South Africa - Effective 1 September, Pro Audio has become Audio-Technica’s new consumer and pro audio distributor in South Africa. The company is based on the Linbro Business Park, Frankenwald near Johannesburg and its portfolio also includes Turbosound, TC Electronic, HK Audio and Klark Teknik. Audio-Technica export sales manager Dre Klaassen comments: “We’re delighted to welcome Pro Audio to the Audio-Technica family. We are very confident that it is the right company to build Audio-Technica’s profile in both the pro and consumer markets in South Africa. The company’s wide experience and drive in distribution is unique in the territory and I very much look forward to working with them in the future.” Neil Schofield, Audio-Technica’s export sales manager for consumer products adds: “Pro Audio joins as distribution partner at an exciting time, with man
Italy - Powersoft has appointed Thiago Terra as application engineer (rack amps). Terra joins the team to support the company’s business growth - acting as a bridge between the market and Powersoft’s product development unit. Thiago joined Powersoft in June and is based at the company’s Italian headquarters in Scandicci, near Florence. The role will also see him travel around the world to conduct training and seminars and to support other engineers, as well as visiting distributors, customers and trade shows to deepen knowledge of Powersoft’s Touring and Install line and Armonía software. At HQ, Terra will work side-by-side with the research and development team to strive for constant improvement to Powersoft’s hardware and software products - identifying and fixing bugs, bringing new ideas to the table and providing worldwide support for Rack Amps. An
Russia - Linea Research has announced the expansion of its worldwide distribution network with an appointment in Russia. “It’s been a busy season at Linea Research”, comments Davey Smalley, director of Linea Research, “and as part of our growth strategy we’ve been adding to our already extensive distribution network with the addition of Hi-Tech Media in Russia.” Founded in Moscow in 2011 Hi-Tech Media has rapidly become one of the leaders in the Russian AV distribution and integration markets. Andrey Kogtev, head of pro audio at Hi-Tech Media comments, “When we started looking for opportunities to expand our brand portfolio with high power multichannel amplification systems Linea Research was already on our radar. Our team members were familiar with the products and their exceptional performance and there was no doubt this is the brand we should be workin
UK - L-Acoustics returns to the PLASA Show in 2018 from 16-18 September with a booth space for the first time in 10 years. The L-Acoustics team invites you to visit them on the ground floor on booth C20 to discover mixing in L-ISA Immersive Hyperreal Sound on the L-ISA Controller using KLANG:technologies 3D in-ear monitors. L-ISA Immersive Hyperreal Sound is a revolutionary technology for multidimensional mixing and processing that offers extremely natural and vivid sound, creating a sense of proximity and deeper connections between artist and audience. Join Sherif El Barbari, director of L-ISA Labs as he discusses Bringing the Audience Closer: How Technology is Changing the Live Sound Experience with a panel hosted by SoundGirls.org taking place on Tuesday, 18 September at 11:00am. Space is limited with advanced registration available on the
China - When car maker Audi introduced its A8L luxury saloon to the Chinese market, technical service company Redline turned to the BlackTrax real-time motion tracking system to help deliver the wow factor to the launch show. Each of the cars featured in the show was fitted with ‘BTBeacons’ which transmitted the exact position of the vehicles as they moved around the stage to ‘BTCams’, which then relayed the information to the lighting console so that any lighting look could be designed while automatically following the cars on the stage, regardless of speed or direction, with an accuracy that would not have been possible to achieve manually. Another big part of the reveal, was the futuristic graphics projected on the floor and not only accented the car, it also helped explain some of the A8L’s new built in technology and features. The mapped projection int
Spain - Medusa Sunbeach presented the fifth serving of its electronic music festival to a 300,000-strong crowd this August. Held in Cullera, Spain, the festival offered the very best of world-class DJ’s to entertain audiences over three days of performances. Madrid-based rental company, Delta Sound Spain, was appointed to provide audio for the Little Bird stage which was one of three stages within the public access festival area. Having only acquired their Bose ShowMatch system this year, they worked closely with Bose distributor Gaplasa to quickly secure a busy summer schedule for the new system. The agreement to debut ShowMatch for one of its first appearances on a European festival stage was one which at first raised a few eyebrows. Jose De La Torre, CEO of Delta Sound Spain, comments, “As we loaded the system into the Little Bird Stage, operators of the sound s
