China - Genelec has expanded its team in China with the appointment of Jimmy Liang as sales manager, with special responsibility for developing Genelec’s presence in both the Studio and AV Install segments in South China.
This new appointment is part of Genelec China’s continued commitment to elevating the customer experience - and has also seen the establishment of a new office and listening room in Guangzhou, with plans to further strengthen technical support and services for customers in the south of the country.
Liang has previously held positions as technical sales director at Sound Works & Supplies (SWS) and at Digital Media Technology (DMT). With over a decade of experience in professional audio, Liang has been responsible for the system integration of projects for many broadcast and institutional clients across the region.
“Jimmy brings extensive experience in the broadcast and fixed installation fields and possesses a deep understanding of Genelec's product ranges and applications,” says Jack Wu, sales director at Genelec China. “His addition strongly supports our business development in the dynamic Greater Bay Area and brings us even closer to our customers in South China.”
UK - Jim Hallington, founder and managing director of Clockaudio has died, aged 92. The specialist UK-based microphone specialist was established in 1994 by Hallington and a team of audio specialists with many years of experience in the design and manufacture of innovative pro audio products. The company’s success has been established on sound principles: its dedication to quality, service and innovation.
On the company’s success, Hallington said: "It is all about being responsive to your clients. If you don't respond then you won't be successful. It's as simple as that.
“When Tina and I started Clockaudio, we never envisioned it becoming such a success. Manufacturing always comes with challenges, but we have a great team that always comes up with a solution. It is an exciting and interesting business, and we look forward every day to facing the challenges and enjoying the successes!”
“It is with heavy hearts and deep sadness that we announce the passing of our beloved founder, leader, mentor, and managing director, Jim Hallington,” says a company statement. “Jim passed away at his home in Waterlooville Hampshire UK on 20 February, at the age of 92. Over the last few years Jim reluctantly took a step back from the business after being diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia, leaving Clockaudio in the capable hands of his adoring wife and soulmate, Tina.
“Jim leaves behind a legacy of determination, passion, courage, and commitment that were truly the building blocks for Clockaudio and will continue to be the company's foundatio
Europe - Light and Sound Design (LSD) Serbia is now officially an exclusive SRS Group distributor for Serbia, Kosovo, and the Balkan region.
“Immediately after LSD reached out to us, we quickly understood that they are a very well-established company, that anyone would like to collaborate with,” says Samuel Sloboda, CEO of SRS Group. “For over 20 years, Milan (the CEO of LSD) and his team have been doing a great job evolving the entertainment industry in the Balkan region from the heart of Serbia - Belgrade. With the extensive time investment LSD put into the construction of its new futuristic building, we are thrilled to see the Balkan market expand and prosper, as we are sure LSD is future-proof and absolutely ready for it.”
LSD covers all areas of the industry - rental companies, theatres, television and movie production companies, hotels, bars and clubs, and cultural and sports venues. Their open day last week was the first fair in the Balkans dedicated solely to professionals from the AV/rigging industry, and it gave visitors from all Balkan countries the opportunity to meet SRS Group’s team and test the equipment in real-life scenarios.
“Being made in the EU is an extremely important factor for us. SRS Group will fit nicely with our portfolio of premium brands,” mentions Milan. “The sheer quality, for both, products and the people of SRS Group, made it easy to decide that we want to start this distributorship.
"We had several meetings with SRS Group before we signed the contract to start the exclusive distribution. Th
UK - Playing at London’s Old Vic Theatre, Just For One Day is a new musical which tells the story of Live Aid and those who came together to create this event. Penned by John O’Farrell (Mrs Doubtfire), it features the songs of Bob Dylan, David Bowie, U2, Queen, Elton John and Paul McCartney among others. The show also features a lighting design by Olivier Award-nominated Howard Hudson, who approached White Light (WL), a d&b solutions company, to supply his lighting rig.
Just For One Day is an insight into the origins of the history-making concert held at Wembley Stadium on 13 July 1985; one which was attended by 72,000 and watched by a staggering 1.9bn worldwide. Discussing the show, Howard comments: “Live Aid was such a ground-breaking event and one which has a vast amount of now iconic imagery associated with it.
“Our show tells the story of several of those involved in the making of the concert, so whilst we ultimately do go to the event itself in the second half, a large amount of the show is narrative-based which requires a vast number of locations such as the recording studio, Bob Geldof’s house and all the way to Ethiopia; the country which was featured on the news report which inspired Live Aid.”
