USA - To coincide with the US launch of its new digital mixing console, the D1, DiGiCo will be giving away two DiGiCo D1 USB MP3 watches in a free prize draw at LDI. The draw will take place half an hour before close of show on Friday and Saturday on DiGiCo Booth #2728 and all entrants must have taken a demonstration of the new D1 console during the show.

"We're very excited about both the launch of the D1," says DiGiCo marketing director, David Webster. "And we're celebrating this with a prize that fits the occasion. Our original USB watches have proved to be incredibly popular, having all the convenience of DiGiCo's D5 pocket sized USB key, which can store all the desk settings for an entire show, with the added convenience of a watch. Now we're giving away all that plus an integral MP3 player. It doesn't get much better!"

(Sarah Rushton-Read)

UK - Kramer Electronics has announced that the new VP-1608 RGBHV and balanced stereo audio matrix switcher is in stock and ready for delivery. The VP-1608 is a 16-input, 8-output matrix switcher with audio gain control on each input and output. Its features make it an ideal choice for the routing of RGBHV and balanced stereo audio signals, say Kramer. A high bandwidth switcher with 400MHz of bandwidth, it can also be used to switch other signal formats, such as YUV, s-Video and composite video signals, say Kramer.

The VP-1608 includes audio-breakaway switching, so that audio can be switched independently from video. It has15 preset memory locations for quick access to common configurations, and also has a 'Take' button, which allows the user to place multiple switching operations in a queue, and then trigger them from one button. It also has a "delayed switching" mode

UK - The London School of Economics, one of the hotbeds of student radicalism in the 1960's, has recently revamped its three student entertainment spaces and QSC's AcousticDesign sound systems are prominently featured throughout the new venues.

Following a similar project at nearby Kings College, London's Clarity in Sound, Light and Vision has performed a major redesign on two of the three spaces: The Three Tuns, a 400-capacity traditional bar, and the 300-capacity Underground live music venue. Combined with a third venue, the Quad, the LSE can now provide entertainment for up to 1300 and route the signals from the live venues to patrons at the bar.

Clarity director Stuart Graham opted for a complete QSC-based system to meet the multi-purpose live and background music needs of the Three Tuns. Featuring a pair of AcousticDesign AD-S82 full-range enclosures, augmented by six AD-

UK - The Marquee Club is back up and running this autumn in a new venue, with Aztec, Audient's flagship live desk forming part of the new PA system, hand-picked and installed by Terminal Studios. Back again in its spiritual home in Soho, the Marquee Club is only a short walk from its famous Wardour Street location. With a capacity of 1000, the new venue at Number 1 Leicester Square needed professional help with the sound system.

Terminal Studios were chosen due to their wide experience of installing PA systems. Terminal's managing director Charlie Barrett says: "We knew that the sound system would be crucial to the success of the club. We wanted tried and tested equipment that engineers and bands would be familiar with. Turbosound Floodlight was the obvious choice of speaker as Terminal already had large stocks available. The Audient Aztec, however, was not originally on t

Norway - The Christian Church congregation of Norway recently held the grand opening of their new 7,500-seat Brunstad Conference Center main hall and facilities. The new PA installation is the largest installed sound system in Norway and Europe's largest house of worship installation. The system featured the largest number of Crown I-Tech Series amplifiers in a European installation to date, with 100,000 watts of total amplifier power.

LydRommet AS, Harman Pro distributor for Norway, was responsible for system design, installation, trimming and quality control. The congregation's technical department handled all cabling and termination themselves.

Twelve I-T4000s and ten I-T6000s were used, in addition to one CTs 1200 for front fill, one CTs 2000 for stage fill, and four CTs 2000 for monitors. All loudspeaker control including crossover, equalization, delay and limiting is han

UK - The Music Industries Association's (MIA) annual Awards Dinner, held on 6th October at Sound in Leicester Square, brought together over 280 guests from across the music industry to recognise the winners of the MIA Awards.

Sponsored by Classic fm, Future Publishing, Sound on Sound Magazine and MB Media, the event covered all areas of the industry with awards for classical, contemporary and high tech instruments, and music publishing. There were also awards for outstanding retailers and suppliers and special awards for Stephen Richards (for Outstanding Contribution to Trade Associations) and Michael Doughty (for Lifetime Achievement).

