UK - At this year’s PLASA Show, UK immersive audio and showcontrol specialists Out Board demonstrated the new StageSpace object-based spatial environment auto-rendering tool within the new TiMax 500S software. The stand featured a miniature booth-sized demo of TiMax’s ‘orchestral hugeness experience’, which has been trialled on some arena-scale and festival-sized stages across Europe this summer. Out Board co-owner Dave Haydon comments: “Even under the slightly challenging conditions of a busy tradeshow floor, people were overwhelmed by the realistic spatial enhancement that StageSpace added to multitrack classical and jazz music playback. Of particular note was the adaptive nature of the StageSpace rendering that allows quick delivery of full immersion for audience members while using relatively minimal and flexible speaker system topologies.” Haydo
USA - Miami-based AVER Productions has invested in an Eastern Acoustic Works (EAW) Radius sound reinforcement system to further its business. AVER Productions is a full service event production company that provides audio, video, lighting, staging, and special effects equipment throughout the country and the Caribbean Islands. “We create experiential events for corporations, designed to advertise or market products,” explains Eddie Bernal, owner of AVER Productions. “The Radius system has been in use since it arrived. It was deployed on a five-stop Jack Daniels marketing tour and is currently in use with the Starz hit television series Power and EFFEN Vodka tour - bringing the show’s Truth Nightclub to warehouses all over the country.” For the pop-up EFFEN Vodka events, the AVER team transforms empty warehouses into the show’s Power nightclub. Customers are
Australia - Melbourne production and install company Monitor City has joined the Adamson network with an investment in a new E-Series and S-Series audio systems. Sourced through CMI Music and Audio, Adamson’s exclusive Australian distributor, the new package allows Monitor City to cover most venues across Australia while also offering the flexibility to break into smaller or distributed systems as required. Monitor City co-founders Adrian Barnard and Matt Dufty, who each boast over 30 years of experience in professional audio, carefully evaluated all the major players in the PA market before deciding on Adamson for their purchase. "We looked at factors such as the speed of deployment, the logic of the system, its capabilities, and sonic performance," relates Dufty. "Adamson stood out as the best choice. It's rider friendly and acceptable to touring professionals, an
UK - Allen & Heath has expanded its range of networking cards with the addition of a Waves SoundGrid option. The SQ Waves card provides any SQ mixer with a 64x64 96kHz or 48kHz interface to a Waves SoundGrid network using the I/O port. Engineers can now fit the Waves card to any SQ mixer for Waves plugin processing, multitrack recording (at 96kHz or 48kHz), virtual soundcheck and audio distribution applications. Waves SoundGrid is an Audio-over-Ethernet protocol developed by Waves for real-time professional audio applications. The card also enables the use of existing Waves plugins at a very low latency, using standard Gigabit Ethernet networks rather than a USB connection. “Waves SoundGrid has been a very popular option among our dLive users, with many systems on tour deploying a Waves card on recording duties,” comments Allen & Heath’s Head of
USA - University of Nevada Las Vegas (UNLV) recently outfitted its new Hospitality Hall with complete sound reinforcement systems by Harman Professional Solutions. Located less than two miles away from the Las Vegas strip, UNLV is a premier research-level university that provides higher learning to 30,000 students across 350 undergraduate and graduate degrees. The school’s William F. Harrah College of Hospitality offers a world-renowned degree in hospitality management that annually ranks among the top hospitality programmes in the nation. Its proximity to the Las Vegas strip has enabled the school to partner with leading hospitality brands to facilitate valuable internships and unique learning opportunities for students. UNLV recently opened Hospitality Hall, a new $50m building on campus, to provide hospitality students with a world-class learning facility. Hospita
Germany - Michael Häck, a respected freelance German system technician, discovered this summer the numerous advantages offered by Outline’s new processor, the Newton. One of Häck’s recent projects included the Jazz Open Festival in Stuttgart, this year celebrating its 25th anniversary. It is one of the largest jazz festivals in Europe, taking place in five locations throughout the city, entertaining around 45,000 people and its diverse bill this year included Gregory Porter, Jamie Callum, Jamiroquai, Joss Stone, Lenny Kravitz, Meshell Ndegeocello, Pat Metheny, The Stanley Clarke Band and dozens more international artists. Häck was responsible for two of the performance spaces, the Altes Schloss with an audience capacity of around 1,000 and the festival’s main stage, the Schlossplatz in the centre of the city which can accommodate 6,500. He takes up the s
