DPA Microphones has announced the appointment of Studer Austria GmbH as its new distributor in Austria. Over the last five years, under the leadership of Reinhold Fliedl, Studer Austria has established itself as one of the leading suppliers of professional audio equipment for broadcast and studio solutions in the country. In addition to its own-branded products, Studer distributes leading brands including Dolby, HHB, Digigram and dB Technologies.
From its HQ in Vienna, Studer Austria will be expanding the horizons for DPA Microphones. "We have strong contacts among the public and private broadcast companies in Austria," says Reinhold Fliedl, " and Studer has traditionally maintained a high profile with recording and film studios, including the smaller project studios and home studios. We expect to be able to bring DPA products to new customers in all these markets, as well as harnessing the power of our MI dealer network."
(Lee Baldock)
5 Star Cases, the Cambridgeshire-based flightcase manufacturer, has expanded its sales team with two new members. As from 1 November, Andy Harford has been appointed to look after all 5 Star's retail sales. This is Harford’s second spell at the company, having previously worked for 5 Star as a sales manager on the road. Harford will be mainly office-based, but is available to make visits to customers if required. Harford has a wide knowledge of the DJ Market, being a part-time DJ himself.
The latest addition to the sales team is Dave Peacock: based in Manchester and starting on 6 January 2003, Peacock will become 5 Star's North West sales manager. With 14 years’ experience in every aspect of the flightcase industry, having worked for BSH Transit cases and Condor, Peacock will aim to improve service and support to 5 Star’s existing customers whilst developing new contacts.
(Lee Baldock)
Leamington Sight & Sound has designed and fitted a customized personal audio system into the tour coach of Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club. The coach, a Scania Irizar, is owned by Wolverhampton-based Price Travel and leased to Division One team Wolves, who use it for all their away games, reserves and youth matches.
In its ‘down’ time, Price Travel utilizes the bus for a variety of other VIP and sporting events - including the Ryder Cup. The bus recently underwent a total refit, for which Price wanted the sound system updated, and a state-of-the-art personal entertainment system installed onboard. B&M Coaches in Coventry, the appointed re-fitters, called on Ian Potter of LSS to fulfill the specialist audio elements of the job. Although this type of project was a first for Potter and LSS, they weren’t daunted by its idiosyncrasies. Potter drew on his extensive knowledge and experience of installing sound systems into gyms, health and fitness centres and sports venues.
Treating the coach in a similar way to a multi-station gym, he specified a Cloud Pump Station 16 (8 inputs and 16 outputs) for the headphone system, run in tandem with a Cloud Substation 16 to give the required 32 outputs - one per seat. Each seat has an individual Cloud Personal Control Unit and receives audio from CD, DVD, video, television and radio sources - fully selectable by the occupant. LSS also installed a television tracking device onboard the bus, so that TV channels can be maintained while the coach is in motion.
LSS used Cat 5 cabling throughout the installation. The
Midas has reported record console sales in the UK since the decision to bring UK distribution back to the factory. Since the announcement at the PLASA Show in September, Midas has delivered eight consoles in the UK: Birmingham sales and rental company SSE took an XL4 and two Heritage 3000s to add to their hire stock, Skan PA also took an XL4, while Adlib Audio and Tourtech both took a Heritage 3000. Cheshire-based Lighting and Sound Services are now the proud owners of a Legend 3000, as is Atomic Sound in Newark.
UK Midas sales manager Richard Ferriday is very pleased with the way the new sales strategy appears to be working. He told us: "While it's possible that it may be coincidence, it nevertheless proves two things. Firstly, that customers are very comfortable buying direct from the factory - Midas customers have always enjoyed extremely high standards of service, and now that we are in direct contact, we intend to improve this still further. Secondly, it proves that the industry still sees a Midas console as a viable investment, even though the choice has now expanded to include digital consoles. There is clearly still room in the market for analogue console technology, and will be for some time to come. As the premier manufacturer in this field, it puts us in a very strong position."
