UK - Audiologic has detailed their work with ABC AV to launch a new permanent space themed immersive experience at The National Space Centre. Prepared to launch on a low Earth orbit cruise with Tetrastar Spaceport, visitors accidentally find themselves on a rescue mission to Mars. The team must work together to retrieve important research, survive disaster, and escape back to Earth.
Tetrastar Spaceport combines immersive theatre, actors, realistic set design, projection mapping, spatial audio, real-time interactive content, motion seats and hands-on interactives with immersive storytelling.
The 300m2 experience plays out across four main zones with 10 additional themed spaces allowing four concurrent pulses of 20 person groups. 11 projectors, 47 screens, 45 speakers, 50 media servers and computers, and 15k mapped RGBW LED pixels are seamlessly blended into the intricate set work and woven together under a family friendly, exciting space themed narrative.
Everyone feels like part of the interactive mission which is supported by pre-recorded characters in the media, real-world performers, and an artificial intelligence “ADA”. In most attractions the excitement would be over after the big ride moment, but this is just half the experience. The visitors get to take part in an escape room style experience where they must retrieve valuable specimens and power up the Tetrabank with Tetracells to ensure they have enough energy to get back to Earth in the escape pod.
The attraction design and creation were led by the National Space Centre in-house i

Belgium - In a city that’s famous for its breweries, the people of Leuven certainly know how to throw a party. The capital and largest city of the province of Flemish Brabant welcomed in the new year with a free event for 10,000 people in the Oude Markt, featuring DJ sets from a stage in the centre of the square.
With the audience located on both sides, an STM sound system deployed by long-time Nexo rental partner VDB-PA was required to cover two distinct areas. System designer Lennert Van de Velde takes up the story of how the VDB team took on the challenge. “Controlling the coverage and focussing the low frequencies were important at such an event, with strict decibel limits outside the immediate area. So, we used Nexo NS-1 to design the system and predict SPL coverage with a large audience filling the square.
“The system comprised nine STM M28 per side for the smaller part of the square, and six STM M46 + B112 per side with two M28 down-fills for the larger part. Nexo’s P12 point source speakers were used under the DJ platform as in-fills, where the audience was able to move from one side of the square to the other.
“To minimise left - right interference in the sub frequencies we used two cardioid sub clusters, a combination of six S118 flown subwoofers and six S118 ground stacked per tower, all in the Nexo back-to-back configuration. Each tower provided sub-bass coverage for one side of the square, while being directed away from the other side by the cardioid setup. This way we could achieve a very smooth and consistent response across

Belgium - Namur Grand Manège Concert Hall recently opened its doors following a major three-year renovation project. The ambitious €20m redesign transformed a historic military riding school into a modern cultural centre featuring an intimate 800-capacity auditorium, made exceptional by its acoustics and soundproofing.
The venue’s AV team had only considered a traditional left/right sound system, but they were so impressed with L-Acoustics’ L-ISA Immersive Hyperreal Sound that the technology has become the centrepiece of the venue’s audio system.
Situated in Namur’s city centre, the renovated Concert Hall hosts two complementary cultural institutions, the Centre of Vocal Art and Ancient Music (CAV&MA) and the Conservatoire Balthasar-Florence de Namur music school. It will also serve as a home for the city’s world-renowned ensembles, including the Namur Chamber Choir and Millennium Orchestra.
Emulating some of the best philharmonic halls around the globe, the objective of the new Concert Hall is to gain a similar reputation as other premium classical music venues. To this end, the Hall boasts a unique acoustic design, which provides a longer reverb time than a typical concert hall to complement the ancient music performances of the CAV&MA.
“The choice of loudspeaker system was a major component of the building design, even though a significant proportion of the programme is classical music performed acoustically, without the use of a PA,” explains Arnaud Delorme, senior application engineer at L-Acoustics.
“The

