SigNET AC Ltd, an electronics manufacturer in Tyne and Wear has been named North East regional winner in the Trade Partners UK National Languages for Export Awards 2001, in the category for small business, sponsored by NCM credit Insurance. The company won the award for noticeably changing its attitude and ways of doing business in a number of export markets.

The company which specializes in the design and manufacture of voice alarm, paging and background music systems, believed that early exporting initiatives were conducted tentatively. Richard Sice, marketing manager said: "In order to be more competitive in international markets we have taken a strategic approach to the use of our human resources and polices. We have taken steps to hire people with native language skills and also to employ UK graduates who have studied a foreign language. In addition, we are taking a fresh loo

Adam Hall has announced the opening of their new Spanish sales office, based in Barcelona. The company has been targeting the Spanish market for the past two years in preparation for this event and says it is confident, even in the current economic climate, that this is the right way forward. The Spanish sales office contact is Gabriel Medrano Bultel, known as 'G' to his friends and colleagues. Bultel has been with Adam Hall for two years and has become and important member of the team in this time.

Adam Hall can be reached in Spain on tel: +34 93 213 3644.

In the wake of the recent launch of Midas's latest innovation, the Legend 3000, the Klark Teknik Group hosted a two-day event at their Kidderminster factory for over 30 customers of EVI France in order to introduce them to the new console. The company also took the opportunity to present an in-depth, hands-on demonstration of the Klark Teknik DN9848 loudspeaker processor, as well as give their guests a full factory tour.

Guest enjoyed both presentations and the factory tour with ample opportunities for Q&A sessions in just one afternoon. Delegates were shown a full DVD presentation of the new Legend console in French, and French-speaking staff were on hand throughout in order to minimize communication difficulties. According to EVI France's Cecile Dehlinger: "Events like this where we can really concentrate one-on-one with our customers and offer them the opportunity to meet the m

With 15 years' experience, principally in the professional audio industry, Aviva Ozin has finally fulfilled her life-long ambition and set up Faith Communications, a consultancy offering PR and marketing services.

After a long association with the Autograph group of companies, working for both the sales and the sound design and rental divisions, Aviva has an in-depth understanding of the industry. She has also worked in the recording sector, prior to a two-year break from the industry, as the communications manager of a humanitarian aid organisation. In her new role, Aviva continues her association with the Autograph group, which has become one of Faith Communications' first clients. The consultancy is also talking with several other pro audio-related businesses and has recently won a contract from a company operating in the leisure sector.

In addition to its PR and consultancy servi

London-based sound rental company Thames Audio has recently purchased eight QSC PL236 (PowerLight 2 series) amplifiers from UK distributor HW International. These will be used to power its Funktion One system comprising Resolution 2 and Resolution 4 touring loudspeakers and F218 self-powered subwoofers.

Thames Audio’s technical director Graham Simpson commented: "When we first heard the Resolution Series at Funktion One, we decided unanimously that this was the only speaker system for us! It’s superb musicality was complemented by the PL236's dynamic delivery, which was a noticeable improvement on our existing switchmode amplifier stock. Our choice of amplifier also conforms in general to the touring preference of existing Resolution users." Since the purchase, Thames Audio have utilized the equipment on Brian Conley’s UK tour and for Hedwig at the Edinburgh

The Production Services Association (PSA) is arranging a series of informal get-togethers around the country to enable its members to share stories and network with others in the industry. The first of these regional meetings will be held at Vari-Lite’s Greenford premises on Tuesday 11th December at 7.00pm. Those attending will have a chance to view the company’s facilities and see how it is tackling the challenges of 2002. The evening will also feature a demonstration of Vari-Lite’s new lighting systems in the demo room.

Anyone interested in attending should contact Keith Owen on 0121 693 7109 or e-mail keith@psa.org.uk.

Nady Systems, one of the world's largest wireless microphone manufacturers, has introduced a cost-competitive UHF package via its recently-appointed exclusive UK distributor, Lamba plc. Lamba see the UHF-10 as being one of the best value-for-money products on the market, the system offering all the advantages of clear-channel operation on the uncluttered UHF band (operating between 794-805MHz). Featuring the full 120dB dynamic range, the UHF-10 promises a typical operating range of 250ft - extending to up to 500ft in open areas.

