Sound

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USA/Finland - As Oasis of the Seas sailed out of a Finnish shipyard, the luxuriously outfitted flagship of Royal Caribbean International went straight into the record books as the largest and most expensive passenger vessel ever built - weighing more than 225,000 gross registered tons and costing $1.5bn.

Oasis of the Seas also sets a new record for the largest ocean-going Meyer Sound systems. Three complex Matrix3 audio show control systems are installed, along with a total of 268 loudspeakers that include Meyer Sound's most compact subwoofer, custom designed to meet the stringent space requirements on the cruise ship.

Responsibility for the detailed design, integration, and installation of the AV systems was contracted to FUNA International. "This was like building a full-scale Las Vegas hotel-casino or themed resort inside a ship," says Derek Warner,

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World - For Michael Bublé's Crazy Love world tour, monitor engineer Craig Brittain is employing a DiGiCo SD7 console.

"I switched to a DiGiCo D5 at the beginning of our last tour, two and a half years ago. I fell in love with the sound, the versatility and flexibility of it," says Brittain. "At the time I happened to catch a glimpse of the then-unlaunched SD7 under lock and key in a back room at DiGiCo. So when audio company Solotech suggested purchasing one for me to use on this tour, the decision was a no-brainer."

The show's monitor setup is complex, with 90 inputs and close to 60 outputs. "We have an intricate talkback system, click tracks and various other things, which pushes up the count," says Brittain. "With that number, there's no other console which can even come close.

"But it's not just the channel count, I t

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USA - The 2010 Tony Awards were announced in New York City last night, with the Donmar Warehouse's production of Red leading the pack with six awards - more than any other single play or musical production. Red won best new play, best director (Michael Grandage - artistic director of the Donmar) and best featured actor in a play (Eddie Redmayne). Other members of Red's British creative team also came out on top, with Christopher Oram winning for best scenic design, Neil Austin for best lighting design of a play and Adam Cork for best sound design of a play. Austin, who earlier in the month won the Drama Desk award for his work on the same show, was actually nominated twice in the category, the second nomination for the Donmar Warehouse's Hamlet.

The musical La Cage Aux Folles, which began life at the Menier Chocolate Factory in Southwark, south

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UK / Poland - During the last month Ohm has completed a series of successful road tests of the new Ersa Major line array.

Over the May bank holiday weekend in England, Ersa Major was used at Premier League Stoke City's Player of the Year event in the Britannia Stadium which was an enjoyable and successful experience for thousands of supporters.

The sound system comprised of 16 Ersa Major mid/high cabinets and 12 PUKK-218 subs, amplified with Ohm CFU amplifiers. Witnessed by a number of Ohm's worldwide distributors and sound production companies the 68,000 watt system gave" a completely even sound coverage and excellent clarity, exceeding everyone's expectations".

At the same time in Poland the ERsa Major was also getting good results in a series of concerts with many top international acts, including ex-Genesis guitarist Ray Wilson and leading Polish band LZ

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UK - Musician and producer Mr Hudson has just completed a successful headline UK May tour and is now the support for Jay Z on his sold out arena shows, before performing at a selection of festivals including Isle of Wight and Wireless.

His monitor equipment already featured a Sennheiser G2 in ear system, which, says monitor engineer and stage manager Jimmy Nicholson, are an industry standard. But when Nicholson started working with Mr Hudson in April of this year, his familiarity with the company's equipment prompted the addition of Sennheiser microphones to the audio inventory.

"We are using a combination of G3 and G2 935 mics, and G2 IEM systems. In addition, I'm using a Net-1 and a laptop running Wireless Systems Manager," says NIcholson.

"I specified all the equipment in use except the IEM systems, which Mr Hudson already owned - in the absence of the G3 o

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USA - Bosch Security Systems Communications Systems Division has announced the addition of two new product marketing managers to its Burnsville, Minn.-based team.

Mark Andersen has been appointed product marketing manager, Bosch Public Address. Sally Neubauer has assumed the position of product marketing manager, ProSound-Retail.

Both will support the Americas Region by developing and implementing marketing strategies for their respective product lines, acting as focal points for the voice of customer in the process. Both positions report to Brian Divine, sr. product marketing manager, ProSound.

(Jim Evans)

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Indonesia - L-Acoustics' Indonesian representative Tri Tunggal Abadi has installed a Kudo line source system into the new Gerej Bethany Suko Manunggal, one of Indonesia's largest churches. Located in Surabaya, Jawa Timur, the church can accommodate gatherings of more than 3,000 people.

