UK - Adlib is supplying lighting and sound to the current The Specials tour which sees the 2 Tone and Ska revival band take their energy, politics and rocksteady beats around the country to their wide and loyal fanbase.

Mike Darling is again the charismatic and friendly production manager for the tour.

Adlib's Simon Pettitt designed the lighting. It's his second tour with The Specials in the LD role following a successful autumn 2014 campaign, at which point Simon was freelance before joining the award-winning Liverpool company full time in 2015.

Simon's concept for the 2014 run was formulated after meeting with the band, where references ranged from David Byrne to Pina Bausch. The design was repackaged and refreshed for the 2016 tour, largely remaining unchanged but taking the opportunity to clean up the floor package design into cleaner lines of fixtures.

The sho

France - The Diocese responsible for the French city of Tours has been organising events to mark the 1,700th anniversary of the birth of its patron saint, St. Martin of Tours. Alongside special masses in the city's Cathedral, the Saint's anniversary was also celebrated with a large, open-air mass in Marmoutiers where he founded a small hermitage in the fourth century - now the site of a ruined Abbey.

Sound engineer Julien Prouti

USA - "For a long time now, we've been trying to figure out the ideal cable solution for the professional recording environment," said Brad Lunde, founder and president of TransAudio Group, upon announcing that his company will distribute the zero-compromise (yet fairly-priced) Accusound professional audio cable products.

He continued, "With a high-resolution monitoring system, such as ATCs, and a minimal-cabling setup, the differences between different cable manufacturers are obvious. But even if you can hear the differences, which cable is 'correct?'"

The team at TransAudio Group argued about it for years... until they met Steve Seropian, the happily obsessive inventor of the Accusound cabling concept. "Through extensive product development and beta arrangements with the best ears in the business, Steve has ensured that there is no weak link in an Accusound cable," Lunde

Germany - The Musikalischen Komödie (Musical Comedy), a division of the Leipzig Opera and one of the highest occupied stages in Germany, has opted for a solution from the Dutch sound system manufacturer Alcons Audio.

The focus of the house, which is known far beyond the city limits as MuKo, is on operettas and musicals, and increasingly also on ballet performances. As the sound system of the auditorium got old, a modern solution was being sought that would satisfy the needs of the 520-seating, acoustically demanding room and would match the stage program as well.

The company HFE professional studio technology from Leipzig was responsible as an advisory and executing service provider for the installation. Hans Hermann Hönsch from HFE explains, "I've known Alcons Audio for a long time and recommended the Alcons LR7, because the system is in my opinion particularly well sui

China - The highly prestigious Beijing Film Academy has put their trust in Merging Technologies once again. Beijing Film Academy's School of Sound has constructed a new film music mixing studio.

Integral to this studio is the Pyramix audio workstation with a MassCore engine to provide ultra-low latencies and allowing users to have enough power to mix very high track counts simultaneously. This studio is also equipped with Merging's Horus which provides excellent AD/DA conversion quality and supports up to DSD256 and DXD (352.8 kHz PCM).

The high number of I/O channels necessary are easily accommodated via the RAVENNA/AES67 protocol which uses one Cat 5e/Cat 6 cable to connect to Pyramix. Channel routing can be done remotely using the same connection, providing the ultimate in convenience with superb sound quality.

The Dean of the Sound School, Professor Tong Lei summar

UK - More than 130 years have passed since St Katherine's College opened its doors in Tottenham. It was the first of eight colleges that eventually came together as Middlesex Polytechnic in 1973. Two further decades passed before the Polytechnic was granted university status by royal assent.

In the intervening years, Middlesex University has become a world-class institution with campuses in Dubai, Malta and Mauritius adding to its extensively re-developed Hendon site. The remodelling of an underused quadrangle situated around previously isolated wings of the College Building has completely changed the face of the Hendon Campus and has transformed the space by means of a strikingly modern and innovative glass roof. Part of a phased £14m masterplan, this newly created area is used throughout the year for a number of special events and presentations.

The Sir Raymond Ric

Germany - Running from August to October each year, the Ruhrtriennale international festival brings music, dance, theatre, performance and other arts together in the former industrial buildings of Germany's Ruhr region.

The festival's focal point is the Jahrhunderthalle, a former boiler house for the vast Krupp steelworks in Bochum. Its acoustics provide many challenges for audio engineers, but this year a Yamaha RIVAGE PM10 console helped to tame the sound for the opera Alceste.

