USA - Community Professional Loudspeakers has announced the appointment of Francesca Lynch to the position of a marketing associate. She will report directly to Community’s director of marketing and sales operations, Julia Lee. Community says that in previous roles Lynch “had demonstrated herself to be an experienced content marketing specialist, using her skills in advertising, integrated marketing, event planning, public relations and social media management to enjoy eight successful years in the food and beverages industry”. Lynch comments: “I’m thrilled to join Community, an outstanding brand that continues to innovate and transform in this exciting industry.” (Jim Evans)
USA - PreSonus is now shipping its EarMix 16M 16-channel personal monitor mixer and NSB 16.8 and NSB 8.8 stageboxes. Part of PreSonus’ ecosystem of AVB-networked products, the EarMix 16M and NSB-series stageboxes are designed to work with the PreSonus StudioLive Series III family of mixers. The PreSonus EarMix 16M 16-channel AVB-networked personal monitor mixer provides an expandable networked monitoring solution for stage, installed sound systems and studio recording. Each EarMix 16M accepts 16 mono channels of input via AVB networking - and you can network multiple units with a StudioLive Series III mixer. EarMix 16M features a loud, clear headphone amplifier that can drive low-impedance devices such as professional-calibrein-ear-monitors. Each unit can create its own custom mix, and you can apply limiting and three-band EQ with sweepable midrange frequency
UK - London-based PA rental company Capital Sound Hire has confirmed its acquisition by SSE Audio Group. The deal follows a period where the two businesses have been aligned through a strategic partnership. Capital Sound will continue to operate as a separate brand, but will be able to access the Group’s resources, including its multi-million pound hire inventory comprising L-Acoustics and d&b audiotechnik systems and the largest rental stock of digital mixing consoles in the UK. In addition, SSE offers specialist services including manufacturing, which serve the whole group. Keith Davis, founder and MD of Capital Sound explains: “We approached John Penn at SSE at the beginning of the year to assist us on a project that required a larger pool of equipment, knowing that we could trust SSE not to nick the gig! Through projects like this we were able to
USA - Lawo will participate as a sponsor for this year’s MixCon in New York, taking place on 21-22 July. The annual MixCon two-day event is dedicated entirely to mixing music and sound and takes place at the Manhattan Centre’s Grand Ballroom. The event will feature six workshops plus Q&A’s focused on mixing different musical styles where attendees will get mixing tips, techniques and advice from some of the top pros in music production. In addition to the popular workshops, MixCon offers excursions around the Manhattan Centre, including the renowned Studio 7 which is widely acclaimed for having the “best natural acoustics in the world”. At the heart of Studio 7’s capabilities is an 80-fader Lawo mc²56 audio production console. Many of the most popular broadcast entertainment and sports shows, global events, and premier classical music performin
UK - If you’re going to amplify performance in a British bastion of classical music, who wouldn’t want to do so with a system that enables the sound engineer to place instruments in their correct positions relative to all the listeners? This was the option offered by Britannia Row when the subject of the rejuvenated Classical Brits came up. “It came about because we were keen to try the L-Acoustic L-ISA system,” says Colin Pink, head of live sound for the Brits. “The Royal Albert Hall were also keen to hear it. Initially, myself and Brit Row MD Bryan Grant went to L-Acoustics’ place in Highgate to hear a demonstration of the system. We suggested to them this could be a good introduction for all concerned - a win-win situation.” This was to be no small undertaking as a completely different approach to rigging a system was required – instead of a L/R ster
UK - The University of Kent has launched a new Centre for Music and Audio Technology (CMAT) to equip students with the range of skills necessary for a career in the music industry. Launched on 12 July and based on Chatham’s Historic Dockyard, CMAT has been designed to meet the industry’s needs in three key areas: music performance, music technology and music business. Its undergraduate courses will offer students the opportunity to make full use of state-of-the-art facilities, including an impressive array of recording and mixing desks, recording studios and sound-proofed practice rooms. Equipment at CMAT includes: New Neve Genesys Black G48 Recording Console with 5.1 Genelec monitors; SSL Matrix Console; Foley Recording Studio; Flexible Surround Sound Studio; Workstation rooms featuring iMacs and industry-standard audio software; Music practice rooms; Full r
