Switzerland - For establishing a comprehensive communications infrastructure, the organisers of the Breitling Sion Air Show used an integrated communications solution from Riedel Communications. Riedel installed a combination of Riedel Artist digital matrix intercom and trunked digital radio (TETRA). The project was realised on behalf of Swisscom Broadcast AG.

The Breitling Sion Air-Show is one of largest events in Switzerland in 2011. The comprehensive communications infrastructure of the event integrated the organising team, the pilot's radio network or the local security such as police or fire fighters. The system combined Riedel Artist digital matrix intercom and digital trunked radio. At the heart of the installation were three Artist 64 mainframes. They provided the fibre backbone for a total of 16 Artist control panels that were used at various different departments such

Europe - When George Michael returned to the stage for 25 Live, the console of choice was the DiGiCo D5 Live. Now, as George travels Europe with Symphonica: The Orchestra Tour! DiGiCo consoles are still an integral part of the audio production, but this time four of the British manufacturer's flagship SD7 digital mixing consoles have been chosen to handle the demands of this production, forming what is currently the biggest SD7 rig on a single optical loop on any touring production.

Symphonica, as Andy 'Baggy' Robinson, Michael's monitor engineer and head of sound for the tour, explains, is "tunes you know and covers you don't, all re-arranged".

"It's the first time George has toured with an orchestra," Baggy adds. "Everything came together very quickly and it sounds amazing."

Three of the SD7s sit in monitor world - one ope

Australia - After a tireless summer touring the biggest European festivals as well as an extensive run of headline shows, Liverpool-based indie rockers The Wombats have just completed a successful tour of Australia that included several sold-out shows.

JPJ Audio provided the audio set-up for the tour including the Soundcraft Vi6 console specified by the band's sound engineer Dave Samwell.

"When I started my career as a sound engineer I used Soundcraft products all the time and so I really feel at home with them," remarked Samwell. "My first impression of the Vi6 was that it was the first digital console that laid out everything you need right in front of you. You didn't need to look around pages or anything as the whole mix was in front of you. But most importantly, I thought it was the best sounding digital console on the market without spending insane amounts

Wolrd - DJ Sasha, has been road-testing Allen & Heath's new Xone:DB4 digital FX mixer on his busy global tour schedule, and since the beginning of the year it has been his mixer of choice.

"The Xone:DB4 has so many features and it's really compact and easy to transport around. My favourite thing is the fact that you have 4 digital channels, very nice effects and the beautiful A&H filters and EQ, all in one product. For me, the DB4 is a digital mixer with an A&H analogue heart - it's the best of both worlds," says Sasha.

"I use the DB4's big reverbs and delays - all the simple effects. They have a sound to them that isn't coloured like the effects you find built in to other mixers, which you can spot straight away. DB4's effects are very transparent, they sound like studio effects to me as they're so clean."

Sasha's set up is now based around the Xone:DB4,

Spain - From the moment the Estrella Levante SOS 4.8 festival kicked off the start of the 2011 summer concert season, D.A.S. Audio and its Aero Series 2 loudspeaker systems were at the front of concert sound throughout Spain. Dates included the 16th Annual Viña Rock Festival of Native Art in Villarrobledo, Albacete and the Benicàssim International Festival (FIB.

Viña Rock 2011's artist roster included artists such as Rosendo, Raimundo Amador, Habeas Corpus and Los Delincuentes and uncooperative weather did not stop more than 30,000 music fans from attending the Festival's upbeat three days. D.A.S. Aero Series 2 line array systems provided the sound for two of these stages, the Metalika and the Babilonia, which stood up to the weather brilliantly.

May's SOS 4.8 festival saw some 80,000 music revellers taking in performances by artists like Suede, Patti Smith, Lori Meyers, Ve

Europe - dBTechnologies' latest and largest line array module, DVA T12 has been showcased simultaneously in Holland and Spain this month, at two local events organised to give current and prospective dBTechnologies customers unique chance to hear the new system in a stadium set up.

"What better way to find out about the T12 than to actually hear it in a live situation?" says Michael Herweg, MD of dBTechnologies German HQ, who was at the demonstration. "In my experience this is the only way to fully appreciate what the product has to offer."