Unusual for even a historical-based musical, part of Howard’s brief was to actually recreate those now legendary performances from the concert; wanting to ensure the audience felt as though they were being transported back to that day almost forty years ago. He explains: “The primary resource for me was the
UK - In a repeat of their successful deployment at OVO Arena Wembley for the 25th MOBO Awards, SWG Events this time headed north with their flagship Martin Audio WPL Line Array to the Utilita Arena, Sheffield for this year’s event.
They had to overcome the challenges of providing balanced sound reinforcement for the live audience inside the 12,500-cap arena, while preserving the integrity of the set and striking a balance between the presenters’ mics and the live showcases, in a fast-paced show.
These live performances ranged from UK rap to Afrobeats, Dancehall to Pop/R&B and Garage, with back-to-back performances from Soul II Soul, Ghetts, Sugababes, Cristale, Byron Messia, King Promise and Camidoh, plus a Garage set from DJ Spoony. The event was hosted by Babtunde Aleshe, Indiyah Polack and Zeze Mills.
It required SWG Events to increase the WPL box count from 16 to 18 elements for each of the main L/R hangs, compared with last time; but more significantly, was the increased number of out-hangs, comprising 12-a-side WPC - all driven in two-box resolution from iKON iK42s.
Explaining the rationale, SWG Events’ head of audio, Simon Purse stated: “It was a fairly standard arena set up, and [Sheffield] is a very pleasant-sounding space as far as arenas go. But the additional out-hangs enabled us to better cover the raked seating in the nearfield. That was a massive benefit as the tonal response from WPC and WPL is really similar, so when you walk around the rig it just really works well.
“There’s the additional benefit of bei
The Netherlands - Created in 2013 to celebrate the 25th anniversary of dance in The Netherlands, the Amsterdam Music Festival is the biggest electronic dance music event of Amsterdam Dance Event which takes over the city annually each October. AMF’s popularity in its first year saw it move from the RAI Amsterdam to the 40,000 capacity Amsterdam ArenA (now the Johan Cruiiff ArenA) where its top EDM line up attracts the most international visitors of any dance event in the city.
Lighting designer, and owner of The Art of Light, André Beekmans chose a wealth of Ayrton Cobra, Huracán Profile and Ghibli fixtures to light the 2023 edition, the line up of which consisted of EDM royalty Afrojack, Armin van Buuren, Charlotte de Witte, Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike, Headhunterz, James Hype, Purple Disco Machine and Vini Vici.
The show’s lighting and rigging were supplied by Ampco Flashlight with Light Specials providing the LED lines. The Art of Light operators - André Beekmans, Rik Verschuren, Kasper Dijksterhuis and Jaap Kamps - were responsible for programming, operating and facilitating all the guest operators for the event. Guest operators included Michael Seeverens as the touring LD for Armin van Buuren and Tom Pietermans with Afrojack, whom they supported with positions, presets and any additional needs.
Beekmans chose 54 Ayrton Cobra fixtures specifically for its laser source and narrow beam to highlight the outline of the stage and to add an extra dimension to its depth. He then placed 74 Ghibli spot fixtures within the stage area, rigged in b
USA - Located in Rochester’s Neighborhood of the Arts District, Essex is a new music venue poised to be one of the city's premier destinations for live concerts, recently booking bands like Joywave and Danielle Ponder. In a district that has very few music venues, the music hall is a glowing addition to the area, bringing night life to mixed city residential and old industrial complexes. Essex will allow for more national acts when touring through Western New York to choose Rochester, as opposed to neighbouring cities, like Syracuse or Buffalo.
“The main focus of the venue is to showcase national touring artists that might otherwise drive right past Rochester,” says Dave Drago, talent buyer and one of four co-owners of Essex. Drago was tapped by SCN Hospitality, a Rochester-based restaurant group, to oversee the design of the venue's systems on every level of the concert experience. “SCN’s hospitality really shines throughout Rochester. Our vision with Essex was to add a viable concert venue to that portfolio, offering people a beautiful space to enjoy good music and great service.” Drago has been in the audio and music business for over 20 years.
Drago started out as a studio owner and engineer, weaving a career across North America, gaining experience as an artist and tour manager, producer, songwriter, musical director, touring musician, and most applicably, general manager for the heralded Concerts at Point of The Bluff seasonal concert series in the Finger Lakes.
