UK - In July 2003, Essex-based Clarity in Sound Light & Vision Ltd became Leisuretec Distribution's 100,000th customer since the Company's inception in 1990. Clarity purchased a Trantec radio mic system, used as part of a complete sound system for a swimming gala event at a leisure centre in Hertfordshire.

Clarity specializes in supply and installation of audio, lighting and visual equipment to theatres, schools, churches and leisure centres. Stuart Graham, managing director of Clarity said: "We offer superb technical support and product knowledge to our customers, built upon knowledge gained from spending the last 25 years working in the leisure and entertainment industry, including a period spent working at Leisuretec Distribution as technical sales manager."

Leisure

UK - Sennheiser UK has announced a significant extension - to 10 years - of the warranty period on all wired models from its Evolution microphone series. The increase, from the industry standard one year guarantee, is applicable to microphones sold in the UK since March 1st, 2003 and underscores the reliability that the Evolution series has demonstrated since its introduction in 1998.

John Steven, director of marketing for Sennheiser UK, comments: "The Evolution wired mic series has proven more successful than ever we hoped. Given careful design, stringent manufacturing techniques and high standards of quality control, we seldom hear complaints and rarely see returns. It makes perfect sense to us to underpin the sales success of the series with a full 10-year warranty. With the quality of these products, we don't expect to be seeing many more returns within a 10-year perio

UK - Steve Warren - the well-known sales director of Avolites Ltd - made a rare live appearance as RADlite digital media server operator for last week's Hadley vs Cox gig at Shepherd's Bush Empire. He was hired for the show by lighting designer Dave Gibbon.

Warren is more usually seen at trade shows and on sales missions around the world, flying the flag for the Avolites sales team. He comments: "It's great to get hands-on with actual show operation. I have to admit I was nervous before the show, as this is the first time I've been hired professionally as a RADlite operator, but once it got going, I got into my stride."

Hadley vs Cox was an epic - and unique - show devised by 1980s superstars Tony Hadley of Spandau Ballet and Pete Cox of Go West, featuring all the hits and more from the era of New Romantic and Electronica. The two artists have worked together on many

UK - Bould Lighting Technology will introduce a new range of dimming systems at this year's PLASA Show. Bould is a specialist in distributed dimming, one of the most cost-effective ways to equip a venue, and a good solution for modern multi-purpose venues that require versatile lighting.

The company's BATPAC distributed dimming system sends and receives DMX512 via radio transmission, allowing the remote control of up to 85 BATPAC 6-channel dimmers simultaneously. Each BATPAC has six 10-amp switchable dimming channels and is designed as a clamp-to-bar or bolt-on dimming solution ideal for internally-wired bars with multi-pin connectors.

Bould Lighting Technology can be found on stand KK68.

(Ruth Rossington)

USA - Musical legend Bryan Ferry is taking an array of Audio-Technica microphones across the water for a short stateside tour with Roxy Music, with AT4054s on vocal duty, AT4050s on electric guitars and overheads and AT4047s covering the acoustic guitars.

Taking a short break before full production rehearsals begin, the tour's monitor engineer, Steve May, explained why the trademark characteristics of the A-T range appealed to the sound crew. "I know it sounds like a standard press release quote, but A-T's mics genuinely sound great and are very reliable. As a live act those are the two main things that you look for in your mics, so it's no surprise that there is a strong A-T presence on the channel list for this tour and for Bryan's solo gigs. The band also use a number of Audio-Technica mics in the studio, so having a similar line-up out on the road enables us to achieve

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UK - Lighting designer Will Charles was the first television lighting designer to use all 12 of Richard Martin Lighting's hire stock of the new Clay Paky Stage Profile Plus SV, when he specified them for the second series of quiz show Judgemental. Charles was keen to create a visual identification with the first series of Judgemental, and to achieve this he sought the help of Projected Image, who developed some colour gobos from a jpeg image of a crowded scene, which were then used in the Stage Profile Plus SVs. The image was utilized as a predominant backdrop for close-up and mid-shots.

