Pharos - Leaderboard - May 2024

Sound

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India - Norwest Productions first came to international attention a decade ago when they supplied the audio requirements for the Sydney Olympic Games Ceremonies. Since then they have earned the reputation as a world leader in successfully tackling the audio requirements of large scale stadium shows racking up successful events such as two of the three Summer Olympics, both Commonwealth Games and the Asian Games in Doha.

This year alone they have done the Vancouver Winter Olympics, Singapore Youth Olympics and now the Commonwealth Games Delhi. "The worldwide event fraternity knows that Norwest are not only easy and fun to work with, they ensure that nothing goes wrong and that nothing is a problem for them," says the company.

For the Commonweath Games, Norwest teamed with a regional, Mumbai-based sound production company Sound.com to supply the entire audio package an

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USA - Audio-Technica is celebrating its 17th year of supporting the Country Music Association (CMA) Awards by providing an extensive selection of vocal and instrument microphones for its annual awards show.

The 44th Annual CMA Awards aired live in 5.1-channel surround sound Wednesday, 10 November, on the ABC Television Network from the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, and featured over 200 Audio-Technica microphones, including an impressive array of hard-wired mics and Artist Elite 5000 Series UHF Wireless Systems.

The team responsible for the audio at this year's CMA's again included a who's who of broadcast audio. The audio was supervised by award-winning audio producers Michael Abbott and Tom Davis; ATK/Audiotek provided the sound system with FOH (front-of-house) mixers Patrick Baltzell and Rick Shimer; the broadcast music mix was handled by New Jersey/California-based Music

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UK - Sennheiser UK is extending the warranty on all K-Array products from the standard manufacturer two-year warranty to five years for all UK and Middle East customers.

"K-Array products are among the most pioneering products available today," says Sennheiser product manager Paul Nunnington. "They have proven reliability and an almost non-existent failure rate. The decision to extend the warranty period reflects our confidence in the quality of K-Array products but, even more importantly, it gives our customers complete peace of mind and the assurance that their investment is underpinned by this failsafe offering from Sennheiser UK and K-Array."

K-Array systems have recently been used on The X Factor and Britain's Got Talent as an invisible aid to the two-way process of the dialogue between stage and judges, as side-fills at Eddie Izzard's

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UAE - Nicolas Kyvernitis Electronics Enterprises (NMK), distributors of Roland Systems Group (RSG) in Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman and the United Arab Emirates have recently hosted a launch event and training workshop over a two-day period.

The occasion was the first official event to mark the presence of Roland Systems Group in the Middle East and allowed attendees to understand the business philosophy of the company, its strategic plans for the region and its current product line-up. Attendees to the event included professionals from various market segments that include install, live and broadcast.

RSG's Middle East business operation is supervised from Barcelona, Spain, where Roland Systems Group EMEA has its headquarters.

"It was good to see both current and new customers at both our launch event and training workshop," commented Richie Hiranandani, marketing m

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Latin America - Grammy Award winning Spanish pop icon David Bisbal became a household name both in his home country and in South America after he achieved the runner up position in television talent contest Operación Triunfo - the Spanish version of the UK's Pop Idol - in 2001. For the Latin American leg of his latest tour Sin Mar Atras, which took in a number of the summer's festivals along the way, a DiGiCo SD9 digital mixing console, supplied by DiGiCo's Spanish distributor Meyer Sound España, was included in the audio inventory.

Having used DiGiCo D5s and then an SD8 on previous tours, monitor engineer Alberto Liras decided to swap to the SD9, the smallest console currently in DiGiCo's product line, for a variety of reasons.

"The SD9 I am touring with is configured with just one rack of 32 channels and 16 outputs," says Liras. "I am also usin

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USA - Country star Jason Aldean has worked with Bandit Lites since he started touring. Bandit VP Michael Golden handles the account, working with manger Clarence Spalding, tour manager Tim McCormick, production manager John Fritz and lighting director Aaron Swetland.

Throughout 2010, the lighting system has grown, as have the crowds. Along the way, Aldean's new album My Kinda Party has outsold every other country album this year.

Swetland works with moving trusses carrying MAC 2000 Washes and Spots, GRN Washes, Atomic Strobes and Jarags. His console is a Grand MA. The system also carries a number of video panels and the trusses perform scissor moves so that there are multiple looks throughout the evening.

