Sweden - Sweden based United Audio Starlight, one of the biggest live entertainment companies in Northern Europe, has committed to changing out their existing stock of over 400 Lab.gruppen amplifiers to replace them with 200 of the new Lab.gruppen FP + Series FP 10000Q 4 x 2500 watt-per-channel amplifiers.

"We were one of the beta test sites for the prototype FP 10000Q amplifiers during summer 2006," says Björn Lehnberg, branch manager, Audio, United Audio Starlight. "And our engineers and road crews were astonished by the new 4-channel monster. In our application, one FP 10000Q can replace two fP6400s so we halve the weight and halve the space taken up. These factors alone made the decision to replace our entire inventory very attractive."To help make the change over as swift as possible, United Audio Starlight chose to utilise their existing racks as a sho

USA - Bandit Lites has been nominated for a Pinnacle Award,presented by the Knoxville Chamber of Commerce. The Pinnacle Awards recognisewinners in eight different categories and celebrate the accomplishments of businesses inthe Knoxville area.

Bandit has been nominated specifically in the Business Excellence category. This awardis presented to a company headquartered in East Tennessee or a company with asignificant presence in East Tennessee that has shown remarkable profitability, growthand stability. Nominees must be recognised regionally, nationally and/or internationally intheir respective business sector, while demonstrating leadership in the sector as well.Nominated companies should have made significant investments in facilities andemployees.

The Pinnacle Business Awards Ceremony will be held on 27 April, 2007 at the KnoxvilleConvention Centre. More than 600 peop

USA - Victoria's Secret launches 'Secret Embrace' (a one-piece technology bra) with a special PR event at Herald Square today, using FogScreen technology.

FogScreen projection produces a thin curtain of "dry" fog that serves as a translucent projection screen, displaying images that literally float in the air. FogScreen projection screen uses ordinary tap water and does not contain any chemicals, thus earning the distinction of being "the audiovisual innovation of the decade".

In the 'Secret Embrace' launch guests - and supermodels - walk through a wall created with FogScreen projection screen. "Victoria's Secret is able to create a stunning display that is so captivating and attractive that it cannot help but to grab people's attention," says Mika Koivula, CEO of FogScreen, Inc. "This year we have launched FogScreen projection screen into th

UK - RF specialist, Trantec reports that its innovative 4-channel UHF S4.4 mic system has been taken on board by Rocktronic Centres - the buying consortium of independent musical equipment retailers in the UK.

Rocktronic Centres comprises over sixty independent MI stores nationwide and is headed up by Ian Barnes. The aim of Rocktronic Centres is to offer a combined buying power that allows more product choice, better deals and ultimately an increased service capacity.

Trantec's S4.4 was launched last Autumn and offers "a cost effective and flexible alternative for vocals, presentations and musical instruments".Additionally, the system offers four licence-free switchable UHF frequencies, which can operate simultaneously.

The system is available as a Vocal system, which comprises a hand-held transmitter with a dynamic capsule and a diversity receiver. The Lapel syste

UK - Yeovil-based systems integrator IVC is celebrating after winning the InAVation award for the Most InAVative large Commercial Project, for its £2.7M AV project in the iconic Senedd, the home of the Welsh National Assembly.

Held in Amsterdam, the InAVation awards have been developed to recognise, celebrate and encourage professional excellence within the commercial and residential AV integration industries. Almost 8000 individual votes from over 60 countries throughout the EMEA region decided the winners of the 2007 event, selecting IVC's project over the Moscow Government Boardroom in Russia, the Adi Dassler Brand Centre in Germany and Tadco-De Beers Diamond World in South Africa.

IVC managing director Ray Harding commented, "The Senedd has been defined as the arena in which the future of Wales will be shaped, so it was hugely exciting to be involved, ins

UK - Adlib Audio supplied a JBL VerTec sound system and full audio production and crew for Brand New's recent UK tour - the New York based Indie rockers' largest production tour to date. In control of Brand New's FOH mix is engineer Chris Cole who recommended Adlib to tour manager Jamieson Shea, having working with them several times in the past.

VerTec and also three of the latest Dolby Lake processors for EQ were employed. They used ten elements of flown VerTec a side and six Adlib DF4 twin 18" subs. The VT was powered by Camco Vortex 6 amplifiers and the subs by Crown VZ5000s.

Cole used a Midas H3000 console, which he describes as "a great desk for sound quality and ease of use, and generally excellent for the band". For compression, he used a combination of dbx 160s and BSS901s chained together. Adlib also supplied a rack of four dbx 160s which he put across

USA - Northeastern Production Systems of Rochester, NY is celebrating its 35th Anniversary in 2007 and, by extension, its 35-year relationship with JBL. Since 1972, Northeastern has evolved from a local sound production supplier to become one of the region's premier audio/lighting/video systems providers.