(Lee Baldock)
The new Sheraton Hotel on the French Polynesian island of Bora Bora has just completed the installation of 60 JBL Control Contractor Series speakers. The picturesque, five-star resort features a total of 120 rooms, 70 of which are private, over-water bungalows. The hotel needed a sound system for ambient music throughout the entire resort, including the reception area, hotel restaurant, beachside restaurant grill and banquet room.
The technical team of Total Video Distribution, the JBL distributor in French Polynesia, collaborated with an architect to design the system. A total of 50 Control 25T surface-mount speakers and 10 Control 26CT ceiling speakers were installed on the property. The entire system is controlled from the reception desk, which features a 400-disc CD player and a CT210 Crown Amplifier. In addition to this main control station, each separate room has its own music system with a five-disc CD player and Crown CT210. This allows each room to switch from the general system to its own choice of music.
The Control Contractor speakers with silver stainless-steel grilles are an ideal choice for the venue, allowing the speakers to withstand high tropical humidity levels and salty-air environment.
(Lee Baldock)
Noise Productions, one of New Zealand’s leading sound production houses, has acquired a new modular outdoor concert system from Proel, consisting of 32 TPR12A individually powered 12" and horn speakers, which combine to produce a system scalable from 600W to 10,000W. "This is the first time modular technology has been used for small to medium-sized concert systems in this country," said the company’s’s managing director Toby Mills.
The entire rig can be set up by one person (each box weighing only around 20kgs), reducing the amount of heavy lifting. The system van be put together quickly and efficiently, simply by plugging power and a line level feed into each box; it also provides high levels of redundancy and the flexibility to offer systems tailored exactly to a client’s size requirements in increments of 600W. "We can offer our clients a scaleable solution on the day of their event so that if more people turn up we simply keep stacking speakers up," said Mills.
He continued: "Each speaker is stand-mountable, so we can do large outdoor distributed PA systems with high quality sound using our own FM transmission system to minimize the amount of cabling required. Or we can put two boxes together with a pair of stands and a small mixing desk to make a very powerful system suitable for bands."
It’s effectively three systems in one, says Mills, enabling the company to maximize its return on investment while offering clients a greater range of options at cheaper prices. "We don’t have our rig
Allen & Heath has announced the first release of iDR System Manager software for its iDR series, a new DSP audio system for installed and live sound. The software is available for free download from the Allen & Heath website (address below). iDR System Manager runs on a Windows PC and allows installers to create customized, integrated audio systems using iDR series hardware units. PC connection can be direct to an iDR-8 or remotely across a network or via a modem. Once a software configuration is complete it can be saved to an iDR-8 audio mix processor and the PC can be removed, leaving the iDR system to run as a standalone entity.
iDR-8 uses a fixed architecture, with full processing resources available to up to 16 inputs and 16 outputs (iDR-8 has 8 inputs and 8 outputs and can be expanded using iDR-in and iDR-out units), making it impossible to run out of DSP power. This rigid structure is reflected in the software, which uses a straightforward channel-by-channel format rather than the CAD style employed in some other DSP systems.
Hardware units which come under software control include iDR-8 audio mix processors, iDR-in and iDR-out expanders, iDR-switch boxes, wall plates and other remote control devices. Allen & Heath's software manager, Antony Jackson, explains the thinking behind iDR System Manager: "From the outset we wanted to create a highly intuitive interface with an 'analogue' feel. Nobody wants to spend days learning new software, so we have done everything possible to make it easy to find your way around iDR System Manager. Configuring sophisticated i
Entec Sound supplied equipment and crew to Morrissey's recent high profile, sold-out UK tour. This was the first time Entec has serviced Morrissey - former frontman of 80s band The Smiths -a contract which they won through a competitive tender process. However, FOH engineer Phil Griggs and Entec's head of sound Dick Hayes have known each other for many years in the industry.
The d&b 12-stack C4 rig, with four B2 subs, achieved great sonic results throughout the tour, in a wide variety of venues. Monitors were mixed by Vince Buller, who also production managed, and the system was crew chiefed by Entec's Tristan Johnson, joined by his team-mate Adam Draper (and Liam Halpin at Brixton). Because of the nature, message and meaning of Morrissey's often intense lyrics, it's always imperative that his voice is always high and clear above the mix.
