Not only a new landmark, but a watermark on the south-western English coast, the National Maritime Museum Cornwall (NMMC) in Falmouth will open its doors to the public for the first time in December 2002.

Designed by award-winning architects Long & Kentish, the magnificent harbourside blends with and enhances its surroundings. The exhibitions within were designed by Land Design Studio with Kevin Theobald of London-based Maurice Brill Lighting Design onboard as lighting designer. Although an unconventional-looking building, the museum is fitted for the most part with conventional exhibition lighting equipment, but for two of the galleries, the Dark Gallery and the Daylit Gallery, more sophisticated lighting systems were needed.

The Dark Gallery required a control system capable of co-o

Shure Inc has announced the shipment of its latest personal monitoring system, the affordable PSM 200. As the least expensive in-ear monitor system offering both Shure’s renowned quality and innovative new features, the PSM 200 makes the benefits of in-ear monitoring accessible to a wide array of cost-conscious musicians, houses of worship, and installations requiring assistive listening devices, say Shure. Aside from cost, the PSM 200 components boast new features including the built-in ability to upgrade the receiver from wired to wireless, a transmitter that is also a mixer, and a high fidelity earphone.

For those users that can’t initially afford wireless, the P2R Hybrid Receiver protects their investment by allowing them to upgrade at a later date. The hybrid receiver starts as a wired bodypack and with the addition of the TransMixer component, operates fully as a wire

The Winterthur Theatre in Switzerland, which hosts around 250 theatrical events every year, has recently undergone a lighting upgrade, overseen by lighting director Wilfried Potthoff, who had the theatre outfitted with 50 Clay Paky CP Color 150-E colour changers. Products were supplied by Claudio Merlo’s ECM, distributor of Clay Paky products in Switzerland.

The majority of the products was installed overhead in the large hall adjacent to the main auditorium. The theatre frequently hosts conventions, parties, meetings or other gatherings in this area, often accompanied by background music. The CP Color colour-changers can provide synchronized colour-washes and cross-fades to create a variety of moods and effects to augment these occasions.

More CP Colors were placed behind a white canvas inside the theatre to create very effective colour scenes, boldly standing out among the th

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

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 exper

Building on their success as video supplier for Madonna’s ‘Up For Grabs’ this summer, XL Video UK is back in the West End working for cinematographer and projection designer Jon Driscoll, and production company Tiger Aspect on the new musical Our House, featuring the music of Madness.

Driscoll and film editor Richard Overall have again teamed up with video scientist Richard Turner to produce the visuals, working in close collaboration with lighting designer Mark Henderson and Tiger Aspect’s production manager Steve Rebbeck. The production’s principal projection sequence takes place during the seminal Madness hit Driving In My Car. The Morris Minor car comes onstage, and the minimal set turns into a giant three-sided screen surface, in old-fashioned Cinema 180 film projection style. The footage propels car and cast on a journey which starts on the st

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 pr

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 fo

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ACDC Lighting Systems of Barrowford, Lancashire has been awarded the cold cathode lighting contract for The Gate in Newcastle. The company will manufacture over 700m of cold cathode lighting for the new retail complex located in the heart of the city. The design incorporates ACDC’s Covelite, Contour Interior, as well as their new ‘Colorise DMX’ colour changing cold cathode lighting.

Working closely with lighting designers BDP to develop the ideal scheme, ACDC were chosen for their DMX and 1-10 volt dimming systems - a first in the cold cathode lighting industry. The company’s cold cathode was chosen for its long life and low maintenance characteristics, as the installation is in very high, difficult to reach areas. The project uses high frequency control gears resulting in higher efficiency when compared to traditional control systems and their Covelite ‘P

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

The Music Managers Forum (MMF) has appointed John Glover as its new chairman. He replaces outgoing chairman Keith Harris and will be assisted during his tenure by Phil Nelson, who has been re-appointed vice-chairman. The announcement comes after a successful AGM, which was held in early November at the offices of Willott Kingston Smith in London's Regent Street.