Among the highlights was a speech by Feargal Sharkey (Chair - Live Music Forum), during which he continued the theme of his speech at the PLASA Awards in celebrating the vibrancy of the British music scene. Reminding guests of the issues thre

USA - For the fifth election cycle in a row, Audio-Technica was the premier mic supplier for the USA's presidential debates. Audio-Technica provided wired and wireless microphone solutions for the presidential debates in Coral Gables, Florida on 30 September, St. Louis Missouri on 8 October and Tempe, Arizona on 13 October. A-T also provided onsite technical expertise at the first two debates of the series and had a strong presence, including onsite technical expertise, at the vice presidential debate at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio, near A-T's Stow corporate headquarters.

A leading audio resource for high-profile broadcast events, A-T has been outfitting the debates since 1988, when the Commission on Presidential Debates assumed sponsorship and production responsibilities. With the company again acting as the premier mic supplier for all four debates this

UK - Allen & Heath has recently appointed three new distributors to its worldwide network of resellers. In Romania, Senia Company 999 Ltd. will now exclusively manage sales of the manufacturer's portfolio of professional audio mixers, while Lexon S.A. and Tech Top Ltd. have taken over responsibility for the brand in Spain and Israel, respectively.

Allen & Heath's sales director, Bob Goleniowski, commented: "We are very pleased to welcome these new distributors to the Allen & Heath network and feel that their in-depth knowledge of the pro audio market, as well as the installers, rental companies, contractors and consultants in their territories, can only strengthen the position of the Allen & Heath brand now and through our continuing expansion."

(Mike Lethby)

UK - Yamaha Commercial Audio Dealer Orbital has announced two UK sales of Yamaha's award-winning PM5D digital FOH console.

Bill Kenwright Productions has acquired the console to operate at the FOH position of their legendary musical 'Blood Brothers' at The Phoenix theatre in London's West End, whilst Sussex-based sound rental company KAVE Theatre Services has augmented the potential of its hire fleet with the addition of the PM5D.

Combining the features of Yamaha's DM2000 and the ground-breaking PM1D in a mid-priced digital console, complete with a third generation operating system, it is designed as a robust workhorse for all but the largest sound reinforcement projects.

Bill Kenwright's Production Manager, David Stothard, commented: "We have a long-running relationship with Orbital - their support and equipment demonstrations enabled us to make an informed decision

Sweden - Solid State Logic has announced the sale of a C100 digital production console to the Malmo Opera and Music Theatre, the first time the desk has been used in a theatre application.

Situated in the centre of Sweden's Öresund region, the Malmo Opera and Music Theatre was originally opened in the 1940s with the aim of giving contemporary musical drama an opportunity to grow. The theatre has one of the largest stages in Europe and can seat up to 1,500 people.

Over recent months the management of the Malmo Opera and Music Theatre have been upgrading the sound system and FOH facilities to incorporate digital live sound. As part of this refurbishment, the Theatre decided to replace its 10-year-old analogue console with an SSL C100 digital production console because it needed a desk with more inputs and instant recall and reset capabilities.

Bengt Frienholt, technical man

France - Trantec has collaborated with its French distributor, Best Audio, to design and supply one of the largest S6000 wireless radio microphone systems deployed to date for the new musical production 'On Acheve Bien Les Chevaux', which opens at the Palais de Congrés later this month.

Adapted from Horace McCoy's legendary novel 'They Shoot Horses Don't They', the show is directed and produced by Robert Hossein and has attracted rave reviews as the first stage adaptation of this ground-breaking novel.

Trantec's Head of R&D, Richard Ganley, collaborated with leading French rental company Dispatch from the outset to ensure that the system integrated seamlessly with sound designer Julius Tessarech's sophisticated design and met his specifications.

The 40-channel S6000 system was specified because of its wide band frequency agility. Trantec supplied a system operating between

Finland - Active monitoring specialist Genelec has extended its range of colours for the launch of its new pro-audio system, the 8000 series.

The three near-field two-way 8000 Series products are the 8030A, 8040A, and 8050A. The 'baby' 8030A now comes in silver, as well as the launch colour black, while the 8040A and 8050A will be now be available in white as well as black.

Following in the footsteps of the 7000 series of LSE subwoofers, the 8000 series, says the company, takes a new approach to enclosure design, driver technology and active electronics. All three models utilise an all-aluminium, minimum diffraction enclosure (MDE) design, with large internal volumes, softly curved edges, and high mechanical strength.

