Australia - A 48-channel ASP8024 console has been installed in each of the Brisbane and Melbourne SAE Institutes, and after a very straight-forward and painless set-up, they were set to work playing a central role in the audio engineering teaching programmes.

Each of the two Antipodean educational facilities had a definite idea of what they wanted. Senior studio technician in Brisbane, Louisa Lachi says, "When we were looking for a replacement, we needed a console that was future-proof, sturdy, looked sexy and sounded great."

Brad Toan, studio technician in Melbourne was of the same mind. "We needed a console that will be able to withstand almost constant use all year round, along with being stable and built with quality components that will last. As audio engineers we also want something that sounds fantastic and was easy for students to use and get their heads

Oman - Sir Tom Jones recently performed live at Shangri-La's Barr al Jissah Resort & Spa, Muscat, as part of his world tour.

The concert was held at the resort's amphitheatre, with an audience of more than 3,000 people. Having last performed there three years ago, Tom requested a return. Aged 73, the performer sang his classics including It's Not Unusual, Delilah, and What's New Pussycat, all aiming to rock the local and international expatriate audience.

Production was provided by the Muscat-based Talentz Centre LLC, the largest production operation in Oman and whose expertise in large-scale events takes them all over the region, including the UAE. The company has invested significantly in Outline Butterfly systems with the MD, Baltazar Fernandes, quoting the products' consistency, quality and flexibility as key factors in his company's ability to handle

USA - Meyer Sound has appointed Pablo Espinosa to chief loudspeaker designer, adding to his current role as vice president of rResearch and development. Espinosa will oversee the company's loudspeaker development strategy, from hardware and user experience design to engineering, as well as long-term conceptual planning for the full loudspeaker lineup.

"Pablo has contributed tremendously to our company's growth in recent years," says Helen Meyer, executive vice president at Meyer Sound. "He has been central to so many of our successful products, and helped build a solid engineering foundation for the company. As Meyer Sound continues to grow and our product portfolio expands, we are confident Pablo will help maintain the company's focus on building innovative, high-performance loudspeaker systems."

Promoted to VP of R&D in 2008, Espinosa has driven strategic

UK - When Bliss Events was asked to manage a much bigger than previous Switch-On of the Regent Street Christmas lights, they turned to Star Events Group for a special set of equipment.

The brief called for a substantial stage with full PA & lighting rigging facilities, a fully roofed and raised grandstand for 220 VIPs and a screen support. All easy enough except for the need to close Regent Street on a busy Saturday in November. The road closure order gave just six hours to set up and 4.5 hours to remove everything. Star Events Group squeezed in the same mobile stage used for The Olympic Torch Relay, with just inches to spare between blocking the access to French Connection on stage right and the fire lane on stage left.

With Westminster City Council insisting that only mobile structures could be used (due to the need to re-open the road on time) and no mobile grandstand being

UK - If you're building a bespoke sound system from the ground up specifically for the thundering needs of modern electronic music, then you want the very best components in order to make sure you're doing things the right way. That's exactly what Flipside Sound did when they chose Lab.gruppen and Lake for their fierce looking, state of the art sound systems, the first of which has recently been installed in London club, EGG.

The brainchild of lifelong friends and audio veterans James Cooper and Michael Layton, the Flipside story began around two years ago, when James and Mikey combined their expertise - one in pro audio, the other in underground warehouse parties - and decided that the current leaders and pretenders in the field simply weren't giving both the impression and the sound quality that they required. In short, they felt they could do better.

"I remember going

China - An Allen & Heath iLive digital mixing system and Xone:92 DJ mixer were used at the recent INTRO Electronic Music Festival 2013 held at Shougang in Beijing.

Supplied by Sanecore Group, an iLive-144 Control Surface and iDR10 MixRack were installed to manage FOH, along with an EAW KF740 linear array system and Powersoft K series amplifier. Allen & Heath's industry standard Xone:92 DJ mixer was supplied on stage for the performers.

From its debut in 2009, INTRO has become one of the biggest annual music events in China. With an incredible number of electronic participants and artists, INTRO has established itself as one of the most pioneering culture events. INTRO's main organiser is renowned Chinese DJ, Weng Weng, whose mixer of choice is the Xone:92.

"Xone:92 was the obvious choice to spec for the event. It has outstanding sound quality and all the knobs and butto

Italy - A new international supergroup has been launched by Italian amplification specialists Powersoft. With all the swagger of Damon Albarn's cartoon group Gorilliaz, The Mosfets have invented their own universe, and will be central to a new marketing campaign being mounted by the electronics manufacturers.

