Robe - LEADERBOARD - Feb 2025
Renkus-Heinz - Banner - May 2025

Business

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Lamba plc, UK distributors for Stanton products, scooped two top awards in DJ Magazine’s T-Scan Awards, which were held during the recent PLASA Show at the fashionable Momo Restaurant in London’s West End. The revolutionary Final Scratch was rewarded in both the MP3 Hardware and Most Innovative Product categories, and Stanton Magnetics’ export manager, Laurent Cohen was on hand to collect the awards.

Final Scratch allows bedroom DJs to enter and control the digital world. Its patented technology allows real-time manipulation and scratching of digital music files such as .wav and MP3 - from conventional analogue decks. Using any standard turntable and mixer set-up, a DJ can manipulate digital sources by hand, and with vinyl, while out on the road a DJ can now carry his entire system to a gig in a travel bag.

Certainly Final Scratch proved to be a popular winner, as D

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After more than 20 years supplying sound, screens, lighting, power and other specialist services to all types and sizes of events, Oxfordshire-based event services supplier ARB is restructuring its operation to keep pace with the shifting dynamics of the events industry. The company is now gearing up for further substantial changes within the industry by improving and developing the range of products and services required to meet the demands of the 21st century.

Having steered the company through its acquisition last year and a successful 2002 summer season, Bob Boote has decided to step down. He leaves the company in an excellent position to capitalise on this growing market, with a new management team in place committed to continuing ARB’s increasing impact and reputation within the events market. Peter Boott (no relation) who will continue as managing director, commented: &quo

Doughty - Banner - 9-14 May 2025

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Pulsar Light has announced that from Monday 23 September, the company will commence full operation from brand new premises. Located just over a mile from Pulsar’s existing building, the new factory will house the design, manufacturing, sales and support teams. With 3,400sq.m of floor space and the potential for growth, the move will allow continued development for Pulsar.

The company’s new address will be: 3 Coldhams Business Park, Norman Way, Cambridge CB1 3LH, UK. Tel: 44 (0)1223 403500. Fax: 44 (0)1223 403501.

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Following the success of its previous open days and the demand for a repeat event, Caterham-based direct marketing company Smart Sound Direct has confirmed 2pm Sunday 17th November as the date for its Winter show, which will be held at Airport House, Purley Way, Croydon, Surrey.

Entertainment will be provided by various performers and DJs who will demonstrate the company's full complement of MSA PA enclosures, monitors, power amps, mixers, rack-mounted effects and accessories. New product lines include the upgraded version of the newly developed Smartlight range of lightweight speaker cabinets. These include bass bins which, when coupled with a power amp and mixer from the SmartLight line, provide what is claimed to be the lightest, portable, compact PA package available.

Visitors will also be able audition a variety of innovative products, including the CP8SP (currently the only

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In what can only be described as a milestone event, the Professional Lighting & Sound Association (PLASA) has cause to celebrate after recording one of the most successful shows in its 25-year history. PLASA's annual show confirmed its status once again as the leading international trade show for the entertainment, communications and presentation technology industries, as more than 400 companies from across the globe filled the Earls Court Exhibition Centre in London from 8-11 September, 2002.

13,810 people (subject to ABC Audit), up by 4.2 per cent from last year, visited the PLASA Show to see the array of new product launches, attend the Masterclass Programme, network with industry colleagues and strike up new business relationships. PLASA managing director, Matthew Griffiths, said the show bucked the exhibition industry’s recent downward trend as many exhibitors conducted good

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Following its launch earlier this year, the first European installation of Emphasis has just been completed at the New Stage of the Royal Danish Theatre in Copenhagen, as part of the venue’s major technical upgrade. More than 250 years old, The Royal Danish Theatre is located in the heart of Copenhagen and also houses the Royal Opera and Ballet.

"We were looking to upgrade our existing control system with more functions and channels," said the theatre’s lighting director Søren Nylin, "and we were very satisfied with the WYSIWYG software, which has grown to become the industry standard." Nylin detailed his technical requirements, to ETC’s distributor Bico Professionel A/S, who came up with the perfect solution. "As the theatre’s staff were already using Expression and WYSIWYG, Emphasis was the next logical step, providing a seamless fusi

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The summer of 2002 has seen a significant sales trend for Out Board's TiMax audio imaging and surround animation matrixes as part of sound system upgrades to three diverse, but high profile classical theatre/opera facilities. In Finland, following a prolonged period of detailed evaluation under the supervision of long-standing TiMax distributor Kurt Nyback of Hecom, the Helsinki City Theatre and the Finnish National Theatre both opted for large TiMax Rack Systems, whilst the Moscow Operetta have purchased a system for vocal localisation and special effects programming and control from the TiMax distributor Igor Kovalev from Binar. System sizes ranged from 16-In x 24-Out up to 24-In x 32-Out.

