Installation

James R. McCartney at the Shubert Theatre's Series FOUR.

Soundcraft at Boston’s historic Shubert Theatre

Details: 14 March 2016

Frequently referred to as Boston Theatre District’s ‘Little Princess’, the 90-year-old, 1,600-seat Shubert Theatre recently capped off its house sound reinforcement system with the addition of a 32-channel Soundcraft Series FOUR mixing console. Local dealer Boston Light & Sound provided the sale.

The Shubert underwent a $6m restoration back in 1996, at which time an all-EAW/QSC system was installed. A 24-channel Soundcraft 800B desk that had previously been used next door at the Wang since the early 1980s was brought over at the tail end of the renovation to run the Shubert’s house system. Now, almost six years later, the theatre has finally retired its 800B, nearly 20 years old, in favor of a new Series FOUR, which is located ‘rear orchestra’ in typical Broadway fashion.

James R. McCartney, the Shubert’s union sound man for the past three ye

Jands Wins Major Walsh Bay Contract

Details: 14 March 2016

Jands Australia, in cooperation with Stage Technologies, has been awarded an A$5m (£1.8m) contract for Sydney's new Walsh Bay Theatre. The Walsh Bay redevelopment project, to be completed by early 2003, comprises over 250 prestige apartments and a new theatre on the harbour foreshore in the historic Rocks area of Sydney. In partnership with Stage Technologies PLC, Jands will supply and install stage machinery, power flying equipment and theatre infrastructure services including paging, closed circuit televisions and the stage manager'sconsole. Jands is also supplying and installing Jands HP series dimmers, wired lighting bars and cable reelers, curtains and decorative proscenium surrounds.

Working with French company Serapid, Jands will also supply and install Linklift 100 machines, which eliminate the need for screw jacks and caissons for orchestra pits. The 850-seat theatre will be

Brewster Joins SPS

Details: 14 March 2016

Show Presentation Services has appointed Tim Brewster as its new head of scenic construction, following a review of operations taken in January this year. Brewster joins SPS after working with Set and Stage for three years as a project manager, following 11 years as construction director for Lewis Productions. During his career, Brewster has worked on staging and sets for a huge variety of shows from the Conservative Party Conference and trade union events to exhibitions in Azerbaijan.

He first became interested in set design and construction after building Doctor Who sets, amongst others, for the BBC following a five year apprenticeship as a pattern maker for British Aerospace. "This is a challenging role," said Brewster. "My focus is to integrate our scenic business fully into the rest of the company and to raise the department profile both internally and externally.

Penn Men Roger Willems and Phil Stratford with Rebecca Lace of Le Mark on the Penn stand at the recent NAMM show.

Rebecca Lace Provides International Link for Le Mark

Details: 14 March 2016

A new face on the international trade show circuit is Le Mark's Rebecca Lace. She has joined the company as project manager with the task of expanding sales and the product profile of Le Mark’s reusable PAL Roadcase Label and accessory range within the US. One of Rebecca’s first outings came at the recent NAMM show held at the Anaheim (Los Angeles) Convention Centre in January, where Le Mark shared a stand with Penn Fabrication.

Penn has developed a unique range of steel dishes for Le Mark's label range. The dish can be specified by clients and can be built in as original equipment for all new roadcases. It is available on a worldwide basis through Penn and its extensive Dealer network.

(Ruth Rossington)

EAW System for Kellys

Details: 14 March 2016

Kellys nightclub complex at Port Rush is one of the province’s busiest venues. The complex includes the ultra modern LUSH with its even cooler Chill Out room and the now totally refurbished Wild, with its traditional stone and wood interiors.