“I have been on just about every side of most transactions in the m
USA - Production sound and re-recording Mixer Thomas Cassetta has always loved live theatre and events, so when presented with the opportunity to work on comedy specials back in 2014, he jumped at the chance. Cassetta has worked on projects around the globe for platforms such as Netflix, Amazon, Tubi, Peacock, HBO and ShowTime. He also helps generate laughs with comedians such as Andrew Schulz, Jim Jefferies and Hasan Minhaj. Cassetta’s most recent stand-up production work includes recording and mixing comedian Akaash Singh’s first hour-long comedy special, as well as Pete Davidson’s new Netflix special entitled Pete Davidson: Turbo Fonzarelli.
Working on so many streamed comedy specials, Cassetta knows he needs to recreate the experience of being at a live show, while also ensuring the comedians feel connected to their audience. For Cassetta, the best way to accomplish this is with DPA Microphones solutions such as the d:facto 4018VL Vocal, 4017B Shotgun, 4018C Supercardioid and 2011 Twin Diaphragm Cardioid Microphones, as well as the brand’s newest 2012 Compact Cardioid and 2017 Shotgun Microphones. A selection of the brand’s in-line preamps and accessories also allow him to adapt to a variety of venues and locations.
“I believe DPA has a bright future in standup comedy,” says Cassetta. “Comedians are very in tune with how their microphones sound and feel. They like familiarity, something that feels natural and a sound that honours the relationship they’ve cultivated with their audience. Those are the three most important facto
USA - The first Super Bowl played in Las Vegas attracted the largest audience ever to watch the game on a Spanish language television network.
Over two and a quarter million viewers tuned in to Univision’s Super Bowl broadcast to watch the Chiefs top the San Francisco 49ers. To mark the occasion, the popular Spanish language network staged a lively pre-game celebration at Caesars Palace at the centre of the festivities was a performance by the multi-award-winning Puerto Rican rapper and singer Myke Towers, which was broadcast on Televisa, Univision’s sports special for the Super Bowl.
Pumping up the energy level around the performance for the live audience and TV viewers was a production design by Rene Garcia of Absolute Lighting Designs that featured over 75 Chauvet Professional fixtures supplied by 4Wall Entertainment.
Working with programmer Chris Fernandez and camera director, Michell Lorens, Garcia created a captivating flow of stunning looks for the event, which took place in the fountain area of Caesars Palace at the entrance to the resort. His design moved seamlessly with the flow of the show, starting with when Myke Towers and the dancers began their performance in a car and worked their way up to the stages.
Flanking the star and his dancers as they approached the stage was a series of COLORado PXL Bar 16 fixtures that lined the red-carpet runway. “These fixtures worked wonders,” said Garcia. “They were ideal for our jib and steady cam shots.”
Anchoring the rig were 46 Maverick MK3 Wash fixtures. Garcia and h
Germany - The Adam Hall Group will once again be presenting its extensive event technology portfolio in a variety of ways at this year's Prolight + Sound in Frankfurt.
The event technology manufacturer will not only be represented with two stands (Adam Hall Networking Space and Cameo) in the exhibition halls, but will also open its Experience Centre at the nearby company headquarters in Neu-Anspach for the exclusive Adam Hall Group Surround Experience. The Adam Hall Group's presence at the trade fair will be rounded off with a presentation by Herbert Bernstädt (senior research & development engineer, light technology) as part of the Manufacturers' Forum.
The Adam Hall Group's Networking Space (12.1 A24) is the central point of contact for all those interested in the company. With its designated business area, the Networking Space offers a location for focused customer discussions and relaxed networking. Visitors will also have the opportunity to see the pioneering MAILA (Modular All-Round Intelligent Line Array) system from LD Systems live.
As in previous year, the almost 100sq.m Cameo stand (12.1 B24) is located directly next to the Adam Hall Networking Space and merges with it to form a large, overarching presentation area. In 2024, the Adam Hall Group's lighting technology brand will be presenting several pioneering new products.
From 19-21 March, the Adam Hall Group's Experience Centre in Neu-Anspach will become an open experience centre for a special ‘Surround Experience’. In the large auditorium, visitors can expect a specially
UK - TiMax spatial audio and performer stagetracking solutions, the most recent addition to the Focusrite Group, will make its debut appearance at the first set of this year’s Martin Audio Open Days. Running from 12-24 March at High Wycombe, the open days will see TiMax join forces with its sister pro audio brands from the group which includes Martin Audio, Linea Research and Optimal Audio, as well as OutBoard’s chain-hoist rigging motor control.