As a well-known and respected music industry manager, John Glover brings a wealth of experience to the role of MMF chairman - a position he last held four years ago. A manager for over 30 years, Glover has been involved in the careers of Free, Mott The Hoople, Jim Capaldi, Joe Brown, Paul Kossoff and, more recently, Victoria Beckham. His company, Blueprint Management currently represents Tony Hadley, Go West, Beverley Craven, Alison Limerick and Outbreak. He is also a board member of the British Music Centre and sits on the boa

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,

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 curre

Our House, the new Madness musical, opened on 28 October at the Cambridge Theatre in London's West End to rave reviews. With a fictional Sliding Doors-style storyline, and featuring songs by 80s chart-toppers Madness, the musical comedy is set in London's diverse and vibrant Camden Town.

Selected to provide the stage automation for the new production, AVW Controls designed and manufactured the control systems, carried out the automation fit-up, technical rehearsals and provided training for the theatre's technicians. AVW's award-winning Impressario automation system controls a total of 22 moving pieces, including six rotating doors, flying and tracking house portals, a motorized bridge, a travelator and a sliding door at the rear of the stage. Stephen Rebbeck, Our House production manager, said: "Impressario is central to the show and, as there are so many moving elements,

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 Kl

Artemis is the latest Luxeon product by ACDC Lighting Systems, designed as a versatile high output spotlight. Incorporating three high intensity LEDs, and IP67-rated, this compact fitting creates a cool crisp beam with outstanding effects.

Luxeon light sources, developed by Lumileds lighting, a world-class supplier of LEDs, are among the brightest LEDs in the world. At the forefront of high flux LED technology, they combine the practical advantages of conventional LEDs such as long life and low energy, while producing a light output which is second to none. Gareth Frankland, sales and marketing director at ACDC Lighting Systems, said: "The LED products have been developed in conjunction with some of the world’s top lighting designers, and through careful research and consultation, we have been able to create a range of products which satisfy the demands for projects both tod

Multiform has announced the availability of the stylish new Globo 150 architectural colour changer from Italy. The Globo 150 is one of a range of luminaires for the architectural lighting market. It provides a source of continuously changing colour illumination in an ultra compact, IP55-rated, fully weatherproof aluminium and steel housing.

Utilizing the CMD-SA/T 150W metal halide 9000-hour lamp, and a coated elliptical reflector, the Globo 150 projects a bright 45 degree beam angle. Using the inbuilt vari-speed auto programmer or controllable via a single channel of DMX, the Globo produces eight selectable colours and white, plus blackout. It is ideal for a whole host of indoor and outdoor applications, say Multiform, and multiple units can be synchronized for an even more spectacular effect.

(Lee Baldock)

Leisure Industry Week (8-10 October, NEC, Birmingham) reaffirmed the position it occupies in the calendar for its industry: an increased audited audience of over 14,250 (Independently audited figures from CTS) visitors from across the out-of-home leisure industry - from theme parks to themed restaurants, nightclubs to fitness clubs - attended LIW 2002. They came to see over 350 exhibiting companies showcasing their latest products and services, and to socialise with their peers from their own industry sector, as well as with their contemporaries from across the broader industry through the activities of the 20 leisure industry trade associations supporting LIW 2002.

LIW 2002 featured five individual shows covering all of the out-of-home leisure industry: Body & Soul - a health, fitness and beauty event; FamilyLand - the family fun event for parks and attractions; Food For Leisure - ded

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

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

Gear-Source, the Florida-based lighting supply company set up recently by Marcel Fairbairn, has been selected by a major manufacturer to reduce a large inventory of brand new 150W and 250W moving yoke fixtures. The fixtures have been manufactured in Europe by Robe Show Lighting, the same manufacturer who builds for Elation, Futurelight and various other well-known manufacturers. In fact, say Gear Source, these are the exact same units offered under these other brands. For a limited time (while supplies last), Gear-Source has been authorized to sell off inventory at previously unheard of prices. Included are the popular single-arm 150 Spot and the popular 250 Spot and Wash. For a limited time, clubs, theatres, schools, churches or any end-user is able to buy these fixtures well below dealer pricing. Dealers are still offered additional discounts when registered with Gear-Source as a deale

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