Italy - For the 23rd consecutive year, a crowd reportedly in excess of 750,000 packed Rome's Piazza San Giovanni for the traditional 1May concert, amplified for the first time in 15 years by an Italian sound reinforcement system - Outline's GTO.

For the event's producer, Anyway srl, Rome's Limelite provided audio, lighting, video and the huge set for the eight-hour event, aired live by state broadcaster Rai.

On either side of the set, the main system comprised 15 GTO hung below three GTO-LOW, plus an array of eight GTO-SUBs alongside. On the ground in front of the stage, 12 Lab 21 HS infra-sub enclosures were topped by six Butterfly enclosures to ensure concert early birds coverage.

The furthest reaches of the vast crowd were catered for by three delay systems: one consisting of 12 Butterfly and six Subtech 218 subs in cardioid configuration and the other two eight Butterfly

France - The Château du Rivau in the Loire Valley is said to be one of the most important medieval monuments of the Touraine region of France. With its majestic keep, protective drawbridge and picturesque towers, the Château du Rivau looks as if it has come straight out of a fairytale.

In 1992, when the chateau was in danger of falling into ruin, the current owners undertook a massive restoration campaign to restore Rivau to its former glory. This also included the magnificent gardens and the legendary stables where medieval warhorses were bred and raised, and where Joan of Arc herself came to fetch horses in 1429, and which later became the Royal Stables of Francois I. One of the finishing touches of the restoration was to install a high quality yet physically discreet distributed sound system from APG throughout the chateau in order to bring the interior to life.

Benjamin

Germany - From 24-26 April, Straubing was the venue for Dynacord's latest International ProLive Academy. The Dynacord team led by Frauke Jungbluth (sales manager Dynacord Europe), Martin Traut (senior product manager) and Andreas Köstlinger (tech support) welcomed 23 participants - pro audio experts from France, Sweden, Hungary, Serbia, Slovenia, Bosnia and the United Kingdom - to the event.

The principal theme of the seminars on this occasion was provided by Dynacord's newly introduced Vertical Array systems, which were examined in detail. As was the case at this year's Prolight+Sound trade fair in Frankfurt at which the five members of the new loudspeaker family were introduced, the new product line met here with an enthusiastic reception.

"The Vertical Array systems totally impressed the invited experts - above all through their versatility," reports sales manage

Germany / UK - To celebrate its 88th Anniversary beyerdynamic has refined its DT770 PRO headphones with a special 32 Ohm edition, optimised for mobile devices.

The DT770 PRO headphone has been a professional audio industry standard for more than 20 years. While the new 770 PRO 32 Ohm anniversary edition satisfies even the highest studio requirements, it is also compatible with smartphones, MP3 players, tablets, laptops and PC soundcards, says the company.

Like its bestselling 80 Ohm and 250 Ohm twins, this special 32 Ohm version is hand-made in Germany complete with a black soft-skin headband and ear cushions, a 1,6m straight cable with 6,35mm and 3,5mm mini jack connectors as well as aluminium labels on the side cups, which are embossed with the anniversary number 88. The limited anniversary edition DT770 PRO 32 Ohm comes in an exclusive retro-style box and is available now.<

USA - This Easter saw 4000 people in attendance at the Journey of Faith outdoor service, where a dBTechnologies DVA T4 line array provided the sound for the Californian church worshippers on Manhattan Beach. Supplied by sound, lighting & stage company Broadcast Support Inc, the success of the event has ensured the team is now the Journey of Faith vendor of choice for future lighting, sound and stage events.

Comprising four groups of three DVA T4 on top of three S09 subs in a cardiod formation, and a further 8 DVX DM12 wedges as monitors, the PA did an great job according to Anthony Gallion of Broadcast Support. "I personally did surveys throughout the venue during the event and was very pleased with the consistency of coverage wherever I stood in the crowd. The dBTechnologies equipment was an excellent choice and our post-service follow up with the staff was as positive as

UK - Crestron has announced a new appointment to its growing team. Helen Badger has been appointed as commercial business development manager, concentrating her efforts on growing Crestron's business within the commercial market.

"The Commercial market is a significant part of Crestron's activities." Says Phil Breitschadel, UK sales manager at Crestron. "It is important for us to maintain our involvement in this sector and continue to grow and develop it, which is why I am really looking forward to Helen joining the Crestron team. Helen's new role will ensure that we continue to advance in this area and with her past experience and knowledge of the AV industry, it will put her in good stead to meet our commercial business objectives."

