Spain - As one of the most successful musicians in Latin America, Alejandro Sanz has built a name for himself as a dynamic and exciting performer; selling over 25m albums worldwide and winning 17 Grammys. With his new project Paraiso Express on the verge of release, Sanz recently embarked on his worldwide Paradise tour, showcasing the anticipated album with a set of AKG equipment that included the DMS 700, an IVM 4 in-ear system and a variety of D7 and D5 microphones.

Spanish distributor Neotecnica supplied the tour with the AKG equipment. Each and every concert will be using 24 different DMS 700 channels for voices and instruments and will also use 16 channels of the IVM4 in ear-system. For vocals, the DMT 700 will be equipped with D7 and D5 handheld capsules that prove to be the best solution for adapting to Sanz' vocal style.

"After speaking with Alejandr

UK - Alongside the English language workshops that take place regularly in Germany, the d&b audiotechnik Remote network workshop has now come to the UK.

This one day session will take place on Wednesday 3 March at the new UK office in Nailsworth, Gloucestershire. Controlled by d&b's Steve Jones, the day will explore d&b amplifiers within the network and the d&b Remote network topology.

The workshop will look at all the necessary hardware including cable options along with the R1 Remote control software's installation and preparation as well as a practical session using it to programme a user interface.

Further information on d&b's full education programme and registration details are available at the web address below.(Jim Evans)

Malta - DPA 4006 omnidirectional mics, purchased via UK distributor Sound Network, have been used on Agora, a new film by Spanish director Alejandro Amenabar, starring Rachel Weisz and Max Minghella set in Roman Egypt. The mics were used for crowd ADR sessions shot on location at Fort Ricasoli in Malta.

The sound crew behind the recordings was Sound24, the BAFTA winning and Oscar nominated team from Slumdog Millionaire. The team included supervising sound editor and sound designer Glenn Freemantle; sound designer Tom Sayers; dialogue/ADR supervisor Lee Herrick and field recordists Nicolas Becker and Hugo Adams. They chose the 4006s for their clarity, transparency and sound quality, as well as the mic's low signal to noise ratio and high SPL which meant they could record people whispering one minute and roaring the next.

"The clarity of sound from the mics wa

Croatia - Opera singer Jose Carreras starred in a Christmas charity concert in Zagreb as the culmination of the Step into Life humanitarian project that has raised over €400,000 to help give poor Croatian children the chance of a university education.

Beside Carreras, the renowned Croatian singer Toni Cetinski, Ireland's premier soprano Celine Byrne, the Ivan Goran Kovacic academic choir, the Zvjezdice girls choir and the Zagreb Philharmonic Orchestra completed the line-up.

The goal of the 'Step into Life' project is the better socialisation of children without proper parental care by means of scholarships, and the foundation has already assured more than 30 scholarships for young people who can't afford to go to university.

Audio production services for the concert at the 15,000 capacity Zagreb Arena were provided by Croatian production company Lite-Prom, fielding a

Israel - Waves has launched a mini-YGDAI interface card which will allow users of Yamaha digital mixing consoles to process up to 32 channels of audio with Waves plug-ins, via the company's proprietary SoundGrid Server system.

With SoundGrid bringing the worlds of studio and live sound closer than ever before, the introduction of the WSG-Y16 sees Waves bringing the networking and processing capabilities of SoundGrid functionality to the live sound realm for the first time.

Announced at the Winter NAMM show in January, the WSG-Y16 card will be available from mid-March and follows on from the existing Waves Y96K, eight in eight out, plug-in DSP card for Yamaha digital consoles.

Using a SoundGrid-compatible PC as the plug-in host and Ethernet connectivity, the system allows users to run large numbers of Waves plug-ins with ultra-low latency. The WSG-Y16 card allows users of Yam

China - The ancient city of YangQuan in Shanxi Province originally built its train station in 1905 to facilitate the exploitation of the local mines - making the city one of the birthplaces of Shanxi's modern industry.

Today, China is in the midst of constructing a huge high speed rail (HSR) network, embracing a distance of 120,000km in total by the year 2020, at an aggregated investment of RMB 5 trillion (US$ 732 billion). And YangQuan forms an important part of that network.

