FOH Engineer for British indie-rock band Circa Waves, James Gebhard, has invested in a DiGiCo S21 for the band’s upcoming UK club and academy tour. He said: “I think it is imperative to keep your eye on the ball with what is new coming onto the market. Being back out on a smaller scale tour, something I have not done for a few years, was a great opportunity to see where the more budget end of the market was with mixing desks.” Gebhard, a long-term SD7 user, has also worked with a variety of entry level and semi pro consoles, so when he was…
Author: Stewart Hume
Shure Europe and US based RF Venue have entered into an exclusive distribution agreement across the EMEA region. Shure Europe’s regional distribution offices in Germany, the UK, and BeNeLux – alongside Shure Europe’s third party distribution partners across EMEA – will distribute and sell antenna and signal distribution products made by RF Venue that are designed to improve the signal quality and performance of professional wireless audio systems. Boston, Massachusetts based RF Venue manufactures proprietary antenna products, RF distribution systems, RF to optical signal conversion modules, and spectrum analysis hardware and software for the professional wireless audio market. “We’re pleased…
The ‘Queen of Taiwanese Music’ Jody Chiang said farewell to fans after a long and stellar 34-year singing career which has produced no less than 60 albums and seen her win eight Golden Melody Awards. A run of 26 concerts were staged by the singer at the Taipei Arena in the Songshan District of Taipei and the Kaohsiung Arena in Zuoying District, Kaohsiung, Taiwan. Ticket sales for the original 16 dates were so over-subscribed that an additional nine shows were added, enabling over 250,000 people to see her perform live for the final time. Jody Chiang’s regular Lighting Designer since…
Beyerdynamic Asia in Singapore has hired Kamal Mahtani as Director of Sales and Marketing for beyerdynamic in the Asia-Pacific region effective. This newly created position within Beyerdynamic was created to strengthen the management team and go hand in hand with other recent appointments within several key areas of the company’s global structure. With his in-depth knowledge of sales, marketing, business development, sourcing, customer service and technical support, Mahtani and his team will take care of 14 partners and encourage successful sales and the use of Beyerdynamic products in the region. Mahtani joined Beyerdynamic after three years as Director of Klotz Cable in Singapore.…
The young students in the Truida Kestell’s Primary School gospel choir performed before family, friends and community at the annual Truida Kestell Choir Festival. Adding to the occasion was a special stage lighting kit, the sort normally reserved for a full theatrical production rather than a school choir performance. Lighting Designer Fanie vd Walt, owner of Fanjan Productions, was able to create this stage package without overshooting the festival’s budget by using a collection of value-driven fixtures from Chauvet, acquired from South African importer Audiosure. To give the stage the punch one would normally expect from a larger production, the…
Christie brought a unique experience to guests attending the world Star Wars premiere by providing spectacular red carpet displays. Christie’s Coolux Pandoras Box Media Servers powered a variety of displays including 388 Christie MicroTiles that formed a backdrop to the red carpet walkway and 18 Christie LCD panels that graced the red carpet and photo locations throughout the premiere. The Christie team provided technical consultation at every stage of the installation, from concept creation, to pre-staging, onsite setup and delivery. To ensure this specific live setup went well and faced with an aggressive timeline, Christie pre-configured and staged much of…
Lighting Designer and Director of Photography Carlos Nogueira specified almost 600 Robe moving lights for a recent DVD shoot. The shoot was for Forro singer-songwriter Wesley Safadão and was staged at the Estádio Nacional Mané Garrincha in Brasilia, Brazil. The concert was attended by 50,000 fans and was shot using 24 cameras. Nogueira had some specific thoughts at the outset about where he wanted the LED screens to be positioned. As soon as the venue was confirmed he immediately had ideas about how he could use the stadium as a key element in the scenography. Once the structural elements of the stage…
Showsec are gearing themselves up for further expansion in the south of England by appointing two new Regional Managers in a major restructure of the business. The crowd management and event security specialists have divided their southern region up into two distinct areas, South East and South West, as they look to maximise the potential for more growth following significant developments in that region in recent years. As part of that restructure, Paul Legge has been appointed Regional Manager for the South East while Simon Miller takes up the same position in the South West. While Legge makes the step…
Lighting Designer Stevie Hernandez examined how 64 Robe Pointes were integral to the visual design of the True Colors world tour. Grammy-award winning musician, music producer and DJ Zedd (Anton Zaslavski) was promoting his True Colors world tour, part of the campaign to promote his second studio album of the same name. Zedd’s live show visuals have always been a collaboration between himself, Hernandez as Production Designer, VJ Gabe Damast and Tour Manager Ken Floyd who also worked the lasers and SFX for the performance. Hernandez explained their joint process: “We all see, hear and think in similar ways, which…
