UK - Allen & Heath has launched new Chrome Editions of its Qu series compact digital mixers to mark the launch of Qu v1.8 Chrome firmware in mid-October, which adds new features including Automatic Mic Mixing, a Spectrogram and additional monitor mixes.

Chrome Edition Qu-16, Qu-24 and Qu-32 mixers all feature the same high contrast metallic finish rotary controls and fader caps as the premium GLD Chrome series, providing optimal visibility in low lighting scenarios and enhanced tactile control.

The new Automatic Microphone Mixer (AMM) coming in v1.8 firmware helps the engineer to manage the levels of multiple mic inputs, ensuring that each speaker's contribution is heard, but with priority settings to establish an order of precedence, says the company. AMM is vital in applications such as conferences, meetings and panel discussions where a number of microphones are open at the

The Netherlands - Stagelight is a successful Dutch hire and events production company that has been consistently dominant in the corporate events market for many years. More recently, the company has been expanding and aiming for an equally strong share of the public events and tour sound sectors. Part of this strategy has been investment in high-end, flexible technology, both in sound and in lighting. This includes the recent purchase of four SSL Live consoles - three SSL Live L500 consoles and one SSL Live L300 console - from Audio Electronics Mattijsen (AEM).

Jacco van der Heijden, managing director of Stagelight said, "For us, SSL complemented our own strategy of always delivering to the highest possible standards: A global reputation for excellence, teamwork, and reliability are key to Stagelight operations. We had to find a brand that would fit with our high-quality i

UK - Fifteen special theatre industry events take place on The Theatres Trust's TheatreStage at PLASA Show 2015 from Sunday 4 to Tuesday 6 October at ExCel London.

The TheatreStage plays host to key organisations and associations in the theatre sector announcing their latest activities, making presentations and giving awards, including the Association of Lighting Designer's Michael Northen Award on Monday 5 October at 1.30pm.

The programme includes 15 presentations over three days from the Association of British Theatre Technicians (ABTT), Association of Lighting Designers (ALD), Backstage Heritage Collection, Behind the Scenes UK, Production Managers' Forum, Society of Theatre Consultants, The Theatrical Guild, and ourselves, The Theatres Trust, the National Advisory Public Body for Theatres.

We're delighted that many academic institutions are also part of the line-up on th

Ireland - Spanish tenor José Carreras and Welsh mezzo-soprano singer/songwriter Katherine Jenkins performed this summer with the City of Cork Symphony Orchestra in the city's Independent Park (previously Musgrave Park) rugby stadium.

For this high profile event, EQ Audio and Events, headquartered in Dublin, fielded an Outline rig featuring 12 Outline GTO C-12 per side for the main left and right hangs, chosen because a very consistent transparent sound was indispensable, with very even coverage and absolutely no coloration.

Outline Butterfly CDH-483 cabinets were fielded for fills. Out-fill hangs comprised 10 CDH-483s per side, with more of the same enclosures deployed behind the FOH platform. All the CDH-483s were powered by Outline T7 amps, whereas, for the first time, the GTO C-12s were powered by Powersoft's new X8 amplifiers.

Production manager Shay Hannon explai

China - Ocean Park Hong Kong is partnering with Meyer Sound to stage the 15th edition of Asia's largest Halloween-themed event. A Leopard linear sound reinforcement system and D-Mitri digital audio platform lead a lineup of Meyer Sound systems to bring sonic immersion and push the scare factor for the park's fear-loving guests.

"To bolster our iconic Halloween celebration on its 15th anniversary, we decided to elevate the scary experience to new heights for our guests by exploring different sound effect treatments," says Jacky Chan, technical manager of Ocean Park Hong Kong. "The project is challenging because we want to use sound to inspire an intense fear in our guests, independent of scary visuals. Meyer Sound's sophisticated D-Mitri platform, coupled with the company's experience with international performances in Broadway and Las Vegas, allow us to achieve ou

UK - The K-array loudspeaker system installed by Stage Electrics at the Royal Opera House is "so discrete it is almost invisible".

The installation is the result of an out of the blue phone call with an invitation to the opera in Verona for the Royal Opera House's head of sound, Steve Zissler.

"I was asked if there was anyone I knew that I'd like to take to Italy to see the opera and listen to some sound systems," says Jamie Gosney from Stage Electrics, who designed the system at the Royal Opera House. "I hadn't been at Stage Electrics very long, I didn't really know anyone then and I didn't even know the K-array products that well. But Dave Wooster, [now part of 2B Heard, K-array's new UK distributor], had already said that the K-array products were perfect for opera."

