UK - Clear-Com, a Vitec Group brand and the global leader in trusted intercom solutions, has appointed Karlie Miles as director of sales for Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA).

In this new role, Miles will be focused on further developing and managing the Clear-Com sales and channel strategy in EMEA and overseeing the EMEA sales organisation.

"For the past seven years at Clear-Com, Karlie has made significant contribution in increasing sales within the Live Performance and Broadcasting markets and in strengthening the channel network in EMEA. We believe Karlie's appointment into this new position is absolutely key in our success to grow our business in EMEA," said Graham Ramsey, vice president of worldwide sales and support. Miles will report directly to Ramsey.

Miles started at Clear-Com as a sales manager covering the UK market in 1999, and was then promoted a

UK / Poland - Allen & Heath has appointed Konsbud-Audio to exclusively manage the sales, distribution and service of Allen & Heath product lines in Poland.

"We are very excited to have Allen & Heath in our product mix," says Konsbud-Audio's president, Agnieszka Pyrich. "During the last couple of years we have been very successful with Audio Technica, D&B Audiotechnik, Neutrik, Aviom and other brands that we carry in the Polish market."

"To become the distributor for one of the leading mixing console manufacturers means that Konsbud-Audio is able to offer a very strong solution in the pro audio field from microphones to mixing consoles and speakers. This will definitely strengthen our position in the Polish market."

Konsbud-Audio debuted the Allen & Heath line at the recent Music Media 2006 show in Krakow.

(Lee Baldock)

USA - Sennheiser Electronic Corporation, Turbosound's US distributor, has appointed Brad Stephens as national sales manager for Turbosound. Sennheiser's VP of sales and marketing, Jeff Alexander, made the appointment to meet the growing demand for Turbosound products, along with the increasing success of Aspect and TCS Compact series, the company says.

Stephens is no stranger to Turbosound, having spent three years with the brand's previous US distributor. In his new position, Stephens will not only support Turbosound but also function as the southwest (Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Louisiana) representative for Neumann and distributed brands, including HHB, True Systems, Australian Monitor and Klein + Hummel. Stephens's most recent positions were as senior technology consultant for Teng & Associates, Chicago and Dallas, and as territory manager for the Bose Corporation.

In hi

UK - A.C. Lighting's Audio division is one of the first Yamaha UK dealers to receive stock of the new LS9 range of 16 and 32 channel portable digital mixing consoles. A.C. is now carrying stock alongside other key consoles in the Yamaha range and will be providing 'digital dealer' support for the LS9 models, including product advice, training, installation and keeping a desk permanently in stock for demo and backup purposes.

The company is expecting a huge demand for the LS9 consoles after receiving many enquiries when the models were launched at the recent PLASA exhibition in September, it reports.

Yamaha consoles have defined modern digital sound reinforcement and earned the acclaim of top engineers around the world for their reliability, superb sound and intuitive operation, says the company. The LS9 series follows in the footsteps of the Yamaha PM1D, PM5D and M7CL, expandi

USA - Underscoring its intent to aggressively expand sales in existing business channels, while simultaneously developing new market opportunities for its line of professional loudspeakers, JBL Professional has announced the appointment of industry veteran Buzz Goodwin to the position of executive vice-president of sales.

Goodwin assumes complete responsibility for the development and implementation of all worldwide JBL Professional sales programmes, and reports directly to JBL Professional President John Carpanini who, in announcing the appointment, noted: "Buzz Goodwin is the man most qualified to help us achieve our growth objectives. In a career that spans 20 years in all areas of the professional audio industry, Buzz has demonstrated time and time again that he is the consummate sales professional who succeeds through leadership that inspires and energizes the entire o

UK - Razorlight recently performed a special one-off show for MTV2's Gonzo tour, held at the Barfly in Camden. London-based Systems Etc. provided sound reinforcement for the venue, selecting a 32-channel version of Allen & Heath's new dedicated live sound monitor desk, the GL2800M, to manage the band's monitor mixes.

It was the first time the band has performed at the Barfly for three years, and the compact 200-capacity venue made for an intimate gig for a band who ordinarily sell out arenas. Tickets were selling on Ebay for as much as £400 in the run up to the gig.

The crowd were treated to performances from support acts The View and the Good Shoes, before a 45-minute set from the headlining Razorlight, who rolled out the hits including 'Stumble and Fall', 'Vice', 'Golden Touch', 'Up All Night, 'In the Morning' and their number one 'America'.