Situated on the high-speed line between ShiJiaZhuang and TaiYuan, YangQuan North train station has already been equipped with China's first Q-Sys fully-integrated digital audio platform within a transportation hub. This digital audio networking system boasts high-speed characteristics of its own, providing all the audio routing, processing, control and monitoring necessary for any facility while maintain

Good News - Behind the Scenes, the entertainment technology industry charity, has announced it has received a grant of $50,000 from Broadway Cares / Equity Fights AIDS. In his cover letter to the grant, BC/EFA executive director Tom Viola said: "BC/EFA is very grateful to the companies and individuals working in the technical professions - from lighting and rigging to scenery, special effects, audio and more - who have participated in and made so much of BC/EFA's fundraising in the theatre community possible."

Rick Rudolph, chair of the Behind the Scenes Committee, responded: "We are incredibly grateful for this generous grant and the recognition of what Behind the Scenes is accomplishing and the community we represent. We have had an unprecedented number of requests for grants in just the first six weeks of this year and this gift from BC/EFA will ensure we can c

Russia - EAW was recently chosen as the loudspeaker of choice for the Russia-based Zapashny Brothers Circus, the current incarnation of the world-famous family act dating back to the 1800s. MS-Max Company, EAW's Russian distributor, put together a sound system package featuring several EAW loudspeakers, and this configuration was selected over a number of packages featuring other manufacturers' products, to provide the sound for the Brothers' recent tour dates throughout Russia and to other countries.

The package assembled by MS-Max Company included 12 EAW JFL210 compact line array modules and four EAW JFL118 subwoofers. Processing is handled by the EAW UX8800 digital signal processor, and the system is powered by Crown MT-series amplifiers.

The circus, which features such spectacles as tigers, lions and other large animals, is performed in the round. The biggest issue with th

UK / Switzerland - Swiss digital signage hardware manufacturer SpinetiX has appointed Tukans to distribute its HMP100 Hyper Media Player within the UK.

"We're very proud of our comprehensive, high-quality and stable product portfolio and our track record in exceptional integrator and end user support. The addition of SpinetiX will allow us to deliver significant return on investment for our customers, an important differentiator in the channel," says Andrew Popley, managing director at Tukans.

Serge Konter, marketing manager at SpinetiX adds, "This appointment plays a key role in SpinetiX's channel and partner plans. We will be working actively with the highly experienced and dedicated team at Tukans with a special focus on specialist integrators and partners who wish to differentiate themselves in their high quality product offering whilst offering a competitiv

Venezuela - In one of Venezuela's largest annual live music events, rental sound company Grupo Zonico provided an extensive audio system for Coca-Cola Solid Fest 2010 at Hipdromo La Rinconada in Caracas.

JBL Vertec line arrays comprised the main PA system for the four-day event, which included performances by leading international and local artists for crowds averaging 20,000 per day. With separate themed event days presenting rock, urban and Latin artists, performers at the festival included Korn, OscarD Leon and Luis Fonsi.

Grupo Zonico deployed a main PA system featuring two array hangs, each comprising 15 Vertec VT4889-1 full-size line array elements and three VT4887ADP compact powered line array elements with DrivePack technology. The system also included 26 VT4880A full-size arrayable subwoofers, with an additional 12 VT4887ADP loudspeakers provided for front-fill

UK - Early 2010 saw some of rock music's brightest new talents take to the road around the UK and Ireland on Kerrang! magazine's Relentless Energy tour. Comprising 11 shows in two weeks, with four bands playing each night, it was a tight schedule for the production crew. But with Yamaha M7CL and LS9 consoles on duty, it was a straightforward job for the tour's monitor engineers.

Stourbridge-based Stage Audio Services supplied the tour's audio equipment and technical crew. Monitor engineer Chris Wright manned the M7CL for opening bands My Passion and Young Guns and Welsh rockers The Blackout brought their own monitor tech who used the M7CL. Headliners All Time Low carried an LS9 and had a flexible approach - a backline tech or even a band member undertaking monitor duties.

"I really like the M7CL's user interface. It's very straightforward to use and easy to

UK - UK loudspeaker and amplifier company OHM(UK)Ltd has appointed David Hackett as their fairground representative.

As a member of a well established Lancashire Showman's dynasty, David has long been an OHM user and an advocate of good fairground sound. Recently handling over the day to day running of his rides to his son David Junior, David has started promoting OHM around the fairgrounds in the UK.

"Fairgrounds bring a unique set of problems for the sound provider," says David. "The system must supply high quality music reproduction and clear safety announcements to the public whilst on the ride without interfering with adjacent attractions. I have used OHM for a number of years and I am pleased to become a dealer of their products."

"We have always been interested in the fairground sound business and now is an ideal time to be promoting British b

Germany - Following a successful NAMM 2010 showing, Behringer has decided to provide an experimental new Virtual Booth beginning 24 March at www.behringer.com. The virtual exhibit is set to launch in late March following a major partner event in China with 100 distributors, dealers and press in late February.