Follow the activities of these allegorical amplification figures, with soubriquets like Roger Woofer, Jeff Porchetta, Lane RA and 'The Wedge' (each a nod to a famous musician or system) as this mythical rock band hits the media, says Powersoft.

"The idea of The Mosfets is to illustrate just how 'active' powered loudspeakers have become," says Powersoft marketing and communications manager Francesco Fanicchi, who is also the creative mind behind the campaign.

So just how did the band derive its name? A phenomenon of the late 1970s, the MOSFET (which stands for

UK - Chart topping drum 'n' bass band Rudimental completed their first major UK production tour with a lighting design created by Jonny Gaskell, well known for his vibrant and lively work, who was head-hunted for the job by the band's production manager, Glen Pearson.

When it came to choosing a lighting supplier for the tour, Gaskell recommended west London based Colour Sound Experiment, with whom he has worked on many previous projects.

"I wanted a selection of good kit and great crew to fit the budget" says Gaskell, "H (Colour Sound's Haydn Cruickshank) has invested a serious amount of money in buying new kit this year and I have always liked the way the company does business."

The rig for most of the tour was a flexible floor based package which could be augmented with whatever house rigs they happened to find. For the sold-our Brixton Academy show, Co

USA - Having topped Pollstar's first quarter ticket sales charts for the past three years, the Winter Jam Tour Spectacular is playing 58 shows across the US through March 2014. Blackhawk Audio of White House, Tenn. is providing a Meyer Sound Leo linear large-scale sound reinforcement system for the contemporary Christian music concert tour.

"Winter Jam's music goes from hip-hop to hard rock, and from pure pop to spoken word," says Jerry Holcomb, production manager and FOH engineer for Winter Jam. "The clarity and performance of the Meyer Sound products, especially the LEO line arrays, allow for exceptional audio every night."

Winter Jam presents a demanding production challenge as most shows take place on consecutive nights, and tickets are only available at the door for $10. Ticket sales typically begin at 4:00 PM on the show day to accommodate the large c

USA - After a successful show in July 2012, the PLASA Focus event series is returning to Nashville on 18-19 February, 2014, at the Nashville Municipal Auditorium.

"We have decided to return to Nashville as the PLASA Focus event held there in 2012 was very well received well by both visitors and exhibitors, which is not surprising as the city is renowned for its vibrant music and entertainment scene. Visitors will have the opportunity to see the latest technology from the biggest brands, be provided with free access to a two-day education program, and network with industry colleagues." says Christopher Toulmin, head of PLASA Events.

Companies already signed up to exhibitor at the show include 4Wall Entertainment, DiGiCo, Altman Lighting, Barbizon, CAST, Chauvet Professional, Drape Kings, Elation, Martin Professional, Morpheus Lights and TMB. Space is limited so compan

UK - Cambridge-based entertainment technology developers Out Board have reported record sales growth in their 2102/13 financial year. All product lines have seen significantly increased business, including the flagship TiMax SoundHub and Tracker audio showcontrol systems as well as Out Board-branded LV&DV Chain Hoist Controllers and PAT4/CAB5 automated PAT and Cable Test Processors.

Director Dave Haydon observes, "Overall we're up more than a third on last year. TiMax sales have been strong in Europe especially Germany, Austria and Switzerland where we have also had more rental jobs than in any previous summer. There has been a surge of sales in the USA and China and we're just starting to break into Latin America. We're also anticipating our new MADI64 and Dante64 Connectivity products will consolidate interest in TiMax and also help open new doors for us in the coming yea

UK - Cadac has signed a licence agreement with Audinate to license its Dante digital audio networking protocol and develop integration solutions for the two companies' products.

The agreement will enable the two companies to develop an interface solution between Cadac's advanced proprietary MegaCOMMS networking technology and the Dante digital audio networking protocol.

"The development is part of an ongoing programme to allow Cadac users all the advantages of MegaCOMMS - higher bit rate, lower latency, greater bandwidth and significantly more channels - while interfacing with established industry standard networking and transmission protocols," says Richard Ferriday, Cadac brand development manager. "In the coming months there will be a Cadac designed and manufactured interface box which will enable MegaCOMMS to seamlessly plug in to Dante based systems."<

UK - Burton Town Hall has recently upgraded the sound in the main hall of its Civic Function Suite with a Community loudspeaker system, designed and installed by PAS Sound Engineering.

