UK - Shure Distribution UK (SDUK), a leading distributor of professional audio equipment, is delighted to announce the appointment of Dinesh Maisuria as their new Senior Service Technician.

Dinesh brings a vast amount of technical experience to SDUK. Dinesh has most recently worked at Sennheiser UK for over eight years as their key RF Service Engineer and previously at Audio Engineering where he was responsible for testing Micron microphones.

Dinesh brings a depth of industry experience and technical knowledge to SDUK and enhances the already strong service team. 'This new appointment will grow and develop the service team enabling SDUK to achieve the long-term objective of positioning SDUK as industry leaders in providing renowned and unique levels of service to their customers,' say the company.

'The appointment of Dinesh represents our commitment to continually improve,

UK - Gloria Gaynor who had a huge hit with the classic I will Survive is currently embarking on a UK and US tour accompanied by the Drifters. Gaynor and her full live band have been performing around the country with a little help from a TL Audio Ivory series 5001.

The quad preamp was used for the keyboards on stage to help replicate a smooth retro sound. Keyboardist and musical director of the show, Goziam comments: "We used the TL Audio to get a fantastic sound from the keyboards as just going straight through the front of house desk wouldn't cut it, we have been using loads of retro sounds and the quad pre really helps it to sound warm and authentic."

(Jim Evans)

Germany - In mid April the Dynacord Concert Sound Academy attracted over 40 participants from seven European countries. The programme included workshops dealing with the IRIS-Net integrating software platform in connection with Dynacord Power H power amplifiers, and seminars on various loudspeaker systems (Cobra 4 and 2, Xa2), the multi-function VariLine loudspeaker system, and the use of FIR filters.

These were followed by 'hands on' sessions that permitted the sound professionals attending the course to form their own impressions of the practical advantages of the systems on view. Academy participants were also given a full tour of the works and were able to inspect the production and test facilities at EVI Audio's European headquarters in Straubing.

Export sales manager Frauke Jungbluth, who, together with Dynacord product managers Uwe Peppler and Martin Traut, was responsi

UK - Commercial audio specialist Ateis UK has announced that it is set to host the first UK-based training session for its Messenger range of active line array loudspeakers, which will be staged on 17 June Wigwam Acoustics' Lancashire-based HQ.

Wigwam is Ateis UK's first reseller of the Messenger digital line array column series, which are recognised for their exacting speech intelligibility in reverberant environments.

"Wigwam has enjoyed much success with the range and is excited about offering this training day to all designers, engineers, installers and rental specialists wanting to learn more about Messenger's potential across all commercial, ecclesiastical and auditoria application environments," say the company.

Most notably, Messenger has been deployed in Liverpool's Cathedral to offer a precise and effective solution in one of Europe's largest and most cha

USA - Technomad Associates, LLC reports that Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU) in Murfreesboro has selected Technomad outdoor weatherproof loudspeakers to provide voice and music for live sports coverage in its new 2,500 seat stadium.

The stadium, home to the MTSU Blue Raiders teams that play in the Division One Sun Belt Conference, is the newest venue within the university's Murphy Center Complex, which comprises all the athletic venues on campus. According to Josh Hoevelmann, electronic equipment engineer for MTSU Murphy Center, the Technomad Berlin loudspeakers rival the larger PA systems used for the football and baseball stadiums on campus.

"Everyone I talk to on campus is surprised at the audio quality and power output we're achieving from just two loudspeakers," said Hoevelmann. "The output is extremely clear even at mid-field, and it's not overbea

UK - Def Leppard's new album Songs from The Sparkle Lounge was launched amid a blaze of publicity when the band played a one-off gig at the Islington Carling Academy in London in front of an invited audience of music industry folk and fans.

The Red TX mobile recorded the concert for promotional broadcasts and for a 13-minute electronic press kit that Universal is issuing to the media to promote the band's album and forthcoming tour.

Mike Kaufman, from production company Live Nation, commissioned Red TX to handle the audio recording. He says: "We needed an experienced team and you don't get much more experienced than the team behind Red TX. Choosing them for this project was a no-brainer."

(Jim Evans)

USA - Currently touring in support of Warpaint, their latest release on the independent Silver Arrow label, The Black Crowes have Scott "Scooby" Sherbin at the front-of-house mix position and Drew Cansalvo at monitors. Working in tandem to craft a stage plot relying entirely on Shure input, the pair draws upon an eclectic mix of traditional rock 'n' roll microphone elements along with newer catalogue offerings .

