Italy - Umbria-Jazz is one of the world's most famous annual international jazz festivals and is held every summer in the Umbrian region of central Italy. The audio systems to be used this year will feature Adamson speakers and Powersoft amplifiers as part of a system designed by Reference Laboratory which will be installed in the S. Giuliana Arena, the stage where some of the major international artists are performing.

The linear-array audio system will consist of 24 Adamson Y-Axis speakers, 12 per side, powered by six Digam D 4002 amplifiers. Supplementing the above will be 12 Sub Y10s (six per side) and individually powered by 12 Digam amplifiers. Front fill is provided by four Epsylon 2 12/P Reference speakers.

(Sarah Rushton-Read)

UK - Reproduced Sound 19, organized by the Institute of Acoustics (IoA), has published a provisional programme for this year's conference, to be held at the Oxford Hotel in Wolvercote, Oxford, from Thursday 6 (main programme from Friday 7) to Saturday 8 November 2003.

The provisional programme, which can be found on the website below, promises another lively and informative weekend, in the long-standing tradition of Reproduced Sound conferences. This year, the theme is 'Exploring and Sharing Audio and Acoustics', and the topics covered include Speech Intelligibility; Perception; Room Acoustics; Audio Networks; Loudspeaker Arrays and Loudspeaker Measurements. The conference will also feature presentations from Dr DurandBergault of NASA, Floyd Toole of Harman International, Dr Wolfgang Ahnert of ADA (and EASE fame), Phil Nelson of the ISVR (Institute of Sound and Vibration Researc

Austria - Organizers of the Wiener Festwochen selected Chameleon's German distributor, Alex Schloesser GmbH, to supply the sound system for this annual open-air event, staged in the city of Vienna. Attended by 25,000 people, the concert was broadcast live on ORF and 3SAT TV/satellite stations.

Utilizing the historic Vienna City Hall as a backdrop, performers are drawn from the worlds of classical, traditional and contemporary music, and span mainstream rock bands to opera singers, a brass ensemble and a philharmonic orchestra. "The organizers specified that the system must be able to handle all the different styles of music and, above all, deliver a combination of power and clarity," says Schloesser. "Following a brief from local sound designer, Adolf Togel, I supplied an Adamson Y-Axis 18 line array for the main PA and an Adamson RA system for the delay. The moni

UK - London's prestigious Royal Albert Hall has recently purchased 10 Clay Paky Stage Profile Plus units to add to its existing Clay Paky Stage Zoom 1200 inventory for use in the famous auditorium. Supplied by Clay Paky and Pulsar reseller A.C. Lighting Ltd, these workhorse units will be used to complement all visiting showcase events.

RAH technical manager Mark Jones explains why he chose the Stage Profile Plus: "Due to the diverse nature of the shows in the hall, and the varying distance that the units are from the stage, we were looking for a zoom profile with high light output and overlapping shuttering. After a lengthy product comparison of 1200W shuttering moving head projectors on the market, we chose the SP+ because it is exceptionally bright with good colour mixing, the gobos can be changed easily, it's quiet and most importantly very reliable. The overlapping shut

Italy - A total of 40 Outline Micra Reflex loudspeaker enclosures, powered by Series T power amplifiers, have been installed as the sound reinforcement system for 'Escape from Atlantis' - the latest attraction at Italy's huge Gardaland amusement park. One of Europe's largest water parks, it covers an area of 15,000sq.m, and has already been the setting for spectacular publicity footage transmitted by major Italian and international television broadcasters.

Outline's systems can also be found at Gardaland outside the 'Valley of Kings' - an attraction that's a faithful 1:2 scale reproduction of Egypt's' ancient Abu Simbel temple. Here, two Doppia enclosures, two Victor Live subwoofers powered by DSP Genius 6 and T power amps and two (delayed) Digita Plus N enclosures reproduce the soundtrack for the laser, accompanied by dancing fountains and water walls up to 45ft high.

Outline

USA - Bandit Lites is currently on tour with lighting designer Eddie 'Bones' Connell and country music star Toby Keith, whose stage show includes a changing backdrop. Instead of employing the traditional 'Kabuki Stick' or the existing bulky Kabuki boxes to accomplish the curtain drop, Bandit Lites has improved on the design of the existing boxes to make them smaller, lighter and more maintenance friendly.