UK - Having circled the globe for more than a year, Ed Sheeran's Divide tour recently arrived at London's Wembley Stadium for a string of critically praised homecoming shows. Performing before sold-out, 80,000-strong crowds, Sheeran once again proved that one man and a guitar are more than enough to fill a stadium, while audio systems engineer Charlie Albin and FOH engineer Chris Marsh ensured the technical production was faultless. Helping them to do so was a more recent addition to the touring rack – a JoeCo Blackbox BBR64-MADI multi-track recorder described by Albin as "making my day much easier". Capable of 64-track recording at 48kHz, the Blackbox BBR64-MADI is used to capture every Ed Sheeran performance, usually comprising 16 channels of vocal, acoustic guitar and loops. Albin discovered the JoeCo multitrack recorder shortly before the Divide tour began
UK - As the Barclaycard Presents British Summer Time festival in London’s Hyde Park has continued to grow organically since its inception in 2013, so sound production company, Capital Sound, has deployed an increasing number of its Optocore converters to provide digital signal transmission over optical fibre across the vast site. But nothing quite prepared them for the opening day this year when Roger Waters brought his Us + Them tour to the UK for the first time, having already taken his sonic and visual experimentation to breath-taking levels at Desert Trip in 2016, with the biggest surround sound system ever built. To create maximum impact at Hyde Park, Capital were asked to provide an additional 12 loudspeaker hangs on towers positioned through the concourse for one night only, and this 12-point surround sound set-up, designed to give the audience a truly
UK - When it opened in 2017, Printworks London made clear its commitment to host world-class electronic music events, with a central part of that promise revolving around delivering supreme lighting, sound and video systems. Testament to this vow is demonstrated by the kit list in the venue’s new 3000-capacity live room. With audio gear comprising an extensive d&b audiotechnik J and V-Series system, quality sound delivery is assured. And when it comes to the visual system, Printworks London speed-dialled the UK creative Digital Insanity. With a portfolio bulging with examples of triumphant creative partnerships with dance events and nights – including the United Kingdom’s biggest weekenders and its globally-recognised superclubs – Digital Insanity was well placed to craft a visual set up worthy of Printworks London and, most importantly, its vast flock of e
UK - Since its inception in 2015, Depot has become a leading alternative events space in Cardiff, originating highly successful experiences and events that have frequently been replicated across the UK. For the last two years, Depot’s creative team has staged its own music and street food festival - in 2017, at the SWALEC cricket stadium, and at Cardiff Castle in 2018. Cardiff-based events services supplier 11th Hour played a prominent role in this year’s renewal having been invited by Depot to supply a number of key services. Depot In The Castle featured an extravaganza of music and family entertainment, complemented by several artisan food outlets, that was in stark contrast to many of the summer’s more directly commercial festivals. Stiltwalkers and jugglers set the tone, in a relaxed, family-focused environment where an inspired music line-up, including afte
Australia - For the opening and closing ceremonies of the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games, The Electric Canvas, an award-winning Australian company specialising in large-scale projections, managed the AV projection via Modulo Pi’s high-end media server Modulo Kinetic. The 21st Commonwealth Games took place in April at the Carrara stadium in Queensland. Produced by Jack Morton Worldwide, the opening and closing ceremonies were spectacular shows with 4,000 volunteer performers. Combining theatre, dance, and music, the shows were created to reflect the Gold Coast culture, embodying its spirit and its energy. After winning the tender, The Electric Canvas prepared the event over six months. To achieve such a large-scale video projection in the stadium, they chose 20 x Christie Boxer projectors, as well as Modulo Kinetic, a powerful media server with advanced features f
The Netherlands - Effectively a festival and conference in one, The Next Web (TNW) conference is an annual gathering with the tag line ‘innovation through inspiration’ - and Alcons Audio systems are used throughout. TNW 2018 was the 13th year of the event, which has grown from around 200 attendees to over 15000. Backed by a number of major brands, it is held in Amsterdam’s Westerpark in late May. Jurjen ‘Jur’ Hesseling - founder of event production company JUR (formerly Jurlights) - has provided the production infrastructure for the event since it began. "Because TNW is all about new and future technology, the production for the many presentations, lectures, discussions and other live events has to be at the cutting edge of our industry," he says. "The whole event is executed on a really high level and our assignment is to make everything look and sound extre