USA - Over the last weekend, the Kansas City Chiefs again found themselves in the Super Bowl spotlight, with the team’s quarterback, Patrick Mahomes, earning his second career Super Bowl Most Valuable Player (MVP) title. For Shure, the MVPs were the veteran audio engineers and sound technicians who managed the broadcasts of Super Bowl LVII and NFL Honours with the support of Axient Digital Wireless Systems and PSM 1000 Advanced In-Ear Personal Monitoring Systems, which delivered flawless audio to a record-setting 113m viewers worldwide.
ATK Audiotek and Professional Wireless Systems (PWS) handled all wireless microphones and IEM systems for the pre-game entertainment, halftime entertainment and referees, as well as the NFL Honours broadcast. The team included broadcast mixer Tom Holmes, monitor mixer Tom Pesa, RF engineers Cameron Stuckey, Kasey Gchachu, and Gary Trenda, RF team lead for CP Communications, Loren Sherman, as well as a vast team of A2s, who managed the audio of Super Bowl Sunday’s most unforgettable moments.
“Once again, the reigning Super Bowl champ for in-ear performance was PSM 1000,” said Tom Pesa. “I used Shure Wireless Workbench to monitor levels. For the pregame, all three performers wore in-ears, including Chris Stapleton, who normally does not. With the two live guitar mics and live vocal, along with Chris’ slowly building and poignant rendition of our National Anthem, PSM 1000 was the right choice for the reverberant stadium.”
The RF team depended on eight AD4Q four-channel wireless receivers and the recentl

UK - JLLighting and JLLive are joining together under one single brand identity and comprehensive offering. JLL will be a ‘one stop shop’ full-service technical production partner.
JLLighting was founded in 2009, adding JLLive as a second arm to the business in order to expand the services the team could offer event agencies, in-house corporates and exhibition clients in 2020.
JLL has built long-standing relationships with a list of brands, including most of the major television production companies in the UK, as well as event agencies and corporates to execute live events to and support their corporate film needs. These have included BBC, ITV, Pico+, Amazon Prime Video, MCI, The Walt Disney Company, Netflix, 2Heads, Toucan, YouTube, RenewableUK, Financial Times, GES and Spiro and countless more. This has allowed JLL to complete projects across the length and breadth of the UK, as well as internationally.
Jack Linaker, managing director at JLL, comments: “From day one, we have prided ourselves on being a forward thinking and dynamic business which has continued to invest, develop, and evolve with the industries we work so closely with. When we re-evaluated the two sides of our JLL offer we identified enhancements that could be made to ensure our clients received an elevated level of service from us, and to facilitate internal team efficiencies. We see this evolution as an opportunity to build on what we have achieved so far, to grow the industries and sectors we work within, and to secure and refine the JLL offering – moving into more effi

UK - Long serving director of operations at the Birmingham Hippodrome, Mike Bradford, has joined Push The Button (PTB) as chief operating officer. Mike has been at the Birmingham Hippodrome for 21 Years and before that worked at Alton Towers as technical manager.
PTB managing director, Nick Ewins, says, “Looking ahead into 2023 and beyond, I am keen to ensure that we have the best possible standards in our business systems and operations which Mike will deliver. Mike’s arrival will also allow me to continue working with our customers, designing and delivering projects as PTB continues to grow.”
Mike adds, “I’ve worked with Nick and the team at PTB for more than two decades now, so I understand the business and I am delighted to be able to bring my experience to the company.”

USA - Michael Grabarczyk is a freelance audio technician and an early adopter of Outline’s Newton FPGA-based processor. In recent years he has handled system tech duties for US guitarist Joe Bonamassa, working with Mike Lavielle at FOH and an L-Acoustics K2 system provided by SES (Special Event Services).
Bonamassa spends a great deal of time on the road and plays a wide range of venues, from large outdoor spaces to venues such as London’s Royal Albert Hall, to ‘blues cruises’ on ships and even club dates in Liverpool’s Cavern Club, presenting a continuous range of challenges to his sound crew.
Michael reports, “The Newton has replaced multiple other units, both in my drive rack at FOH and in amp racks, to accomplish all the same processes in a 1RU rack device. The functionality and I/O in such a small package is seriously impressive
“Given the vast amount of I/O per Newton and tools available on each output it made the Royal Albert Hall, normally a challenging venue, a breeze. I was able to drive and control every subsystem individually from one Newton at FOH that we travelled with. Whether it’s our normal tour rig, or dealing with a house rig, there hasn’t been a scenario yet where Newton wasn’t the correct tool for the gig.”
In addition to himself, Bonamassa’s seven-piece band features a second guitarist, drummer, bassist, keys, plus two backing vocalists and Newton’s facilities help Michael to deal with the line-up: “Not just for Joe, but other gigs as well. The layers of EQ and variety of tools available on ea