Argentina - Sistemas de Video Comunicación S.A. (SVC) has been appointed sole distributor for Clair Brothers in Argentina. The SVC team was introduced to Clair Brothers by Fabian Giordano, owner of Giordano Sonido, a Clair Brothers rental partner in the same region. Ricardo Pegnotti, director at SVC, explains: “In April of 2018, Fabian organised a visit with us to Clair Brothers headquarters in Manheim, Pennsylvania. This was such a big opportunity for us to join forces with one of the most iconic brands in live sound. I can’t thank Fabian enough for this opportunity.” SVC sells and distributes the Clair Brothers C-Series, the kiTCurve12 of the kiT Series, as well as a full range of Clair Brothers products including the popular 1AM and 1.5AM stage monitors, the conveniently stackable S2 PA System, iS218 subwoofers, coaxial cabinets that include the 5CX an
South Africa - Randburg-based AV equipment supplier Pristine Moods Productions has invested in a DiGiCo S31 and a dot2 console from South African distributor DWR Distribution. The investment has been “a long time coming” according to Lior Manelis, owner of Pristine Moods Productions. “These kinds of steps are daunting. But as your calibre of gear increases, so does your marketing capabilities, enabling you to work on bigger events,” he explains. Duncan Riley of DWR adds: “Both DiGiCo and MA Lighting are in the business of giving end-users longevity with products that won’t be constantly upgraded or replaced.” Gareth Chambers, recently appointed LD at the company, will run the dot2. Chambers was previously employed by DWR Distribution in the role of training and support, and his expertise will enable him to operate the console and share his knowledge
Belgium - Boomtown Fest (see LSi September 2018) is part of the 10-day Gentse Feesten (Ghent cultural festivities) in Belgium. Running since 1843, and therefore celebrating its 175th anniversary, today it attracts as many as 1.7m visitors over the duration. Held at the 850-capacity Handelsbeurs Concert Hall, as well as Opera Ghent and on outside festival grounds, Boomtown started in the year 2,000, and today provides three stages and 41 acts over five days. The event combines indie music from some of the country’s up and coming talent with international acts like Suzanne Vega (who appeared in Opera Ghent). Martin Audio’s rental partner, ARC-Productions from Dentergem, added MLA Compact to their vast in
USA - First a lighthouse, then a military base, then a military prison, then a federal prison, and finally a National Park Service historic site, San Francisco’s Alcatraz Island attracts over 2,000 visitors every day. Although it only served as a federal prison for 29 years (1934 to 1963), Alcatraz lives on in the cultural conscious as the most notorious and inescapable prison ever – the subject of books, TV shows, and movies. True to its reputation, the government sent all of its worst criminals there, including Al Capone and George ‘Machine Gun’ Kelly, and, despite numerous attempts, no one is believed to have survived an escape from Alcatraz. Recently, local AV integrator San Francisco Audio designed and installed a sound system for the nine most important locations on Alcatraz using fully-weatherized Danley GO2 8CX loudspeakers. “There is a huge volume of
UK - The Last Ship made its returning debut at Northern Stage in Newcastle in March. This musical, written by Sting and Lorne Campbell, is a drama with songs bound together across two strong interwoven narratives. Sound designer Sebastian Frost used d&b Soundscape, a signal processing technology, with two optional software modules: En-Scene a sound object positioning tool, and En-Space which allows designers to add room emulation of reverberation signatures particular to any given space, real or imagined. Frost harnessed this technology to his own vision of how the musical should be perceived and enjoyed by all audience members. “I went to hear a demo in Hall 14 at d&b’s HQ in Backnang about a year ago,” Frost comments. “The experience was inspirational because the biggest thing you want from any system is that it doesn’t tie you down or restri
UK - Microphone windshields and suspension systems manufacturer Rycote has been acquired by The Vitec Group. The acquisition will enable Vitec, a camera supports maker and distributor, to bring complementary audio products to its customers whilst growing the Rycote brand, which will become part of the Creative Solutions division. Rycote MD Simon Davies will remain with the company. Davies comments: “We are thrilled to become part of the Vitec Group and I’m really excited and confident that we can continue to go from strength to strength; designing, manufacturing and selling our fantastic Rycote products. “We are looking forward to celebrating 50 years of Rycote next year and, as we enter into this new chapter, we remain committed to serving the needs of our professional audio customers and exploring other markets for our existing and new products.
