UK - Via the technology of enhanced video, composer Frank Zappa joined his son Dweezil and band on stage in Brighton in December as part of the long-running Zappa Plays Zappa show, with the band playing in its entirety in original track order one of Frank's best known albums Apostrophe.

The current line-up of Dweezil Zappa, Scheila Gonzalez, Pete Griffin, Billy Hulting, Jamie Kine, Ben Thomas, Joe Travers, and Chris Norton has toured the ZPZ show - a tribute to Frank's amazingly prolific output of over 60 albums performed in exacting detail - around the world for several years now and continue to do so on a fairly regular basis.

Mansfield-based ESS were contracted to supply audio for the UK dates, in the shape of a Turbosound Aspect system. The band and crew were relaxed and on top form for this last show of the tour at the Brighton Dome, with the iconic venue pr

UK - A.C. Entertainment Technologies (AC-ET) recently hosted a workshop event for some of the industry's hottest lighting designers to showcase its portfolio of LED, lighting and video control technologies from leading manufacturers - including Chroma-Q, GLP, PixelRange, Vari*Lite, Jands Vista and Green Hippo.

Held in the modern demo facilities at AC-ET's High Wycombe HQ, the workshop was the initiative of the UK sales team's Paul Biggerstaff and Jez Johnstone of leading UK rental company, Siyan.

Seven in-demand lighting designers attended the workshop: Jamie Thompson (The Script), Johnny Barker (Scouting For Girls), Dave Cohen (Wretch 32, Simian Mobile Disco), Greg Hill (Biffy Clyro, Nero), Andres Atkinson (Eliza Doolittle, Framing Hanley, Little Boots), Louis Oliver (Jessie J, Katy B) and Chris Swain - AKA 'Squib' - (Two Door Cinema Club, Bombay Bicycle Club).

The LDs were

UK - Allen & Heath has added two new models to its ZED range of multi-purpose live sound and recording mixers. The new ZED-16FX and ZED-18 each have 10 fully-featured mono channels and 3 or 4 dual stereo channels, respectively, fulfilling the demand for increased channel counts in a compact format.

In keeping with the rest of the range, both mixers have a connection for USB send and return for recording, playback and effects. The 10 mono Mic/Line inputs feature Allen & Heath's DuoPre two stage preamp, three-band MusiQ EQ with swept mid frequency, and 100mm faders, all in a compact, rack mountable format. The stereo inputs have two-band EQ and inputs for extra sources, and there are four auxes accessible from each mono and stereo channel.

Additionally, the ZED-16FX has a built-in FX processor with TAP tempo delay settings and a 24 bit/48kHz conversion rate, with access to a com

France - The team from d&b France will be at Siel in the Grande Halle de la Villette (29-31 January) with several new additions to the d&b catalogue. Centre stage will be the newly launched additions to the time honoured E-Series, the E4 and E5 loudspeakers that are some of the littlest loudspeakers in the company's product range.

Alongside these will be a selection of products from the xA and xS-Series, which together comprise the company's White range of integration loudspeakers. Four elements of the White range are now being offered coloured white as standard, as well as the more traditional black; these are the 4S, 5S and 8S loudspeakers as well as the 12S subwoofer - all from the xS-Series.

(Jim Evans)

USA - Genelec is set to make a return to the NAMM show following an absence of several years. The company will be showcasing its award-winning 8000 Series alongside a selection of supporting subwoofers (7050B, 7060B).

"We're delighted to be back at NAMM," says Terho Savolainen, marketing manager at Genelec Oy. "Although we've not been at the show for a while we've been very active in the sector and are really looking forward to meeting up with both new and existing customers. The 8000 Series has been phenomenally successful for us and I know the NAMM Show audience is going to love how the range has evolved while we've been away."

The Genelec 8000 Series "represents the culmination of Genelec's 30 years of experience in loudspeaker design and development and is suitable for a wide variety of tasks including near-field monitoring, mobile vans, broadcast

North America - As part of its ongoing effort to support the growth of the network for its Multi-cellular Loudspeaker Array system, Martin Audio has appointed Jim Jorgensen to the newly created position of MLA support specialist.

A respected audio veteran, Jorgensen has been working with Martin Audio products since 1978. His career includes work with regional sound companies such as his own Genesis Productions in Phoenix, as well as Sunbelt Scenic Studios, and Clearwing Productions in Milwaukee and Arizona.

Jorgensen has also toured with leading artists such as Missy Elliott, Stevie Wonder, Tower of Power and, most recently, Sammy Hagar and Chickenfoot.

