USA - The 2006 Tony Award winner for best musical, Jersey Boys is currently Broadway's biggest success story, one year on from its first previews and still a sell-out. The show tells the story of Franki Valli and The Four Seasons, playing to highly critical and lively audiences in Valli's home town where he remains a local hero. Directed by Des McAnuff, the show's music is by Bob Gaudio with lyrics by Bob Crewe, and features sound design by Steve Kennedy. The sound system includes a J-Type Live production console, supplied by Masque Sound, operated by Julie Randolph, with Dave Shepherd and Mike Terpstra on the full-time sound team.
The show is above all a rock show, with the band constantly moving on the stage amidst the high-pace action. Sound operator Julie Randolph explains some of the musical challenges involved: "It's a loud show, but the acoustic image is constantly changing because the band moves all over the stage. There are two drum kits on turtles, which are capable of rotating 720 degrees. Several actors play instruments in the show, and all of the pit band make appearances on stage throughout the show. Steve always uses excellent equipment throughout the chain. We're not trying to pretend that this show isn't miked - we're just presenting an accurate sonic picture of what the talent is doing up there, because what they're doing is pretty amazing."
In designing the show, the theatre itself provided certain challenges, particularly with regard to speaker placements. Built in 1925, the August Wilson Theatre has a very low overhang from t
Germany - In Germany, the huge Stadtkirchenfest attracted more than 10,000 members of different Christian organisations to Berlin's Alexander-Platz. With music, speeches and religious services, the extensive festival programme represented an excellent test for Nexo's new Geo D system, and its success was enough to persuade Berlin PA company PAM/events to invest in its own system.
Over ten thousand people attended the ecumenical Stadtkirchenfest in Berlin. The festival's motto was "Auf gute Nachbarschaft" (loosely translated as "here's to good neighbourly relations") and with that in mind, 170 Catholic, Protestant, independent Christian and Orthodox groups and communities as well as welfare organisations and action groups gathered in the square between the Church of St. Mary (Marienkirche) and the so-called 'Red City Hall' to inform visitors about their work.
Preparations for the Church Festival were in the hands of the Berlin-Brandenburg Ecumenical Council in cooperation with the Diocesan Council of the Archdiocese of Berlin. To handle the technical side of the festival, the Council called in an expert consultant, Clemens Müller, freelance production manager and sound engineer.
The south side of Berlin's Alexander-Platz in front of the 'Red Town Hall' was selected as the main venue - although it is directly adjacent to residential neighbourhoods. For this reason, Berlin's Public Order Office set a volume limit of 63dB(A), measurable at a distance of approximately 270m in front of the stage and 100m at the side behind the stage
Germany - One of the largest companies in Germany providing technical services in the event business, Satis & Fy recently took delivery of an X-Line and Tour Grade amplifiers from Electro-Voice. They were so convinced by the performance the new combination that, after receiving the commission to handle Simply Red's 2006 tour of Germany, they had little hesitation in taking them along.
Simply Red FOH Engineer Gary Bradshaw has worked with Britannia Row's X-Line on many occasions in the past; for this outing, the task of satisfying-or, rather, exceeding-his expectations fell to system technicians Alexander Lewin, Stefan Harazd and Paul Wunderlich.
It would appear they succeeded. Certainly the critics were impressed, with Christoph Klemp euphorically declaring: "The sound system was controlled perfectly: every nuance of Chris de Margery's flute and Ian Kirkham's saxophone solos came out crystal-clear above the powerful bass and drums... It was a delight to listen to - from the first row to the last."
(Chris Henry)
UK - Yamaha's Stagepas PA system has been awarded the coveted title of 'Best PA Product' at the 2006 MIA (Music Industry Association) awardsceremony held on 3 October at the Savoy Hotel, London.
Designed to meet the increasing multi-use demands of a variety of venues andinstitutions, Yamaha's affordable portable Public Address System (Stagepas 300)delivers Yamaha's professional sound quality in a compact and convenientportable system that can be set-up and operated by anyone with little or notechnical knowledge.
The Music Industry Association has a wide reaching membership covering all areasof the musical instrument trade in the UK including retailers, wholesalers andmanufacturers and many of it's members are in fierce competition with each otheron a day-to-day basis and due to the diversity of the Association's membershipthe award is a true reflection of the popularity and sales success of YamahaCommercial Audio, the market leader in high level professional soundreinforcement products.
