Japan - The first Midas XL8 live performance system into Japan is now up and running at the Shibuya-AX live venue in Tokyo, supplied by EVI Audio Japan.

Located in the Shibuya district, home to the city's leading music, cultural and arts venues, Shibuya-AX has a long tradition of being on the cutting edge of sound technology. As such, it attracts leading domestic and international artists and is well-known by Japanese PA companies, sound technicians and music industry personnel. Back in 2004 the sound crew at Shibuya-AX began to discuss a future upgrade to digital technology. Head of sound, Mr Tsutomu Hashimoto, drew up a list of criteria, which first and foremost included the traditional Midas sound quality, as well as Ethernet networking capability and analogue-friendly operation - the latter of which wasn't available on any other digital console. Having heard about Midas' pla

Germany - Baldwin Boxall Communications Limited will be displaying its latest Voice Alarm products and a new range of microphones at this year's ProLight + Sound Exhibition in Frankfurt - the Vigil EVAS, Vigil Eclipse2 and BDM400 networkable range of paging microphones.

Vigil EVAS is a range of DSP controlled voice alarm products and are the latest addition to Baldwin Boxall's expanding product repertoire. The main unit - BVRD2M - is the feature-rich DSP controlled router. Only 1U in height, the BVRD2M has seven audio outputs, eight audio inputs and six flash stored messages. Adding one BVRD2S slave unit increases the number of inputs by twelve and outputs by sixteen. Up to five slave units can be connected to each master - providing 68 inputs, 87 outputs and 30 messages. The EVAS range can provide a decentralised network and up to 128 units can be linked together - creating a v

UK - Yorkshire's historic Scarborough Spa Complex has unveiled the first phase of its £3.75 million pound renovation programme, with a team from Fagan Electrical heading a massive technical refurbishment designed to place the venue firmly on the touring map. The project is headed by Fagan Electrical, lead contractors for the entire technical refurbishment programme, with the audio system design and installation carried out in close co-operation with Lo Humm Audio.

This major undertaking was funded by Scarborough Borough Council, the Yorkshire Forward regional development agency and the European Regional Development Fund. The 1,924 capacity Grand Hall, at the heart of the Spa Complex, has already reopened for business with brand new production lighting, audio and video systems.

Aside from the new, installed lighting rigs, most of the new production systems have been fligh

UK - In an effort to cut fixed costs, The English National Opera (ENO) has announced it is to cut 10% of its staff - around 45 jobs - which will include both performers and technical staff. BECTU, the union representing those working in broadcast, film, theatre, entertainment and leisure, has said it will "strongly" fight any cuts, and representatives will shortly be meeting with ENO management.

ENO says it fears reduced funding if government money to the Arts Council does not increase. ENO chief executive, Loretta Tomasi, was quoted on the BBC News website as saying: "Many options have been considered to achieve increased flexibility and a decrease in these 'fixed' costs and, whilst we believe it is vital that ENO retains a strong core of staff, the contractual overhaul includes the potential loss of around 45 jobs across the company."

Commenting on the co

UK - The Cambridge Arts Theatre has upgraded its audio control facilities to the digital domain with the purchase of a new Yamaha M7CL mixing console from Marquee Audio.

The 666-capacity theatre first contacted Marquee Audio in September to discuss a range of digital options to replace an ageing 24-channel analogue console that had reached the end of its useful life. Chief electrician Julian Brooks reports that: "We considered analogue and digital consoles, but quickly realised that, although we could have stayed analogue for half the price, we didn't want to accept its functional limitations. We wanted all the benefits of digital."

Checking out the Yamaha range of compact digital consoles, Julian Brooks favoured the Yamaha M7CL, with its touch screen, generous channel allocation and future expandability. "Marquee Audio was really accommodating, keen to demonstr

UK - Martin Audio loudspeaker enclosures are found in a wide range of applications - but until recently it is unlikely that the list would have included an equestrian centre. All that has now changed thanks to Stroud-based Contract Audio Visual (CAV), who have equipped both the internal and external enclosures of a private Olympic-standard equestrian centre near Windsor with Martin Audio components.

CAV won the contract on the strength of a referral, and immediately carried out a survey on a 60m x 25m enclosure that hosts international show jumping events on the 90-acre site. Previously the Centre had hired in its audio (interfacing with a less than adequate 100V line installed system, fed from a CD) and clearly needed to upgrade.

