UK - Systems Workshop Distribution has announced plans to open a new showroom facility at its Oswestry premises. The showroom will take over space formerly occupied by Forge Studio and aims to provide a dedicated area for dealer training and product evaluation.

Systems Workshop's current distribution portfolio includes Fohhn loudspeaker systems, Vicoustic acoustic solutions, Tube-Tech valve processors and Schertler contact microphones, amplifiers and guitars.

Managing director Phil Beaumont commemnts, "Our brands increasingly require dedicated demo space that dealers can visit for a true evaluation of their capabilities. For example, to fully appreciate products like Vicoustic's Wave Wood really means experiencing the panel installed in an actual listening space, where it has been specifically positioned to fit the acoustic requirements of the room.

"The same is tr

Italy / UK - A North East audio company has made a major breakthrough into the Italian market with its equipment being installed in a major international sports stadium.

Sunderland-based Current Thinking has established a link with the Proel Group based in Sant'Omero, Italy - with the first project involving the upgrading of the facilities at the Stadio Adriatico in Pescara.

Current Thinking will be supplying Proel its advanced Voice alarm systems, sold under the Proel Brand ProEVAC 2.

Says Current Thinking managing director Anthony Smith, "We are very pleased to have established a relationship with the Proel Group, which is involved in supplying and installing audio, video and lighting equipment for major entertainment and sporting venues in many different countries.

"This is a good deal for both companies, Proel get some of the latest voice alarm equipment, and

World - For a-ha fans the world over, 2010 marks their last opportunity to see the band perform together. a-ha's farewell tour, aptly named Ending On A High Note, will have covered four continents and 15 countries when it wraps up. The band's final three shows ever, slated for early December in their home-country of Norway, sold out within days of their October 2009 announcements, well over a year in advance.

The tour is travelling with a full complement of Sennheiser wired and wireless microphones, including a Sennheiser SKM 5200 with a Neumann KK 105 capsule for lead vocalist Morten Harket, as well as Sennheiser wireless personal monitors. Ready support from the Sennheiser Global Relations Team has mitigated many of the travails of the road for tour manager Kleo Tuemmler, FOH engineer Sherif El Barbari, and monitor engineer Kursten Smith.

"Morten is incredibly se

UK - An early adopter of digital technology, Scouting For Girls' Front of House engineer Andy Williamson has been, up until now, a regular user of consoles by other manufacturers. However, at the start of the band's recent tour, which finished in Brighton at the end of May, audio rental company Capital Sound's Paul Timmins presented Andy with an opportunity to use a DiGiCo console.

"As soon as digital came out I jumped on it," says Williamson. "I love analogue, but the digital footprint is fantastic. However, you get used to certain characteristics of different consoles, with the result that I ended up using other manufacturers digital mixers.

"But then Paul offered me the chance to use an SD7. Having done a little research and read through the specs, I knew it was complete overkill for what I needed with regards to inputs and outputs, but the specs were so

France - Following the unveiling of APG's new DX range of multipurpose loudspeakers at ProLight + Sound 2010 in Frankfurt, the company has announced that a number of French rental companies have already taken delivery of the new units with several more on back order for next month.

Those already in possession of their DX Series loudspeakers include Visuel in Normandy who have already used them for the Fete de la Musique on 21 June; Alpha Audio in La Rochelle; and SNO Technique just outside Paris. In addition to sales in the domestic market, there are also a number of orders in preparation for the export market, particularly to Germany and the UK where APG has developed strong distribution partnerships.

APG head of sales and marketing, Xavier Pion, comments, "We were pretty confident that we'd have a great reaction to the new range, but it's always reassuring when t

India - In the first step to what will be a comprehensive expansion of its operations in India, Harman Professional has announced the appointment of audio industry veteran Ankush Agarwal to the role of marketing & communications manager. Agarwal's appointment is part of a greater overall initiative to bring increased focus to the Indian marketplace, and will be followed by more appointments to Harman Professional's sales, technical support and service teams in the months ahead, says the company.

Having previously served as marketing manager for Sennheiser India and with Hyundai Electronics before that, Agarwal brings a blend of marketing and professional audio sales experience to the team in India. He'll use that experience to drive Harman Professional's marketing and public relations strategies in the region and build upon the foundation laid by Sushil John, systems director, I

Denmark - DNP Denmark has announced the appointment of Richard Goh as dnp rep for South East Asia.

