UK - One of the first bands to come to major prominence via fan file sharing and internet 'buzz', the Arctic Monkeys have spent much of 2011 on tour promoting their fourth studio album Suck It and See. Accompanying the band, as usual, has been a package of Sennheiser microphones and in-ear monitors.

The band's front of house engineer Matthew Kettle is a long-term Sennheiser user. Working with the Arctic Monkeys since 2009, he has been happy to continue the relationship.

"I've been using Sennheiser microphones for as long as I can remember," he says. "The band were already using the evolution series vocal mics when I started. I had been using them with numerous other bands, with great results, and so there was no question of us changing."

Currently lead singer Alex Turner uses an e 935 with cardioid pattern, while the backing vocals of bass player N

Italy - In order to create maximum impact among the many trucks thundering along the Italian autostrade, the new All Access sound production consortium has created high-impact custom livery for one of its semis, specifically to promote its new MLA (Multi-cellular Loudspeaker Array) rig and the Martin Audio brand.

In addition to adding value to the array system, it will enable them to sub-rent the rig in conjunction with its own dedicated truck.

The idea was floated by one of the partners, Electra Service owner Roberto Buttarelli, and soon All Access were modifying an existing 16m semi (with 13.7m net space and a load capacity of 380 tonnes), which is purpose-designed to hold at least a 112-enclosure system (comprising MLA tops and MLX subs).

All Access received full support from Martin Audio's Italian distributor, Audiosales, who funded the truck's customisation, sensing tha

UK - Wigwam Hire has enhanced its Optocore-based 'OptoRack' data returns system in preparation for the upcoming Coldplay European Mylo Xyloto arena tour, and next summer's stadium dates.

Wigwam, who also handled the band's 2009 Viva La Vida tour, has purchased an additional five Optocore DD32R-FX digital interfaces - one for each of the five amp racks being deployed, which will all be connected by fibre.

Said Wigwam hire director, Chris Hill, "We will be running over 100 d&b D12 amplifiers in racks from five separate positions - some in the venue roofs and some on the ground - and programming in the delays etc. All will be connected to our Optocore returns system."

This will provide the band's FOH engineer Dan Green and systems engineer Tony Smith with a more elegant and stable solution. "The new DD32R-FX units offer a major advantage to running

UK - 2011 marked the debut of Sir Trevor Nunn as artistic director of London's Theatre Royal, Haymarket, with four very different productions. Sound design for all four was by Paul Groothuis, who used Yamaha digital consoles and DME series digital mixing engines to help ensure the season's success.

The four plays were, in order of production, Terrence Rattigan's Flare Path, Tom Stoppard's Rosencrantz And Guildenstern Are Dead, The Tempest and finally The Lion in Winter by James Goldman.

Designing an audio system that could comfortably accommodate a Second World War love triangle, an absurdist comedy, Shakespeare and a 12th century Christmas drama was a challenge, especially as the requirement for radio mics ranged from zero to 24.

"Based on my time working at the National Theatre, I designed an average 'rep-like' system for music, effects and

Australia - Parramatta Leagues Club has refurbished their Level 2 dining and lounge areas, creating the stylish Parra Firehouse bar and restaurant. Parra Firehouse offers authentic pizzas, tempting tapas and fresh pasta dishes.

The open-plan kitchen creates an inviting buzz for indoor dining while the large terrace with booth and banquet seating makes for an enjoyable alfresco dining experience overlooking Parramatta Stadium and Parramatta Park.

The design talents of Paul Kelly of Paul Kelly Design were employed to create many spaces with several connections making it feel as one. This required a formula for "consistency" of sound quality, yet individual area control.

With five different areas, most having a connection with an adjoining space, it was important to think of the flow of sound.

The JBL-Control25AV was selected for its ability to produce good low leve

UK - Following the success of Hed Kandi's inaugural bar in Clapham earlier this year, installation company MSL has again chosen Martin Audio as its preferred loudspeaker brand at the new Hed Kandi Bar flagship bar in Brighton, which opened recently.

Situated on West Street in the City centre, the former Luminar-owned Tru Nightclub has been completely overhauled and redesigned (by Julian Taylor Associates), with MSL entrusted with the full audio visual installation - including a high-impact Martin Audio system, networked across two floors.