The tour culminated at Brixton Academy, where they added more audio and flew the sound system as a centre cluster, with eight stacks, 4-wide of C4 covering the balcony. Downstairs, also flown, were 18 stacks of C4, 3-wide, left and right covering the main auditorium. They also utilized two stacks of C7 a side for infill, and used six B2s on the deck.
Griggs mixed using a Midas XL4. Morrissey's mic is a Shure SM58. His voice is powerful and "fantastic" to work with, says Griggs, which he does with minimal interference. He uses a BSS DPR 901 compressor for cutting the 2 - 3k frequencies when the singer gets loud, and then runs his vocal through a Summit TLA valve compressor to warm it up. Other than that, he uses a Lexicon 22
You know you’re at a West Coast AES Convention when you’re standing in a rooftop bar at sunset, surrounded by skyscrapers, and listening to Sheryl Crow-alike Dana Glover singing through Audio-Technica’s Artist Elite microphones. One of many PLASA repeats, the product at least gave the excuse for the party, and where Earls Court ends, as Phil Ward discovers, California begins.
QSC Audio began by reinventing itself. OK, the new logo is "a relatively small change in terms of effort," but, said CEO Barry Andrews, "it’s an important one symbolically and technically. It signifies the transformation of our company from an amplifier specialist to an integrated systems supplier."
‘Integrated systems’ in this case means QSC products in signal processing, network audio transport, control systems, loudspeakers and - not least - amplifiers. QSC was late to arrive with a remote-control and monitoring system, but QSControl is now a dominant force. The company also pioneered CobraNet as an interface, and Routing Audio Via Ethernet (RAVE) now accounts for a great number of CobraNet nodes. Cinema is catered for by DCA amps and DSP processors, while DSP-3 and DSP-4 are gaining ground in pro audio generally.
At the show, it was announced that the Indianapolis Motor Speedway - venue for the Indianapolis 500 and F1 Grand Prix races - is to install a network-based sound system clearly showcasing QSC’s ‘integrated’ buzzword: ISIS speakers, CX amplifiers, DSP processors, QSControl and RAVE audio transport.
Speaker pr
It may have been costly and controversial, but Switzerland’s most ambitious Expo to date has also been hailed as one of its most creative and successful. Steve Moles selects two projects which illustrate why . . .
The revered publication Architects Journal headlined a feature ‘Swiss Expo shames Dome failings’. Intended to occur approximately every 40 years, Swiss Expo is a project in the public domain and yet staged without Lottery funding. Which begs the question - is free money a curse or a kindness?
Look at what else has been in these pages of late: The Imperial War Museum North in Manchester, the Pageant of the Horse, the Commonwealth Games and the Jubilee concerts at Buckingham Palace - all without Lottery money and all successfully realized. These examples have, of course, all received finance from the commercial sector, but without the political interference which afflicted the Dome. Pardon my oversimplification, but commercial enterprise doesn’t release these funds with less strings than the Lottery, but they’re better able to make decisions about value for money than politicos. That doesn’t make it easy - indeed, as a case in point, Expo in Switzerland has been particularly tortuous, leading to the total replacement of all officials just 18 months prior to opening, but ultimately it worked and was successful.
Success, as opposed to finance, is a matter of substance; the National Centre for Pop Music springs to mind - arguably more funding would have helped here, but it was the paucity of content that was its ultimate undoi
Canegreen is supplying its new Meyer M2D line array system, provided the PA equipment for Beth Orton’s recent sell-out tour. Canegreen has invested in the Meyer M2D system to join its hire stock of Meyer M3D and EAW line array speakers which have proven themselves on larger arena and festival shows. Yan Stile, MD of Canegreen commented: "We’re really pleased with the performance of the M2D. It’s proved itself to be a great system during the course of this tour. It delivered even, smooth, powerful and undistorted sound at every venue."