Holland's Kerkrade football stadium was the backdrop for the Dutch event, where visitors were able to hear different configurations for a DVA system. Twenty-four T12 units were flown (12 per side) and after hearing these, tracks were played through the 36 T4 units (18 per side). Then the subwoofers were added to create a

Strong Words - The Who guitarist Pete Townshend has urged Apple's iTunes to use its power to help new bands instead of "bleeding" artists like a "digital vampire". Townshend made the comments in BBC 6 Music's inaugural John Peel Lecture, named in honour of the legendary DJ. He also argued against unauthorised file-sharing, saying the internet was "destroying copyright as we know it". "The word 'sharing' surely means giving away something you have earned, or made, or paid for?" he said.

The talk, held as part of the Radio Festival, will become an annual event given by a different music figure every year. Held at The Lowry theatre in Salford, it is intended to be the music industry's equivalent of the annual MacTaggart Lecture, which is given by a leading media executive at the Edinburgh International Television Festival every

Australia - The award-winning Australian production of Love Never Dies has enjoyed six successful months at Melbourne's Regent Theatre, giving a welcome boost to the sequel of Andrew Lloyd Webber's Phantom of the Opera. Thanks to their extensive experience in professional theatre, Melbourne's System Sound were asked to fulfil Mick Potter's sound design, using their new DiGiCo SD7T and SD8 consoles.

The SD7T and an EX-007 expander wing are at the Front of House position, while the SD8 is on monitors. Inputs and outputs come from five DiGiCo racks - backstage, three DiGi-Racks handle all radio mics, the orchestra and all system feeds respectively, while a MINI rack hosts additional orchestra inputs.

Most of the actors carry a redundant microphone pack as backup, the SD7T being configured so that it can easily switch over to the alternate mic in the event of any pro

USA - The winners of the LDI Awards were presented on Saturday, October 29 at the LDI Show in Florida.

The 2011 Wally Russell Lifetime Achievement Award went to Rusty Brutsché, PRG. The founder of Vari-Lite, Brutsché helped to usher in the modern era of this industry with the invention of the moving light, and many other pace-setting products.

In the booth categories Performance Truss Fabrications, was cited for best small booth, while Chauvet took the ward for best large booth, Clay Paky was cited for most creative use of light, and Christie Digital won the nod for best product presentation.

The award for best staging/rigging product went to Eco Live Systems' Rising Sun solar-energy charged modular battery road cases. In the special effects category, the award went to : Firelinx Aegis wireless pyro control system from Birket Engineering. In the relatively slim

USA - A new International Green Theatre Alliance (IGTA) has been launched at this year's LDI show in Orlando, Florida. The IGTA formalises the growing partnership between Julie's Bicycle (UK), which works on environmental sustainability across the creative industries in the UK, and the Broadway Green Alliance (USA), which works with the US theatre community and its patrons to adopt environmentally preferable practices.

The Alliance's first project is a new website www.igtalliance.com which will go live in December 2011 and provide an entry point for international practitioners seeking information and resources on environmentally sustainable best practice in the arts. The website will introduce the extensive sustainability programmes of alliance members and direct users to international resources and support networks.

Alliance members will be working together on a range of proj

Germany - when Pope Benedict XVI returned to his native Germany for a historic visit to the cradle of the Reformation, Meyer Sound systems provided audio reinforcement for two key events.

In Erfurt, the Pope celebrated an outdoor Mass for 30,000 from a temporary stage erected adjacent to the majestic cathedral in the city's central Domplatz. To blanket the expansive and oddly shaped open space with sound, Hamburg-based PRG Germany deployed 120 Meyer Sound self-powered loudspeakers. The front arrays and delay towers were configured from a combination of MILO, MICA, and M'elodie line array loudspeakers.

With a remote live feed from the cathedral organ as part of the programme, 10 M3D-Sub cardioid subwoofers were positioned to carry controlled low end into the crowd while limiting bleed onto the stage. UPA-2P, UPM-1P, UM-1P, and UPJunior VariO loudspeakers were deployed for front

Germany - AFMG (Ahnert Feistel Media Group) has made significant changes to distribution and support of its software products for audio measurement and room-acoustical simulation. The company will sell its software, including EASE, EASERA and SysTune, direct to customers in Europe, the Middle East, Africa and India as of September.

"Many of these markets are growing rapidly in both size and technical sophistication," said AFMG's Stefan Feistel. "With direct distribution, we can offer end users better access to both software and technical support."