Stagepas offers an ultra - compact design, 2-way speakers andan easy to use eight - channel stereo mixing console. The system that can alsobe used for multimedia corporate presentations is ideal for schools, places ofworship, conference venues and small to mid sized entertainment venues.
(Chris Henry)
USA - For the 13th consecutive year, Audio-Technica has supported the Country Music Association (CMA) Awards by providing an extensive selection of vocal and instrument microphones for its annual awards show. The 40th Annual CMA Awards aired live for the first time in 5.1-channel surround sound on November 6 on the ABC Television Network from Nashville's Gaylord Entertainment Center and featured over 200 hard-wired and wireless Audio-Technica microphones. From backline vocal and instrument mics to frontline wireless systems for leading country artists such as Kenny Chesney, Jason Aldean, and Miranda Lambert, Audio-Technica was chosen for this star-studded live broadcast.
Hosted for the third year by the multi-platinum duo Brooks & Dunn, the CMA Awards presentation is recognised as Country Music's Biggest NightTM, and represents the pinnacle of achievement for those involved in country music.
The team responsible for the audio at this year's CMA's included GRAMMY/Emmy Award-winning music producer Elliot Scheiner, as superviser; the Audio Coordinator was Michael Abbott; ATK/Audiotek provided the sound system with FOH (front-of-house) engineers Patrick Baltzell and Rick Shimer; New York-based Wireless First, a leading source of wireless sound equipment for major television and production companies nationwide under the direction of Kevin Sanford, supplied all the wireless microphones; GRAMMY/Emmy Award-winning engineer David Hewitt's Remote Recording provided the 5.1 production mix, while MTVN's R8 mobile recording truck supplied the 5.1 music mix.
Audio-Technica e
UK - Vision Systems has announced that its PA/VA brand - Millbank - is initiating a major product development strategy aiming to launch a new series of Millbank products in 2007.
With the legislation re: RHOS and WEEE coming into force from July 2006 an assessment of the current products confirms that the best course of action is to withdraw products that do not meet these requirements. The costs of meeting these requirements was so substantial that Millbank has taken the brave step of concentrating the time of its engineers on its future developments rather than re-building the old products to meet these legislative issues.
Millbank will fulfill its duty to all its end users with their present technologies and is therefore committing to support these systems for up to seven years.
Millbank's sales director, Neil Voce says: "We're very excited about the new technologies that are in the pipeline. We're working hard to successfully mitigate the problems of ceasing the current range, whilst we await the launch of our new step change in VA technology."
Millbank is currently involved with many landmark VA projects presently being undertaken in the UK including: the O2 Arena - the new 26,000 capacity stadium, which is under construction inside the Millennium Dome; The MK Dons stadium in Milton Keynes and Bishops Square, London - one of the largest current office developments in the EU.
Systems integration has played a substantial part of the Millbank operation for many years in that the company recognises the value of combining the appropriate technolog
USA - Scott Robbins has been promoted to the position of senior vice president of worldwide sales for Crown International. Robbins previously held the position of vice president of worldwide sales for Crown.
Making the announcement was Mark Graham, president of Crown. "Scott's promotion to senior vice president underscores his great value to the executive team at Crown. Scott has done an outstanding job of leading the efforts of our sales and customer service teams over the past several years and has truly earned this recognition," says Graham.
Robbins has over 17 years of experience with Crown, starting in the service department in 1987 and working his way up the ranks through progressively more responsible positions in sales. During that time, Robbins temporarily joined Bose Professional where he worked in sales management for a few years before returning to Crown.
(Chris Henry)
USA - As the season started, the Atlanta Falcons had asmall problem: how to realistically recreate the noisy game day conditionsof the Georgia Dome at their training headquarters north of the city inFlowery Branch. The answer, a compact Danley Sound Labs speaker systemcomprised of SH-50 full-range and TH-115 subwoofer units, proved not only tobe a powerful solution, but also, a surprisinglymobile one.