Europe - As part of an upgrade programme that has seen FOH engineer Jon Schumann regularly adding upgrades to the touring Waves SoundGrid LV-1 rig that he has designed, the MØ FOH engineer has recently upgraded their network infrastructure with the addition of a new Luminex based Fibre backbone for their fully featured LV-1 system. Whilst the Danish Pop Star has been steadily amassing an increased following, her FOH engineer has been amassing an increasingly impressive audio system for touring. Rather than going down the route of a rented touring system, MØ have chosen to purchase most of their touring rg and build a flyable system that can accompany them to every gig. The addition of the four Luminex GigaCore 14R switches, along with the two redundant PSUs that provide full power redundancy at each end of the wire for both sets of switches, has added the Rosetta s
Malaysia - Mahajak Trio recently outfitted the Kota Kinabalu Marriott hotel with a custom Harman Professional Solutions audio system to deliver an invigorating entertainment experience for guests. This project was collaborated together with the AV system integrator Eastern Global Sdn.Bhd. Kota Kinabalu Marriott Hotel is a premium five-star resort located at The Waterfront entertainment centre on the South China Sea. Known for hosting opulent events held in their Grand Ballroom, Kota Kinabalu Marriott hired Mahajak Trio to install an audio system capable of delivering world-class sound throughout the resort. Mahajak Trio designed a complete Harman Professional Solutions audio system made up of JBL Professional speakers and power amplifiers, AKG microphones and BSS signal processors. “Kota Kinabalu Marriott needed an all-new state-of-the-art audio solution capable of
USA - After sold-out performances in Europe, folk legend Joan Baez continues her 2018 Fare Thee Well tour in North America with both FOH and monitors mixed by engineer Jason Raboin of Klondike Sound on an Allen & Heath dLive C Class C3500 Surface with CDM48 MixRack. "I’ve worked for Joan for 15 years and she’s an amazing performer,” says Raboin. “At one point, she simplified to a three-piece band and I started doing both FOH and monitors so I knew I needed a better console. I did a lot of research and talked to some people I really trust. Then, I got to demo a dLive. Even with just music playback, it sounded better than what I was using. So I went for it and it has been great.” Raboin described the typical setup for a performance. “I have 24 inputs from the stage, with three in-ear mixes and four wedge mixes plus whatever is required for the hous
USA - American Music Theatre in Lancaster hosts both touring concerts and original shows. Housing a 1,600-seat room that welcomes over 250,000 attendees a year, this popular venue hosts more than 300 live performances annually. Clair Brothers was selected by American Music Theatre to provide the first (and to this day only) loudspeaker system in the venue. Now, 22 years later, the company has been called on again for the upgrade to its C8-TrueFit loudspeaker system. Jim Martin, executive director at American Music Theatre, comments: “22 years ago, we installed a top-of-the-line audio system from Clair Brothers that has served us well. When we were first told about C8-TrueFit technology, we were hopeful about what it could mean for our room. We already trust Clair Brothers, so it wasn’t a huge leap of faith to know they would deliver on the promise that the custom-t
UK - Adlib has had a busy summer after making substantial investments in touring and rental video in the first half of 2018. The major purchase has been the addition of Unilumin’s UpadIII H5 5mm indoor/outdoor LED screen, which has been designed for quick and safe assembly with the demands of touring and concert style events in mind. Other new purchases include new broadcast quality camera channels, PPUs and Green Hippo KARST media servers, allowing Adlib to offer large scale video production options to all its clients, as well as versatile single solution technical packages for those wanting to source video lighting and sound equipment and expertise from one supplier. BBC Music's Biggest Weekend, the event which generally kicks off the UK festival season was expanded to multiple sites this year, Adlib supplied sound and lighting to both stages at Scone Palace
Germany - Café Luzia in the busy Kreuzberg district of Berlin has just installed a Genelec sound system to enhance the music experience of what is a relaxed café by day and trendy lounge bar by night. Weekend DJ spots provide a distinctly electronic edge to the warm, candlelit atmosphere, attracting a crowd who expect nothing less than excellent audio. The owner decided that the time was right to invest in a studio-quality sound solution in order to keep pace with customer expectations and maintain his reputation as one of Berlin’s coolest café bars. He turned to Studio SPC, an acoustic design studio in the heart of Berlin, who recommended Genelec as the answer to his requirements. “As soon as the client told me that he specifically wanted studio-grade sound quality in his bar, I recommended Genelec straight away,” says Kenan Jan Ibar, owner and founder of St