The new M2D system means that the great dispersion characteristics available for the larger venues are now available to engineers working in smaller venues. This tour included venues ranging from the York Barbican and Birmingham Symphony Hall to the Bristol Academy, so the configuration of the new PA was tested in substantially different rooms. Tim Sunderland was FOH engineer for the five-week tour, adapting the system for each venue. 16 M2D cabinets were hung on two Meyer M2D support frames, joined by four Meyer UPA-1P SP speakers and six Meyer subwoofers to ensure complete coverage of the audience. Canegreen supplied Sunderland with a Midas Heritage 3000 mixing desk with a BSS Soundweb 9088 and BSS Soundweb 9088 system control. They also provided the processing rack, effects rack and monitor control systems.
"The M2D is a great system," said Tim. "We have used it in some quite different venues and have been delighted with the results, achieving good distribution of the sound with excellent detai
Shure has announced the shipment of the Beta 52A and Beta 56A microphones, effectively replacing the Beta 52 and Beta 56 in the company's line of premium Beta products. Maintaining the sound quality of the original Beta 52 and Beta 56 microphone cartridges, the new models are outfitted with features designed to enhance both form and function, say Shure.
The Beta 52A kick drum microphone is optimized for low-frequency bass punch and high-power SPL handling, whilst the Beta 56A is a compact drum microphone engineered for close mic’ing of snare and toms. Both mics boast a supercardiod design providing maximum isolation from other onstage sounds. Among the changes incorporated within the design of both mics is the addition of a larger adjustment knob and more durable tightening mechanism, which facilitate easier positioning. Both articulating mics now also employ a wider mounting base capable of accommodating a larger range of microphone stands (the Beta 56A will even work with the LP Claw).
Shure products are available in the UK from HW International.
(Lee Baldock)
Loudspeakers and amplification are well known to be a contentious issue in the classical opera world, but the approach taken by Autograph Sound on the recent Pag & Cav double bill at London's Albert Hall seems to have satisfied the taste of the medium's established cognoscenti. As for previous year's ‘arena opera’ seasons, featuring Tosca, Aida, Madame Butterfly and Carmen productions by promoter Raymond Gubbay, advanced source-oriented reinforcement (SOR) techniques have been employed, using Out Board's TiMax DSP matrix and show control software to accurately localize performers' voices to their physical stage locations, by exploiting delay-based Haas Precedence psychoacoustics.
It's not often that a piece of audio equipment receives a mention in the UK's most prestigious broadsheet newspaper, but during a recent interview article for one journal's respected music and culture section, specific comments were used to describe arena opera promoter Raymond Gubbay's sonic speciality. TiMax was named as a unique aspect of the show, and the feature writer argued that sound designer Bobby Aitken's decision to use it was central to achieving realistic localization of singers’ radio mics so that they actually sounded as if they were coming from the singers on stage and not from the lofty heights of the Albert Hall's PA grid, flown high to maintain sightlines from the circle seats and higher boxes.
TiMax allows unique level/delay relationships to be set up between each microphone and every loudspeaker such that sound reinforcement wavefront
On Saturday 16 November, two major UK TV shows will simultaneously feature the first use of the new DiGiCo D5 Live on European television, with a brace of prime time shows starring Robbie Williams and the Songs of Bond.
BBC One screens the Robbie Williams Show at 21.00 - the star’s first major TV special, filmed at Pinewood Studios last week. Singing his favourite songs, Williams performs everything from swing to chart-topping hits and his new single. Dave Bracey mixed the audience sound on Sound Hire’s D5 Live with Britannia Row Productions supplying a V-Dosc PA and monitors.
Over on ITV1 at 21.15, Russell Watson presents Songs of Bond, a showcase of favourite Bond theme songs from the past 40 years, with performances from an array of stars including Lulu, Atomic Kitten, Samantha Mumba, Diana Krall and Marti Pellow, and backing music from the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. Sound Hire again provided the D5 Live with Stewart Chaney and Plus Four Audio in charge of the live sound. DiGiCo’s Dave Webster told us: "To make our TV debut on both major UK channels at the same is a fantastic feat only two months after we launched the console!"