The company demoed a Martin Blackline system with the option of additional AS118 horn-loaded subs - and the Centre purchased the full package. "

UK - The Barracuda Bar in Newquay - the largest live music venue and nightclub in the area, with a capacity of 1,456 - has recently commissioned the services of Willow SoundVision to perform a technical refurbishment, redesign and installation of new, flexible lighting for the venue.

Mark Pearmain, project manager for Willow SoundVision explained that the lighting system had to bring a "wow" factor to the venue, the lighting had to be exciting and make a huge visual impact. The design needed to utilise a large space and also serve live entertainment events such as regular hosting of Radio 1 in the summer months, live acts such as the Levellers and the main purpose of the venue, as a bar/nightclub. Budget and product reliability was a large factor in choosing Martin Professional products, said Pearmain.

The lighting design included two custom lighting structures with

Sweden - Sweden based United Audio Starlight, one of the biggest live entertainment companies in Northern Europe, has committed to changing out their existing stock of over 400 Lab.gruppen amplifiers to replace them with 200 of the new Lab.gruppen FP + Series FP 10000Q 4 x 2500 watt-per-channel amplifiers.

"We were one of the beta test sites for the prototype FP 10000Q amplifiers during summer 2006," says Björn Lehnberg, branch manager, Audio, United Audio Starlight. "And our engineers and road crews were astonished by the new 4-channel monster. In our application, one FP 10000Q can replace two fP6400s so we halve the weight and halve the space taken up. These factors alone made the decision to replace our entire inventory very attractive."To help make the change over as swift as possible, United Audio Starlight chose to utilise their existing racks as a sho

UK - Yeovil-based systems integrator IVC is celebrating after winning the InAVation award for the Most InAVative large Commercial Project, for its £2.7M AV project in the iconic Senedd, the home of the Welsh National Assembly.

Held in Amsterdam, the InAVation awards have been developed to recognise, celebrate and encourage professional excellence within the commercial and residential AV integration industries. Almost 8000 individual votes from over 60 countries throughout the EMEA region decided the winners of the 2007 event, selecting IVC's project over the Moscow Government Boardroom in Russia, the Adi Dassler Brand Centre in Germany and Tadco-De Beers Diamond World in South Africa.

IVC managing director Ray Harding commented, "The Senedd has been defined as the arena in which the future of Wales will be shaped, so it was hugely exciting to be involved, ins

Australia - Established in 1859, the GPO is a famous Melbourne landmark, transforming from postal hall to popular night spot and function centre in the 1990's. Managed by Robertson Hospitality Group, the GPO most recently underwent a comprehensive update of its audio systems,selecting Allen & Heath mixing products throughout.

"CEO Ian Robertson and music director Scott Thompson were looking for a premium quality audio system that could stay in the background visually, but be very much in the foreground acoustically," commented system designer and contractor Nathan Pugh of One Productions.

The GPO offers four key function areas, The Lexington, The Music Room, The Library and The Terrace. The Lexington makes use of the heritage architecture of the GPO building, with grand archways, 7-metre high ceilings, huge period windows, Swarovski crystal chandeliers, draped privat

USA - A substantial quantity of SymNet DSP and expansion devices have been installed at the Alabama State House in Montgomery, where they provide processing, auto-mixing, matrixing and distribution functionality for the legislative spaces. This installation is part of an audio/visual upgrade at the State Legislature building which was designed by special systems engineering firm NBTA Engineers, of Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

"We worked very closely with the owner to develop a system tailored to their specific needs. The project was well executed and on budget, and will meettheir needs for many years to come," claims Trez Traylor, president of NBTA Engineers.

The House and Senate chambers are each identically outfitted with a SymNet 8x8 DSP hardware module together with 12-channel BreakIn12 and BreakOut12 expansion devices. Principal inputs into each DSP matrix include mi

UK - Harman Pro UK dealer Mersysound Productions has completed a project to install conference facilities and a performance Room at the Alima Centre in Liverpool, which is operated by the Novas Group community project.

The installation features a range of Harman products, including a Soundcraft GB4 24 channel mixing console; Crown I-T4000 and Xs500 amplifiers; DBX 260 Loudspeaker EQ & Management System; Lexicon MPX550 Multi-FX processor and a range of JBL Professional speakers including Control 25 Compact 2-way loudspeakers, VRXX932LA line array loudspeakers, an SRX7188 sub woofer and a JRX112M two-way wedge monitor.

The Alima Centre is a multicultural community venue that offers a range of services and educational and training facilities to community arts groups and schools. Its aim is to create a platform for local people to develop their individual, community and cultural a

UK - St Bride's Church in London's Fleet Street - often known as the journalists' church - has taken delivery of some 50 ETC Source Four fixed focus spotlights as part of a refurbishment to replace worn out lighting.

