Working in a Wireless Wonderland

HELSINKI, FINLAND — 50 Cent performed two nights, in front of 17,000 fans, at Helsinki's largest venue, the Hartwall Arena. Since 50 Cent was not on tour, the Hartwall concerts were a one-off event, so his production used local services, calling upon Akun Tehdas, Finland's leading equipment rental provider, to supply all 50 Cent's sound requirements. "This was a typical large scale event for us," said Timo Liski of Akun Tehdas.

BERKELEY, CA — On this year's "Gigantour 2," Megadeth's tour with opening acts Lamb of God, Opeth, Overkill and Arch Enemy, the central philosophy was clear: loud is good, but louder with clarity is better, and with that in mind, tour sound providers Thunder Audio turned to Meyer Sound's MILO curvilinear array loudspeaker to do the job. Thunder vice president Paul Owen reports that, initially, not everyone realized what MILO could do. But Owen, who has mixed monitors for Metallica and worked on tours by AC/DC, Disturbed, Slipknot and Mudvayne, was quite confident about his specification.

ST CROIX, VIRGIN ISLANDS – Thousands of people flocked and flew into the island of St Croix, US Virgin Islands, to attend Tempo's one-year birthday bash, for which Adamson speakers played a key role. The Caribbean lifestyle TV channel, from MTV Networks, explores the Caribbean culture. Its musical programming is mainly Caribbean music including Calypso, Dancehall, Punta rock, Soca and Reggae. Tempo celebrated with a birthday concert named "Tempo Turns One" on November 4th, and Frontline Systems, a locally-based production company, got the call.

BRESCIA, ITALY — Guido Noselli, founder and chairman of Italian pro audio manufacturer Outline, died Friday, December 1, 2006.

The Cadac S-Digital is conceived to reflect the surface architecture of Cadac's J-Type analog console. In its basic configuration, it offers a minimum specification of 72 input channels, 66 mix busses and 3 stereo listen busses. Key features of the S-Digital include: single or multi-operator control with multiple listen systems provided as standard; extra console surfaces can be used for tech and then relocated/removed; the ability to configure multiple control surfaces within a single mixing system, allowing control over all console parameters from multiple locations (such as Control Room and FOH pit, or FOH and Monitor); a proprietary high-speed communications protocol linking the core elements (Control Surface, Multiple Audio I/O Racks, and Processor Rack); all input and output modules hot swappable; the control surface consisting of three components– Input Frame, Output Frame and a Central Control Module; a single Input frame has the capability to control 144 input channels, and a single Output frame has control over all 72 output and listen busses; additional frames can be utilized to give physical control of every channel input and bus output, mirroring a multiple-frame J-Type. £195,000.

Corona, CA – The Studiomaster C3X mixer, which has been designed to accommodate live sound and installation applications where compact size and professional features are required, is now available in the United States. The C3X is a 1U-high rackmount 12-input mixer intended to provide the essential features of larger format mixers but in a much smaller package.

BERLIN, GERMANY — The Monks recently returned to Germany to hoist their rock 'n' roll flag for the first time in 40 years, and while on their tour through Berlin, Zurich and London, the band performed with five EV Raven microphones on vocals.

KANSAS CITY, MO — Avlex Corporation has introduced the new MA-808 Portable Wireless PA System, which features an enclosure with retractable handles and integrated wheels for easy transport. This bi-amplified system includes a Class AB amplifier for the HF (high frequency) driver and a Class D amplifier that drives a 10-inch woofer. The unit also includes a built-in MP3 recorder/player module, support for two wireless receiver modules and storage provisions for the transmitters.