AFMG already distributes its other software products directly worldwide. These include: EASE Evac, the design programme for audio professionals planning mass notification and emergency systems; AFMG SoundFlow, which simulates absorption and transmission loss in multi-layered wall structures; AFMG Reflex, the scatt

UK - Formerly a popular Mitchells & Butlers pub, the landmark Abercorn Arms in Stanmore was recently purchased by Red Klove, and following a comprehensive, multi-million pound upgrade, has reopened as a bar/restaurant, offering superior cocktails, pan-Indian cuisine (with an African twist) and end-to-end screen entertainment in high-definition.

The new Abercorn opened its doors to reveal a spacious world of wooden floors, cream leather seats and magnolia and maroon walls. In addition to its comfortable lounge and circular bar, there is a 280-cover restaurant at the rear, a separate 120-seat banqueting area upstairs and two glass encased private VIP dining areas for 10. Wander into any of the nine zoned lounge and dining areas and you will be confronted with a superior audio and visual media experience that would do any home cinema proud - designed and installed by the Sound Divi

Denmark - Signal Audio, a new distributor for Midas and Klark Teknik products in Denmark, has placed its first order for a large quantity of the new PRO2 and PRO2C live audio systems.

"The very competitive price of PRO2 and PRO2C has obviously created a lot of interest in itself, but the really interesting thing is that customers are now looking at Midas systems in a wider perspective," says Morten Uldbaek, sales manager, pro audio at Signal Audio. "Instead of merely focusing on a console with a snake and a stage box, there are now many networking opportunities, such as the ability to move show files between the different consoles and audio distribution in general."

The first two confirmed Danish clients for the new PRO2/PRO2Cs were Copenhagen rental company Prime, which placed its PRO2C order seconds after seeing a product demonstration at PLASA, and Sound

UK - This year's Reproduced Sound Conference is scheduled for 16-18 November, with the 27th consecutive event returning to Brighton's Thistle Hotel.

RS brings together some of the world's friendliest, most knowledgeable sound specialists, and this year's thought-provoking theme is Sound systems: engineering or art?

Organised by the Institute of Acoustics and supported by ISCE, AES, ABTT, APRS, the conference addresses the design of sound equipment/systems, defining and solving technical problems, plus the very process of design itself - covering: sound for sport; innovation in loudspeaker and amplifier design; applications of network/streamed audio; room design and venue acoustics; quality and intelligibility.

Booking details are available at www.reproducedsound.co.uk

(Jim Evans)

UK - PA/VA specialist Ateis has played a small but significant role in the recent redevelopment of Silverstone motor racing circuit, which has put the UK track back up with the top Formula 1 venues in the world.

The newly opened pits and paddock complex at Silverstone cost £27 million and was built after the British Racing Drivers' Club (BRDC), which owns the venue in Northamptonshire, signed a 17-year contract to host the British Grand Prix. Upgrading the pits was part of the deal and the building was opened during May, in good time for the centerpiece race on 10th July.

Ateis UK supplied the new IDA8 networked public address-voice alarm system, which was specified for Silverstone's new wing by building services contractor NG Bailey and installed by fire and security specialist ADT. Representing its first landmark deployment, the IDA8 is being used for general day-to-to

UK - To the delight of the 800 strong contingent of delegates and guests, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II opened the annual Round Square Conference hosted by Wellington College at the end of September, and UK production company Subfrantic was asked to provide a professional sound reinforcement in the shape of a Turbosound Flex Array system.

Round Square is a world-wide association, founded by educational philosopher Kurt Hahn, consisting of more than 80 schools on five continents sharing ambitious goals from academic excellence to personal development, encouraging participation in community service, work projects, exchange programmes and adventuring.

The annual conference is a week-long affair packed every day with events, workshops, presentations and meetings, and was opened by HRH Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh, Duke of York, and the King of Greece. Daytime high

USA - Selena Gomez recently completed a successful US tour of 25 cities. The production required a cost-effective sound system with a small footprint that had to deliver uniform coverage and exceptional sound quality in a wide variety of venues.

As FOH engineer Jason Moore explained when asked about the criteria for the PA, "We were looking for the best possible sound we could get in a small, powerful package that would allow us to find a happy medium between amphitheatres, theatres and arenas."