Mike Hedden, of Danley Sound Labs, explains that he initially demonstrated theDanley Sound Labs system, which is manufactured in Gainesville, Georgia,after a friend who works at the Falcons' facility told him that the team wasrenting equipment to simulate crowd noise during practice. "The old systemwas cumbersome and time consuming to setup but most importantly wasn'tsupplying enough 'oomph' to simulate the sound of a crowd of 72,000 people,"relates Hedden.
After setting up two Danley SH-50 full-range cabinets, each paired with aTH-115 subwoofer, Hedden says: "I told head coach Jim Mora, the beautyof what we brought is that we can leave it in the end zone and you don'tneed to take two stacks to the sidelines and run hundreds of feet of cableand shoot the energy across the field. With the old system they could onlyeffectively cover from about the goal line to the 10- or 15-yard. With oursystem we can cover out to about the 35- or 40-yard line from the end zone,so they have a lot more room to work their drills.
"Part of what makes the Danley products unique isthat the efficiency of the loudspeakers is so high that it doesn't take alot of power to
Ireland - The Eccles is situated at the foot of the bay in Glengariff, Co. Cork, with far reaching views over the Atlantic and nearby Whiddy Island. Run as a family owned business, the hotel has provided accommodation for many seasoned travellers as well as extending formal welcomes to the many transatlantic Cruise liners that make Glengariff a port of call to introduce the lucky vacationers to a taste of the real Ireland, via the amazing scenery and internationally accepted hospitality.
Amongst all this, the hotel has for many years been the focus and hub of a thriving entertainment facility, with a full function suite and hall catering for private parties, large-scale weddings, concerts and conferences. Whilst proving successful, over time the hotel has suffered from noise pollution problems culminating in a recent problem that finally had to be addressed, when the new and bright young town Guarda (police officer) moved in right next door to the hotel.
Enter local Audio Visual and installation company Beta Systems in the shape of John Murphy and Kieran Hynes. Once Murphy and Hynes had completed an initial site visit it became clear the Hotel was finding it difficult to control volume levels during the various functions held, due to the fact that no in house engineer was employed and the fact that each event utilised different PA systems from various suppliers. After consultation with the operators it was decided that the function suite should have its own installed sound system, such that the Hotel could have control of the sound during each event.
Having wor
USA - With sophisticated AV technology assuming an expanded and increasingly creative role in contemporary worship, Meyer Sound will respond at the upcoming Worship Facilities Expo (WFX) in Dallas with a high-profile showcase of industry-leading audio systems that have found broad acceptance in churches of all sizes and types. On the exhibition floor at the Dallas Convention Center on November 9 and 10 (conference proceedings begin on November 8), the Meyer Sound booth (709) will spotlight several new loudspeaker products and introduce Constellation electroacoustic architecture to the worship facilities community. Nearby, a large meeting hall will provide an appropriate setting for full-system demonstrations of the eyebrow-raising M'elodie ultracompact high-power curvilinear array.
Those who have yet to experience M'elodie will have the opportunity on Thursday, November 9, when Ed Young, Jr., the pastor of Fellowship Church, gives the WFX keynote address. His remarks will be heard through a flown system comprising 18 M'elodie cabinets, augmented by 600-HP high-power subwoofers for the low end and M1D ultracompact curvilinear array loudspeakers for frontfill.
Young is accustomed to the sound of his voice through Meyer Sound loudspeakers, as he is heard weekly, live and from recordings accompanying HDTV playback, through Meyer Sound systems installed at Fellowship Church's four campuses in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, as well as at its newest satellite campus in Miami, Florida. More than 185 Meyer Sound self-powered loudspeakers are in service at the five locations.
UK - Digidesign and Marquee Audio recently helped production manager Steve Watson to fulfil an ambitious project at The Sage, Gateshead. Entitled Anthem for Northumberland the project was a full length film, with musical soundtrack, aimed at recording an impression of Northumberland as seen and experienced by the young people of the county.
The unique musical composition was created and arranged by students from three Northumberland High Schools, and one special school working with 13 musicians, and The Sage Gateshead trainees. It was performed live by Northern Sinfonia and many young musicians at The Sage.
Operating under the aegis of the Arts Council's Creative Partnerships Northumberland, the enterprise was backed by musician, producer and orchestrator Nitin Sawnhey, who provided artistic direction. This is the latest of a number of creative workshops supported by Nitin on behalf of the Arts Council.