WILD is split across two floors with separate sound systems: on the top floor the venue retains its existing RCF Event system, whilst on the ground floor a new EAW system has been spec’d. Local installation company, Light and Sound FX were involved in the original installation and won the contract to handle the system revamp. Darren Gardener of Light and Sound FX explains: "Our brief was to reconfigure the Event system upstairs and put a new sound system in on the ground floor. We decided to talk to Andy Austin Brown at Mackie, as he'd been involved in the original spec, and since we had no flying options, he recommended the EAW s

Audia checks in to the Jolly Hotels

Details: 14 March 2016

The largest hotel chain in Italy, the Jolly Hotels, tested Biamp’s Audia Digital Audio Platform and decided that they liked what they heard. In October 2001, an Audia system was installed in a five-room conference section within the Jolly Hotel Conference Center complex on the outskirts of Milan, Italy. This system was to serve as a beta test for Audia and was installed by Professional Show SRL and Prase Engineering, one of Biamp’s top export distributors worldwide. Biamp’s Engineering staff assisted in the installation as well.

The Jolly Hotel pilot consists of seven Biamp VRAM automatic mixers with five additional radio mics feeding the inputs of two CobraNet Audia units, each with 8 inputs and 8 outputs (8X8 CM). In each of the five conference rooms there is an output as well as five recording outputs and a monitor output. Audio control is through a PC via Ethern

Cherry Jam

Details: 14 March 2016

When entrepreneur Alan Grant was planning his new West London venue, Cherry Jam, he knew sound was going to be of prime importance for the multi-arts programme he had planned.

Having worked with Mark Metcalf at Notting Hill Arts Club for five years, he chose Blue Box Company to specify and install the audio system. Based around the principle of creating a hi-fi sound environment, Metcalf chose Funktion One Resolution loudspeakers for the main system and Genelec studio monitors for the bar area.

Two Funktion One Resolution 2 cabinets are flown left and right of the stage, augmented by two F118s supplying low bass, and a rear fill of one Res2 hi pack and two additional F118 bass enclosures. "One of the main briefs for the architects," comments Metcalf, "was sound insulation as the venue is in the heart of a residential block. The consequent sound proofing, coupled with t

Reading Students Union

Details: 14 March 2016

PAI have recently completed an installation at Reading University's Students Union Bar. The project was for a complete sound and lighting system, which used Mackie Fussion for the main dance floor and a combination of Martin Professional and Abstract fixtures for the effects lighting.

To run the sound system, PAI’s Martin Draisey selected to use the new Mackie Industrial DX8/10e digital audio mixer. "I was invited to Mackie’s showrooms in Wickford by Andy Austin-Brown for a seminar on the DX8/10e. The presentation was fronted by Costa Lakoumentas (the man behind the development of the mixer) and I was genuinely enthused by what I learned. The unit is highly flexible. At Reading University, for instance, we have used it as a digital processor and loudspeaker management system. I used 9 of its 10 outputs, for main, left and right (Fussion), six circuits for the periphera

Mackie Fussion System for Courtyard Theatre, Hereford

Details: 14 March 2016

PA Installations has installed a Mackie Fussion system in the Courtyard Theatre, Hereford. The theatre has been open for just over three years, and had previously hired in sound systems - predominantly EAW - for individual productions. With some help from the local council, the theatre was able to get a grant for a permanent sound system. "Because of the EAW connection I contacted Andy Austin-Brown at Mackie. He came down and did a site visit," explains chief technician Gareth Sumnall. "But it quickly became apparent that the budget would not run to an EAW system, so Andy suggested we looked at Fussion."

Andy Austin-Brown takes up the story: "Because of the type of usage the theatre wanted, I suggested they consider a Fussion system. I asked PA installations to do the demonstration with two stacks of the Fussion 3000. Once they had seen and heard the system it

Inside P60 - Amstelveen's new music venue.

Martin Wavefront for Dutch venue P60

Details: 14 March 2016

A new 700-capacity rock venue in Holland has meant that the citizens of Amstelveen no longer have to travel to nearby Amsterdam for their nightly entertainment. The newly-built P60 opened its doors last November adjacent to the town’s theatre in the reconfigured town square (which now includes a parking lot), and has been thriving to a mix of Holland’s leading bands and international touring acts. Owned by the local government, the three-storey rectangular building cost HFL 11,000,000 to develop. It offers a ground floor café bar under an internet café - and on top is the large performance auditorium, where the sound sweeps through the floor and balcony courtesy of the Martin Audio Wavefront 8 Compact system.

