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UK - Phil Anderson at Wave AV has put Wharfedale Force 1LT loudspeakers at the heart of a sound system blueprint for newly restored, authentic country-style pubs which are part of an expanding investment programme undertaken by Hall & Woodhouse.

These sites are located all along the South Coast/M4 corridor, from Somerset to Dorset and across to Sussex. All the pubs share the design concept, the same food and drink menus, and are equipped with identical entertainment systems, which only change in respect of the quantity of equipment used.

Wave AV's template for the sound uses typically a dozen Wharfedale Force 1LT wall-mounted cabinets in 100V line mode, controlled by a Cloud 46/50 integrated zone mixer/amplifer. Remote level control is accessible from the bar via Cloud RSL-6 plates. A Rolec PHD1 hard-disk music system is at the heart of the system as the musical source.

Wave

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South Africa - South Africa’s Standard Bank Stars event on 29 March was an incentive awards evening held to honour employees throughout the country who are part of Standard Bank’s retail arm. Gearhouse South Africa was contracted by Jenny Lenahan Productions to provide the technical equipment and skills for the event, which took its theme from three decades of television and featured music, celebrities and television personalities from each of those eras.

Heading up the Gearhouse SA team was Ian Watts, who is operation’s manager of the Johannesburg branch’s audio-visual department. Ian was project manager of the Standard Bank Stars and comes with 15 years’ experience in the broadcast industry - at the SABC, and M-Net as well as Gearhouse Broadcast on an international basis. What made the Standard Bank Stars so unique was that the event took place si

Doughty - Banner - from 6 June 2025

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Japan - The 1,300-capacity Anzu Hall Cultural Centre in Koshoku City has undergone a dynamic sound system refurbishment based around a QSC network and monitoring system. The multi-purpose Anzu Hall - situated inside the City Hall complex - hosts a wide variety of cultural events. Ueda JRC carried out the installation, supported by ComodoMattina Inc, QSC’s Japanese distributor. The company’s Takafumi Asahina says: "Originally, the client didn’t have a clear idea of what they wanted, and so we recommended QSC’s QSControl (pronounced Q’s Control) network audio control solution as being the most progressive way forward."

The QSControl remote management system, a RAVE Ethernet-based signal transport design, and CX Series amplifiers form the hub of the project. With four of QSC’s new ISIS 102W loudspeakers also commissioned for the task of

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UK - Blink TV launched a new theatre-sized visual package on the recent six-week Liberty X UK tour, along with the supply of video project management, specification and hardware. The package is a new, highly flexible Blink format designed to bring high production values to tours playing theatres, town halls and other smaller-sized venues.

Blink’s project manager for the Liberty X tour, Adam Walton, worked in close consultation with lighting designer Jvan Morandi. Morandi is extremely specific about the look and style of all the shows on which he works and used a High End Catalyst video system as an integral part of the show’s visual aspect. Morandi and Walton chose an innovative format for Blink TV, with two Fast-fold video screens onstage for the opening and support band slots, onto which the Blink programmes could also be projected. Aesthetically, this has resulted

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Germany - Leading German PA rental company, Crystal Sound, has invested in a 40-channel ML4000 from Allen & Heath for their hire stock. Crystal Sound purchased the console through ProAudio Marketing, Allen & Heath's German distributor.

"Our agenda was simple - we were looking for a console with a lot to offer. The ML4000 has many auxes and is flexible enough for our clients to use either FOH or as a monitor console," said Hanns Hommen, Crystal Sound's MD. He added: "We were convinced by the ML4000's technical data, variety of features, EQs and of course, the price! Comparatively, there is no serious alternative to the ML Series on the mixer market."

(Lee Baldock)

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Russia - St Petersburg’s council chamber, situated within the city’s monumental Marrinsky Palace, has undergone a two-year renovation, including newly installed sound and video equipment. The ‘Grand Hall’, as the chamber is known, has the most problematic acoustics - a case in point being a reverberation time of around 3.5 seconds.

Ruton S, the Russian Electro-Voice distributor, was the firm entrusted with the responsibility of bringing the venerable 19th century hall into line with the high standards of modern communication, and one of the first tasks was to install a conference and voting system - of which the sound reinforcement system was a major part. After conducting simulations (using EV’s EAMS software), Ruton S decided on a set-up which not only offered excellent sound quality as well as compact dimensions and an elegant appearance. The sys

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UK - Robe UK Ltd - a direct sales operation of Czech Republic-based moving light manufacturer Robe Show Lighting - has been launched. The new company is set up to exclusively supply and market the rapidly expanding Robe brand in the UK and Republic of Ireland.

