France - For the 99th Tour de France, Team Garmin used a radio solution from Riedel Communications. The specialist for real-time communications and media networks installed a combination of conventional trunked radios and NanoTalk for enabling team communication for Garmin.

More than 12 vehicles of Team Garmin, who won this year's Giro d'Italia, were equipped with a MOTOTRBO radio solution enabling communication between the individual vehicles. MOTOTRBO provides conventional trunked radio and is the solution for any application that requires high quality of speech transmission. Long battery power cycles and the integrated GPS module make MOTOTRBO radios a suitable solution for applications such as the Tour de France.

In addition to the digital radio network, Team Garmin used NanoTalk radios for the communication between vehicles and cyclists. NanoTalk is an extremely small rad

USA - Line 6 has announced the availability of StageScape M20d, billed as "the world's first smart mixing system for live sound".

Featuring "a groundbreaking touchscreen visual mixing environment", StageScape M20d "streamlines and accelerates the process of getting great live sound". Massive DSP power delivers comprehensive professional audio processing on every channel including multi-band feedback suppression. Multi-channel recording, remote control capabilities via one or more iPad devices and pristine audio quality make the StageScape M20d an ideal mixing solution for a wide variety of live sound applications, says the company.

"For musicians who take care of their own live sound, getting great results consistently can be a time-consuming and frustrating experience - particularly when they want to be focused on performing," said Simo

Germany - Since 1973, visitors to the 'Neue Bult Bult' racecourse in Hanover have been marvelling at the power and performance of the horses. But since the sound reinforcement system was modernized earlier this year, the same qualities have been no less in evidence off the track - a fact to which over 50,000 racegoers can testify already this year can testify.

The design and installation of the new sound reinforcement system was the work of M-Akustik e.K., a company based in Oldendorf (Hesse). Mathias Vette, the managing director of M-Akustik, collaborated with the operator, Gregor Baum, on the design. Responsible for the implementation were Uwe Schwedhelm, sales director of Fleischhauer Ing.-Büro GmbH & Co. KG, and Stefan Waltemathe from M-Akustik's technical support team were responsible for the implementation. .

The most formidable hurdles proved to the sheer size of the a

UK - Wyrestorm has confirmed POLARaudio as its new distributor for the Professional AV market in the UK.

Says Wyrestorm, "POLARaudio's interest in quality and meeting the growing demands of their customers in many ways mirror our own by offering a host of professional services, including system design, product integration, project logistics and programming assistance in addition to technical support and training offered and the marketing and sales assistance offered to the brands they represent.

"For Wyrestorm, this experience within multiple markets and knowledge of sectors as varied as education, corporate, Pro AV, event, retail and commercial is something we value highly as we ourselves expand from our Custom Installation roots into more diverse territory with new product lines capable of even more applications within commercial settings."

(Jim Evans)

France - Faith No More, Marilyn Manson, Wolfmother, Machine Head and variety of other rock and metal acts hit the stage in France on 7-8 July 7th with Adamson's Energia e15 system. All audio equipment was provided by Energia Beta partners MPM and Waveform Audio.

Chief Audio designer, Waveform's, Julien Poirot comments, "The E15 is just a perfect PA. There is amazing headroom and precision in the low frequency with a very powerful and clean mid/high section. This is just the Adamson touch." Julien's design was executed with Adamson's new software suite, Blueprint AV.

Machine Head FOH Engineer Craig Porter commented, "I'm really interested in the E15 now, I love the Y18's with the T-21's (Subs), but the E15 with the T21's is the best Adamson rig I've heard." Porter had some time to evaluate and test the E15's - "I got to feel it out and make some changes

USA - At a recent performance with Sarah McLachlan at Nashville's Schermerhorn Symphony Centre, acclaimed drummer Curt Bisquera (Josh Groban, Mick Jagger, Seal, Elton John, The Beach Boys) employed a wide arsenal of microphones from Audio-Technica.

Bisquera used the AE2500 Dual-element cardioid instrument microphone on kick drum; AE3000 cardioid condenser instrument microphones on toms; ATM650 hypercardioid dynamic instrument microphones on top and bottom of snare; AT4050 Mmlti-pattern condenser microphone for overheads; and AE5100 cardioid condenser instrument microphone for ride cymbal and hi-hat.