Features of the UHF-10 receiver include DigiTRU Diversity for maximum range and drop-out protection, Tone Squelch for locking out potential interference; noiseless transmitter; both quarter-inch unbalanced and balanced XLR outputs and full LED indicators. The BodyPack Transmitter (UB-10) features: Off/Standby/On switch; low battery LED indicator; locking 3.5mm

Roxy Music’s world tour came to a close in late September, having reminded sell-out audiences across the globe of what they were missing during the bands 18-year separation. The three-month circuit of dates, which included appearances in Canada, USA, Australia and Europe received great critical acclaim for the quality of its sound, which was achieved by front-of-house engineer Levi Tecofski, with the help of Audio-Technica microphones.

A huge logistical operation, the show occupied over 70 input channels across two desks, with Bryan Ferry employing three separate vocal positions alone. Main stage and piano positions were handled by AT4054s and an ATW7373 handheld radio mic was in place at the keyboard. Also on an AT4054 vocal mic was principle pianist Colin Good, while the guitar amps of Phil Manzanera and Chris Speading were taken care of by AT4047s. For drummer Paul Thompson, T

Yesterday, Pioneer introduced to the world its first Pro DJ 19" rack-mount mixer; the DJM-3000. To ensure the widest possible music-making flexibility, the DJM-3000 is equipped with an industry-first Effect Mix Mode that easily and accurately effects phrases in a BPM-linked operation along with an improved auto beat effector. In addition to Echo and Zip, Pioneer has come up with a new effect, 'Roll'. This runs a mix while changing the pitch of the song up the chromatic scale to the beat of the music.

The Auto BPM Counter automatically measures and digitally displays a track's BPM (measurement range: 70-139 / 91-180 / 70-180 / Manual) allowing the user to merge one song into another smoothly. Tapping on the TAP button enables the user to manually input BPMs of tracks that are difficult to measure. DJs can now see the music beat, making it faster and easier to mix tracks with differ

When Britannia Row were asked by MJK Productions to provide sound equipment for an event jointly hosted by Cadbury's and Popworld late in October, little did they know what a prestigious line up of bands would be there. The shows, held at the Hammersmith and Manchester Apollo venues, were private affairs for an invited audience of around 6,000 young pop fans, the winners in a national Cadbury's 'back of the packet' competition. The envy of many, the lucky fans were entertained by Westlife, S Club 7, Blue, Mis-Teeq and Jo Breezer in a stunning show compèred by Neil 'Doctor' Fox.

"It was a bit like the old BBC 'Crackerjack' show with bags of goodies and fun stuff between the major acts," said Mick Kluczinski of MJK, a regular user of Brit Row equipment: "They provide the kit and people I need, when I need them." Said Kluczinski. "This time, after previously test

CIE-Audio has once again received the award for the world's leading Inter-M distributor. As part of a network of 94 distributors in 72 countries throughout Europe, America, Asia, Africa, Middle East and Australasia, Nottingham-based CIE-Audio exclusively distribute the complete commercial audio, pro sound and CCTV product ranges from Inter-M. "The latest news of our Inter-M sales figures exceeding all other distributors throughout the world reflects not only our commitment to the brand, but also the popularity of the product range within the UK market," said Chris Edwards, CIE-Group marketing manager. "This will be our 10th consecutive year as the Number 1 distributor and, for such a small country to provide the highest sales figures is an acknowledgement of the dedication and hard work our staff continue to provide."

The news of CIE-Audio's achievement comes as th

Former Audix, Delta Sound and Federal Signal Sales Manager, Charles Turner, has been appointed UK field sales manager by SigNET. Charles will be responsible for sales of the SigNET range of products, including a new loop amplifier and voice alarm system, throughout the UK. He has been involved in the voice alarm/public address industry for the last 10 years and has been successful in securing key projects including Manchester Airport, Birmingham Airport, the Commonwealth pool and many projects for ADT Fire and Security and Siemens Cerberus.