These newly styled Kabuki boxes were designed and manufactured by Bandit Lites' Technical Services Division. Each box has a load bearing potential of 15 pounds. The system is 'fired' from a custom-designed control centre, which is rack mountable and is contained in the PD racks. It holds the potential to fire up to 60 Kabuki boxes simultaneously. "This system is much more versatile than anything else on the market," said Richard Willis, Bandit Lites vice-president. Th

UK / USA - UK exhibitors, facility owners and customers attending this year's 115th AES Convention in New York, are being invited to a special reception hosted by the British Consul General and the APRS. The event, which takes place on Thursday 9 October (6.30pm - 8.30pm), will be open to all UK companies attending at the Convention, not just APRS members.

The aim of the reception is to provide an opportunity for UK companies and their suppliers and customers in the US to meet and network before the show starts the following day. Companies who would like their US customers to sample British hospitality are invited to send names and contact details to APRS executive director, Peter Filleul, at the e-mail address below, so that personal invitations from the New York British Trade Consul can be issued. All customer contacts will be held in strictest confidence by the APRS.

The AP

UK - Fuzion plc will be showing new additions to the WORK WPL Series of loudspeakers at PLASA 2003. Designed to exacting standards to produce a high quality acoustic response in an attractive, compact, ABS injection-moulded cabinet, the product represents top-class audio engineering.

The WPL Series is also conceived with a host of features to suit a variety of applications. They can be flown, while their trapezoidal shape also facilitates clustering. With their interlocking feet, stacking is also straightforward - while at the same time the integrated handles make them highly portable.

WPL products come in both passive and powered versions and models on show include the WPL 1 (12in + 1in 350W RMS passive); WPL1A (the bi-amp active version); WPL5 (15in + 1in 500W RMS passive) and WPL5A (the active equivalent).

WORK can be found on the Fuzion stand at PLASA, F60.

(Lee Baldoc

UK - International Leisure Industry Week, the UK's only event for the out-of-home leisure industry market, and PLASA, the Professional Lighting and Sound Association, have announced a new partnership.

PLASA will be hosting a special lounge in the Leisure Environments section of this year's LIW. The section focuses on how to create the right environment through design, lighting, sound, vision, furniture and fittings.

The strategic partnership was born of a mutual dedication to the leisure industry. LIW addresses the full range of needs of the leisure market, attracting decision-makers from across the board including nightclubs, late-night venue operators, theme parks, themed restaurants, fitness clubs, leisure centres, heritage centres and museums. The audience represents a fertile hunting ground for PLASA's members as these visitors all require lighting and sound products in

Belgium - The 10th Exhibition of the ACF (Audio Creative Fair) will be held at the Parc Des Expositions exhibition centre in Brussels, in Halls 11 and 12, from 25-28 November 2003. Exhibitors, originating from several countries of the European Community, will be presenting the sectors latest innovations.

The ACF will bring together manufacturers, importers and distributors of professional equipment, pre and post production firms, producers, creative talents in the field of image, sound, lighting, special effects, computer generated or virtual images and multimedia, the representatives of service companies working in these fields and Belgian and European official bodies. Stands dedicated to showing off equipment, services and know-how will be spread over the 22,000 square metres of Halls 11 and 12 of the Parc des Exposition in Brussels.

As in previous exhibitions, the AFC aims

Ireland - Duran Audio UK has recently supplied two AXYS Intellivox 4Cs, two AXYS Intellivox 2Bs and two AXYS Intellivox 1Bs to Northern Ireland-based installer DL Electronics as part of an installation at St Patrick's Cathedral in Armagh.

The Cathedral has recently undergone an extensive refurbishment programme: an important part of this project was to replace the PA system, as there had always been problems with speech intelligibility in the building. Acoustic consultant, Peter Lloyd, and the installers, DL Electronics, were keen to investigate a more innovative approach, as distributed systems had not worked well in the Cathedral in the past. Following several conversations with Duran Audio UK, they arranged for an Intellivox demonstration so that they could see what could be achieved using Duran Audios DDC technology. The benefits of the technology were immediately clear and

UK - Tecton is the newest line in Camco's range of amplifiers, and will be launched at PLASA 2003 by their exclusive UK distributors, Fuzion plc. There are 10 amplifiers in the series, peaking at the 2 x 1400W/4 ohms version, and all are optimized for use with either 8 or 4 ohm impedances. Tecton contains Camco's latest developments in high-efficiency SMPS (switchmode power supply) as well as their 'Superior Sound' amplifier designs.