"We wanted to mix and record this digitally because the show would require a monstrous number of inputs," expained Steve Watson, who shared production duties with FOH engineer, David McEwan. "And since Nitin uses Digidesign's Pro Tools wherever possible, the Venue digital console (which seamlessly integrates with Pro Tools) became our first choice." Watson, having worked closely with leading rental company RG Jones, chose them to supply a D-Show desk for McEwan, along with the Stage Pack system and mics. The show also benefited from the support not only of Digidesign's Andreas Rimroth and Nitin Sawnhey's studio engineer, Dean Barrett,
Germany - The new Berlin Hauptbahnhof is right in the heart of the historical 800-year-old city. The German capital's new central train station is an architectural masterpiece, and at over 900 feet long and as tall as a skyscraper, has caused more than a few awestruck passers-by to liken it to a "Cathedral of Rail Traffic". The long structure features a glass-lined outer hull that lets visitors see both the German Chancellery and the Reichstag buildings. The numbers are as impressive as the view: covering more than 70,000sq.m, and capable of hosting 2,000 trains and 300,000 commuters a day.
The opening celebration started with Federal Chancellor Angela Merkel addressing an exclusive crowd of 600 invited guests and went from there with performances from popular German bands, a multimedia mega-event titled Symphony of Lights - Welcome to Berlin, specially illuminated trains entering the station from both the east and the west to illustrate the coming together of the previously divided nations, a seemingly endless array of flickering lights, impressive laser effects, and some complex pyrotechnics. Over a half a million spectators filed in to see the new station.
To ensure that the excited crowd heard all of the music and announcements, a distributed system of over 300 self-powered Meyer Sound loudspeakers was supplied by German rental company Procon, with additional systems coming from London-based Capital Sound. On the left and right of the stage were arrays of 15 Milo high-power curvilinear array loudspeakers, to which were added 10 650-P high-pow
UK - AKG Microphones has linked up with myspace.com to promote its Unsigned Heroes 07 Battle of the Bands competition, which launched this month at Music Live in Birmingham.
The competition now has its own dedicated myspace page, making it easier for bands already promoting themselves through the website to log in and upload their demos.
Under the banner 'This Ain't A Competition - It's A Battle!', AKG Microphones is encouraging up-and-coming bands to enter the competition, which could win them a day in a recording studio with a named producer and the opportunity to play at a major festival in 2007. All bands have to do is submit an MP3 of their music for the judges' consideration. Bands must have a minimum of three performers and all songs must be original compositions, not cover versions of another artist's song.
AKG's Amanda Chester says: "We know there's a wealth of undiscovered talent out there and that a lot of these bands are already using myspace to promote their music. By offering a quick route through to our own competition website, we are making it much easier for them to enter."
Harman Pro UK and AKG are offering a range of prizes including a day in a studio for the winning band, a gig at a major festival in 2007 and an endorsement contract with AKG Microphones. They will also receive approximately £10,000 worth of PA System from Harman Pro UK featuring AKG Microphones, Crown amplifiers, JBL Speakers, Lexicon, BSS and dbx outboard as well as a Soundcraft mixing desk.
Two runner-ups will receive AKG Wireless Microphone syst
UK - Clear-Com a Vitec Group brand, the global leader of trusted intercom solutions, today announced the appointment of Jake Dodson as vice president of product management for Clear-Com Communications Systems. Dodson will be driving Clear-Com's technology strategy in Cambridge, UK and in Emeryville, California.
Dodson has spent more than 15 years managing successful product lines for telecommunications networks, and has brought over 15 new products to market from concept to production. As the founder of a telecommunications start up, as well as director of product management for two Silicon Valley-based companies, Dodson offers a wealth of executive experience to drive Clear-Com's strategic product development.
"We are excited to make this announcement, as Dodson brings a tremendous level of product management expertise to the Clear-Com brand," said Matt Danilowicz, managing director of Vitec Group Communications. "Jake will focus on maximising growth opportunities within the marketplace through innovations in digital wireless and IP-based communication technology, and help create a better framework for disseminating product knowledge across our organisation into the field. We are confident that Jake's leadership will drive our product innovation."
Dodson was chosen for his exceptional qualifications, after having served as product management consultant for Sapphire Horizon Ltd, where he helped companies develop corporate technology roadmaps and business plans for investment and growth.