Telford-based broadcast sound equipment hire company Soundsense has announced a series of cuts to its hire charges to make it easier for Restricted Service Licence operators get on the air. The cuts mean that prices have fallen by an average of 14% across the board. To help bring the cost of transmission to an all-time low, Soundsense have introduced the Broadcast Warehouse TX20 20W transmitter to its hire fleet. With internal RDS encoder and on-board compressor limiter, Soundsense are offering 'ready to go' stereo transmission packages from just £250 (inc VAT) per month. The new transmitters make their debut as part of the equipment package being supplied to Red Dragon Rally FM, the RSL station for the Network Q Rally which is on air from 21-25 November.

Soundsense's Derek Tallent told us: "We're aware of just how tough it's becoming in the current economic climate to get an RSL

A newly-appointed Icelandic distributor of Baldwin Boxall's has recently purchased 12 Vigil Eclipse Voice Alarm systems for installation in a new shopping complex in Reykjavik, Iceland. HT&T visited International Fire Expo (May 2001) where they met with Baldwin Boxall, who were giving the recently-launched Vigil Eclipse its UK debut. HT&T thought the Eclipse was the perfect solution to the Smaralind Shopping Complex's voice alarm (VA) requirements as the wall-mounting unit is simple to commission and easy to install. The 12 Vigil Eclipses were built in Baldwin Boxall's factory in Sussex and shipped to Iceland, ready for installation - a very quick process for HT&T, saving them valuable on-site time.

Vigil Eclipse is a stand-alone, wall-mountable system, which can operate up to four zones of VA - all dual circuit if required. The system, which utilises Baldwin Boxall's well established

Leading London-based rental company John Henry's Ltd has just taken delivery of a batch of QSC Powerlight amplifiers to upgrade their main PA racks. The purchase of the PL236 and PL6 units came after a lengthy evaluation of a number of different amplifiers with their existing EAW speaker system. "Having expanded our main EAW KF850 system at our sister operation in Dubai, we shipped our existing amp racks out to power it," said Aden Gregory, JHL's Audio rental department manager. "This gave us the opportunity to review our amplifier stock. We decided to check out a range of different switch-mode power amplifiers and after extensively testing a number of brands we chose the Powerlights from QSC. We were surprised that the PL6.0PFC weighing only 59lbs could deliver so much energy and have such a fast recovery rate. Not only do they sound excellent but they also have the added

Digital Audio Research Limited (DAR) has launched the Trigger Audio Replay System, building on its innovative workstation and disk-recorder technology to create a unique, flexible and powerful system for live television productions, as well as for radio and live theatre. Ideally suited to game show applications, Trigger provides easy-to-use instant-play facilities, allowing sound effects, music segments and voice-overs to be managed from a single system.

Trigger offers the the ability to record, edit, assign and replay audio segments from within a single-screen display. Mono and stereo audio segments can be assigned across up to four stereo outputs, with segments sequenced as four separate Playlists, or triggered individually by the 32 instant-play Trigger keys. Specific segments can be programmed for triggering by external switching - including contestants' and presenters' buttons, an

Peter West has joined UK distributor HW International as area sales manager. He will be responsible for the Midlands area and will represent the Shure, Phonic, QSC and PreSonus professional audio products. With a wealth of experience in the professional audio market, West was previously employed by Raper & Wayman and LTP (where he was responsible for EAW loudspeakers).

According to manufacturers Audio Digital Technology, its new SDA11 digital analyzer is a 'Digital Swiss Army Knife' for anyone who works with digital audio, verifying the final link in the audio chain. Visual indication is provided to indicate sample rate, line errors and channel status. The three output BNC connectors when connected to an oscilloscope will allow further investigation of data word length, eye patton and jitter. Word clock output is also possible from the incoming AES/SPDIF signal.

The small, hand-held, battery device will accept sample rates up to 96kHz at 24bits and will allow monitoring via headphones or internal loudspeaker of the incoming AES or SPDIF signals. For cases requiring a 'get out of trouble' fix, the analyzer is also capable of editing and re-transmitting the channel status bits causing the problem in communication, establishing a temporary working conn

The worldwide launch of the new Yamaha DM2000 24-bit, 96kHz production console, underpinned Marquee Audio's most successful open day ever at the Lyric Theatre in Hammersmith this month. Although their collaboration with Yamaha was primarily to expose the PM1D, for whom Marquee have already enjoyed huge success as main dealers, the new desk was rushed down from the SBES Show at Birmingham - where it had been given its first private preview - and unveiled to visitors in the Studio Theatre.

