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14 March 2016

After meeting the specification for a major upgrade in 2007, Orbital recently provided theatre manager Mark Diamond with new E8 and E12 enclosures for portable use.

The events team already operates a portable d&b Q7 rig, provided by Orbital Sales, powered by d&b D6 dual-channel amplifier - which serves their needs where high gain before feedback is required.

For the permanent sound installation, overseen by IVC, Orbital Sales met the specification for a flown, décor-matched stereo system, based around two tops and three subs per side, designed by d&b audiotechnik's John Taylor. This combination of Q1 speakers (with rotatable waveguide) is augmented with Q-SUBS.

The theatre also has a

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14 March 2016

As in previous years, Berlin events service provider TSE AG was charged with the production, the centrepiece of its sound reinforcement design being an XLD system from Electro-Voice. Project manager Adrian Carlin comments: "The XLD has a number of very clear advantages over other line array systems. It is compact, it weighs very little, and it combines excellent intelligibility - which was particularly important he

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14 March 2016

In the intervening years throughout the months of June and July, the forest tour has attracted an array of top class acts to a variety of locations, giving audiences the opportunity to enjoy both the music and the environment in which it is performed. The atmosphere is invariably as relaxed and friendly as one could wish to experience and, with crowd management company AP Security on hand, it is sure to remain that way.

"AP has been working on a number of the Forestry Commission's sites for the last five years," says AP's national sales manager, John Phillips. "Our initial contract was for Westonbirt, The National Arboretum in the Cotswo

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14 March 2016

Despite having worked with DiGiCo consoles for several years in his capacity as system tech with the Foo Fighters, this is the first time that Judas Priest's front of house engineer (and production manager) Martin Walker has taken a DiGiCo board out on tour himself.

"With Judas Priest I've always felt that an analogue console is best," he says. "I've tried digital consoles with them before, but somehow they just weren't 'right' for the band. However the difficulty in finding my favoured analogue console prompted me to give the D5 a try this time out."

(Jim Evans)

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14 March 2016

For the Slam Stage, Adlib crew chief Hassane Essiahi and his team worked closely with sound engineer Dave Pringle to ensure that all the bands and DJs had the requisite levels of energy and volume to make it rock.

They chose to use a JBL VerTec system, all ground-stacked, with the main stage stacks containing six VT4889 elements a side, augmented with two 4889s per side at the edges of the stage, plus AA FD2 in-fills along the stage lip. For subs, there were eight VT 4880As per side. The four delays comprised three Nexo Alpha S2 subs, three B1 bass and six M3 tops per stack.

The FOH console was a Soundcraft Series 5. The system was controlled via Dolby Lake processors. Compression included dbx 160As and Avalon 737s, the l

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14 March 2016

HSBC decided to transform London's Wimbledon tube station into a fully interactive mini tennis court for the duration of the tournament. Enlisting the expertise of Red Door Events, the station's outdoor concourse was immersed in tennis fever.

The area was creatively tennis themed with false grass and adorned with a range of tennis accessories to welcome both local and international visitors. The centre of the station's entrance featured an HSBC backdrop, which incorporated a 55" Aquivo and a Nintendo Wii which were both built into the set, on which commuters were encouraged to challenge each others tennis skills.

Insight AV sourced and specified the outdo

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14 March 2016

It turned out not to be little green men from Mars, but an ambitious collaboration by New York artist Peter Coffin with London-based Cinimod Studios, and their design director Dominic Harris. Harris, who has worked with Pharos Architectural Controls on other projects, approached the control manufacturer for the Untitled (UFO) project, knowing that the Pharos LPC X could handle the requirements both in terms of the channel count and in realising the design brief for the playback of effects, but also - because the unit is entirely solid state - it would cope with all the vibration and movement being suspended from a helicopter travelling on sweeping and er

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14 March 2016

The D5T was supplied by New York-based Autograph A2D to PRG Audio, who leased the console to the show's production company. They, in turn, brought in theatrical sound design specialists Acme Sound Design Partners to design the audio production.