Robe UK is a joint venture between Robe Show Lighting and Ian Brown, formerly MD of Coe-tech, which went into administration last week. Coe-Tech appointed a liquidator after suffering a number of financial set-backs.

The new Robe venture will be based in Northampton and run by a management, sales and technical team assembled by Brown, and is the latest Robe Show Lighting subsidiary to be established, following Robe Italia Srl and Robe America.

Robe UK’s Ian Brown says: "It was a logical step forward to form the new company. The new business will allow us to focus tightly on our long-term business objectives

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UK - Director Bob Carlton’s production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream completed its highly successful four-week run at the Queen’s Theatre in Hornchurch earlier this week. As the creator of the Olivier Award-winning show Return to the Forbidden Planet (based on The Tempest), Bob Carlton is no stranger to hit Shakespeare-inspired musicals, but this Queen's Theatre production has been hailed as a fresh new interpretation. The production featured a large cast from the theatre's resident company of actor-musicians which included the string quartet Bebeto as the fairies.

Stage Technologies provided the production with a single-axis performer flying system, using a BigTow winch for counter weight assist and a Juggler control console. In a play where nymphs, fairies, royalty and common folk all clash on stage in their frantic search for love, the pr

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USA - p-wave, the new decorative version of the award-winning ‘new wave’ truss series from Total Structures, has appeared on stage with Luther Vandross at Radio City Music Hall in New York. p-wave was chosen by lighting designer Warwick Price for their striking effects under various lighting conditions, as the edges of the plexi webs capture the light and the truss glows to form part of the light show itself. Large acrylic panels were set between the vertical array of trusses and water passed over the etched surfaces to reflect the light, with stunning results. The show also featured a number of aluminum ‘hexi-pods’ which were fabricated by Total Structures some time ago for Light & Sound Design. These house lighting fixtures and are supported from the main grid above the stage.

(Lee Baldock)

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UK - Cheltenham Ladies College has had its presentation infrastructure boosted with the installation of a new state-of-the-art projection system. Designed and installed by AVPS - who have serviced the college’s requirements in the past - the larger contract to fit out the multi-purpose assembly hall was put out to three companies. AVPS tendered successfully and their Christie-based proposal was accepted on the strength of the product specification, obviating the need for an on-site demonstration.

AVPS’ Jules Deakin believes that it was his preference for the Christie Roadrunner L6 LCD projector which won them the contract. He recommended the L6, offering 1024 x 768 true XGA resolution, as the best solution in view of its superior brightness and its dual lamp facility. "It allows the college to run both lamps to achieve 5200 ANSI lumens during the day when the am

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Australia - The Australian Entertainment Industry Association has announced the nominees for the 2003 Helpmann Awards. Named in honour of dancer and actor Sir Robert Helpmann and first presented in 2001, these annual awards honour productions new to Australia.

The 2003 nominations cover a wide range of productions, including those created in Australia and those previously seen elsewhere in the world but visiting Australia for the first time. The awards include categories for both productions and technical work on productions - and, unusually for theatrical awards, even feature a category for sound design.

This year’s technical nominees are: Best Costume Design: Dale Ferguson - Great Expectations; Kristian Fredrikson - Man of La Mancha; Julie Lynch - The Way of the World; Bob Crowley - The Witches of Eastwick.

Best Scenic Design: Stephen Curt

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UK - Following our news yesterday that LouMarc a new, pan-European pro audio marketing company had been established, we also have further details on Sonic8 Ltd - a new UK pro audio distribution company which will take on products from the installation, live, broadcast and recording sectors, and which was the first to sign a distribution agreement with LouMarc.

Centrally-based in Leeds, Sonic8 has a team of product specialists travelling up and down the UK ready to help in sales and support. The company has initially taken on the full range of products from German microphone manufacturer Brauner and CLM Dynamics, the innovative Scottish signal processing company. Sonic8 expects to announce the addition of three more companies to its portfolio within the coming weeks.