Over the years, artists for whom Northeastern Production Systems has provided live production services include Al Green, Heart, Patti LaBelle, Bill Cosby, KC and The Sunshine Band, Public Enemy, Chuck Mangione, the Spinners, and the Goo Goo Dolls.

According to founder Ray DiBiase, the key to Northeastern Production's success and growth has been its ability to provide a variety of different services as the company has evolved. "First we added lighting in the late 1970's, then in 1990 we decided our destiny was in total production packages," DiBiase said. "We pro

Denmark - One of Scandinavia's premiere ballet companies, The Peter Schaufuss Ballet based in Holstebro, is a leading touring troupe that was established ten years ago by renowned ballet dancer, choreographer and director Peter Schaufuss. The company tours nationally and internationally with new productions staged every year.

Since 2005 lighting design for the Ballet has been handled by technical manager and chief of lighting, Bo Kudsk Kristensen who has traditionally had a large conventional lighting rig at his disposal. Last year he welcomed the addition of a Martin automated lighting package consisting of 17 MAC 2000 Performance and 17 MAC 2000 Wash fixtures, with control via a grandMA.

In 2006 Peter Schaufuss initiated collaboration with the British cartoonist Gerald Scarfe who created part of the scenography for Satisfaction, Schaufuss' dance concert based on the m

Australia - Established in 1859, the GPO is a famous Melbourne landmark, transforming from postal hall to popular night spot and function centre in the 1990's. Managed by Robertson Hospitality Group, the GPO most recently underwent a comprehensive update of its audio systems,selecting Allen & Heath mixing products throughout.

"CEO Ian Robertson and music director Scott Thompson were looking for a premium quality audio system that could stay in the background visually, but be very much in the foreground acoustically," commented system designer and contractor Nathan Pugh of One Productions.

The GPO offers four key function areas, The Lexington, The Music Room, The Library and The Terrace. The Lexington makes use of the heritage architecture of the GPO building, with grand archways, 7-metre high ceilings, huge period windows, Swarovski crystal chandeliers, draped privat

USA - A complement of grandMA consoles controlled an array of fixtures employed by lighting directors Patrick Dierson and Kevin Lawson of Artfag, LLC at two pre-Super Bowl concerts. grandMAs also controlled lighting by Artfag lighting & video directors Richard Wold and Pat Brannon for a pre-game NFL party for VIPs.

The VH-1 Presents Pepsi Smash Bash featuring John Legend, Fergie and Kanye West, was hosted by Taye Diggs outside Dolphins Stadium on the NFL Experience Concert Stage. Recorded to HD by MTV Networks the Thursday before the game, the concert was telecast on Saturday night. Friday night Telemundo's Pepsi Smash Super Bowl Fiesta featuring Don Omar, Ivy Queen and Aventura was taped on the same stage for broadcast as well. Spike Brandt at Artfag provided production design for both concerts.

"The same equipment and rig was used for each event," not

UK - Lighting designer Steve Douglas is using an Avolites Diamond 4 Vision console to control lighting for Las Vegas-based The Killers' Sam's Town world tour which is currently playing UK arenas.

Dublin-based Douglas has used Avolites consoles since the start of his professional career. He used a D4 on the previous US leg of the tour, "so it was a natural choice to continue" he says. He's also the show's programmer and operator, so he wanted a powerful desk that he knew was fast and easy to set up. He adds that with their schedule already including a festival season in the summer, "Features like Fixture Exchange are really invaluable".

Equipment for the European section of the tour is being supplied by Siyan. The stage features some spectacular red curtains, borders and legs, with monitor and guitar worlds onstage also wrapped in matching red materia

USA - A substantial quantity of SymNet DSP and expansion devices have been installed at the Alabama State House in Montgomery, where they provide processing, auto-mixing, matrixing and distribution functionality for the legislative spaces. This installation is part of an audio/visual upgrade at the State Legislature building which was designed by special systems engineering firm NBTA Engineers, of Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

"We worked very closely with the owner to develop a system tailored to their specific needs. The project was well executed and on budget, and will meettheir needs for many years to come," claims Trez Traylor, president of NBTA Engineers.

The House and Senate chambers are each identically outfitted with a SymNet 8x8 DSP hardware module together with 12-channel BreakIn12 and BreakOut12 expansion devices. Principal inputs into each DSP matrix include mi

South Africa - DPA microphones have played a major role in the South African production of We Will Rock You which premiered at the 1,069-seat Nelson Mandela Theatre in Johannesburg before transferring to Cape Town and Durban.