Says Badger, "I am delighted to be joining the company as I've sold Crestron products in previous roles, and also inclu

UK - ATEÏS Europe has restructured its operations in the UK and appointed a new partner to handle exclusive distribution of its public address (PA) and voice alarm (VA) products and systems. Leading professional and commercial audio distributor Fuzion will take over responsibility for the ATEÏS product lines in the UK and Republic of Ireland. The ATEÏS UK office has now closed but Fuzion will be building on the work already done and expanding the range of services for the PA/VA market.

Fuzion is among the best-known audiovisual companies in the UK and represents some of the key manufacturers in the market. It has already worked with ATEÏS on a number of high profile projects in the rail sector, liaising with leading PA/VA installers such as Fourways Communication. The intention is to expand these operations and offer a full service to build, configure and integrate systems t

USA - Union Transfer is Philadelphia's newest midsize music space - a former Spaghetti Warehouse restaurant that's been transformed into one of the city's most dynamic live venues. Opening its doors in the fall of 2011, this general-admission hall comes complete with multiple bars, ample stage viewing angles, sky-high ceilings, a warehouse vibe, and a movable stage with expandable capacity and state-of-the-art lighting and sound.

Tom George of Eighth Day Sound configured a flexible system for the venue that they could grow into - an SD8-36 at FOH, SD8-24 at monitors and a D Rack - one that would accommodate their average 24-40 inputs per show and allow them to patch in guest consoles and literally to go from a house console to a guest system with a push of a button. Production manager Tom Shebest, who handles the majority of mixing for bands not travelling with an engineer, was

USA - With the installation of Audica Professional's MICROseries audio system at Fresh's flagship Union Square location in New York City, the high-end lifestyle and beauty store "gains a powerful, compact sound system that matches their design aesthetic and enhances the experience of customers by encouraging them to shop to the beat".

"Since we opened our first location in Boston in 1991, music has always been an essential element of the shopping experience at Fresh," says co-founder Alina Roytberg. In fact, Fresh updates its musical content programming on a monthly basis, but providing the ideal accompaniment for customers does require care, she adds. "You never want your customers to hear their own steps, but you don't want to distract customers from what our associates are saying either. The Audica Professional sound system works excellently in our sp

World - High End Systems products play an instrumental role in Tangerine Dream's spring/summer Electric Mandarine Tour 2012. The German electronic music group, founded in 1967, has become internationally known not only for their mind-entrancing music concerts but also for their film soundtracks.

LD Andreas Fink, from Austria's Preworks, specified two High End Systems DL.3 Digital Lights and two Showgun 2.5 and two Showbeam 2.5 automated luminaires. He's controlling the rig with a Road Hog Full Boar with Road Hog Full Boar Playback Wing including DMX Extension Kit. The gear comes from various rental companies throughout the tour.

The DL.3 Digital Lights, which feature an on-board media server, allow video designer Michael Koschorreck to use his custom content in HD quality. "Incredibly, it was my first experience with Digital Lights from High End Systems," he s

USA - To strengthen its market position further in the Americas, DPA Microphones has chosen Eric Mayer to serve as president of the company's US operations. A fixture in the pro audio industry for more than two decades, Mayer will utilise his expertise in the market to help the company continue its growth stateside.

"I am very excited to be working with a high-quality brand like DPA Microphones, which develops innovative products that are standouts in the industry," says Mayer. "For most of my professional career, I participated in the growth and development of another premium microphone company, and I plan to use that experience to help DPA expand further in the States. I look forward to ensuring that the company adjusts in a sales and marketing perspective to the changing and increasingly competitive environment of the microphone industry, as well as to overseei

Switzerland - Barix has successfully marketed its two-way Annuncicom IP audio and SIP/VoIP devices around the world, bringing bidirectional audio streaming and control solutions to various markets within the commercial, entertainment, private sector and residential worlds.

Barix now builds on that success with the introduction of two new Annuncicom devices at InfoComm 2012 (June 13-15, Las Vegas Convention Centre, Booth C11722) that are priced to compete in large-volume projects and applications.

The new Annuncicom 50 is built specifically for OEM applications. Barix is now shipping to OEM partners, including a key player in the education and classroom automation market. The device delivers Barix's trademark rock-solid reliability, open standards design and multi-format audio capability at a very low cost for OEM customers.