Chairman Uli Behringer said: "This online feature is a simple, high-tech solution that will allow visitors to view all of our new products, and gain valuable information on the brands without ever leaving the comfort of their living room."

Behringer continued: "Attending multiple trade shows can be costly and time consuming for our dealers. We believe this is an innovative alternative that just makes perfect sense. We also encourage customers to follow us on Twitter and Facebook, and to check out the new product demos on YouTube."

At the upcoming Mus

UK - The ISCE reports that it has received a record number of bookings for its seminars at ISCEx2010 (2 March). The programme includes: Andy Scott, SigNET AC on The Regulatory Reform Order (Fire Safety) 2005; Rupert Moon, ProAudium on The pitfalls of project managing, from specification to handover - relating to VA contracting; Anthony Smith, current tThinking on switching amplifier topologies - exposing the sub classes; James Kennedy, Peavey Electronics on Digital audio networking - which technology?

The exhibitors include: Ampetronic, Ateis UK Ltd, Baldwin Boxall Communications, BC Technology, Cloud Electronics, Communication Technology, CUK Audio, Current Thinking, DNH World-wide, Duran Audio, EAW, Fuzion plc, Gent by Honeywell, Ikon AVS, Institute of Acoustics, Neutrik (UK), Rackz, RCF, RK Sound Engineering, RW Salt Communications, Sennheiser UK, Shuttlesound Telex Communica

UAE - Nicolas Kyvernitis Electronics, distributors for Electro-Voice speakers until April, amplifiers and processors in the United Arab Emirates, have recently supplied new rental firm G-Force with the EV XLC line array cabinets.

"The XLC system is a great product from EV, we have a number of customers that are using the system in a variety of events," commented Richie Hiranandani, marketing manager. As we have resigned from our position as a distributor of EV products this sale will be our last XLC system."

(Jim Evans)

Germany - When Meyer Sound returns to ProLight&Sound this March, a new self-powered loudspeaker will be unveiled with features that will attract installation, corporate AV, and theatre professionals, says the company. Meyer Sound will also show off two recently debuted loudspeaker products, the CAL steerable column array loudspeaker and the JM-1P arrayable loudspeaker, along with an expanding line of low-voltage installation solutions.

At the AVnu Alliance panel on 26 March, Meyer Sound digital products executive director John McMahon and other industry heavyweights will discuss the emerging AVB audio/video bridging networking standards. The D-Mitri digital audio platform - the first Meyer Sound product to leverage the AVB technology - will be featured on the booth. Attendees can also learn more about D-Mitri at the Manufacturers' Forum on 24 March and the CAL steerable column a

UK / Germany - Power amplifier specialist Chevin Research returns to the ProLight&Sound show in Frankfurt this year with a renewed focus on its sales and marketing efforts and with some new additions to their product range.With all international sales and marketing now handled by Andy Simmons at Audio Marketing Services, Chevin is looking at reinforcing their distribution network in preparation for the new products and technologies that will be introduced through the coming year. Martin Clinch, MD at Chevin Research, commented: "With the product plans that we have for this year we needed to 'up' our game on the sales and marketing front and Andy was the perfect fit. He brings his experience of the pro audio market to Chevin which is invaluable to us and we look forward to an exciting year."On the product front the Frankfurt show will see updates to the well known Q Serie

Germany - Peavey Electronics has confirmed that it will be sponsoring the Agora Stage at the Frankfurt MusikMesse 2010, with a full complement of audio equipment from all the Peavey Electronics brands including Peavey, Crest, Mediamatrix and Architectural Acoustics. This year's headline acts on the Agora Stage are Monte Montgomery and Davy Knowles.

In fact, there will be two stages this year, both fully equipped with a Peavey Versarray line array system powered by Crest Pro 200 Series amplifiers. Featuring ribbon drivers, neodymium woofers, angle-adjustment technology and multiple rigging options, Versarray represents Peavey's entry into the line array market. Each stage will benefit from a Crest CV 20 48-channel console to handle FoH duties and a Crest HP-Eight (40 frame) to run monitors.

The stages are side by side and are being run as A and B stages, flip-flopping from one

Germany - At Frankfurt this year, Trantec's focus will be on the Channel 38 ready, S6 wireless system which builds on the success of the S6000 range, taking the 19", 8-way concept to a higher level. Trantec has now incorporated a comprehensive user interface on the front panel allowing the user to configure and monitor all channels, with or without an external PC. The internal circuitry of the S6 beltpack and handheld transmitter has been redesigned and upgraded, extending the frequency capability to a massive 80MHz.