Designed in 1672 by Sir Christopher Wren, the current St Bride's replaced a smaller church of the same name destroyed in the 1666 Great Fire of London. The 234 ft spire, added in 1701, was the tallest ever designed by Wren and was supposed to withstand both lightning and war. The tower's shape, which looks like three tiers, has led to it being dubbed the Wedding Cake Church. It has a traditional link with journalists and newspaper proprietors, who paid for it to be rebuilt after it was gutted by incendiary bombs dropped by the Luftwaffe in 1940.

Since then, it has acquired a reputation as not only a place of worship for traditional services, but also for concerts

USA - Through a generous grant provided by GE Consumer & Industrial, Thomas Edison House in Louisville (KY) has installed new museum lighting. The project was completed in commemoration of Thomas Edison's 160th birthday. The inventor lived and worked in Louisville, and later became the founder of the General Electric Company.

Kevin Ruppelt, general manager of Water Products, GE Consumer & Industrial, and a member of the Thomas Edison House's Board of Regents, comments: "This was a great way to utilise GE's design, products and resources, and to give back to our local community. Thomas Edison would be proud of GE's advances in lighting technology and what we've done to highlight his inventions at the Museum. We are proud of our heritage."

The lighting installed at the Museum includes GE's new Diamond Precise track lighting designed for interior museum applications. Di

UK - Roadmender in Northampton is a long-established contemporary performing and visual arts centre which is now under new management and stages concerts including rock, reggae, hiphop, dance, world, jazz roots and experimental music.

The Fabtronic Group in Northampton was asked to provide an alternative to architectural LED lighting and colour-changing products. The new system was designed, programmed and commissioned by Chris Hobbins, events and special projects manager at Fabtronic. He says, "My solution was the CX-10 Extreme to provide colour change, morphing texture effects and gobo projection."

The venue was also refurbished during this project, using a good selection of Martin products which included, MAC 250s, Atomic Strobes, Martin Roboscan 218s, Martin Roboscan 518s, Martin Freekie, Jem ZR-12 DMX and Jem ZR-30.

(Jim Evans)

Sweden/USA - Wireless Solution Sweden AB and Illumivision, Inc. recently turned the Murray Lock and Dam Bridge in Little Rock, Arkansas into a spectacular tourist attraction. The newly constructed pedestrian and bicycle bridge over Murray Lock and Dam, dubbed the "Big Dam Bridge", recently held a special ceremony to show off its new look, bejewelled with coloured lights.

The bridge, which spans the Arkansas River, is 4,226 feet long, with a span over the river totalling 3,463 feet, according to the US Army Corps of Engineers. Billed as the world's longest pedestrian and bicycle bridge, construction was completed in August 2006. The addition of lights was completed a few months later.

Illumivision of Edmonton, Alberta, was responsible for the design and installation of the bridge lighting - 169 Illumivision Light Wave LX fixtures are installed at the base of the thirt

Germany - BSS Audio has provided advanced site-wide digital distribution at Movie Park Germany - a major amusement park in Bottrop-Kirchhellen, which is continuously evolving and expanding. The Park welcomes around 1.5 million visitors a year into its 40,000sq.ft facility, who have access to 40 different shows, 15 shops and 24 restaurants. Further facilities will be added prior to the park reopening on 31 March following the winter recess.

Having acquired the site in 2004 from Six Flags Inc, early last year the park's operators, Belgian-based StarParks recently embarked on a major technology upgrade and commissioned a new audio-visual infrastructure, based around a central BSS Audio Soundweb London DSP/distribution system.

Under the supervision of technology integrators, FACE, the installation began in the early summer and was completed by the end of the year. Using Soundweb L

UK - i-Vision has designed, supplied and installed a colour-changing LED lighting system for Flamingos, a brand new gay clubbing destination concept in central Bristol. The 900 capacity club is independently owned by Stuart Hayles, who saw a gap in the market for a really top notch gay nightclub in the city.

Hayles asked i-Vision's Luke Dodd to design the lighting following Dodd's eye-catching scheme at L!QU!D, a new club in Chepstow also owned by Hayles. "Lighting is absolutely fundamental to creating and enhancing moods, and no cutting edge clubbing environment is complete without good lighting and sound these days" he says.