What each of these installations has in common is perhaps not surprising these days - all systems were specified with AES/EBU digital inputs and outputs to interface with a range of mixing and sign

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Luminar Leisure has carried out a major £1m conversion of its Chicago Rock Café in Northampton, providing the company with a flagship venue within the former Odeon Cinema and increasing the capacity to 1,500. With the relocation of the stage to its own mezzanine level, the venue is centred around live music. Forthcoming acts will range from Spandau Ballet to the Venga Boys - and this will be played back through a concert-spec sound system. The large venue (with a massive 18 metres floor-to-ceiling height) is divided into three areas - the main room, the restaurant and Cuba Bar, situated inside the main entrance - and this is configured as a 16-zone system.

The primary task facing Lynx Lighting’s head of sound Jerey Denning, was the ability to change the venue’s soundscape - with automatic adjustment of the room’s EQ settings in accordance with the different modes o

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Grandmaster Flash, the founder of modern Hip Hop, took both the 2002 PLASA Show and the Ministry of Sound by storm when he came to London to launch the new Rane Empath mixer, which he has helped to design.

Flash’s visit culminated in a rocking two-hour set at the Ministry of Sound on the Tuesday night of PLASA. It’s the first time he’s ever played the club, and he took full advantage to put the Empath through its paces to a packed audience. This was preceded earlier in the day by two presentations by Flash on the stand of Rane’s UK distributor, Hayden Laboratories, at the PLASA show in Earls Court. Each was followed by a short demo of his own specialist brand of performance art.

In presenting the mixer, Flash expanded on the ‘8.45’ syndrome, which has prompted many of the Empath’s most practical features. This is the common scenario when it&r

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The centrepiece of the State Fair of Texas this year is a spectacular pyro show launched from a huge opening pyramid. Onstage Productions’ Charles Belcher was charged with getting the most spectacular show possible from the organizers budget, and he immediately contacted Total Structures to assist with the design, development, engineering and manufacture of this colossal structure.

The square base pyramid, 50ft square at the base and 50ft high, was a combination of stock truss sizes, custom intersections and mechanical fabrication, while the use of Total Structures OMNI connectors added additional flexibility. The top 15ft of the pyramid opens as four ‘petals’ and the inventive and efficient use of two CM Lodestars and a push rod system provides the maximum 'bang for the buck.'

The lower part of the pyramid is provided with a decking system, whilst the platform for

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For the eleventh year running, Delta Sound Inc designed and supplied the sound and communications system for the Mercury Music Prize, the aim of which is to celebrate the best of British music. The event, which took place in mid September, saw the independent panel of judges - which included jazz legend Coutney Pine - select Miss Dynamite's 'A Little Deeper' as the Album of the Year. The 21-year-old North Londoner, real name Naomi McLean-Daley, thus performed for over 1000 guests in the elegant surroundings of The Great Room, at London's Grosvenor House.

Delta Sound deployed its versatile L-Acoustics system with the company’s Andy Jackson specifying 12 V-dosc cabinets and eight subs for the main stage, with a further 24 dV-dosc cabinets and four subs used for the second acoustic stage. Six of Delta Sound's Midas consoles (four Heritage 3000s, an XL4 and a Heritage 1000) were used

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With top promotion team DAD on board, fabric’s Dave Parry as technical consultant and legendary Back to Basics and Union club nights moving across town, the new 800-capacity Rehab in the heart of Leeds’ Exchange quarter, has gone straight into overdrive. The new venue, which opened this month, is sited on Assembly Street in a Grade 1 listed, 17th century building.

