USA - Fulcrum Acoustic has announced that pre-sets for Apex CloudPower amplifiers are now available for download on the Fulcrum Acoustic website. The processor settings work with all Apex CloudPower amplifiers running firmware version 1.2.1 or later. These pre-sets add to an already extensive list of processor configurations available for download on the Fulcrum Acoustic website. "Fulcrum Acoustic is committed to supporting a broad range of processing platforms at a high level to ensure that our loudspeakers are easy to work with and so our customers can achieve the best results possible," says Rich Frembes, senior technologist, Fulcrum Acoustic. "We’re excited to add Apex to the ever-growing list of third-party DSP amplifiers we support." The Apex pre-sets are available as a free download from the support page on the Fulcrum Acoustic website.
USA - Nashville Life is a 10-year-old ministry founded by gospel artist and 15-time Grammy Award-winner CeCe Winans and her husband, Alvin Love II, and their son, Alvin Love III, is now lead pastor. While the church has been in existence for a decade, it has only this year found its own home, a newly renovated former church building in Nashville’s Nolensville Road neighbourhood. Nashville Life has a flexible set of audio solutions to meet its particular needs: a DiGiCo Quantum225 console, buttressed with four Dante-enabled A168D stage boxes along with a DQ-Rack in the amp room, for switching and patching, all on a Dante network, as is the church’s new EAW KF810 sound system. In addition, an even one-dozen KLANG:kontrollers - six connected to Shure PSM 1000 IEMs and six hard-wired IEMs for the band members - provide the church’s musicians and vocalists on stage with a h
USA - AtlasIED has announced three additions to the company, including Graham Hendry, VP of loudspeaker strategy; Mike Ulrich, VP of specialty acoustic projects and Riccardo Balistreri, director of acoustical engineering. The new hires are part of a strategic initiative that will focus on product development, strategy, design, and positioning of new products for the premium loudspeaker marketplace across a variety of industries including hospitality, specialty commercial, corporate, and entertainment. “AtlasIED has significantly invested in talented people, infrastructure, and machinery over the past five years,” said John Ivey, CEO at AtlasIED. “We’ve created a foundation for innovation, and Graham, Riccardo, and Mike are joining us to help propel that innovative culture forward and translate it into solutions and platforms that benefit our industry, clients, and e
UK - Polar has announced the expansion of its team with the appointment of Nick Bellis to the post of business development manager, professional audio. An experienced pro audio sales manager and successful freelance FOH/monitor engineer, with more than 30 years’ experience in the live and installation markets, Nick joins Polar with specific responsibility for its Music Tribe brands. Polar recently entered a partnership to re-introduce direct supply of Music Tribe’s leading brands to the UK market. Polar managing director John Midgley comments, “Nick is a highly respected figure in the industry and knows these brands inside out, having earlier in his career spent seven years working for Music Tribe in European sales. Add to this a hands-on appreciation of the products from his freelance role as a highly regarded pro audio engineer, and it’s easy to see why he is
UK - Following their recent inauguration of a European Experience Centre, Wharfedale Pro continues to uphold a mission of transparency. With the addition of enhanced website navigation and ‘finder’ tools, they are optimising their processes ‘to enable their customers to make more informed, intelligent decisions’. The newly added ‘bracket and rigging finder’ effectively acts as a filterable table or ‘cheat sheet’, that clearly displays which brackets, rigging and poles (X axis) are most suitable for each model of loudspeaker (Y axis), as well as what quantity is required. The entire loudspeaker range is displayed by default, but the selection can be narrowed to a specific model via a search function. It will serve as an invaluable, at-a-glance tool for integrators who are planning installs of any size. Similarly, earlier in August, Wharfedale Pro unveile
UK - Amp-maker Marshall recently constructed a world-class recording studio – boasting a 273sq.m live room and a 40-channel vintage Neve 8048 mixer – next to their Milton Keynes factory. The control room has been upgraded with a Quested monitoring system at its heart. “It was like fitting that last piece into a jigsaw, or getting the right key for a lock,” said Marshall studio manager Adam Beer. “The Quested Q212FS monitors are just perfect for the room, and for the type of music we record. The imaging is absolutely spot on, you can accurately pinpoint everything throughout the stereo field.” The Q212FS design is based on one of Quested’s most popular main monitor enclosures. The free-standing system has been adapted to allow for the Q212 element to sit on top of the QSB118 sub-bass, and be at a perfect height for most mixing consoles, with the acoustic c