(Mike Lethby)

USA - TransAudio Group will showcase its complete line of Mercury Recording products at the AES Convention in San Francisco on Booth #602 this week. Unlike previous years, in which the distributor's products were each individually showcased under the Audio Underground banner, TransAudio Group and president Brad Lunde will feature the full line of brands in a single large booth featuring manufacturing company representatives and guest audio engineers.

Mercury Recording is dedicated to bringing the sonic and aesthetic character of classic audio processors such as those originally made by Fairchild, Pultec and Telefunken to new generations through a line of hand-crafted classic recreations.

The first units introduced by Mercury Recording include the Mercury 66, a variable bias-style all-tube, all-transformer compressor similar to the Fairchild 660, and the Mercury EQ-H and EQ-P

USA - Community Professional Loudspeakers has announced the launch of its IO-5 and IO-8 low impedance Indoor/Outdoor loudspeakers systems, together with IO-5T and IO-8T 70/100V versions with built-in transformers.

The IO-5 is a 2-way compact system, ideal for installations where space is at a premium, and features a 5" polypropylene long-excursion mid/bass driver with a Mylar diaphragm horn HF unit in a trapezoidal, high impact, moulded enclosure. Power handling is 60W programme and dispersion is 90 degrees horizontal by 50 degrees vertical. The IO-5T version has a built-in 20W low-loss transformer, designed for high quality audio performance and with installer adjustable tappings on the base of the enclosure. All 'T' versions also have an 8O position in addition to the 70/100V settings.

For installations with more space the IO-8 provides higher sound pressure levels and

UK - Bosch Security Systems has unveiled its new Plena feedback suppressor amplifier for public address systems. The amplifier boosts sound levels without introducing annoying feedback and is, says Bosch, ideal for PA systems in auditoriums, conference halls, churches and other places of worship, congress venues and so on - especially where the loudspeaker and microphone(s) are located in the same room resulting in unwanted feedback and howling. The amplifier provides up to 12 dB of additional audio gain without introducing feedback.

Plena uses powerful floating-point DSP, together with a patented echo cancellation and de-reverberation algorithm, to actively filter out feedback from system loudspeakers to the microphone, while allowing the original signal to pass through. The process is continuous and automatic, with the filter constantly adapting to detect and remove the reverb

UK - The People's Web, a revolutionary new low-cost service enabling UK companies and individuals to buy and sell products and services through personalized internet accounts, has been launched today to the music sector.

People's Web Accounts are, says The People's Web, "the first significant internet invention since the dotcom boom and allow companies of all sizes to post details of their goods or services and upload their entire inventory to the site". Both small and large companies can also drive traffic to their own websites, call centres, or bricks and mortar locations, from £25 a year. It claims The People's Web is now the music sector's lowest-cost distribution channel.

In the run up to the launch, The People's Web enjoyed a successful trial period, with retailers such as Volkswagen and Crabtree & Evelyn becoming members and selling their inventory.

The new

UK - Sennheiser UK picked up the Live Microphone Award in the MIA's contemporary awards section for its evolution ew100 G2 Series wireless microphones, in a ceremony on October 6 at Sound in Leicester Square, London.

Sennheiser UK's Director of Marketing, John Steven, commented: "evolution G2 was a major step forward for Sennheiser and the products have received critical acclaim from the many musicians and engineers already using the product. This prestigious industry award is gratefully accepted as it further confirms the product's status as a market leader".

(Mike Lethby)

UK - Adlib Audio is supplying the Scissor Sisters with audio production for the current UK leg of their ongoing world tour. Mixing FOH is ADLIB's Dave Kay, and on monitors is another regular Adlibber, Ben Booker.

ADLIB has upgraded its BSS 366 processors to the new NTM filtering for the tour, and is using the new Sennheiser G2 550 series mics, G2 300 series IEMs and a recently purchased Yamaha PM5D console - one of two - that the Liverpool based company has on the road this autumn and which is also used to mix the support act.

The Scissor Sisters' high-energy performance is a collage of numerous musical styles, tastes and ideas, oozing with flamboyance, high kitsch fashion antics and an enormous sense of fun. The band has stormed the music industry spectacularly throughout 2004, gaining both popular and critical acclaim and much respect with their first album.

Kay and Booker

France - Pope John Paul II makes an annual pilgrimage to the city of Lourdes in France where, in 1858, the Virgin Mary appeared to the maid Bernadette Soubirou. His visit always draws a huge crowd; this year, more than 300,000 people attended the ceremonies which took place over the course of a week, culminating in a keynote speech by His Holiness, choral and orchestral concerts, and the long-awaited mass.