Much of the club’s immediate success is attributable to the explosion of kinetic energy witnessed by punters on the opening weekend, when they queued down the street to experience Leeds’ latest venue. The installation was carried out by Jonathan Reece’s Harrogate-based Funtime Music. The sound and lighting specialists have a history of installing owner, Chris Edwards’ clubs - such as Space in Leeds and Birdcage - and were asked to assist in the conversion of the building previously trading

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Industry consultant Peter Ed is all set to achieve exactly that: take on the challenge of climbing 14,000ft over just one October weekend in Morocco. In the name of charity, Peter and his wife will be scaling Mount Toubkal, the highest peak in North Africa, located in the High Atlas Mountain Range. The couple will be raising money for ARK - Absolute Return for Kids - a charity established to transform the lives of children who are victims of abuse, disability, illness and poverty. Last year, ARK raised nearly £1.5m from an awards dinner plus a trek to the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro and they're hoping to top this figure for 2002.

Locally, Mount Toubkal is known as Adrar n'Dem: Mountain of Mountains. The area is the most popular trekking destination in Northern Africa and is home to some of the most beautiful and dramatic scenery in the world. The biggest problem for climbers is the a

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Following the continued growth of Cambridgeshire-based 5 Star Cases Ltd, the company has recently undertaken major changes to its management structure. Jim Willis, the current managing director, has taken the decision to plan for his retirement in a few years by handing over the day to day running of the company to the current technical director, Keith Sykes.

Sykes, who becomes works director (MD designate) has been with 5 Star since 1991 when the company acquired Pro-Tect Cases, the Ipswich-based manufacturer which he ran for six years. "The growth of the company over the last few years has seen 5 Star become a leading name in the case industry. It's down to a professional approach and hard work from everybody in the company," explains Sykes. Justin Locks, the current production manager is promoted to general manager, overseeing both the production and administration facilit

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A new website for freelance professionals and employers in the UK and beyond has been launched at www.freelanceshowstaff.co.uk. The site has taken two years to develop, making it a very versatile and user-friendly service for the whole entertainment industry - a market sector which relies heavily of freelance labour. A mix of useful information combined with valuable functions, the website is designed for both employees and employers. Since its launch earlier this summer, the site has registered over 200 freelancers and 80 companies - from more than 20 different disciplines including audio, lighting, carpentry, rigging, scenery, stage management and wardrobe.

Potential employers can check a specific registered freelancer’s availability or search for new ones, as well as placing job advertisements. They can search by name

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Delta Sound Inc, the London-based sound company, has made a substantial investment in BSS Soundwebs, adding 25 units to its inventory specifically to handle its contract for the recent Commonwealth Games in Manchester. Delta’s head of technical Mark Underwood, the stadium project manager for the ceremonies and the games, used a total of 32 BSS DSP units within a fibre optic infrastructure to create one of the most extensive temporary Soundweb installations ever designed. From the hub at the front-of-house position, Soundwebs provided the signal distribution highway for Delta's audio installation throughout the City of Manchester Stadium, distributing to six remote amplifier sites via fibre optic cable, and managing all the matrix routing and outboard processing.

"If we hadn't had the Soundweb technology and the line length the fibre offered us, we simply couldn't have done t

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Arcadia Group Plc recently had a helping hand from Skan PA Hire, the Reading-based sound rental company, at their annual London conference. Skan provided seven separate sound systems for the event, which took place at the Business Design Centre London - just days after headline news broke of Arcadia's take over by Phillip Green, owner of BHS and other well-known high street stores.

Skan were asked to supply systems to cover all aspects of the two-day event, which included a central stage, for all 400 attendees to watch fashion shows and hear from key speakers. While six further systems were spread around the venue in break out areas. Brand experience company Hotcakes provided all creative work and production management for the event.

Skan supplied a mixed system, including Turbosound TQ440 self-powered full-range loudspeakers, together with JBL C25s for the main conference room. Vari

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One of Hand Held Audio's more challenging clients recently has been shock dance act the Prodigy. Hand Held has been supplying Shure SM58 hand-held, guitar and PSM 600 in-ear radio systems to the band on a one-off basis since January as they prepare for the release of their next album.

The band has been extremely busy with festivals in Australia, USA, Ireland, Belgium, Mount Fuji in Japan, plus of course the recent Mean Fiddler festivals in Reading, Leeds and Glasgow over the August Bank Holiday weekend, where Prodigy headlined. According to Hand Held's Nick Bruce Smith, the challenge has nothing to do with the gear spec, which is straightforward enough, although the licensing element has been time consuming given the number of different countries and sites the band has covered. The interesting part is seeing the state of the equipment on its return. "We just never know quite what

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Hillsong Church in Sydney incorporates two major worship centres, a city-wide network of cell groups and contributing ministries and outreach services. It was set up in the early 1980s by New Zealanders Brian and Bobbie Houston, who saw the need to provide people in Sydney’s North West with an active, contemporary church. Today it is possibly the largest church in Australian history, operating from a 21-acre site in a modern business park in the Hills district, and from a contemporary facility near the heart of Sydney’s CBD. With a congregation of over 12,000, the reputation of the church continues to expand and has a dynamic influence both domestically and internationally.

