Europe - Spanish AV equipment manufacturer Equipson has appointed Netherlands-based Tau Audio Solutions as its audio distributor in Benelux, with responsibility for its entire range of Work Pro products. For more than 20 years, TAU Audio Solutions has been a wholesaler and distributor of audio and communications systems. The company handles a variety of commercial and professional audio products including induction/hearing loops, microphone systems, voice alarm systems, rack and accessories. As well as selling products, Tau also provides advice and training to customers from its extensive showroom facilities in Groningen. As Equipson's Benelux distributor, Tau will be responsible for handling the company's entire range of Work Pro audio products which include loudspeakers, amplifiers, mixers, microphones and control systems, as well as an extensive range of audio acce
UK - Celestion has released a library of videos on the CelestionUK YouTube channel offering demonstrations, user tips, reviews, and expert advice, enabling players and producers alike to gain maximum tonal benefit from using the extensive family of Celestion Impulse Responses. Celestion’s collection of guitar and bass speaker IR tones are suited to artists, musicians, engineers, players and producers who are working at home right now, and are available for audition and download at CelestionPlus.com. Celestion IRs (impulse responses) are accurate digital representations of the company’s speakers, available for download. They allow users to closely simulate by digital means, the tone that one would get from playing a guitar (or bass) through one of Celestion’s physical speakers. Th
Europe - MA Lighting has highlighted its free educational web tools as it aims to help its users cope with the downtime during the coronavirus crisis “in the best possible way”. MA Tips videos provide new grandMA3 knowledge every week. MA Lighting‘s own free of cost E-learning platform is a powerful tool when entering the world of MA training. The grandMA3 software is the soul of the grandMA3 platform and is designed to accommodate the current and future needs of lighting control. Users can download and test it for free. For those who wish to connect with fellow MA users, the MA Forum is the place where they can ask questions about grandMA3 and dot2 and exchange views with other users about all kinds of MA topics. MA has compiled a list of its free resources here:
USA - Alcons Audio has appointed On The Road Marketing as its representative in the New York / New England region. Based in Rivervale, a short distance north of New York City, On The Road Marketing was originally established as a musical instrument distributor, quickly expanding its portfolio into the live sound, pro audio and AV contracting markets. In 2015, current principal Mark Meding brought 20 years’ experience of professional audio, AV and manufacturer representation to the company. It was his friendships with leading Broadway sound designer Nevin Steinberg and David Strang at PRG which introduced him to Alcons pro-ribbon solutions. “Alcons is a perfect fit for our customers, because the pro-ribbon drivers are the best on the market today. They are some of the most efficient drivers I have ever heard, able to get to extremely high output levels withou
Europe - Live shows may be postponed, but sound reinforcement solutions manufacturer Electro-Voice (E-V) wants musicians to keep performing. To facilitate this, the company is aiming to book 15 artists from any genre to play 15 concerts in May on the Electro-Voice Facebook page for the #EVOpenMic series. The concert series will see artists from around the world perform in one of three time slots to a global audience over five days at the end of May. The 15 selected artists will receive a $300 performance fee, as well as one Electro-Voice Evolve 30M column system and two Electro-Voice performance mics. The auditions are now open and will run until 6 May. Virtual auditions will take place from 7-18 May, and the concerts are scheduled to take place between 26-30 May. Performers can apply now at
Italy - Florence-based loudspeaker specialist K-array is set to restart manufacturing operations next week. A statement from co-founders Alessandro and Massimo says: “Regarding the recent health protocols issued by the Italian government, K-array's production and warehouse in San Piero a Sieve (Florence) will resume operating Monday through Thursday at 8:30am to 1:00pm and 2:00pm to 5:00pm starting from Monday, 4 May. With the well-being of our staff at the forefront, K-array has implemented all the safety and health regulations required for all its employees to reopen at this time. “Furthermore, we’d like to inform you that our administrative office and several departments will continue to operate remotely to provide customer care as well as design and technical consulting. We remain committed to keeping you informed on our company activity and we thank you for