Europe - Audio-Technica has introduced the ES954 hanging microphone array, a cost-effective solution for huddle rooms, conference rooms and other meeting spaces. When controlled by the Audio-Technica ATDM-0604 Digital SmartMixer, the four-capsule microphone array provides 360° coverage through virtual hypercardioid or cardioid outputs which can be steered horizontally and tilted vertically. Intended primarily for video conferencing, the ES954 may be used singly or in multiples to capture every person speaking in a room, with the total number of channels restricted only by the capacity of the mixer or DSP device controlling the system. When using the ATDM-0604 Digital SmartMixer, the intuitive graphic interface enables control of the width and orientation of each virtual polar pattern, which may be steered in 30° increments, with a tilt function accommodating differi
Europe - NEXT-proaudio has unveiled the Matrix Series of passive column arrays aimed at installed and small, portable applications. With a chassis of aluminium and wood, the cabinets are described as ‘stylish and yet sturdy’ and designed for architectural integration as well as portable solutions. The Matrix Series comprises two models: the Matrix M8 (8x3”) and the Matrix M3 (3x3”), with eight and three 3-inch neodymium transducers respectively. Built to offer a ‘high intelligibility at high SPL’ and ‘wider frequency response while providing constant beam-width over a user selectable vertical coverage’, the Matrix columns provide beam control that reportedly extends up to 10kHz. To better control the lower frequencies, the Tuned Dipolar Technologywas developed by NEXT-proaudio engineers to provide much more consistent low frequency pattern control than
Sweden - Stockholmsmässan - the Stockholm International Fairs and Congress Centre - recently installed 68 channels of the Shure Axient Digital Wireless System. The dedicated in-house AV department, which oversees the small, mid-size, and large conference and exhibition applications, needed a dependable wireless system with excellent performance. Fredrik Zetterberg, head of production event technologies, says that the system had “exceeded all expectations in sonic quality”. “Axient Digital is the best sound quality we’ve ever heard in a digital system,” explains Zetterberg. “From exhibitions to corporate events, we use Axient Digital constantly. This month we will use 132 systems for a two-day corporate event, with a total of 212 wireless systems in operation, showcasing the system’s flexibility and reliability.” The installation was managed by s
South Africa - Global design and BIM software solutions provider Vectorworks has announced that DWR Distribution has been appointed an official distributor for Vectorworks Spotlight, Braceworks and Vision software in South Africa. The agreement will also facilitate greater technical and sales support with direct access to the team at Vectorworks. Tara Grant, director of channel operations at Vectorworks, comments: “DWR has demonstrated a strong commitment to Vectorworks and has deep roots in the entertainment industry, and it was a natural progression to have them officially join the Vectorworks family as a distributor. As the demand for our solutions grows and Vectorworks continues to expand, we are looking for strong distribution partners like DWR to provide local support in markets around the world.” Duncan Riley, owner of DWR Distribution, adds: “It
USA - Community Professional Loudspeakers has completed EN54-24 certification for its compact R.35-3896-EN loudspeaker. Community’s R Series has long been a standard for stadia and other large scale, all-weather applications worldwide. The company has consistently invested in improving performance across the range, introducing new models, and meeting increasingly stringent worldwide standards. Since gaining EN54-24 certification on the larger R1, R2 and R6 models, permitting their use in voice alarm systems in venues across Europe, Community has seen demand for these certified versions building significantly year upon year. The R.35-3896-EN meets the need for a high performance compact loudspeaker for fill and supplementary areas in larger venues and for smaller venues wanting to conform to EN54 standards. The R.35-3896-EN is equally suitable for indoor and outdoor u
South Korea - Kinoton Korea recently equipped Incheon SK Happy Dream Stadium with a complete networked sound reinforcement system by Harman Professional Solutions. Built in 2001, SK Happy Dream Stadium plays host to home games by SK Wyverns, a professional baseball team based in Incheon, South Korea. As part of a continuous effort to improve the stadium, which seats 25,000 fans, the stadium recently decided to upgrade the stadium’s aging sound system. In order to provide fans with a rich audio experience with superior coverage and intelligibility, SK Wyverns hired local audio integrator Kinoton Korea to design and install a premium sound reinforcement system. Kinoton Korea selected a complete Harman networked audio solution for its sound quality and reliable performance. The Harman system installed by Kinoton at SK Happy Dream Stadium features a range of weathe