With full support from Yamaha's technical team, including Professional Audio Manager Terry Holton, the Marquee Audio team of Spencer Brooks, Andy Huffer and Glen Smith spent the day entertaining the UK's leading production and PA rental companies as well as studio managers. Shipping in the first quarter of next year, the DM2000 is a complete, multi-platform mixing system for broadcast, recording, post-

Mackie Designs has launched a fully interactive, online tradeshow exhibit that will highlight new products from Mackie, Mackie Industrial and Eastern Acoustic Works (EAW). The 'e-Show' will offer educational and entertaining features, including streaming and downloadable video demonstrations, new product announcements, downloadable software demos, instant access to product datasheets and a series of topic specific discussions hosted by representatives from all three companies. Visitors will be able to order literature and can even buy real tradeshow 'swag!'

"We acknowledge that there is no substitute for the personal interaction of a live tradeshow," said Karen Anderson, director of marketing communications at EAW. "But, in the absence of actually being there, we feel the ‘e-Show’ is a great way to provide many of the informational, educational, and fun eleme

A vibrant new South African production has arrived on the West End stage. Umoja - The Spirit of Togetherness opened at the Shaftesbury Theatre this month to rave reviews and a cast of 33 singers and dancers, four African drummers, and a five-piece band.

Conceived by Todd Twala and Thembi Nyandeni, and brought to the stage by director Ian von Memerty, the task of 'sound designing' the story of African music fell to Trevor Peters. With FOH engineer, Tanja Somers, Trevor recommended that the show turn to Trantec to supply the requisite number of radio mic channels. "When the production started a year and a half ago we had three rifle mics, two handheld radios and CD backing tracks, but as funds became more available so the production has grown." In The West End, 20 S4000 lavalier mics are worn by the cast with S3500s on the guitar and sax.

"The fact that we are r

Tascam, the professional audio and musical instrument division of TEAC Corporation, has acquired the stock of Texas-based NemeSys Music Technology, Inc. NemeSys is known for its popular GigaSampler and GigaStudio software-based sampling and music production tools for the PC platform, which Tascam will immediately begin distributing under its own brand. The company has appointed the principal software engineers and former owners of NemeSys to its team in order to ensure the continuing development of the 'Giga' platform. "We are tremendously excited by the possibilities inherent in TASCAM's acquisition of NemeSys," commented TEAC vice-president Gene Joly. "The GigaSampler and GigaStudio products are already revolutionizing the world of music creation and production and we're certain that the addition of Tascam's distribution and marketing strength will allow these tools to b

Piranha Cables has introduced the M1 Dynamic Microphone to complement its comprehensive range of high quality instrument, speaker and microphone cables. The microphone has a rugged black body shell and can confidently handle the harshest of stage environments, say the company. Its super-cardoid sound capsule gives a clean, natural sound, low harmonic distortion and a high threshold to acoustic feedback. The M1 is supplied with its own traveling box and a Piranha M1 mic cable with high quality Neutrik connectors.

The company has also recently added multicore cable to its ever expanding range of audio equipment. The cable is available in 4, 8 and 16 pairs, each one individually shielded in aluminium foil and individually jacketed within an outer sleeve made from a strong, highly flexible matt black PVC. Identification is made easy with numbers running along the entire length of the inner

Marquee Audio will forge even closer links with the concert touring industry, following the arrival of the experienced Glen Smith. Formerly founder of ISE - a company specializing in the supply of second-user equipment to the UK's rental production companies - Smith takes up his directorship at the Shepperton Studios-based company with a mandate to deliver the same service.

In a long career as production, tour and stage manager (including Glastonbury and the first WOMAD Festival) and stints with the UK's leading PA companies, Tasco, TFA Electrosound and Britannia Row, he has witnessed all aspects of sound reinforcement and concert touring at close quarters. The service will not be dedicated exclusively to concert touring. "We have already taken in some equipment for the installation market," Smith explains. "It means we can start getting creative and my vision is to deve

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