India - Harman Professional Solutions has appointed ARK Infosolutions as its nationwide master dealer for the recording and broadcast segment in India. ARK will also be Harman’s partner for the PA and retail segment for the North Indian region. The collaboration is aimed at facilitating channel penetration for Harman products to meet the increasing demand in various segments such as broadcast, production, post-production studios, rental companies, cinematographers, musicians, film fraternity, and more. “Collaboration and partnership are essential parts of any organization when aiming for success. ARK Infosolutions’ approach towards customer preference matches our own,” comments Aditya Todi, senior director of sales and marketing, Harman Professional Solutions, India and SAARC. “Collaborating with them will not only allow our partners and customers in N
UK - University of South Wales (USW) Music & Sound students have been working hard to transform what was originally planned to be a series of live gigs in various local venues around Cardiff, into a realtime event of multiple livestreams taking place over the next few days, until 3 May. In partnership with Keep Cardiff Live and Dazed, the USW students had to quickly adapt when the Covid19 pandemic brought with it a unique set of circumstances where those plans were no longer possible. Overcoming many technical challenges, the students will be hosting the festival online, featuring genres that are popular in live music events in Cardiff. The festival will include indie, hip-hop, house, metal and drum’n’bass nights along with interviews with subjects including USW graduate and Grammy nominee, Romesh Dodangoda, Lacertilla and Tidy Records. USW student Lewis
UK - Acting & Theatre Production students at London’s prestigious Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) rigged a dynamic scene change using an Electro Kabuki drop in a recent performance of Oscar’s Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest. The play calls for a scene change between Act 1, based in the Piccadilly rooms of character Algernon Moncrief and Act 2, set in the garden of the Manor House in Woolton belonging to character Jack Worthing (aka. Earnest). In this lively and engaging production, the creative team came up with a novel idea to mark the transition. With Electro Kabuki dropper modules rigged to the grid high above the production in a cargo net configuration, several hundred flower heads were dropped to the stage, bang on cue with accompanying sound effects, as the actor playing Miss Prism took her seat at the garden table. Marked by appreci
UK - Music Support has launched weekly online support group meetings to allow the music industry’s 12 Step recovery community to continue to connect during the Covid-19 lockdown. Meetings will take place every Monday 18:00-19:00 GMT from 27 April to 28 September 2020. Available to any music industry peers throughout the summer, Music Support will provide a confidential and non-judgemental space for people to share and encourage one another on the journey of recovery. Music Support Services Officer, Joanne Croxford, states: “It might be that someone is in need of a secure virtual space to share their experiences, while others may want to take part in these meetings simply by listening in and feeling accepted and connected during isolation. Music Support will offer strength and hope as we all na
UK - When Projects Department Ltd won the contract to create two live studios and two breaking news spots for the Financial Times TV studio in London, Doughty Engineering was quickly brought on board to supply a range of broadcast kit. Peter Daffarn, managing director, Projects Department Ltd explains: "The client briefed us to create the studios and news spots for presenting live news bulletins at short notice and for occasional use and, with Doughty being our go-to company for hoists and grids, we knew they'd be fundamental to the project from the start." Building a bulletin studio meant that Projects Department Ltd had a smaller than usual space to work with, therefore the design and build needed to be imaginative. The studios were required to be integrated into a working office space and, with a number of high-profile guests visiting, the client wanted it to be aes
USA - On Tuesday evening, Verge Aero, the leader in high performance drone light shows, delivered a unique aerial tribute to medical staff and essential workers on the frontline of the COVID-19 pandemic. The display of gratitude took place opposite the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania and The Children’s Hospital of Pennsylvania as part of the global #LightItBlue and local #PhillyShinesBlue campaigns, not far from Verge Aero’s Pennovation Works offices at the University of Pennsylvania. The aerial light show was launched from Philadelphia’s Franklin Field football stadium, adjacent to the hospital complex. 140 extremely bright drones configured themselves into giant images up to 400ft above the ground, making themselves visible throughout the University of Pennsylvania campus and medical centre as well as far away across the Schuylkill River in downtow