Part of the Ministry of Sound Group of companies, Hed Kandi has become a globally recognised brand with club events all over the world and a huge music catalogue over many dance music genres. It was the Ministry's then technical manager Alex Barrand who recommended MSL and Martin Audio on the strength of its performance at the premier London

China - Carlsbro and Studiomaster shared the honour of hosting guest artists Texas Radio at this year's Music China exhibition. The two companies flew the east London blues rockers to Shanghai to provide some authentic musical product demonstration and live performance sets to entertain visitors at the show.

The band played live sets on the Studiomaster / Carlsbro stand and on the Studiomaster sponsored outdoor performance stage with full Carlsbro backline, and a sound reinforcement system comprising a Studiomaster line array and MCX24 mixing console.

The band are purveyors of an authentic bottle-neck blues rock sound that belies their youth and east London origins; fused somewhere between Muddy Waters and Doctor Feelgood. PA on the stand was provided with Studiomaster JX15 active cabinets and a Studiomaster C4TX compact mixing console.

Following an exhausting performance sc

UK - York Barbican has transformed its sound system with the installation of an HK Audio Cohedra Compact line array system.

Managed and operated by SMG Europe, the Barbican recently reopened after a major £2m investment, and for their new in-house sound system, they went straight to local firm JSS Audio. The Barbican's technical team approached JSS's Jem Walker with their wish-list, knowing that with JSS's track record of consistently delivering top notch sound there for a wide roster of events, they could rely on Walker to recommend what he considered to be the best solution.

JSS immediately turned to their Lab.gruppen-powered HK Audio Cohedra Compact line array system when asked to demo their proposed solution.

With extensive experience of using their 'CoCo' in all types of venues and across most musical genres, JSS knew it would be suitable for the diverse programme

Festival Winners - Glastonbury was named the UK's best major festival at this year's UK Festival Awards held at London's Roundhouse. The Somerset event was headlined this year by U2, Coldplay and Beyonce but is taking a break in 2012. Bestival, which won the best major festival prize last year, was named the 2011 fans' favourite.

Sonisphere, staged at Knebworth House, landed the best line-up prize following appearances from Biffy Clyro, Slipknot and Metallica. Paolo Nutini took the headline performance of the year for his performance at Latitude. The Secret Garden Party in Cambridgeshire took the best medium-sized festival prize, while Dorset's End Of The Road was named best small festival.

The Boss is Back - Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band are to tour in 2012, it has been announced. The singer said on his website that European dates would run from May to July,

UAENicolas Kyvernitis Electronics Enterprises, distributors of ClearCom in the United Arab Emirates for the live sound market sector, is now the official service partner for all market segments across the Middle East. After investments made in service training in Germany, service equipment and spare parts, NMK are in a position to support all ClearCom products in the region.

"Over the past few months we have sold a number of Tempest systems including wired systems to rental companies such as Sharp Eye Production, Mediakraft and the Dubai World Trade Centre of sizeable quantities," commented Amrith Verghese, ClearCom product specialist at NMK.

Chicco Hiranandani, business development manager at NMK added, "we wanted to make sure that we can support these customers so the management made the decision to invest in ClearCom's programme to become a certified service

UK - PLASA is hosting an informal get together on Thursday 8 December for all manufacturing members. The aim is to have an open discussion on the key areas of exporting and product copying/IP and to create an opportunity for manufacturers to share ideas and experiences.

James Gordon of DiGiCo will chair the meeting and introduce a number of members who will outline their own experiences, before things move to an open discussion to see how members can share information and how PLASA can provide practical support.

The meeting, which is free to attend, will take place in the Roberts Building at University College London from 4pm-7pm, followed, by Christmas drinks at a nearby pub.

If you'd like to attend or want further information, please e-mail feedback@plasa.org

(Claire Beeson)

Belgium - The early 18th century Brussels Opera House - known formally as Le Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie (Koninklijke Muntschouwburg) and colloquially as de Munt - has undergone a complete technical upgrade, centred on an Optocore optical network solution.

For the past seven years the Belgian landmark, which accommodates an audience of 1,700, and hosts plays, operas, concerts, recitals and orchestras, has enjoyed a relationship with audio specialists Amptec, and it was to the house technicians that the Optocore platform was proposed as an essential component in the renewal of their audio visual infrastructure. However, first the company had to bid successfully for the three-part contract.

As a result, 10 months after Amptec arrived on site, the former master control room has been upgraded and repurposed with the installation of a multi-track recording and post producti

UK - Earlier this year, the Brit Floyd Experience embarked on what must be one of the longest-running tours in a while, with Mansfield-based ESS providing a Turbosound rig of Aspect and Flex Array loudspeakers.