Throughout his career, Dodson has successfully demons
The Netherlands - In Holland, the club Paard van Troje in Den Haag has just taken delivery of two new Soundcraft analogue mixing consoles for the smaller of its two venues. Although nominally a pop venue, the club's sound engineer Peter Kerkvliet explains that "our productions vary from hardcore, punk, metal, reggae, hiphop, singer-songwriter, americana to multimedia, presentations, debates, standup-comedy, theatre, lectures and so on. About 50 per cent of our activities are dance events."
With such a variety of presentation, one of the main reasons for his choice of Soundcraft MH3 and MH2 consoles was their versatility. "Often we do monitor-mixing from the front of house position, or FOH-mixing from the monitor position. Because of the dual-purpose set-up possible with both the MH2 and MH3, we have the option to swap desks. In most cases, the MH3 is used out front because of its more sophisticated EQ."
Kerkvliet considers the MH Series consoles to be extremely good value for money. "They are internationally accepted by artists and engineers coming from abroad, and they still have the sound and feel that the Soundcraft brand is famous for."
Both desks are 32+4 channel configuration, which is sufficient for most of Paard's production, and have an agreeably small footprint for this small, 300-capacity club.
(Chris Henry)
UK - One of the UK's most historic stately homes - Hatfield House in Hertfordshire - has opened the Riding School Conference Centre in its magnificent grounds, complete with a QSC sound reinforcement system. The Old Palace at Hatfield dates back to 1485 and the Jacobean Hatfield House to 1607, celebrating its 400th anniversary next year.
The Riding School itself is an early Victorian building - but the new facilities show high quality refurbishment at its best, as designed by architects Brooks Murray. Today its use will be multipurpose - hosting a wide range of events from conferences to fashion shows and wedding receptions. The main atrium can accommodate up to 200 comfortably, with adjoining breakout/meeting rooms.
The contract for the audio visual installation was awarded to Hammonds AVS Ltd, who imaginatively deployed QSC AcousticDesign AD-S282 and AD-S52T loudspeakers, both at ground floor level and up in the vaulted gallery, taking advantage of the Advanced Directivity rotatable waveguide featured on the AD-S282.
Upstairs four sleek white polystyrene AD-S282's are fixed horizontally to the oak beams in each corner, angled down onto the floor below. These are supported by eight of the compact AD-S52T distributed loudspeakers upstairs and a further eight down. The AD-S282 enclosure incorporates two 8in weather-resistant, LF transducers with heavy-duty double roll cloth surrounds. These high output loudspeakers also employ a 1in exit compression HF driver. The smaller AD-S52T's also boast the same contemporary styling, and operate full range.
The sound rei
Canada - Rental sound company P.A. Plus Productions recently provided a live audio system for Just Give Me Jesus, an event featuring Anne Graham Lotz, daughter of renowned evangelist Billy Graham, at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto.
The Just Give Me Jesus Series is a collection of unique events designed to be a life-changing revival for women. The most recent Just Give Me Jesus event took place twice over the weekend of September 29, drawing an average attendance of 17,000 per event.
Because the stage was located in the centre of the arena, John Lacina of P.A. Plus designed an "in-the-round" loudspeaker system that included 72 Vertec VT4889 full-size line array elements and 32 VT4887 compact models. This gave a total of 104 full-range Vertec enclosures in the system design, which was carefully formatted in co-ordination with four massive video projection screens. Eight VT4880 subwoofers were also deployed. The system was powered by Crown I-tech amplifiers. Additionally, JBL SRX 712M loudspeakers were used as stage monitors.
Since private boxes at the ends of the arena were not occupied, P.A. Plus took advantage of this space by hanging additional Vertec clusters to create a more intimate sound reinforcement setting, with the temporary-installed system tailored to the architectural characteristics of the venue and precisely focused at the target seating areas.
"Because the seats at the ends of the arena don't go up as high, we set up a series of line array clusters of varying sizes," says Mike Dilullo, account manager
UK - With a champagne reception at chic London venue the Hedges & Butler Members' Club, London PA rental company Systems Etc celebrated its first decade.