Singapore - Riverlife Church in Singapore has grown from its seed congregation of less than 200 in 1991 to the 3,000+ gatherings today. However, it is the presence of audio consultant and local resident, the Grammy-nominated recording engineer and percussionist Jerry Chua, that has inspired Riverlife to take the production technology in its Sanctuary to the very highest level. Following the installation of a Yamaha PM10 digital console, Riverlife has now added Nexo’s new Geo M10 mid-size line array, giving Chua his dream FOH system with a stereo mix to replace the distributed system that was there before. Jerry Chua is instrumental in the choice and implementation of the AV systems at the church, where live music plays a central role. After attending an outdoor concert at Republic Polytechnic, where the Geo M10 made its Asian debut, he asked Yamaha Music Singapore to
Europe - Audiovisual and Integrated Experience Association (AVIXA) has appointed Peter Schädel as European marketing manager. Peter Schädel is a marketing and industry expert, having previously worked for Meyer Sound Germany for over 10 years as marketing manager. With his sound expertise, he will be in charge of establishing and expanding the marketing activities of AVIXA in Europe. "I am very happy about my new challenge. While AVIXA has been a fixture in the US for decades, there is still a great potential for growth in Europe. It is therefore important to further raise awareness and communicate the benefits of membership." said Schädel. (Jim Evans)
Portugal - The deployment of Martin Audio MLA as PA for some of the most famous festivals around the globe continues. Having established itself as first choice on main stages at Rock In Rio - in both Brazil and Lisbon - they stretched the envelope further at this year’s event in the Portuguese capital with the addition of MLA to the second delay line. “This helped to push our coverage out further with greater clarity and impact,” says Peter Racy, chief engineer at the sound production company, Gabisom. It has been a fruitful journey for the award-winning system which began in 2015 when MLA was first trialled on the second stage at Rock in Rio USA, in Las Vegas, and later in Rio that same year. Due to its success, MLA was then deployed for the first time on the World Stage at Rock in Rio Lisbon 2016, and has subsequently held this position for the following two ed
Norway - Production house Innlandet Lyd & Lys has made what it calls a future-proof investment in Nexo’s STM Series modular line array. Just two years old, Innlandet was started by two 20 year-old engineers who have been steadily growing the company with Nexo products. Amund Kvernvold and his partner Marius Nordeng are the newest faces on Norway’s audio rental circuit. Located just two hours outside Oslo, their business had expanded to the point that they wanted a main PA solution that could take them to the next level. Having started out renting Nexo Geo S12 line arrays, they were impressed by the modularity of STM Series, which they describe as “small but huge”, able to scale up from small events in a private house to a large festival. “When we started looking to invest in a bigger system, we wanted to have an all-in-one solution, not a brand with diff
UK - A group of industry representatives will cycle from Chippenham to London Olympia on Saturday 15 September to increase awareness of mental health within the entertainment and events industries. All donations will go to Backup, the technical entertainment charity which helps industry members and their families get back on their feet during times of hardship. Starting at 7am, the cyclists will traverse 100 miles across the North Wessex Downs towards London in time for the PLASA Show. So far, eight cyclists have signed up to the challenge, including Peter Heath and Shane McGreevy of PLASA, John McEvoy and Bryan Raven of Whitelight, and Ben Tredwell of Autograph. This bike ride is part on an on-going collaboration between PLASA and PSA to support the mental health of all those working within lighting, AV, live sound, rigging and staging. This collaboration continues
Switzerland - Geneva-based event production company Skynight SA chose six pieces of the ARX Systems ISO Balancer VC as part of an extensive AV setup at the Montreux Jazz Festival in July. Supplied to Skynight by Tonspur AG, the Swiss distributor for ARX Systems, the ISO Balancer VC’s were used primarily for straightforward volume adjustment. Eddy Broquet from Tonspur comments: “At certain places within the festival there are some TV screens with a live feed from the concert. Yvan Barone (Skynight project manager for the Montreux Jazz Festival) was looking for something of high quality that was easy to use to adjust the audio volume in these areas. As it can be the waiter of the bar in charge of the volume he really wanted to avoid putting in a small mixing console. As Skynight already use the ARX USB-DI they asked if ARX had a product that might fit their demand and the