USA - There are three campuses of the thriving Hallows Church in Seattle, the latest of which is in the Wallingford area of the city. The church embraces technology to connect with its congregations both in person and through online livestreams, with music every bit as important in the celebrations as the spoken word. To equip the church with a new sound system, The Hallows turned to local AV technology specialists Morgan Sound who have, over the course of 50+ years in business, successfully completed hundreds of similar installations in houses of worship and other venues, undertaken alongside a long-established and busy production services business for live events. Associate engineer Fraser Brearley reports, “The Hallows is a very modern and technology-focussed church, with music at the heart of its services. They specifically asked for a custom-tailored audio and v
UK - For more than 30 years, Bradford-based Pro Audio Systems (PAS) has been supplying professional audio, lighting and AV equipment for purchase, hire and installation. One area which has seen consistent growth on the audio front is the house of worship sector, where PAS has assisted with the supply and design of a number of systems for mosques, both in the city and further afield. Fastline specialises in mosque installations and began its relationship with PAS as far back as 2004. With a background in electrical engineering and a keen interest in sound, founder Wajid Baz felt at the time that audio provision in many mosques was simply not up to scratch. Clarity and adequate coverage are absolute essentials in houses of worship, and in many cases Wajid felt that both elements were inadequate. He created Fastline to deliver bespoke systems that could overcome the difficultie
Canada - “We are pleased to announce that 2022 was a record-breaking international festival and music season for Solotech, representing an increase of over 20% in AV activities provided by our Live Productions teams”, says Martin Tremblay, president and CEO, Solotech. As the world emerges from the Covid cocoon, or learns to work around it, festivals everywhere made a spirited comeback this year. Solotech’s Live Productions Division increase surpasses even pre-pandemic levels, a clear sign of organisers, artists and festival devotees’ eagerness for the return of this summer staple. Chances are if you attended a popular festival this summer, Solotech was also there. These included headliner Harry Styles’ epic shows at Coachella, the International Montreal Jazz Festival, the 15th anniversary of Osheaga, the Festival d’été de Québec and the multi-disciplinary arti
Europe - QSC EMEA has announced the opening of a new Benelux office in Nieuwegein, near Utrecht. Slated to open 20 September 2022, this modern office space will serve as the business development and Q-SYS training hub, as well house an experience centre where customers and end users can see the Q-SYS Platform and Ecosystem in real world installations. In addition, this office will include the EMEA service centre, now based under the same roof, with significantly more room to continually support both Q-SYS and QSC Pro Audio divisions. “Since opening the first regional business development office in 2020, the team has expanded four times, and this new modern office and high-end training facility is the next obvious step to support the growing regional footprint,” says Willem van Zuilekom, managing director of QSC Benelux. “In addition, this space will act as a hub
USA - To provide artists and audiences at Summerfest with immersive and impactful live sound, Clearwing once again enlisted JBL Professional VTX Series speakers for the job. A long-time staple of the music festival season, Summerfest is a multi-week event that brings a wide variety of artists and fans to Henry Maier Festival Park in Milwaukee every year. With hundreds of performances taking place across 12 stages, Summerfest is historically one of the most-attended festivals in the world and earned the title of ‘World's Largest Music Festival’ by Guinness World Records in 1999. After a two-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Summerfest returned for three consecutive weekends in June and July rather than 11 straight days like previous years, and featured Modest Mouse, 2 Chainz, Charli XCX, Dustin Lynch, among many others. Despite this year’s schedule
UK - At PLASA Show 2022, APT-GB launched the most most advanced series of its globally successful >Teleprompter.video SMV stage-monitor form factored teleprompters. These teleprompter designs are intended for use in performance, production and presentation applications, by a wide range of users – from singers to pastors. Amongst a list of innovations, the new SMV2 series encompasses a range the most common and newest video formats with input and output conversion of NDI, SDI and HDMI all in a single platform, making it a much more accessible technology. A complement of Neutrik connectors includes dual etherCON with Halo connectors supporting onboard video networking, with SMV2 series models receiving, converting and outputting multiple signal formats (NDI, RTSP and many more) via the I/Os and the Halo continuously indicating power and connection speed status.