Models in the range are the 8, 13, 18, 23 and 28. Those designated '.2' are 2-ohm optimized and those suffixed '.4' are 4-ohm optimized.

(Sarah Rushton-Read)

UK - Robe UK, exclusive UK distributors for Robe Show Lighting products, recently supplied Rob Smith of event company Robert Lawrence with a variety of Robe moving lights fixtures. The first outing for these was a six-week installation illuminating the Fortesqueue's 'Primary Colours' corporate hospitality structure, located at Lincolns Inn Fields, London WC2 for a full-on summer party season.

Smith utilized 16 Robe 250 washlights in the main area: these were rigged on a 3-metre truss pedestal, paired up and programmed to create a dramatic rainbow wash effect across the entire ceiling of the structure. They were also used to add movement and colour across the room and tables later on. A Robe 575 Scanner was positioned in each corner of the venue to create gobo break-up wash effects reaching up to the roof, and also on the floor and bandstand area. A further four break-up washes w

UK - According to SSE Hire, they provided one of the largest Nexo GEO T Tangent Array systems in the world for the main Pyramid Stage at the 2003 Glastonbury Festival. Nearly 100 GEO T4805 cabinets were used in the field, where between 90-100,000 fans gathered to watch the top act Radiohead. Performers on the main stage included additional headliners R.E.M. and Moby, as well as David Gray, Turin Brakes, Supergrass and The Flaming Lips.

The decision to use Nexo GEO technology was a major departure for the Glastonbury team and promoter Melvyn Benn of The Mean Fiddler Organization. The Pyramid Stage has, famously, been equipped with Turbosound Flashlight systems for many years. In winning the contract for the 2003 Festival, Chris Beale of SSE Hire completed an impressive roster of all the biggest festivals in the UK, all to be serviced with NEXO GEO T.

The system for the Pyramid

UK - A PLASA Member audio company has been approached by a company identifying itself as Paola Getti Holdings in the Isle of Man, asking for details of the company's products. In this case, the request was for copies of the manufacturer's web pages to be faxed to Paola Getti Holdings, as they were currently without internet access - the return fax number was, of course, a premium-rate number.

According to the UK-based website, Fraud Central ( www.fraudcentral.org.uk), Paola Getti Holdings is well known for this scam, which also takes the form of requesting a return telephone call, also on a premium rate number.

(Lee Baldock)

UK - When Scottish Opera was seeking to incorporate projection into a set for the first time, they knew that triggering different images from DVD onto black surfaces would be inherently difficult. Seeking professional advice, they contacted Cameron Presentations. Trying to balance high light output against cost, the Glasgow-based specialists recommended purchasing Christie's RoadRunner LX65 projector - an extension to Christie's RoadRunner range of high brightness LCD multimedia projectors, building on the success of the RoadRunner L6.

The LX65 provides 6500 ANSI lumens brightness from a dual-lamp light engine for bright, realistic images. New 3D digital video processing produces sharp video images from analogue and digital sources, 90% brightness uniformity and an 1100:1 contrast ratio. The Fast Lens Change (FLC) mount is a robust lens mount system designed for no-fuss lens cha

Switzerland - The Montreux' Congress Centre, which hosts a variety of concerts, conventions and theatre productions each year, has equipped its Stravinski Auditorium and Miles Davis Hall with L-Acoustics ARCS systems. The installation was made by the contractor TMS. Stravinski Auditorium has a capacity of 1,800 to 2,000 seats (1,200 in the pit and 600 in the circle), and the pit can accommodate up to 2,500 people in standing configuration.

The equipment consists of eight ARCS cabinets, split into two stereo clusters of four ARCS each, amplified by two LA24a, an XTA DP226 digital processor, four SB218 subs amplified by two LA48a, six MTD108a coaxial speakers for the circle fills, two MTD112b coaxial speakers and their dedicated L-Acoustics analogue controller to cover the first rows, and two MTD112b coaxial speakers with their dedicated analog controller for side fill.

Marc Bri

UK - Avesco has announced that it will be relocating its Creative Technology, MCL London and Screenco businesses, together with Avesco plc head office, to a new building in the London Gatwick area.

