USA - Singer-songwriter Keelan Donovan, originally from Maine and now based in Nashville and Austin, knows the road. “After I graduated Belmont University, I knew I wanted to tour. So, from 2015-16 I was playing around 200 shows a year out on the road. Anywhere, for anyone, any time - I would book the shows myself and just play, play, play. I was trying to get my name out there, but I was also learning more about my music and performing every day.” The things he learned during those intensely busy years helped him focus in on his performance style and learn to recognise the tools that make performers sound their best – and now a key piece of his successful performing regimen is the L1 Model II portable line array system from Bose that he travels with and uses at many of his gigs, including house concerts and smaller venues. “At this point, I almost think of t
Portugal - Singer, musician, and songwriter, Pedro Abrunhosa is currently on tour across the country. Known for his large, live band and penchant for straddling different genres of music, the singer’s FOH engineer, Joao Bessa, relies on an SSL L200 to make his hands-on approach to live jamming a breeze. Starting out in the studio and honing his craft for 14 years on an SSL 4000E console, Bessa eventually made what he calls the 'natural transition' to live engineering. “The transition between the studio and the road was so natural to me: in my head, it's just mixing sounds and textures, and that is the thing I like to do,” he explains. “It's a completely creative art, and it's that which really interests me. I have tech knowledge, but I am not scientific - I just need to know the tools, and to know what I am doing, then switch that off and take care of the cre
UK - PLASA has announced its line-up of seminar sessions in the run up to the PLASA Show 2019 (15-17 September, London Olympia). In collaboration with top industry figures and brands, the programme will feature an array of creative achievements as well as advice on salient industry issues. Pro audio journalist and consultant Phil Ward will lead a panel of industry figureheads - Chris Hill from Wigwam, Jim Griffiths from Vanguardia and Steve Jones from d&b audiotechnik - in ‘Equal rights for audio!’ They will assess how live performances, including the recent Spice Girls reunion tour, can neglect audio in the rush for spectacular video, lighting and set design. Moving from concerts to theatre, Shure will present the future of audio for theatre productions, in association with Curtain Call. This panel will explore how the advancement of microphone technolo
UK - The PLASA Show 2019 will see major upgrades to Out Board’s TiMax immersive audio and show control systems, released in 2019 and currently in use on many major productions worldwide. The new HARDCore FPGA DSP engine for the TiMax Soundhub 3D spatial audio platform adds extended delay-matrix memory and ultra-smooth dynamic delay-morphing algorithms to create totally transparent real-time localisation. HARDCore expands sound designers’ capability to achieve superior panoramic spatial mix reinforcement and immersive 3D soundscapes. HARDCore has also paved the way for a next-generation interactive spatial reverb resource within TiMax. All-new TiMax TrackerD4 Precision Stagetracking is billed as affordable, dependable and portable, addressing a current price/performance gap in the market with enhanced levels of speed and precision at a range of cost levels offering
UK - Martin Audio has announced the latest in its series of product open days, which have been running twice a year since 2017 at the company’s High Wycombe HQ. The latest programme will run over five sessions spread across three days, on 17 September (at 10.00am and 2.00pm), 18 September (at 10.00am and 2.00pm) and 19 September (at 11am). The event is aimed at existing distributors, dealers, integrators, rental partners and sound engineers as well as potential new customers wishing to gain in-depth understanding of Martin Audio’s platforms and at the same time take advantage of plenty of listening time in relaxed surroundings. Many new products will be showcased for the very first time and tours of the factory and refreshments will also be provided. The demonstrations will include: the full line up of Wavefront Precision line arrays including the new WPS; s
France - The Grand Concert de Paris, celebrating the anniversary of the storming of the Bastille, takes place every 14 July at the foot of the Eiffel Tower, in the Champ de Mars. This year, a crowd of 300,000 people assembled to listen to the concert live, while a record audience of 3m viewers tuned in to watch the spectacle on television. Specialising in the delivery of large-scale shows globally, Gilles Bouvard Events and Shows (GB4D) has been working on this event with Radio France since 2015. This year, thanks to a successful experiment, they extended the traditional site wide Optocore redundant optical fibre loop by deploying an additional 152 Optocore X6R preamps. Explaining the reason, Bouvard said, “We had conducted several experiments with Radio France prior to the event, including the recording and capture of a jazz concert at La Maison de la Radio, with im
