China - K-array's K-academy took its teachings on the road for a week of seminars throughout China in Beijing, Hangzhou and Shanghai that covered Large Venue Sound System Design hosted by K-array China. At each stop, K-array China were able to give attendees a complete K-experience with product presentations and demos of its Installed Sound, Portable Systems and Concert Series lines. K-array Global president and co-founder Alex Tatini and live sound product specialist Klaus Hausherr were present to provide a detailed introduction to the Italian manufacturer's product design concept for large venues. In particular, the K-academy trainers explained the advantages of Electronic Beam Steering, Pure Array Technology and Slim Array Technology featured in their loudspeakers from a technical perspective and included real time demonstrations using EaseFocus software base
USA - The youngest country music artist to be inducted into the Grand Ole Opry, Kelsea Ballerini began her career with the release of her album, The First Time in 2015 followed by Unapologetically released in 2017, the same year in which she received a Best New Artist nomination at the Grammy Awards. Ballerini just finished her Miss Me More tour with audio support from Spectrum Sound of Nashville using a d&b audiotechnik KSL line array system. “We have been thrilled with the product and are long standing fans of d&b,” states Chris Diener, production manager and front of house engineer for the tour. “The KSL System offers unprecedented control for an enclosure of its size. Coupled with the SL-SUBs, I was amazed at the evenness of coverage from the pit to the top seat in the arenas. This system has changed the way that fans experience K
India - QSC is celebrating the inauguration of its new SAARC headquarters in Bengaluru. The new 9,270sq.ft office serves as a business development, management and support hub for QSC systems, live sound and cinema businesses in the region. It also acts as a training and demonstration area and includes a 13,760sq.ft terrace for customer events. “Over the last few years, QSC has been dedicated to growing its international presence, and this new entity is a crucial piece of that strategy,” says Markus Winkler, SVP, EMEA South Asia, & managing director QSC EMEA GmbH. “As we continue to experience tremendous growth in SAARC year-over-year in all our business units, this dedicated facility will allows us to accelerate our growth trajectory in the coming years.” “Our business partners in SAARC have been instrumental in our success and will continue to be our mai
USA - Visitors to InfoComm 2019 will be able to both see and hear the new Versarray Mk III and Versarray PRO compact line array systems from Crest Audio, plus a host of other Crest and PCA product in audio demo room W224A. Hour-long demos will be running every day at 10am, 12pm, 2pm and 4pm. Attendees will also be able to see the products up close and meet the team to get advice on how a Crest/Peavey solution might suit their needs. The ‘headline act’ in the Crest demo room is the new Versarray Mk III which was first seen at NAMM in January. The system comprises the Versarray 112 Mk III passive ribbon tweeter line array element featuring a 12” Black Widow Neo series woofer combined with a neodymium-based Peavey ribbon tweeter, and its companion subwoofer, the dual 18” Versarray 218 Mk III. Designed to provide modular coverage of small to medium-sized venues, Ve
UK - Martin Audio has announced BlacklineX Powered, bringing new active options to the BlacklineX family. Comprising the 12” XP12 and 15” XP15 full range enclosures plus the compact but powerful 18” XP118 subwoofer, BlacklineX Powered integrates acoustic, DSP and amplifier technologies to achieve clarity, precision and richness of tone. The range’s debut follows the international success of the passive BlacklineX Series of portable enclosures, the fastest-selling portable series in Martin Audio’s 48-year history. In addition, BlacklineX Powered offers optional Bluetooth control, streaming and a built-in three channel mixer, placing increased flexibility and features within easy reach of every user, from live venues, DJs and corporate events to permanent installs, particularly houses of worship. Users will also recognise the road-ready construction, quick set-
China - Hong Kong free-to-air broadcaster ViuTV is preparing for an audio-over-IP future with the purchase of an Artemis Light console, a Brio12, a Brio36 and AoIP interfaces from Calrec. “The consoles are incredibly user-friendly, vital when being used by a range of operators across a variety of outputs,” says Mike Lau, assistant vice-president of production and facilities at ViuTV. “They are very reliable with great sound quality. We also wanted to be able to satisfy our current networking requirements while also preparing ourselves for an IP future as that transition occurs across our wider infrastructure. Calrec’s technology and after-sales service gave us confidence in making this change.” The Artemis Light is housed in Studio 1, which is used for general entertainment content as well game shows and live performances. The Brio36 is being used for talk s