Due to the growth rate and development in South East Asia, and hence the growing need for high-end and high-performance projection screens, DNP Denmark wishes to put focus on this region in order to develop the market for advanced projection solutions.

Richard Goh will represent Singapore, Malaysia, Philippines and Indonesia -assisting dnp in sales, education of the channel and service.

He brings a strong background from the pro-audio business and already has great experience in selling dnp optical projection screens through his former employment at IMS Mahajak. He will be based in Singapore.

(Jim Evans)

UK - Still a concert-hall favourite at 71, Kenny Rogers - wearing a crisp white shirt to match the patrician beard - has completed a UK tour, playing concerts in England, Scotland and Ireland with Nexo-centred audio production support from the SSE Audio Group.

In a career spanning six decades, he's given more shows than many younger artists have had hot dinners, and the same can be said of long-time front-of-house sound engineer Keith Bugos, who started mixing for Kenny Rogers when he was with the First Edition, 39 years ago.

"We've definitely seen some changes over the years," says this master of understatement, "not least with the equipment we are using. Back in the late 80s, when Kenny was blazing hot and selling out arenas in a couple of hours, we were long-term clients of Clair Bros and carrying all our own production. Today, with shorter tours, we carry co

Syria - Last month, Buildex, the leading building and construction industry trade fair in the Arab world, was held in Damascus, Syria.

Buildex takes place every year and showcases raw materials and machinery for civil and industrial building industry and also represents a strategic meeting point for professionals and leading companies from that region who work in this field.

Technical Light and Sound Group (TLSC Group), the Syrian distributor known as SADA on the local market, presented a selected range of Proel solutions suitable for permanent installations and other applications.

Among the Proel products, visitors saw Proel's Flash Speaker Enclosure Series, HPD Digital Amplifier Series, a wide range of accessories and loudspeakers from AVL Systems Division for PA applications.

"Once more, this edition of Buildex confirmed its strategic importance for the professiona

UK - The 2010 ABTT Theatre Show saw the launch of a new online store for the entertainment industry - oubiance.co.uk. The idea behind the website is that the goods available are not simply uploaded from a product database; each item is input by one of the experienced technicians on the team.

Barclay Dakers, who heads up oubiance.co.uk, said: "Traditionally, online shopping for theatrical consumables can take up a considerable amount of time, wading through difficult to understand codes and product descriptions. We wanted to offer a completely different way of doing things. This site is run by techs, for techs."

The site utilises easy to navigate menus and aims to cut through the confusion by offering simpler methods of finding the desired item. For example, the range of replacement lamps is illustrated to enable users to compare what's in their hand with what's on th

Rock & Royal - This year's Glastonbury will be remembered for the unusually sunny weather and the number of surprise guests. U2 guitarist The Edge joined Muse, Kylie Minogue sang with Scissor Sisters, Radiohead's Thom Yorke and Jonny Greenwood played an unannounced set and Lou Reed was among those on stage with Gorillaz on Friday. Prince Charles also surprised fans when he went on a walkabout and trod the Pyramid Stage boards during the festival's first royal visit on Thursday. Organiser Michael Eavis said his event had "finally got the royal seal of approval" on its 40th anniversary.

Stevie Wonder helped the festival celebrate its 40th anniversary with a crowd-pleasing set to close this year's event. He brought Michael Eavis on to the stage to help sing a version of Happy Birthday.

In The Sale Room (1) - A crystal-studded glove belonging to the late po

USA - The first AES/EBU digital variant of the award-winning JoeCo Blackbox Recorder has made its debut on the recent Procol Harum tour of the USA and Canada. The band played a number of solo headline shows in addition to sharing the stage with Jethro Tull during the two-week tour that took in Virginia, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Boston, Chicago and Toronto.

Linked to a Yamaha PM5D-RH console, chosen for ease of use and changeover, Procol Harum FOH engineer Graham Ewins explained how the 24-channel multi-track live audio recorder proved its worth.

"Hook-up was simplicity itself, connect the looms, connect the hard drive, power up and off you go. We had to configure our new hard drives for fat 32 file handling, but once this was done, we were up and running very easily. Procol Harum channels total to 22, with channels 23 and 24 used as a stereo pair for audience c

South Africa - Electro-Voice loudspeakers have been chosen to provide sound reinforcement in nine of the 10 arenas hosting the 2010 World Cup, and in six of them the stadium announcers will also be using Electro-Voice wireless microphones.