"We've been using DiGiCo D5Ts since the summer of 2004, when it was on Dirty Rotten Scoundrels at The Old Globe Theatre in LA Jolla, California," says Acme's Tom Clark. "Since then the D5T has become our default console for Broadway productions due to its audio quality, flexibility and high input/output count."

Lew Mead, managing director of Autograph A2

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14 March 2016

Echoing the original West End design, the art deco-influenced set was designed by Tom Pye with significant input from his associate, Tim McQuillen-Wright. Bespoke staging company, Brilliant Stages, has constructed specialist components within the set.

The main band rostra, which carry the 16-strong Big Band, was the first section to receive the Brilliant Stages treatment. This three-tiered structure maintains the art deco look with a retro silver and black finish to each fascia, complete with soft black leather trim and brushed silver 'corrugated' risers. Each fascia incorporates concealed, clear, non-neon lighting acting as down-lighters on the corrugated risers, whilst the bottom fascia conceals a line

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14 March 2016

Old News: Ageing rock stars and session musicians will keep receiving royalties for their old recordings for the rest of their lives under a European Union plan.Performer

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14 March 2016

The scheme enables installers to be rewarded with either a handheld consumer JVC Everio camcorder or a portable iPod stereo system with the purchase of a certain amount of CCTV products from an approved JVC UK supplier.

Phil Wring, UK CCTV sales manager at JVC Professional Europe states: "This sales promotion has been put in place to offer our partners a fun product to go with their CCTV purchases, and should make an ideal accompaniment for the rest of the summer months ahead."

(Jim Evans)

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14 March 2016

"It's always good to turn up to a major televised or festival show and see that Sennheiser are there to support you," said Ian Newton, monitor engineer for The Police, "especially in such a potentially difficult RF environment as Hyde Park. Even though the equipment behaved smoothly, the added support, if and when it's required, is invaluable."

The following week Sennheiser and Britannia Row were back in Hyde Park for a special concert by Jack Johnson, immediately followed by the first of four days of the O2 Wireless Festival. Johnson chose a Neumann KMS 105 for his vocal duties, while at the O2 Wireless festival artists like Mark Ronson and Th

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14 March 2016

Creative Technology's new PLM amplifiers have been loaded into 10 amplifier racks that each handle eight bi-amp or 16 full-range mixes. "We first used the new PLM-equipped racks in late June with Herbalife [nutrition and weight-management company]," Nealie continues. "For an event within a 16,000-seat venue in Rio De Janeiro.

"We sent three racks for the event. Normally, we would need to send

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14 March 2016

An eye catcher inside the centre is a dynamic lighting scheme along a corridor of escalators, a multi-coloured illumination realised by use of specially developed Martin Alien 02 Downlights. The Alien 02 Downlight is a modified model of the customary Alien 02 colour changer, housing a 150W halogen metal halide lamp, CMY color mixing system and mechanical dimmer. The special design was developed in collaboration with Bartenbach LichtLabor of Aldrans, Austria.

In direct comparison to LED devices, the Alien 02 Downlight provides several advantages such as a high luminous intensity, 9000 hour lamp life and easily achievable lamp

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14 March 2016

"The band are avid Turbosound fans and normally tour with an Aspect system," says Turbosound's UK sales manager, Paul McMullan. "So when Systems Etc, the audio rental company supplying the equipment for this tour, asked if they could try out our new Flex Array series, we felt it was the perfect opportunity to show them just what it can do in a live environment."

The FOH system comprised four TFA-600H compact trapezoidal three-way enclosures in 'A' mode - its line array mode - ground stacked on top of three TSW-218 subs per side. A further pair of TFA-600H in 'B' mode - with its horn rotated

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14 March 2016

onepointtwo provided and fitted the lighting for Lough Eske. "We worked closely with The Kaye Rice Partnership from the designer's initial concept to final installation," says Julie Stokes, onepointtwo lighting consultant. "The client and The Kaye Rice Partnership knew exactly what kind of lighting they wanted and we were delighted that we fulfilled every aspect of the brief."

