Spain - Optocore has appointed RMS Proaudio as its new Spanish distributor. Miguel Ángel Jiménez, CEO of the Seville-based company, comments: “We have known Optocore particularly from the relationship with DiGiCo, which we have distributed for more than 15 years, and we consider their technology to be excellent. For that reason we approached them, and it is an honour to now be able to provide solutions based around their advanced technology in our Spanish market. We know their products to be extremely reliable, and offer flexible audio communication solutions.” Optocore sales distribution manager, Dawid Somló, is equally upbeat. “It is gratifying that such a serious and experienced company as RMS Proaudio has entered into this cooperation with us, and an honour for us to be an important part of their high level portfolio,” he says. “With Optocore solutions
Italy - Outline has announced that its FPGA-based Newton processor has been awarded an Italian Patent. The company has also filed the appropriate application for an international patent. Newton was introduced to the global pro-audio industry at Frankfurt MusikMesse in 2017. It has subsequently been adopted by a number of leading audio hire operations and system engineers “It’s well-known that our company has been making a name for itself since the 1970s as a manufacturer of innovative audio electronics including modular mixers, parametric equalisers, encoders, tuners, crossovers, limiters, amplifiers and more,” says the company. “Latterly we have developed DSP and digital matrices, as well as futuristic embedded solutions connected with signal processing, including the outstanding ‘iMode’ technology that won a PLASA Award for Innovation at the London show i
USA - Towards the end of 2020, the new leadership at Houston’s Sagemont Church, which was established in 1966 and is associated with the Southern Baptist Convention, introduced a contemporary worship music service to appeal to a younger congregation. To meet the demands of the new modern service, the church upgraded the aging sound system in its 2,500-seat sanctuary, installing a SSL Live L350 digital mixing console and replacing the PA speakers. Lead audio engineer Evan Warren says, “We have a new pastor, a new worship leader and a whole new direction, and we wanted to do modern contemporary rock ‘n’ roll-style worship music. But our PA and console were pushing 10 years old and falling apart. The faders on our old console were moving on their own and the old PA just wasn’t cutting it.” Having already spent a lot of time dreaming about equipment as a
USA - Meyer Sound will be offering hands-on, interactive demos of its Spacemap Go spatial sound design and live mixing tool at FILO Chicago, a hybrid in-person and live-streamed event for technical artists serving local churches on 11-12 May. The demo sessions will take place between breakout sessions in the spacious lobby area at the host venue, Willow Creek Community Church in the Chicago suburb of South Barrington, Illinois. “Spacemap Go is the perfect spatial and immersive sound solution for churches,” says Meyer Sound sales manager, west Daniel Rivera. “It is adaptable and flexible and it’s highly intuitive with a short learning curve. It’s also extremely cost-effective, particularly for churches with newer Meyer Sound systems as it leverages the power of their existing Galaxy processors. All they need is an iPad loaded with the Spacemap Go app.” FILO
UK - Leisuretec, distributor of professional and commercial audio, lighting and video equipment, has unveiled a new corporate brand identity that consists of a new logo, website and style. The new logo is at the core of the transformation, the company opting for one with a modern look and feel to replace the old emblem. The logo device represents the ‘L’ from Leisuretec, with the levels and waves within it reflecting the company’s passion for audio, lighting and video technology. Meanwhile, the four bars stand for the company’s core values of experience, choice, value and service. “We are very excited to launch our new logo and corporate brand identity, which consists of a refreshed style, website and refined summary of our company vision, mission and value proposition,” comments Charlie Henden, marketing manager at Leisuretec. “Our previous log
USA - Apogee Electronics has announced the appointment of Rich Nevens as vice-president of sales and customer success. In this role, Nevens will join the executive team to lead sales, channel marketing and customer success worldwide. This move comes as Apogee prepares for accelerated growth in their audio interface and microphone product categories, as well as new projects planned for the future. Nevens joins Apogee with 30-years of experience leading worldwide sales and solutions teams at Euphonix, Avid and most recently, VP sales and marketing at Focusrite Pro. “As an experienced and successful sales executive with a deep understanding of our industry, Rich has a balance of domain expertise, relationships and a proven track record for driving revenue to Apogee,” comments Betty Bennett, president and CEO of Apogee Electronics. “I’m confident that Rich’s lea