The entire sound contract was won by Martin’s Dutch distributor, TM Audio, who put together a high specification of leading brands. Sales manager Jeroen van Ke

Martin Audio speakers rigged in the ceiling of a major new theatre in the city of Parma, Italy.

Martin speakers sound sweet in Auditorium of Parma

Details: 14 March 2016

Audiosales has supplied a Martin Audio system for installation in the new 800-capacity Auditorium of Parma, which is run by the Commune di Parma. The programme of performance at the venue has yet to be specified, though it was originally thought that it would become a second opera house to the town’s famous Teatro Regio.

The contract for the audio was fulfilled by Ital Cida, and according to Audiosales’ Mauro Codeluppi, one of the reasons his company was nominated as the supply source was its proximity to Parma - they are based just ten minutes outside the town. When it came to equipping the former sugar refinery - which had stood empty for years - Ital Cida specified four WT3s, six WT2s, a pair of WS2A subs and eight WT15s - ideal for the multi-purpose nature for which the theatre will be used. The system will be powered by Lab Gruppen amplification, and the loudspeaker ma

Stagetec at Chafford Hundred

Details: 14 March 2016

Stagetec (UK) Ltd has completed a contract to design, supply and install a complete sound and lighting system for the new Chafford Hundred school campus in Grays. The split-level building is imaginatively designed by Nicholas Hare Architects, with a central lift and an impressive atrium. Built for the future, it combines the principles of energy saving with a flexible space for learning and recreation.

In the building’s central section are the halls, drama studio, dining areas, sports hall, public library and specialist facilities geared towards art, technology, music and science. The primary and secondary wings extend either side of these shared spaces, each with its own secure entrance. Stagetec’s design brief was to provide a simple-to-use system that offered the latest technology and was suitable for school productions and additionally, for when the space is used by th

University of Essex installs new sound system

Details: 14 March 2016

Essex University has recently installed a new customised sound system in two of its lecture theatres. Local company John Hearn & Son undertook the installation, working to a brief that required the two systems not only to be capable of working together, but to work equally well as stand-alone systems.

Tim Hearn explains: "Because of the layout of the theatres, the University wanted to be able to run both rooms independently but also have the option to remove the dividing wall and run it as one. They needed to be able to run the two rooms from either sound control unit." As far as the overall system was concerned, the requirements were certainly wide ranging. "Flexibility is how we viewed it," continues Hearn. "The University wanted to use the theatres for a variety of different applications, so we designed a sound system for spoken word, sound reproduction and

Stardraw & RCI hammer out PanelBuilder

Details: 14 March 2016

RCI Custom has signed a significant development and maintenance contract with software provider Stardraw.com to create a new, web-based tool for the design and production of custom control and connection panels. PanelBuilder will be hosted on the RCI Custom website and allows registered users to design, specify and purchase custom panels.

Managing director of Stardraw, David Snipp, explained the background to the deal: "RCI had long been aware of the capabilities of applications like Stardraw Audio, but it was a trade show conversation that made them realise Stardraw.com could develop an affordable custom solution. PanelBuilder is based on proven techniques seen in Stardraw applications for years, but it exploits leading-edge software and internet technology."

PanelBuilder is resident on the web server and works from within a browser, so there’s nothing to download or

EMs take the floor for Conran in Paris

Details: 14 March 2016

The famous Paris site where the legendary Jim Morrison said farewell to the world has been converted into a discotheque by Sir Terence Conran. The former Whisky-A-Go-Go, underneath his celebrated restaurant Alcazar, had been empty for some time, and when it was excavated for the refit, artworks from the legendary Doors frontman were found. The site has now reopened as the Wagg - with the sound and lighting specified and administered by fabric of London, and featuring exclusively Martin Audio sound reinforcement and amplification.