(Jim Evans)

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UK - Pink Floyd fans will have a chance to own a slice of the band's live performance history when the hand built quadraphonic mixing consoles used on the Momentary Lapse of Reason and Division Bell world tours are auctioned at Bonhams in Knightsbridge on 15 December 15.

A percentage of the proceeds will go to concert industry charity Stage Hand, the new name for the PSA Welfare & Benevolent Fund. The consoles are being sold by their owner, Britannia Row Productions (BRP), the sound company originally formed and owned by Pink Floyd, which has been independent for the last 26 years.

Every Pink Floyd tour since the late 1960s featured quadraphonic sound among the many live sound and lighting effects pioneered by the band.

Sound effects including helicopters, the famous chiming clocks and gongs of Dark Side Of The Moon and many more, were whirled around mas

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Germany - d&b audiotechnik has championed the system concept since its very beginnings, acknowledging the benefits of the control and monitoring of loudspeaker systems for its users and listeners alike. So to further this endeavour towards a greater System reality, d&b has forged a partnership with AMX to provide even further choice when integrating systems within a media environment.

The ability to remotely control an audio installation from one central position has far greater advantages than just convenience. A large distributed audio system may have amplifiers in many different locations and the time it can take just to power them up and down without a remote system is substantial and can cut into precious time schedules. It is also significant in the first place to know that each element in the system is turned on and working. The d&b Remote network not only enables this co

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UK - When Northern Light won a competitive tender to provide an advanced technical infrastructure for the new £35 million Aylesbury Waterside Theatre, the company set out to design a fully-integrated system that was versatile, reconfigurable and provided the facility to carry out remote system diagnostics over a LAN via the resident PC.

Working to a specification devised by Carr & Angier Theatre Consultants, evenly dispersed sound was of paramount importance, since there are three audience tiers (including fixed-seating balcony and upper balcony levels), and optional ground floor seating wagons to enable the 1200-seat auditorium to convert into a larger 1800-capacity standing space.

Thus Northern Light project manager Simon Cooper decided to base his sound reinforcement solution around Martin Audio's purpose-designed Wavefront theatre systems.

For the primary system, h

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Italy - Proel is running an international competition to create a name for their new series of professional digital loudspeakers. This range of speakers, that can be networked and remotely controlled, will use the latest Proel Group digital technologies and is targeted at the live sound and installation markets.

The winner of the competition will be awarded a Proel M16USB mixer for "their imagination and ingenuity in suggesting the chosen name".

Full details are available at www.facebook.com/proel. The competition closes at midnight on 22 November 2010.

(Jim Evans)

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Italy - RCF has completed its range of Commercial Audio Column Speakers with two new products CS 3041 and CS 3082. Both models are formed in an ultra slimline design offering minimal visual impact.

Easy installation can be achieved with either the supplied 'L' shaped wall brackets or the optional MA 7W swivel bracket, which allows the installer to angle the speaker to suit, says the company.

The new CS Slimline Columns have been optimised for speech reproduction using extended range twoinch speakers and one inch tweeters.

(Jim Evans)

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UK - Theatre planning and design practice Fisher Dachs Associates has announced the opening of its new office in the UK. The Stratford-upon-Avon office joins FDA offices in New York City and Seattle, Washington, and will be led by Flip Tanner who comes to FDA directly from a 19-year career at the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC).

Over the last nine years Tanner has been instrumental in developing both the temporary Courtyard and the permanent Royal Shakespeare Theatre for the RSC, where his work culminates when the company opens its new facility in January.

Joshua Dachs, FDA's principal, says: "I've known Flip for over 10 years and I've always been impressed by his incredible range of experience in the theatre. He also has the unique experience of sitting on the Client side of the table during intricate building projects at various scales. Further, the fact that he has a k

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Norway - Gronningen Lyd, a sound company based in Lensvik, has become one of the latest audio rental specialists to invest in an Eclipse digital mixing console from Innovason. Supplied by Innovason's Norwegian distributor, FotoPhono AS, the new console was put through its paces for the very first time at a corporate event which was held at the Orkdal Cultural Centre 14 November 2010.