UK dates so far have included London's Royal Albert Hall and O2 Arena, three shows at the Liverpool Echo Arena, plus the festival shows at Glastonbury and the Isle of Wight. The 70-date 2011 Brit Floyd tour rolls across Europe this autumn and on into the UK and Ireland next spring.

The sound system fielded by ESS for the majority of venues is based on a 48-box Aspect rig, supplemented on occasions with Flex Array sub-rented in from colleague Turbosound stockist companies.

"Normally we're flying 24 Aspect TA-890H three-way mid/highs on three-wide bars with 19 TA-890L double 15" cabinets, and eight TSW-218 double 18" subs on the floor," says ESS's Ph

South Korea - Audinate has announced that Inter-M, South Korea's largest PA and installed sound manufacturer, has agreed to collaborate to produce a line of products that will feature Dante, Audinate's patented media networking technology.

"Inter-M is a great brand in Korea and is expanding rapidly around the world." said Lee Ellison CEO for Audinate. "Inter-M has an aggressive plan to connect their wide variety of products into an integrated system using Dante."

"We believe having Dante in our systems gives us a definite competitive advantage" stated Wonho Lee, director of R&D at Inter-M. "We selected Dante because it provides us with an audio over IP solution today, and Audinate is the only company that can offer a viable transition path to AVB for the future."

Inter-M plans using Dante end-to-end throughout their systems, from Dante

USA - Joe Bonamassa is currently on tour with his trusty Electro-Voice equipment, promoting his latest long-player Dust Bowl.

The hard-touring guitarist has loaded all his cabinets with EVM12L speakers for years, and their full-bandwidth performance has become an essential element of his carefully crafted tone. Bonamassa and long-time tour manager/FOH engineer Warren Cracknell loaded three fresh 4 x 12 cabinets with more EVM12Ls for the latest tour, all set to do duty onstage alongside some newer additions to their EV inventory: multiple RE320 microphones.

"We loved the RE320s the first time we heard them," says Cracknell. "In fact we put them to work immediately, replacing the mics we had been using on Joe's cabinets. Just like the EVM12Ls in the guitar cabs, they have a warm, full, transparent character that captures the richness of Joe's sound perfectl

USA - An inspiring theatrical production starring Atlantic bottlenose dolphins is being staged at the newly-expanded Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta. Electrosonic played a major role designing, supplying and installing all the audio and video equipment the show required. In addition, the design consulting team at Electrosonic took on the production's complex AV and show control systems design.

Electrosonic's work supported Clermont, Florida-based entertainment design and production company WOW!Works which crafted AT&T Dolphin Tales, a sweeping 25-minute musical tribute to the beauty and grace of dolphins. The indoor show is staged in the new multi-function auditorium that seats 1,800 people and houses 1.8m gallons of water in four pools.

"The show needed to be a hybrid of show-controlled equipment and events, pre-recorded multitrack audio and video playback with a laye

Digigram has entered into an agreement with Tokyo-based Village Island for the sales and support of Digigram OEM solutions in Japan as of 1 December 1st. Village Island are broadcast experts who deliver a wide range of audiovisual solutions. Their core mission is the distribution of broadcast technology and products for broadcast installations of any size and complexity.

In order to match the high expectations of Digigram customers and partners, Village Island has already committed to setting up a dedicated team for every Digigram OEM in Japan.

"Digigram is a proven technology leader and supplier of sound cards and IP audio technologies, with an engineering team that has shown itself to be continuously creative and innovative over time. This was an evident choice for us and we are thrilled to engage in this partnership", explains Michael Van Dorpe, Village Island president.

UK - Mind Sport Partners, a new venture created by Japanese advertising giants Dentsu and West Nally, a London based consultancy founded by Patrick Nally staged two global International Federation Poker (IFP) tournaments, The Duplicate Poker Nations Cup and The Table. Both events formed part of the Festival of Mind Sports which launched 17 November at London's County Hall.

Mind Sport Partners' mission is to create and enhance commercial and social value across the range of mind sports represented by its clients. The individual sports are chess, bridge,Go, draughts, xiangqi (Chinese Chess) and duplicate poker.

The IFP's inaugural Duplicate Poker Nations Cup featured 12 representative teams from the member federations of the IFP includingThe USA, UK, Brazil, France, Japan,Ireland, Denmark and the first digital nation, Zynga.