Additionally, Barix breaks new ground with the Annu

UK - Allen & Heath's Irish distributor, Rea Sound, recently provided all the lighting and sound equipment for the new Metropolitan Arts Centre (MAC) in Belfast, installing iLive and iDR digital mixing systems throughout the venue.

"iLive is a very powerful mixer with an easy to use interface. Even a technician who is new to digital can easily find their way around this console. The MAC is one of the most prestigious arts venues in Ireland with a variety of acts from across the world using its facilities. The audio consoles provide the venue with a very credible audio infrastructure that everyone visiting can use," explains Rea Sound's Roger McMullan.

The venue has two main spaces, the main auditorium, downstairs, and an upstairs studio. An iLive-T112 Control Surface is located in the auditorium, linked by Cat 5e cabling to the iDR-48 MixRack located in a 'mic patch'

USA - Renkus Heinz has announced two major changes to their sales management force.

Industry veteran Phil Van Peborgh has joined the company as Eastern regional sales manager, while technical sales manager Ladd Temple has been promoted to Western regional sales manager.

Van Peborgh comes to Renkus-Heinz after several years as a manufacturers' representative with Highway Marketing and TechRep. He also founded and was director of marketing for social media portal Knetwit.com, and was general manager of video games magazine Polygon.

Prior to moving to the US in 2000, Van Peborgh spent more than a decade working in live sound, touring the US and Europe extensively as a FOH, monitor and production engineer. His resume also includes several years as a systems integrator.

"We're very excited to welcome Phil to Renkus-Heinz," said Rik Kirby, VP of sales and marketing. &q

South Africa - The 13th Cape Town International Jazz Festival was held at the ICC on 3-4 April 2012. The event kicked off with a Free Community Concert held a few days prior to the event. Various South African rental companies worked on the festival days.

The Free Community Concert was hosted at Green Market Square on the 28 March and boasted the largest crowd to date. The concert is part of the build-up to the CTIJF and features some of the top headliners that also perform at the Jazz Festival. C&S Audio provided the full technical, where the biggest challenge, due to the event taking place in the centre of town, was to close off the streets to set up. In a mere 24 hours, C & S transformed the Green Market Square into a complete concert venue including stage, roof, screens, PA etc. They had six hours to return it back to its former state after the concert!

Around 15 000 peopl

Berlin - The last Friday in May saw the third part of the Digital Workflow seminar take place in Berlin. This workshop is the result of cooperation between Sennheiser/Neumann and Lawo/ Innovason. Whereas the first two sessions were held at Sennheiser and Lawo HQ respectively, (Wedemark and Rastatt, Germany) part three stepped out of pure theory and brought the equipment to a live stage with the British-Nigerian soul, jazz and funk singer-songwriter, Ola Onabule. The aim was to highlight the benefits of working with digital microphones and state-of-the-art digital consoles on a live stage.

The 35 participants were able to follow each step of the planning, setup, sound check and performance phase in a hands-on environment. In the morning they received a general introduction into the technology of digital microphones by Martin Liermann (SVS) and an explanation of the feature

UK - Sherman Cymru recently reopened to the public following a £6.5m transformation. The redevelopment of the building has not only created a new iconic creative venue for Cardiff, but has also vastly improved the experience that thousands of people have when visiting the theatre. The redevelopment marks another milestone in the short history of Sherman Cymru which was formed in 2007 through the merger of Sherman Theatre Limited and Sgript Cymru Limited. Since this time Sherman Cymru has consistently produced critically acclaimed and award winning work in both Welsh and English.

As part of the redevelopment, a new sound system was installed into the main house, which is a 468 seat auditorium. The installation of the system was by Marquee installation and Duran Audio UK supplied with two AXYS Scope T2115, two AXYS Scope T2112 (Both three-way full range loudspeakers) and two

UK - Liverpool -based Adlib's audio division has designed and installed a an Adlib FD sound system into the city's iconic live music venue Eric's - which is open again for business.

The basement space in Mathew Street, downtown Liverpool, opposite the Cavern, flourished from 1976 to 1980 as a must-play venue for the best and most innovative punk, post punk, alternative and indie bands. Raw, underground (literally) and edgy, it launched a slew of meteoric, critically acclaimed careers from Echo & The Bunnymen to Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark, made history with incendiary performances and was a seriously credible hang out for the cool and creative.

More bands graced the stage at Eric's than any other club in Liverpool ... until it was unceremoniously shut in 1980, and closed again in 1981 after a brief afterlife as Brady's.