(Lee Baldock)
One of China’s largest amusement parks, the Happy Kingdom is in Shenzhen, in the province of Guang Dong - the most economically developed area in the country, with a special statute favouring industries and investment. The park’s technical teams have recently chosen to install an Outline sound system comprising 12 Tripla II enclosures (six per cluster) and eight Topsub Plus subwoofers. The system, amplified by Series T digital power amps and processed by Genius 6 controllers, has been installed on the large stage alongside an artificial lake in the centre of the park, in the zone reserved for water shows: it’s used for sound reinforcement at concerts by international artists and its high sound pressure level covers the 4000-capacity tiered seating in front of the stage. The system debuted in October, on the occasion of ‘Chinese National Day’ and in December 2002 will be used for another important event, the ‘International Magic Festival’, which will host artists from all over the world for an entire week. The installation of the equipment was by a team from Neo-Neon, Outline’s distributor in China and Hong Kong, in collaboration with Outline technicians who traveled from Italy specifically to fine-tune the system.
(Lee Baldock)
In what may appear to be yet another story of soap stardom leading to a burgeoning music career, former Brookside actress Claire Sweeney's leap has propelled her not to teen-star fame, but to the West End and beyond. After a successful run playing Roxie Hart in the hit musical Chicago, Sweeney has been voted the new Forces Sweetheart, following in the footsteps of Dame Vera Lynn. Her engagements will take her to troublespots all over the world where British Troops are currently playing vital peacekeeping and other roles. Hand Held Audio has been approached to provide her wireless requirements.
Sweeney is currently entertaining the troops in Kabul, Oman and Dubai. She has taken with her a Shure PSM 700 in-ear system for which she has a set of custom acrylic ear monitors supplied by HHA. For back-up purposes, she has also taken with her one set of each type of generic in-ear monitor that Hand Held Audio keeps in stock. As HHA's Mick Shepherd put it: "Given the cast-iron guarantee that things will always go wrong in the most inaccessible areas of the world where even carrier pigeons are hard to get hold of, never mind FedEx, we though it prudent to supply as many spares as possible before she left! We've had no panic calls yet, so we assume that's good news."
(Ruth Rossington)
Skan PA Hire has provided the sound system for this year's Q Awards, which took place for the first time at the former Saatchi art gallery in St Johns Wood, North London. The prestigious event, now in its 13th year, celebrate what Q Magazine's readers consider to be the best music of the preceding year, with accolades this year going to artists including Coldplay, Radiohead, The Hives, Depeche Mode and Tom Jones. Two of Skan's clients were also among the winners: the Best Single award was presented by Gary Numan to girl trio Sugababes for their song Freak Like Me, which uses samples from Numan’s eighties hit Are Friends Electric, while Electric Soft Parade picked up the New Band gong.
Skan elected to use a front of house PA system comprising four Turbosound TQ 440 sp cabinets with 16 JBL C25s, and a monitoring system of 16 Turbo TFM 450s. The event marked the first time use of Klark Teknik DN 1248 active splitters. A Midas Venice 320 front-of-house desk, with a Midas XL3 monitor console and a Midas Venice 160 for radio mics.
According to production manager Neil McDonald, the first time involvement of Skan was a great success. "The system design for the Q Awards Ceremony, held in a brand new venue this year, and preceded by the filming and recording of four bands for the subsequent Channel 4 transmission, required an attention to detail and commitment to service that Chris Fitch and Skan can always be relied on to supply," he says.
Skan's crew for the ceremony were Chris Fitch (crew chief), Dennie Vidal (FOH engineer), Matt Napier (monitor engineer) and
One of the best-known names in European sound rentals, Audiolease, has been relaunched following the purchase of Electrotec Productions Ltd from its owners Aura Systems Inc by Steve Sunderland. "I’d been keen for a long time to get back into sound rental," commented Sunderland, "and this seemed a logical route to go down." Operations manager is Dave Chamberlain, while Steve’s brother Tim, a partner in the original AudioLease, is assisting with the relaunch in a consultancy role.