Given a choice, personally I would put SM57s on everything," Scott Sherbin says. "Ask me how to mic an elephant, and I'd just put a 57 on him. First and foremost, this is a rock 'n' roll band. That means they were born and bred with SM57s and SM58s. We don't ever want to lose sight of that fact, but at the same time we want to augment those sounds. Given the volume we're producing, we need something that steps out and allows us to change for so

UK - Cambridgeshire-based Out Board recently chaired a seminar workshop at AES 124 in Amsterdam on the subject of directional amplification and live sound automation. The seminar featured contributions from a number of distinguished, international guest-panellists and attendees.

Directional amplification, also referred to as Source Oriented Reinforcement (SOR), describes a practical technique to deliver amplified sound to a large listening area with even coverage while providing directional information to reinforce visual cues and create a realistic and non-contradictory auditory panorama.

The session included audio demonstrations of the fundamental psychoacoustic techniques employed in an SOR design and its limits discussed. Workshop chairman, Out Board's Dave Haydon, outlined the history of SOR; from Steinke & Fels pioneering work with their Delta Stereophony System in the m

USA - Danley Sound Labs is turning its Synergy Horn and Tapped Horn technologies up to eleven with the launch of the SH-96 at InfoComm 2008. The SH-96 combines eleven drivers - four 15" woofers, six 5" mid-range drivers and a single 1.4" high-frequency compression driver - in a single enclosure.

Sensitivity of the SH-96 is 103dB with a power handling capability of 2800 watts RMS and a frequency response of 50Hz - 18kHz (+/-3dB). The enclosure, constructed from braced Baltic birch, is 26.5" high by 45" wide and 25" deep, and weighs 215 pounds.

Its first installation will be in the renovation of the IMAX theatre on Navy Pier in Chicago, followed by the Morrison Center at Boise State University.

Mike Hedden, president of Danley Sound Labs noted: "The laws of physics are impervious to the current trends of an industry lost in a sea of digital b

USA - Aviom has announced its new Sales & Technical Training Programme. To kick off the initiative at this year's InfoComm show, Aviom's consultant liaison and training manager Jeff Lange will lead two manufacturer's training sessions: Audio Distribution Applications with Aviom's Pro16 Series and Audio Networking with Aviom's Pro64 Series. In addition, Aviom will run an Audio Distribution & Networking Solutions for Houses of Worship course each day in the Technologies for Worship Pavilion.

Aviom has identified training as a top priority in 2008. "There's a lot of interest in audio distribution and networking, but there's also a lot of uncertainty and confusion," says Lange. "Good, reliable information is critical to helping consultants and contractors make good design decisions. This year's training programme marks the beginning of an ongoing

UK - The RSC's The Histories Cycle project was first mooted in 2006, an extraordinary two-year ensemble project to stage Shakespeare's epic history cycle of eight plays - Richard II, Henry IV (Parts 1 and 2), Henry V, Henry VI (Parts 1-3) and Richard III.

Charting over a century of turbulent English history, this ambitious project reached its climax in the spring of 2008 in London's Roundhouse venue. One of the RSC's own DiGiCo D5T consoles ensured that the sound for this complex series of productions was delivered flawlessly.

With a sound design by Andrea J Cox and operated by Sarah Hollyman and Ed Borgnis, the audio system was necessarily intricate to accommodate regular performances of eight different plays in the same venue - sometimes with three different performances running back-to-back in a single day.

However, the D5T's internal matrix and snapshots ha

UK - Martin Audio's new W8VDQ compact, three-way system combines line array and differential dispersion technologies to provide an advanced solution to the requirement for even coverage over wide angles and throw distances, says the company.

The system has been designed to provide a short-throw horizontal dispersion of 120°, narrowing to 100° as the throw increases. The vertical differential directivity (VDQ) creates progressively more HF output as throw distance increases. The resulting dispersion pattern is ideally suited to covering audiences located on flat, or gradually sloping surfaces.

Designed for passive or bi-amp operation, and combining a Hybrid quad 8in LF and MF configuration with quad 1in HF - the system achieves a maximum SPL of 131dB (continuous), 137dB (peak).