TiMax will showcase the capabilities and strengths of the TiMax SoundHub spatial audio engine and the award-winning TiMax TrackerD4 stagetracking solution, including new product offerings introduced earlier in the year. The presentations, by TiMax director Robin Whittaker with applications specialist Dan Roncoroni and new Martin Audio colleagues, will highlight the synergies between the product offerings of the group.
The open days also present the chance to hear previews of the new multi-channel live production spatial reverb feature for TiMax SoundHub which drew much attention at ISE. This powerful new plug-in option, available to all existing HARDCore FPGA-equipped TiMax SoundHub units, adds no less than four individual 1-in / 16-out ultra-high-quality reverb engines which give sound designers full control of all parameters as well as access to an advanced 3D room reverb-builder application.
The award-winning TiMax TrackerD4 precision stagetracking solution will be in use to automatically localise presenter mics in real-time and follow them with moving-head light fixtures driven by TrackerD4’s Pos
UK - Ayrton has announced that David Stewart has joined the Ayrton team as UK designer relationship manager. The appointment takes place with immediate effect.
Stewart’s role will be to support new and existing lighting designers and production staff, and to work closely with Ambersphere Solutions, Ayrton’s exclusive UK distributor, in promoting the Ayrton brand and product range.
Stewart comes with more than 30 years of experience within every facet of the entertainment industry, having worked as a freelance LD, operator and technician, and as a business owner, through to full-time sales and business development with key manufacturers and distributors.
Stewart comments: "I'm really excited to join Ayrton at a time of incredible innovation and growth, to strengthen relationships and take on the challenge of pushing such cutting edge products and services for the future."
Stewart joins Ayrton’s team alongside Marc Lorenz and Brian Dowd, designer relationship managers for Europe and the US respectively.
“What a great fit to our team David is,” comments Michael Althaus, Ayrton’s global sales director. “He is a strategic asset and important interface to the UK market and its importance in the concert touring, theatre and film market.”
Budget Cuts - Birmingham City Council will make cuts to all funding for culture projects and local-arts development, with Birmingham Repertory Theatre and Birmingham Royal Ballet facing a 100% reduction to their support in the next financial year. Europe’s largest local authority has taken drastic measures to tackle a £300m budget shortfall over the next two years, including ending its £350,000 funding to Birmingham International Dance Festival.
Grants to organisations in receipt of regular funding will be hit with 50% cuts this year and 100% from the 2025/26 financial year, with those impacted including Birmingham Opera Company, dance development organisation FABRIC and B:Music - home to the Birmingham Symphony Orchestra and operator of Symphony Hall.
Planning News - A film studio plans to invest millions of pounds in local infrastructure in a bid to receive planning permission from the local authority. Buckinghamshire Council could not reach a decision on Marlow Film Studios' plans for Marlow quarry in October. Councillors deferred the decision to further consider issues related to the green belt and local highways. The studio's updated plans revealed over £20m will be invested in roads and other public infrastructure.
Robert Laycock, CEO of Marlow Film Studios said: "These improvements to the roads and bus services in South Bucks are only a part of the major benefits unlocked by the studios for the local area, its residents and its economy." The campaign group Save Marlow's Greenbelt said: "There is nothing in the amended planning doc
USA - For the first time in history, the biggest game in American Football descended upon Las Vegas’ Allegiant Stadium. This presented a massive new challenge: managing the Super Bowl’s immense production in Las Vegas’ already crowded wireless radio frequency (RF) environment.
The production crew tackled this challenge and delivered to all attendees and 202.4m broadcast viewers. For audio, the team relied on the Emmy Award-winning Shure Axient Digital Wireless Microphone System.
“Axient Digital is the key to the Halftime Show,” shared lead RF engineer Cameron Stuckey. “We are using every feature that sets it apart to the fullest extent possible. And, at this point, it is hard to picture how I would design the wireless system without it. The unmatched coverage Quadversity provides, combined with the reliability of Frequency Diversity, means the team and I can support every artistic decision across an entire football field with confidence in the harshest environment of the year.”