Flamingos' main room (Arena 1) features R'n'B and dance music, a bar and a VIP area upstairs. Its walls are up-lit with 18 of i-Vision's Lumos 3 fittings, "The perfect fixture for the job" says Dodd. Three bubble tanks behind the bar

Russia - A major ADB lighting installation has been completed as part of the reconstruction of the leading theatre in Siberia, the Novosibirsk National Academic Theatre of Opera and Ballet, built in 1945. The installation, by ADB's Russian Federation partner, DOKA Media, has created a state-of-the-art stage lighting environment in the theatre, which is used mainly for opera and theatrical productions and is regularly lit by the leading Lighting Designers from Moscow and St Petersburg.

The work involved full replacement of the existing lighting equipment for the main stage, as well as innovative approaches to networking. The task was huge, and made even more challenging by the regulations governing the restoration of this historical building.

ADB equipment is at the heart of the system and includes Phoenix 10/XT and 5/XT control systems, interfaced via Ethernet directly with th

UK - The John Madejski Academy in Reading is the latest of the DfES Academies Programme designed to raise the level of attainment in England's inner cities by introducing a distinctive approach to school leadership.

Specialising in sport, the John Madejski Academy will have capacity for approximately 1,100 students, but the infrastructure also includes a technically-equipped auditorium and separate dance/drama studio, provided by Leicester-based Hawthorn Theatrical.

Contracted to the main construction company, Costain, the company has turned to Martin Audio sound reinforcement components as part of its audio-visual design model - extending the company's relationship with the AQ series.

According to Hawthorn's installation manager Simon Ling, the versatility of the AQ series meets the many requirements of a general purpose assembly hall, while the textured light grey factory

Canada - In the few months since it opened with a lavish production of Wagner's complete Ring Cycle, Toronto's new CDN$181 million Four Seasons Centre has vaulted to the front rank of the world's fine arts performance venues. Inside the gleaming steel-and-glass complex, a stunning interweaving of space and structure by principal architect A.J. (Jack) Diamond, the focus of architectural acclaim is the 2,000-seat R. Fraser Elliott Hall. Home to the Canadian Opera Company and the National Ballet of Canada.

In addition to the beautiful architecture and construction, the Four Seasons Centre boasts the sonic virtues of more than 150 Meyer Sound loudspeakers, though their presence isn't apparent: all are concealed from sight, either around the proscenium or embedded in the hall's walls and ceilings. The system works hand-in-glove with the acoustical characteristics to provide fl

UK - BBC Studios, part of BBC Resources, has chosen FreeSpeak from Clear-Com as the single intercom solution used across the massive Elstree studio complex and outside lot. The FreeSpeak system is made up of 60 advanced antennae and 80 belt packs and is able to serve BBC Studios' operations on the site. This covers six studios and an outside lot stretching to several acres, all operating from four control room suites.

The flexibility of the FreeSpeak system enables on-site locations to be covered by using easy to site antenna. "This is a particularly large installation, even for BBC Studios," said Tim Deane, resource manager at BBC Studios. "Using the FreeSpeak system allows a user to be anywhere on site, in or between the studios and to remain in clear contact with their Production Team."

FreeSpeak operates through a cellular network of active antenna, whi

USA - High End Systems has completed a turnkey installation at the Evangel Cathedral in Upper Marlboro, MD. The church recently installed 10 DL.2 Digital Lights to project onto a 76ft cyc to enhance their worship services. This is the largest permanent installation of DL.2 fixtures to date. They also added an Axon Media Server to manager. Though DL.2 already features an on-board media server, Axon is compatible with DL.2.

The install complements the church's existing HES equipment manifest of ten Cyberlight Turbos, 44 x.Spots and a Wholehog 3 console. The DL.2 install actually started at LDI 2006. Koster Design brought Evangel's LD Bryan Meares to High End's booth to view the demo of the DL.2 Collage Generator software feature. They then brought Bishop Don Meares to an HES Open House on the East Coast, who loved the idea of DL.2s in his church. Koster Design then purchased the g

UK - Southampton Guildhall has recently upgraded its lighting control system with the purchase of a Chamsys MQ100 console, playback wing, and Capture design/visualisation software.

The console went straight into use, servicing a wide range of events including student balls, graduation ceremonies, corporate dinner dances, concerts and comedy shows, controlling the in house Avolites Art 4000 dimmers, with a mixture of in house and sub hired equipment including Pars, ETC Source Fours, ACLs, blinders, strobes, hazers, Martin Professional and Robe automated spots, and Colorblock LED fixtures.

"The desk gives us full control of the existing house rig, with much greater flexibility than we've had before, along with the capacity to cope with pretty much every show we get thrown at us with its 12 universes, and on board features for LED fixtures," says a Guildhall spokesman.<

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