The show, which plays tribute to rock band Queen, was written by British author Ben Elton together with band members Brian May and Roger Taylor and has sold more than four million tickets worldwide. A futuristic struggle between good and evil, We Will Rock You is based on Queen's back catalogue which spans more than three decades.

A combination of DPA 4065 and 4066 omnidirectional headband mics were used for all cast members. The mics were supplied by DPA's South African distributor Prosound, whose Mark Malherbe was also the sound designer for the show's South African run. Malherbe loosely based his design on the original, which also specifi

Italy - TV lighting designer Pino Quini has specified 12 Robe DigitalSpot 5000DT moving head projectors for the popular series Tutte Donne Tranne Me (All Women Except Me), a one man show starring actor/singer Massimo Ranieri with special guests. The RAI 1 show is broadcast live from Studio 15 of Rome's Cine Citta complex and is on air at 9 p.m. Friday - one of the channel's prime time TV slots.

The scenic design by Marco Calzavara includes a 360 degree white cyclorama which encases the whole studio set, including the seating stands and the stage. "It was an obvious artistic decision to make in filling this space with colour and texturing" explains Quini, but he wanted to go beyond just gobo and lighting effects to moving images and photographic impressions.

The twelve fixtures are being supplied by Di & Di Lighting & Truck SRL from Rome. They are rigged around

UK - AKG, celebrating its 60th anniversary, and its British distributor Harman Pro UK are showing several of the company's latest products at Sounds Expo 2007 at Olympia.

Perhaps the best commemoration of AKG's heritage on display is the limited anniversary edition of the C414 large-diaphragm recording mic. Only 2007 of these mics are being made worldwide, and only during this year.

Two of AKG's biggest launches this year are the D5 and C5 vocal microphones. The supercardioid D5 is a hard-wearing handheld dynamic mic (also available as the D5S with an on/off switch), while the C5 is a rugged cardioid condenser mic. Both mics are designed for recording or stage use, and use some of AKG's most recently developed microphone technology, including a laminate diaphragm in the D5 and a 24-carat gold-sputtered capsule housing in the C5 as a protection against humidity and moisture bui

UK - Harman Pro UK dealer Mersysound Productions has completed a project to install conference facilities and a performance Room at the Alima Centre in Liverpool, which is operated by the Novas Group community project.

The installation features a range of Harman products, including a Soundcraft GB4 24 channel mixing console; Crown I-T4000 and Xs500 amplifiers; DBX 260 Loudspeaker EQ & Management System; Lexicon MPX550 Multi-FX processor and a range of JBL Professional speakers including Control 25 Compact 2-way loudspeakers, VRXX932LA line array loudspeakers, an SRX7188 sub woofer and a JRX112M two-way wedge monitor.

The Alima Centre is a multicultural community venue that offers a range of services and educational and training facilities to community arts groups and schools. Its aim is to create a platform for local people to develop their individual, community and cultural a

UK - Support and training organisation Britt Worldwide UK, held its winter conference at Nottingham Ice Arena under the banner 'The Start of a New Day'. Panda Hire provided and installed the lighting for the event where the aim was to design a flexible lighting rig that could be used for great lighting effects during the introduction and musical play-ons and static lighting for the rest of the weekend.

With this and time restrictions in mind, an all intelligent rig was put together comprising of Martin MAC 700 Profile and MAC 700 Wash units on the front truss and MAC 250 Entour and MAC 250 Wash units to the back truss and stage. Two Jem Glaciators were used stage left and right to create a heavy fog effect for the introduction and Jem Stage Hazers and a Magnum 2000 smoke machine to enhance the lighting.

Lighting designer, Panda's Paul White comments, "The MAC 700 Wash uni

UK - St Bride's Church in London's Fleet Street - often known as the journalists' church - has taken delivery of some 50 ETC Source Four fixed focus spotlights as part of a refurbishment to replace worn out lighting.

Designed in 1672 by Sir Christopher Wren, the current St Bride's replaced a smaller church of the same name destroyed in the 1666 Great Fire of London. The 234 ft spire, added in 1701, was the tallest ever designed by Wren and was supposed to withstand both lightning and war. The tower's shape, which looks like three tiers, has led to it being dubbed the Wedding Cake Church. It has a traditional link with journalists and newspaper proprietors, who paid for it to be rebuilt after it was gutted by incendiary bombs dropped by the Luftwaffe in 1940.