USA - Breaking down barriers between athletes and fans, Ross Stripling and Cooper Surles launched The Big Swing podcast in January 2019 to discuss everything from sports to pop culture to finance, with a focus on all things baseball. When the co-hosts were looking to deploy a high-quality microphone solution to capture crystal-clear audio for their podcast, they found what they were searching for with MXL Microphones’ BCD-1 Live Broadcast Dynamic Microphone. “In our first few months of podcasting, audio was the biggest challenge for us,” says Stripling. “Once we were able to deploy the MXL mics and put them in front of each speaker, our audio went up twofold – the sound quality of MXL’s BCD-1 is incomparable to the previous solution we were using.” In addition to quality audio pickup, Surles finds the noise rejection capabilities of MXL’s BCD-1 t
Belgium - Looking for an alternative venue to the norm, a young couple in West Flanders held their wedding reception at Transfo Zweegem, a former power plant that was built in 1911. With its matrix of crisscrossing steel girders and beams, boilers, tanks and generator housings, the venue’s long narrow main hall resonates with echoes of a distant industrial past. Accenting the evocative power of this setting, while complementing it with a stylish 21st century touch, was a vividly coloured lighting arrangement by Présence that featured over 40 Chauvet Professional fixtures supplied by Solico Events & Expo Technics. The warm amber, and purple-blue light form these fixtures endowed the room with an inviting sense of intimacy without detracting from the stark, intense effect of its industrial nature. “We definitely liked the industrial atmosphere,” said Isabel D
USA - Bright Star Systems recently equipped Marcus Theatres’ new Movie Tavern location in Milwaukee, the first full cinema complex in the U.S. to feature JBL Sculpted Surround technology, with JBL Professional cinema loudspeakers, JBL Professional DSi 2.0 amplifiers and Crown DCi amplifiers. Movie Tavern by Marcus is a premium theatre concept offering restaurant-style dining and in-seat service for moviegoers. At the new location in the Brookfield Square shopping centre, guests can enjoy dinner and a movie in the premium UltraScreen DLX theatre with Dolby Atmos immersive audio or one of seven additional theatres with 7.1 surround sound. Bright Star Systems equipped the complex with JBL Professional cinema loudspeakers, DSi 2.0 amplifiers and Crown DCi amplifiers, following the JBL Sculpted Surround specification in the 7.1-equipped theatres. Sculpted Surround relies
USA - Following the success of ADJ’s first run of Stay Connected educational live video broadcasts, the company has announced that more have been planned. Covering a wide variety of lighting-related topics, and including panel sessions with industry leaders, the next wave of broadcasts will take place twice each week throughout May and into June. Each new instalment of Stay Connected will have a particular focus and provide an opportunity for lighting and event professionals to upskill from the safety and comfort of their own homes or offices. Some will take a deep dive into a specific piece of software or technology, while others will cover a more general topic. All the sessions are designed “to teach, equip and inspire”. Broadcast via Facebook Live, the videos will also feature interactive elements allowing viewers to ask questions directly to the
USA/Europe - A group of industry manufacturers, including Audio Ltd., Ambient, dB Audio, DPA Microphones, Lectrosonics, K-Tek, Sonosax, Sound Devices, Bubblebee Industries, Schoeps, Ursa Straps, and Viviana Straps are offering a new-product based virtual event. Virtual Sound Summit 2020 is a two-day virtual event featuring a number of new product and technology announcements that would have taken place at the 2020 NAB Show. Say the organisers, “Presentations will be of interest to location sound and production professionals, chief engineers, news technicians, ENG crews, camera operators, network executives and other audio professionals in the field. This marks the first virtual Sound Summit, a series of educational presentations aimed at joining audio professionals together to collaborate and discuss audio production tools and techniques.” The summit is sched
Europe - During these challenging times, Christie continues to support its partners and customers in many ways, including the provision of online courses through Christie University, many of which are open to anyone with an interest in the technology, and free. “Need to sharpen your understanding of processing with products such as Spyder, or hone your skills in content management or switching and distribution with products like Pandoras Box and Terra SDVoE technology? Sign up for one of our webinars for Pandoras Box or Christie Terra and Christie Spyder,” says Christie.