The RF team depended on 10 AD4Q Four-Channel Digital Wireless Receivers, an AD600 Axient Digital Spectrum Manager, and two AXT400 Axient Dual Channel Receivers. For another year, ATK used Axient Digital AD4Q with Quadversity, leveraging four simultaneous RF inputs to feed a single RF channel. Quadversity can extend the coverage area of a microphone channel or enable multiple coverage areas with additional antenna inputs, making it suitable for challenging RF environments like Las Vegas.
ATK Audiotek and Professional Wireless Systems (PWS) handled all wi
UK - British grime MC and rapper Dizzee Rascal performed his Mercury Music Prize-winning album, Boy in Da Corner, to loyal fans with help from Eighth Day Sound. Working with production manager Tommy Sheals-Barrett of Back On Your Heads, the tour hit UK arenas following a major comeback at London’s O2.
Commenting on the importance of choosing the right vendors, Sheals-Barrett says: “This job can be hard enough without worrying about whether you're in safe hands, supplier-wise. You get the best out of the artist (and the artist's crew) when they have confidence in a production supplier.”
Choosing Eighth Day Sound and mixing Dizzee’s hard-hitting yet melodic blend of influential London hip hop, is FOH Engineer Wayne ‘Rabbit’ Sargeant, who has navigated the pioneering artist’s live work on and off the road. He begins: “Over the years, I’ve mastered some of Dizzee’s earlier album live tracks. So, my aim here was to bring consistency to the overall range of tracks spanning the 20th anniversary.
“Creating the right mix comes down to getting the best source, the best pre-amps, control surface and PA. With a DJ set-up, it’s about live mastering and making sure the signal path and source are the best they possibly can be.”
Rabbit has a Solid State Logic Live 100 for the main mix, while the DJ setup is processed through a Solid State Logic Fusion to add some weight and tame the high frequency, allowing the d&b audiotechnik KSL PA system to sound vast at a lower level.
He continues: “Since the introduction of
China - Hypersonic Fest was a one-day experimental event organised by Hypersonic Lab in Hong Kong, aimed at inviting people to enjoy the talents of 37 diverse Christian artists and music bands from Hong Kong, Taiwan, South Korea, Japan, and Malaysia and to explore the possibilities of Christian music. The festival was staged at Kowloon Bay International Trade & Exhibition Centre and featured four action-packed stages of live music performance.
Production equipment for the Main Stage including lighting was supplied by the MPHK Group and project managed by Raymond Wong, working closely with LD Kei Lui who utilised a grandMA3 full-size console, a decision taken jointly between the LD and Raymond.
Kei is based in Macau and is technical manager of the famed Para Club, as well as running his own company in Hong Kong / Macau for freelance lighting design projects like this.
His task at Hypersonic Fest was to light all the bands on the Main stage, many of whom he was seeing live for the first time, give them the best possible shows, and make each one stand-out and look different, all of which had to be achieved in a highly compressed timescale of only four hours for get in, set up, prep and programming.
Using grandMA3 in this context really helped a demanding process and saved time. Kei had 43 moving lights in the space on overhead trusses with around 1200 parameters of control, so it was not a large rig, but ideal for the space, and he worked it hard.
He commented that the MA Startshow file is “great” and saves a lot of preparation tim
The Netherlands - Visitors cannot help but feel the freedom of the sea when they encounter Het Scheepvaartmuseum Amsterdam, the National Maritime Museum of the Netherlands. The attraction sits on an artificial island built in 1656 as a naval base near Amsterdam’s city old harbour.
Designed by Belgian architect Laurent Ney, the symmetrical roof, engenders an air of openness and discovery in the courtyard below, while projecting a nautical image. Accentuating this effect and enhancing the aesthetics of the courtyard is a new LED lighting system by Leon van Warmerdam and the team at Lichtpunt that features 32 Ovation CYC 1 FC LED fixtures from Chauvet Professional.
“In this historical monument there are many restrictions. We did search for the most low-profile solution with maximum performance. By wrapping the luminaires, they got the same colour as the background,” said van Warmerdam, who noted that the Ovation units were selected “because of the small measures of the fixture, the enormous light output, the asymmetric light distribution, the rich colour palette, and the noiseless operation”.
According to van Warmerdam, glare on the roof of courtyard was an issue with the old graze lighting fixtures that had been used in the space. This concern was eliminated with the addition of the Ovation CYC fixtures. “By choosing another angle than the former graze light fixtures, and by using the integrated glare shield on the Ovation products, we addressed the issue with glare,” he explained.