USA - Joining its portfolio of integration solutions, EAW has announced its MKC Series 2-Way Coaxial Loudspeakers. Available in four models - MKC50, MKC60, MKC80 and MKC120 - this new line delivers consistent tonality for a variety of applications, even at higher output levels. Combined with the companion UXA4401 and UXA4403 amps, as well as its versatile accessories, MKC acts as a flexible tool to help audio designers ‘provide exceptional sound for any venue’.
With various ways to configure and deploy each model, system designers and consultants will have a choice of solutions for multiple applications. From restaurants and bars, to houses of worship and performing arts centres, the MKC line is suitable for audio professionals who want to provide quality audio in small- and medium-sized spaces. The additional monitoring capabilities of the MKC50 and MKC60, as well as the pole mount options of the MKC80 and MKC120, also make these loudspeakers powerful solutions for production companies.
The MKC line offers a full suite of driver sizes for audio professionals working any sized installation, application or configuration. MKC also features multitap transformer options that provide solutions for distributed and fill systems.
Every MKC Series product is equipped with Focusing and Dyno technology, as well as beamwidth matched crossovers. Greybox settings for each model also come preloaded with UXA4401 and UXA4403 Amplifiers, which optimize the performance of the brand’s core technologies.
“We are ecstatic to announce the addition of the n

Europe - US loudspeaker manufacturer 1 Sound had their global exhibition debut this season at ISE Barcelona. One of their primary goals was to build their international distribution and dealer network.1 Sound’s Leonardo D’Andrea, EMEA sales executive, previously approached More Distribution, an A/V distributor in The Netherlands and demonstrated the wide range of 1 Sound’s line of loudspeakers over the course of several days at their facility in Italy. He took the opportunity at ISE to invite More Distribution to make the distribution agreement official.
More Distribution specialises in professional audio, lighting, and video sales to professional AV companies, theatres and systems integrators, with a targeted service approach, tailored to each sector. They are a distributor for leading brands like Optocore, Glensound and Soundtools and dealer for Allen & Heath, DPA Microphones and Powersoft amongst others. More Distribution will exclusively represent 1 Sound in Belgium, Netherlands, and Luxemburg areas.
“We are thrilled by our appointment as 1 Sound’s distributor for the Benelux and look forward to joining them on their new and exciting global journey. We feel that 1 Sound’s innovative products will prove to be an invaluable addition to our product portfolio,” says Marc Noble, sales director at More Distribution.
"We are so excited to have formed this partnership with More Distribution to represent our brand in the Benelux area. Their years of experience, and the knowledge they have in various applications of audio enables them in

Europe - Pan Acoustics has announced that Acoustic Control Systems (ACS) based in Garderen, Netherlands will become a marketing partner in Benelux.
“ACS joined the Pan Acoustics family in April 2022 and is now a part of the Pan Acoustics group of companies. With over 35 years of experience in electroacoustic design in highest performing environments like operas, concert halls and multi-purpose buildings ACS brings a vast knowledge to the table. This will be a great benefit to all of our clients in the Region”, said Johannes Kampert – Head of Global Sales at Pan Acoustics.
As a Pan Acoustics company ACS will work as the extended arm of Pan Acoustics in the region and will support customers with system designs, demos and technical support and sales. Effective immediately the products will be available from ACS directly.
“We are very much looking forward to supporting our mothership Pan Acoustics in the region. First-class electroacoustic projects is what we always delivered and we are happy to expand our services towards the challenging acoustic environments, where Pan Acoustic speakers play at their best. Moving forward the addition of Pan Acoustics to our portfolio will also allow us to provide complete ACS virtual room acoustics solutions,” says At van den Heuvel – director at ACS.
Long-standing distribution partner TAU Audio Solutions from Groningen will continue to be a key source of Pan Acoustics for day to day business and will put a focus on the AV and electrical contractors channel. ACS and TAU will work together in a partne

UK - Audient has introduced the new 10in / 14out audio interface, iD24. Designed to make recordings better, it slots neatly between the iD14 and the more recently launched iD44 in terms of functionality, and boasts the much coveted audio performance and feature set associated with the iD range .
Andy Allen from Audient says, “iD24 is made with producers and engineers in mind. We’ve combined astonishing audio performance with ease of use whilst providing more features aimed at professionals such as balanced inserts, ADAT expandability and customizable monitor control.”
iD24 features two Audient Console Mic Preamps, which - as with every iD interface - are the same discrete circuit design as those found in the flagship ASP8024-HE console. The class leading converters utilise 32-bit DAC converter technology which deliver a massive 126dB of dynamic range. “We want to ensure our customers can hear their audio with incredible clarity. Being able to hear those subtle details is really important as it helps users to feel more confident when making recording and mix decisions,” explains Andy.
“We know the modern engineer often needs to be ready to handle bigger sessions like recording drums or a live band, and iD24’s optical input and output connections give you the ability to scale up your rig quickly and cost effectively,” he continues. Supporting both ADAT and SPDIF, iD24 gives the option to boost input capabilities by adding up to eight channels of external mic preamps.
Describing the advantages of iD24’s balanced inserts, Andy sa