David Nicholson, chief executive of Avesco plc, told PLASA Media: "Since we merged the sales, project management and operations teams of CT, MCL London and Screenco, we have been looking for one building so that the businesses could be fully integrated with the people and equipment under one roof. This will allow us to provide our customers with a more complete service where necessary, whilst retaining the specialist skills within these companies.

"It has taken us a while to find the right premises and to negotiate an acceptable deal. This building is larger than we require immediately, but provides for future growth as market conditions start to improve."

(Ruth Ros

USA - Bandit Lites has announced that it will once again be holding free educational seminars for the public at the company's offices in Knoxville and Nashville, Tennessee. The first seminar, titled Lighting 101 - An Introduction to Production Lighting for Churches is scheduled at the company's headquarters in Knoxville on 9 August, 2003, and will focus on how to most effectively employ lighting techniques to enhance services of worship. The seminar will include demonstrations of a range of equipment, including consoles, conventional lighting and intelligent lighting. There will also be a question and answer session, as well as the opportunity for further discussion.

(Lee Baldock)

USA - Eastern Acoustic Works (EAW), a division of Mackie Designs Inc, has announced a new leasing programme that will make it easier for audio professionals to own a high-performance EAW touring system. Beginning immediately, the EAW Touring System Payment (TSP programme, developed in conjunction with US Commerce Equipment Finance LLC, gives extended payment terms and 12 months of 0% interest to qualified customers looking to purchase more than $25,000 worth of EAW products.

"A sizeable part of EAW's business is with touring and rental companies that purchase large systems," stated Paul Carelli, EAW touring systems market manager. "We understand that it takes some time for these companies to realize a return on their investment. Having the gear out there generating the revenue to make the payments is a tremendous advantage, especially for the regional production

UK - A big increase in demand this summer has seen London-based Alistage - already one of the largest stock holders of aluminium framed stage units in the country - having to manufacture approximately 300 more standard 8ft x 4ft stage units. This is in addition to the 200 extra units added last year. The range has been further extended with the introduction of a 4ft x 4ft chequer plate-topped unit and a 4.8m Perspex-topped circular stage. Recent productions that have put Alistage units to good use include Glastonbury, Womad, the disco night on Channel 4's Big Brother, Fame Academy and Later with Jools Holland.

(Barry Howse)

UK - PLASA continues to adapt to meet the changing demands of the dynamic and diverse markets it serves and for this year's PLASA Show (7-10 September at Earls Court, London) significant changes are in place to engage more visitors and exhibitors in this energetic, inspirational and trend-setting environment. The PLASA Professional Development Programme (PLASA PDP), the Association's new training initiative, will be hosting the educational programme at this year's show. This extended educational platform will examine current trends and issues across the broad range of our industry and provide visitors with the opportunity to broaden their knowledge and learn from the industry experts.

The format for this year's programme has changed to offer visitors more choice and variety. This year, the sessions will range from Technical Workshops aimed at technicians through to Business Semi

Germany - May 2003 saw the official opening of one of the largest and most modern cinema complexes in Germany - the Mathäser, in the heart of Munich. This mega cinema boasts no less than 14 auditoriums - each featuring a sound system from Electro-Voice.

The jewel in the crown of the new mega-complex is Screen 6, which is used for premieres. This auditorium has 840 seats and offers a screen in XXL format, and a sound system to match: the front system from Electro-Voice consists of five Variplex XL enclosures, while the surround system comprises 30 SL 12-2V units powered by 20 CPS 2 amplifiers. According to Eric Egenolf, sales director of Cine Project, the company responsible for installing the sound and projection equipment: "The cinema has been THX certified, for which it needed to satisfy extremely high standards of projection and sound quality."

Egenolf continues:

UK - This year's A.C. Lighting North Tradeshow in Leeds on 15 and 16 July was deemed to be a success by both sponsors and visitors alike, with more than 400 people attending over the two days of the show.

Key highlights of this year's event included the much welcomed addition of new industry seminars, which were well attended and are likely to become a permanent feature of future shows. Also of note was the increased presence and space devoted at this year's show to a host of key audio manufacturers, emphasizing A.C. Lighting's increasing role as a distributor of audio, as well as lighting, brands. Much interest was also aroused by the first industry unveiling of the new Tourspot and Tourwash moving lights and SpectraLite Combi Case products, all available exclusively from the company.

A.C. Lighting's Northern sales manager Jonathan Walters told PLASA Media: "I am please

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