Electro-Voice's partner in the region, Prosound won the commission to install the sound systems. A mammoth task: - four of the stadiums were new constructions and the other six had to be renovated, extended or partly rebuilt in order to meet the stringent demands of an event of this calibre.

In the case of the sound reinforcement, each stadium was the subject of a separate invitation to tender and to merit serious consideration each sound reinforcement solution proposed had to be tailored to the acoustic and other requirements of each individual stadium.

"Ever since founding the firm over 37 years ago, I have worked closely with Elect

Macedonia - DT Kodi recently deployed AKG's DMM 4/2/2 digital automatic microphone mixer unit as the foundation of a complete Harman Professional audio upgrade at the US Embassy in Skopje, Macedonia. The system - which also includes JBL loudspeakers, Crown amplifiers, dbx processors and additional AKG wireless products - will be used to provide sound reinforcement for the floor debates, as well as be used to satisfy conference sound requirements, entertainment requirements, and more.

The system was designed to meet a special request from the Embassy's technical department, who were seeking a system that would be able to provide open conference, simultaneous interpretation, recording and some basic sound reinforcement. Furthermore, it needed to function virtually operator free.

"When I saw the space, it was clear that it was much more than a conference hall," said DT

Germany - With its new Production and Technology Centre, audio specialist Sennheiser has completed the largest construction project in the company's history. The company headquarters in Wennebostel is now home to one of the most modern assembly plants in Northern Germany.

Sennheiser has spent around 15m euros on the new centre, not including the costs involved in moving production from Burgdorf and transferring the engineering department. As part of the construction of the new building, all manufacturing processes were reorganised to create increased efficiency for the future.

"The meticulous planning and the intensive consultation process with ergonomists and manufacturing experts has paid off," concluded Volker Bartels, president of manufacturing and logistics. "From the beginning of this year our production and engineering staff have been working in a superbl

UK - Calrec Audio has announced it will discontinue production of analogue audio consoles as of 30 November 2010. Until then, the company is offering an opportunity to make final purchases of its S2, C2, and M3 analogue consoles as well as modules and card assemblies.

In keeping with the company's long-standing support policy, Calrec will continue to provide component spares and repair services for the S2, C2 and M3 consoles for a minimum of 10 years from shipment date. Should original components or parts become unavailable, Calrec will offer appropriate alternatives, including hardware/software solutions.

The decision to stop making analogue consoles results from the broadcast market's general adoption of digital technology, which has both reduced demand for analogue products and made dedicated analogue components difficult to come by. Calrec had already stopped manufacturing

Italy - Aviom helped with the performances at Italy's 60th annual San Remo Music Festival by supplying more than 25 A-16II Personal Mixers, via Sisme Spa, to the show's entire orchestra. Each year, the popular Italian song contest hosts musicians from all over Italy, who perform original Italian language pieces. The programme is televised, and the artists are ultimately judged by viewers watching at home.

One of the major challenges producers face when broadcasting this show is the use of different conductors during each performance, while the orchestra remains the same.To help maintain consistency between numbers during this year's festival, every member of the orchestra utilized the Aviom A-16II Personal Mixer (in previous years only the rhythmic section used the Aviom equipment). The 16 presets on each of the A-16II mixers proved to be an asset for musicians and engineers ali

UK - The Assembly Hall Theatre in Tunbridge Wells, Kent, recently upgraded its analogue FOH mixer to a new digital system, selecting Allen & Heath's iLive from a shortlist of options.

During the evaluation stage, the Theatre's engineer, Jay Christie, approached PA company and installation firm, SRD Group, to request a demo of the iLive system.

"Jay was looking at various digital options but iLive came out on top because it is so flexible, easy to set up and install, has DCA groups, and unlike many other smaller consoles, has a Touchscreen," explains SRD's Stuart Roberts.

"I also liked the fact that the EQ, gates and compressors are all laid out on the front of the surface rather than hidden in a Touchscreen menu, making set up and operation quicker than other consoles we tested," adds Christie.

The Theatre selected an iDR-48 MixRack and iLive-T112 Contr

UK - AC-ET's Audio division has been selected as an accredited reseller for the Behringer and Samson ranges of studio production equipment.The two brands further extend the choice of audio solutions available from AC-ET as part of its philosophy to cater for the widest possible range of budgets and technical requirements.