Australia - When Lane and Candice Place, owners of Pro AV rental house 65Thirty Events & Entertainment in Western Australia were looking to upgrade the company’s wireless intercom inventory, they contacted industry expert Steve Parkins from National Audio Systems (NAS), a distributor of professional audio and video brands. Steve recommended Pliant Technologies MicroCom 900XR wireless intercom for its ease-of-use and reliability.
65Thirty’s clients include local and touring bands, concerts, conferences, and festivals that take place in and around the picturesque coastal area. Having reliable, high-quality equipment is essential to the success of their business, as the nearest large city (Perth) is over 250 miles away.
“We had been considering upgrading our intercoms for some time and when Steve (Parkins) came out and demonstrated Pliant’s MicroCom 900 XR, we were immediately impressed,” says Lane. “The belt packs are extremely well built and being so far from the city of Perth, reliability was vital. The design is simple, yet innovative, and we purchased the system.”
In addition to its reliability, the team is also impressed with the 900XR’s excellent range. “At 500ft, the system still delivers crystal clear sound, which is very impressive,” adds Lane. “At that distance, many of our older systems are unable to operate or pick up interference. The MicroCom 900XR has none of that. It is a real game changer for us.”
The MicroCom 900XR is a two-channel full-duplex multi-user wireless intercom system that operates in the

USA - Alpha Sound’s reputation for designing and installing Nexo systems that bring clear, intelligible sound to traditional and historic liturgical spaces continues to spread as news arrives of the Salem, OR-based company’s latest work across the country in Greenville, South Carolina.
Following successful installations at St Mary’s Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Portland and, more recently, at the Mount Angel Abbey monastery in St. Benedict, Oregon, governors of Our Lady of the Rosary Catholic Church and School invited Alpha’s lead engineer Devin Sheets out to Greenville to evaluate a sound system that had proved unsatisfactory since being installed when the church was built back in 2016, and advise on how it could be improved.
“The existing system wasn’t performing well at all,” reports Devin. “Speech at the back of the church was completely unintelligible and there were numerous dead spots in the coverage.”
In a traditional building design full of hard surfaces, and with a line array, large speakers or additional acoustic treatments ruled out on aesthetic grounds, Sheets quickly concluded that there was only one loudspeaker system appropriate for the job.
“We refer to the Nexo ID84 as a column speaker, but it’s really much more. It provides the coverage characteristics of a small line array with the smooth HF response that brings extraordinary clarity to the spoken word, all in a form factor that fits perfectly into these types of spaces. There’s really nothing else like it on the market and only with the

USA - For several decades, interdenominational campus ministry outreach Student Mobilization has hosted its StuMo Conference (SMC) at the start of each year as an opportunity for college students on winter break to deepen their faith and friendships.
For SMC 2023, held at Frisco’s Comerica Centre from 2-5 January, more than 3,000 young adults from across the country converged in Texas to sing, learn, pray, and commune. Throughout the four-day event, AVL provider Relevant Audio + Visual of Wichita, Kansas, sonically reinforced the conference with its new L-Acoustics K2 system, ensuring that those in attendance missed neither a word nor a note.
Although 2023 marked the tenth year that Relevant has provided production for SMC, it served as the company’s first opportunity to deploy its own K2 rig for the client, having invested in the loudspeakers just last year. “We’ve worked with local L-Acoustics rental network provider Onstage Systems to bring in K2 and SB28 subs for the past two years, but with our recent purchase of K2, plus additional Kara II and SB18, we were able to meet the event’s needs with our own in-house inventory this year,” says Relevant Audio + Visual owner and CEO Chris Derstein.
“Considering the variety of stage sessions - including talking heads, high-energy live worship music, and a late-night session with a DJ set - the PA had to cater to all of these tasks exceptionally well, and it certainly did. Both SMC and our team were thrilled with the consistent coverage, SPL, and tonality that the system delivered.”