Sonic's managing director is Stephen Helm, an audio specialist with 12 years' experience in product distribution

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Norway - D-PAC Audio of Denmark has appointed Micmo Lyd & Lys of Mo in Norway as sole A-dealer for the D-PAC range of products. A sales and rental company, Micmo has purchased 12 AS-2 subwoofers, six MP-152 multi-purpose 15" + 1.4" loudspeakers andfour MP-81 8"+1" multi-purpose speakers for their rental operation, with an option for six AM-2 mid/high cabinets and a number of AM-1/AS-1+ systems. A further two AS-2s and two AM-2s have been purchased for an installation.

Michael Christiansen, owner of Micmo, states: "I am very pleased to become sole A-dealer in Norway of D-PAC Audio. I know that long-term business relationships are crucial when dealing with top professional sound reinforcement products, and D-PAC Audio provides both, in terms of dedication to provide tomorrow’s technology and in a build quality that surpasses even other key suppliers

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Russia - One of the more inspiring events on the international arts scene has been the re-opening of the Na Dubrovke Theater in Moscow, where most of the original cast of the musical ‘Nord Ost’ returned to the stage, just months after the theatre and its audience were ravaged by a Chechen terrorist attack.

Permanently housed in the Na Dubrovke Theater, Nord Ost had broken Russian theatrical records by playing to full houses for just over a year, when the hostage crisis occurred. More than 150 people died in the events of October 2002, including 17 cast members. These last few months have seen great uncertainty over the future of the production, but, finally, after substantial charitable donations and grants from the Kremlin, the show premiered to standing ovations from an audience that included most of the world's press, the Deputy PM of Russia, the Mayor of M

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USA - Flying Pig Systems' Wholehog III lighting control system earned praises for its work in the Southeast Christian Church Easter Pageant held on 21 March - 4 April in Louisville, Kentucky. LD Jon ‘Hillbilly’ Weir used 81 intelligent fixtures and several hundred conventional fixtures on the event. Majestic Productions of Anderson, IN, provided equipment and technicians. Weir used the Wholehog III to run the automated fixtures and control the house console: the house system consisted of 400 desk channels and about 100 channels for house lights and various accents.

"In all, the whole show was on five very crowded universes," Weir says. "Out of 2048 channels on the Wholehog III, I had about 40 channels open - quite a full console! The whole show ran over fibe optic cable. The only copper coming from FOH to the racks was from the conventional console.&qu

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Australia - When the City of Perth put out a tender to light the exterior of Perth Concert Hall, Concert & Corporate Productions (C&CP) knew they had a good chance of securing the tender thanks to their impressive work lighting the exterior of another Perth landmark - Burswood Resort. And win it they did, beating seven other companies.

The City of Perth wanted to create a performing arts precinct on the forecourt of the Concert Hall and, to make this area more attractive, wanted the façade of the Hall to be creatively illuminated. Whilst some of the tendering companies proposed gobos and other such projection work, C&CP decided on colour washing the columns to create depth. To achieve this, they needed a small exterior light source that was both bright and had full CMY colour mixing so they opted for the Martin Exterior 200, its anodized aluminium cover camouflaging the fixture

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USA - Barco Media is pleased to announce that it has provided state-of-the-art display technology to the new Quiksilver Boardriders Club store in Times Square, located on the corner of 42nd Street and 7th Avenue in New York City. Quiksilver designs and manufactures a diverse line of products for young men and women catering to the surf, skate and snowboard riding lifestyle. Quiksilver brands offer a range of products including clothing, swimwear, accessories, eyewear and wetsuits.

Barco installed three of its DLite 10 LED displays above the entrance to the store. Each display measures 5' 11" high by 13' 3" wide and are used to show surf, skate, and snow video. All three displays are controlled by Barco's Signam!cs content management system, which allows Quiksilver to schedule the right message at the right time.

"The installation of our total display solution in

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UK - The eighth annual CEDIA UK Expo will be held at the Brighton Centre between 24th and 26th June 2003. It will be the largest yet, hosting a wealth of new exhibitors from the security and lighting industries, as well as established leaders in the residential entertainment systems and home automation markets.

The seminar programme is expanding as well, and will see the introduction of CEDIA certification examinations for technicians and designers, developed by the UK Education Committee from a structure successfully employed in the US. The third element - manufacturer training - is integrated with the seminars to ensure that theory and practice are perfectly complemented. The largest CEDIA UK Expo to date will be improved by the introduction of extensive on-line registration in April 2003 and the services of an accommodation bureau (01273 292626).