Germany - Parookaville is one of the largest electronic music festivals in the world, and this year attracted around 200,000 visitors over three days to Weeze airport, a former military base in the Lower Rhine region of Germany. This fifth edition of the event featured multiple stages, one of which was the Desert Valley Stage where Tillmann Stockschläder of service providers Entec, in cooperation with audio specialists Teqsas, deployed a Coda Audio system. The Desert Valley Stage is one of the largest at the festival, covering an area of more than 5000sq.m and Coda Audio AiRAY was used as the main PA as well as for DJ monitoring. Front-fill was taken care of by Coda Audio APS. Two hangs of 10 x AiRAY were used as a stereo application complemented by 24 Coda Audio SCP sensor-controlled subs in an end-fired cluster. Restrictions on height and load capacity were easily o
USA - Sensaphonics has announced the launch of its fully redesigned website. Still located at www.sensaphonics.com, the new site features a modern design with enhanced shopping functionality. Visitors will notice a more streamlined approach, with intuitive navigation, straightforward product information, and fresh graphics throughout the site. “We have some really exciting new products coming out in the near future and, frankly, our existing website couldn’t really do them justice,” notes Sensaphonics president, Dr. Michael Santucci. “With this new design, our company mission of saving hearing in the music industry is blended seamlessly with clear product information for a much more intuitive user experience.” (Jim Evans)
USA - Halsey hit the road in May for a short run of shows in support of a new single release, Nightmare and lighting designer Jose Antunes chose Elation’s Artiste Monet and Rayzor 760 to light the special performances. Lighting vendor was DCR of Nashville. The festival and specials run included shows at Webster Hall in New York City prior to the single release along with a string of radio performances in California in early June. Antunes designed the shows around some of Elation Professional’s newest luminaires, the Artiste Monet and Rayzor 760, and was one of the first designers to use the fixtures. “The design for this run was meant to pack a lot of punch with a small compact package that would fit in a small club, but also be able to spread out on a large festival stage and fare well outdoors in regards to output,” says Antunes, who also served as pr
Ireland - At the start of 2019, one of Ireland’s leading audio hire, sales and installations companies, Acoustik, took delivery of two DiGiCo SD10s to add to its existing stock of mixing consoles and, according to the company’s operations and systems designer Will Fitzpatrick, they are “flying out of the door”. “For the past couple of years, DiGiCo has been at the top of the list on the riders we recieve and they are our crew’s console of choice, so the decision to invest in the SD10s was without question,” says Fitzpatrick. “We also had the option to upgrade to the new 32-bit cards. They have improved the SD10s already incredible audio quality and everyone is amazed by them.” One of the Acoustik team’s favourite functions on the consoles is macros, which give “seemingly endless possibilities” according to Fitzpatrick. “And the connectivity b
UK - Wireless headphone provider Silent Disco King partnered with Cineramageddon at Glastonbury festival for a debut screening of Ibiza, The Silent Movie. Cineramageddon is curated by film director Julien Temple and returned to Glastonbury this year for its second outing after debuting in 2017. The area has the UK’s largest outdoor cinema screen and includes 60 vehicles including Mad Max style cars, classic cars, fairground bumper cars and convertibles dug into the ground, which festival goers can rent out to watch an array of cult classic movies. The activation was opened this year with the premiere of Ibiza, The Silent Movie directed by Julien Temple and music curated by Fatboy Slim. The film is an exploration of the hedonistic history of the Ibiza island and was introduced by Glastonbury’s co-creator Michael Eavis, Julien Temple and Fatboy
The Netherlands - Violinist Nigel Kennedy played an engaging concert as part of the Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival in Neumünster. The violinist was accompanied by the Schleswig-Holstein Festival Orchestra, which comprised young musicians from 27 nations, who were selected from 1,500 applicants through international auditions. Dutch loudspeaker manufacturer Alcons Audio teamed up with Kennedy's sound engineer Andreas Adelhofer of Headroom Media Service or the sound experience. Adelhofer, who has been working as sound engineer for Nigel Kennedy for more than five years, is responsible for all his concerts worldwide as FOH engineer. In this capacity, he is also the interface between artist and promoter or service provider in the production preparation. In part, his company also provides the complete production for European tour stops. At the concert in Neumünster Ade