UK - Built in 1894, Theatre Royal Wakefield is a Grade II listed traditional proscenium arch theatre in the heart of Yorkshire’s cathedral city of Wakefield. The design and vision of the famous British architect, Frank Matcham and one of the smallest remaining Matcham auditoriums today, Theatre Royal Wakefield is a good example of his ability to create a beautiful theatrical environment within a very tight space. The time had come to replace the theatre’s old and failing PA with a new, modern system that would provide high quality, even coverage across all the seats in the auditorium. Theatre Royal Wakefield’s technical manager, Ms Di Clough, turned to Huddersfield-based systems integrator, Sound and Light Concepts, who supplied and installed a full Halo-C compact line array system from EM Acoustics. Despite its bijou proportions, Theatre Royal Wakefield neverthe
Sweden - One of the largest and most beautiful of Stockholm’s churches, the Gustav Vasa Kyrka, in the city’s Vasastaden district, has carried out a major refurbishment and technical upgrade. The Gustav Vasa Kyrka was designed by August Lindegren and completed in 1906, with a capacity of up to 1,200 worshippers, generations of whom have no doubt marvelled at the lavishly decorated marble surfaces, and soaring arches. They also can’t have failed to notice the remarkable reverberation time. Jacob Julin of Soundcop, the company brought in to solve the church’s intelligibility woes, says, “The acoustics was the biggest challenge. When we started, the hall had an acoustic reverberation of six seconds, so that was of course an issue.” Later however, following the building’s refurbishment, including new treatments to the floor and walls, that reverb time
The Netherlands - For 77 years the locomotive repair facility in the Dutch city of Tilburg was a vital part of the Nederlandse Spoorwegen (NS, or Dutch Railways) network. Employing hundreds of local people, its 2009 closure had a profound effect on the area. But now the building has been reborn as a major cultural and learning centre, where Yamaha audio systems are helping to drive the train of new innovation forward. Originally opened in 1932, the impressive 90m by 60m steel and glass building was a busy workplace, playing an important role in local employment. When it closed, rather than demolish it there was a strong desire to ‘return the building to the Tilburg people’. It was decided to use it to form the centrepiece of a contemporary, fashionable new ‘railway zone’ in the city. “Impressed by the enormous size of the space, the design team realised that
USA - As part of on-going upgrades and developments to its studio facilities, Verizon Media has taken delivery of three mc²36 audio production consoles and a Nova37 Hybrid IP/MADI Plug&Play Audio Router for its studio facilities from German IP broadcast technology pioneer Lawo. Renamed Verizon Media Studios (formerly Oath Inc) early in 2019, the renovation and new buildout to the facilities will serve all Verizon Media brands, including Yahoo Finance, Yahoo Sports, Huffpost, Yahoo News, RYOT, Engadget, Tech Crunch and Makers. It encompasses live broadcast and pre-tape studio content with shared resources across different locations. With DSI/Blade Media acting as the main contractor, the upgrade covers three studios; Control Room 1 and Control Room 3 are used for a daily eight-hour live Yahoo Finance broadcast and ancillary shoots, while Control Room 2 is a general
UK - Taiwanese singer and film star Jay Chou has starred in Hollywood blockbusters, broken records for the most expensive live production in Australia and sold over 30 million albums worldwide. Chou recently entrusted Britannia Row Productions to deliver one of the biggest PA rigs that London’s O2 Arena has ever seen. For the final three concerts of his 120-date The Invincible 2 World Tour, Chou played two nights in London before deploying the Britannia Row rig for a final show at Paris’ Accor Arena. These three shows were promoted by Magic-Sound Entertainment. Britannia Row crew chief, Scott Maxwell, says: “Jay is a huge star. We’re essentially working with a stadium-sized PA in an arena-sized production. Everything else in the design had to shrink down to fit inside the venue, but the PA remained the same.” The entire production weighe
USA - As technical director at the Collinsworth School of Music at California Baptist University, Matthew McConnell holds the equipment he purchases to the same high standards expected from the school’s students. When McConnell recently found that he wasn’t satisfied with the sound he was capturing on the string bass and cello instruments during performances, he turned to Jeff Suchy at Apex Audio to find the best solution. After testing various clip-on mics and pick-ups, the duo ultimately selected DPA Microphones’ d:vote 4099 Instrument Microphone as the right tool for the job. Though these have now become a staple at the school, the use of the d:vote 4099 wasn’t McConnell’s first foray into DPA mics. “I initially discovered DPA a decade ago, when I was trying to close-mic a grand piano, with a closed lid, through a PA system,” he explains. “DPA’s d
UK - Ascot Racecourse has announced Bose Professional as its official technology supplier for sound. The partnership will bring an audio solution to enhance the event-day experience at Ascot. Integrator SSE Audio Group has led the process to design and specify an audio system that utilises the latest loudspeaker and amplifier technology developed by Bose. Products have been selected based on their ability to form a robust system that delivers best-in-class vocal clarity and consistent, intelligible sound for every listener across the entire Ascot site. George Vaughan, head of technology at Ascot Racecourse, comments: “Sound is an important facet of the event day experience and having Bose join us as our official technology supplier in this department, will introduce a new level of audio excellence to our venue. Becoming one of the global reference sites for