South Africa - British headquartered, manufacturer of live sound solutions, Studiomaster has appointed StageOne (formerly TV Audio) as its distribution partner for its range of sound mixing consoles, loudspeakers, amplification and accessories in South Africa. The exclusive distribution partnership kicked off in January.
The first Studiomaster shipment, which arrived in South Africa in early January consisted of a range of digital and analogue audio mixing consoles including the Studiomaster Digilive 4C, Digilive 8C, Digilive 16, Digilive 16RS, Digilive16P-600, Digitrack18, C6XS-12, C6XS-16, Sessionmix 822, Sessionmix 1222, Sessionmix 1622 consoles and AC48II processors.
“I am particularly excited about taking on the Studiomaster brand as I believe that it’s a great product at a price point suitable for the South African market,” stated Peter Berry, owner of StageOne. “The mixing consoles in particular are the perfect fit for our existing range of FBT speakers which we also distribute in South Africa. FBT UK has also recently started the sub-distribution of Studiomaster analogue and digital consoles along with amplification products which speaks volumes for the Studiomaster brand.”
Studiomaster’s director of global sales, Mike Bufton, comments: “With StageOne having more than 40 years’ trading experience, and a perfect portfolio fit, the partnership is a very obvious choice for the Studiomaster brand in all sectors from Musical Instruments, Install to Pro-Audio. As StageOne are a highly respected distributor, Studiomaster is delight

Poland - Historic tourist attraction, the Rzeszów Cellars, has officially re-opened after a restoration project lasting from the 70s. Transitioning the underground tourist attraction to a more modern era naturally presented challenges such as lighting, space and acoustics. Ashly Audio was able to provide the Rzeszów Cellars with an improved amplifier system so every guest could experience history brought to life.
The Rzeszów Cellars are a 396m-long route located beneath the homes in the Polish town’s central market square. This attraction consists of 25 basements and 15 corridors, reaching up to 10m deep below ground. Each room contains a different piece of history from relics of medieval wars, signs of fire, remains of iron hinges and even hidden passages.
The Tommex Company worked to integrate a complex sound system. Comprised of many different rooms, the cellars are designed to serve different purposes. Consequently, they required various audio types during installation. In some rooms, music will transport guests back in time. In others, video will help tell the story. Ultimately, the Tommex team specified the Ashly Audio amplifiers to fit the site’s specific needs.
“This level of sound control is necessary for an underground tourist installation such as the Rzeszów Cellars, since sound can easily travel through the venue,” Noel Larson, EVP of sales and marketing at Ashly Audio explained. “The ability to maintain complete control over audio makes a drastic difference in the quality of a guest's experience.”
The Ashly ne8250

USA - Live from Los Angeles’s Crypto.com Arena, the 65th Grammy Awards featured heart-warming tributes, a fair share of surprise twists, and many jaw-dropping performances supported by Shure wireless audio technology.
For another year, Shure Axient Digital wireless microphones were relied on by the show’s production teams and the musicians and celebrities, including the evening’s host, Trevor Noah. Nearly every performance of the night implemented Shure PSM 1000 in-ear monitoring systems, totalling 28 channels with 160 Shure P10R bodypacks. Overall, this year’s Grammy Awards relied on 59 channels of Shure wireless.
The entire broadcast was helmed by a team of veteran audio engineers and sound technicians, including audio producer, Michael Abbott, production mixer, Tom Holmes, and music mixers, John Harris and Eric Schilling. Front of house was overseen by production mixer, Jeff Peterson and FOH music engineers, Ron Reaves and Mike Parker. Monitor engineers included Tom Pesa and Andres Arango. “Shure’s PSM 1000 was a staple of this year’s Grammy Awards. We relied on more channels of PSM than any other year before,” said Arango.
"Having just completed the 65th annual Grammy Awards, I always rely on Shure microphones in creating the sound for the broadcast music mix,” shared Schilling. “Shure mics are used in several areas of our music performances, including featured performers. This year I was able to use the Shure KSM11 head on Mary J. Blige and Lizzo with great results."
Music’s biggest night was taken to Higher Groun