The system consist of two hangs each of 10 Kudo cabinets and four SB28 subwoofers, making this the first church installation in Indonesia to use Kudo with flown subs. Three 12XT coaxials are used for front-fill, with two 112P for the pastor's monitor system and two 108Ps as stereo keyboard monitors. The system is driven by one LA4 and 12 LA8 amplified controllers.

During the installation phase, Tri Tunggal Abadi carried out extensive acoustic treatment to absorb and diffuse two long, parallel reflective walls, which were causing much reverberation in the room. Germain Simon and Cedric Montresor

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UK - Ateis UK is reinforcing its commitment to the audio installation sector with the appointment of a new sales executive to concentrate on this market. Matt Collman has joined the company to take charge of its non-voice alarm products.

As installation audio sales executive Collman is responsible for Ateis' professional installation product ranges, which include the new Echo Cancellation System, UAPG2 DSP audio network, IP-based products and the Magellan counter intercom system.

Collman previously worked at Harman UK in its service sales support division. Most recently he was with games company Atronic, handling pan-Europe sales.

Commenting on his new role at Ateis UK Collman says, "I've wanted to move back into the pro audio market for a while and spent some time researching Ateis and its expanding product range. Ateis ticks all the boxes in presenting a challenge to

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UK - Artistic Licence has announced the release of a new range of exterior / interior LED products called Flexi-Strip.

Flexi-Strip is a range of standard LEDs on a flexible circuit board, encapsulated within a flexible, clear silicone tube. Rated at IP67, the encapsulated housing protects Flexi-Strip's LEDs from moisture, dust and damage making it suitable for both internal and external applications, in dry or wet conditions. Each strip is backed by a self-adhesive tape so it can be attached quickly and easily in any location.

Flexi-Strip comes in a variety of colour options, full colour RGB, warm white and cool white. The RGB colour mixing versions comes in Bright and Super-Bright intensities.

For control, a direct voltage feed (12V) can be used for continuous illumination or an Artistic Licence Rail-Pipe can be added to allow dimming via DMX.

Rail-Pipe can be controlled

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USA - Unveiled this week at Infocomm in the USA, the new S-MADI REAC Bridge from the Roland Systems Group "opens the door to a multiplicity of digital connection opportunities" for REAC products such as the V-Mixing Consoles, M-48 Live Personal Mixer and Digital Snakes.

Inspired by high levels of interest in the M-48 personal mixer system from manufacturers and users of large-format consoles, notably the team at DiGiCo, engineers at Roland have designed a bi-directional signal converter between MADI and REAC, (Roland Ethernet Audio Communication), the proprietary protocol developed by Roland to meet the market's need for a point-to-point 24 bit/ 96kHz, low latency digital audio transport.

The S-MADI REAC Bridge enables connectivity between any MADI-equipped digital audio mixer/system and any of Roland's REAC products, enabling the use of the award-winning V-Mixing Co

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Cyprus - The Four Seasons luxury hotel in Limassol has finished a complete renovation of its sound system, counting on D.A.S. sound systems to help get the job done. This complex is equipped with 300 rooms, six restaurants, four bars, several multipurpose conference rooms, a spa and a shopping area, among other amenities, as well as several swimming pools, Jacuzzis, terraces and a private beach.

The installation was carried out by FSD Electronics. Their technical staff, led by Andreas Loizou, chose the D.A.S. Variant and Reference systems to properly set up the resorts various lounges and restaurants.

The D.A.S. Variant powered compact array systems were installed in the main multipurpose room, which comes equipped with a small stage for live performances. A total of eight Variant 112A systems accompanied by six Variant 18A subwoofer units were installed, forming a powerful sy

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UK - Mid-May saw BBC Radio 1 stage its annual Big Weekendtwo-day festival, this year in Bangor, Wales. Featuring some of the contemporary music scene's biggest acts and most well-known Radio 1 DJs, an equally high profile was enjoyed by Sennheiser UK.

For the UK festival season's first major outdoor event, the company worked closely with audio providers Britannia Row and Adlib Audio to supply equipment and on-site support to the main and second stages throughout the weekend.

All main stage presenter microphones were SKM 5200s with KK 105 heads, while all main and second stage in-ear monitors were ew 300s. An A5000-CP antenna and Vulcan launch system were also deployed on the main stage.

