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Yamaha appoints UK service centres

The SSE Audio YASC team: Matt Davis (service assistant), Adrian 'Bonzo' Knight (service manager), Steve Dando (service engineer) and Sam Rogerson (service assistant)

Details: 14 March 2016

UK - With an ever-increasing number of end users, Yamaha Commercial Audio UK has taken steps to improve its product servicing, training and customer support by appointing two Yamaha Approved Service Centres.

From Monday 19 May, Yamaha will outsource servicing of the majority of its products to the Yamaha Approved Service Centres (YASCs), which are SSE Audio Group and Berkshire-based Broadcast Service Centre.

In addition, Yamaha is appointing two freelance service engineers to carry out on-site repairs, both for land-based users and the cruise ship market.

"As our product portfolio grows, we are under ever-increasing pressure to continue the high levels of customer service that end-users have come to expect. This new organisational structure will allow us to continue deliv

Zoe Castle and Cally Bacchus at PLASA Focus: Leeds 2014

Visual Productions appoints Qeytek Ltd for UK distribution

Details: 14 March 2016

UK - Visual Productions has appointed Qeytek Ltd as its new distributor for the UK market. The first joint venture for the two companies was during a 'wonderful few days' at the PLASA Focus Leeds last month.

Qeytek a specialist distribution company was founded in 2012 by industry known Cally Bacchus, and with the recent appointment of Paul Turner joining the young company and experienced team, the Dutch manufacturer is confident that the technical sales and support knowledge on the range of software and hardware products are in capable hands.

Visual Productions with the support of Qeytek, enjoyed another successful product showcase, at PLASA Focus, of its lighting control products. These include Cuelux software and a preview of Cuety: lighting control for iOS (available Summer 2014) for the entry level and smaller clubs, bars and DJ / LJ markets. Also on show was the architect

Joost van Eenbergen and Silvio Cibien were presented with a number of 'new home' gifts at the opening party

ELC Lighting celebrates the secret of its success

Details: 14 March 2016

The Netherlands - Leading lighting company ELC Lighting has used the official opening of its state-of-the-art premises as an opportunity to thank its distributors from around the world for their contribution to the company's success.

At an official and glamorous opening party on 9 May at the company's new headquarters in Gemert, Netherlands, distributors, customers, family and friends were treated to a night of music and celebration with the company's warehouse transformed for one night only into a nightclub complete with bands, DJs and free flowing bar.

ELC Lighting's sales manager Silvio Cibien identified an opportunity to extend his thanks to the people who have made the company the success it is today and enabled the move to premises of its own. He said, "I can hand on heart say that none of this would be possible if it wasn't for the commitment our distributors have

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Oran Burns of d&b GB Education and Application Support will present the seminar

d&b London seminar hosted by Orbital Sound

Details: 14 March 2016

UK - On Wednesday 25 June 2014, Oran Burns of d&b GB Education and Application Support will present an Electroacoustics seminar at UK Sales Partner, Orbital Sound's premises, located at 57 Acre Lane, Brixton, London, SW2 5TN.

Achieving intelligibility is the focus of the day for anyone wishing to broaden their knowledge and gain further understanding of the principles of electroacoustics for sound system design and engineering.

"Electroacoustics covers all the essential information in an entertaining way through visual imagery and practical demonstrations," explains Oran. "Now in its sixteenth year, this seminar has become an industry standard."

The Electroacoustics seminar is suitable for all levels of experience, for anyone wanting to know more about how loudspeakers interact with their environment and how that affects what the listener hears.

As with

One sale of particular note was an iD22 to Suzuki Daichi Hideyuki, a top songwriter and producer

All Access appointed Audient distributor

Details: 14 March 2016

Japan - Audio company All Access Inc has been appointed as distributor for the full range of Audient products in Japan, including the USB interface, iD22 and the 8-channel mic pre and ADC, ASP880.

Hiyu Nagaoka who runs pro sales, works closely with All Access Inc president Cozy Hattori and confirms the faith they have in the brand: "The Audient products have both superb sound quality and excellent usability, the whole range is very professional."

From the outset All Access has proved they mean business, as Audient products fly off the shelves. One sale of particular note was an iD22 to Suzuki Daichi Hideyuki, a top songwriter, producer and recording/mixing engineer in Japan, who recently gave a detailed review of the product in Sound & Recording Magazine. According to Daichi, "The iD22 is just what all musicians/engineers need for their desktop creations! I am t

Denmark's Jyske Bank has broken stereotypes in corporate meeting room design

Meyer Sound Constellation at Danish Jyske Bank

Details: 14 March 2016

Denmark - With its new Meyer Sound Constellation acoustic system, the headquarters of Denmark's Jyske Bank has broken stereotypes in corporate meeting room design. This architectural and sonic showcase has seamlessly integrated Constellation into its everyday use, from board meetings, presentations, and open discussions to videoconferencing, all without the burden of hand-held or tabletop microphones. The system has also opened up abundant possibilities for future entertainment functions for bank staff.