UK - The Stage Bus, a Birmingham-based events production company that provides solar-powered staging solutions, has released the latest version of its newest stage, The Stage Box. A concept that’s been designed and constructed at the company’s Halesowen HQ, The Stage Box is built into a converted 20ft shipping container. It provides a stage platform which can operate from the back of a truck, or as a detachable unit which can self-dismount using hydraulic legs. The entire stage is solar-powered, and can run for up to eight hours on a full charge. The latest version of The Stage Box expands its power capacity with a modular solar battery system, allowing its running length to be extended past the eight hour mark. Combined with its nature as a self-contained unit which can be locked up and safely left at any event site overnight, this makes it the ideal choice for sm
UK - Currently playing an extended run in London’s Garrick Theatre, The Drifters Girl tells the story of Faye Treadwell, the long-time manager of The Drifters, by interweaving her personal narrative with 20 concert-level performances of the seminal R&B/pop group’s chart-topping hits. To maintain the full impact of both the dramatic and musical elements, sound designer Tom Marshall deployed a strategically placed and balanced system of Meyer Sound point source loudspeakers and compact subwoofers. The intimate Garrick Theatre is an acoustically and architecturally challenging venue that was built in 1889 and now seats 712 patrons on three levels. “The Garrick has interesting challenges when it comes to putting a ‘pop’ musical in the space,” relates Marshall. “Loudspeaker positioning is tricky due to the nature of the proscenium opening and the fi
UK - If there is a single festival that defines the English summer, it has to be Henley, which this year celebrated its 40th anniversary with a mix of music, comedy, art and grade A fun. Production managed by John Harris, Henley’s main stage is placed in the River Thames, backed by a fleet of boats of all shapes and sizes. The site features a variety of other venues ranging from intimate comedy to cabaret and dance bands. RG Jones has been providing audio at Henley since 1983 - most of it based around Martin Audio PA - and in a relationship surviving that long, the level of trust and commitment is obviously at its highest. Over the years, the style of the event has changed somewhat from the original, fully classical programme to what is now a much more commercial line-up, but with no less determination to deliver an unforgettable experience. This year’s arti
The Netherlands - RME and DirectOut have introduced Digiface Ravenna. The mobile audio interface is based on the proven Digiface Dante and features a Ravenna module developed by DirectOut. The device allows the transmission of a total of 128 audio channels coming from Ravenna and optionally MADI via a single USB 3.0 connection. RME thus expands its Digiface series with a powerful Ravenna model for USB and standalone operation. "We have known and admired RME for many years as a provider of professional computer interface technology and are very happy about this cooperation.” says Claudio Becker-Foss, CEO/CTO of DirectOut. “The combination of RME’s experience in programming computer interfaces with DirectOut’s Ravenna expertise will create a great new asset for the Audio-over-IP market. Both companies are committed to leading edge development and maintaining their prod
France - A tailor-made sound system was developed and installed by Amadeus within the Théâtre de l'Archevêché at Aix-en-Provence International Music Festival to subtly modify the acoustic characteristics of the theatre space using 35 microphones processed through Holophonix and more than 50 speakers to play the innovative mix of a live orchestra, choir, and stage performers for a performance of Mozart’s Idomeneo. Musical director and conductor of the Pygmalion Orchestra and Choir, Raphaël Pichon, made a special request to Amadeus to design and implement an audio technology system combining active acoustics and sound spatialization to maximize the audience’s experience of the opera. “The work carried out in collaboration with Amadeus’ teams could be compared with some kind of ‘sound restoration’. The Théâtre de l'Archevêché is a unique place
Europe - Shure is teaming up with Netgear to deliver faster and more reliable integration when installing Shure Microflex Ecosystem products with the Netgear AV Line M4250 switches. The combination of Shure’s legacy in AV, along with Netgear’s commitment to AV over IP will help integrators with limited networking skills save time configuring rooms. Built from the ground up for 1G AV over IP, the Netgear AV Line M4250 switches combine years of networking experience with best practices from leading AV professionals to simplify and elevate the installation process. A new AV-centric browser-based user interface enables key AV network settings, selectable profiles for popular AV devices, and a sleek front panel with various mounting options. Now, M4250 switches come pre-installed with two Shure profiles to optimise switch settings and customise VLANs for control and audio whe