"Having known and worked with Jim for 20 years, I am thrilled to welcome him to our team in North America," said Rob Hofkamp, director of operations for Martin Audio. "Jim's knowledge of the industry and the pe

UK - IT & AV rental DB Systems has grown its operations team with the appointment of Jess Walters and Katy Stannard.

As logistic co-ordinators, their role is to make sure the right kit and crew get to events and exhibitions allowing DB to deliver the projects it has been hired for.

Mark Danvers, DB's operations director, said, "In 2011, we provided an IT & AV service for nearly 2,500 clients, at 248 exhibitions worldwide. Part of our ability to deliver an IT & AV service on a global scale is down to how we co-ordinate our service.

"Jess and Katy will help make sure that we get the right people and equipment to the right place at the right time. This will include the likes of booking the appropriate crew for the technical requirements of the contract, as well as arranging the necessary transportation of equipment and personnel."

(Jim Evans)

USA - BlackBox manufacturer JoeCo heads to NAMM with a preview of a new BlackBox App for remotely controlling and monitoring its range of BlackBox recorders and players.

Designed for use on the iPad, the BlackBox App will provide full high resolution metering on all channels and a range of transport controls for remote operation. It will also enable the BlackBox menu and set-up options to be remotely controlled.

JoeCo's Joe Bull comments, "We want to offer users a remote monitoring and control interface that allows them maximum flexibility with the positioning of the BlackBox hardware at a venue, or on location, and that also enables the BlackBox to be operated without moving from the FOH console.

" Providing high resolution metering, especially for 64-channel versions of the BlackBox Recorder, is of great benefit to engineers who need to monitor critical levels du

USA - It was George Barber's lifelong passion for racing that led him to become a driver with the Sports Car Club of America in the 1960s.

After his father's death in 1972, the Birmingham native put his racing career on the back burner to take over the family dairy business. But by the late 1980s Barber's obsession with collecting and restoring vintage cars and motorcycles eventually resulted in one of the most impressive collections in the world, and in 1995 he opened the Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum.

In 2003 Barber sold his dairy business and invested more than $50m to build the Barber Motorsports Park. The sprawling 740 acre park, just east of Birmingham, is home to the museum as well as a 16-turn, 2.38-mile racetrack that has hosted both motorcycle and car racing events ranging from Grand-Am and NASCAR to AMA Superbike and Mustang Club of America.

"The state of

UK - The Holy Trinity was Tunbridge Wells' first parish church. After its final religious service in 1972 its Grade 1 listed status ensured safety from demolition, and by 1975 a public petition had secured permission from the Church Commissioners to produce a plan for community or public use.

An appeal committee raised £50,000 and five years later it reopened as The Trinity Theatre arts centre complete with a raked-seating auditorium. Growing popularity soon saw an art gallery, licensed bar and computerised box office added.

Its latest upgrade sees the venerable space take on the very modern mantle of digital cinema, although a cursory gaze at the vaulted balconies, plush stage tabs and comfy seats reveals little. Only on closer inspection does it turn out to be the UK's first digital cinema to employ the K-Array system, its mid/high hangs barely visible against the tabs

Brit Awards Nominations - Singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran is leading the field at this year's Brit Awards, with four nominations, followed by Jessie J who is up for three awards - best female, breakthrough act and best single for her hit Price Tag.

Organisers have also announced that Adele will perform live at this year's ceremony next month. It is her first confirmed live performance since recovering from throat surgery. The singer is also nominated in three categories - best female, best single and best album for 21.

The trophies - including a lifetime achievement prize for Britpop band Blur - will be handed out at the O2 Arena on 21 February.

Yellowbrick Road Block - A performance of The Wizard of Oz at the London Palladium had to be called to a halt last week after the production suffered technical problems. Star Michael Crawford apologised when the mus

USA - The new DLT15A 500W active speaker system from American Audio is designed for DJs, bands and nightclubs. A two-way powered speaker it is equipped with a built-in lightweight Class D high-power amplifier.

Featuring a 15-inch woofer, 1.3 inch driver and rotatable horn with 90* x 40* dispersion, the DLT15A delivers "great output, high dynamic range and distortion-free sound quality".

The speaker comes enclosed in an attractive, upscale-looking rugged - yet lightweight - plywood cabinet.