Since then, it has acquired a reputation as not only a place of worship for traditional services, but also for concerts

UK - After thirty years, the powerful drama Equus has returned to London's West End, with lighting designed by David Hersey and supplied by PRG Europe. Daniel Radcliffe, better known for playing the lead role in the Harry Potter movies, plays the part of a 17-year old who has a passion for horses, with Richard Griffiths as psychiatrist Martin Dysart.

Written by Peter Shaffer in 1973, the show, which is produced by David Pugh and directed by Thea Sharrock, has received rave reviews since it started previews on 16 February with a standing ovation for Radcliffe, surprising many of his critics. The lighting includes some 140 Source Four luminaires and over thirty moving lights, as well as a number of custom gobos produced by PRG Europe's Gobo Resource facility.

Production electrician for the show, which is being staged at the Gielgud Theatre on Shaftesbury Avenue, is Ian Moulds; p

USA - Through a generous grant provided by GE Consumer & Industrial, Thomas Edison House in Louisville (KY) has installed new museum lighting. The project was completed in commemoration of Thomas Edison's 160th birthday. The inventor lived and worked in Louisville, and later became the founder of the General Electric Company.

Kevin Ruppelt, general manager of Water Products, GE Consumer & Industrial, and a member of the Thomas Edison House's Board of Regents, comments: "This was a great way to utilise GE's design, products and resources, and to give back to our local community. Thomas Edison would be proud of GE's advances in lighting technology and what we've done to highlight his inventions at the Museum. We are proud of our heritage."

The lighting installed at the Museum includes GE's new Diamond Precise track lighting designed for interior museum applications. Di

USA - Super Vision International Inc is changing its name to Nexxus Lighting Inc, with effect from April 2007, and is relocating its corporate headquarters to Charlotte, North Carolina. These changes are part of the company's new strategic plan to direct its focus toward advanced technology lighting products and systems. The company's stock symbol will change from 'SUPVA' to 'NEXS' in April 2007, and trading under the new 'NEXS' symbol is also expected to start in April.

The company will focus its resources on the rapidly expanding market for LED lighting system technologies, fibre optic lighting technologies and other new emerging white light technologies through both new product development and potential strategic acquisitions. "Nexxus Lighting can be viewed as a brand new company with a solid foundation and a very clear vision," stated Mike Bauer, president and CEO.

UK - Roadmender in Northampton is a long-established contemporary performing and visual arts centre which is now under new management and stages concerts including rock, reggae, hiphop, dance, world, jazz roots and experimental music.

The Fabtronic Group in Northampton was asked to provide an alternative to architectural LED lighting and colour-changing products. The new system was designed, programmed and commissioned by Chris Hobbins, events and special projects manager at Fabtronic. He says, "My solution was the CX-10 Extreme to provide colour change, morphing texture effects and gobo projection."

The venue was also refurbished during this project, using a good selection of Martin products which included, MAC 250s, Atomic Strobes, Martin Roboscan 218s, Martin Roboscan 518s, Martin Freekie, Jem ZR-12 DMX and Jem ZR-30.

(Jim Evans)

USA/Japan - Analogue signal processing and mixing equipment manufacturer API Audio has appointed Mix Wave as its Japanese distributor.

Hide Suzuki, director, pro audio sales manager at Mix Wave says: "API manufactures some of the very best analogue equipment in the world. They've been making waves for decades, and with the industry's renewed interest in imparting an analogue sound on digital recordings, interest in API keeps increasing. For those customers who were clambering for API, we're happy to add them to our line card. For those customers who haven't heard of API's products, we're happy to let them hear what they've been missing!"

API's managing director, Gordon Smart, commented: "We're extremely pleased to have Mix Wave as our distributor in the important Japanese professional audio market, and we look forward to working closely with them."

(Jim E

Sweden/USA - Wireless Solution Sweden AB and Illumivision, Inc. recently turned the Murray Lock and Dam Bridge in Little Rock, Arkansas into a spectacular tourist attraction. The newly constructed pedestrian and bicycle bridge over Murray Lock and Dam, dubbed the "Big Dam Bridge", recently held a special ceremony to show off its new look, bejewelled with coloured lights.

The bridge, which spans the Arkansas River, is 4,226 feet long, with a span over the river totalling 3,463 feet, according to the US Army Corps of Engineers. Billed as the world's longest pedestrian and bicycle bridge, construction was completed in August 2006. The addition of lights was completed a few months later.

Illumivision of Edmonton, Alberta, was responsible for the design and installation of the bridge lighting - 169 Illumivision Light Wave LX fixtures are installed at the base of the thirt

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