UK - On the three days before Good Friday, the streets of central Birmingham were taken over by The Birmingham Passion Play 2019, an ambitious, contemporary retelling of the Easter story, organised by Christian charity and theatre company Saltmine Trust, with support from The Passion Trust. To help bring the creative vision to life, Saltmine partnered with UK audio visual production supplier SFL. The Saltmine Trust Theatre company puts on regular public, partner, and education tours, as well as one-off shows, all inspired by the Christian faith. Even for Saltmine though, The Birmingham Passion Play 2019 was an ambitious undertaking as it was delivered on the move - a travelling street performance that started at Birmingham Bullring, progressing along New Street to Victoria Square, and finishing inside St Philip’s Cathedral - effectively making the stage over half a mile w
UK - CUK Audio has announced plans to move into new premises in East Kilbride. The new building, which is currently being fitted out, is situated in Peel Park around 10 miles from the company’s existing Glasgow HQ. It will provide space for the distributor’s expanding back office, sales and technical teams and also house five training suites and a distribution centre with over 750 pallet locations and 1000 small item locations. CUK is expected to move in on 5 June. Stuart Thomson, CUK MD, comments: “When we moved to our current Glasgow location back in 2010, we thought there was more space than we could ever need. However, since then, we have delivered year-on-year growth which has accelerated since a change in ownership and the restructuring of the company in to four divisions two years ago. Over the past year, it became apparent that we were very near th
Turkey - Allen & Heath’s Turkish distributor HEC PRO recently completed a four-year project to construct its new four-floor HEC Plaza ‘experience’ centre in Istanbul. The grand opening of the new facility took place in the presence of influential designers and installers, as well as prominent figures in the Turkish music industry. The vision of director Berk Ozan and his team was to create a setting comprising different environments into which relevant integrated technology solutions were placed, allowing customers the chance to experience first hand the practical application of the brands HEC PRO represents. The suites include a fully immersive cinema room, a hotel suite, conference facilities, office areas and an impressive bar/nightclub. As part of HEC PRO’s impressive portfolio, Xone products feature prominently at HEC PLAZA, with all models on demonst
Philippines - Resorts World Manila (RWM) has created El Calle Food and Music Hall – a space that celebrates the Filipinos’ passion for jam sessions, delicious food, and good times over drinks. El Calle, the city’s latest acoustic chill-out spot, features nightly entertainment from some of the best acoustic performers in the country today and special performances from the country’s top acts. Past performers have included True Faith, Ben&Ben, Clara Benin, Top Suzara, Luke Mejares, and more. With El Calle’s special focus on raising the bar for live acoustic music, choosing the optimal sound system was essential. “El Calle is a very intimate space seating a maximum of eighty people, so we needed a sound system that could deliver powerful sounds but with the necessary clarity for clean acoustic performances,” said RWM technical director for theatre and ent
UK - One of the UK’s busiest sound hire companies, Liverpool’s Adlib has added further Outline Newton 16+8 units to its hire inventory, following their adoption as the company’s go-to processing hub for festival stages and complex multi-source applications. Senior engineer Ian Nelson commented, “The new additions are scheduled to head out later this month on Radio 1 Big Weekend and then to all of the Adlib festival bookings for the rest of the season. Following the festival season, they will then be incorporated into the Adlib Control Systems and become the core of the Adlib loudspeaker processing systems.” Adlib also hosted a dedicated Newton training day at its new Knowlsley HQ at the beginning of May, during which system techs and engineers were given a detailed overview of the unit’s feature set. The training was hosted by James Lawford of CUK wi
USA - When The Grove Community Church of Riverside, California built its current Worship Centre more than a dozen years ago, Olympia, Washington-based CCI Solutions facilitated the design and installation of the sound system for its 1,800-seat main auditorium. Since that time, like many churches, The Grove’s music sets have gradually moved toward a more contemporary praise style requiring a robust sound system to best capture both the band’s impact and vocalists’ intelligibility. When CCI Solutions recently got the call to once again assess the room’s sonic needs, the integrator recommended a new system built on L-Acoustics’ Kara(i) and Kiva II platforms. “The Grove definitely takes a more contemporary approach to music, but the only thing that’s safe to expect is the unexpected,” notes CCI Solutions vice president of sales and integration Duke DeJong.