Europe - Having recently purchased their own Allen & Heath SQ-5 digital mixer, British rockers Don Broco chose to pair it up with a full dLive system this summer for a short festival run across the UK & Europe, including appearances at Mad Cool (Madrid), Meo Mares Festival (Porto) and Truck Festival (Oxfordshire). Supplied by SSE Audio, a DM64 MixRack fitted with gigaACE and fibreACE cards formed the core of the system; paired with a dLive S3000 surface at FOH (fitted with a Dante card), while a digital split from the gigaACE card allowed the band to use their own SQ-5 for monitor duties. Adam Boole, FOH engineer and long-time user of Allen & Heath products, comments: “When we started this project, we needed to build a system that would work with the band’s own SQ-5 on monitors, luckily it was easy to achieve by having dLive on FOH. All I/O is set up th
Myanmar - KV2 Audio products have recently been introduced to a new region thanks to an investment from Myanmar-based firm Htat Wah Win Trading Co. The company presented KV2 Audio in a joint presentation with Shure Microphones at the Shangrila Hotel in the country’s capital Yangon last month. The event was attended by around 200 invitees and featured presentations from KV2’s Dave Croxton and Angus Davidson, who handle sales and technical support respectively for Asia Pacific. Thura Aung, managing director of Htat Wah Win Trading Co, first heard KV2’s products on demo in China and was impressed by their compact size and sound quality. Aung’s company imports various products into Myanmar and he had started to investigate the pro audio market. “While we had plenty of choices with a wide range of lower cost Chinese manufactured products, I was really looking for
Japan - Uplink’s Tokyo cinemas can be described as mini theatres, including the city’s smallest such venue, which is located in the city’s Shibuya district. The company has embarked on a quest to offer cinema goers the best indie and foreign films in a country where Japanese blockbusters are becoming increasingly popular at the expense of both Hollywood movies and foreign arthouse titles. Over the last decade, the number of mini theatres has declined as multiplexes have flourished, but Uplink and its president, Takashi Asai, have remained true to their belief that the future is bright for arthouse mini theatres in Tokyo. The way to ensure this, in their opinion, is to offer a pristine AV experience to their customers. As a result, Uplink has chosen Powersoft amplifier platforms to drive the bespoke audio systems in its venues in the Kichijo-ji area, one of the c
Canada - Corey Hart has sold more than 16m records worldwide and earlier this year was inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame. The singer-songwriter recently undertook his first full arena tour of Canada since 1986, having twice taken long sabbaticals from the road during his 35-year career. The hotly anticipated Never Surrender tour demonstrated that he has lost nothing of his ageless star quality and reviews of the shows praised his skill, showmanship and the quality of his powerful eight-piece band. Supplying audio for the shows was production specialist Solotech and its choice of Coda Audio’s compact AiRAY system to deliver the Corey Hart message to his fans proved a great success. Front of House engineer Gary Stokes (k.d. lang, Adam Lambert) enjoyed his first experience with the system and was in no doubt about its qualities. “Usually, the bigges
Switzerland - Around every 20 years, the ‘once in a generation’ Fête des Vignerons takes over the Swiss town of Vevey for a month in July and August. Featuring nearly 6,400 performers, musicians and singers, 2,000 lighting fixtures, 612 loudspeakers and over 300 channels of wireless microphones, 11 networked Yamaha digital mixing systems were needed for the centrepiece production of the 2019 event. Fête des Vignerons is a spectacular event which pays homage to the centuries-old traditions of the Brotherhood of Winegrowers, which covers the area from Pully to Vevey, in the Lavaux region of Switzerland. The centrepiece production takes place in a temporary arena, built on the banks of Lac Léman (Lake Geneva) and depicts a year in the life of the vineyard over 20 scenes. Taking place from 18 July to 11 August, this year’s production comprised 23 shows, plus the c
UK - Independent event production specialists Light Fantastic Production Services returned to The Old Truman Brewery, London to support innovation festival Unbound with a complete event solution. Featuring presentations by a host of leading brands, the two-day symposium attracted over 5,000 visitors. The LFPS team worked with Unbound to transform the capacious venue into a series of zones, including the Main Stage, Future Stage, Networking Zone, Partners Lounge plus individually-branded spaces for over 140 exhibitors. The guest speaker presentations and panel style discussions were hosted within custom designed auditoria, built from the ground up by the LFPS team. Covering every aspect of the installation LFPS provided all lighting, audio, video and staging along with an extensive suite of stylish exhibition stands, digital event branding and signage. Comme
