UK - Track and motor systems specialist Triple E has presented London's prestigious Guildhall School of Music and Drama with a powerful TDRIVE motor following the school's victory in Triple E's speed-rigging challenge at the ABTT Theatre Show in June.

Triple E's managing director David Edelstein awarded the TDRIVE prize to two Guildhall students, Seb Matthews, and Sam Gosling, who rigged one of Triple E's popular motorised Unitrack systems the fastest. The ABTT competition was held as part of Triple E's 30th birthday celebrations, and attracted a lot of interest. Other participants included the Brit School, Imperial College, and Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts, Royal Central School of Speech and Drama and teams from Flint Hire and Supply and Northern Light.

Guildhall's Seb and

UK - Franz Ferdinand's monitor engineer, Tom Howat, selected an iLive modular system for the band's recent tour of European and USA in support of their fourth album, Right Thoughts, Right Words, Right Action.

Comprising an iLive-112 Surface and iDR10 Mixrack with additional PL10 remote controller, the iLive monitor system manages six wedge mixes, five stereo RF IEM mixes and one stereo hardwired IEM mix, three effects sends and two mixes for FOH.

"I came across the iLive systems while working for Morrissey over the past couple of years," he explains. "The iLive system is snappy and responsive. The 'networking' side of it is powerful and, when coupled with the flexible nature of the surface and their approach to scene storage, it makes for a very versatile environment. Of course, it sounds great, too."

Howat's approach to mixing for the band is manu

UK - The Tesco agricultural trade stand has just been awarded gold at the Royal Three Counties Show and reserve trade stand champion at the Royal Norfolk Show.

This interactive exhibit currently touring major agricultural shows across the nation, is focused on demonstrating how Tesco works with suppliers and farmers on a local and national level. The stand aims to help the public to understand more about where their food comes from and demonstrate the high quality of the products. Within the stand there is a range of food sampling areas as well as cookery demonstrations, that showcase how the products can be used simply at home.

The event technical team from Saville Audio Visual have been involved in making this tactile experience a reality and have been closely involved in the design and delivery of the event. The exhibition features a series of engaging interactive displays

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Case Study: Hans Zimmer Live

When award winning film composer Hans Zimmer brought his smash-hit tour Hans Zimmer Live to North America fall 2024, the show's audio team sought out to bring infrafrequency bass to the show to add new depth to the show's audio experience. The team chose Danley Sound Labs.

UK - Soundcraft's next generation Vi3000 digital console has successfully blasted off in both the rental and installation sectors within the UK.

UK and Eire distributors, Sound Technology confirm that their premier dealers, SSE Audio Group and Adlib have already successfully conducted dedicated demo days, introducing the facilities of the desk to enthusiastic audiences of sound engineers and touring and venue personnel, while Kent-based Phonophobia's Mark Chant says he expects his new Vi3000 to be permanently out this summer.

On top of that, Adlib has also confirmed the first installation desk to the University of Liverpool's Guild of Students - one of a suite of Soundcraft consoles and racks supplied to the Students Union as part of an extensive refurbishment of its technical facilities.

With MADI and Dante fitted as standard, and swappable I/O ports available, the Vi3000 e

Europe - Liverpool-based technical solutions specialist Adlib supplied an L-Acoustics K1 sound system and leading systems engineer Tony Szabo for the recent UK and European legs of Nine Inch Nails 2014 European tour.

It's the third time that Adlib has supplied the epic industrial rockers with audio when playing in Europe. This time around, Szabo worked with NIN monitor engineer Mike Prowda, FOH Engineers Gary Bradshaw and Antony King, together with Firehouse Productions' Tim Fraleigh who looked after monitor world and systems designer Jamie Pollock who oversaw the FOH set up.

There are many strands connecting Adlib, the band and their various crew members over the years, and for Tony Szabo - joining this tour entailed going back on the road with many familiar faces in the audio department.

The sound system was specified by Jamie Pollock and Gary Bradshaw at the start of the

The Netherlands - The Ampco Flashlight Group has taken a strategic interest in the Purple Group.