Trantec will also be exhibiting S-D7000 - the world's first professional fully digital wireless microphone system that is already in use at GMTV for their presenters and guests. Features include 24 bit audio resolution, network monitoring for over 60 channels, and users can now benefit from over 20 user channels in an 8MHz TV band.

Other products on show incl

USA - When Hurricane Gustav hit Baton Rouge in September of 2008, the damage effectively shut down the city for several days. At Southern University and A&M College, damage to 29,500-seat A.W. Mumford Stadium was significant but manageable. "It seems like a pretty minor issue but the truth is, losing the revenue generated by a home football game is significant," notes Henry L. Thurman III, director of the physical plant for Southern. "We had lost the entire sound system from our scoreboard as a result of the storm, and had to get it replaced inside of two weeks."

To manage the problem, Thurman contacted Tim Landry Sound Construction of nearby Mandeville, LA. "Mumford Stadium is a classic horseshoe shape," notes Tim Landry. "The scoreboard is at the open end and has to cover the entire stadium. That's a throw of over 400ft to the far end. The fi

UK - The distinctive Studer Vista technology has proved popular with the large houses of worship in North America and also in the Far East. Now the first Studer Vista 5 digital console has been chosen for a UK church, the Metropolitan Tabernacle in Belfast, which has been refurbished with one of the highest sound reinforcement system specifications in Northern Ireland.

This substantial installation was completed entirely under the aegis of the Tabernacle's in-house technical team, led by Trevor Bowron and Ian McAlees, members of which were unanimous in their choice of the 42-fader Vista 5, the first digital console for the church.

"There's a lot of experience in our team, much of it gained from the broadcast industry," says Ian McAlees. "So we were well-versed in Studer's reputation for reliability. As well as the capability to handle the large number of sources

USA / Germany - At the forthcoming ProLight&Sound exhibition (Frankfurt, 23-27 March) Furman will show its latest technologies for voltage regulation, power protection, and AC noise filtration for musicians and AV professionals.Furman's 'P-6900 AR E' and 'P-1400 AR E' utilise Furman's exclusive True RMS Voltage Regulation Technology to provide stable voltage to connected equipment, along with the company's Series Multi-Stage Protection (SMP), automatic Extreme Voltage Shutdown (EVS), and Linear Filtering (LiFT) technologies. Both models provide stable voltage output (selectable between 230V and 240V) at 6A (P-1400 AR E) or 30A (P-6900 AR E) capacity. Furman's True RMS Voltage Regulation Technology utilises an ultra-low-noise, microprocessor-controlled eight-tap toroidal autoformer. This, Furman says, assures quiet operation for critical listening and recording applications, with m

USA - The Soundcraft Si2 compact digital console recently installed in Neumo's Crystal Ball and Reading Room in Seattle, one of the Northwest's leading music venues, has made monitoring manageable for the digital age. The club installed a Soundcraft 48-input Si2 console with 24 monitor sends in December.

The console was sold to Neumo's by K. Berry Associates, a leading Seattle-area sound and lighting systems sales and installation provider, which also provides the club's other sound and lighting systems. Bay Area-based Plus 4 Marketing sold the Si2 console to K. Berry Associates.

Neumo's is a complex venue, hosting its restaurant, Pike Street Fish Fry, and the aptly named MOE BAR neighborhood pub, as well as its VIP Room. But the concert hall side of the business is its priority, with advanced lighting production, a serious sound system, and a carefully scheduled music calenda

UK - Saville Audio Visual recently installed a Dynacord surround-sound system in to a custom built, 100 seat cinema on board a Stena cruise ferry. Savilles, in conjunction with POLARaudio specified five Dynacord D-Lite D8 speakers, a Dynacord active D-Lite PowerSub 312, a Biamp MCA8150 multi-channel amplifier and a Violet Audio ADP61 processor for this unusual installation on board the Stena ship.

The brief was to supply a system that would provide high quality sound for up to 100 passengers. The system needed to be loud whilst retaining clarity.

Utilising the voicing of the D8 D-Lite Speakers, Savilles were able to install a high quality audio system within the constraints of the customer's budget.

The Violet Audio ADP61 Studio AV Preamp Decoder was installed to process the surround-sound before being fed to the Biamp MCA8150 8 channel amplifier. The MCA8150 delivers 150Wat

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