Spearheading CEDIA's Profe

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UK - As the exclusive UK distributor for Czech manufacturer - Cue, leaders in the design and manufacture of integrated multi-media remote control systems, beyerdynamic GB, has supplied Wentworth Golf Club with a sophisticated control system. Set in over 700 acres of beautiful rolling Surrey countryside, Wentworth is recognised as being much more than a Golf Club offering events and meetings facilities, a Health Club, Spa, and full banqueting for up to 280 guests.

As part of Wentworth’s first refurbishment phase, Legrand Electric Ltd specified the Cue lighting control system for its magnificent Ballroom, Hali-Burton room and The Masters room. Pivotal to the system design was the Assistant controller, specified by Legrand’s Mark Moody for its integrated control, aesthetics and competitive pricing.

Mark Moody explained: "We were introduced to CUE quite recently b

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Ireland - Aquarius Sound & Lighting has been appointed as the exclusive distributor of Australian pro audio manufacturer ARX Systems’ products in Ireland. ARX’s managing director Colin Park told us: "We welcome Phil and Niall Connolly and his team at Aquarius to the ARX European Distribution Network. Phil Connolly and I wrapped up the distribution agreement at last month’s Frankfurt ProLight+Sound. They were excited by the new installation products we’ve been releasing over the past 12 months, and we’re certainly excited to have a company with the enthusiasm and reputation of Aquarius representing ARX in the growing Irish market."

Located just outside Dublin and now headed by managing director Niall Connolly, Aquarius Sound & Light was formed in the early 70s by Phil Connolly to service the then infant Irish nightclub and discotheque indus

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UK - Marquee Audio is building up quite a reputation for kitting out municipal-owned, multi-purpose concert facilities in Hertfordshire. In the last few years they have provided cutting-edge sound systems for the Watersmeet in Rickmansworth and the Radlett Arts Centre. But it was their work at the high-profile Alban Arena in St. Albans that won them the recent contract to put a state-of-the-art system - based around new products from Tannoy and dbx - into the nearby Harpenden Public Halls.

As technical manager Dennis Paddison explained, both venues are administered by Leisure Connection Ltd on behalf of St Albans District Council. "Nevertheless Marquee still had to win a tender," reports Dennis. The old system in the 400-capacity halls, which were built in 1938, was well past its sell-by date. A trust was established when the major auditorium in the complex was renamed

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Germany - German Music-TV Station,Viva and Sunday newspaper Bild am Sonntag, organized an event in Kiel's Atrium Disco-Club using the Station's Allen & Heath ML5000 console. 3000 guests were entertained with performances from famous German acts including the original German ‘Pop Idol’ bands, No Angels and BroSis and dance club legends, Scooter. Viva acquired the console through Allen & Heath's German distributor, ProAudio Marketing.

(Lee Baldock)

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UK - Lighting designer Dave Smith and former LSD R&D chief Keith Owen have teamed up to form Specialz Limited. The company has been formed primarily to offer a one-off manufacturing service to set and lighting designers who cannot find the item they need ‘off the shelf’.

Dave Smith comments: "For some time I’ve felt that lighting and set designers need a dedicated company that can turn their ideas and concepts into a practical reality. With more rental companies concentrating on their core business, there is a need for a company that has the skills and expertise to design and build specialized items when designers call for innovation." Launched in early March, the company has already completed a refurbishment project for AFM lighting; six customized fittings for Placebo’s latest tour; and a set wiring project for Total Fabrications.

The compan

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UK - Stage engineering and automation specialists Stage Technologies has received The Queen’s Award for Enterprise in the International Trade category. Originally introduced in 1996, The Queens Award for Enterprise is one of the most sought after accolades a UK business can achieve. Thousands of applicants from some of the most successful businesses in every industry apply for the award, but only a few achieve a high enough standard to warrant such an honour.

Mark Ager and John Hastie founded Stage Technologies in 1994 to develop and supply theatres and entertainment venues internationally with computer-controlled systems to move scenery and fly performers. In the nine years since its inception, it has gone from strength to strength, and now has an impressive list of clients based around the globe. Most recently, the company has supplied automation systems for the new Wal

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