Technical consultant, Dave Parry of Most Technical, who last year turned famous London club fabric (where he is resident) over to Martin Audio sound reinforcement, with the use of Blackline and Wavefront components, this time opted for the EM architectural range. Sound over the main basement dancefloor - a long tri-domed corridor - is delivered through a distr

Live Business International at London Hospital Theatre

Details: 14 March 2016

The Royal Free Hospital in Hampstead, north London, is the proud owner of a brand new sound and lighting system for its in-house theatre, installed by Live Business International. The massive teaching hospital has a 330-seat theatre deep within its bowels, which has been used over the years for student lectures, as well as plays and Student Union performances. The hospital’s Trustees wanted to make much more use of the theatre, but the ancient sound and lighting system, with no component less than 25 years old, was a major stumbling block.

Live Business won the tender for the contract to design and install a completely new sound and lighting system for the theatre in time for a pantomime run. Live Business International director Roland Hemming designed the installation, which besides being high quality, required a great deal of flexibility to cope with the very different types of

Aquariums get high-tech thanks to DJW

Details: 14 March 2016

It’s been water, water everywhere recently for D J Willrich Ltd (DJW), as the Hampshire-based AV and multi-media specialists have recently completed work on the saltwater Bournemouth Oceanarium in Dorset and the freshwater Lakeside Aquarium at Newby Bridge on the shores of Lake Windermere.

Working within a deadline of just three weeks, DJW installed in the Bournemouth Oceanarium three Sony plasma displays, three touch screen quiz-based interactives and, with the help of strobe lighting and Bose speakers, the sound of a rainforest thunderstorm that automatically comes to life every 20 minutes.

Visitors to the Lake District are obviously used to it raining more frequently there since DJW’s thunderstorm sound simulation at the Lakeside Aquarium proved to be so popular that it now runs every three minutes! In addition to this, DJW has also installed two Sony plasma displays,

TOA provides backbone of Cherries’ new stadium

Details: 14 March 2016

Back in 2000, funding proposals for a £10.4m all-seater stadium at Bournemouth AFC’s Dean Court HQ were drawn up as part of a 15-year business plan. With help from Bournemouth Borough Council, supplemented by a record £3m package from the Football Stadia Improvement Fund, the Club were well on their way to reaching the scaled-down first phase of the targeted £5.5m-£6.5m. The shortfall of around £2m was made up by Cherries supporters and thus the first phase of the new Fitness First Stadium, with the construction of three new stands - and rotation through 90° of the playing surface - was unveiled earlier this season.

With Barr Construction undertaking the building construction, it was left to turnstile and gate specialists, Swift Tate Security Technology Ltd, to offer a turnkey solution by specifying a fully-featured public address/voice alarm system. And with 23 years&rsquo

Afterlife can be found in Burnley

Details: 14 March 2016

Celestion's flagship CXi range of sound reinforcement cabinets is increasing in popularity with contractors specifying systems for permanent installation in nightclubs. One of the most impressive recent contracts has been that for the new club Afterlife in Burnley.

The new three-floor multi-venue has been opened in Burnley by Obar Ltd, sited in a former seamen's temple. With a capacity for 1,100 people, Afterlife is one of the largest venues in the region, themed to give clubbers a chance to drink in the Underworld and Judgement Bars before going up to the Heaven nightclub.

Promotion Time, the sound and lighting contractor from Co. Durham, was commissioned to equip the club, and specified Celestion throughout. The three floors of Afterlife each have their own identity: in the basement, a warm dark-red interior called the Underworld Bar features Celestion SR1s supplemented by Substati

Jimmy Eat World perform at Virgin Megastore Oxford St. using a DAS Audio PA system.

London Virgin Megastore installs D.A.S. system

Details: 14 March 2016

The Oxford Street Virgin Megastore has installed a D.A.S. PA system for use on its high profile in-store live stage. Arizona-based Jimmy Eat World was the first band to use the full system, appearing there recently, in the middle of a sell-out UK tour promoting their ‘Self Titled’ studio album and new single ‘The Middle’.

