After many years of success with Yamaha’s PM, CL and QL series digital mixing consoles, earlier this year Belgian rental company AED Rent invested in two RIVAGE PM7 digital mixing systems. These have already been such a success that sister business AED Lease has purchased a third system. Purchased together with Rio3224-D2 and Rio1608-D2 I/O racks, the investment in the RIVAGE PM7 systems has complemented ongoing demand for Yamaha’s other digital mixers. “The need for CL and QL series mixers is still growing, with PM5Ds and M7CLs still being requested,” says AED Rent account manager Piet Verstraete. “We have a…
Author: Jacob Waite
On its second stop in the U.S. at AT&T Stadium in San Francisco on 21 August 2018, Ed Sheeran’s ÷ tour’s lighting director discussed how Point Source Audio became an integral part of the production tech. Like most of us, Matt Jones only has one set of arms. But he had been operating like he had multiple sets switching frantically between audio and comms for months as the lighting director on the Ed Sheeran Divide Tour. This drove Jones’ discovery and decision to choose the CM-i3 in-ear headset which he says has since “solved all the problems.” Before adopting the…
Powersoft partnered loudspeaker manufacturer Outline to deliver the recent edition of Rockin’ 1000. The two specialists liaised an impressive team of professionals in the lead up to and during the show, including Francesco Penolazzi, audio veteran and sound designer for the show, and FOH engineer and system tech Luca Stefani. Penolazzi and Stefani had to specify the equipment in advance for an event with no precedent, basing their selection purely on experience and acoustic predictions at a very early stage. As Rockin’ 1000 is self-financing, there was a balance to strike between value whilst making no compromises when it came…
The 2018 edition of Belgium’s second largest festival, Pukkelpop, boasted 3 Yamaha Professional Audio RIVAGE series digital mixing systems, along with Nexo PAs. Taking place from 15-18 August 2018, with Yamaha RIVAGE PM7 and PM10 systems featured on the Club Stage and CL series consoles on the Lift Stage. The Club and Castello Stages featured Nexo STM series PA systems. All Yamaha Pro Audio and Nexo systems were supplied by VDB-PA, except the RIVAGE PM7 which was supplied by AED Rent. More than 25 bands performed on the Club Stage, including Shellac (with legendary producer/engineer Steve Albini on guitar/vocals), Rhey, Madensuyu,…
As early-adopters of Outline’s remarkable new processor, the variety and sheer volume of Adlib’s workload provided an ideal platform to road-test their new NEWTON units – and road-test them they surely did. Adlib’s Senior Engineer Ian Nelson takes up the story. “For this summer’s festival commitments we’ve effectively used our NEWTON units in one of two ways – either as a festival console matrix system or as a full system controller. For the former, a single NEWTON device was configured as a central hub, bringing together the outputs of our dual house consoles (running as an A/B system to facilitate…
Recently, as part of a crowded 2018 summer tour, Joan Jett and the Blackhearts landed at the Starr of the Desert Arena in Primm Nevada where the band took to the stage for the first time with a VUE al-Class line array systems supplied Las Vegas-based H.A.S. Productions. The al-Class based system took full advantage of VUE’s innovative Continuous Source Topology (CST), which allowed al-12 and al-8 acoustic elements to be combined into dual, hybrid arrays for improved coverage, sightlines and reduced weight. Thanks to the unique capabilities of their CST architecture, the combo al-Class array delivered perfectly linear coverage…
Audiologic has confirmed the recruitment of highly experienced AV professional, David Thomson, to the role of Business Manager with specific responsibility for Scotland. Thomson brings with him more than thirty years of professional audio and AV experience and has been responsible for the design of hundreds of systems across Scotland, the wider UK and The Middle East. He is well known in Scottish AV circles, most recently for his work with Glasgow-based Audio for AV. He will work alongside Simon Jones to help further expand the company’s reach in what is a rapidly growing market-place for the Essex-based distributor. Andy…
Hippotizer Dealers, 4Wall Entertainment, take stock of 14 new Hippotizer V4+ Media Servers, some of which marked their first outing at Jay-Z’s 2018 Made in America Festival. With 10 locations across the US, 4Wall Entertainment has been providing creative solutions and rental gear for some of the most impressive shows and projects across the US. Becoming a dealer for the Hippotizer Media Server range in 2017, 4Wall’s sales and rental divisions have carried a large inventory of lighting and video equipment nationwide, and as dealers for the industry’s top manufacturers, 4Wall continues to provide affordable lighting and video options for…
Signify’s new Philips Vari-Lite VL800 BeamLine luminaire delivered a striking stage presence for US rock band Glassjaw at their recent show at London’s O2 Academy Brixton. Lighting Designer Hayden Borgars used the dynamic, linear LED effects fixtures to deliver an atmospheric lighting design with a modern edge for this ‘post-hardcore’ band. “I knew I wanted the main fixture to be a linear fixture, but one that could produce deep reds and blues, the two main colours in my design,” said Borgars. “As soon as I was introduced to the VL800 BeamLine at Prolight+Sound in Frankfurt this year, I knew it…