UK - Stabal Media Group has expanded and has incorporated the live music legacy and global network of Artclub Live as a specialist division, led by newly appointed head of live music, Joe Clegg. Clegg joins Stabal to extend its global reach and network of artists. Having founded Artclub Live to provide creative, musical and technical production support for artists worldwide, he has previously worked as live music producer on the Mumford & Sons Delta World Tour, and as musical director for artists including Ellie Goulding, Clean Bandit, and Aurora, featuring in performances with more than 100m combined views. "With the return of live music on the horizon, I’m excited to be working with Stabal to create a division focussed on the integration of live music experiences and digital content,” says Clegg. “With a global network of musical directors and audio engine
UK - Virtual production solution Vero is now fully operational in the UK, offering LED surround screen backdrop, realtime graphics and powerful in-sync camera tracking. The project brings together content, technology and operations talent from multiple companies, who have joined forces to enable creatives and filmmakers far more on-set visual control. Vero features Desay 2.6mm pixel density LED screen technology from Production AV and visual content by MadeWithVero. Utilising Production AV’s touring and events experience, the solution can be deployed across the UK as needed by the production. The team says the set-up has ‘revolutionised’ traditional VFX workflows, which rely on combining physical footage captured in front of a green screen with digitally generated backgrounds in post-production. In addition, costly set builds, location shooting and visual
UK - To complement the technology on display at Samsung KX, Snelling Business Systems and Cosmic Electronics recently outfitted the venue with a complete Harman networked AV, lighting and control system. Situated in the recently developed Coal Drops Yard shopping district in King’s Cross, London, Samsung KX is a destination for the public to ‘experience Samsung’s range of innovative connected technologies working seamlessly together’. The 20,000sq.ft space features a 32ft Screenmax LED display wall, connected “smart kitchen,” immersive augmented reality experiences and an ever-changing list of temporary installations. To further enhance the futuristic experience, Samsung KX required a facility-wide immersive AV, lighting and control system with enough flexibility to serve any current or future needs. Audio-visual integrator Snelling Business Systems and li
UK - disguise has announced a major software release in early April. Cluster rendering will allow users to scale out their real-time content rendering without compromise, as their productions increase in size or complexity. disguise invited a select group of global partners to pressure test and implement the technology into their workflows in preparation for public release. disguise’s cluster rendering will unlock the limitations of a virtual production studio or immersive installation by scaling out real-time content up to an unlimited capacity, says the company. This is achieved by spanning real-time content over more than one disguise server as each machine will render a fragment of the final content frame to increase the render power. Developed to support Unreal Engine’s nDisplay capabilities, the technology also removes the need to manually configure the nDisplay cl
France - Immersive sound experience creator, Des Sons Animés (DSA), has recently outfitted its specialist 3D sound studio in Paris with 32 APG iX6 loudspeakers, with more bass reinforcement from the French manufacturer to be added in the near future. This new audio system will aid DSA in the creation and production of spatialised audio content, as well as facilitating streamed performances, training, research, design, and integration of immersive sound installations. “The Des Sons Animés studio really is a special place,” says Mathieu Rossier, co-founder and president of the company. “It is a space for creation and research where artists can produce, compose, transform and spatialise their productions using 3D audio technologies. These spatial scores can be broadcast outside the studio, with faithful scaling on many other broadcasting systems.” The comp
South Africa - On Sunday 25 April, Jerusalema hitmaker Master KG, and the Ndlovu Youth Choir, will be performing live on Robben Island for Africa Rising and the Live Love non-profit, along with international personality Maps Maponyane as master of ceremonies. The performance will be live streamed for free and audiences will have the opportunity to win an exclusive VIP experience at the event on Robben Island by making an online donation of at least R30, benefiting the music and events industry, and charities in sustainability, education and conservation. Africa Rising brings music and travel to the world by telling inspiring African stories through uniquely produced music experiences. These are brought to life by broadcasting live performances by Africa’s biggest artists, set in the most iconic locations on the continent. Through these stories and our platform