"With the DLT15A, we have brought together a lot of features that today's customers are asking for in a speaker system," said Tom Freret, national sales manager for American Audio. "For many DJs, bands and mobile performers, an active speaker system just makes sense, because they don't have to haul around separate amplifiers, crossovers and so forth. The DLT15A off

Vatican City - Clear-Com reports that Vatican Television Centre, known in Italy as Centro Televisivo Vaticano (CTV), the official broadcaster of Vatican City, has selected Eclipse-Median digital matrix and Tempest 2400 digital wireless intercoms to help cover the official activities of Pope Benedict XVI as well as the ongoing religious events and services held at the Vatican.

The extensive communication capabilities offered by the four connected Eclipse-Median, six I-Series intercom panels, two Tempest BaseStations and four Tempest BeltStations "assure that CTV broadcasts have fast access to reliable, high-quality communications".

Since 1983, CTV, headquartered in Via del Pellegrino in Vatican City, has broadcast the Pope's pastoral ministry and other activities of the Holy See. Each year, they cover about 200 events from inside the Vatican as well as during the Pope

UK - Broadcasting services provider Bow Tie Television recently needed to upgrade the audio monitoring system in one of its Outside Broadcast vans, to deliver the high quality of sound that the company's clients expected. A K-Array system was the answer.

Because of the limited space available, it had proved impossible to position all the speakers of the OB truck's original production monitoring system in exactly the right places. The only way to achieve the correct placement was to block the view of some of the monitors, which clearly wasn't an option.

K-Array is distributed in the UK by Sennheiser UK and when Bow Tie TV's head of outside broadcast sound Ross Banks attended the latter's roadshow on 9 June at Knebworth House, he was impressed with Dave Wooster's demonstration of the tiny K-Array KZ10 full-range loudspeaker and KU36 sub.

"Because the KZ10 is so small, we

UK - Audio manufacturer Audient is celebrating the launch of its new ASP4816 recording console by throwing a drinks party on Tuesday 31January at SAE Institute in London, where the Hampshire-based company's latest compact, analogue mixing desk will be showcased with the help of rock/folk collective, Flight Brigade.

Kicking off at 3pm at SAE Institute's Bankstock Studios, the party will give guests the opportunity to see and hear the band Flight Brigade being recorded using the ASP4816, as well as microphones kindly provided by Sontronics.

"It's the ideal way to introduce the features of the ASP4816: letting people get hands on and experience it themselves," says Audient's UK sales manager, Gareth Williams. "We're delighted that our friends at SAE Institute London are hosting too, the new £4m studio facility in Hackney will make a great backdrop for the eve

UK - Harman Soundcraft's small-format digital console, the Si Compact, has received a major upgrade with the release of its V2 software. The new free upgrade provides more than 23 major new features, updates and enhancements, the company says. These include eight additional DSP channels expanding the Si Compact 16 and Si Compact 24 to 32 and 40 inputs to mix, respectively.

Of particular note is the new user-configurable fader layers allowing input channels to be reassigned anywhere on either input layer and any bus master reassigned to either master layer. Now an engineer can put the inputs and returns where he or she most needs them - for example, having the main vocal or presenter always in position 1 on both input fader layers, or mixing aux and matrix masters on a single bus layer to reduce the number of layer changes.

Another useful new function in V2 is DOGS (Direct Outp

Russia - Reaffirming its ambition to deepen customer and distributor engagement in Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), Harman Professional has appointed Sergey Trotskiy as director of business development for the region.

Trotskiy is responsible for "enabling the best possible mutually beneficial working relationships between Harman Professional Division and its distributors and customers in the Russia and CIS region", the company says. Trotskiy comments: "I am here to help realize management's vision to unlock the potential of Harman's Professional Division brands in the Russia and CIS markets," Trotskiy said today. "These brands bring tremendous value in terms of performance, integration and quality build that will, in turn, impact the business performance of our distribution partners and ultimately the efficiency and effectiveness

UK - Pro Audio Stash (PAS) has launched its new R8010 19-inch Slide-and-Rotate racking system to provide ultimate flexibility for 19 inch racking set ups that are installed in tight and / or difficult to access spaces.

This innovative system has been developed in response to extensive feedback, and has a wide range of applications as a versatile solution for the installed rack units that can be easily rotated 90 degrees in either direction once pulled forward from the home position for full accessibility, maintenance, etc, says the company.

It's suitable for any location where space is at a premium such as AV installations on cruise ships where the rack needs to be locked into position with the base plate being screwed to a solid surface, or for clubs / theatres / studios where space is often limited.