The new GL2800M desk is a

UK - For a venue that is designed to be temporary, the Royal Shakespeare Company's Courtyard Theatre in Stratford Upon Avon exceeds expectation in many areas, with sound and lighting specifications that would not be out of place in any permanent installation. The venue also includes an Ampetronic induction loop system, intended not just to comply with the Disability Discrimination Act, but to satisfy the high standards the hearing impaired should be able to expect of a venue such as this.

Designed by the in-house team at Ampetronic and installed by Stage Electrics, the system has impressed both Tim Cullen, in charge of the project for Stage Electrics, and the venue itself. "I was really impressed when I worked with Ampetronic for the first time at the Wales Millennium Centre," says Cullen. "When I came here and installed this system myself, I was amazed with its q

UK - RG Jones Hire Department has provided a speech and background music system for the handing over of six new cars to Motability Car Scheme customers outside the Royal Mews at Buckingham Palace. HRH Princess Alexandra joined Lord Sterling on Friday 6 October for the presentation, which marked a milestone in the Scheme's history, providing two million cars to disabled people over the last 28 years. Originally set up in 1978 by Lord Sterling and the late Lord Goodman, the organization has gone from strength to strength.

As Buckingham Palace is probably the highest profile public building, RG's project manager, Simon Hodge recognised the challenges facing the company. The system had to be installed with minimum disruption but maximum coverage, and yet still blend in with its surroundings.Strict working schedules, stringent health and safety legislation, comprehension of guideline

UK - PA Installations of Llanelli Wales have just completed a major re-design, and re-fit of a new audio installation at the Essex University, Colchester Campus Student Union.

Having operated for many years as the main focus of all entertainments and functions within the campus, the venue attracts several large name acts as well as breaking new up and coming bands and artistes. Consisting of a very acoustically live room with an approximate capacity of 750, the building offers a 1970's style construction with concrete walls, pillars and floors.

Andy Bonehill, operations and projects director for PAI, having already attended several meetings and presentations, knew without any doubt that to increase performance and value and to meet the high expectations of the experienced management team of the venue, as well as the notoriously fickle likes of the graduates, they would need a

UK - Nearing the end of a record year for touring, Entec Sound & Light have boosted their inventory by investing in a further Yamaha PM5D-RH digital console from Marquee Audio.

With digital consoles now a standard inventory requirement, Entec once again needed to call on all the expertise of the Shepperton based suppliers, and their digital specialist Andy Huffer.

Head of sound Dick Hayes remembers the support provided by Marquee when they entered the brave new world of digital, purchasing a Yamaha PM1D from the resellers four years ago for use on the David Bowie tour. This gave them the confidence to buy their first PM5D-RH when it was released - and now their second.

Entec's sound assistant Peter Codron, says that winning the TPI award last year has raised the general level of perception, and suddenly Entec found themselves prepping up for tours by Lily Allen, Jet and Tool

UK - Popular Leicester Square music bar Sound has relocated from the Swiss Centre to the prestigious No.1. Leicester Square building. The expanded enterprise now makes provision for a new bar, fine dining restaurant, private VIP rooms and nightclub, operating on the three floors once occupied by Home, and more recently the Marquee Club.

Sandwiched between the MTV Studios and Penthouse Club, managing director Roger Payne of Sound Too Ltd has spent £1.3m - part of it dedicated to a new Martin Audio sound system - supplied by LMC Audio and installed by Carl Broadhurst's CTS Productions.

When Sound reopened at the beginning of October it extended an 11-year association it has enjoyed with Leicester Square. In fact it was while working as a technician at the old venue that Carl first became acquainted with Roger Payne, nearly a decade ago.

The installer exclusively specifie

UK - London bar and live venue operators the Canteloupe Group have extended their relationship with Soundcraft mixing consoles. Nearly three years after specifying a 32-channel MH3 multi-purpose desk in the FOH position at popular 500-capacity Shoreditch venue Cargo London, the company's contracted installers, Marquee Audio, have recommended a 24-channel GB4 console for the new Big Chill House at Kings Cross.

The venue is the brainchild of Big Chill Festival promoters, Pete Lawrence and Katrina Larkin, who merged with the Cantaloupe Group at the end of 2002. First they converted The Peacock in Brick Lane to the Big Chill Bar before raising the stakes with the £1.2m development of three original town houses (which had variously operated as The Crossbar, The Bell and Sahara Nights) into the 550-capacity Big Chill House.