UK - Adam Rhodes has been FOH engineer for folk-rock duo Angus and Julia Stone for the past 10 years. He is also a long time L‑Acoustics user, favouring the French manufacturer’s K Series systems for his general touring rig. This June, UK and European production supplier for the Stones, Britannia Row Productions, gave Rhodes the opportunity to expand his audio horizons by trying out L‑ISA Hyperreal Sound technology. Not only was he to take on this new experience with little time to learn the L‑ISA system, he was to do it at the notoriously challenging Royal Albert Hall, a venue he had never worked in before. It was, he says, “a revelation”. “I was offered the chance a few months before the show,” says Rhodes. “Brit Row’s Lez Dwight told me that there would be an L-ISA system in place for the Classic Brits at the RAH and, if I wanted to use the syste
Denmark - Supplier of pro audio amplifier electronics Pascal has unveiled a redesigned website that represents “a major upgrade of the look, functionality and content of its online presence”. A new design aesthetic is allied to enhanced functionality, providing for improved navigation of a greater breadth and depth of content. Much of that content has been revised and repurposed, to provide the company’s roster of leading pro audio industry clients with better tools to match their development projects with Pascal’s expanding range of ultra-compact, high performance amplifier modules. In addition to essential technical references, the website provides extensive background and insights into the origins, growth, and organisational values of a company that, in just over 10 years, has risen to be among the top 0.07% highest performing companies in Denmark, the world
USA - Audinate has announced a new version of Dante Domain Manager, with additional features and enhancements. For larger Dante installations, customers can purchase expansion packs for the Platinum Edition to support up to 1,050 devices per instance of Dante Domain Manager. The automatic device discovery service that customers have grown accustomed to with 4.0 firmware devices, has now been extended to legacy (pre-v4.0) devices. This makes it easier to for products with and without the 4.0 firmware to co-exist in Dante Domain Manager. Designed to accelerate setup, configuration and troubleshooting, the Network Diagnostics Report provides instant visibility of basic network configuration via connectivity, DHCP, DNS and Internet reachability tests. Available in the Network & Security settings, it is now just a single click to quickly establish if there
UK - Crest Audio is set to present its Versarray PRO powered line array for the first time in the UK at PLASA 2018 (stand U60). Comprising the Versarray PRO VR112 line array element and the VR-PRO 215 sub, Versarray PRO is suitable for all mid-sized line array applications including live entertainment, theatres, houses of worship and more. With integrated Dante audio networking, built-in DSP, innovative flying hardware and world class components, the Versarray PRO powered line array delivers quality audio in a versatile, easy-to-set-up, networkable package. The VR112 benefits from Crest Audio’s latest-generation Mark III ribbon drivers and proprietary CLEAR FORM Waveguide for crystalline high-end reproduction. The low end is served by the 12” NEO Black Widow neodymium loudspeaker with dual 4” voice coils which works in conjunction with Crest’s patented Ram Air Coolin
UK - Ofcom has published its long-awaited response to the consultation on the 700MHz compensation scheme, to which the British Entertainment Industry Radio Group (BEIRG) - an independent and non-profit association, working for the benefit of all those who use radio spectrum - has released the following statement: "The original proposals [from Ofcom] fell short, and since submitting our consultation response, BEIRG has been lobbying hard to ensure that PMSE is treated fairly. Our contact with Ofcom, DCMS and Treasury has been frequent and we have a host of new supporters in Parliament. BEIRG has briefed the Labour, Liberal Democrat and SNP Culture spokesmen who have been vocal in their backing for our campaign. BEIRG would l
Germany - Adam Hall Group has announced further expansion to its international sales team. Markus Jahnel, COO and managing director, will assume responsibility for the Group’s global business development with immediate effect. Bodo Falkenried, who has headed that department since 2013, is retiring and will complete the handover to Jahnel by the end of September. Jahnel comments: “The long-term development of new business areas and partnerships and the development and personal maintenance of our global networks are important priorities for the immediate future. I am looking forward to being even closer to our marketplace expansion.” He adds: “We would like to thank Bodo for his great work and wish him all the best for the new chapter in his life. He was a valued employee who was greatly appreciated by the entire team.” Marcel Mieger will be Adam