The lighting design for the five star hotel caters for all aspects of the lit environment including the lobby, fu

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14 March 2016

Lighting designer, Jason Workman, primarily chose to use Martin MAC 2000 Performances, High End Systems Studio Colors and ETC Source 4 Lekos to light the event. Lighting was controlled by an AVO Diamond IV. The High End Systems Studio Colors were used to provide saturated colour for the room. Workman added Martin MAC 2000 Profiles with custom Make-A-Wish gobos to create texture on the walls.

The event's chairperson Ken Shull said that the lighting played a significant role in the event's overall success. "Bandit makes the gala," Shull commented. "It's incredible the differen

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14 March 2016

Tokyo based lighting designer Kenji Ohashi has worked with Def Leppard for the last six years, and has used Avolites control since the start of his professional career at Japanese rental company, Lighting Big 1.

Ohashi works closely with lighting crew chief Seth Conlin from Nashville based US rental company, Premier Global Productions. All kit for the UK section of the tour was supplied by west London based Entec Sound & Light.

It's exactly the same rig as they are using in the US, arranged across a master grid of trussing with gently sloping down side wings.

The D4 is controlling a total of 88 Martin Professional MAC 2K luminaires - 56

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14 March 2016

For the concert in France (in Paris Bercy), the main FOH system consisted of 2 x 15 V-DOSC cabinets with 2 x 3 dV-DOSC, completed for the side- hangs by 2 x 14 V-DOSC and 2 x 3 dV-DOSC. The subwoofer system design called for 32 x SB28 in total, all driven by L-Acoustics LA8 amplified controllers.

Freelance System Engineer Sherif El Barbari explains: "With the exception of the two shows in Bercy, all of the concerts are outdoor shows - stadiums, sheds, green fields or amphitheatres, which make the sound design very challenging. I am impressed by the power of the 32 SB28 subwoofers drive

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14 March 2016

Project engineer at ITV Steve Usher says: "In the TV lighting world, operators are only interested in the lighting, and not the technology. The old desks needed increasingly frequent repairs, and it was becoming harder to get spares. We looked at lots of different options, but it was difficult to find one which all the operators were confident about using. We were looking for a desk which was sophisticated, capable and flexible."

To change the desks over, the studios needed to be taken out of use for a few days - and with the studios as busy as they are, finding a slot was difficult. Usher continues: "The previous desks worked on DMX, so we needed to completely recable for Ethernet. In fr

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14 March 2016

With a capacity of 3,100 seated around three balcony levels, the new venue - part of the Meets Port business development at Tokyo Dome City - is designed to host events ranging from circuses, musicals, concerts, fashion shows and exhibitions through to sport such as boxing, wrestling and martial arts.

"The main criteria was that the hall should be able to adapt to different uses, and that it be equipped with cutting-edge audio and lightening systems with an innovative design," explains Takayuki Ozaki, Midas and Klark Teknik project manager, EVI Audio Japan. "In addition, its audio performance had to meet

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14 March 2016

After six years of working with South West Group it's no surprise that those involved have seen some changes occurring. "This year we were running Sennheiser Evolution 300 Series IEM's with 500 Series radio mics, all w

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14 March 2016

The new company, founded as an evolution of the successful relationship between Artistic Licence UK and the Hong Kong based Ptarmigan Consulting, will, like its UK counterpart, take an active role in both product and project based activities in the Far and Middle East.

"We have been working together on a less formal basis for the past two years," explains Artistic Licence managing director, Wayne Howell. "This has proved to be a great, and continuing, success allowing us to explore the market thoroughly and establish ourselves within it. We have decided the time is now right to formalise the relationship by forming an independent company, Artistic Licence Asia.&qu

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14 March 2016

US-based distributor, 1602 Group, demonstrated the TiMax to Niagara Fury creator, California-based Technifex who claim they were "so impressed it was immediately added to the budget". 1602 Group's Duncan Crundwell, who provided TiMax programming support on-site comments: "It made the howling wind feel much more real and as if you were a part of it. The moving effects were very smooth and you could pinpoint the water droplets as they splashed around you."

For periods during the show, the room is plunged into darkness without even the benefit of a lit exit sign. Sound is the