Jahrhunderthalle is a unique venue. Originally built in 1902 as a temporary exhibition venue in Dusseldorf, the following year it was relocated to the Krupp site and converted to generate power for the steelworks. In 1991, 20 years after the works closed, the unrestored building was returned to entertainment use. Since 2003 it has been the main stage complex for the Ruhrtriennale.

The m

UK - 18 November saw the 2016 BBC Children In Need appeal raise an astonishing £46.6m, in fitting tribute to its late, much-loved figurehead Sir Terry Wogan. BBC studios throughout the UK were full of broadcast performances and events helping to raise funds, with Yamaha digital mixing consoles playing their part at Maida Vale studios in west London.

The studios were host to a three hour live-to-air broadcast by BBC Radio London, hosted by Robert Elms and Gary Crowley, as well as a performance by the cast of School of Rock - The Musical. Live Audio production in the studios was handled by John Henry's Ltd, contracted for the event by BBC Radio's senior live music producer Andy Rogers. For the consoles, John Henry's supplied a Yamaha PM5D-RH, two QL5s, a QL1 and an M7CL-48.

The live broadcast was hosted in Studio 3 and featured three stages. On one a PM5D-RH was

USA - Elation Professional's popular Colour Pendant colour-changing RGBW LED luminaire is now available in a variable white light version, the DW Pendant. This new, versatile, ETL approved LED luminaire allows for dynamic white light control of stage or house lighting levels in an energy-efficient downlighting fixture.

The DW Pendant houses 36 long-life 3W LEDs (18 cool white + 18 warm white) for variable shade projections of white light. It features full colour temperature range control from warm white tungsten (2,900K) to cool white daylight (6,800K) for a wide choice of shades. Its uniform flat-field output and 41° beam angle make for a highly effective wash luminaire whether flooding a stage in uniform shades of white light or functionally washing a seating area, foyer or other space. Variable dimming curve modes and strobe effects enhance its dynamic capabilities.

UK - Artistic Licence, has introduced two new products that complement its popular DMX-Buffer product. The range now includes the sister products DMX-Clarify and DMX-Protect.

DMX-Buffer is an economical alternative to an opto-splitter when there is a need to run DMX over distances greater than the standard limit of 300m. It rebuffers the DMX signal and offers full support for RDM.

Housed in a protective metal case and powered from a standard 9V PSU with a DC jack , DMX-Buffer is simple to use. DMX-Buffer XLR uses a standard 5-pin male XLR connector that is terminated internally. The output connector is an 5-pin female XLR connector. DMX-Buffer is also offered with Ethercon connectors (DMX-Buffer RJ45) to enable use with Cat5 cable.

DMX-Clarify is offered in the same form factor. It offers similar functionality to DMX-Buffer, but operates permanently in 'data fix' mode

Germany - Lawo has announced a full set of new features for its mc2 series consoles, adding further functionality for live, theatre and install sound applications.

With software release 5.8 the consoles now feature Module ISO, which enables users to prevent certain settings from being loaded from snapshots, respectively create partial snapshots that only affect certain channels or modules. The update also provides seamless RAVENNA AoIP integration for Neumann DMI-8 digital microphone interfaces.

"We are seeing a significant demand from customers to use our audio consoles in install, HOW and live sound environments. Therefore, we continue adding features tailored to these kind of applications", explains Hervé de Caro, live sound specialist at Lawo.

In addition to the new feature set, Lawo also announced a new interface card for its modular Nova73 processing and r

New Zealand - Eastgate Christian Centre in Auckland recently upgraded its audio system, selecting a combined dLive digital mixing and ME personal monitor system from Allen & Heath to manage FOH and monitor audio requirements.

"We needed a greater auxiliary count and a more flexible workflow than the existing FOH mixer could provide, plus the monitor system was no longer reliable, so the church decided to replace both systems with a higher capacity system that can easily handle the most demanding services," explains Matt Bayly, technical arts director at Eastgate.

After researching and seeking advice from AV consultants, the church enrolled its team of volunteers to test out different mixers before a purchasing decision was made.

"It was a unanimous decision - everyone preferred dLive as it had a superior work-flow, was more user friendly and it sounded incredible," say

UK - The Hyundai Mercury Prize, took place at London's Eventim Apollo Hammersmith and was won by Skepta, who beat new albums by a variety of artists including Radiohead, David Bowie, Anohni, and The 1975.