USA - Calvary Church in Lancaster, Pennsylvania is a non-denominational house of worship with a lot of heart and room for nearly 2,800 congregants. Although Calvary Church’s services involve all of the elements of a contemporary approach, including high-definition IMAG, a live band, and online streaming, it takes a softer approach and blends plenty of traditional elements as well, including a choir and orchestra. As one of the largest venues in the area, Calvary Church also opens its doors to outside groups and events, such as local high school graduations and (mostly Christian) concerts. Because of Clair Solutions’ staff’s expertise and cheerful willingness to provide helpful demos, the company has been Calvary Church’s preferred AVL integration firm for over a decade and helped pilot the church through its most recent – and most significant – technology upgrade
UK - Yamaha’s VXL series slimline, column-type line array speakers are proving a very popular solution for houses of worship where large, ambient spaces need covering with tightly-controlled, high quality audio. A new installation at a 160 year-old church in London demonstrates the difference they can make. Located a short distance south of Elephant & Castle, the church of St John The Evangelist in Walworth faces all the usual acoustic challenges of historic houses of worship. Here, solutions are also potentially more complex because it is Grade II listed. But systems integrator Flipside Soundsystem was equal to the task, assisted by Yamaha’s VXL line array loudspeakers. “The existing sound system was about 20 years old, only partly operational and the sound it did produce was tinny and artificial,” says the church’s assistant priest Simon Askey. “We wa
UK - Continuing a working relationship that stretches back nearly 20 years, Adlib is supplying full technical production - sound, lighting, video and rigging with over 100 points - to the ongoing 2019 arena tour by Brendan O’Carroll and his Mrs. Brown’s Boys phenomenon. Presenting its first ever musical tour, Mrs Brown’s Boys D’Musical! the show has just finished the first of three one-month segments, each covering four major cities where they play for a week. Hassane es Siahi is the FOH engineer, the Adlib systems engineer is Alan Harrison, Steph Fleming is the monitor engineer and Shona Steadman is looking after mics and RF. Lighting has been designed by Mike Summerfield. Fiona Gibney & Gareth Woods are the producers. With up to 18 people onstage at any one time as the cast and creative elements push the envelope, as a technical solutions p
UK - Maestra Group has made some major sound, lighting and video equipment investments recently in the London office, including white sound and lighting kit, which will ensure all its clients have the most flexible and dynamic solutions available for their shows and events. The equipment is proving especially popular for car launches and other automotive events, fashion shows, corporates, industrials and expo stands as well as for art exhibitions, parties and architainment applications, where white equipment is often better suited to blend into the environment than traditional black. The kit includes a substantial purchase of 30 x custom coated white Robe moving lights – 12 x LEDBeam 150s, 12 x Spiider LED WashBeams and six Pointe multipurpose fixtures which bring Maestra London’s total stock of Robes to over 100 including black versions of these three types and ot
Australia - avt worked closely with the Melbourne Convention & Exhibition Centre (MCEC), providing support with their Harman Professional networked audio solution upgrade. As Australia’s largest convention and exhibition venue, MCEC features exhibition spaces, large concert halls, meeting rooms, corporate boardrooms and more over an area of more than 650,000sq.ft. The expansive venue hosts more than 1,000 events each year, making its AV infrastructure a critical asset. “MCEC approached us to support them in the development of a robust, self-sufficient solution that would upgrade its digital signal processing capabilities and minimize audio issues during events,” said Graham Barrett, head of strategic partnerships & innovation, avt. “After evaluating their requirements, we recommended Harman’s networked AV solutions to compose a system that would prov