Marquee Audio installation manager, Scott Wakelin, wh

UK - In Glasgow, the Classic Grand is under new management, and its new owners are thinking big. Their ambition is to be the number one live venue in Glasgow, if not in Scotland, and the installation of a new large-format Electro-Voice PA system was the necessary first step towards realising that goal.

The 500-capacity club is housed in one of Glasgow's first cinema buildings. Set over two floors, the Classic Grand's live music policy encompasses anything and everything, and gigs are usually followed by club sessions by the likes of The Friday Factory and Porno. With the venue also aspiring to attract corporate event hire, the criteria for a sound system was necessarily that it should be highly flexible.

Locally situated in Glasgow, Andrew O'Neill of Flashlite has been working with the club's owners for 15 years so he was a natural choice to re-furbish the technical facilities

USA - Italian pro audio manufacturer RCF SpA has announced that its US subsidiary RCF USA Inc has just moved to a new location in Hampton, New Hampshire. RCF's sales director Fausto Incerti explained: "The popularity of the RCF brand has grown rapidly as more and more people learn of its quality and reliability. It has always been our intention to produce audio products that the US market wanted. I feel that this move will help strengthen our position in North America.

Hans Radda, director of RCF USA Inc, added: "With the opening of our facility in New Hampshire, it enables us to increase our stock holdings of all major lines, including ART, 4 PRO, TT+ and Transducers. It will also help us support our reps sales network, who now cover the entire USA territory."

(Lee Baldock)

Australia - Australia-based manufacturer ARX has released the new, updated Sixgate 6-channel optical noise gate. The sheer amount of effects and signal processors required for today's standards of audio production puts a great strain on the available space in equipment racks, both in the studio and on the road, say the company. So, in order to give engineers more control in less space, ARX has created the ARX Sixgate optical noise gate, offering six full-function noise gates neatly housed in a compact, steel 1U package.

Internally, each gate features ARX's brand new proprietary ultra-low-noise high-speed opto-coupler circuitry with program dependent Attack time, which tracks the incoming signal to automatically determine optimum gate response. The new opto-coupler offers noise and distortion specifications which cannot be matched by conventional VCA or DSP designs, say the compa

UK - PLASA, the Professional Lighting and Sound Association, in conjunction with The Eden Project and Lighting&Sound International magazine, is looking at the possibility of supporting a conference on environmental awareness in show and event production.

The proposed conference will broadly examine the current practices of the production industry and look at how companies and organisations can take steps to minimise the carbon footprint of staging shows, supplying and touring equipment, catering for audiences, etc. The event will draw on the expertise of the team at The Eden Project, the popular tourist attraction in the South West of England, whose environmental policies underpin a series of 'green' gigs at the venue.

At this stage, PLASA is gauging the level of interest in such an event, so we want to hear from everyone in the industry who would like to be involved. If you w

UK - The world famous Eden Project hosted BBC coverage of the Children In Need fundraising evening this month, employing Allen & Heath's new iLive digital mixing system to manage audio for two musical events that took place during the evening for the enjoyment of the visiting fundraisers and viewing public.

Comprising an iDR-64 mix engine with iLive-144 control surface, the iLive system was initially installed in Eden's Warm Temperate biome, where the Carnawn Ladies Choir sang a mixture of Christmas and traditional Cornish songs.

"The Biome's dimensions are 135m long 35m high and 65m wide, and with many twists and turns, open spaces and enveloping vegetation, it is acoustically challenging to fill all areas. However, iLive - feeding an EM Acoustic speaker system - filled the biome with the choir's pure harmonies," explains Steve Yelland from local PA company, SPS Sys

Norway - Once again, the open air performance of Henrik Ibsen's Peer Gynt with music by Edvard Grieg at Gålå (Norway) was one of the most impressive live events of the year. MultiTechnic was charged with the production and relied on a Dynacord Cobra system.

Since 1989, the performance of Peer Gynt in Gålå has been one of the highlights of the Norwegian open-air season. This year, more than 150,000 spectators made their pilgrimage to the open-air stage in its idyllic lakeside setting framed by mountains and forests to enjoy Ibsen's celebrated drama set to music by Edvard Grieg. No cars, or trains, or city noise distract the listener: every word spoken and every note played is perceived with a far greater intensity than in the theatres, concert halls and opera houses of the major cities.

To make the most of the unique acoustics, the organizers asked their produ

UK - tsg, the UK's leading music programmers and system designers, have recently provided ILVA, the Danish furniture retailer, with Promedia hard disk systems and a bespoke music profile for all three of its UK stores.