Will Charles, who was assisted by moving light operator David Bishop, explained his choice of lighting - which also included Vari*Lite VL1000TS, Pulsar ChromaBank and Clay Paky Stage Color 300 fixtures - and gave his opinion on the performance of the Stage Profile Plus SV: "The Stage Profil

UK - At the 2003 PLASA Show Look Solutions, the company behind the Tiny Fogger - the world's smallest smoke machine - will launch their latest product: the PowerTiny. "There's been a gap in the smoke machine market for a while: for a machine bigger than the popular TinyFogger, with greater output - yet still compact in size and with off-mains operation," says Roger Hennigan of White Light, Look Solutions' UK distributor. "That's exactly what PowerTiny will deliver."

With an appearance familiar from the TinyCompact smoke machine - which effectively added a handle to the TinyFogger - the PowerTiny offers much to appeal to theatrical smoke users. The 400W machine runs from a 12V battery, yet is only around 223 x 100 x 210mm in size and 5.2kg in weight, including battery and ergonomic handle. Heat-up time is virtually instantaneous at just one second. The supplie

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Cameo's P6 is a future-proof LED profiler with a powerful 600 W RGBACL engine and 16,000 lumens. It’s an energy-efficient replacement for 2.5 kW halogen profile lights in theatres and venues. With excellent light quality and natural colour rendering, it fits perfectly in theatres, musicals, TV studios, congresses, and live events.

With an LED life of 50,000 hours and low power use, the P6 cuts energy costs and supports the EU’s ‘Green Deal’ goals for climate neutrality by 2050. It also meets updated eco-design rules for lighting.

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UK - CT Screenco returned to the Ross Theatre bandstand at Edinburgh's Princes Street Gardens to fulfil a vast array of technical requirements at this year's Edinburgh Festival - billed as 'The UK's biggest free arts event of the year'. Their contract with Sean Rourke's Arts For Life is one of Screenco's most unusual, since a lot of their work is done 'on the fly' as they come into contact with a vast array of cultural content. Screenco also integrates broadcast students and volunteers into the team, who are sent out with ENG equipment to gather news, which is then edited in real time and relayed live to the 4 x 415mm LED daylight display.

The three weeks of he Festival Fringe are enough to keep Screenco's representative Jon Baverstock on his toes around the clock. The highlight of this year was undoubtedly the scheduled appearance of Joan Baez, Emmylou Harris, Chrissie Hynde, B

UK - Hawthorn Theatrical selected Allen & Heath mixers for use throughout the 5th annual Sprite Urban Games, held from 25-27 July 2003 on Clapham Common in South West London, UK. This increasingly popular free sports festival, revolving around BMX, skateboard, breakdancing and music, saw several improvements this year including a larger B-Boy arena and enhanced Freestyle Motorcross (FMX) jump, as well as an impressive line-up of underground London DJs from the likes of Botchit & Skarper, Catskills, Marine Parade, FAT and the Funkin'Pussy crew.

Hawthorn provided all the audio equipment for the event, selecting Allen & Heath mixers in all the arenas. A Xone:02 scratch mixer was installed on the main stage, running through a GL2200 live sound console at front-of-house. Two Xone:02 mixers were set up for battle mixing on the B-Boy arena, run through a GL2 console. There were also Xo

UK - Cambridge Folk Festival, now in its 39th year, presented an eclectic mix of roots and folk music to a sell out audience of 10,000 avid music fans this August. Many of those fans were also musicians, with impromptu jam sessions running late into the night. The bands on stage ranged from The Sawdoctors, the Eliza Carthy Band, Robert Randolph and the Family Band.

Canegreen designed and installed three separate PA systems for each of the stages, all featuring a range of Meyer speaker cabinets, Lab Gruppen amps and state-of-the-art control systems. Pete Hughes was Canegreen's project manager for the festival, he explained: "We selected the equipment and designed the systems to suit the dynamics and style of music played over the weekend and we have received a lot of praise from the audience about the sound, which is always great."