Since it was founded in 1996, Systems Etc has increased its turnover 200-fold, expanded its workforce from two to 20, and acquired nearly £2 million of hire stock. The company's commercial trajectory has been determined by acquisition, to date three sound rental operators have been absorbed into the group portfolio. Systems Etc owner Bernard Mani says he's aiming for a 30% share of the UK's pro-audio rental market.
The origins of Systems Etc date back to 1990 when Bernard Mani, still at school, began building loudspeakers and using them on student productions. Leaving college at 18, equipped with an engineering qualification, he headed off to Spain. The scene there was one big party, and Mani's response was to put together his own stock of sound and lighting equipment to rent out. In a very short time, he was managing a nightclub, handling audio production for concerts for up to 20,000, and running his own PA rental company.
Parental pressure brought him back to the UK and into university to study engineering, but his academic endeavours lasted just one term. He quickly developed a new rental business, and the University became his biggest client.
Five years in, the assets of London-based PA rental company Eskimo Noise were acquired from the liquidator, and paid for on Mani's credit card. The first gig with the new stock was for the Ministry of Sound at the Dome, attended by 50,000 people. In August 20
Worldwide - Despite announcing his retirement from touring and producing records more than two years ago, worldwide rap superstar Jay-Z has found it hard to sit on his laurels; he's been constantly busy in the studio, and this Autumn has seen him cris-crossing the globe on a massive world tour. And handling all of his on-stage vocals every night has been an AKG WMS 4000 wireless mic system, supplied by his tour production manager Bryon Tate, after the original mic system used on the tour proved unsatisfactory.
Like a lot of rappers, Jay-Z 'cups' the mic on stage, holding it close to the capsule. When using other mics, this resulted in a huge boost in mid-range response due to the microphones' natural proximity effect, but the effect was not as noticeable with the WMS 4000 system, and so it won the day. It is thought that Jay-Z made the switch to AKG after Kanye West noticed similar improvements when using a WMS 4000 system on his tour last year, for which Byron Tate was also production manager.
Jay-Z's world tour finished in Australia at the end of October. His new single, 'Show Me What You Got', is out now, with his new album, Kingdom Come, due on November 21st.
(Chris Henry)
Europe - Meyer Sound has long been committed to providing the professional audio community with high-level training seminars that present scientifically valid information on both theoretical concepts and their practical applications. Continuing the steady expansion the company's education program has seen in the last few years, Meyer Sound's latest seminars are now coming to the European continent.
"Our goal with the Meyer Sound seminars is to impart accurate, real-world professional information to the audio community," says educational programmes manager Gavin Canaan. "By offering instruction from some of professional audio's consummate authorities, we aim to bring a vital frame of reference and an unparalleled body of expertise to our users."
One of the most important seminars is a two-part, in-depth course encompassing both system design and training on the SIM 3 audio analyzer. The four-day course provides participants with theoretical and practical understandings of source independent measurement and a solid grounding in applications of the SIM analyzer in complex audio systems design.
To provide greater flexibility for attendees, the course has been split into two parts. Participants may register for one or both parts. Part one of the seminar begins with a brief review of SIM analyzer theory and development, then focuses on a comprehensive discussion of procedures for field use of SIM 3. This part of the seminar is recommended for all SIM 3 users, including those with experience on prior versions of SIM.
Part two of the seminar build
Germany - One of the leading companies in the German events industry, Düsseldorf Congress GmbH, has taken delivery of a new Soundcraft Vi6 digital audio console for one of its primary city locations, the 7,500-capacity PhilipsHalle in Düsseldorf.
Although the Soundcraft Vi6 will mainly be used in the PhilipsHalle, it will be mobile, enabling it to be used in any of the seven other Düsseldorf Congress venues, such as the massive 61,000-capacity LTU-Arena and the 13,400-seat ISS Dome, home of the Düsseldorf ice-hockey team, where the console made its debut on an outdoor show.
Markus Grotheer, event engineer for Düsseldorf Congress GmbH, was assigned the task of selecting a digital console to replace the ageing analogue desk in the PhilipsHalle. He and his colleagues had already decided on a popular mid-range model when they came across the Soundcraft Vi6 at the ProLight+Sound expo in Frankfurt.