The D.A.S. system, comprising four Compact 1 bi-amplified,1000W, 133dB three-way system cabs and four SUB-118 self-powered 500W 131dB cabinets, was specified by Virgin Megastore events manager Simon Dornan who was impressed by a hired D.A.S. system during an in-store set by UK band Elbow. The Megastore provides a launchpad for UK promotional campaigns for many up and coming and established artists and Dornan is well aware of the quality required: "The Megastore is a major date for a wide range of artists and the success of the events relie

'The Deep' - above tank lighting by Lighting Technology.

Lighting Technology at world’s first Submarium

Details: 14 March 2016

‘The Deep’, the world’s only Submarium, is Hull’s £45.5 million Millennium Commission lottery project. Opened on 22 March by Prince Andrew, the complex was designed by Sir Terry Farrell with Lighting Technology working alongside Waterman Gore to provide the ‘above tank’ lighting. A totally new concept in visitor attractions, the Submarium is a dramatic fusion of aquaria combined with a descriptive voyage through the worlds Oceans.

’The Deep’ boasts the deepest water tank in Europe. This and the 11 tanks are home to seven species of shark and thousands of other fish. These range in size from the ‘Endless Oceans’ tank which holds 2.3 million litres of salt water to the smaller ‘Jewel’ tanks which hold just 1 cubic metre. The interior spaces are strongly influenced by the physical nature of the ocean and maximum use

The DM2000 in situ with Andy Hewitt (left), Yamaha's Richard Metcalfe (centre) and Kate Walker from the BBC.

First installation of Yamaha DM2000

Details: 14 March 2016

Yamaha's Commercial Audio Division has announced the shipment of its first DM2000 digital mixing console to 2nd Sense Broadcast Ltd, based at Millennium Studios, Elstree. The console, bearing the serial number 0001, is the world's first professional installation and 2nd Sense managing director Andy Hewitt took the opportunity to host two open days for current and potential new clients to coincide with the DM2000's arrival. The open days also provided an opportunity for other engineers and members of the Institute of Broadcast Sound to see and hear the console at work in the newly completed video edit and production suite.

Hewitt, a former BBC sound engineer, was one of a number of sound engineers approached by Yamaha's R&D department two years ago to help specify the next generation of Yamaha digital audio mixing consoles. The result of those consultations, which took place simultaneou

New Manchester Stadium

Details: 14 March 2016

When the City of Manchester Stadium heralds the start of the XVII Commonwealth Games on July 25, public information will be broadcast to the maximum 38,000-capacity seating via a sophisticated new sound system.Built by contractor Laing, Arup’s design of the £77m stadium is based on an eight-mast and cable structure, ensuring that all seats have uninterrupted views of the pitch. Every part of the stadium structure is used to support the 600-ton undulating roof which covers every seat.

Its acoustics have been cleverly tuned to enhance the crowd noise by using the underside of the roof. Arup Acoustics has provided this design service, as well as the building acoustics and overall sound system design, in addition to an environmental noise impact assessment on residences in close proximity to the site.

Blackburn-based Romers successfully tendered for the entire Public Address/Voice

Return of the Thorndike

Details: 14 March 2016

The Thorndike Theatre in Leatherhead, Surrey, was opened by Dame Sybil Thorndike in 1969. Designed by Roderick Ham, the theatre was built and funded with enthusiastic support from local theatre groups, and went on to become an ambitious and high profile producing theatre. Its manager and founder, Hazel Vincent Wallace, was able to woo well-known actors and directors from London to create some remarkable productions.

At its height, the Thorndike Theatre’s club had 12,000 members; it was described as ‘a jewel of a theatre’. But despite the fact that houses were largely full, the economics of regional theatre meant that there was a dependence on subsidy and local grants. Inevitably there was never enough, and it was eventually closed down in 1997. Only the building’s Grade 2 listing saved it from demolition.

But late last year, following six months of refurbishme

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