Production manager, Javier Alcaraz, said that, "Delicate Productions, one of the companies competing to provide audio for the tour, had asked me to listen to the Martin Audio MLA system. So I went to a demo in North Carolina where I listened to MLA and was floored. I called Jason and told him, 'I think this is the rig for you, where we are, and what we need to do with th

UK - The Albany in Deptford, South London, has purchased two JoeCo BlackBox Recorders. The 24-track digital AES/EBU systems were supplied by Stage Electrics and first used on the recent Alexander Wolfe concert at the theatre.

In addition to visiting artists, the Albany currently has 14 resident companies, some of which make use of its four performance spaces. The theatre's programme encompasses music, theatre and spoken word, as well as an array of educational, training and community-based projects.

The BlackBox recorder can be connected to any live mixing console and used for capturing multi-channel audio direct to an external USB2 drive, in Broadcast WAV format, without requiring a computer. The recorded audio can then be imported into a Digital Audio Workstation for mixing, editing and re-purposing.

Fiona Greenhill, head of operations at the Albany said, "We wanted a

UK - Sound Division were recently asked to install a back ground music system in the first UK site of ST ALi - a roastery, coffee bar and restaurant. Located on London's Clerkenwell Road, the two story venue roasts all its coffee onsite, and opened its doors in April.

Sound Division were awarded the contract to install a music system for the new site, with the brief, to provide the chic coffee bar and restaurant with a good quality system that could provide low level background music during daytime operation. The system needed to be capable of being turned up to provide foreground music for evening time operation, when a more vibrant atmosphere is required, particularly in the first floor lounge which can be hired out for private functions.

Martin Audio AQ5 speakers were chosen for the project, with ten units installed over both floors and in the walkways in a two-zone configu

Australia - Gilligan's is Cairns largest party venue boasting thousands upon thousands of punters through the doors every week. Popular with the locals and the travellers, Gilligan's has non-stop party stamina all week long.

From Thursday to Sunday the back deck by the pool is home to some of Cairns most popular live bands and DJ's but unfortunately this doesn't always go down well with the neighbours. The venue was receiving complaints from one nearby hotel in particular and liquor licensing had placed some stringent restrictions on the levels of music to be played.

"Inner city living is growing and you have to keep the community happy," said Anthony Brooks, Gilligan's general manager. "However we felt that we needed to increase the sound volume somehow. The guys at JVG Sound & Lighting showed us the JBN Sound Ceiling and it looked like it would solve the probl

UK - Lab.gruppen has announced the appointment of its new managing director, Jon Alkhagen, who joined the Swedish pro-audio manufacturer just last month.

Alkhagen joins the business at an important time of growth and development, with Lab.gruppen having recently launched their much anticipated new 1U install-centric amplifier platform E Series, as well as continuing to develop standalone products under sister brand Lake.

After graduating with an M.Sc. in Engineering Physics from Uppsala University in 1996, Alkhagen was critical to the success and overall development of a number of global telecommunications companies such as Allgon, where among other roles, he was design engineer and project manager and managed the R&D activity for a company which went on to claim a 40 per cent market share. Most recently, he was employed at Ascom Wireless Solutions, a company focused on 'missi

UK - Allen & Heath iLive and ZED mixing consoles have been installed throughout a new £18m performing arts venue at The University of Wolverhampton. Called the Performance Hub, the facility brings together the University's Dance, Drama and Music departments into one dedicated building, providing purpose-built facilities, such as a black box theatre and music rooms.

An iLive digital mixing system, comprising an iLive-T80 Control Surface and iDR-32 MixRack with a Dante networking audio card, and additional Mixpad app, have been installed in the main Black Box performance space.

"iLive was chosen right at the beginning of the building's design process, and the infrastructure of the Black Box was then built around how we planned to use it," explains Andrew Lowe, music technician at the University of Wolverhampton, who is responsible for selecting audio equipment.

UK - The apocalyptic early Victorian art of John Martin, depicting biblical catastrophes in vast panoramas, has been dramatically brought to life at Tate Britain - with help from JBL Control 1 loudspeakers.

In curating the exhibition, which runs until 15 January 2012, Martin Myrone and Anna Austen wanted to recreate the impact these paintings originally had when they toured Britain continuously in front of paying audiences in the mid-19th century. In more recent times, Martin's vivid landscapes have provided the inspiration for major movies, science fiction video games, manga comics and album art.

"These paintings were the blockbusters of their time," says Dan Crompton, the Tate's audio visual service manager, who oversaw the technical installation.

One of John Martin's major projects was the completion of a triptych of paintings on the theme of the end of the worl

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