Steen Mertz, director of communications technology at Jyske Bank, partnered with Anders Jørgensen, project manager for Copenhagen-based integrator Stouenborg, with the aim to create a welcoming space that encourages free-flowing conversations.

"Our goal was to optimize the space and improve communications within the bank, as well as with international business partn

Shure Wireless on A Night with Janis Joplin

Details: 14 March 2016

USA - Janis Joplin exploded onto the music scene and almost overnight, became what many consider to be the queen of rock 'n' roll. Joplin's voice, filled with raw emotion and tinged with Southern Comfort, made her a must-see headliner. Recently, thousands of fans relived her musical journey through a Broadway show, A Night with Janis Joplin.

A two-hour musical extravaganza featuring non-stop powerful vocals, A Night with Janis Joplin was an intricate show that demanded wireless coverage across the stage. Responsible for the musical's sound design was Carl Casella of Sound Associates. Up against Manhattan's densely-populated spectrum, Casella was challenged to find a wireless microphone system with extremely efficient RF performance. He went with an all-Shure approach.

"Before Joplin hit Broadway, the show toured across the U.S., where I headed up the sound d

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Laura Longauerova was crowned Miss Slovak Republic 2014, and will go on to represent her country in the Miss World 2014 pageant later in the year

Robe lights Miss Slovakia 2014

Details: 14 March 2016

Slovakia - Lighting designer Martin Kubanka knows how to make many things look beautiful with his stunning lighting and visual designs, and this coupled with the Miss Slovakia beauty pageant as the subject matter and 150 Robe moving lights on the rig made this 2014 edition of the event extra special.

The show was staged at the Incheba Exhibition Centre in Bratislava, produced by live communications agency Forza and broadcast live on TV channel JOJ as well as being enjoyed by a live audience of 3000. Technical production - lights, sound and video - was supplied by Slovakia's biggest rental company, Q-99.

The fixture list included 72 x Robe Robin Pointes, 16 x Robin LEDWash 600s, 10 x LEDWash 1200s, 10 x MMX Spots and 44 x Robin LEDBeam 100s.

Kubanka drew on his vast experience of designing stage lighting and video for televised beauty pageants and took things to a different d

Denis Baudier, Nexo sales director and François Deffarges, Nexo R&D director, celebrate with Dhina, CEO of DS Pro

Nexo STM arrives in India as DS Pro upgrades

Details: 14 March 2016

India - Based in the boomtown of Bangalore, DS Pro is the first Indian rental company to purchase Nexo's flagship STM modular line array system. The 108-cabinet system, comprising 36 each of the M46 Main, B112 Bass and S118 Sub cabinets as well as 8x 45°N-12 line monitors and 20x NX4x4 amplifiers, was supplied by NEXO's Indian distributor Sun Infonet.

Bangalore is home to many of India's pro audio companies, and DS Pro joined the scene in 2004. Over the past decade, this dynamic young company has worked on a variety of concerts as well as corporate, religious and educational events. The STM system joins other Nexo elements in the company's inventory, which already included GEO S, RS18 and PS10 cabinets.

"We like to think our advanced technical solutions stand ahead of the competition and gratify an extensive range of clients," says DSP Pro director, Dhinakar. &qu

The new software introduces many smaller features and updates that make life easier for mc² users

Lawo releases major update for mc² software

Details: 14 March 2016

Germany - Software version 5.0 for all Lawo MKII mc² mixing consoles and routers is available now. As with all Lawo software releases, version 5.0 is free of charge for all existing customers, and represents a major upgrade to functionality and operation.

Version 5.0 introduces the all-new AutoMix feature. In contrast to existing systems, AutoMix automatically balances mono, stereo and surround-sources for a variety of different applications. For talk shows or panel discussions, for example, AutoMix ensures users never miss a fader raise and always have the right mic open in time.

A completely new application would be to use AutoMix during the broadcast production of sports events and shows, where it can be used to mix the commentators and international sound, reducing spill from the crowd and avoiding sound coloration from mics when multiple commentators are working. In this

Ron StageMaster at Hong Kong Cultural Centre

Details: 14 March 2016

China - Since opening in 1989, the Hong Kong Cultural Centre has served as Hong Kong's premier cultural venue and in order to cater to a variety of performing arts, the Centre, located on the waterfront of Victoria Harbor in Tsim Sha Tsui, houses a number of top-class facilities including three major performance halls.