The extensive Behringer line-up includes mixers, loudspeakers and studio monitors, power amplifiers, PA systems, signal processors, modelling and effects processors, microphones, MIDI controllers and audio interfaces.

Samson began over 25 years ago as an audio technology company designing wireless microphone systems and has pioneered a number of technical breakthroughs in wireless technologies. The product range includes USB microphones, processors, equalisers, portable PA systems, mixers, power amplifiers and power distribution.

AC-ET's audio sales manager

Trinidad - Nestled between the residences of the Prime Minister and President of Trinidad, the Queen's Hall in Port of Spain recently purchased a new Soundcraft Vi6 console, installed by Caribbean Entertainment Technologies, the systems integration arm of the distribution company AMR Export. The company installed the console as part of an audio system upgrade at Queen's Hall to support the venue's ever-growing reputation for top-notch musical and theatrical performances.

The Soundcraft Vi6 was installed in a way to cope with all manner of monitor feeds, allow for joint front-of-house redundancy and to provide ultimate portability. "After researching the venue and presenting our ideas, the Vi6 was the easy choice for the Hall to make," says Aaron Rudden, owner of CET /AMR Export. "Key items that secured the Vi6 were its 96-channel solution, Soundcraft's commitment

UK - Adlib is supplying the UK and European sections of the current Crowded House tour with sound equipment and crew. Dee McLoughlin heads the team on the road as tour manager, with Robin Scott as Production Manager. Adlib's James Neale and Marc Peers are on the tour, ensuring that engineers Angus Davidson (FOH) and Paul Jeffrey (monitors) have a seamless working day and a fine sounding system each day.

Adlib is supplying an L-Acoustics V-Dosc system, with dV-Dosc in-fills, Arcs side-fills and SB28 subs. This was specified by Davidson for its sound and clarity.

The set-up varies according to venue, and in its largest format the main arrays consisted of 8 V-Dosc cabinets a side, with three dV underhangs. They are using a combination of d-V and ARCs in-fills and out-fills along the front of stage and with James Neale as systems tech, it's fine tuned each day.

Dolby Lakesare be

Ukraine - Newly opened in the latter half of 2009, Donbass Arena in Donetsk is the first stadium in Eastern Europe designed and built to meet UEFA (Union of European Football Associations) regulations for elite stadiums. On Sunday 30 May, Donbass Arena played host to its first mega-concert: The Hits of the 80s. Featured artists included The Gypsy Kings and the British R&B/dance band London Beat, Demis Roussos and the Spanish vocal duo Baccara. Sound reinforcement was through a massive D.A.S. Audio system.

Dnepropetrovsk, Ukraine-based Indigo Music Companywhich handles a wide range of projects encompassing live sound for concerts, commercial installations, as well as broadcast and telecommunications applications, was contracted to provide sound reinforcement for the event.

Company president Dmitry Lokshin reports, "One of the biggest obstacles we faced on this conce

Ukraine - The Midas PRO6 live audio system proved to be the highlight of the third annual Ukrainian Sound Engineers Union Seminar which was held during May in Kiev's resort district Pushtcha Vodica.

Midas Klark Teknik's Ukrainian distributor CORTMI provided a PRO6 as FOH console for the entire three-day seminar. As well as demonstrating the Midas sound to delegates for all the presentations, the set up was used for a vocal microphone test arranged by the Ukrainian Sound Engineers Union, as well as a sound engineers' proficiency contest.

The seminar also included a presentation devoted especially to the PRO6 by CORTMI sound engineer Vladimir Prokof'yev. Delegates participated in a workshop introducing them to the practical aspects of working with the console, and were given a presentation by sound engineer Vitaliy Siroshtan from rental company Jazz-Club Service, the first Ukrai

Saudi Arabia - Prism Sound has announced the appointment of Moon Systems as the company's exclusive distributor in Saudi Arabia.

Located in Dammam, Moon Systems handles a range of high end products geared towards the professional recording and post production markets. It now has exclusive rights to distribute Prism Sound recording and post products as well as the full range of SADiE products.

Commenting on the appointment, Jody Thorne, Prism Sound/SADiE's sales and marketing manager, says, "The Middle East is already a successful territory for us and it is great to have a company like Moon Systems supporting and selling our brands in Saudi Arabia. We look forward to a long and profitable relationship with them."

Among the products Moon Systems is handling is the new SADiE 6 software. This allows audio professionals the opportunity to access the power and flexibilit

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