The company’s first work came immediately after the deal with a full European tour headlined by Motorhead, concurrent with a string of UK dates with comedy rock duo Tenacious D. Audiolease’s rental equipment is centred on Midas and Yamaha control systems, the JBL-based Audiolease A2 PA system and its well renowned JBL powered monitor systems. The company is also currently in a position to offer V-Dosc line array systems.
"We’re concentrating on providing a top quality service with top quality equipment," says Sunderland. "Our staff, clients and many other friends in the industry have been extremely supportive and enthusiastic," continues Sunderland, "and we’re looking forward to a very busy spring."
The original Audiolease was formed by the Sunderland brothers in 1979 at the height of punk, providing sound for such luminaries as Siouxsie and the Banshees and Public Image, along with the Eurythmics, the Thompson Twins, Depeche Mode, Motorhead, Bob Dylan and Green Day.
(Ruth Rossington)
West Sussex-based pro audio distributor beyerdynamic was recently approached by Simian - a psychedelic and experimental band signed to Source records - to supply M88 and Opus microphones as well as dB Technologies in-ear monitoring for the band’s second UK tour.
Simian have produced a second album (‘We are your friends’), which was released on 22 October. Coinciding with this release, the band is heading off on their first European tour as support artists to Supergrass.
The band members take their music very seriously, and turned to beyerdynamic when looking for a good live sound. Sound engineer Jon Underhay specified a combination of microphones - the Opus 39, and the M88 for lead vocals plus the Opus 87 clip microphones for the drum kit and the classic revolving-horn Leslie cabinets. The Opus 39 is a dynamic microphone boasting a stylish, yet rugged design which, coupled with its excellent super-cardioid polar response, makes it ideal for live performance. The Opus 87s proved not only to be extremely robust, very reliable and easy to use and really accentuated the unique Doppler effect created by the Leslie keyboard cabinets.
Lead singer Simon Lord explained: "The quality of the beyer’ mics has really helped us take our live sound to the next level. The M88 is really true and the Opus 39 not only keeps the onset of any acoustic feedback to a minimum but also sounds good even before any EQ. Also vital to the overall effect was the in-ear monitoring from dB Technologies. Offering a clear and well-defined sound, the system contributed to ou
Leading theatre sound specialist, Autograph Sound Recording, has announced the purchase of its first ever digital audio console - a new D5 Live from DiGiCo.
Autograph Sound Recording has taken digital technology very seriously for many years, working closely with many audio manufacturers, especially mixing console developers. Because of the prestigious and highly specialized theatre productions the company is renowned for, the Autograph team had opted to wait for the right digital console to be developed before committing to embracing digital mixing.
Autograph Sound Recording’s managing director Terry Jardine commented: "It was only at the PLASA show in September that we were presented with the innovative DiGiCo D5 Live console. It now makes us feel confident to enter the multi-channel digital desk market, as it is undoubtedly the direction modern theatre productions are taking us. This desk looks to have all the intuitive and innovative facets we have been looking for in this kind of mixer. Add all that to impeccable sound quality and it is easy to see why we have taken this important step forward."
DiGiCo’s managing director Bob Doyle said: "To win the endorsement of Autograph Sound Recording in the shape of their first order for a digital console is a great testimony to the D5 Live and we look forward to Autograph’s close involvement in the further development of the D5 platform."
The news follows the recent sale of two DiGiCo D5 Live consoles to London-based Orbital Sound, and another to Sound Hire.
(Lee Baldock)
In celebration of her Golden Jubilee, Queen Elizabeth visited Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, on 10 October, where she addressed a crowd of 17,000 at Copps Coliseum. Because quality, trouble-free audio was essential, Toronto's PA Plus Production used their JBL Vertec system flown in four arrays of four VT4889 cabinets.