Switzerland - Optocore has appointed Tonspur AG as its exclusive distributor for Switzerland and Liechtenstein. The partnership was confirmed during the recent ISE Show in Barcelona and takes effect immediately.
The alliance is a logical one for both parties, since as a long-time distributor of DiGiCo, Tonspur had regularly been in contact with Optocore due to the inter-brand compatibility. “It was simply a case of formalising the agreement,” said Tonspur’s head of marketing & communication, Samuel Leber.
The Lucerne-based company has a proud heritage extending over 30 years. Starting out as a recording facility they later took on distribution of many A-list pro audio brands, including Meyer Sound, DiGiCo, Van Damme Cables, Arx, Schoeps, JoeCo and Directout Technologies. Their policy is always to sell through third parties and never direct to the end user.
Tonspur has kept a keen eye on Optocore’s portfolio, ranging from the R-series, which is already well implemented in the DiGiCo Ecosystem, to AutoRouter and Festival Box.
This was confirmed by Tonspur director, Hansjürg Meier. “I am excited that after years of gaining positive experience with Optocore as the backbone of DiGiCo systems, we can now offer Optocore's extensive portfolio to our customers. AutoRouter and Festival Box, in particular, are well proven products which are appreciated by all, and we are happy to be able to offer these in our portfolio.”
And Optocore distribution sales manager, Dawid Somló added, “I am pleased we have come to an arrangement wi

USA - Since the opening of the ICP Production Centre in Atlanta, In Concert Productions founder, Jay Rabbit, has been looking at expansion opportunities. The 30,000sq.ft facility is set to double in size by March 2024. The larger facility is predicted to offset production costs while creating jobs.
Rabbitt founded In Concert Productions (ICP) in the late 1970s. While the company was built on providing sound production and audio services, ICP quickly scaled into a full-service event production company. Its clients include the 1996 Olympics and Coca-Cola to long-standing television shows like Family Feud.
According to Rabbitt, ICP’s success stems from a commitment to being a one-stop service provider. “We provide an experience that the clients in LA and New York are used to getting. We make it easy for them,” he explains. The ICP Production Centre was inspired by a deep desire to provide focused, specialised audio services without scaling back ICP’s full-service capabilities.
The ICP Production Centre gives the Atlanta film and television industry access to local audio, staging, and lighting services. In-house partnerships include All Access, SoCal Rentals, and Atomic.
“Atlanta’s always been a strange market for production. It’s a big city, but it hasn’t really provided the level of production that people from New York, LA, Chicago, and around the world expected. One of the reasons we started the ICP Production Centre was so that there would be the people and equipment in stock, here in town, when people needed it,” sa

Finland - The Codecasa-crafted Bon Vivant superyacht accommodates up to 12 guests across its six cabins, with a Nordic-inspired interior. To round off the on-board experience, Finnish integrator 4Business Oy was brought in to install a comprehensive AV system, featuring Genelec loudspeakers
4Business was given a strict initial brief detailing the need for reliable, stand-alone AV systems which were easy for the crew to use. The team implemented a centralised matrix with automated logic controls that would serve the crew and client better.
Sonic clarity was the primary driver behind decisions, yet all technical equipment had to be hidden out of sight. "We worked closely with the interior architect to ensure that all the components were integrated properly," explains Janne Lankinen, chief operating officer at 4Business. "We’re used to this level of cross-disciplinary collaboration and utilise 3D modelling tools to plan the project properly and minimise the actual integration time. The entire process took almost a year."
Bon Vivant is divided into three main areas: an upper deck comprising the lounge and bridge, the middle deck which hosts the saloon, gym, multi-functional room/office, and the master cabin, and finally the lower deck, which is made up exclusively of the remaining bedrooms. These rooms were fitted with their own Genelec audio system. 4Business devised a solution consisting of in-ceiling and in-wall loudspeakers to preserve the minimalist interior.
Lankinen explains, "We opted mainly for Genelec’s AlC25 model, which provides th

UK - Blackthorn Productions has been working with BBC radio and television in Northern Ireland for 30 years, handling many of their outside broadcasts in Belfast, as well as religious radio broadcasts for BBC NI and Radio2,3 and 4, 5 Live and various television shows. It has recently upgraded its largest OB truck, replacing a 12-year-old console that had served the company well with a DiGiCo SD12 96 and SD-Rack with 32-bit SD cards.
“Our old console had been great, but was simply at the end of its life,” says Blackthorn’s David Walker. “Working on live broadcasts means we need ultimate reliability, so we knew it was time for a new console. We started researching what would work best for us.”
The team talked to PA companies they we work with and found they have a good relationship with DiGiCo.
“DiGiCo, and the SD12 96 in particular, kept coming out on top for our needs,” continues Walker. “And, as luck would have it, it was the perfect size to slot straight into the space of our previous console.”
Walker and the team were immediately impressed with DiGiCo’s audio quality. “I didn’t believe it would make that much difference until I heard it,” he says. “Particularly on orchestras, the background noise was greatly reduced. I was surprised as I hadn’t noticed it was there until it wasn’t. The SD12 96 give us much more clarity.”
One of the first jobs with the new console was for Ash, who were headlining at the NI Music Awards for the BBC, and for a festival performance for Sister Sledge, which was broadcast l