Another big difference between using graze light
Germany - Lighting control specialist Pharos Architectural Controls will be exhibiting at this year’s Light + Building expo, continuing the company’s busy calendar of events as part of its milestone 20th anniversary year.
Pharos will showcase its Expert, Designer and Cloud product ranges at the expo, held from 3-8 March 2024 at Frankfurt am Main, demonstrating the substantial benefits these technologies bring to the industry.
Located on stand 8.0-C71, Pharos will be demonstrating a number of key solutions from across its lighting control portfolio. Visitors will be able to explore and interact with the latest features in the Pharos Designer range and get hands on with the most recent addition to the Pharos product portfolio, Pharos Expert.
Expert is an innovative and straightforward control solution centred around a single, reliable, set-and-forget controller. A lighting control system with hardware that simplifies installation, and the recently released v1.0.0 of its commissioning software that makes programming easy. Expert guides users through setting up their system and creating their lighting design with clear, easy to follow helpers and walkthroughs.
Key regional sales representatives and product category specialists will be on the stand to welcome visitors, discuss the Pharos technologies, and identify opportunities where Pharos could benefit upcoming projects.
Pharos commercial director Bas Hoksbergen, says: “Light + Building is the largest exhibition in the lighting industry calendar and in this milestone year for Pharos,
Qatar - Lighting designer Roland Greil turned to two power luminaires in Elation’s Proteus series to bring the grandeur of the AFC Asian Cup opening ceremony to life.
Held 12 January at Lusail Stadium in Doha, Greil chose the Proteus Brutus and Proteus Excalibur to deliver captivating lighting displays and theatrical impact for this major event production.
The AFC Asian Cup, organised by the Asian Football Confederation, brought together 24 national teams in Qatar to crown the men's football champion of Asia. The opening ceremony was a celebration of unity and inclusivity with performances by renowned Qatari and regional artists who revealed the secrets of The Lost Chapter of Kelileh & Demneh in a visual narrative.
Greil was hired by executive producers Katara Studios to deliver the full lighting design, a scope that also included previz, programming and ultimately delivery of the lighting component of the show together with the creative and technical teams. He shared insights into the creative framework, stating, “From the beginning, the brief was to create a highly theatrical experience that was also flexible enough to deliver big ceremony looks and tick all the boxes in terms of a 360-degree live-for-broadcast show.”
Design studio Sila Sveta created an organic production design that embedded the local culture and history into an amazing 21-minute visual story. Collaborating with Sila Sveta, Greil supported the story by creating a picture frame for wherever the action was taking place, the stage or elsewhere. “We set the
USA - LightenUp Inc. (LUI), a Los Angeles-based professional lighting company, has added 48 Ayrton Rivale Profiles to its extensive inventory of Ayrton fixtures and quickly put them to work on a cross-country Paramount+ project. ACT Entertainment is the exclusive distributor of Ayrton lighting products in North America.
Owned and operated by skilled and experienced technicians, LUI supplies a full range of lighting equipment and power distribution to all types of events. It also offers lighting rentals. The Rivale Profiles join a roster of Ayrton fixtures that includes Diablo, Perseo, Zonda 9 FX and Zonda 3 FX units.
Rivale Profile is the most versatile fixture Ayrton has created to date. Rivale is a 450W 6500K LED IP65-rated moving head profile with 4-52º zoom developed for mixed use indoors and outdoors, in all conditions. Surprisingly lightweight, it offers continuous rotation of the pan and tilt movement, a new high-definition progressive CMY colour-mixing system for perfect colour reproduction as soon as the filter is inserted, framing shutters, and a large selection of gobos and effects.
“We were one of the first to get Diablos, which have been our workhorse fixture, and now we’re one of the first with Rivales in our push to find IP-class fixtures,” notes LUI lighting designer, Joe O’Neill.
“We are not afraid to be the first to jump in if we believe in the product,” notes LightenUp founder, Nathan Megaw. “We have a history with Ayrton and know first-hand about their quality, craftsmanship and performance.”
O’Ne
USA - Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena, home to the NHL Predators, recently took delivery of its third DiGiCo audio console, a Quantum338, purchased and installed through Nashville-based Spectrum Sound.