Aimed at a wide range of applications, from live and theatre sound to fixed installations,

UK - A safety passport scheme, aimed at reducing accidents in the live entertainment industry, has grown rapidly in its first year.

"The first few months of 2008 saw the Live Event safety passport grow from a good idea to a scheme that is gaining acceptance across the whole back-stage production area," said Andy Lenthall, general manager of the Production Services Association which represents companies and contractors in the live entertainment industry.

"With safety passport holders now numbering 1,000, and candidates spread across all disciplines at all levels, the PSA is confident that both the concept and course content deliver real benefits in terms of safety awareness."

Lenthall said that many major suppliers were now delivering safety passport courses to their in-house staff, with many insisting that sub-contractors should also hold safety passports

UK - Unobtrusive and lightweight yet exceptionally effective, the latest Clarity 656 earplugs from Howard Leight by Sperian are billed as "the ideal choice for protecting the hearing of workers in the music and entertainment sectors".

With a transparent body that makes them almost invisible when in use, Clarity 656 earplugs achieve a high level of acceptance from users that might be unwilling to wear less attractive and more easily visible hearing protection devices. With soft flanges and rigid stems, they are also easy to insert, further increasing their user acceptability, says the company.

Another benefit of the Clarity 656 earplugs is that they incorporate Bilsom's patented sound management technology. This means that, although they are completely passive devices that require no power source, the level of attenuation they offer varies with frequency allowing them

UK - Audio-Technica reports that its 'Road To Success' roadshow got off to a flying start at Lingfield Park racecourse on 21 and 22 May, the tour's first stop on its three-week, seven-location trip around the UK.

Of particular interest to visitors, the company says, was its new ATCS-60 infra-red conference system. Making an exclusive pre-launch appearance on the roadshow prior to its official unveiling at InfoComm 08 in Las Vegas on 18-20 June, the ATCS-60 drew praise from both trade and press attendees for its "flexibility, ease of use and keen UK pricing", say Audio-Technica.

Key features of the ATCS-60 (comprising the ATCS-C60 master control unit, ATCS-M60 mic unit, ATCS-A60 antenna unit and ATCS-B60 battery charger) include secure wireless conferencing - the result of using IR technology; self-contained M60 mic units with built-in speaker, negating the need for e

UK - Eclectic Bars have spent in the region of £1 million converting their Fez Club in Reading to the Japanese-influenced Sakura. Having successfully piloted the new concept in Lincoln, managing director Reuben Harley, promises that the new brand will now be selectively rolled out.

With three floors in Reading trading on 7,000sq.ft, and giving them a combined capacity in excess of 600 people, the company brought in Redgates as the main contractor, Julian Taylor of Taylor Design Associates to reconceive the interior, and SSE Audio Group to design a networked sound solution, using Martin Audio components. The result is a vibrant new infrastructure geared up for a long duty cycle, and unrecognisable from its days as The Fez.

Faced with specifying a system that on the one hand could reproduce hi-fi background music from midday onwards, and high-energy Hed Kandi nights for th

Belarus - Midas' Belarus distributor Belcultproject has sold a Heritage 3000 and a Heritage 4000 mixing console to the Palace of the Republic in Minsk.

The consoles have been installed in the Palace's concert hall, the largest in the country, which hosts a wide range of events from pop and rock through to orchestral performances, opera, ballet and theatre. The 56 channel H3000 is being used at front of house, and is paired with the H4000 - again a 56 channel version - for monitors.

To complement the purchase of the consoles, the Palace has also invested in seven Klark Teknik DN370 graphic EQs and 1248 Plus mic splitters.

"The Midas consoles met all our venue's requirements for new analogue mixers," says the Palace of the Republic's sound engineer Ivan Barovsky. "The user interface and sound quality are second to none. This, coupled with the wide range of featu

Taiwan - ACT- 51 is a new wireless microphone system incorporating Mipro's proprietary and now, the company claims, "industry standard" ACT (Automatic Channel Targeting) and AutoScan functions, the easiest and fastest channel set-up feature.

AutoScan technology quickly scans and finds a clear, non-interfering receiver frequency at the push of a button; then ACT technology syncs the receiver and transmitter frequency automatically - again, with push of a button.

Receiver front panel displays all functions (channel, frequency, RF and AF signal levels, transmitter battery levels, SQ levels and diversity and interference warning indicators) at a glance, with easy to read characters thanks to a bright, full colour VFD (vacuum fluorescent display) - another world first from Mipro, the company says.