With PA Plus senior engineer John Lacina at the FOH controls, pre-show entertainment included several live bands, live vocal-to-track artists and various other acts. The welcome celebration featured a military ceremony, involving pipe and drum corps and marching bands. Even though musical acts performed, the main focus of the sound system was to provide intelligible speech reproduction, according to Mark Radu, systems engineer for PA Plus. The Golden Jubilee event proved a challenge in system design: inventive thinking was required to achieve articulate speech reproduction for Her Majesty with a line array shooting directly over her head (and the podiummics) to the first row of seats 15 feet behind her. In addition, there would be no soundcheck for the Queen. PA Plus was able to determine that the Queen's mouth is 52 inches off of the ground, she'd be wearing one-inch heels and had a four-inch brim on her hat. According to Mark Radu: "Off the cuff, it may sound odd, but this information did allow us to set the podium mics at the optimum height, allowing us as much gain before feedback as possible.
"The array focus allowed us to cover the seating area behind the Queen without having to sacrifice EQ to compensate gain before feedback caused by close pr
Michael J. McGinn has joined Shure Incorporated as the company's executive vice-president of global marketing and sales. With over 25 years of international experience in both consumer and business-to-business marketing and sales at Ecolab and Eastman Kodak, McGinn has held a number of executive-level positions around the world. As part of his new responsibilities at Shure, McGinn will lend direction to product marketing, marketing communications, artist relations, market development, and sales around the world. He will additionally oversee customer service, credit, product distribution, and service operations, all on a global level as well.
McGinn's goals in coming months include continuing to build sustainable and profitable growth for Shure and giving unified structure to sales and marketing efforts around the world. "This position is exactly what I was looking for," he proclaims. "On a business level, Shure is and has always been impressive, but it's the human element at the company which I feel holds the most potential. I'm impressed by the people I work with - they are really the key to the future."
(Lee Baldock)
Tourtech, the Northampton-based rental company, has joined the L-Acoustics V-Dosc network, alongside the existing UK Partners of Autograph Sound Recording, Britannia Row Productions, Delta Sound, EFX Audio and Wigwam Hire.
Tourtech’s current inventory consists of 40 ARCS cabinets, 20 SB218 and four SB115 subwoofers, 24 115FM floor monitors, four MTD108a and four MTD115a speakers. Additionally, they have just taken delivery of an initial 16-cabinet turnkey V-Dosc system, including six dV-Doscs. The new V-Doc system was pressed into service just a few days after delivery for the current Coldplay European Arena tour.
Tourtech’s managing director, Dick Rabel, comments: "Clearly, this was a natural development for TourTech having used L-Acoustics ARCS to such tremendous effect in the past. I continue to be a working sound engineer and consequently have had extensive experience in using the regular ‘Line Array’ systems that have recently flooded the market. Undoubtedly, some are better than others, but, unquestionably, the L-Acoustics, V-Dosc and dV-Dosc systems using their unique ‘Line Source Array’ principles, remain the most predictable, accurate and pleasurable systems to use."
(Ruth Rossington)
London-based Premier League football club Charlton Athletic has met its growing post-match media requirements by constructing a press interview/communication theatre. ML Executives, who have been servicing the club’s audio needs for a number of years, were asked to outfit the new suite, designing an eight-zone system. The firm selected QSC’s multi-channel CX168 power amplifier to provide the solution.
To achieve DSP control, ML Executives used the Shure P4800 Precise Digital Control software - interfaced via a PC within the unit - with a DRS10 scene controller for digital remote switching. Via the newly-provided Shure ceiling and desktop mics, combined with RCF/Mackie PL80A ceiling speakers, managers can hold their post-match briefings, while ISDN lines allow the press to file their reports and photographs digitally. A link with the Charlton Athletic website allows the post-match interviews to go out live.
ML Executives’ Gary Marks told us: "Given the space constraints, the QSC CX168 was the obvious amplifier for the purpose - and a big plus. We like it because it is a 2RU amplifier providing us with eight channels - all of which we use. We could have been looking at four separate two-channel, 2RU amplifiers, but have ended up with a complete 8RU processing rack - including the rack drawer - saving 6RU worth of amp space in the process!" A single CX168 feeds the entire suite including the interview room, the theatre, media suite, the Internet room, and so on.
QSC amplification has also featured heavily in another new soccer stadium installa