International News

PERTH, Australia — After taking delivery of a Soundcraft Vi6 digital live console, Jands Production Services (JPS) whisked it out the door and onto a tour for Australian singer/songwriter Delta Goodrem’s tour, where Ben Shapiro, the tour’s monitor engineer, gave it high marks. Shapiro, pictured with the console here, echoed that praise for the support provided by JPS itself.

FRANKFURT, Germany — Turbosound announced the appointment of Bingen-based Mega Audio GmbH as its distributor in Germany. Pictured here, from left, are Mega Audio’s Burkhard Elsner and Chris Hinds and Martin Reid from Turbosound.

NEW PLYMOUTH, New Zealand — Audio rental system provider Above Productions, based in Hamilton, New Zealand, deployed its recently-purchased Vertec portable system for the TSB Bank Fireworks Spectacular, held at the TSB Bowl here.

MEXICO CITY —Sound:Check Xpo returns to the World Trade Center in  Mexico City on March 8 to 10, and Meyer Sound will be there with an array of audio solutions used on tours, on Cirque du Soleil shows and in major venues such as the 9,590-seat Auditorio Nacional. Meyer Sound instructor Oscar Barrientos will also demonstrate how to use phase and frequency to achieve uniform sound coverage at an AES seminar entitled “Phase Equalizers (selective frequency delay)” on March 10.

ZURICH, Switzerland — The European leg of the Pussycat Dolls’ Doll Domination world tour traveled with Britannia Row Productions’ Butterfly Outlinearrays. A total of 72 Butterflies joined the pop-dance quintet for the tour, blitzing through 28 dates in just over a month and adapting to a variety of venues.

ANTWERP, Belgium — For its first Martin Audio OmniLine installation in the country, Ampco Belgium has supplied and installed 72 OmniLine micro-line array enclosures in different hang configurations within the five-story high Antwerps Sportpaleis concert and sports arena.

BIRMINGHAM, U.K. — When Errol Brown, former lead singer and songwriter for Hot Chocolate, capped a 40-year career with a farewell tour, audio supplier STS Touring Productions Ltd. used a Turbosound Flex Array system and a new DiGiCo SD8 to deliver every nuance of his slyly flirtatious songs to every seat in venues throughout Britain.

CASABLANCA, Morocco —  Proel teamed up with its distributor, Bedimpex Holding, at Dom & Event, one of the first such events for AV rental companies in this Moroccan industrial and economic center. During the event, staged in late January, Bedimpex Holding displayed a selection of the latest Proel products, including the MUSB mixer series, the new models of lighting moving heads, a range of stage accessories and new items of the DH product line.

ST. WENDEL, Germany — Rhino Sound, a relatively new Korean sound rental company, is serving as a demo partner for HK Audio after having crossed paths through a mutually beneficial coincidence. While little more than a year old, Rhino Sound’s two founders had each worked as sound engineers on a freelance basis. The new firm’s director, Sungwon Park, served monitor engineer for Korean standout Cho Young Phil.

PENRYN, U.K. — Allen & Heath shipped the first batch of its new iLive-T digital mixing systems. Launched at NAMM 2009, the British manufacturer said it has been overwhelmed as distributors have placed orders months in advance to cope with demand.

LONDON — The Ealing Christian Centre (ECC) recently upgraded its sound system and selected several EAW SM Series stage monitors for vocalist and band use. The Centre already had an existing EAW KF600 Series Compact Three-Way VAT System, both ground-stacked and flown. The recent upgrade to the monitor system was accomplished with the help of EAW's U.K. dealer AA Systems.