(Jim Evans)

Spain - Space Club in Ibiza recently held its summer season opening night, installing three of Allen & Heath's Xone:92 mixers in the main room to fulfil the rider request of a majority of the performing DJs.

Unofficially regarded as the kick-off to Ibiza's summer season, around 20,000 punters attended the event, enjoying 20 hours of non-stop music from a line-up which included Wally Lopez, Juanjo Martín, Carl Cox, Dubfire, plus legendary live bands Orbital, and Rumanos Premiesky who performed a world premiere of their live show.

"Most DJs and producers performing at Space demand an Allen & Heath mixer, as they appreciate the Xone sound quality that Allen & Heath is renowned for," comments Eva Thullen from Spanish distributor, Lexon.

Recently at Space, other Xone products have been spotted, including John Digweed and the Xone:DB4 FX mixer at Carl Cox's Revolution p

USA - The number of Broadway productions relying on DiGiCo technology continues to grow, the company reports. This June, two of the newest productions and their respective sound designers took home coveted 2012 Tony Awards for sound design: Clive Goodwin for Once and Darron L. West for Peter and the Starcatcher. They each found DiGiCo desks critical to the creation and design process of their shows.

Once is based on the 2006 Academy Award-winning film about an Irish musician and a Czech immigrant drawn together by their shared love of music. In transitioning the show to the larger theatre, Goodwin chose a DiGiCo SD7T after consulting with Scott Kalata at Masque Sound, a leading theatrical sound reinforcement, installation and design company, who'd been helping in the design process.

"We needed something with a lot of busses and a high input/output cou

UK - Sparks flew when the London 2012 Olympic Torch Relay came to Chelmsford recently.

In the finale of a day-long series of events (collectively known as Sparks Will Fly: Essex) the action moved to Hyland Park where local sound company Event Sound & Light (ESL) fielded the largest combined RCF TT+ PA system yet seen in the UK. The company was working alongside Chelmsford City Council, who were responsible for staging the event, and their production company, Walk The Plank, who devised the concept for the pageant, closing event and street theatre style performance.

ESL director Paul Galley confirms that to equip a main stage measuring 50m wide, 2m deep and 2m high they supplied a pair of 7.5m high V-mast towers to hang six active TTL55-A line array elements per side, with three RCF TTS56-A double 21in subwoofers. In addition the company featured centre fill ground stack

South Africa - After the success of the lively dancing competition, Step Up or Step Out, Blond Productions were once again commissioned by their client Endemol South Africa, to supply the lighting, sound, screen and design for the second season of the show. The television broadcast for e-TV was shot over a two-week period and returning for a live finale at Sasani Studios, stage five, in Johannesburg.

Christiaan Ballot, Peter Riek and Ryan Lombard from Blond used ESP Vision to come up with a concept and then asked Dreamsets to assist with the final set design. Dreamsets came to the party and produced an exceptional dance floor which incorporated LED strips.

Lombard programmed on a grandMA full-size. For pre-production he asked for the music and content of the show and then plotted on ESP to give the client an idea of the final product and to ensure both client and suppli

South Africa - Prosound has sold their first Eurotruss 10 x 8 ARC Roof to SoundWave, Zambia. SoundWave Zambia is a new age music company that provides a rental and hiring division along with a music festival management service.

SoundWave Zambia was established 13 years ago by three music enthusiasts who met on the South African music scene. Founding members Arnold 'Ringman' Sibalwa and Dave Ter Steege were at Prosound to see the setup of the Eurotruss ARC Roof. Arnold runs the Sound Wave Zambia branch and is regarded as one of the top sound engineers in Zambia. Dave Ter Steege is a legend on the music scene in South Africa because of his skills and ability to get the best possible sound in live arenas.

This is the first Eurotruss aluminium structure to be imported into Zambia which will make its debut appearance at the Saliet Keita show followed by a gig for Sean Paul from Jam

Australia - Audio-visual staging company AVCorp has recently supplied audio systems for several large events held at Sydney's Allphones Arena where they are a preferred supplier. Each gig required a completely different PA set up but due to the flexibility of their JBL VRX and PRX speakers that was not an issue for AVCorp.

The National Disability Insurance Scheme rally, with the Prime Minister as a guest speaker, saw the stage positioned in typical fashion at one end of the arena. The PA system comprised of two hangs of five JBL VRX 932LAP speakers and some VRX subs.