Nashville based Colonel Tom Touring hailed Lightware matrix switchers and DVI to fibre converter packages as its ‘go-to equipment’ for a wide array of high-profile clients. Colonel Tom Touring’s Barry Otto, commented: “We’ve been using Lightware routers for several years. We have found them to be very reliable and easy to use. They also interface well with our Christie Spyder X20 systems, d3 4x4pros and other control software.” The company’s inventory is reported to include Lightware MX16x16DVI-Plus and MX8x8DVI-HDCP-Pro matrix switchers, MX-FR17 17×17 digital crosspoint router frames plus a number of Lightware DVI-OPT-TX220 and RX220 DVI to fibre transmitters and…
Denver-based Lighting Designer and Programmer Andrew Cass provided his services for the blues-rock-jam band String Cheese Incident’s (SCI) latest tour. On the new design he decided to use 18 Robe BMFL Spots, which were supplied by lighting vendor, Upstaging. The tour ran for three weeks around the U.S., concluding at the Suwannee Hulaween experience at Live Oak Music Park in Florida, and will continue through the New Year. Cass stated: “I plan to use the BMFL as my main spot from here on.” Ahead of the tour he looked at all of the venues on the itinerary and the available truck space…
The PreSonus DigiMax DP88 eight-channel microphone preamplifier and A/D/A converter combines eight remote-controllable, high-headroom mic preamps with advanced remote control features, unprecedented integration with the new Studio 192 audio interface, and compatibility with third-party, ADAT Optical-equipped audio interfaces. The newest member of the DigiMax series, the 24-bit, 96 kHz DigiMax DP88 delivers improved audio quality thanks to its clean audio path, eight XMAX Class A preamps, and Burr-Brown A/D/A converters with 118 dB of dynamic range. Unlike most recallable mic preamps, which rely on digital integrated circuits that compromise audio quality, the recallable XMAX is an analogue preamp with a…
The Spendlove Group has announced the launch of Force Logistics, a UAE-based company specialising in event logistics and freight forwarding. The latest addition synergises the Spendlove Group’s capabilities with the knowledge and expertise of Force Logistics’ Managing Director, Anthony Miles, a global event logistics expert. The business will offer a complete suite of flexible freight forwarding services including airfreight, sea freight, land transport, removals and project cargo for fairs and events. The newly launched company has already secured contracts with theme parks, set construction companies and global brands. With an integral role in the Spendlove Group’s grand plans for expansion…
Following demos at the manufacturer’s headquarters in Brescia, Italy, during which company representatives from South Korean rental house Blessway saw that the system maintained stable response, even at high-power outputs and that it was also very easy to operate, the company purchased the first large Outline GTO C-12 system to be sold into South Korea. A Blessway spokesperson explained: “We were aware of the Outline system through marketing material and exhibits in Korea and, when we make purchases, we take the quality of both customer service and the product itself into great consideration.” Outline CEO, Giorgio Biffi, commented: “Our South…
For the first time, Metallica used an in-the-round Meyer Sound LEO Family loudspeaker system when the band inaugurated the 20,000-capacity Videotron Centre in Quebec City, Canada. The Meyer Sound LEO Family loudspeaker system used 1100-LFC low frequency control elements in a TM Array configuration. Mick Hughes, Metallica’s FOH Engineer, said: “Never before have I heard that amount of low end, with such tightness, when we played in the round. The TM Array works fantastically well. The 1100-LFC’s just have an ungodly amount of power. Working in the round, you have to get a grip on what you’re doing and fortunately, LEO…
Taiwanese pop singer Jolin Tsai’s new album Play was given the highest accolade by the Chinese music industry in 2015, winning Best Mandarin Album at the 26nd Annual Pop Music Awards. Soon afterwards, her Play World Tour began and after a successful three days in Taipei Arena, the tour visited the Chinese mainland. The production spared nothing. Concert Directors Travis and Stacyz, having worked with Michael Jackson and Lady Gaga, were brought in to create the visual design. MSI Japan was in charge of the sound production and Martin Audio’s MLA system was chosen for the Taipei, Beijing, Shanghai and…
APG, the French loudspeaker manufacturer and inventor of the ‘Modular Line Array’ concept, unveiled its latest innovations and announced new partnerships at the 2015 JTSE in Paris. On the stand, the company previewed two new modular compact line array systems: the UC206W (for wide) and UC206N (for narrow) to complete the existing Uniline range. These new flexible medium and high frequency line source enclosures are based on the same concept that has made the Uniline range such a success, boasting constant horizontal directivity and superior sonic performance. Speaking about the new models, Grégory Dapsanse, APG France Executive Vice President of R&D, Innovation and Marketing,…
Lighting Designers Willie Botha and Matthew Meyer employed an array of Philips Showline SL NITRO 510 LED for the annual Rocking The Daisies festival, one of South Africa’s biggest music events. The 12 SL NITRO 510 strobes, supplied by event producer and supplier Kilowatt AV, were rigged at the Electronic Dome EDM stage. “Our concept was to immerse the crowd in a high-octane visual experience,” explained Botha. “We wanted it to feel as if the action started on the stage and then stretched out over and around the crowd.” Meyer and Botha therefore positioned the strobes behind the DJ booth,…