USA - Audinate’s Dante recently reached an impressive milestone with more than 3,000 different products now incorporating Dante for audio-over-IP connectivity. According to research from RH Consulting, 3,034 Dante-enabled devices are available from 361 different manufacturers as of January 2021. The data from RH Consulting indicates Dante is the protocol of choice in more than 91 percent of the networked audio products currently on the market. Audinate announced in January that the total number of OEM brands now working with Dante has reached 518, with 133 OEMs currently developing their first Dante-enabled product. “It’s inspiring to see how many manufacturers and product lines have aligned around Dante,” says Joshua Rush, SVP of marketing at Audinate. “And with 133 OEMs working on their first Dante-enabled product, it’s exciting to think about how much mo
USA - When Glenn Polly, founder of VideoSonic Systems, Inc., an audio-visual integration company, was tasked with integrating a high-quality, low-cost microphone solution for use with Zoom rooms at a leading university in New York, he opted for MXL Microphones' AC-404s. “Zoom engineers have dedicated countless hours to writing the original algorithm, enabling mics to behave as beam tracking mics,” says Polly. “Up to 12 MXL AC-404 mics can be installed in a Zoom room without the need for a DSP processor, which is a nice benefit. The latest version of the Zoom algorithm is even better, so naturally, the mics work even better.” Near-end audio capture is the most difficult component of a Zoom call and can represent the largest chunk of the project’s budget. “To optimise the performance of the audio capture devices, it’s important that the room itself has acc
USA - Broadcast live outside the Los Angeles Convention Centre, the 63rd Grammy Awards offered viewers a night to celebrate music with elaborate performances from top artists across different musical genres. The audience-free show combined a mix of performances with the outdoor ceremony for select artists who were on-hand to accept the awards. The majority of the show’s 23 musical productions, as well as the ceremony, relied on Shure’s AxientDigital Wireless System and Microphones. Throughout the ceremony, host Trevor Noah used an Axient Digital SM58 Handheld Microphone set to frequency diversity mode. The evening’s big winners included Beyonce, Taylor Swift, Billie Eilish, Dua Lipa, and Megan Thee Stallion. Dua Lipa, who won the Grammy for Best Pop Vocal Album, sported a blinged-out pink Axient Digital KSM9 Handheld Microphone and was joined on stage by D
USA - Wireless microphone systems and audio processing specialist Lectrosonics is celebrating its 50th anniversary this month. Founded in March 1971 in Albuquerque, New Mexico, Lectrosonics products are used in broadcast, television, theatre, film, live performance and music productions worldwide. The company’s first product was the Voice Projector series of portable PA systems and lecterns whilst in 1975, the first wireless microphone was added to the product line. Shortly thereafter, these products were marketed under the Freedomike trademark. By the 1980s, Lectrosonics found success in the broadcast market with its plug-on transmitter and compact receiver for electronic news gathering and documentary production. Around this same time, the company’s engineering team had begun working on audio processing equipment targeted at the installed sound market. The
USA - A new technical infrastructure, including a premium Martin Audio Wavefront Precision (WPS) PA, has been installed at the River City Christian church in Rancho Cordova, California. The full integration was undertaken by Sacramento Production Services (SACPS), whose project manager, Keith Wackford co-designed the system with the church’s director of technology, Brian Webber. Both men are long-term colleagues who have over a 10-year history working with Martin Audio systems. The church had been faced with the need to expand its facilities due to surge in attendance prior to COVID-19. An architect was brought in and the decision taken to move from all flat seating to stadium style arena seating. By also reducing the stage thrust this would expand capacity from 850 to around 1200. “In addition, the previous control booth was up on the balcony but the new one has b
UK - As the UK gradually moves towards easing COVID restrictions, a Greater London wedding venue is preparing by becoming home to the UK’s first TW AUDiO ELLA system, provided by London-based AV specialist Flipside Soundsystem. Located in the North West London borough of Harrow, the Kadwa Patidar Centre (KPC) is renowned for its popularity as a wedding venue within London’s thriving Hindu community, as well as celebrated for its work to support local education and charitable causes. Established in 1993, the venue offers two large, extensively equipped spaces with a maximum combined capacity of 950 seated guests. For the committee of volunteers who run the venue, every weekend of the year is booked solid with celebrations, while civic events frequently taking place during the week. Yet until recently, the venue was reliant on an ageing in-house sound system th