Centrally situated in the heart of the UK's Midlands, Burton Town Hall is an elegant Victorian hall built in 1894. A multi-purpose venue, Burton Town Hall plays host to a variety of events and provides an eye-catching backdrop for exhibitions, festivals, trade fairs, shows, parties and weddings. Excellent acoustics also make it an ideal concert hall with a seating capacity of 557. The main hall, with its stage and balcony, forms the heart of the Civic Function Suite, which also consists of the Dove Room, Lingen Room, Trent and Rangemore Bars, Green Room and a catering kitchen.

Bernie Boardman, PAS Sound's installations manager, met with Ian Boam, facilities manager and Lynne Allman, venue manage

USA - Community Professional Loudspeakers has expanded its Distributed Design series of ceiling, surface mount and pendant loudspeakers with the new DP8 Pendant.

Available in paintable white or black, the DP8 is a high-performance, 8-inch coaxial loudspeaker with an attractive tapered style that complements the design of modern open-architecture environments and provides highly-intelligible voice and great musical sound quality for restaurants, lounges, hotels, ballrooms, meeting rooms, retail and commercial establishments, and casinos, hotels and convention centers. With its weather-resistant enclosure, grille and components, the DP8 may also be used outdoors in covered locations, says the company.

For system designers and installers, the DP8 is ETL listed to comply with UL1480. It includes a 120-watt autoformer with easy-access tap switch for 70-volt/100-volt distributed sys

Switzerland - IP audio and control specialist Barix has promoted Frank Frederiksen to COO following a successful 15 months as vice president of product marketing and strategy. His promotion, effective immediately, represents part of the strategic process at Barix to build a strong management team that will lead the company to new growth. He reports directly to Barix CEO Ronni Guggenheim.

Since coming to Barix, Frederiksen has focused on enhancing the user experience for customers through streamlined solutions that simplify ease of use and installation. He oversaw the development and rollout of Barix's recently-introduced IP Paging ecosystem, which eliminates complex configuration processes in favour of a plug-and-play solution where Barix devices self-configure automatically.

"IP streaming has entered the mainstream, and many of our customers need more than capable hardwa

UK - It all started when a story about Norman Cook aka Fatboy Slim and production partner Riva Starr were out record shopping in Brooklyn earlier in the year when they ran into a dude who was ranting about some three-day bender he had been on (and possibly still was....). We were told he was hooked into their Serato and chopped up into a tune. Upon release, we find out that very dude happens to be world famous beat boxer Beardyman. And so the favourite phrase of club goers was born; Eat Sleep Rave Repeat.

Cut to November of 2013 and the track crashed into the UK charts at No. 3, seeing off One Direction in the process, and a triumphant return to the charts for Mr. Cook.

Norman has always been renowned for his groundbreaking videos and became one of the forerunners of dance producers to embrace the format, so there would need to be something special for this one.

And so the i

Australia - JoeCo has appointed Professional Audio Technology Pty Ltd (PAT) to distribute the BlackBox range of multi-channel live audio recorders and players in Australia. Based in Hornsby, New South Wales, PAT adds JoeCo to a comprehensive portfolio of pro audio brands that cover a range of markets including broadcast, live sound, conferencing and hire.

Since launching the first BlackBox Recorder in 2009, JoeCo has established an award-winning series of computer-free 24- and 64-channel 1U recording and playback systems that are compatible with virtually all analogue and digital consoles and other equipment. Various I/O options are available including MADI, DANTE, AES, Lightpipe and analogue. Audio is recorded directly to an external USB2 drive in Broadcast WAV format and can be instantly re-purposed for archiving, re-mixing or post production applications.

"We are very

UK - Iron Maiden's current tour production includes a DiGiCo SD7 at Front of House. Engineer Martin Walker has a long history of working with hard rock bands, including Judas Priest, Slash, Whitesnake and Californian thrashers Testament. He began working with Iron Maiden last year, bringing his console of choice, a DiGiCo SD7, with him.

"I really like DiGiCo consoles and was using an SD8 with Judas Priest," he says. "The first time I was involved with the SD7 was when I sat with Lars Brogaard on the first Rod Stewart residency at Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas. I moved up to one with Judas Priest two years ago and I haven't looked back."