The awards event was produced by Lipfriend Rodd International. Producer David Davies, and technical director, Robert Lipfriend contracted PRG XL Video to supply rigging, and lighting for the show which was filmed and broadcast by BBC Music.

The lighting design for the show was created by award-winning designer, Nigel Catmur. PRG XL Video's account director, Chris Walker worked with a rigging brief which needed to accommodate both lighting and video elements, all of which moved during the show. Chris explains, "We worked with the design from Nigel Catmur, which included lighting, LED screens, and masking trusses.

"Our rigging team, led by head rigger, Chris 'Karrit' Ha

UK - Of the many Houses of Worship visited by AV installation company, Old Barn Audio (OBA), the Syrian Orthodox Church in East Acton will rank as one of the more unusual.

Fitted out with Martin Audio's radical CDD (Coaxial Differential Dispersion) sound reinforcement in time for its consecration in November, the church is described as "an autocephalous Oriental Orthodox church based in the Eastern Mediterranean, with members spread throughout the world". Due to the war in Syria, the community of Syriac Orthodox Christians in Britain has grown considerably.

The Church employs the oldest surviving liturgy in Christianity, the Liturgy of St. James the Apostle, and uses Syriac, a dialect of Aramaic spoken by Jesus Christ and his Apostles, as its official and liturgical language.

OBA was one of several companies asked to tender, and was awarded the contract largely as a re

Denmark - The MCH (Messe Center Herning) group is one of Scandinavia's largest congress centres, based in the city of Herning, mid Jutland, with large buildings and arenas for hosting conferences, sports events and rock concerts.

The group has just installed a new d&b audiotechnik loudspeaker system into its theatre in Herning town centre, which will be used for both conferences and live music events.

The decision to select d&b was made by a team of in-house and external professionals after presentations and listening tests. MCH's head of sound, Tommas Hviid Kristensen, commented, "We wanted a premium brand system that would be rider friendly for both in-house and visiting engineers, so we asked a number of companies to tender. Each company set up a mono hang of their system so that we could hear them in the theatre and then decide which we preferred."

Lars Baun Freder

Croatia - Avolites control consoles and Ai media servers powered beat-perfect visuals across Outlook and Dimensions, two of Croatia's leading dance music festivals, seamlessly merging lighting and video to immerse and enthral the crowds of revellers.

The sister festivals are held every year in Croatia's medieval town of Pula in the ruins of the town's 150-year-old Fort, 'Punto Christo'. Providing the lighting and video aspects for both Outlook and Dimensions was UK lighting, rigging and production expert Fineline Lighting, which has been involved in the festivals since 2012.

"This year we looked after The Void, Mungo's Arena, The Stables, Noah's Ballroom, The Moat, The Garden and the main stage," says Fineline Lighting's managing director Rob Sangwell. "The two festivals celebrate EDM and soundsystem culture, so lighting and visuals are always high on the agenda."

Sang

Cambodia - Johnny Strife, head of lighting and lighting designer at PNN TV in Cambodia has been announced as the lucky winner of Zero 88's popular In Control competition and he's chosen a Zero 88 FLX console as his prize.

Johnny is absolutely delighted. He could hardly believe it when he opened his FB page and found Zero 88's congratulations message, "I was so excited. I will use the new console to control many more performances," he declared.

The competition was extremely well received and open to anyone working with, using or owning a Zero 88 lighting control product - desks or dimmers - or even anyone even thinking about it!

Entrants snapped a photo of their Zero 88 product 'in control' in a real lighting environment and submitted this together with a short caption to the Zero 88 team via social media or Email. The entries were examined closely by a panel of experts

New Zealand - Auckland Live is a busy umbrella organisation running all the live performance venues in New Zealand's largest performing arts and convention centre complex right in the heart of the city.

Their existing stock of Robe moving lights is now boosted with the addition of 44 new LED moving lights - 12 x DL4S Profiles and 32 x LEDWash 800s.

Head of lighting Malcolm Ibel has been using Robe moving lights increasingly in his work in recent years, and Auckland Live initially invested in the MMX Series with the purchase of 12 x MMX Spots and 12 x MMX WashBeams.

Having been extremely happy with the performance of these and what they brought to lighting the various venues and shows, they had a solid basis for the decision to go with the latest purchase.

The DL4S Profile was selected for its finesse and elegance as a theatrical luminaire - compact size, light weig

Switzerland - Now equipped with Nexo's Geo M6 compact line array, the Rosey Concert Hall at Institut Le Rosey near Lausanne is already being acknowledged as one of the finest concert halls in Switzerland.