Launched in the UK this year, ILVA is a different kind of home furnishing store with three 120,000sq.ft outlets in Thurrock, Manchester and Gateshead. Aiming to replicate the success of its existing Scandinavian stores, ILVA offers a wide range of quality furniture and accessories at affordable prices. It aims to set trends within home décor and provide inspiration for shoppers in an enjoyable shopping environment.

Designed by acclaimed Danish architects Schmidt, Hammer and Lassen, the stores have won civic architectural awards and have been hailed among the most modern and beautiful in Northern Europe. The flagship store in Malmo, Sweden, recently won 20

UK - Vanguardia Consulting, the Surrey-based acousticians, sound system designers and noise control specialists, have been called in to design and specify a substantial temporary audio system for Twickenham Stadium's brand-new South Stand for the current series of Rugby internationals.

The system marks the six-month-old company's first live sound project since U2's legendary soundman Joe O'Herlihy joined the Vanguardia team in a consultancy role in September. The South Stand, which takes Twickenham's capacity to 82,000 for matches, allowed the stadium to host a record crowd when the stand was opened for the Investec Challenge match between England and New Zealand on 5 November. However, its roof has yet to be finished, meaning that a temporary solution had to be found to provide a fully certifiable public address and voice announcement (PA/VA) system to cover the South Stand for

South Africa - The Stones chain of entertainment venues is rapidly becoming one of South Africa's most established and successful hotspots and has been successfully franchised across 19 branches nationwide. Two of the chain's key venues in Cape Town and Pretoria now boast state-of-the-art EAW sound systems throughout, supplied and installed by EAW's South African distributor, Johannesburg-based systems specialists, Surgesound.

Offering customers a huge choice of entertainment, Stones venues incorporate chilled lounge areas, up-beat dancefloors, live music stages and a relaxed bar and pool table environment, all open seven days per week. After hearing the EAW system recently installed by Surgesound in the Manhattan Club in Johannesburg, Adam Collingwood, operations manager for the Stones Group, had no hesitation in commissioning Surgesound to supply and install a customised Lab.g

The Netherlands - The latest phase in the development of Amsterdam's legendary Paradiso nightclub was recently completed with the addition of Synco compact stage monitoring on long-term rental from Synco Europe through Ampco Pro Rent (APR).

The floor monitors, which are used both on the Paradiso's main stage and its smaller stage upstairs, are rented on a 60-month arrangement - under the same formula that applies to Synco wedges already on long-term hire to six other top Dutch clubs, the Tivoli, Het Paard, the Music Centre Utrecht, O 13, Nighttown and the Milky Way. The monitors were chosen by the club after their regular use there by both Dutch and international bands.

In 2003 the Paradiso - which is housed in a beautiful former church, complete with stained glass windows that overlook the stage - completed a massive refurbishment of its main hall, which included the addition

UK - Sennheiser's evolution range of microphones and in-ear monitors is being used by Corinne Bailey Rae - who recently topped the BBC poll of 'Sound of 2006' - on her current world tour. Corinne's monitor engineer, Duncan Wild says: "The e935 gives me a wonderful clean definition on Corinne's voice, and complements her dynamic variations. I've not found any other mic that can do that with such clarity. For backing vocals, I have selected the supercardioid e945s, as these give me both a warm response and minimize bleed through. On the kit, I have always been using e614s on overheads, snare bottom and hi-hat. I have been amazed at how good they sound, and their exceptional value for money!"

Wild adds: "The Evolution G2 IEMs proved to be the most reliable, easiest to set up and the best sounding in-ear monitor systems I have ever used. Despite the unpredictable cond

Germany - Bosch Security Systems has introduced a new version of its Plena All-in-One combined background music and paging system with DVD audio and video functionality. In addition to background music, the unit can also play DVD videos on a separate display, showing, for example, video commercials or slide shows in small shops, showrooms and boutiques. The new Plena All-in-One also features a digital FM/AM tuner with 15 presets to store preferred radio stations and a 120 W mixer amplifier, all integrated in a compact housing.

The DVD player plays normal audio and video DVD and CDs as well as MP3 encoded DVDs and CDs. In addition, it plays JPEGs on CD-R, DVD-ROM and DVD-R.

The unit has component, composite, and S-Video connections for video output and can play PAL and NTSC content in either progressive or interleaved scan. A TOSlink optical output is also available that suppor

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