Key features include UHF frequency-agile, reliable diversity reception; r

UK - The RSS S-4000 Modular Digital Snake is holding together £1/2 million of audio and video technology in a newly-built performing arts space and TV/recording studio at one of the UK's youngest universities.

Beneath the extensive production facilities of the Southampton Solent University's new 200-seater venue Studio C, lightweight Cat 5e cables are distributing up to 40 channels of high-quality 24-bit/96kHz audio between stage and recording studio, TV studio, and either or both of two discrete PA systems. Although it holds all the audio together, the RSS Digital Snake remains out of sight and out of mind, only visible at the point of source connection, where there is a 32x8 modular stagebox.

SSU's Studio C is an ambitious concept; a former lecture theatre which has been converted into a multi-purpose live space, it aims to provide training and performance facilities f

USA - Gemini has extended its PS Series Professional mixer series with the introduction of the PS-626EFX and PS-828x.

Based off the updated and ergonomically re-designed PS-626x, but with the added features of built-in digital effects such as filter, flanger & trans effects, the PS-626EFX Professional 10" 3-channel mixer is equipped with all the essentials DJs need and want, plus the added bonus of one touch effects control with adjustable EFX parameter wheel, says the company.

The PS-828x is equipped with four Channels, five lines with two phono inputs, balanced XLR outputs, three-band rotary EQ per channel with -30db cuts, assignable crossfader with curve control and a separate microphone volume with talkover and two-band EQ.

(Jim Evans)

USA - Prince let members of the Time and Sheila E. kickoff his show before launching into 1999 and nearly two hours of music to close day two at this year's Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival. Singing into a Shure KSM9, The Purple One proved demonstrably that he still has a hold over audiences few other major pop performers can claim today.

Guitar tech Bill Mayes additionally chose Shure UHF-R wireless for Prince's guitar. "The reliability and easy-to-use system makes this the only choice," Mayes said following the show. "Especially when there is no room for excuses."

(Jim Evans)

USA - For Sheryl Crow's current spring tour, promoting her new album Detours, FOH engineer Sean 'Sully' Sullivan (Beck, Justin Timberlake) put together a streamlined live sound system based around a Digidesign Venue D-Show Profile integrated with a Pro Tools|HD system.

Keeping the system compact was a primary objective for Sullivan. The Venue system allows him to reduce the need for outboard analogue processing in favour of TDM plug-ins. And when combined with Pro Tools|HD, the D-Show Profile provides Sullivan with access to studio-quality production tools that allow him to achieve album-quality mixes from venue to venue on a nightly basis.

"On this tour, I have a very small simple setup," he explains. "When my production manager saw my rig he asked, 'When does the rest of it arrive?' But the bonus is, with the Venue [D-Show] Profile, my favourite plug-in

UK - Adlib Audio supplied a JBL VerTec sound system, three Yamaha PM5Ds and a Soundcraft Vi6 console along with all sound production equipment and crew for the Kaiser Chiefs rocking homecoming gig at Elland Road stadium in Leeds.

This followed on from Adlib's work with the band on the last UK arena tour at the end of 2007. Adlib's FOH systems engineers were Tony Szabo and Dave Kay. They undertook their first Elland Road site visit in February - the Leeds United Football Club ground is not commonly used as a concert venue. They measured it up and created a 3D model using SoundVision and EASE software which also highlighted specific issues like coverage and delay sightlines.

The main front hangs consisted of 16 JBL VT4889s a side, along with 14 VT4880A subs flown right next to them.

The house right side hang was 14 VT4889s firing into the low seating stand on that side. On hou

UK - Sennheiser UK has announced that John Steven has left the company. Having been Sennheiser UK's director of marketing for the past eight years, he leaves to start and run his own company, John Steven PR.

Steven will continue working with Sennheiser UK on a freelance basis on various special projects, including assisting general manager Phil Massey with the company's ongoing involvement with the National Film and Television School and the Liverpool Institute of the Performing Arts.

Massey wished his departing colleague well. "John's been very committed to this company for a long time and we're sorry to see him go," he said, "although I'm glad he'll still be involved with us in a freelance capacity. He leaves behind a very strong and capable marketing team."

Steven joined Sennheiser UK in January 2000, having previously worked for their appointed PR Com

Latest Issue. . .