For high-end commercial and residential installations, the Slide-and-Rotat

The Philippines - Clear-Com has added greater efficiency to productions at Resorts World Manila's (RWM) Newport Performing Arts Theatre by providing advanced intercoms. The high-end theatre has installed a Clear-Com FreeSpeak wireless system and Encore partyline intercoms to facilitate communications between its production staff.

As the first integrated tourist hub in the Philippines, RWM combines lodging, restaurants, gaming facilities, entertainment spots, a luxury mall, and the Newport Performing Arts Theatre, a majestic 1,500-seat venue for concerts, plays, musicals and exclusive productions. The Clear-Com FreeSpeak and Encore systems increase organisation for the facility's elaborate theatre productions.

The six communication paths offered by FreeSpeak, coupled with the four additional channels from Encore, segment the theatre's departments into distinctive communication

USA - Three new sessions have been added to the attractions already on offer during the inaugural PLASA Focus: Austin 2012, taking place at The Renaissance Austin, on 22-23 February 2012.

Alongside 50 exhibitors and a two-day programme of free professional development sessions, visitors can now book a place on a very special discussion presented by world-renowned lighting designer, Peter Morse. From Madonna and Michael Jackson to Barbra Streisand, Bette Midler, Usher, Prince, Christina Aguilera and Janet Jackson, Peter Morse has worked with some of the biggest stars on some of the biggest tours in history. Peter will talk us through his inimitable personal style, and share some of his experiences in this very special session; Lighting the Big Stage with Peter Morse.

Another major scoop is Advanced Mapping Techniques with Hippotizer Media Servers, presented by TMB

UK - Canford is to launch a new intermediate size of their SDV low fire hazard installations cable range at BVE. New sequentially powered up and down mains distribution units will also be on display as will the new Canford manufactured mains power distribution units and fibre optic termination panels featuring most industry standard fibre optic couplers.

Voice Technologies miniature microphones and headsets will be exhibited including the latest waterproof versions. Products from the Nevion fibre optic signal processing, conversion and routing ranges can be seen alongside Canford's D'n'A audio cables. A selection of the latest portable audio recorders from Tascam including the new DR-40 will also be on Canford's stand.

The new Canford SDV cable type will initially be available in two types. SDV-I-LFH is the standard type with low smoke, low fire hazard properties and the SDV-I

USA - Being launched at the 2012 NAMM show in Anaheim, California, DiGiCo's UB MADI allows any computer to instantly connect to MADI via the most standard connector of all, USB 2.0.

UB MADI uses the latest Stealth Digital Processing FPGA technology straight out of DiGiCo's SD range of consoles, yet "fits into your top pocket and delivers 48 simultaneous inputs and outputs, totalling an unprecedented 96 channels of audio I/O over USB 2.0".

Once the low latency driver is installed, UB MADI is a simple plug-and-play device, automatically detecting the MADI input format and clock selection. UB MADI then communicates with your preferred PC or Mac as a standard ASIO or Core Audio interface, says the company.

"Delivering the convenience of USB combined with Stealth Digital Processing to professional audio engineers working with MADI has been a massively rewarding exp

USA - Electro-Voice is launching the matching subwoofer for its ZXA1 compact self-powered loudspeaker at NAMM 2012 - the ZXA1-Sub.

The ZXA1-Sub is designed to provide "the ultimate combination of portability, performance, and power in a lightweight, stylish, small-format package". Though equipped with an EV-engineered heavy-duty 12" woofer, a 700-W amplifier, a durable 15-mm wood enclosure, and a maximum SPL rating of 126 dB, the ZXA1-Sub weighs-in at just 46 lbs and sports a trim 15.75" x 17.5" x 18" profile.

Easy-to-use controls and connectivity to the equation and a ZXA1-Sub makes enhancing a compact sound system with professional-quality low-end easier than ever, adds the company.

(Jim Evans)

Germany / UK - Calibre UK is to partner with EIKI Deutschland to offer a combined projection, warping and projection mapping sales and support offering for the German market.

The partnership will see EIKI Deutschland featuring products from Calibre's HQView range of multi-image scaling and blending processors in its German-language marketing collateral, giving resellers in Europe's largest pro-AV market access to a tailor-made solution for projects requiring the images from multiple projectors to be warped, mapped and blended together, says the company.

"Calibre already has a German office and staff on the ground who can provide German-language support," says Guido Sterzing, MD of EIKI Deutschland. "What EIKI brings to the party is a large network of dealers and resellers who, up until now, have lacked a 'one-stop shop' for multiple-image systems. It should be a

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