The Orkdal Cultural Centre is a large, multi-purpose performance and exhibition space based in the Norwegian town of Orkanger, the region's second largest town after Trondheim which is 45km away. The Cultural Centre serves the municipality of Orkdal and beyond and hosts everything from concerts to theatre shows, dance and of course conferences and corporate events. The event in question was a corporate event with a number of bands and lectures. According to Jan Gronningen, owner and MD of Gronningen

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UK - The durability of VDC supplied cabling and live sound kit was put to the test by Placebo and LEE Engineering during a gruelling, two year world tour which came to a close last month - a test that it passed with flying colours. According to Ian Nelson, director at LEE Engineering and Placebo FOH engineer, the man who, with VDC, oversaw the specification and development of the tour's audio technical infrastructure, its performance and reliability was unparalleled.

He said: "When we came to pack away the kit after the last date in Brixton, Brandon Reece and myself just looked at each other in disbelief. I can honestly say that I have never seen a line system go more than four or five weeks without a problem cropping up, let alone two years, and I've been in this business for 15 years."

Niall Holden, MD at VDC Trading said: "It's always great when customers tak

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Japan - The InterBee 2010 international broadcast exhibition sees Yamaha launching two major software products - Yamaha Console File Converter and the M7CL Version 3.5 operating system - both of which offer "significantly enhanced functionality for users".

InterBee 2010 takes place from 17-19 November at the Makuhari Messe exhibition centre in Chiba, Japan.

Yamaha Console File Converter is a highly significant product which users have been consistently requesting since the M7CL and LS9 consoles were introduced, says the company. To be available as a free download, users will be able to use the software to convert file formats between the PM5D and M7CL, and the M7CL and LS9, providing unprecedented data compatibility between Yamaha digital mixing consoles.

The software means that audio companies will have flexibility in how they deploy Yamaha consoles, enabling them

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UK - 2010 marked the release of the Feeder's seventh album Renegades, and the band embarking on a sell-out international tour.

As part of the live set up they used a pair of HK Audio CT115 Contour Series monitors which had been biamped off two channels of a Lab.gruppen fp+10000QSP and channel 1 of a HK Audio DSM2060 speaker management processor.

Taking the drum seat for the tour is noted session drummer Karl Brazil, whose previous tub-thumping exploits have seen him work with the likes of Robbie Williams, Take That, James Blunt, Elton John and Leona Lewis. He chose to use HK Audio monitors from the Contour Series (a pair of CT118 subs and a pair of CT115 speakers).

"Karl is a very musical and dynamic player," says monitor engineer Dan Trowhill. "It has been difficult for us on previous shows as the drum-fills provided haven't delivered a satisfactory pe

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Malaysia - Established in 2007, Banana J Entertainment and Event is a fast growing Malaysian event production and management company.

Banana J owner Jason Ng has recently been working extensively with local broadcast stations and has chosen MSX48s from ARX for his signal splitting requirements as they offered an affordable solution to his requirements.

The MSX 48 splitters were supplied by K.L based ARX dealer Impact Pro Sound and Light.

(Jim Evans)

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UK - PLASA Focus: Leeds 2011, taking place at The Royal Armouries, Leeds on Tuesday 19 and Wednesday 20 April 2011, is near to sell out. 120 companies have confirmed they are exhibiting, leaving only a handful of stands now remaining for this popular event.

The success of PLASA Focus was confirmed by a record-breaking event earlier this year in April, which saw attendance top 1800 - an increase of 30% on the previous year. The event hosted 130 exhibitors, including 33 first-time exhibitors.

Show director Nicola Rowland said, "This is a hugely popular event and that's essentially down to the unique PLASA Focus ethos, which is to offer exhibitors a straight choice between shell scheme and truss, keeping the event affordable and hassle-free for exhibitors. It also means that visitors have the opportunity to meet more companies and to see the first UK showing of products laun

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Austria / USA - Following in his father's footsteps, Dweezil Zappa is a user of the full line of AKG professional microphones.

Kicking off Zapper's two-month international summer tour AKG mics replaced the majority of Zappa's full arsenal of vocal and instrument microphones. AKG presented the artist and his front of house engineer with eight AKG D 40 Dynamic Instrument Microphones, two C 451 B's, five C 518 M clip-on percussion mics, four C 214's, four C 414 condensers, two C 4000 B's, two C 519 ML miniature condensers and nine D5 and D7 dynamic handheld mics.