This participation is in line with market developments and fits within the current view of the Ampco Flashlight Group as a leading service company within the live entertainment industry: from one's own strength it is working closely together with its fellow 'full service' businesses. As a result, the cooperation supports the great demand for tailor-made solutions from the broadcast, theatre, live and corporate event market.

The varied assortment, the huge stock equipment and the knowledge and expertise of large teams of dedicated professional employees of both companies suit each other very well, whereby customers will be better served in the future.

Dick van Berkum, CEO Ampco Flashlight Group, comments: "The Purple Group has over 20 years experience as a full service rental

UK - Audient has added a new technical staff member - Harry Lewis. Since his arrival at Audient, Harry has worked to upgrade and simplify the online technical help desk, populating it with factsheets and answers to frequently asked questions.

Already known for its quick and informative responses to customer queries, Audient adds convenience with an attractive new design for its online support page, making it easier to navigate directly to the answer to your problem, either by product or using a simple search function. This section of the website continues to grow, too; Audient is constantly adding to the already jam-packed knowledge base with useful hints, trouble-shooting guides and FAQs.

Many of the factsheets are illustrated by handwritten notes and easy-to-understand drawings, to help decipher some of the more complicated audio explanations such as clocking and harmonic di

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OPUS X4 PROFILE – the most powerful LED moving head from Cameo to date

The OPUS® X4 PROFILE is the new flagship model from Cameo and is among the most powerful LED moving heads on the market. Equipped with a 1,400-watt LED white light engine, this spot profile moving head produces an enormous light output of 50,000 lm, providing powerful spot and gobo projections on even the largest stages and much more.
www.cameolight.com

Switzerland - Pangolin ScannerMax is a brand new scanner system family created by Pangolin Systems. Scanner systems (Galvos) like these are used for rapidly deflecting a single laser beam to create patterns or effects. ScannerMax scanners are designed for industrial as well as show purposes, so there are a variety of possible applications.

To create spectacular laser shows it is essential to deflect the laser beam extremely fast, so that the patterns, graphics and pictures projected don't appear to be flickering. Laserworld offers Pangolin ScannerMax galvos for many of their professional laser light systems, including most SwissLas and several RTI units. "The quality of the ScannerMax scanners is superior to the standard solution, so more professional users may want to go for the upgrade," says the company.

"More ScannerMax solutions are in development, but the

USA - In the process of replacing the sound and broadcast video systems at the First Baptist Church in Lawton, Oklahoma, AV integrator and systems designer FBP Systems (a subsidiary of the Morse Group family of companies) looked to Bose Professional Systems and its recently introduced RoomMatch asymmetrical array module loudspeakers to solve the church's audio challenges.

With a large balcony that completely wraps around the sides and back of a 1,000-seat sanctuary, this church required a sound system that was able to throw sound clearly and intelligibly over a long distance, and at the same time cover a very wide area. A typical line array wouldn't be able to fulfill all of these requirements without numerous adjacent hangs and then would still run the risk of interference between arrays. Fortunately, by installing the RoomMatch asymmetrical array module, First Baptist Church g

USA - Bulgarian International Television (BiT), a Chicago-based TV station serving Bulgarians in the US, is using DPA Microphones to fulfill the audio requirements for all of its programmes. With several of the company's d:screet 4061 Omnidirectional Miniature Microphone integrated into its live production process, the station relies on the mics around the clock to ensure clear audio for every show.

As their name suggests, the DPA d:screet mics were selected for their ability to be easily concealed on the wardrobes of news reporters, television personalities and guests. According to George Simeonov, technical director at BiTelevision, the station had no immediate urgency to update its audio equipment, but the sound of the d:screet 4061 mics during a recent live demo was impressive and noticeably clearer than what he had been using at the station, and thus quickly became a must-h

Germany - The MA Lighting grandMA2 is renowned for lighting network stability. The existing 1Gbit MA 4Port and 8Port Nodes are ideal for networks where large quantities of frame-syncronous DMX need to be distributed. MA Lighting has announced a matching 1Gbit 2Port Node range which fits into the MA system ensuring maximum performance via the MA-Net2 protocol.