Mauritius - The Caudan Arts Centre (CAC) is a landmark arts and conference centre in the East African region. Designed by Arup UK with systems integration services from Stage Audio Works (SAW) in South Africa, CAC is the first truly international-standard venue in Mauritius; inaugurated in December 2018, it incorporates a 431-seat theatre, a rehearsal space, three bars, a restaurant, and four well-equipped, modular conference spaces. Having successfully designed (in conjunction with Arup), supplied and installed audio, video and communications systems throughout the venue, CAC recently called on SAW to design and install the systems for a fifth conference room that can accommodate up to 150 people seated. A soundproofed partition also enables the creation of an art gallery as required. “We have been incredibly successful with our theatre and really pleased with all o
Belgium - The Culture Centre de Kern is a multi-purpose hub for the arts in the Wilrijk district of Antwerp. Offering a wide variety of entertainment and cultural participation, the different spaces in the centre are in great demand. Theatre, live music, comedy and presentations of all kinds take place at the centre, so that no two days are ever the same. With a mission to ensure that productions are supported by the best possible technology, the team at de Kern recently took the decision to replace the ageing sound system in the venue’s main theatre. An extended period of closure due to the Coronavirus pandemic provided a window of opportunity to carry out the work, and integrators Play AV were invited to carry out the installation. The team at de Kern chose a Coda Audio system, as Wim Meuwis, head of technology at the centre explains: “I’ve had really good exp
USA - PK Sound has welcomed St. Louis, MO’s Logic Systems to the PK Alliance. The partnership currently finds the two companies working together and leveraging each other’s strengths to navigate the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and position themselves for the industry’s resurgence. “The pandemic has introduced new challenges for all of us. We need to be proactive instead of reactive, and have been strategizing and investing in ourselves to help reignite the live sound industry in a way that serves us all better,” comments Darryl Ross, senior application support for PK Sound. “Collaborating with partners like Logic Systems has been critical throughout the process. Their industry expertise and vast professional network have been indispensable when it comes to strategizing, exploring new applications and best practices, developing our educational programming, an
India - Eastern Acoustic Works (EAW) has named Pink Noise Professionals as its exclusive distribution partner in India. This strategic agreement will help bring the entire EAW product catalogue to the region. “I am delighted to welcome Pink Noise Professionals into the EAW family as our exclusive distribution partner in India,” says James Bamlett, EAW director of sales, APAC. “Pink Noise Professionals is a young, fast-growing company that is already making an impact in the pro audio industry throughout the region. We are excited to work with the team at Pink Noise Professionals and its extensive dealer network throughout the country. The company’s expertise and resources will help EAW grow its presence in what has historically been a very important market for the brand.” Pink Noise Professionals Pvt. caters to many industries including pro audio, broadcast, l
Poland - ARX Systems has announced that they have appointed Tommex as the exclusive distributor for the full range of ARX professional USB audio interfaces and signal processing solutions in Poland. An established distributor with over 30 years of experience in the design, supply and installation of professional audio systems for various types of buildings, sports venues and cultural facilities, Tommex adds ARX to a growing portfolio of brands that include Coda Audio, RCF and Yamaha. ARX managing director Colin Park says, ‘It’s great to formalise our partnership with Tommex in Poland. Having worked with the team there over the past few years, we feel that Tommex taking on the distribution exclusively is the logical next step and we look forward to growing our business in this region.”
USA - Solotech has announced the completion of the acquisition of Nashville-based Morris Light & Sound. Martin Tremblay, president and CEO, Solotech, comments, “Our joint capabilities enable us to significantly strengthen our footprint in the US, and much more in Nashville, to the benefit of all our clients. It also provides assurance of our unrivalled readiness to our clients in the live productions industry, signals our enhanced ability to offer compelling innovative services and solutions when activities resume after the global crisis ends. We continue to grow based on long-term relationships and delivery excellence to propel our footprint locally, nationally and globally.” Solotech will leverage its current systems integration experts and resources in the area and all over the United States, as they already design, develop and integrate some of the most adv