UK - PLASA Show, London’s international event for entertainment technology, will once again open its doors at Olympia London from 4-6 September. Thousands of professionals from across the live sector are expected to attend the show, coming together to celebrate the industry’s strength and innovation following the pandemic. Tickets are still available for £15, which will increase to £20 on the door. 200+ global brands will sit side by side in Olympia’s Grand Hall, representing the very best of pro audio, lighting, audio-visual, rigging and staging technologies. These include the show’s headline sponsor Robe, as well as fellow lighting brands Chauvet Professional, Claypaky, Ayrton, Avolites, ETC, Elation, GLP, Vari-Lite, Martin, TMB, plus many more. The pro audio sector is well covered, with brands such as d&b audiotechnik, Sennheiser, Yamaha, DiGiCo, Shure, RCF
The Netherlands - Pliant Technologies debuts its CCU-08 CrewCom Control Unit at IBC 2022 (Stand 10.C53). The CCU-08 is the latest addition to the CrewCom system and gives users the ability to use up to eight 4-Wire ports while retaining all the same features of the current companion CCU-22 and CCU-44 products. Like the current Control Units, the CCU-08 Control Unit contains no radio and is frequency agnostic and can therefore control and monitor any device across CrewNet regardless of radio frequency bands being utilized. With the combination of CrewCom Radio Transceivers, the new CCU-08 supports up to 82 Radio Packs, 18 in Normal mode and 64 in the recently released High Density mode, across all RF bands. “The CCU-08 is an important addition to the CrewCom lineup,” says Gary Rosen, vice president of global sales for Pliant Technologies. “The CCU-08 adds the abil
UK - Le Mark Group will be exhibiting its extensive product range at this year’s PLASA show. Two new Dirty Rigger products will take centre stage; the V3 edition of the heavy-duty backpack and four-way stretch ladies’ work trousers will both be showcased on Stand E20. Additionally, Paper-Tak– a paper-based alternative to generic PVC tape will make its debut. Visitors will also be able to see a selection of Le Mark’s best-selling tapes, labels, flooring and crew wear, with a knowledgeable team on hand to answer any queries. Speaking ahead of the show, Stuart Gibbons OBE, managing director, Le Mark Group said: “We’re delighted to be returning to the show again this year and we’re really excited to see what people think of the new products we will have on the stand. The Dirty Rigger backpack has been built around industry feedback. It’s comfortable to wear
UK - Production Futures exists to create opportunities for young people to learn, train, network and develop real careers in production across every area of the live event, music, touring, theatre, TV, broadcast and film industries. As part of the promotion for its forthcoming Production Futures On Tour autumn events, the organisation will host a seminar at this year’s PLASA Show on the subject of Creating an Inclusive Workforce - How Can the Industry Attract Young Talent?. Chaired by CEO Hannah Eakins, the panel, which includes Jas Parekh (Production Futures), Koy Neminathan (Sales Director at Avolites), Amy Kerr (field sales support manager at Robe) and Ollie Jeffrey (head of production and technical at Royal Albert Hall), will discuss solutions to the skills shortage in the live sector. Hannah Eakins explains: “Since the pandemic, live events
Indonesia - Located on the perimeter of the Podomoro Golf Complex in a leafy suburb of Jakarta, At-Thohir Mosque was built by the extended family of automotive magnate, the late Teddy Thohir. The pearlescent house of worship features 29 domes meant to signify family. The building, which can welcome up to 1,900 worshippers, is a gift from a government minister, one of Mr. Thohir’s sons, to the local community and was inaugurated this spring by Indonesia’s president. Wishing to maintain the grandeur of the building - its clean white interior, adorned with gold calligraphy representing the 99 meanings of Allah - the mosque’s technical committee required a powerful and pristine sound system that would discreetly fit into the building’s aesthetic. With recent government guidelines putting a cap on sound volumes at 100 decibels and limiting amplified audio to inside build
USA - EAW has announced that Steve Badham will be returning to the company covering technical sales throughout Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Badham has a long history in the professional audio industry and in particular with EAW. “We are excited to welcome Steve back to the EAW family,” says TJ Smith, president, Eastern Acoustic Works (EAW). “Steve’s experience, product knowledge and technical savvy make him a great addition back to our team. With Steve’s contributions and hard work, we look forward to continuing to grow the EAW brand in the EMEA territories.” Badham’s association with EAW began about two decades ago where he held the position of European technical sales engineer. During his time at EAW, Badham spearheaded several high-profile projects in the region including the Barcelona Football Club’s Camp Nou Stadium and EAW's first UK multip