"Mechanically, the AKG's are absolutely, phenomenally brilliant," stated Glynn Wood, FOH engineer for Zappa. "They are really rugged and I've not had one break or fall off, even on the tom toms. The sonic and mechanical quality presented in AKG mics exceeded our expectations and are truly excellent."<

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UK - Leeds-based Production Light & Sound provided full production for a new theatre concert production tour, An evening of Carole King & James Taylor. Described as a celebration of their music rather than a tribute, the performers take a musical trip which includes classics as How Sweet it is to be Loved by You, Sweet Baby James, Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow and many more.

The lighting which complements the projected visuals for each number designed and produced by Jason Salvin is simple but very effective. The rig consists of four Generic moving heads, eight Showtec Power brick sets and 11 Showtec 1W RGB LED PARcans.

Salvin commented: "The LED fixtures provide key light and back light across the stage. By using the LED fixtures it provides me with many different colour washes and back light specials which means I can highlight one performe

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USA - Meyer Sound has announced the promotion of three veteran members of its technical support team: Luke Jenks, John Monitto, and Oscar Barrientos. Effectively immediately, Jenks is named product manager for loudspeakers products, Monitto is elevated to director of technical support worldwide, and Barrientos becomes technical services manager for Latin America.

"Meyer Sound's technical support network is critical to our business," says Helen Meyer, executive vice president of Meyer Sound. "Luke, John, and Oscar have all played a major role in its success. We're proud to recognize their experience, technical knowledge, and personal commitment to customer satisfaction."

In his new position of product manager for loudspeaker products, Luke Jenks will work closely with Meyer Sound's engineering, education, and marketing personnel to provide both dealers and e

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Italy - Proel products feature in a number of new installations in the San Teodoro area of Sardinia.

After choosing them for the Bal Harbour Restaurant and the Ripping Discotheque, Quadra Luce and Design again thought of Proel for the audio of three new venues on the Riviera: Ambra Night, Ambra Day and Luna Glam Club.

Ambra Night, 20m from the sea, features the famous gazebo-shaped dance floor which now hosts a 20,000 watt Proel set up composed of four Edge 218SP Subs, two Edge C210P96 Satellites, eight Edge 25PB Satellites, four Edge 112SP Subs, two Powersoft K3 Amplifiers and one Powersoft LD3004 amplifier.

Ambra Day, situated in a large 6,000m² park in the centre of San Teodoro, is one of the most charming and picturesque meeting bars in Italy. It continuously hosts music festivals and live performances and can now count on four TFL12 Satellites and two PRL950 amplifiers

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USA - Audio-Technica has unveiled its SpectraPulse mtu301 Body-Pack Transmitter. The mtu301 allows presenters the flexibility to clearly transmit audio as they move throughout the entire SpectraPulse coverage area. By simply plugging in a lavalier or headworn microphone to the mtu301, users can now be free to untether an onstage performance, leave a podium or walk away from a conference table., says the company. A completely new application of UWB technology, SpectraPulse offers secure wireless operation for the installed sound market, free from RF competition, frequency coordination and 'white space' issues.

The mtu301 joins the SpectraPulse mtu101 Microphone Transmitter Unit (in a boundary mic design) and mtu201 XLR Desk Stand Transmitter (paired with gooseneck mics) to offer more flexible options for presenters and performers. Like the other SpectraPulse components, the mtu30

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Australia - ARX Systems has announced the appointment of Manila-based Yupangco Electronics Corporation as its distributor for Philippines.

ARX managing director Colin Park says, "Jose Mari L. Yupangco, president of Yupangco Electronics Corporation (YEC) and I initiated discussions regarding ARX distribution at the Frankfurt Pro Light and Sound earlier this year.

"YEC is excited by the prospects of introducing our USB DI series of interfaces, MSX series of signal distribution products and AudiBox series of audio toolbox essentials products to their pro audio and broadcast clients and markets. ARX is looking forward to working with YEC, one of the mainstays of our industry in South East Asia."

Founded by Gary A. Yupangco in 1967, YEC now operates more than 30 stores and 35 music school centres across the Philippines.

(Jim Evans)

  1. TC-Helicon debuts Mic Control technology
  2. Delta Sound adds HK Audio speakers
  3. Yamaha system bring Pompeii to life
  4. Pano line array for Sarawak hotel
  5. DiGiCo SD8 fits the bill for Stars
  6. Se7en Productions procures Midas PRO6
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