UK - Griff Hewis is regularly seen on front of house duties for concerts and events around the UK and has worked with many of the UK’s leading orchestras and bands such as the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, HM Royal Marines Band, BBC Symphony and Concert Orchestras. He has worked on major events such as London 2012 and Sochi 2014 Olympic Games, BBC Proms and BBC New Years Eve Broadcasts. Griff also owns a growing pool of equipment to support his engagements in playback/recording and sound reinforcement.
Always on the lookout for interesting new microphones, Griff discovered Austrian Audio via a webinar for the Institute of Professional Sound, where he is a director and was immediately intrigued by these new Vienna-made Austrian Audio microphones.
Griff says “Austrian Audio kindly sent me a demo pair of CC8 to try on some of my live shows. On opening the box I was impressed with the build quality and feel of these pencil condenser mics. I had the opportunity to try them in the Royal Albert Hall where I was front of house engineer for a live performance of the Channel 4 Film Brassed Off with the Grimethorpe Colliery Brass Band. I used them for Drum Overheads and was impressed by the detailed and rounded sound they produced. The next month I took them to Wales for a couple of concerts with the singer Casi Wyn and Cymru Sinfonia, where I used them in the percussion section. Again, I was impressed with the detail and sparkle they delivered.
“On further tests at home I did some A/B speech tests against some well-known and rather more expensi

USA - Constructed between 1806 and 1821, the Baltimore Basilica was the first Roman Catholic cathedral built in the United States. A National Historic Landmark, the 1,200-seat Basilica underwent extensive restoration between 2004-2006 to implement modern systems throughout the building while restoring the interior to the original design.
As with many houses of worship, the high ceilings and ubiquitous hard surfaces made for a challenging acoustic environment. Room reverberation measured 4.5 seconds at mid-frequencies and 6.1 seconds at low-frequencies. Digitally steerable arrays from Renkus-Heinz were the solution to improve speech intelligibility.
To improve acoustic performance, the Archdiocese of Baltimore turned to Neil Thompson Shade, FASA president and principal consultant of Acoustical Design Collaborative, for help. With experience in over 1000 projects, many dealing with historic preservation and houses of worship, Shade was well-positioned to help alleviate the Basilica’s acoustic issues.
“‘Breath-taking’ is the only word I can come up with to describe the architecture,” said Shade. “Everything in the 200-year-old church’s interior had been restored to its original condition. The high, domed ceilings in the nave and above the congregation are beautiful but certainly added to the reverberation challenges.”
The church contracted with HP Electronics to install and commission the four IC16-RN digitally steerable loudspeakers called for in the audio redesign. A member of the Renkus-Heinz Iconyx Gen5 Series, the IC16-RN giv

USA - Wisycom SRL has announced a corporate restructuring that will enhance its business in the Americas. Among the changes is the opening of Wisycom, Inc., its new U.S.-based facility, which will give the company a larger and more active channel into the Americas. Led by the newly appointed vice president of sales and marketing, John Kowalski, the new office will allow the team to better support the brand’s growth in the region.
As a division of Wisycom SRL, Wisycom, Inc. gives customers in the region a more direct connection to the brand’s sales, support and administrative personnel. “Wisycom has grown tremendously in the United States, especially over the past year, and we found these changes necessary to help nurture and expand our business,” says Massimo Polo, CEO of Wisycom SRL. “With the restructuring, I am also pleased to welcome John [Kowalski] to our team. He has an incredible amount of experience working with customers across all our industries, and we know he is the right person to help drive Wisycom’s presence in America.”
The new Wisycom, Inc. facility is larger than the previous location, which has allowed the company to add more administrative and on-site technical support staff and includes a larger warehouse. This will ensure a faster turnaround time on communications, sales and repairs. Additionally, Wisycom, Inc. is situated along the mid-Atlantic, positioning the team ideally between homebase in Italy and customers throughout the country - including on the Pacific coast.