Artists using Sennheiser equipment included Cheryl Cole (custom SKM 5200) and main stage headliner Florence and The Machine (SKM 5200 and 2000 Series IEMs); Faithless (SKM 945 G3), Diz

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USA - Barix AG announces that Calvary Baptist School and Church, located in the Houston metropolitan area, is using Barix Audio over IP equipment as a core part of its multi-zone voice and audio scheduling system for K-12 classrooms. The campus is also installing a Barix Annuncicom 1000 two-way IP audio device to stream music and announcements to eight outdoor zones during school days and worship-oriented events.

Calvary Baptist School has approximately 225 students spread across seven buildings, some of which mix elementary, junior high and/or high school classrooms. The school was seeking an audio and notification system capable of distributing scheduled events, including bells and announcements, to seven distinct zones. The zones are segregated by grade levels instead of buildings, which required an intelligent system that could clearly recognize the specified PA points withi

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Belgium - Audient's 16 channel mixing console Zen is making its mark in Belgium with the help of recently appointed distributor Juke Box Ltd, with two prominent sales and a successful demo studio in the bag within three months. Studio Simonne was set up two years ago by engineer/producer David Minjauw and is now centred around his new Zen, with an extensive range of outboard gear, patching, Logic and ProTools recording software, ADAM and Genelec monitoring.

"My goal is to realise a compact studio within an affordable budget, but without compromising the quality. The addition of the Audient Zen has gone a long way to help with this," says Minjauw, who is currently upgrading the studio - previously just a mixing room - by adding a recording booth for basic recording and overdubs.

Brussels-based Ohm Studio has also upgraded to an Audient Zen. "It has an incredible

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USA - Viva ELVIS, the seventh resident production by Cirque du Soleil in Las Vegas, revitalizes the mythic rock 'n' roll icon by infusing the raw energy of his best concert performances into lavish Broadway-style production numbers and exhilarating acrobatic spectacles.

The show demands artful blending of disparate audio elements: an eight-piece on-stage band, four female singers, the voice of Elvis, and dynamic sound effects. To support the mix with full impact, sound designer Jonathan Deans engaged a total of 279 self-powered Meyer Sound loudspeakers and the largest all-digital Matrix3 audio show control and CueConsole modular control surface system ever assembled.

"Cirque didn't want to recreate anything they have done before," says Deans. "They wanted to create something new and special for Elvis and for Las Vegas, drawing on the energy of Elvis's liv

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UK - Adlib supplied audio equipment and crew to the recent Flight of The Conchords UK tour, ensuring that "formerly New Zealand's fourth most popular guitar-based digi-bongo acapella-rap-funk-comedy folk duo" and now a US TV phenomenon had suitable sonic treatment for their first UK tour.

It was also the first time that Adlib has worked for Flight of The Conchords, having developed a penchant for the specialist requirements of live large-scale comedy performances.

Adlib's Ben Booker and Hassane Es Siahi were the systems engineers for band engineers Ryan Pickett (FOH) and Matt Shane (monitors), with Nick Jevons as production manager / lighting director.

The main system was a JBL VerTec - comprising 4889 cabinets with 4880A subs. Though not generally a bass heavy show, there were certain instruments that needed serious low end, like a miniature acoustic guitar with a

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France - The weekend of 22-23 May was the occasion of the 35th Franco-Portuguese festival in the Parisian suburb of Pontault-Combault. A hugely popular cultural event with a carnival parade, barbecue and live music, attendance figures this year broke all records.

For Saturday night's headline act, Jorge Ferreira, crowds were estimated at anything up to 22,000, and it was a similar story for Louisy Joseph and Quim Barreiros on Sunday night. Handling all the audio requirements for the festival stage was local rental company and APG Uniline partner, SNO Technique. SNO Technique supplied a powerful Uniline line array system for FoH and an SMX15 monitor system.

"We were all totally bowled over by the number of people who came," observed SNO Technique's Jean-Francois Fougeras. "We were expecting a maximum of 15,000 if the weather was good, and we ended up with over 20

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South Africa - The first Xone:DX in South Africa has been purchased by DJ and producer, Gavin 'Vin' Deysel, who used the new controller for his performance at the World Cup celebrations United We Shall Stand for Bafana Bafana in Johannesburg last week.

An estimated 185,000 fans lined the streets of Sandton's business district in support of their national team ahead of the World Cup opening match. The Bafana Bafana football team paraded the streets in a double decker bus, whilst radio presenters from both stations interacted with the players and crowds along the route.

As well as a performing DJ, Deysel is a producer at the top Johannesburg radio station, Highveld Stereo (94.7), which organised the event in partnership with Talk Radio 702 and Southern Sun.