The MA 2Port Nodes are optimised for touring and installations purposes with rugged steel housing for a long life even under harsh conditions. The front panel offers a 2" colour screen as well as current status LEDs. The mains switch and all connectors are located on the rear.

Available with and without control parameters, all MA 2Port Nodes are fully configurable from the grandMA2 consoles or from grandMA2 onPC software. To achieve the highest flexibility, each DMX port can be individually configured as DMX in or DM

UK - Roland Systems Group has announced the launch of the XS Series - a new range of multi-format matrix switchers. Designed for events or fixed installations, the XS Series offers an adaptable solution for applications that require high-quality, integrated video and audio conversion and switching.

With a multi format design, the Roland XS Series features eight HDMI, RGB/Component/S-video/Composite inputs and up to four HDMI or HDBaseT outputs with built in scalers to enable picture-in-picture, resizing, rotating, and flipping. Audio can be embedded into outputs via 8 stereo audio inputs (2 mic) and/or HDMI audio as well as de-embedded on output. Additional features of the Roland XS Series include remote iPad control, EDID emulation for HDMI and RGB signal management and HDCP key master to maintain authentication information for each HDMI source.

The Roland XS Series is availa

USA - QSC Audio Products has announced the addition of three new loudspeaker models designed for fixed installation applications. The new AD-S6T and AD-S112sw surface-mount loudspeakers are additions to the popular AcousticDesign Series, while the new AC-C4T (part of the upcoming AcousticCoverage loudspeaker line) offers integrators a cost-effective, in-ceiling loudspeaker solution that is ideal for voice paging and light background music applications.

"Today's integrator is looking for a single solution system including loudspeakers and these new additions to the QSC loudspeaker lineup helps fulfill that growing need," says Travis Nie, QSC product manager - install loudspeakers. "With the continuously growing acceptance of the Q-Sys platform and PLD/CXD amplifiers both of which feature Intrinsic Correction processing, advanced voicing filter sets can be applied e

Italy - Clay Paky has achieved extraordinary sales results throughout the world in recent years, thanks to luminaires like the Sharpy and the B-EYE, which lighting designers and rental companies have appreciated for their innovation and profitability. This however does not mean Clay Paky may now rest on its laurels. Quite the opposite. Pio Nahum, the company's sales and marketing director, has decided to give a new boost to promotion activities on the field and work with greater commitment to support end-users and distributors.

To achieve this goal, a new position has been created - head of international sales. The job has been assigned to Alberico D'Amato who, as from 1 July, will be responsible for coordinating all internal area sales managers and external regional sales representatives in their dealings with distributors and customers.

Alberico D'Amato has worked as a Clay

UK - Sound Technology, UK/ROI distributor of JBL Professional has announced UK availability of the new VTX V20 mid-size line array system and details of a UK listening event to be held at London's LH2 Studios production facility on Tuesday 15 July presented by the VTX Series designer himself Paul Bauman. The event will feature a full VTX V20 performance system, powered by Crown i-Tech 4 x 3500 HD V-Racks.

Presented by JBL Professional's Paul Bauman this will be an opportunity to hear the system, see the new fast suspension system, and discover first-hand the story behind the VTX Series design. Paul has been a member of the JBL Professional team for the past eight years and has been responsible for the product development of the acclaimed JBL VTX Series. Paul previously held key positions at L-Acoustics, Maryland Sound International and Adamson Systems Engineering.

The event, o

Australia - Award-winning Australian lighting designer Flynn Talbot utilised the intense colour of three Philips Selecon PLprofile1 LED luminaires to add another dimension to his latest light installation Primary at the PSAS gallery in Perth.

A three-sided triangular wall installation made from cardboard, Primary explores the three primary colours of light - red, green and blue, with the structure designed to fragment the light and demonstrate how coloured light is mixed.