The flexibility of the Soundcraft Vi6 won over the technical team of Düsseldorf Congress, which has to supply production equipment to a wide variety of shows and sports, from boxing, basketball and handball, to the European Dance Championship. "We could imagine using the Soundcraft Vi6 at all kinds of events," explains Grotheer, "from sports, to corporate, to rock 'n' roll, to carnival events." (Düsseldorf is well known for its carnival season.)
The reputation of Studer's audio technology helped convince Grotheer and his team that the Soundcraft Vi6 was a reliable and stable digital solution for their purposes. "The reaction from the sound
Australia - Family Nightclub in Brisbane, Australia, recently overhauled its sound system, installing Allen & Heath mixers in all rooms, including the audiophile Xone:V6, MIDI-enabled Xone:92, and industry-standard Xone:62.
Winner of 'Best Club in Australia' for three consecutive years, Family boasts line-ups with top international artists, and superior technical equipment.
Family installed the full V6 package - including additional EQ Isolator and Crossfader units - in their main dance arena, along with a Xone:92 for DJs requiring sliding channel faders and MIDI capability, and four Allen & Heath VF-1 filter units, one for each turntable and CD audio source. The Xone:V6 is a luxury rotary mixer, with valves on every input channel, discrete circuitry, precise filters, and oil-damped, ultra-smooth rotary faders.
"It's the first time I've heard a million dollars worth of sound from my million dollar sound system!" said Bevan Bickle, managing director of Family.
Elsewhere a Xone:62 now features in the Ice Bar on the second level, and a second Xone:92 was the choice for Unkle, the main dance arena on the second level.
"Family is an awesome club to enjoy as a punter or a DJ. The guys behind it paid attention to every single detail when building it - it's a true clubbing experience from the second you walk through the door, reminiscent of the early days at the Ministry Of Sound in London," said Jamie Kaye, Xone marketing manager for Allen & Heath in Australia. "It made sense to use the Xone:V6 in the main room as the sound system is one o
Eire - The Abbey Theatre in Dublin has two auditoriums, the Abbey being the main theatre seating 628 and a smaller studio space called the Peacock Theatre seating 157. Recently the theatre management took the opportunity to install a d&b audiotechnik system that could be used in either auditorium.
"When the prospect arose to acquire a new sound system I consulted my technical staff for their views," said director of technical services, Tony Wakefield. "They were very enthusiastic about the quality of d&b systems."
The system, designed by sound engineers Cormac Caroll and Eddie Breslin with input from MOSCO's Kevin McGing, comprises Q7s, Q-SUBs, E3s and E12 SUBs all driven by d&b's E-PAC amplifiers and was supplied by Dublin based dealer, Big Bear Sound.
The installation is semi-permanent and can be used in either auditorium as well as other areas of the building in a variety of configurations to suit a particular performance or event. "The Q7s are perfect and fit very well into the restricted space available," said Caroll. "They could have been made for the space and they sound fantastic. The E3s are equally good and we frequently use them in the bar area for launches and corporate events."
(Jim Evans)
USA - The Dave Matthews Band (DMB) spent four months crossing the US on their marathon summer 2006 tour for which FOH engineer Jeff Thomas switched the band to a system of self-powered Milo curvilinear array, supplied by San Francisco-based Pro Media/UltraSound.
Thomas and the DMB have worked with UltraSound since early in the band's career, originally assembling a sound system based around Meyer Sound's unpowered MSL-3 reinforcement loudspeaker. Derek Featherstone, UltraSound's director of rentals and touring, says, "When Jeff Thomas and I first started talking eleven years ago about sound systems, the direction to go was with Meyer. A decade later when we were looking for a compact, high-powered, tour-friendly line array and Milo was on the market and proven in the field, it was a natural fit for the band."
"The tour carries 28 Milo cabinets, so we can hang as many as 14 per side," explains UltraSound systems engineer Tom Lyon. "At several of the larger venues we sub-rented a few more Milos, so we could hang 15 per side plus a Milo 120 (high-power expanded coverage curvilinear array loudspeaker) on the bottom.
"We still use MSL-10s and MSL-3s to cover the side and rear seats in arenas when 360 degree coverage is needed," adds Thomas. "The MSL-10 is great for getting extreme vertical dispersion, certainly exceeding 20 degrees. You can get that out of a line array, but you may have to turn it on its side!"
(Jim Evans)