The room then lay forgotten, derelict and abused

UK - Roland Systems Group is has announced the launch of a dedicated iPad application to control their award winning M-480 Digital Console. This "much requested 'App'" has been designed to control the parameters of the M-480, as well as giving the user practical features such as the ability to store scenes and edit the Channel Strip (EQ), GEQ and Sends on Fader.

Connecting the new Roland Wireless Connect USB adaptor to the M-480 USB port will enable the M-480 to appear on a wireless network so that the iPad can connect to and control the M-480 remotely. Then by simply using the wireless LAN to connect, the user is able to make the necessary level adjustments from different locations within a venue, rather than being restricted to the position of the console.

As well as the obvious benefits of ease of use and mobility, this dual screen set up can also be utilised by t

UK - Engineers from Orbital Sound have completed an intensive training course at Shure Distribution UK, covering all aspects of the Axient Wireless Management Network and resulting in Orbital being recognised as an Axient Partner.

Technical support engineers Richard Carter, Jason Fernandes and Tom Oakes undertook Shure's two-day in-depth training course. Orbital's engineers are among the first in the UK to pass Shure's Axient Certification Program, qualifying Orbital to offer Axient wireless systems as an integral part of its hire stock and sales portfolio.

Peter James, MD of Shure Distribution UK, commented, "We require the highest standards of product knowledge and operational expertise from companies that wish to include the Shure Axient Wireless Management Network as part of their rental inventory. Axient is a ground-breaking product and in order to become an Axient P

Live Statistics - Southbank Centre in London is the leading music venue in the UK , according to new figures released by PRS for Music. During 2011, Southbank Centre, which consists of the Royal Festival Hall, Queen Elizabeth Hall, Purcell Room and the Hayward Gallery, held 422 musical events - attended by over a million people.

Robert Ashcroft, Chief Executive, PRS for Music said, "I am thrilled to see so many cultural centres featured in the analysis, from the newly opened Kings Place in London and The Sage in Gateshead to the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester . These venues have very diverse and exciting programmes that appeal to many different audiences. It is an enormous accomplishment to run a successful live music space and in spite of economic challenges, the British live music scene is still strong."

PRS for Music, the organisation that collects

UK - With so much state-of-the-art sound reinforcement equipment deployed on Diamond Jubilees the length and breadth of Britain, this picture harks back to a bygone age, and is one for the many fans of vintage Martin Audio culture (and founder Dave Martin's unique designs).

Alex Czechowski of Ace Vintage Systems has a veritable museum of working iconic pieces, some of which he fielded at Glastonbury last year (when the Orange Chill 'n' Charge tent was turned into a retrospective space).

This time Ace provided more high quality vintage sound at a Jubilee event in Greatworth, Northampton, which ran totally in analogue from the microphone to the loudspeaker.

The stacks would have done credit to any band playing 25 years ago, since the bass bins were the legendary Martin Audio 215 Mk3, complemented by Martin Audio MH112 mids (also known as 'Ladyshaves') and some tops.

"It

UK - Since its release earlier this year, the VR-3 'all in one' audio and video mixer from Roland Systems Group (RSG) has proved to be a popular choice for companies looking for a compact and portable, streaming ready device for producing live events online. One of those companies, UK based broadcasting specialists IwashTV, have recently purchased two VR-3's to do just that- and were using one of them to stream DJ sets live from Liverpool Sound City (LSC), the three-day international music, media and technology conference and live arts and music festival which took place 17-19 May at the Echo Arena in Liverpool.

Working at the event on behalf of live DJ streaming site, DJTVLive.com, IwashTV set up the VR-3 with two cameras to capture the live DJ sets from the festival stage, which were then streamed directly to a computer source, reaching around 4000 viewers over two days. The i

Azerbaijan - To broadcast the 2012 Eurovision Song Contest in Baku, Azerbaijan German Broadcast production company Brainpool TV on behalf of Ictimai TV, used an extensive installation from Riedel Communications. Riedel, one of the leading manufacturers and providers of real-time networks for video, audio, communications and data, installed a comprehensive network infrastructure consisting of MediorNet, Artist, RockNet, professional radios and wireless video links.

At the heart of the installation was Riedel MediorNet. The fibre-based real-time network transported the majority of the event's signals. Forty HD and SD video signals were distributed within the arena - amongst them the broadcast feed and the signals for the on-site video walls and monitors. Since MediorNet allows the transport of different signal types over a single infrastructure, it significantly reduced the amount

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