Italy - API has named Digiland Srl as its new distributor in Italy. Founded in 2001, Digiland sells recording equipment, provides technical support, designs and manufactures audio cables, and offers sound-proofing and acoustic treatments. Digiland owner Massimo Biasibetti comments: "We are proud of having earned this strong recognition. We feel honored by the chance of helping API grow and fulfill their great potential in the Italian market. As new API Italian distributors, a whole new set of creative chances await our customers. “API is a milestone which every serious audio engineer simply can't avoid. When you are able to hear and test API gear for yourself - you will simply get it. That's how bright we see our immediate future working together with API.” (Jim Evans)
UK - EM Acoustics recently put their new HALO-A large format line array system through its paces during two days of intensive demos at London’s LH2 rehearsal/production studios (see LSi July’s event report). In addition to HALO-A, the company also took the opportunity to show off the compact HALO-C line array – the inspiration behind HALO-A – as well as several EMS Series models, including the new, award-winning EMS-41. EM Acoustics’ operations director Mike Wheeler, comments: “The venue was amazing. We had enough space to demo HALO-A properly and compare it to the much smaller HALO-C system to prove to visitors that we really have managed to take HALO-C to the next level – the natural EM Acoustics
UK - Now in its sixth year at Hyde Park, AEG Live’s Barclaycard Presents British Summer Time (BST) has settled into a proven formula, with sound reinforcement partners Capital Sound and Martin Audio’s MLA loudspeaker system having yet again optimised the sound site-wide. Maintaining the status quo, Capital rigged the main stage and outfield identically to 12 months ago - with one major exception.Providing the spectacular curtain raiser to the 10-day festival, Roger Waters brought his Us + Them tour to the UK for the first time. Waters had already taken his sonic and visual experimentation to breath-taking levels at Desert Trip in 2016, with the biggest surround sound system ever built. To create maximum impact at Hyde Park, Capital were asked to provide an additional 12 hangs of MLA/MLA Compact on towers positioned through the concourse for one night only.
Italy - Playing during June and July, the annual Ravenna Festival is currently taking place in the city of Ravenna, making great advances in its audio production and delivery. At the heart of the sound system are d&b audiotechnik’s Soundscape immersive live audio technology, and mixing systems from fellow German systems innovator, Lawo. For the past three years, Italian rental company BH Audio – which specialises in classical, contemporary and jazz production work – has used the combined d&b/Lawo platform for critical trials ahead of Soundscape’s official launch at the ISE event in February. In charge of the Ravenna Festival system setup is BH Audio’s Massimo Carli, who chose Lawo’s IP audio capable mc²36 console for FOH mixing as he had previously proved its adaptability at a Verdi Festival staged at the Farnese Theatre in Parma. “After t
Canada - Built over a century ago, the Imperial Theatre in the city of Saint Johns, New Brunswick has played host to many a legendary show. In the mid 1980s, a huge restoration project took place, bringing the theatre back to its original glory. With its colourful history and design, the Imperial Theatre still enjoys a busy schedule with music, film and theatre shows filling its diary. It has recently taken delivery of two DiGiCo SD12 consoles. “We looked at a lot of consoles from a lot of different manufacturers. They each had things we liked and didn’t like,” explains the theatre’s head of sound, Sean Boyer. “Time again, the SD12 bubbled to the top of our conversations because of its small footprint, flexibility, world-class preamps, expandability and its light weight, trust me, that was a consideration. Our previous consoles would take four people to back
Columbia - sE Electronics International, Inc. and Fingerprint Audio – sE’s North and South American distributor - have appointed Konectar Pro Audio as the exclusive Colombian distributor of sE’s entire line of microphones, patented Reflexion Filter products, and studio accessories. “We are very pleased with Konectar’s approach to this important market and are proud to have them on board representing the line in Colombia,” says Josh Thomas, Fingerprint Audio’s general manager. Konectar Pro Audio was founded in 2015 by Oscar Montoya (CEO) and his wife Genith Lopez, who each worked on the technical and administrative sides of event production for many years. Montoya says, “We have always been dedicated to advising and selling solutions for audio, video, lighting and stage. Now, we will be showing our customers the benefits of sE Electronics products,