Illuminate Production Services (IPS) joined the Adamson Systems Engineering network in January 2018 with the addition of an S-Series system to its rental inventory, and the Lincoln, CA-based event solutions company has wasted little time putting their new package to work. “We became aware of Adamson’s products through our friends at Rain Pro Media (formerly AGI),” explained Rick Franke, Co-Founder and President of IPS. “We’ve watched Adamson’s profile and reputation grow on the international level and recognised an opportunity to be a part of that trend.” The company’s Adamson system is comprised of 32 Adamson Systems Engineering S10 compact two-way,…
Lighting and rigging specialist TSL Lighting has announced the appointment of respected head rigger Ali Morris to the team as Rigging Project Manager. Morris brings a wealth of rigging experience to TSL, having worked in the live events industry since the mid-90s. His work has encompassed many disciplines, from theatre, television and rock & roll to festivals, sports, corporate and political events, both in the UK and abroad. During the 2012 Olympics, he looked after the rigging of specialist cameras in many of the venues across London including both vertical and horizontal tracks in the iconic Aquatic Centre. He has…
From Texas in May through the final September shows in California, the Dave Matthews Band recent tour’s audio production relied on a Meyer Sound LEO Family system supplied by Martinez, California-based UltraSound. For more than 22 years, UltraSound and Meyer Sound have been the bedrock of the Dave Matthews Band live production. For Jeff Thomas, the DMB’s FOH engineer for nearly 27 years, this enduring relationship with UltraSound and company co-owner Derek Featherstone — also FOH mixer for The Dead, Dead & Company and related ensembles — helps keep the tours running smoothly. “Derek has such a well-rounded perspective on…
Creative design practice Painting with Light presented a stunning lighting and video design together with bespoke video content for Rubens the Musical, a production of spectacular proportions staged by Historalia on a series of pontoons floating in the moat of the magnificent (old) Westerlo Castle in Belgium. Painting with Light supplied the lighting and video control package, including one of their new disguise servers to run the impressive 50-metre-wide canvas that formed a dramatic backdrop to the stage. Luc Peumans created the lighting design in close collaboration with Paco Mispelters, who also worked as the lighting director on site, while…
Absen Europe has appointed Christian Czimny to the role of R&D Director, EU Business Unit. A brand new role for the company and the first R&D position based in Europe, it will see Christian take the lead on establishing a R&D team in the region to develop the future pipeline of LED display technologies and solutions with features that are specifically sought after by customers in the market. Czimny, who started his role on 1 July 2018, will be working closely with Absen Europe’s team based in the Rüsselsheim HQ in Germany, where he will also host customer visits. Czimny…
POLAR, a supplier of key industry brands to the installation, MI and professional audio markets is pleased to announce the appointment of Pete Curtis to the post of Business Development Manager for Higher Education. Curtis has worked across the education AV sector for almost 20 years gaining a broad range of experience. Combining a strong and wide-ranging technical skillset acquired in systems integration, with proven sales and marketing expertise developed through his work with TeamMate, Harman and wePresent/Barco, Pete is the perfect fit for POLAR according to Director of Integrated Solutions, Stuart Leader: “Our Association with Higher Education has expanded…
Riedel Networks unveiled its new Sao Paolo point of presence (POP) at the brand-new Equinix SP3 data centre in Brazil. This relocation allows the company to provide South American customers with direct MPLS access to the world’s most widely used cloud service providers. Moreover, the new Riedel Networks POP is equipped with the very latest technology and offers considerably greater bandwidth. “We are witnessing a significant growth in the South American market. Our clients’ demand for bandwidth is increasing rapidly; they are dependent on direct access to the most important cloud systems to ensure their staff have fast, safe, and…
ETC dealer, White Light (WL), has been appointed as one of an exclusive group of ‘Master Dealers’ in the UK for the High End Systems’ Hog 4 family of products. The announcement establishes WL’s position as a key player in the distribution of Hog consoles around Great Britain. Hog consoles are recognised for setting the bar across the globe for automated lighting control. Their programming efficiency is demonstrated by the world’s biggest and most demanding shows as well as smaller events and spaces. The full range of products will be supplied by WL, including the flagship console of the Hog…
With a large number of microphones needed in a small space, the monumental task of capturing the clear, pristine sound of each drum, cymbal and chime is left in the capable hands of veteran FOH Engineer Keith “Meaux” Windhorst. To overcome the amplification challenges associated with such a massive drum kit, Meaux relies on a selection of mics from DPA Microphones. Although Meaux has spent over 35 years in the business, his decision to switch to DPA is a relatively new one. “We finished touring in August of last year and during our break, Gabriel Antonini from DPA approached Steve about…