This 900-seat venue sits at the heart of the Paul and Henri Carnal Hall, a visionary building by architect Bernard Tschumi that has recently been added to the campus of the exclusive Rosey boarding school in Rolle, Switzerland. The auditorium, designed by Arup Acoustics, is dedicated to classical music, welcoming world-famous orchestras such as the St Petersburg Philharmonic. With the addition of a Nexo sound reinforcement system, it is also able to stage concerts, musicals, operas, lectures and film shows, as well as a huge range of other events to nourish students' cultural appetites.

ZAP Audiowas invited to design a PA system for this elegant hall. ZAP director Fr&eacu

UK - Production Park has announced the acquisition of consulting firm, AspectUnlimited and the integration of their media design workflow consultancy into the Production Park group of companies.

The acquisition will merge AspectUnlimited's specialties in previsualization, technical and production workflow consulting for 3d media servers and lighting systems, with the electronics and automation skill sets of Brilliant Automation to create a new renamed group brand - Brilliant Technologies.

Lee Brooks, managing director of Production Park, remarks, "Future productions will require an ever increasing technical integration of scenic, automation and visual technologies. Shannon and the team will be key to developing our capabilities in these areas."

Director of AspectUnlimited, Shannon Harvey will take on a new role as the director of technology for the Production Park grou

UK - The Studer Micro Series is a compact and cost-effective digital audio mixing system that provides the features and functionality of a high-end mixing system with full control from any standard web browser or tablet. Comprised of a core DSP unit, graphical user interface and optional fader control surface, the Studer Micro Series is suitable for radio and TV broadcast, production studios, ENG/DSNG, corporate events and more.

By combining renowned Studer quality with powerful features including AoIP, Lexicon effects processing, VoiceMix automatic mixing and more, the Studer Micro Series "delivers unprecedented value for a variety of applications".

Sound Technology will be holding a launch event at its Letchworth Garden City demo facility on Wednesday 7 December. The event will feature demonstrations and training from Studer product specialists.

(Jim Evans)

Europe - Real-time binaural and immersive spatial headphone mixes became a reality with KLANG:fabrik and KLANG:vier, which combine the wish for transparent and natural monitoring sound with the advantages of in-ear monitoring. Using advanced psychoacoustic research and innovative implementation, KLANG:technologies designed its in-ear and headphone mixing tools for studio, musical and live productions and was the proud winner of this year's prestigious PLASA Gold Award for Innovation.

The recognized problem with stereo IEM is positioning all of the signals of a mix in the narrow space between the left and right ears. This is solved by placing the signals virtually around the entire head, including above and below. In addition to significantly improving natural sound and transparency, listening fatigue is dramatically reduced.

Now, to make this next generation in-ear mixing

France - Loudspeaker manufacturer Amadeus has announced the install of a 3D sound system within Paris' Chaillot National Theatre. Along with Solid State Logic (SSL), Lab.gruppen and Sonic Emotion, the four companies joined forces to design a one-of-a-kind electro-acoustic sound reinforcement system for the theatre, which is one of the most historical and prestigious in France.

Amadeus has become one of the premiere manufacturers of high-end sound reinforcement systems for live and installed sound throughout Europe and Asia, while also designing and installing studio monitors. The Chaillot National Theatre's new 3D sound system has already been used in the production of original contemporary dance productions featuring choreographers, dancers and actors including, Olivia Ruiz, Jean-Claude Gallotta, Carolyn Carlson, Aesoon Ahn, Antony Hamilton, José Montalvo, Thomas Lebru

UK - At the beginning of this year, Tom Chaplin, ex-lead singer of Keane, announced his intention to embark on a solo career. In June, he completed his first album The Wave, which was released in mid-October. In the same month, he played a series of eight intimate gigs to promote the album. With an unusual list of venues and extremely limited space, DiGiCo S21s were the perfect fit for both Front of House and monitor positions.

Simon Hall, Tom's monitor engineer and project manager for Wigwam Acoustics, who supplied his S21, had worked with Keane for the past six years. "When Tom was ready to do some live shows, I got the call," he says. Mark Littlewood became involved via Simon, who he has toured with on and off for almost two decades, and mans the FOH position with his own S21.

"The tour started on 21 October and took in venues of various sizes," says Mark. "We al

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