Hillsong Church had been planning to build a larger auditorium since moving into its current building four years ago. With only two worship centres - one holding 1,500 at Baulkham Hills in Sydney's north

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Nexo SA has responded to growing worldwide demand for its advanced loudspeaker system technology by creating three international sales regions. Denis Baudier, international sales director, will have primary responsibility for Europe, the Middle East and Africa: he will be based at the Nexo SA factory in Roissy, France. Meanwhile, James Yeung of Nexo Far East Pte Ltd will supervise the company’s distribution in the Pacific Rim from Nexo’s headquarters in Singapore whilst David Solari, CEO of Nexo USA, will direct Nexo operations in North and South America from the company’s offices in San Rafael, CA.

"As the worldwide customer base for Nexo technology expands, we are responding to a need for increased support and training," explains Nexo managing director Michael Johnson. "These three areas of the world have unique characteristics and opportunities, and

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During the recent PLASA Show came the announcement that Midas has appointed LMC Audio Systems as Executive Agent for its mixing console range. The announcement, made by Midas UK sales manager Richard Ferriday, follows the successful commercial relationship forged between the two companies over the past five years, which has seen LMC implement a very successful market diversification programme to further increase the rentability of the growing Midas range for all users.

Ferriday confirmed that the new agreement signalled a close, full working partnership between the factory and LMC, offering Midas customers for the first time, factory contact, whilst increasing the package of commercial tools on offer through LMC.

LMC Audio managing director Paul Hinkly was delighted with the new appointment. "The Midas brand has been and continues to be the most stable console brand to buy, o

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Marquee Audio has fulfilled a request from the UCL Bloomsbury to supply and install a new Martin Audio front-of-house sound system in their auditorium, along with BSS Soundweb control blocks which will allow the expandability the venue requires in the future.

The UCL Bloomsbury is a two-level auditorium (accommodating 400 in the stalls and 150 in the circle), owned by University College London and built in the 1960s. Though housed in a concrete edifice its vertical wooden-slatted baffle ensures the sound is not overly reflective and can be heard with clarity at the rear of the wide auditorium.For three-quarters of the year the theatre is a receiving house and for the remainder of the time they run productions for student societies.

Venue chief electrician Adam Leigh contacted Marquee for the first time - on the strength of receiving their promotional literature, and the recommendatio

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Stage Technologies is currently in the process of equipping two new ships with complete rigging and control systems for Princess Cruises. Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) is building two giant 113,000gt ships in Nagasaki, Japan, for the cruise line, which will be the largest ever ships ordered by P&O Princess. Matthew Tonks is the project manager for Stage Technologies and believes that the new systems "will enable Princess Cruises to provide their passengers with shows to rival any equivalent on land."

One of the central elements of the Stage Technology system will be its new TanJent system. This prevents scenery from moving around with the pitching and rolling of the boat by guiding the scenery flybars throughout the full travel of the bar.

(Ruth Rossington)

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Euro Hire Sound & Light, a full service production company based in Farnborough in Hampshire, has become the first UK customer to invest in the recently launched compact line array system from Dynacord, Cobra.

Euro Hire was specifically looking for a system to cope with smaller events and theatre tours. Operations manager Jools Warren explained that although their current systems (EAW and Renkus Heinz) were more than adequate, it was sometimes rather a case of using a sledgehammer to crack a nut. "We decided that it would be a good idea to be able to offer our customers the option of a more compact system, so when Shuttlesound proposed Cobra, we were very interested. And then once we'd heard the demo at the Anvil theatre in Basingstoke, it was really just a question of crunching the numbers and sorting out a delivery date!"

Euro Hire invested in a total of six Cobra Top enc

  1. Barbizon opens European office
  2. TiMax in summer dance festival line-up
  3. Bill Clinton jams with D.A.S in Colombia
  4. i-vision light Eastgate House, Cardiff
  5. SPS returns for fourth year to handle RAH Awards
  6. From Phantom, Madrid, to Lion King, London
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PLASA Leeds 2025 - Large MPU - April 2025
GLP - MPU - Feb, Apr 2025

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