchestra (LSO). This year's LSO Pops Concert, A Celebration of Speed, featured a fast-paced multimedia musical programme set to a 90-minute high-def film, and paid tribute to Daytona as the Birthplace of Speed and to Bill France, Jr., NASCAR's late visionary.

Syntonic Design Group, contracted for the audio production portion of the concert, provided a DiGiCo D5 for FOH. Syntonic's staff engineer, Donnie Smith, chose the D5 based on his previous experience using it on other symphonic events, and the console's ability to handle the large input requirements and dynamic musical range. "The features of the D5, including compression, EQ, effects, made the workload really easy to manage," he said. "Everything is right there sho

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Europe/ - In support of the 20th anniversary reissue of his debut album Let Love Rule, Lenny Kravitz is touring Europe with DiGiCo SD7s, provided by Sound Image, at the monitor and front of house positions.

Kravitz is touring with a seven-piece band and has a large monitor rig, so the SD7's high channel count on both in and outputs has proved very important. Monitor engineer Kevin Glendinning comments: "We have pretty much everything - lots of side fills, lots of wedges, lots of in-ears - so it's nice to have a large amount of inputs and outputs. I'm constantly making up new channels that are pertinent to just ears, just side fills or just wedges.

"I have four channels set aside just for Lenny's vocal - one has extreme compression measures that he insists on hearing in his ears; another very flat and unaltered that feeds effects; one that is sent to band's and

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Spain/Hong Kong - D.A.S. Audio has opened an office in Hong Kong, continuing a recent international expansion in Asia that has seen the company open a subsidiary in Singapore. D.A.S opened this new operation to support its growing customer base in the region, which includes a direct presence in China. Eduardo Lopez, D.A.S.' regional manager, will operate the new office from which he also plans to consolidate D.A.S. products in Hong Kong and Macau.

By taking advantage of the location of the Singapore subsidiary, says the company, D.A.S Audio in Hong Kong can fulfil orders immediately not only for Hong Kong and Macau but also for China, offering all the guarantees of factory direct contact along with customer service for technical issues under the direction of Ron Koh, technical support representative in Singapore.

The opening of the D.A.S. Hong Kong office coincides with the ce

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UK - Following their successful supply of sound to Denver based piano rock band The Fray's 2007 tour, Adlib Audio was again asked to provide FOH control and a stage system for the band's recent UK and European tour, plus a lighting specials package from Adlib Lighting.

The Fray's FOH engineer Mark Maher specified a DigiDesign Profile console for his mix, to which he added a pair of Empirical Labs EL8-X distressors for the snare drum and acoustic guitar.

Adlib systems engineer Declan Fyans toured a Dolby Lake processing system and wireless tablet remote, which he used to EQ and fine tune the house speaker systems. "It was interesting working with different loudspeaker brands each day, all have their own characteristics and nuances, but generally all the ones we encountered were good quality, and we achieved great results in all the different rooms". The various system

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UK - Monitor engineer Paul Keeble is using a Soundcraft Vi6 digital console on Maxïmo Park's UK club tour, designed to promote their new album Quicken The Heart. Brought in a few months ago by tour manager John Martin, Keeble is nearing the end of the first leg of an international schedule which will take him through to the rest of the year.

"The Vi6 is the only desk that makes sense," he says. "A lot of the digital boards are fine at front of house but they fall down on access in a busy monitor environment. This is probably the best desk for monitors, because not only is the sound quality way better than other digital desks I have used but it has a better footprint. This is a big issue on small stages and also visiting festivals where having a slim profile desk is a big advantage."

The five-piece Maxïmo Park are partly on in-ears and partly floor

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UK - Based on an increasing demand for its maintenance services, Point Source Productions has instituted a dedicated equipment service department created specifically to overhaul clients' own equipment.

"Point Source Productions has always serviced its own hire equipment and, in the past, we have serviced our customers' equipment on a more or less ad hoc basis, fitted in around our existing work schedules," says hire manager, Ian King. "But a large increase in demand over the past year has shown us there is a distinct need for a dedicated service department."

Equipment servicing can take place either at the client's own premises or those of Point Source Productions and can be tailor made to suit each customer.

"Many schools, for example, have their annual Portable Appliance Testing done by electricians who have little knowledge of theatre equipment,&

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UK - DMi D&M Installation (Europe) is introducing three new in-ceiling designs from its Boston Acoustics brand of CI loudspeakers. The new models - HSi 430, HSi 435 and matching HSi S6W2 subwoofer - are designed to resemble small modern lighting fixtures and provide uncompromised sonic performance, says the company.

The small 'lighting can' style designs comprise the 3½ " models HSi 430 and HSi 435 and the matching 6" subwoofer model HSi S6W2. In addition to their small size, the speakers feature a dramatically reduced visible bezel and magnetically fixed grilles.