That particular trip was not to be, but it wasn't long after that Stage Elec

UK - Orbital Sound reports that UK specialist Event Light & Sound (ESL) has taken delivery of a sizeable new Nexo 45°N-12 Line Monitor system, investing in the innovative wedges to service its growing corporate and high-end event schedule. Supplied by Nexo's UK main dealer and service partner Orbital Sound, the system was selected after a comprehensive market review, with the 45°N-12 standing out for its unique design, innovative technology, and arrayability.

ESL was introduced to the 45°N-12s by one of its regular monitor engineers, Chris Wibberley, commenting, "I was offered the chance to try out the NEXO 45°N-12 monitors a couple of years ago. I have found them to be the loudest and clearest wedge I have ever used! I like the way they couple as pairs and also how narrow their pattern is, so you don't have one mix bleeding all over another?. A truly excell

UK - A.C. Entertainment Technologies (AC-ET) Ltd., a leading one-stop provider of professional equipment to the entertainment industry, will showcase a selection of the very latest lighting, audio, rigging and video solutions available from their vast portfolio of over 200 leading brands - in their large exhibition Zone (Stands F30 - F38), which also includes stands for their sister company, A.C. Special Projects Ltd., industry-sponsored 2015 Dunlop MSA British Touring Cars Championship (BTCC) racing driver, Jack Goff, and a number of leading lighting marques.

Staff from AC-ET's Lighting sales division will be present to demonstrate and discuss products showcased on dedicated brand stands within the AC-ET Zone for Chroma-Q®, Jands, ProLights / ArchWork, Spotlight and GLP, as well as a selection of products from other leading brands including Philips Vari-Lite and Luminex. In

USA - Founded in 1994, Audio Geer is an independent sales representative firm based in Huntington Beach, California. The firm's 12 professionals average 10 or more years' experience serving integrators and consultants in Southern California and Southern Nevada including Las Vegas.

President Alan Geer says, "We strictly limit the brands we represent and always aim for a specific calibre of company. Community fits well with the products and services we provide to integrators and consultants. They're a truly professional company with great people and technology. I'm very excited about representing them in our territories."

Steve Young, Community's director, North American sales, added, "Our Southern California and Southern Nevada integrators will immediately benefit from the expanded coverage provided by Audio Geer. We are proud that Audio Geer has chosen Community

UK - At 9,500sq.ft over three floors, Lush's new flagship store on London's Oxford Street is 13 times larger than the average size of its stores, and sets the bar high within the international cosmetics and skincare retail industry.

In line with the retailer's eco-friendly credentials and ethos, the interior blends recycled products with exposed steel girders and a floor-to-ceiling full-width glass frontage to showcase all that is innovative and inspiring about Lush.

Bose pro partner, Crossover, a team known for their expertise in creating great sounding retail environments, were brought in to create the wow! factor in what is set to become an iconic store. As well as specifying and installing a multi-zoned background music system, the brief included requirements for some innovative display and interactive elements, and Lush also commissioned the Crossover team to work collabo

USA - Veteran front-of-house engineer Toby Francis, whose extensive résumé ranges from Aerosmith to ZZ Top, is currently out on an 88-date tour with pop princess Ariana Grande and a DiGiCo SD7 digital mixing console. The Honeymoon Tour, which takes in North America, Europe and Asia before wrapping up in South America at the end of October, also includes an SD7 at the monitor position, helmed by engineer Justin Hoffmann.

Francis, who is approaching his eighth year of using DiGiCo consoles almost exclusively, comments, "It's very, very easy to mix music on this console and it works in a very straightforward manner. It's got everything you'd ever need onboard. For the last two years I've been using a Waves SoundGrid server, but prior to that I didn't - I just used the console and nothing else."

Although he typically favours DiGiCo's SD10 desk, Franc

UK - A.C. Entertainment Technologies (AC-ET) will launch their new sales division, A.C. Film & TV, by showcasing the division's portfolio of specialist brands and related services in their exhibition zone (stands F30 - F38) at the PLASA 2015 Show on Sunday, 4 October.

The AC-ET Zone will feature the latest lighting, control and grip technologies from a selection of leading brands in the division's extensive portfolio. Marques stocked include Chroma-Q, Fiilex, Mole-Richardson, ARRI, Jands, Manfrotto, Avenger and LumenRadio, amongst others.