Even On, the French PA company chosen to provide the sound reinforcement system, supplied a large number of Nexo GEO S tangent array speakers, siting them along the Pope's route as well as on the central stage. A total of 8 PA towers were set up, carrying a total of 74 GEO S805 and 8 GEO S830 speakers, powered by sixteen Camco Vortex 6 power amplifiers, each delivering 2 x 2,100 watts per channel. The system was managed by Nexo NX241 controllers and mixed on a Soundcraft MH4 4

USA - Mackie is using this year's AES Convention in San Francisco to introduce five new products for both recording and live sound applications.

The list includes the Mackie Onyx 400F 10-channel, 192kHz-capable FireWire audio interface featuring Mackie's new flagship Onyx microphone preamps and on-board DSP matrix mixing. The HM54 Headphone Amplifier and HMX56 Tabletop Matrix Mixer/Amplifier allow personalised headphone mixing, allowing the engineer to focus on other responsibilities. The Mackie Control C4 is a sophisticated plug-in and virtual instrument controller that provides four banks of eight V-Pots each, and four full-size displays that provide instant access to as many as 32 software parameters-virtually eliminating the need to constantly "bank switch" a standard control surface display in order to access parameter-rich software modules. It also acts as a &quo

USA - EAW is using this year's AES Convention to show its new Element Series of all-weather loudspeakers, as well as the JFXi Series that incorporate a new advanced magnet structure geometry, the Orbital Magnet Array. Both will be on display at the AES Convention on booth #230.

The Element Series is designed to high audio performance with the most robust environmental protection, to IEC 60529 and MilSpec 810 ratings. A key factor, according to EAW, is a new acoustically inert yet waterproof enclosure material: high-impact polypropylene with 40-percent calcium carbonate. Shaped into enclosures with few or no parallel surfaces, this new material is designed to make the Element Series sonically indistinguishable from EAW's world-famous laminated Baltic birch enclosures. The LM60 includes a soft-dome tweeter on a Waveguide Plate(tm) and a 6.5-inch woofer, while the LM80 pairs a Wave

USA - In the 100th anniversary of the immortal James M. Barrie tale, Peter Pan, Tony Award nominee and two-time Olympic gymnast Cathy Rigby is taking this timeless musical masterpiece on a national "farewell performance" tour, which opened on September 24, 2004 at The La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts in La Mirada, California. Crown I-Tech Series amplifiers were chosen by Sound Advice LLC, who was awarded the sound system contract for the tour. Julie Ferrin of Sound Advice has worked with McCoy Rigby Entertainment for more than 10 years and served as sound engineer for a segment of the tremendously successful 1997 tour of Peter Pan that earned an extended run on Broadway and wrapped up with an Emmy Award-winning A&E Television Special.

The I-Tech amplifiers power a 16-element JBL Professional Vertec VT 4888 system, with eight I-T4000s on the highs and mi

Spain - One of the summer's most awaited events in the Murcia region is the pyrotechnical and musical show held on the bay in Aguilas, Murcia. Bringing together, fire, light and music, it is one of Europe's largest events of this kind and 40,000 people occupied over 3km of beachfront to witness the spectacular event. Professional sound company Arnae Sonido S.L provided the sound reinforcement, with more than 100kW of D.A.S. equipment supplied by Telemag de Lorca S.L.

Arnae Sonido installed a centre channel system comprising of powered Compact 2 Systems. A total of 24 Compact 2 mid/high units and 24 Compact 18 subwoofer units were ground stacked in a large semi-circle on the beach. The left and right channels were flown from cranes at a height of 14m from the ground. A total of 24 ST-112 mid-high units and 24 ST-218 horn-loaded subwoofers were used to cover the extreme right and

UK / Belgium - ASC, one of Belgium's leading pro audio distributors, has taken on the distribution of MC2 amplifiers, after looking for a top-end amplifier brand to complement its existing portfolio. "We chose MC2 because it has an excellent reputation. We know designer Terry Clarke's reputation very well, and after putting them to the test and meeting with Ian McCarthy, who is very nice to work with, we decided that this was the route we wanted to take," said the company's Patrick Moiny. He added: "We have already made two important sales: one with the classic MC Series to Stage Team, a rental company that has a big Turbosound Flash/Floodlight system; and a second sale to a very important theatre in Brussels, L'Orangerie du Centre Culturel de la Communaute Francaise de Belgique: Le Botanique, with the new E45s. We're particularly pleased with the new E Series' qual

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