"The system was actually too loud," commented Michael Papas, managing director of AVCorp. "You could hear low frequency reflections from the roof which muddied up our sound. We dropped the level a little and it gave us very good speech intelligibility with good coverage. I knew we would get the cove

UK - Marquee Installations has recently completed the design and installation of the audio system for the Wahaca Southbank Mexican restaurant at the Queen Elizabeth Hall in London. Designed by renowned architects Softroom, the innovative Wahaca Southbank Experiment is a new two-storey temporary installation, constructed from eight recycled shipping containers on the outdoor terrace of the Queen Elizabeth Hall at the Southbank Centre.

The audio system for Wahaca Southbank is divided into four zones covering ground and first floors, walkways and outside areas. To provide simple but flexible control and power, Marquee chose the Cloud Electronics 46/50 4-zone integrated mixer/amp with the optional 100V line module. APart MASK4T and MASK6T loudspeakers were used throughout.

"We chose the MASK loudspeakers for their discreet styling, audio quality and price, which fitted a real

London Calling - More than 12m people have taken part in the London 2012 Festival - the cultural programme of the Olympics - according to organisers. Their figures are based on ticket sales, attendance figures and surveys of the UK population. Approximately 2.9m took part in a mass bell-ringing session on the opening day of the games. A further 9.6m visited free events like Radio 1's Hackney Weekend and the Tate Modern's oil tanks. Festival director Ruth MacKenzie, said she was "delighted" and that audience numbers were "well ahead of expectations".

Off Stage - Long-running musical Blood Brothers is to end its current run after spending 24 years in London's West End. The show has its final performance at the Phoenix Theatre on 27 October but will continue to play on tour. A spokesman for producer Bill Kenwright said it was "the end of a cha

Oman - More than a decade after Sultan Qaboos bin Said of Oman ordered the building of an opera house, his vision has finally became a reality. Work was recently completed on Royal Opera House Muscat (ROHM), which now stands opulently in the Shati-Al-Qurm district of the city as Oman's premier venue for musical arts and culture.

A special production of Turandot took place on the 1,000-seat venue's opening night, which was directed by the legendary Franco Zeffirelli (who also designed the set) and conducted by Spanish tenor, Placido Domingo. Approximately 350 Italian performers were flown in especially on order of the Sultan, to create a musical night to remember.

At the beginning of this gargantuan build, a concrete shell was created and a team of 30 carpenters built a 1:5 scale model of the Sultan's vision, which was regularly subject to change.

Originally, the venue

UK - The Hard Rock Calling concert weekend in Hyde Park, London is now one of the most important music events in the UK. Sponsored by the Hard Rock Café organisation and featuring world famous rock acts, each concert attracts an audience of 55,000 people to the most prestigious of the Royal Parks.

MDS of Maidstone were chosen to provide lighting and sound for the VIP area during the weekend and supplied MT Professional Audio speakers and lightweight amplifiers to provide FOH sound and on-stage monitoring on three stages. Artists using the equipment included Big Country, The Guillemots, James Walsh and the Punch Brothers, and nobody had their power switched off.

Darren Tomlin, proprietor of MDS commented, "I visited MT Pro at their showroom near Maidstone, Kent to listen to the amps and speakers before making the purchase. I was very impressed with both the sound an

UK - Offering spectacular views over the River Thames, the Grade II-listed Old Billingsgate is one of London's largest 'blank canvas' venues, with the capacity to stage major events, from film premiere parties, private dinners, concerts and fashion shows to conferences and exhibitions.

Of its three spaces, the vast 28,000sq. ft. main space, with its triple height ceilings, is the centrepiece, and can host sit-down dinners and conferences for in excess of 1,000 people.

LCI was invited to tender for the technical design, installation and commissioning of a comprehensive house production system, incorporating industry standard sound, lighting and video. This would be available to any incoming production companies along with smaller event clients who don't have a production partner associated with them.

Speed of rigging/derigging was an essential part of the criteria, as was a s

UK - A Midas PRO6 mixed The Stone Roses' comeback' gigs in front of 225,000 fans at Manchester's Heaton Park.

In control Front of House is long-time Midas user Robbie McGrath, whose sound engineering credentials include some of rock music's finest acts including The Rolling Stones, AC/DC and Kasabian. McGrath praised the PRO6 for its wealth of musical ability.