One of those is the 2,019-seat Concert Hall and although the venue was fitted with an adjustable acoustic canopy to ensure quality acoustics, a mock-up extension of the over-stage reflector was installed in August 2013 to improve acoustic performance of the extended stage area. A permanent extension is to be constructed in the future.

Macostar, a stage lighting and machinery system specialist in Hong Kong, was appointed to provide system engineering, detail design and construction of the new over-stage reflector and required a stage safety solution for the canop

Rocky Hill High School upgrades with Community

Details: 14 March 2016

USA - Rocky Hill High School is a four-year public high school in Rocky Hill, Connecticut, USA, offering a wide variety of educational, co-curricular, and extracurricular programs. Rocky Hill's dedicated auditorium seats 500 and is used for yearly musicals, band and choir concerts, dance recitals, faculty meetings and outside events.

Unlike many multi-purpose spaces, Rocky Hill's auditorium has good acoustics and a permanent stage designed for theatrical performances. However, the auditorium's sound system, which was installed many years ago, suffered from poor sound quality and feedback issues.

Last year, the school contacted John Pizzoferrato of CMI Sound Systems in Newington, Connecticut. Pizzoferrato, who had done work for the school in the past, examined the system. He recommended that the school upgrade the system with Community Entasys column loudspeakers, a DSP process

BTCC and Lotus Motor Racing sponsorships

Chroma-Q Sponsors British racing drivers

Details: 14 March 2016

UK - Premium performance lighting solutions provider, Chroma-Q have announced their sponsorship of several British racing drivers in the high-profile BTCC and Lotus motor racing Championships.

Chroma-Q are a Premium Sponsor of promising UK racing driver, Jack Goff, in the 2014 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship (BTCC) season.

Jack showed great promise in his debut season last year, including being second fastest for most of the race day at Silverstone and achieving a well-earned second place podium finish in the final round at Brands Hatch, after a climactic battle for position with outgoing BTCC champion Gordon Shedden.

A hotly tipped contender in 2014, Jack returned to the UK's premier saloon car series with RCIB Insurance Racing Squad / Team BMR, driving the Vauxhall Insignia again. It is promising to be an exciting season, with seven former BTCC champions, a cap

MerleFest was founded in 1988 in memory of Eddy Merle Watson, son of bluegrass legend Doc Watson, as a fundraiser for Wilkes Community College

MerleFest 2014 continues DiGiCo tradition

Details: 14 March 2016

USA - Country music superstars Alan Jackson and Merle Haggard, as well as bluegrass icons Dr. Ralph Stanley and Ricky Skaggs, were among the 130 acts over four days in late April whose tunes wafted pristinely from MerleFest 2014. As has been the case for the past 26 years, DiGiCo consoles processed much of the music emanating from the Wilkesboro, NC festival's 13 stages, helping to cement MerleFest's reputation as a highly celebrated perennial American music event.

MerleFest was founded in 1988 in memory of Eddy Merle Watson, son of bluegrass legend Doc Watson, as a fundraiser for Wilkes Community College and to celebrate "traditional plus" music, a term coined by Doc Watson to describe the wide variety of musical genres and styles celebrated at MerleFest.

Since the festival's beginnings, Greensboro-based SE Systems has been handling sound for MerleFest. SE Systems C

MGG supplied the full technical for the main conference in the Pavillion Room and for the Ballroom, which was transformed to an eating area

MGG do it again with Clay Paky

Details: 14 March 2016

South Africa - Quite literally MGG Productions have done it again! Thanks to the success of a sci-fi concept they came up for a corporate conference held last year, MGG were asked by their client Eventworx to recreate the entire look for the same event hosted in January 2014.

MGG's newly appointed general manager, Denzil Smith, who joined the company in December, took the production to a new level. With a team of professionals at his side including lighting designer from MGG, Kevin Rieck, and the assistance of the impeccable system technician, Thomas Peters (known to drive people mad as he labels every piece of equipment and cable - and quite rightly this ensures a seamless production), the event was technically flawless.

This was no mean feat as the event, which ran off a grandMA2 full size, included 48 ClayPaky Sharpies (fourty more Sharpies than last year) and some 400m of

Neil Finn hits Dizzy Heights with Vari*Lite & Vista

Details: 14 March 2016

Australia - Neil Finn is on the road with his Dizzy Heights tour, a show full of lush aural landscapes and exotic arrangements complimented by evocative lighting and a large, fluffy tapestry backdrop created by Noel Crombie and partner Sally Mill.

Lighting designer David Harding began his relationship with Neil way back in the 80's when he was the Vari*Lite tech/operator for Crowded House. Over the years he has built a solid relationship with Neil who didn't even have to brief David on what he wanted for his lighting on the Dizzy Heights tour, such is their relationship.