The Quantum338 joins two existing and upgraded DiGiCo SD12-96 desks, along with an SD-Rack, SD-MiNi Rack, D-Rack, and three SD-Nano Racks, all also sourced through Spectrum Sound. The Quantum338 has now taken over front-of-house duties at the venue, while one SD12 is used a router/hub/mixer for the broadcast control room and the other as a utility mixer, paired with the D-Rack and deployed as needed around the venue, including for mixing monitors at the band/stage platform. Two Orange Box MADI interfaces are also on the same very busy Optocore loop as the consoles and Racks.
Bridgestone Arena’s sound is a big part of its allure for show and events, and DiGiCo is an integral part of that. “We have had DiGiCo consoles here since 2018; they’ve become the standard for concerts everywhere and Nashville is the ultimate music town,” says Jacob Lutz, director of technical Operations for the Bridgestone Arena and Nashville Predators.
“The Quantum338 is a game-changer for live music. And the SD12 consoles, which we upgraded to 96 inputs last year, have proven great at broadcast applications, as well, and since they’re all on the same fibre loop, they give us a high level of redundancy and unmatched connectivity if that’s ever needed.
“One Orange Box lives in the Technical Operations Centre, and the other is our tie-in to the broadcast-truc
UK - Neg Earth Lights has invested in the Apex complete solution to high end chain hoist control applications.
Rick Williamson, motors & automation manager shares: “These are exciting times for Neg Earth with the investment in Apex. Not only does this system meet the current legislative safety standards but it allows us to fulfil higher demands when it comes to our customers’ requirements during shows.”
The Neg Earth team visited Kinesys to learn more about the Apex system in preparation for their first tour. “Thanks, Jon Winn, for such an informative day,” adds Williamson.
USA - History is often made at the annual Grammy Awards ceremony and this year was no exception, with legendary 80-year-old Canadian singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell performing on the live broadcast for the first time in her decades-long career.
The historic performance, also featuring Brandi Carlile, Jacob Collier, Blake Mills, Allison Russell, Lucius and SistaStrings, was captured with a variety of Sennheiser microphones, including Carlile and Mitchell’s own custom gold SKM 6000 handheld transmitters with Neumann KK 205 condenser capsules.
Also on the awards show, which was broadcast live from the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles on 4 February, rapper Travis Scott performed a medley of songs from his latest, Grammy-nominated album using an SKM 6000 with a Sennheiser MD 9235 cardioid dynamic capsule, a combination that his monitor engineer, Justin Hoffmann, calls “a game-changer”.
Mitchell has won 10 Grammy Awards since taking home her first in 1970, for her second album, Clouds. The album includes Both Sides Now, one of Mitchell’s best-known songs, which she performed on this year’s broadcast. Prior to the broadcast she won her latest Grammy, for Best Folk Album, for Joni Mitchell at Newport, a live recording from the 2022 Newport Folk Festival, an event she first played in 1967.
Mitchell accepted the award with Carlile, who, as the album’s producer, also won a Grammy - her eleventh.
Working with the Grammy audio team, Sean Quackenbush, Carlile’s front-of-house engineer for the past eight years, put
Germany - This year, Prolight + Sound Frankfurt will feature a "comprehensively expanded pro audio offering", according to its organisers. Among other things, visitors can look forward to a 3000sq.m Performance + Production Hub, new attractions, an extended programme of specialist lectures and "the return of well-known exhibitors".
The focus will be on live and concert sound reinforcement as well as innovative studio and broadcast solutions. Renowned companies will be demonstrating sound reinforcement systems under realistic conditions on the outdoor exhibition area. There will also be an extensive supporting programme covering a wide range of current and future-oriented topics.
The newly created Immersive Audio Dome in Hall 11 is being realised in cooperation with Quickspace and United Brands. The latter will present product innovations from Adamson in the impressive installation - combined in an immersive system consisting of a large number of loudspeakers and the Fletcher Machine, a multichannel audio rendering processor. The interior of the 100m² igloo-shaped dome offers space for around 75 people and is equipped with a full-surface projection screen. This complements the sound experience with futuristic visuals to create an immersive overall experience for visitors.
Also new is the Audio Bar (Hall 11). Here, high-quality headphones from well-known brands - including AIAIAI, Beyerdynamic, Audio-Technica, Ollo Audio, Tascam, HEDD, Rode and Pioneer - can be tested in a relaxed atmosphere. A range of models from the studio, DJ and wireless sectors