UK - The Eden Project in Cornwall has been wowing families during their summer holidays by hosting what they describe as “the ultimate space adventure holiday”, starring a mission to Mars, mini-golf on Mercury and a daring slide down the surface of a moon. Running for six weeks, Expedition Space is an all-new programme of intergalactic activities that has been taking place across Eden, giving visitors “an extra-terrestrial holiday of a lifetime” including planet-hopping, meeting alien friends and enjoying out-of-this-world fun such as moon buggy driving and virtual reality experiences. Space explorers have even been able to climb aboard a rocket and blast into orbit while enjoying spectacular views of the Moon. Enhancing the sonic realism of this trip around the Solar System has been a series of Martin Audio’s CDD-WR (Coaxial Differential Dispersion)
UAE - Dubai-based producer, organiser and promoter Envie Events connected more than 400,000 music lovers on 28 July, as revellers in du Forum, Yas Island were linked up via a live satellite connection to Belgium and beyond when the global EDM festival UNITE With Tomorrowland returned to the UAE. Six other locations across the globe were also connected to the Tomorrowland main stage in Belgium, with Italy, Malta, Spain, Taiwan, Mexico and Lebanon also enjoying dance extravaganza. The Abu Dhabi event featured live local and international DJs including the duo Lucas & Steve, SmokinGroove, Marcus Santoro, Regi, Barry Fore, Omar Basaad, D.O.D and Ummet Ozcan. Protec were called on by Envie Events to deliver audio, lighting, video, scenic, staging and rigging solutions. Having successfully delivered the technical production for the festival held in Dubai
Spain - A number of headliners - including Depeche Mode, Queens of the Stone Age, Kasabian, Portugal The Man, and Underworld - at the recent MadCool Festival 2018 in Madrid came with SSL Live consoles, while the main live console for Stage 2 was an SSL L500 Plus. The three-day event saw 80,000 music fans watch a packed line-up including some of the biggest currently touring bands in the world. Event company PRG, provided the technical services for all three stages, and chose an L500 Plus for FOH on Stage 2, connected via SSL's Blacklight II MADI concentrator technology to two ML32.32 stage boxes. The L500 Plus features a versatile user interface. Any channel or path can be assigned anywhere on the three independent fader tiles, which are navigated in a convenient layer & bank system. This means the console can be set up quickly and simply to suit the user. New pa
USA - Inspired by Blake Shelton’s hit Ol’ Red, Ryman Hospitality Properties Ole Red entertainment venue and restaurants can be found in Tishomingo, Oklahoma and Nashville. A third location in Gatlinburg, Tennessee will open in spring of 2019 with others to follow. The five-story Nashville location features a main stage on the first floor, two levels of dining, a large private rental space - The Hall at Ole Red - and a rooftop with stunning Broadway views. During the rehabbing of the 100+ year-old building, preferred AVL integration firm, Clair Solutions, was hired to design and install all of Ole Red Nashville’s audio, video and lighting systems. Clair Solutions was given the task of integrating a concert-level performance experience into the heart of the venue’s main dining spaces. “We have a long history with Clair Solutions and have completed a lot
Japan - API reports the sale of a 64-channel AXS console to the prestigious Tokyo College of Music in the Toshima area of Tokyo. The AXS will be part of a new studio designed by Sam Toyoshima. This is the second AXS placed in Japan, with the previous console having been installed at the new Studio Tanta, also in Tokyo. Placement of both of these AXS consoles was facilitated by API's Japanese distributor Mix Wave, headed by Hiro Saika. Although Tokyo College of Music will be the first academic institution to install an AXS console, it is preceded by a long list of higher education facilities, including Berklee College of Music, New York University, Abbey Road Institute, and Full Sail University, that integrate API's Legacy Plus, Vision, and 1608 consoles into their curriculums. "We’re excited to see how the pro audio community of studios, engineers, and producers in
USA - Sacred Heart Cathedral served as the cathedral for the Diocese of Knoxville from 1988 until it was recently superseded by the new 1,300-plus seat Cathedral of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, built on the same property for $30.8m. With assistance from McCrery Architects, local architects BarberMcMurry designed the space, while Georgia-based AV integration firm TSAV worked closely with all parties involved on the acoustics and to install a sound reinforcement system. Musical content is conveyed by a Danley Sound Labs J3-64 Jericho Horn and four Danley SM80 loudspeakers for fill. “We’ve completed several successful projects with the Catholic Church including two recent sound reinforcement systems at churches in Georgia,” explains Keith Reardigan, TSAV VP of technology & standards and senior systems architect. “That, together with several successful proj