The HSi 430 features a round bezel and the HSi 435 a square bezel. The new reduced bezel size on both models allows for a lighter, virtually invisible installation in the ceiling. Both models are two-way configurations, with 3½ " woofers and ¾" tweeters, and each features a metal back enclosure

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UK - RG Jones Sound Engineering demonstrated the versatility of its custom Martin Audio AM distributed stadium system when Wimbledon's Centre Court retractable roof received its inauguration at a TV spectacular.

A packed crowd assembled to see a programme of exhibition tennis, and were at the same time treated to songs by Katherine Jenkins, Faryl Smith and the four-man classical/pop group Blake. Jenkins and Smith performed Amazing Grace as the opening number to coincide with the roof inching its way across to full cover position for the very first time.

RG Jones worked with production company 360 Events to stage the production, which was broadcast live on BBC2.

RG Jones' Tim Speight, who had joint project managed the installation for The All England Lawn Tennis Club with Jon Berry, explained, "When the requirements of this system were first set out three years ago, it w

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Israel - Two Allen & Heath iLive digital systems were used at the recent Noshfim Bakikar festival in Kfar-Saba, Israel. Now in its 20th year, the annual event is a celebration of the town's musical heritage, featuring performances from many of the country's national youth orchestras, and attracting 40,000 visitors.

The three-day music event comprised a series of indoor and outdoor concerts, celebrating the wind instrument. The first day included a special open air performance by an 'all-Israel' symphonic youth orchestra, involving the National Youth and Tel-Aviv Music Academy orchestras. The second day had youth orchestras playing at venues around the town, as well as jazz and improvisation workshops.

Israeli PA company, More-Kol, managed the audio requirements for many of the festival's larger events, employing a pair of iLive systems, comprising iDR10 MixRacks and iLive-144

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UK - The 2009 festival season kicked off in May with BBC Radio 1's Big Weekend and a host of artists on both stages using Sennheiser equipment. This year's Big Weekend took place at Lydiard Park, Swindon and was covered on Radio 1, BBC Three on TV, on the Red Button and on BBC Mobile.

The main stage was supported by Sennheiser in conjunction with Britannia Row and saw their crew, with assistance from Sennheiser's Dave Hawker and Mark Saunders, undertaking the set up. Additional equipment was supplied to Brit Row by Sennheiser, with Dave Hawker helping with the planning and licensing as well as setting up antenna distribution on the preceding Friday afternoon.

This led to a large amount of Sennheiser equipment on the main stage; all In Ear Monitors were Sennheiser EW 300 G2 IEMs and all of the main stage's presenter mics were Sennheiser SKM 5200s with KK 105 heads.

In additio

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UK - Sound Technology has announced distribution in the UK of the JoeCo Blackbox Recorder from 1 June 2009.

The Blackbox Recorder is a multi-track capturing device aimed primarily at the live music market. It records 24 channels of hi-res audio directly to a USB2 drive. It can be plugged into the insert points on any console and can also provide Virtual Sound Checking facilities. Recording to standard external USB2 disks formatted with FAT32 in Broadcast WAV file format (BWAV), any material can be instantly used in a studio Digital Audio Workstation (DAW) without any need for time-consuming file conversions or transfers.

JoeCo Ltd and the Blackbox Recorder are the brainchild of Joe Bull, who last year relinquished the reins at SADiE, the company he founded two decades ago.

Bull comments, " It's great that we've been able to team up with such a professional distributor a

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Asia - The musical Cats, one of the longest-running musicals on Broadway and in London's West End, is now travelling across Asia and putting on more than 400 performances in 20 venues spanning Taiwan, China, Thailand and Korea. Sound reinforcement for Andrew Lloyd Webber's score is provided by a Meyer Sound M1D line array loudspeaker system.

"We're a long way from our support base in Australia, so we needed a system that was flexible, reliable, easy to tour, and great sounding," says Kelvin Gedye, sound designer for the Cats production by Really Useful Company Asia Pacific (RUCAP) and the production supervisor for Melbourne, Australia-based System Sound, the tour's sound provider.

"We know Meyer speakers always deliver, night after night. Cats is a very dynamic show, going from whisper-quiet moments to pumping dance segments, with everythin

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UK - When the doors of Barnsley's former Civic theatre reopened on 5 March 2009, it marked the completion of one of the most dramatic regeneration projects to be undertaken in the town. The newly refurbished building offers a unique combination of managed workspace, a new performance and exhibition spaces.

The main internal space is The Assembly Room - a highly flexible, 350-seat space that can be used to support almost any type of entertainment or event, from contemporary dance and drama to classical music. The space features a sprung wooden floor and is fully equipped with its own audio and lighting system. Systems installer Northern Stage Services Ltd elected to specify Tannoy's VNET range of networkable loudspeakers and subs throughout the main performance hall.

A total of eight Tannoy VNET 15 full-range speakers are flown across the main hall floor area, three down each s

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