USA - Australian alternative dance trio Rüfüs Du Sol,have been steadily building their reputation over the past decade. Masterminding the lighting on their tours since 2014 - respectively in support of the albums Atlas, Bloom, Solace, and now Live From Joshua Tree - has been Matthew Smith from Melbourne-based Colourblind. As part of the Solace album tour, the band had appeared at CRSSD Festival in San Diego’s Waterfront Park at the beginning of March. “We redesigned the show to give it new life for the second half of the album cycle, deciding to replace the 24 GLP impression X4 Bar 20’s with more [GLP] JDC1’s,” explained Colourblind director, Matthew Smith, who was responsible for carrying out the redesign. In fact the production is now using 38 of the JDC1’s in total, run in SPix mode 3 (68-channels) - seven upstage beh
USA - Members of the final The Allman Brothers Band line-up, dubbed ‘The Brothers’, came together at Madison Square Garden in New York City to celebrate 50 years of The Allman Brothers Band. The Brothers included founding member Jaimoe and longtime members Warren Haynes, Derek Trucks, Oteil Burbridge, Marc Quinones, and Chuck Leavell along with guests Duane Trucks and Reese Wynans. The powerhouse band transported Madison Square Garden into the past with songs going back to the band’s original 1969 album. The one-night show was powered by Meyer Sound solutions anchored by Leo and Lyon linear line array loudspeakers, provided by rental partners UltraSound and PRG North America. The system configuration consisted of, per side (L/R), a main PA with 16 Leo loudspeakers, six flown 1100-LFC low-frequency control elements, main 180-degree arrays and 270-degree arrays of
UK - Britannia Row Productions has joined ranks of audio providers investing in Outline’s Newton processors. The purchase followed an evaluation period and product demonstrations made by CUK’s James Lawford and Outline’s product specialist, Fernando Rey Méndez, BRP’s technical head Keith Cunningham comments: “Following several demos of the Newton, we were very impressed with the GUI, fast workflow and ease of use. The Newton is the all-in-one solution to many technical problems. “The form factor is the real selling point, it's a constant battle for all manufacturers to try and shrink the footprint while retaining functionality - Outline has managed to find a perfect match between both. Fernando at Outline and James at CUK have been very receptive to our feedback and feature requests, which really inspires confidence in both companies.” BRP’
UK - The Society of London Theatre (SOLT) and UK Theatre (UKT) have launched a digital resource to support the theatre sector during the COVID-19 crisis. Theatre Means Business, available via theatremeansbusiness.info, provides an ongoing programme of webinars hosted by experts in their field. The webinars aim to cater for a wide pool of viewers, from furloughed workers to those in charge of the future of their organisation. Topics covered include business interruption planning, audience development following extreme events, and fostering diversity and inclusion. Most webinars will be available free of charge (with optional donations) to non-members, although select sessions may require membership at SOLT and UKT. Upcoming sessions include Reboot: Your Baseline for
Europe - Five leading professional audio manufacturers have developed the first multi-manufacturer voice alarm solution fully compliant with EN 54-16. The new initiative, created by Harman, Peavey, Luminex, d&b audiotechnik and Powersoft, introduces EN 54-16 product compliance to a larger pool of manufacturers and removes the need for specifiers to purchase such systems from specialist manufacturers. Instead, specifiers can now build compliant systems using products from different manufacturers. Certification has already been granted to over 30 products, including audio signal processing and control using Peavey MediaMatrix, audio signal processing from BSS Audio, and a wide selection of Crown and Powersoft amplifiers. Luminex network switches are also certified to allow systems to be connected using copper or fibre. In the coming weeks, d&b amplifiers will al
UK - A group of associations have launched the #EventsForTheFuture initiative in a bid to amplify the calls for better government support for the hard-hit events sector during the COVID-19 crisis. #EventsForTheFuture is a collaboration between the Association for British Theatre Technicians (ABTT), the Professional Lighting and Sound Association (PLASA), Production Services Association (PSA), the Society Of London Theatres (SOLT), and UK Theatre. The bodies, which together represent over 3,000 businesses and individuals, have issued a joint call to events and entertainment industry professionals asking them to write to their MPs to highlight the government support needed in order to safeguard the future of the sector. “The overall aim is to ensure events and entertainment are protected in the long term," says a statement. "Providing consistent messaging to government