"I have used a variety of controllers and can honestly say that the DX is by far the most superior when it co

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China - Italian audio manufacturer dBTechnologies reports that its significantly larger presence at the recent PALM exhibition was met with increased traffic on the mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau distributor Sharp Dragon booth this year, where all new ranges including DVA, DVX, Opera Digital and FlexSys loudspeaker systems were showcased.

As the show kicked off, Sharp Dragon's representatives were inundated with both Chinese and international visitors at the stand, and three times as many Chinese-language product catalogues were distributed as compared to the previous year. General manager Shelly Xia comments, "This is the best PALM show to date. We had a good number of existing customers visiting, and made a very pleasing number of new contacts."

Asia Pacific sales manager Martin Capp feels that this demonstrates the acceptance of the dBTechnologies brand and i

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UK - This week's ABTT Theatre Show sees the launch of Canford's new wireless Tecpro system designed for use in theatre, conference, live performance and broadcast applications. The completely new digital wireless system employs EU licence-exempt UHF frequencies. It provides full-duplex speech communication to a group of up to six users in an encrypted conference and unlimited listen only users. It is completely compatible with the original Tecpro and the new Tecpro2 wired systems, says the company.

Wireless Tecpro enables members of the group to talk to and listen to all the other members simultaneously, using wireless beltpacks. In addition an unlimited number of listen-only wireless beltpacks can be added to the system, for personnel who only need to monitor conversations. An interface is in the final stages of development which replaces one of the full-duplex users with a con

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UK - Orbital Sound is showing its range of innovative stage products at the ABTT Theatre Show this week. Distributed exclusively by Orbital in the UK, the products include Da-Cappo Micro microphones, Zaxcom digital wireless micrtphone systems, HME digital wireless intercom systems and the CSC Ver. 3 Show Control Software.

These products are complemented by loudspeakers from d&b audiotechnik, together with digital mixing consoles from Digidesign, and Roland RSS digital multicores and consoles. Completing the product line-up are Telex and RTS intercom systems. Orbital is also presenting its Noise at Work assessment service for theatres, production companies and venue managers.

The Da-Cappo product range includes the DA-12 single-ear microphone and the DA-04 lapel microphone, plus the award-winning DA-15 single-ear microphone with an in-ear monitor piece. Manufactured in Australi

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UK - The APRS reports the availability of enhanced financial support for UK companies intending to exhibit at the Autumn AES show, scheduled to take place at the Moscone Center in San Francisco, California, from November 4-11 this year.

For many years, small government grants have been available to companies throughout the UK economy wishing to explore business opportunities in overseas markets. The APRS is the ATO (Accredited Trade Organisation) for the AES Conventions and despite the current economic climate, has succeeded in negotiating a higher level of grant for successful qualifying candidates for TAP (Tradeshow Access Programme) support in San Francisco.

Peter Filleul, executive director of the APRS, comments,"US AES shows are very different creatures to the European shows - they're much more music-oriented, and considerably more 'rock'n'roll'. What's more, each ye

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USA - JBL Vertec line arrays are heading up the PA system on Conan O'Brien's current Legally Prohibited From Being Funny On Television Tour with Audio Analysts providing live sound reinforcement for the production. The 30-city tour kicked off on 12 April 12 in Eugene, Oregon and finishes this week in Atlanta, Georgia.

The live stage production is similar to a television variety show, with many elements from Late Night With Conan O'Brien including sidekick Andy Richter and members of the show's band. The tour also includes video bits, musical and comic performances and cameo appearances by celebrities, while O'Brien himself performs music throughout the production.

Before shipping out the Vertec line arrays to Los Angeles for initial rehearsals, Audio Analysts fine-tuned the entire system at its headquarters in Colorado Springs, Colorado. "The reliable perfor

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Germany - Following negotiations at prolight + sound in Frankfurt, Kling & Freitag has confirmed three new distributors.

In Luxembourg, Audio Vision takes over the distribution. Audio Vision is familiar with the fields of theatre and media installations and also with live events. The first projects are already in the planning stage and should be realised with Kling & Freitag products.

In Turkey, Dinakord will take over sales. Up to now, Dinakord was mainly operating in the MI business. The distribution of Kling & Freitag is emphasises their ambition to extend activities to the ProAudio market.

Acti-Tech from Nigeria is the first official representation for K&F on the African continent, selling the Kling & Freitag products mainly in installations. Peter Madu, manager of Acti-Tech comments, "I am happy that with the brand Kling & Freitag I will be able to include in my sa

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