USA - The Sound Reinforcement Track sessions at the AES New York 147th Audio Engineering Society International Pro Audio Convention (16-19 October at the Javits Centre) will offer “insights for sound professionals of today and tomorrow”, say organisers. “This year, we have once again gathered top industry experts and manufacturers at the pinnacle of live event production and sound reinforcement to share their hard-won knowledge,” comments AES New York sound reinforcement chair, Henry Cohen. “From foundations of systems design, to the latest in the science and technology of audio perception, the AES New York Sound Reinforcement events offer unprecedented access to the latest from the industry’s top researchers and gear designers, as well as the engineers that exemplify best practices in the craft of sound reinforcement.” The AES New York Sound Reinforceme
Europe - Premium cable manufacturer PROCAB is introducing an extensive new range of CPR-compliant cables. This range is designed to be used in applications where CPR classification is required to offer the safest possible solution to installed cabling. The Construction Products Regulation (CPR) is an EU regulation for installation cables, classifying cables based on their fire performance. The standardisation is introduced to improve the fire safety in buildings as in case of a fire, most casualties are a result of the toxic smokes. This new cable range will consist of loudspeaker, microphone, Cat 6, Cat 6A and even Cat 7 types of cables, available in 100m and 300m variants, keeping possible surpluses to an absolute minimum. PROCAB extensively tested their tailored made cable range in the harshest environments on three criteria: smoke concentration, burning dro
Thailand - Mahajak Development Co recently outfitted the Toyota Buzz Co headquarters with a Harman Professional Solutions networked AV system to deliver audio and video in nine locations. Toyota Buzz Vibhavadi is a Toyota dealership and headquarters of the Toyota Buzz dealership sales channel. In order to broadcast and distribute AV content throughout the facilities - and to eight additional branch locations - Toyota Buzz recruited the help of pro audio distributor Mahajak Development. Mahajak deployed a networked AV system in the boardroom, hall, fitness room, sky garden and mobile room to provide advanced audio and video control. “After thorough consideration, our team designed and installed a Harman system that seamlessly delivers high-fidelity audio and video across multiple locations to meet the specific requirements of the client,” says Pongsakorn Kanchanach
USA - With a career spanning 19 years, 12 songs that have made Billboard's country charts, and word of a new major label record deal in the offing, country artist Craig Morgan is on the road this summer, touring with new gear in the form of an Allen & Heath dLive S5000 console/DM0 MixRack at front of house, an SQ-7 for monitors, and four DX168 I/O expanders on-deck. “I had been looking for a new console since last year,” opens Morgan’s FOH engineer, Robert Harmon. “I narrowed down my search to three, but none of them worked out. Then I ran across a console I didn’t recognise online. It looked high-end. It turned out to be an Allen & Heath S5000. Having logged thousands of hours on a GL2400 and other Allen & Heath analogue products in the past, I have to admit my mind was having a hard time wrapping itself around this new digital offering.”
South Africa - Stage Audio Works is celebrating the success it has seen at Mediatech 2019. With a two-storey booth design, the company made a statement on the show floor as visitors looked to find out more about its latest audio, visual and staging solutions. The company succeeded in winning a number of deals over the three-day event. “Mediatech only takes place once every two years, so we have spent a lot of time and energy ensuring that we can maximise our presence at the show,” reflects Shaun Xavier, marketing manager at Stage Audio Works. “The response that we have had over the three days has more than justified this effort. We have been able to spend time with old friends and make some strong new contacts, as well as writing a significant amount of new business.” This success has been boosted by the support that the company has received from the various br
UK - Austrian Audio and UK distributor Sound Technology report that Austrian Audio OC818 and OC18 microphones, including a limited edition OC818 Studio Set Launch Edition, are shipping now. The new OC18 and OC818 large diaphragm condenser microphones, made in Vienna, both featuring the same handmade capsule at their heart. Royal Marines commemorate fallen comrades with EM Acoustics The single-diaphragm OC18 and dual-diaphragm OC818 both feature a new handmade ceramic CKR12 capsule, resulting in no compromise in sound between the two models. In fact, any OC18 and OC818 can be used as a matched pair due to the extreme precision of our manufacturing and measuring processes. Since the OC18 and OC818 are sonically identical your choice is based only on application. The OC18 features a classic cardioid pick-up pattern and includes a selectable high-pass filter plus a