The initial phase took place in 22 capsules on the E

UK - West London sound and lighting rental specialists Entec supplied a low powered, high impact LED lighting system and sound for a special performance by Damon Albarn's supergroup The Good The Bad and the Queen (GBQ) aboard the newly inaugurated Rainbow Warrior III, environmental activists' Greenpeace new flagship vessel.

Rainbow Warrior III, a purpose-built motor-assisted sailing yacht recently left the German shipyard where she was built and made her maiden voyage across the English channel and up the River Thames in London for a special Greenpeace 40th anniversary celebration. At the helm for the last leg of the Thames voyage was Michael Eavis, founder of Glastonbury Festival and enthusiastic supporter of the high profile campaigning organisation.

Entec has been involved as a technical supplier to GBQ since the concept first evolved in 2006. They were working again with l

UK - One of the north of England's leading installation, hire and sales companies, Pro Audio Systems has announced the addition of Vangelis Satrazanidis to its technical staff.

A 24-year veteran of audio manufacturer AMS Neve, Vangelis' many skills include hardware and software testing, audio installation and service engineering. He has worked on digital audio mixing consoles for film, music and television all over the world, including projects for the BBC, Warner Brothers & Widget Post USA, International Recordings in Italy, Sound Dub in Barcelona, APU in Japan, De Lane Lea and Abbey Road Studios in London.

A fluent Greek speaker, he also installed three consoles for ERT Greek Television at the 2004 Olympic Games.

PAS Managing Director Brian Lumb said: "We're delighted to welcome Vangelis aboard and we're all ready to apply his knowledge and experience to our work. The

Germany - In the wake of a lengthy restructuring process, the French company Innovason SAS has been dissolved. The Innovason brand has been saved by Lawo AG who now owns all the product and trademark rights. The move, which follows Lawo's acquisition of the majority shareholding back in April 2008, marks the end of a juridical process which resulted in the liquidation of Innovason SAS on 2 November 2011. The Innovason brand will henceforth be managed from Lawo's HQ in Rastatt, Germany.

Marcel Babazadeh, Innovason international sales director, comments, "It's the best of both worlds. Now that the Innovason products have become part of the range offered by Lawo in Rastatt, it means that the continuity of the brand is guaranteed. At the same time it benefits from everything that Lawo has to offer with its more than 40 years of experience in professional audio technology.

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Spain - The village of Niebla is located roughly 30km of the southeast of Huelva city and 60km from Seville on the shores of the Río Tinto. Niebla literally means "fog" in Spanish, a name that might relate to its relative proximity to the Atlantic coast.

Niebla has been a pivotal enclave in the history of Southern Spain, and the castle bears eloquent witness of this.

At this year Festival Flamenco Condado de Niebla, dB Sound supplied an RCF audio system in the courtyard of the Niebla Castle. Several flamenco artists performed at the festival alongside pop artist Kiko Gavin.

The main stage was inside the walled enclosure with a capacity of about a thousand people. To ensure the correct acoustic sound and coverage, the system comprised two clusters of six RCF TTL 33-A, and six RCF TTS 28-A distributed to the front of stage every 1.5m.

To ensure sound covera

UK - In a career spanning over half a century, blues legend John Mayall has helped to define an entire genre of British music. October/November 2011 has seen the tireless 78-year old undertake a 25 date UK tour, with a pair of Yamaha digital mixing consoles on board.

Arguably most famous for the 1966 album Blues Breakers with Eric Clapton - or, as most refer to it, the Beano album - Mayall has worked with many of the biggest names in the business. His distinctive vocals, harmonica, guitar and keyboard-playing continue to inspire new generations of musicians such as Oli Brown, a young blues guitarist / vocalist whose band is the support act on this tour.

Supplied by Weymouth-based Atlantic Audio, the front of house sound for both bands is mixed on a Yamaha M7CL-48, with an LS9-32 at the monitor position. In between his duties of being Mayall's manager, tour manage

UK - Following the launch of the M-Waves option module for the iLive digital mixing system at PLASA 2011, Allen & Heath and Waves are staging interactive online seminars to provide information and technical understanding about the card and the Waves SoundGrid protocol in general.

The sessions will be held on Thursday 1 December 2011 and are aimed at engineers, audio consultants, rental companies and installation firms. There will be two webinars to suit different time zones. Additional sessions may be offered to meet demand.

These sessions will start by giving an overview of the iLive series, followed by a detailed discussion on installing the M-Waves module and configuring the Waves software. Also covered will be how SoundGrid can help with multi-track audio recording and playback during virtual soundcheck applications. Experts from both Allen & Heath and Waves will also be o

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