"For this project I needed intense colour and absolutely pure light," explains Talbot. "The installation is purposefully designed to break up light into many shadows but unless the light source was completely even, the effect and the magic would have been lost. I needed a smooth and colour-rich shift between primary colours, so I chose the Philips Selecon PLprofile1 LED luminaires

Germany - The Turkish-German Cultural Olympics arose from the need to put the existing understanding between the two peoples under the spotlight, and at the same time bring Germans and Turkish relations closer to further promote their inter-cultural exchange. For this reason, the Cultural Olympics are not just a national language competition, but also celebrate traditions and are an opportunity for dialogue and reciprocal cultural exchange for young people and children.

The most recent Turkish-German Cultural Olympics took place in Munich's Olympiahalle. Show lighting designer and operator Chris Schatz (Klinkertorstudios) used an MA system to manage 60 Clay Paky Sharpys and 20 Alpha Spot HPE 1500s. The MA equipment consisted of two full-size granMAs, three Network Processing Units (NPUs), two Network Signal Processors (NSPs) and one 2Port Node onPC. The production was broadcast

Czech Republic - Czech rental company TD Promo supplied Robe moving lights for three popular Czech bands this spring - all of whom toured simultaneously throughout the Czech Republic with some shows also in Slovakia.

The bands were pop rockers Mandrage from Pilzen (LD Tomas Karban); Divokej Bill a well-established folk-rock band from Uvaly near Prague (LD Matej Mantlik) and loud-and-proud thrash metal outfit SKWOR (LD Martin Samecky).

Three very distinct bands embracing three different genres of music, all enthusiastically received around the country at average 1000 capacity venues over two to three months - and three innovative Czech LDs all loving their Robe fixtures!

The Mandrage tour used 14 x Robe ROBIN Pointes, five MMX Spots and eight ROBIN LEDWash 600s; Divokej Bill had eight ROBIN 600E Beams on their rig, while the SKWOR show made great impact with four Pointes and

Japan - Hachiko Square, sometimes called Hachiko Plaza, is probably the busiest and best-known meeting place in Tokyo. Named in honour of the famous statue of the Faithful Dog Hachiko, the square is bordered by a department store, two train stations and the well-known Shibuya pedestrian scramble crossing that is reputed to be the busiest in the world.

The plaza is usually teeming with people, especially during evenings and weekends. It is a prime people-watching spot and a very popular meeting place. Most people, locals and tourists alike, gravitate toward the bronzed Akita Inu statue referred to as Hachi or Hachiko. The original statue was erected in 1934 to honour the dog who met his master, Professor Ueno Hidesaburo, every day at the station after work. When Professor Ueno died in 1925 and did not return, Hachiko continued to wait for him daily for the next nine years, appear

UK - Two different elements of Kinesys automation are in action on Robbie Williams' highly acclaimed Swings Both Ways tour, one for lighting and the other for the set / drapes department, both being controlled by a single Kinesys Vector system operated by Gareth Williams (no relation!).

The tour's spectacular scenic aspects and lighting have been designed by show directors Lee Lodge and Willie Williams and LD Mark Cunniffe.

Lighting includes three eye-catching chandeliers above the stage, each constructed from three concentric semi-circular trusses and flown on a total of nine points per chandelier. These are driven into numerous different positions by Liftket motors fitted with Kinesys Elevation 1+ drive units - giving 27 axis of automation in total.

The chandeliers are made from custom HUD style trussing manufactured by Thomas, which allows all the attached lighting

UK - The ROLI Seaboard is creating many big - and very new - noises in piano and synthesiser circles, with its re-imagining of the traditional keyboard as a soft, continuous surface. Late May saw the instrument's official launch at the legendary Abbey Road studios, where Capital Sound helped to show off its potential.

The Seaboard is designed to allow its players to apply dynamics, slurs, portamento, pitch bend, vibrato and other forms of expression with the fingers in a new and natural-feeling way. Or, as its inventor Roland Lamb says, it's a way of finding the space between the black and white notes on a traditional keyboard.

The launch event saw a trio of Seaboard players - Marco Parisi, Heen-Wah Wai and Dream Theater keyboardist Jordan Rudess - accompanied by drummer Raymond Hearne, playing a set in Abbey Road's Studio 2. Capital Sound supplied a DiGiCo SD9 mixing console,

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