Production manager Ken Rankin explai

Israel - Sontronics, Soundcraft's Israeli distributor, has supplied a Series 10s broadcast console for a special event that took place recently in the ancient biblical town of Nazareth in Galilee. The occasion was the inauguration of a new cultural centre and radio broadcast studio, set up as a joint Jewish/Arabic cultural initiative designed to foster understanding and co-operation. "This is the first of its kind in this troubled part of the world," explains Sontronics managing director, Sonny Shmueli.

The Series 10s broadcast console, supplied along with microphones, headphones and studio monitors, is designed for use in local and community radio stations. It is simple to use for the novice, but its fully modular design renders it versatile enough to integrate into professional broadcast environments. Frames with 12, 20 or 28 channels are available, selected from Mon

UK - Glasgow-based PA rental company Sound Acoustics has purchased a NEXO GEO S Tangent Array system from Fuzion plc, one of the first companies in Scotland to do so. Sound Acoustics' director Tommy Gorman describes walking into a GEO demo at Fuzion, and leaving with 16 boxes. That very week, the system went out on a three-month tour, and Sound Acoustics rapidly placed another purchase order.

"We've doubled the size of it subsequent to that first order, and what we have now is a rig that can handle George Benson at the Glasgow Jazz Festival, but can also be broken down into three decent conference systems. GEO is so small, so compact and bijou, and it does exactly what it says on the tin - immediately!"

The GEO S boxes have since notched up a variety of events from a touring theatre production, to a live BBC music programme, to a heavy metal festival in the Shetland

Spain - Essex-based Xtreme Audio Visual has snapped up a valuable installation contract in Spain. The company has been asked to provide the audio and lighting for the new Guru nightclub - part of the multi-million pound Heron City complex in Valencia, Spain.

Spearheaded by British entrepreneurs, the Heron City leisure operation has so far opened four venues in Europe - in Madrid, Barcelona, Stockholm and, most recently, Valencia, where its extensive range of family entertainments can attract 20,000 people in an evening. The Valencia site offers a variety of leisure activities, including a 24-screen multiplex cinema, fitness centres and an array of restaurants, cafés, bars and clubs.

The 2,700-capacity Guru is the final piece in the Heron City jigsaw, being the last venue within the complex to be built. In a contract worth £400,000, Xtreme has installed a high specification s

UK - Lincolnshire-based pro loudspeaker manufacturer Logic System has announced its successful move into a new 5000sq.ft factory at Gainsborough. The £500,000 move took place over a three-month period earlier this year. Operations director Sue Ellis says: "For three months we rarely had all the staff at the same site at the same time. It was a case of its Tuesday we must be painting at the new factory today! It is a testimony to the company's staff that few customers even noticed that we were moving."

With the move complete, the factory has settled down to a split shift system to keep up with current demand for product. Logic System's managing director Chris Scott told us: "No one sector has been amazing - we have just seen good solid business across all market sectors. The theme bar market has been flat for most people but with installation customer TTL working

UK - London-based pro audio distribution company Autograph Sales will have a wide range of high-end audio products on show at this year's PLASA Show, including new product from Meyer Sound, Clear-Com and ATM Flyware.

Meyer Sound's MILO line array loudspeaker system is a self-powered four-way system with three dedicated transducers for the HF band to provide detailed resolution of transient information - even in long throw applications. Also from Meyer is the UPJ-1P Variable Orientation loudspeaker - a fully integrated two-way system comprising a 10" neodymium magnet low-mid frequency driver and a 2" HF compression driver, andemploying a rotatable 80° x 40° horn.

From Clear-Com comes the Eclipse matrix intercom system, offering up to 208 communications ports in a 6-RU chassis. Each 16-port MVX-16A matrix card provides full-duplex connections with digital matrix stat

The Netherlands - TiLE 2004 - the international forum for leisure venues - will be held at the Maastricht Exhibition and Congress Centre in The Netherlands, from 15-17 June 2004. In making the announcement, Richard Curtis, the conference organizer commented: "This will be the first time TiLE has been in Maastricht since 1996 and it will be held in the MECC's new exhibition hall and conference rooms."