"The head amps are incredible, I can set up the PRO6 the same way as I would a great analogue console such as the MIDAS XL4. On top of this you have a very smooth digital trim, which is fab. The EQ is exceptionally musical - it really retains that much-loved MIDAS sound and the on board compressors are amazing."

He continues, "The Stone Roses' are incredibly talented. Because it's drums, bass, guitar and vocals, with no trimmings whatsoever, I need a desk that will concentrate on the quality of the raw m

UK - At PLASA 2012 (Hall 1, Stand F38), DPA Microphones and its UK distributor Sound Network will showcase its range of high quality microphones that are suited to the rigours and demands of the live sound and touring industries.

Christian Poulsen, DPA's CEO, says, "We are excited to be exhibiting at the PLASA show this year with the UK being one of our key markets. With the new d:fine headset, d:facto vocal and d:vote instrument microphones, we are raising the bar for good sound in challenging environments, where DPA microphones have already set the standard for headset and miniature mics for many years. DPA's long list of fantastic references within theatre, broadcast, lives and installation environments proves the unique combination of high sound quality and reliability."

DPA will show its expanded d:fine series of headset microphones that recently won Live Des

France - French loudspeaker company APG has reported an exceptionally busy summer season so far following the sale of a number of Uniline line array systems to rental companies across France and abroad.

One of the most active has been Lyon-based rental company, Audio Technique, who have been very busy since they joined the Uniline Solution network with the purchase of their system in May this year. Two of their most prestigious festivals featuring Uniline this summer have been the FΩtes Escales in Venissieux near Lyon - a six-day festival that saw audiences of over 6000 every night for an eclectic music programme ranging from the Opera de Lyon to the urban rap sounds of Zebda and everything in between - and the Nuits de la Guitare festival held in the spectacular setting of Patrimonio in Corsica.

Held over eight days, this festival of international renown featured perfor

UK - Olympic athletes, officials and guests arriving at London's Heathrow Airport were treated to a musical welcome on 25 July, as Myleene Klass serenaded Terminal 5 with the theme to Chariots of Fire. London-based Capital Sound provided the audio infrastructure for an event which attracted widespread attention by the national media.

The solo piano performances had to be planned in meticulous detail, as the piano and audio system were set up directly in front of the international arrivals area in one of the world's busiest airport terminals. Robin Conway was project manager for Capital Sound, with the company providing all necessary equipment, crew and logistics.

"One of the key challenges of the event was that we were given specific load in and load out times to coincide with quieter moments in the terminal," says Conway. "We had to set up the equipment

USA - - As Donny and Marie Osmond continue their successful run at Las Vegas' Flamingo Hotel, Audio-Technica is the microphone of choice for the superstar siblings' act. Between recent performances, Donny Osmond was presented with a limited edition AT4050URUSHI Multi-pattern Condenser Microphone.

The AT4050URUSHI, a visually striking version of Audio-Technica's acclaimed AT4050, was created to commemorate A-T's 50th anniversary and sports a stunning traditional urushi lacquer finish with hand-painted Japanese maple leaves.

(Jim Evans)

Germany - Providing good, clear audio reproduction in a historical building can present a number of challenges for an installer, often with strict architectural limitations on where you can place the loudspeakers, as well as interiors rarely being open to having acoustic dampening installed to aid intelligibility.

The Federal Administrative Court - or Bundesverwaltungsgericht - was established in 1953 as supreme instance of the general administrative jurisdiction. It is one of Germany's six Federal Courts.

The building was erected between 1888 and 1895 by the architect Ludwig Hoffmann. Originally, it housed the High Court of the German Empire. After the end of World War II, however, Leipzig became part of the GDR and the High Court was moved to West Germany. During the years of the socialist regime, the courthouse accommodated various non-judicial institutions, two museums and

Hungary - At the very heart of Budapest city is the Váci 1 shopping and entertainment centre. Originally built between1911 and 1915 and one time host to the Budapest Stock Exchange, the building is a historic, protected monument and was designated as a world heritage site by UNESCO in 1987. As prestigious sites go, it doesn't get much grander than this. After extensive renovation work it has been redeveloped as the central hub of Budapest's retail area.

On 14 December 2011, the Hard Rock Café opened its doors to the Budapest public for the first time. Spread over four floors of the Váci 1 building, the magnet of the famous Rock Shop greets visitors as they enter on the ground floor and the views are what may attract people to the top floor. However, the main event is the restaurant, bar, kitchen and the performance stage which are all down on the basement level, boastin

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