Drawing on the company's extensive experience supplying to this sector, the new division has been formed to offer a comprehensive one-stop inventory of lighting and related equipment solutions for film, television, studio and location applications. A.C. Film & TV will promote a range of key brands - many of them exclusive to AC-ET in the UK -

UK - PLASA Show 2015 is just a few days away, but the organisers are working right up to the wire to bring in the best speakers for the PLASA Professional Development Programme. Four new sessions have just been announced, respectively addressing lighting, sound and video.

Emmy Award winning lighting designer Al Gurdon, of Incandescent Design, will discuss his design philosophy in State of the Art Today, Passé Tomorrow, covering what is lighting for, what should it do, why do we need it, as well as taking a look at whether your lighting is relevant and focused now, and if it will stand the test of time.

In Going Over To The Dark Side - From Lessons To Lighting, founder of DX7 Design Tom Sutherland will discuss how he dropped out of education to pursue a highly successful career in lighting, a decision taken neither lightly nor without opposition. This sessi

USA - On Saturday, 26 September, 2015, Pope Francis visited the Festival of Families on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Chosen to capture the Pontiff's audio was an Audio-Technica AE6100 Artist Elite hypercardioid dynamic handheld microphone, custom-painted white by Audio-Technica especially for the occasion.

(Jim Evans)

UK - At PLASA Show 2015, A.C. Entertainment Technologies (AC-ET) Ltd., a leading one-stop provider of professional equipment to the entertainment industry, is showcasing a selection of the very latest lighting, audio, rigging and video solutions available from its portfolio of over 200 leading brands - in a large exhibition zone (stands F30 - F38), which also includes stands for sister company, A.C. Special Projects Ltd., and industry-sponsored 2015 Dunlop MSA British Touring Cars Championship (BTCC) racing driver, Jack Goff.

Staff from AC-ET's Lighting sales division are present throughout the show to demonstrate and discuss products showcased on dedicated brand stands within the AC-ET Zone for Chroma-Q, Jands, ProLights / ArchWork, Spotlight and GLP, as well as a selection of products from other leading brands including Philips Vari-Lite and Luminex.

In addition, AC-ET is la

UK - At PLASA Show 2015, Soulsound will present four seminar sessions: Audio and Conciousness; Time Aligning Inputs and Outputs; Is Mixing Personal?; Setting Up a Small Business. The sessions will be presented by Tony Andrews, Justin Grealy, Jon Burton & Darryn de la Soul

"The Soulsound Seminars this year address the esoteric, technical and practical aspects of being an Audio Engineer," says Darryn de la Soul. "We can get so bogged down in products and marketing that it's time to remember how we, as humans, interact with sound, what it does for us and how it makes us feel - cue Tony Andrews and his talk Audio & Consciousness."

Jon Burton gets stuck into a thorny question - how much artistic freedom do you have as a FOH engineer when working for... an artist! Justin Grealy and Marcel van Limbeek follow up last year's talk, The Nature Of Phase with Time Align

UK - As PLASA Show 2015 opens its doors at ExCeL London, visitors from 101 different countries, with a combined purchasing power of over £3 billion, have registered to attend.

With headline sponsors Robe, Clay Paky and TMB, this year's show features over 300 brands, many of which are showing new products and services, and sees PLASA Show adopting the successful 'Focus' model of a sector-specific, zoned layout, which will allow both visitors and exhibitors easier networking and navigation.

Over 50 leading brands from the pro audio sector are in attendance, with many new names joining that list including A.C. Entertainment, Autograph, d&b Audiotechnik, FACE, FBT UK, Flare Audio, POLARaudio, Ten 47, Unity Audio, White Light, Yamaha, SSE Audio and Wigwam Acoustics.

The lighting zone features manufacturers such as Altman, Avolites, Elation, ETC, Laserworld AG, and Robe, whi

UK - After 2014's successful return to the PLASA Show, this year Yamaha is exhibiting on a bigger stand and, for the first time at the event, sharing it with Nexo and Line 6.

The companies are exhibiting on Stand K40, in a prime position opposite the PLASA Show Bar. The stand is at the heart of the Audio zone in PLASA Show's new layout, a zoned arrangement designed to make it easier for visitors to navigate the show floor.

With the first units due to arrive at dealers very soon, the Yamaha Rivage PM10 large format console is the centrepiece of the stand. Product specialists Andy Cooper and Wayne Powell are on hand to give hands-on demonstrations to engineers keen to familiarise themselves with it, as well as on Yamaha's CL, QL and TF consoles, which is also on display.