"I opted for practical lighting for the band and Neil is quite minimalistic," explained David. "Colours are either in contrast, or, complimentary to how the backdrop is lit. The backdrop is the cornerstone for setting the scene. It reacts brilliantly and in a great number of ways to light

Prize-winning opportunities in Terminal 5

Engage Production goes interactive at Heathrow

Details: 14 March 2016

UK - Engage Production, specialist in interactive technologies for branded environments, has played a vital part in the creation of five new interactive kiosks at Heathrow's Terminal 5, part of a campaign promoting the British Airways Amex credit card. Engage was responsible for developing the software, based on Adobe AIR. The kiosks are Intel NUCs running Win 7 Pro. The five kiosks are housed in a booth surrounding a giant spinning globe with BA destinations marked on it.

Allowing visitors to input their details for a chance to win 100,000 Avios points, there's also the opportunity to win an instant prize of a leather passport holder or leather luggage tag. The installation also includes a server that sends visitors marketing emails, provided they have agreed to it.

"We're delighted to have developed the software for this kiosk-based experiential marketing promotion, say

Cadac CDC eight in the Theatre Royal Stratford East, at the heart of Mike Walker's sound design for Oh What a Lovely War

Cadac CDC eight mixes Oh What a Lovely War revival

Details: 14 March 2016

UK - Theatre sound designer Mike Walker deployed the Cadac CDC eight digital production console at the heart of his sound design for the recent 50th anniversary revival of Oh What a Lovely War, in London's Theatre Royal Stratford East; the most high profile use of Cadac's new digital desk to date and its musical theatre premier on a major production. Perhaps even more significantly, it marked the first ever use by Mike Walker of a digital console on such a large theatre production.

To date Walker has remained resolutely analogue - and resolutely Cadac analogue - in his choice of mixing consoles, in pursuit of the best possible sound quality. The arrival of the CDC eight, however, changes all that. "The audio quality is stunning. Quite simply, I have never heard such stunning sound quality in a live console before," he says, "Until now, no digital desk I hav

The Week in Lighting & Sound

Details: 14 March 2016

Eavis Honoured - Glastonbury Festival founder Michael Eavis is to be honoured for his contribution to the music industry. The Music Industry Trusts (MITS) award recognises his achievements in staging live music and supporting charity. Eavis first held Glastonbury festival on his Somerset farm in 1970. Profits go to Greenpeace, Oxfam and WaterAid. "When I set out on this crazy hippy trip 44 years ago, little did I know how this rollercoaster would run," Eavis said."But now I have to pinch myself every morning when I wake up to the excitement of another day - heading up a team of the most creative artists anywhere in the world."

David Munns, chairman of the MITS Award committee, said Eavis was being honoured "as the creator of the world-renowned Glastonbury Festival, the largest greenfield festival in the world, attended by over 175,000 each year and raisi

Beverley Knight (Rachel Marron) and ensemble in The Bodyguard at The Adelphi Theatre (photo: Paul Coltas)

DPA miniature microphones on Bodyguard duty

Details: 14 March 2016

UK - The hit stage musical of The Bodyguard, currently playing at the Adelphi Theatre in London, is relying on DPA's d:screet 4060 omnidirectional miniature microphones to provide amplification for all members of the cast who have spoken lines.

Written by Alexander Dinelaris and based on the 1992 film starring Whitney Houston and Kevin Costner, the stage version of The Bodyguard features Beverley Knight in the role of Rachel Marron, with former X Factor winner Alexandra Burke taking over from 2 June 2014.

Ania Klimowicz, deputy head of sound for The Bodyguard, says DPA's d:screet 4060s were chosen because sound designer Richard Brooker and director Thea Sharrock didn't want any microphones to be visible to the audience. The microphones were supplied by Autograph.

"We use paint, tape and make-up on the mics to make them look as invisible in the actor

The console network at Sochi was quite similar to London 2012

DiGiCo consoles play major role in Olympics audio

Details: 14 March 2016

Russia - Scott Willsallen, director of Auditoria Pty Ltd (Australia), was audio director and Designer for the opening and closing ceremonies of the Olympic and Paralympic games at Sochi's 40,000-seat Fisht Olympic Stadium, at which DiGiCo consoles played a major part.

Scott was engaged initially by the Ceremonies Staging Agency for the first stage of planning work, then CSA engaged Five Currents to deliver the Olympic Ceremonies and World Wide Shows to deliver the Paralympics, who engaged him for the delivery stage.

The bid for tenders to provide the ceremonies' audio equipment and a 34-member team of specialists who installed and managed the impressive set-up (with nine containers of equipment) was won by Agorà of L'Aquila (Italy), who is no newcomer to Olympic events, having supplied equipment, logistic support and technical staff for Turin's 2006 Olympic and Paralympic Gam

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