Maiden generate about 40 inputs, plus another dozen from various outboard units and playback at FoH. Outputs comprise main left and right, with subs on an aux and vocal fills. Martin also does a multi-track recording of most

USA - Digital Audio Labs has entered into a license agreement with Audinate to license its Dante media networking solution. The first Digital Audio Labs product to integrate Dante will be the Livemix personal monitoring system, slated to launch 14 January.

"This year, we announced the Livemix personal monitoring system with features like studio quality audio, signal processing on each of the 24 channels, custom channel naming, stereo ambient microphones, and MirrorMix remote mixing," remarks Andy Swanson, Digital Audio Lab's marketing director. "Livemix is a personal monitoring system that helps musicians give their very best to every performance." Swanson finishes by saying, "When looking at the available digital options, Audinate's Dante media networking was the clear stand out. Adding Dante will enable the Livemix personal monitoring system to easily

Sri Lanka - Sri Lankan QSC distributor Dynamic AV technologies has installed QSC KLA and K Series loudspeakers in a refurbishment of the auditoriums at the Columbo-based Sri Lankan Foundation Institute (SLFI), one of the Sri Lankan Republic's largest and oldest adult education centres. The SLFI, which celebrates its 40th anniversary in 2014, specialises in vocational training for the Sri Lankan people in a variety of career disciplines, including psychology, sociology, business and language studies.

The sound reinforcement systems in the Institute's main auditorium and four associated smaller lecture halls were all recently refurbished, receiving new loudspeakers, microphones, and sound mixers. Dynamic AV Technologies suggested QSC KLA and K series loudspeakers for the PA systems. The main auditorium was the recipient of four QSC KLA12 line array units (two per channel) with a p

UK - Shure Distribution UK (SDUK) has announced the end of its distribution contract with US based case manufacturer SKB, by mutual agreement.

Shure Distribution will continue to supply SKB products until the New Year, and customers can be assured that they will continue to receive the same high levels of service and support until then. From the 1st January 2014 SKB Europe, based in the Netherlands, will take over distribution.

"SKB make cases for a plethora of applications, many of them outside our core focus of music, pro audio and broadcast. With the continued expansion of their range we have decided that the interests of both of our companies are best served by alternative distribution arrangements," commented Peter James, SDUK managing director. "This decision allows us to concentrate our efforts solely on professional audio electronics from our portfolio o

Canada - Audient has achieved a milestone with the sale of its 500th ASP8024 console, installed in a studio in rural British Columbia this year. Up and running in early autumn, studio owner, engineer/producer Rob Dewar is already reaping the benefits of his 36-channel desk.

"It has provided a centralised input rig and return buss matrix, which has made my mostly single-handed recording and production work here much easier in terms of flow," he says.

"I have set up my most-used inputs (my drum kit mics, four mic'ed guitar amps in booths, an M/S mic pair for acoustic guitars, a direct-patched bass, etc) on a semi-permanent basis, and I have built a rolling mobile remote control rig for the DAW, and a set of satellite headphone 'pods', so most of the time, I can just move into position, arm some tracks and let 'er rip, when inspiration strikes, without any serious

Rock Honours - Heavy metal stars Black Sabbath triumphed at this year's Classic Rock Roll of Honour, picking up three prizes including the living legend award. The Birmingham band also won album of the year for 13 and event of the year, after 13 topped album charts worldwide and scored them their biggest US hit. Previous living legend winners include ZZ top, Jimmy Page and Iggy Pop. Following their Hyde Park live shows and a Glastonbury headline set this summer The Rolling Stones were named band of the year, while best new band went to The Temperance Movement.

.Low Key - The French government presented singer Bob Dylan with the country's highest award, the Legion of Honour, in a brief ceremony in Paris. Presenting him with the award, Culture Minister Aurelie Filippetti said he was a hero for young people hungry for justice and independence. After the speech,

Australia - For the first time in a decade at an Australian trade exhibition Entech Connect will have a Live Audio Zone. This live audio demonstration area will showcase some of the finest talent and finely tuned speaker systems in the market. With a number of sessions across two days and several audio brands already locked in.

This feature is a first for the Australian industry and will be a programmed audio segment dedicated to the demonstration of loudspeakers and will provide visitors the chance to listen to products in a real-world environment.

"A live audio demonstration zone is something that has been missing from industry trade events. We want attendees to not only have the opportunity to view products, but also to experience their sound capabilities first hand," commented Stephen Dallimore, Entech Connect event manager.

Visitors will be able to experience

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