TiLE 2004 will continue to build on its relationships with key associations in specific areas of the market, including IAAPA (International Association of Amusement Parks & Attractions), TEA (Themed Entertainment Association), WWA (World Waterparks Association), EWA (European Waterpark Association) and ECSITE (European Collaborative for Science in Industry & Technology Exhibitions).

As with previous TiLEs in Maastricht, full use will be made of the beautiful city: the pa

UK - This year the education programme has been relaunched to meet the changing demands of the PLASA visitor and will be hosted by the PLASA Professional Development Programme (PLASA PDP), the Association's new training initiative. A full timetable is now online and taking bookings - check out the website below.

This extended educational platform will examine current trends and issues across the wide range of the industry and provide visitors with the opportunity to broaden their knowledge and learn from the experts. The format has been revised with four different types of sessions - Technical Workshops; Business Seminars; Industry Seminars and Masterclasses.

Many of the sessions are supported by associations, trade bodies and publications and for the first time RIBA (Royal Institute of British Architects) are also supporting the programme. Their endorsement is clear recognit

UK - The directors of Martin Audio and TC Group have announced that on 13 August, the management team of Martin Audio purchased the company from the TC Group. The management buyout was supported by ISIS Equity Partners plc and The Royal Bank of Scotland.

David Bissett-Powell, managing director of Martin Audio, told us: "The management of Martin Audio have long aspired to independence and are pleased that under the TC Group we have had the opportunity to attain this goal. Having established strong links within the Group, we will continue to work closely with Lab.Gruppen and other group companies and expect new co-operation with TC Applied Technologies regarding digital power, processing and networking."

The CEO of TC Group, Anders Fauerskov, added: "Since the acquisition of TGI plc by TC, Martin Audio has been a well-managed and strong performer and we wish the m

Europe - Industry veteran Fons de Vreede has joined worldwide automated lighting manufacturer High End Systems Inc (HES) as regional sales manager for Central Europe. Fons has a wealth of industry experience, working at both Flashlight Utrecht in Holland for more than 17 years, and subsequently Lightco. More recently, he has been freelance, and worked as project manager for lighting at Disney Paris' World Disney Studios Park. He will be based in Utrecht to place him closer to his territory.

David Catterall, managing director of High End Systems Europe, commented: "Fons knows the industry, he knows the products and best of all, knows our customers. It's a perfect fit - this is a people business and we've got the right guy."

(Ruth Rossington)

UK - Audace Ltd, manufacturers of the Intelliplate programmable control system for audio-visual installations, have forged a strategic alliance with IT specialists CETSAT. The move comes in the wake of an accelerating convergence between IT and AV technologies and markets.

Bryan Waters, managing director of Audace, explains the move: "For some time we have been keenly aware of the increasing need for our customers to be able to offer, at the very least, integration of AV technology with an existing IT infrastructure. Indeed our own SuperHub controller is a classic case in point, offering control and maintenance over the intra/internet using standard networking tools. Often, the need for integration will actually lead to an involvement in modifying, upgrading or even supplying an IT infrastructure. It makes less and less sense to view IT and AV provisions as distinct and it

Australia - Melbourne-based hire and production company Resolution X has recently added a fully-expanded (4,096 channel) grandMA console to its hire inventory. The grandMA was selected by Resolution X to meet its growing need for an all-singing, all-dancing moving light console. In addition to being regularly specified by international tours, Resolution X is finding that an increasing number of local LDs, including Paul Collison and Peter Lothian, are also specifying a grandMA for their productions.

One of the grandMA's first major jobs since arriving at Resolution X, has been at the studios of HSV 7 Melbourne, for Network Seven's latest game show 'Deal or No Deal'. On this production the grandMA is outputting five DMX streams to a multitude of Martin and Clay Paky moving lights, in addition to the studio dimmers. The console has been used in conjunction with a wireless PDA, a s

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