Other Yamaha products on show include the company's CIS range of installation products, including loudspeak

UK - PLASA Show 2015 marks the UK debut of the d&b audiotechnik V-Series point source loudspeakers. Launched earlier this month V7P, V10P and V-GSUB are on the d&b stand J50 alongside other mobile and installation products, and on d&b sales partners' SSE / Wigwam stand L10.

"PLASA London is a significant show for d&b this year," says Gianni Abruzzese, d&b GB commercial manager. "We're really pleased to be showing the V-Series point sources, which we think are pretty special. The design of the mid-range horn means that the vocal performance is in a league of its own. I think the market has been waiting for a point source with this level of performance for a while now."

Adam Hockley and Steve Jones of d&b GB Education and Application Support will be contributing to the line-up of pro audio seminars, as part of the PLASA Professional Development Programme. On

Europe - With his eighth solo LP Tracker receiving much acclaim, guitarist and vocalist Mark Knopfler is in the midst of an eight month, 88-date world tour. A pair of DiGiCo SD7s is ensuring every nuance of these musically complex shows is heard clearly.

The tour is currently playing European arenas and festivals, with US and Canada theatres to follow. Front of House engineer Dave Dixon and monitor engineer Kerry Lewis are both mixing on DiGiCo SD7s.

"As well as Mark on guitar and lead vocals, the band features drums, bass guitar, two sets of keyboards, a second guitarist and two multi instrumentalists, who play a lot of different things including citterns, flutes, pipes and acoustic guitars," says Dave. "Mark and the second guitarist also play an array of electric and acoustic instruments, so there are around 90 inputs in total."

Due to the comple

Australia - On 16 August 2015, the Australian Netball Diamonds crowned their 2015 Netball World Cup campaign with their eleventh title, beating out 15 other nations, including arch rivals New Zealand in the grand final. A crowd of just under 17,000 at Sydney's Allphones Arena watched the Diamonds emerge triumphant, and Novatech Creative Event Technology were on hand to make sure that the final, and every game in the 10 days leading up to it, were presented with the best possible audio and technical production.

Novatech partnered with the Netball World Cup SYDNEY 2015 as their Technical Production Team, overseeing production for all their games, events around Sydney's Olympic Park. In addition to providing PA and support in the Arena itself, Novatech also handled preliminary and qualify games in the neighbouring Netball Central, the opening and closing ceremonies, presentations,

UK - At the PLASA Show this year, Autograph is celebrating three historic relationships; Meyer Sound, Clear-Com and DiGiCo.

For Meyer Sound, Autograph is showing the loudspeaker manufacturer's newest linear high power compact line array, the LEOPARD, plus associated LFC sub, which are part of the LEO family of loudspeakers.

From Clear-Com comes the new FreeSpeak II, 1.9GHz digital wireless intercom system, the HelixNet digital wired comms system, plus the HME DX210 wireless intercom system.

Digital console manufacturer DiGiCo is represented with the SD10T - the only theatre specific version of the console at the show - and the new S21 entry-level console that retains all the features and values DiGiCo is known for in terms of quality, ergonomics and style, at a price point that allows even more audio engineers to join the DiGiCo family.

Finally, a selection of microphones

UK - Visitors to PLASA Show 2015 are invited to attend this evening's PLASA Awards for Innovation ceremony, taking place at 6pm in the Sennheiser Audio Showcase seminar theatre on the show floor.

Sponsored by Lighting&Sound International, the PLASA Awards for Innovation recognise and reward new product ideas. Nominated products have met at least one of the Awards' criteria for 'Innovation' - to offer a new style of thinking, an improvement in existing technical practice, a new or improved aid to safety, a new commercial advantage, use new patents or unique intellectual property, or introduce new technology, materials or manufacturing techniques.

The final assessment of those claims is taking place at the PLASA Show, where an independent panel of industry experts are busy judging the entries, based on the strength of their innovation alone. Respected for their impartiali

UK - SSE Audio Group has announced the development of a successor product to PROSIGHT, which was the first laser inclinometer product designed for setting the angle of speaker line arrays.

"We have been working on the development of Prosight2 for the last 18 months", commented SSE Sales Director, Alex Penn. "Our design brief was to create a more compact device that offered more features, but also that could be brought to market at a more competitive price point."

The new unit will be on display on the SSE Audio / Wigwam stand (L10) at PLASA 2015 and the first production models are expected to be available for sale by the beginning of November 2015.

Also on show on the SSE stand is AVID's latest VENUE modular console - the S6L live mixing system; d&b audiotechnik's Yi line array series, together with V7P and V10P, a new breed of point source loudspeaker an

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