South Africa - As the technical supplier to most international Bollywood productions performing in South Africa, rental company Bass Mechanics have invested in additional L-Acoustics equipment to complement their existing systems. Besides new LA8 and LA12X amplified controllers, they have also purchased KS28, ARCS Wide and ARCS Focus from local distributor DWR Distribution. What started off as a mobile disco company run by 16-year-old Sushil Patidar in 1997, has grown as he has persistently invested back into his company to offer professional gear and service to the entertainment industry. “I was in standard seven (grade 9) when I started,” Sushil recalls. “We were all turning 16, so my friends were having birthday parties.” Before long he was doing his friends’ 18th birthday parties, 21sts and so it continued with him making a name in Lenasia, the neighbourh
The Netherlands - Yamaha launched an updated firmware and two new interface cards for its Rivage systems at IBC 2018 held in Amsterdam. The HY128-MD is a 128-in/128-out interface which can be used to convert the output of a RIVAGE PM10 system to MADI, for transmission to a broadcast OB truck or to connect to a MADI-based mixing console, as well as providing asynchronous sample rate conversion for devices using different word clocks to be connected without noise and dropouts. The HY144-D-SRC supports up to 144 inputs/144 outputs via Dante with onboard sample rate conversion, adding convenience to systems where devices running at different sample rates need to be interconnected. The latest version 2.20 firmware supports both the new cards and adds several new features for PM7 and PM10 systems. Yamaha's CL and QL series digital mixers have received a firmware update (v5.
China - Budee’s recent sponsorship of the 15th annual Communication University of China Sound School (CUC) Recording Masterclass was a major success. The event has grown to become one of the biggest in China for those in the recording industry and Martin Audio’s Chinese distributor, who were sponsoring it for the first time, ensured the British manufacturer had a good presence at the event, fielding stacked pairs of DD12 and PRX subwoofers on either side of the stage in the CUC auditorium on the opening day. Proceedings then relocated to the live house/performance space on the university campus in Beijing. CUC has a reputation as one of the top institutions in the field of information communication and has a pivotal position in the Chinese recording art education sector. Its Masterclass event started in 2001 as an informal gathering of foreign experts with Chinese
UK/USA - The success of Yamaha’s Rivage family of digital mixing systems continues, with two of the best known names in live music production - Britannia Row Productions and Clair Global - respectively investing in pairs of Rivage PM7 and PM10 digital mixing systems. Britannia Row has invested in two Rivage PM7s, one of which has been installed at the monitor position in London’s iconic Roundhouse venue, with the other scheduled to join it at Front of House in the coming months. “In our view too many house systems remain the same for years, so we regularly update all aspects of the Roundhouse system. Keeping the system current keeps the venue current,” says Britannia Row’s Mike Lowe. “We know there will be bands coming in in the autumn and early 2019 who want us to supply PM7s. It also benefits the large amount of engineers that work in the Roundhouse every
UK - Innovative technology and insightful seminars have been the highlights on Day One at the PLASA Show, with exhibitors wowing visitors with new technologies and stylish solutions. After revealing its new stand concept, Platinum Sponsor Robe continues to showcase its latest lighting fixtures in a show-stopping stand production featuring a dance troupe, rain, fire and a mysterious cave, all visible from the Gallery Level. “We decided to create a ‘Lost World’ trilogy for three trade shows,” explains design duo Nathan Wan and Andy Webb. “We drew inspiration from Tomb Raider, Indiana Jones and the Goonies, creating an epic fire VS water battle. We always go big and this year sees a 22m wide rain feature.” Stand aesthetics have led the way for Yamaha, too. Chris Irvine, Yamaha’s product manager, says: “This year we took a new approach which has had a gre
UK - The 41st edition of PLASA Show - the worldwide event for live entertainment technologies (16-18 September) - opened the doors of London Olympia this morning along with Platinum Sponsor Robe, Silver Sponsor Infinity and Hawthorn as Technical Sponsor. The atmosphere is tangible as exhibitors and visitors waste no time in browsing new products and discussing industry trends. 200+ brands are present representing each sector across the live events and entertainment spectrum, and the seminar programme is brimming with expert sessions and enlivening talks. Plus, the all new Hands-on Rigging Area and Rigging Theatre are welcoming both aspirational and seasoned riggers. “After months of hard work, the team and I are excited to see PLASA Show 2018 in action”, says PLASA managing director Peter Heath. “Many of our industry’s leading brands are here with their iconi
