News

NEW YORK – Nothing rings in the new year quite like the big ball dropping in New York City’s Times Square. For the past 17 years, Maryland Sound has provided the live sound that makes the event a magical experience for the more than two million attendees braving winter weather for the event. This year, the company deployed new Deva multimedia devices powered by Powersoft as part of their system, providing security monitoring, emergency messaging capabilities and ambient music for the festivities.

NEW YORK – Ellen’s Stardust Diner features a singing waitstaff with its side of fries. Recently, the diner added a new item to the menu: an upgraded Sennheiser XS Wireless System to deliver clean audio while handling the busy and hostile RF environment of its Times Square neighborhood. The system covers the entire perimeter of the diner, and up to six different performers can sing at any given time.

CHICAGO – OSA International recently produced back-to-back events for two clients who used Chicago’s venerable Navy Pier in very different ways. Both of the events were completely different technically, and had to be strategically designed to provide both clients exactly what they were looking for. A Martin Audio MLA system helped them overcome a number of challenges.

MILWAUKEE –  With a distinct Art Deco style, the historic Plaza Hotel has been renovated over the years to restore many of the original architectural details while including modern amenities and the latest technology to meet travelers’ demand. One of these renovations was a recent upgrade to the hotel’s audio system. Sven Pro Sound was tasked to find a sound system that nearly or fully disappeared in the architecture of the building for not only background but foreground music. K-array was selected.

ANAHEIM, CA – Sennheiser and Neumann will expand their live performance and monitoring portfolios at NAMM 2017 with the introduction of several new products. Visitors will be the first to see the Sennheiser XS Wireless 1 and XS Wireless 2 radio microphone series, and the Neumann KH 80 DSP monitoring loudspeaker. Sennheiser will also launch the HD 200 Pro headphones, alongside new frequency variants for the evolution wireless 300 G3 and 500 G3 series for the US and Canada. Booth performances will feature Lucy, Jaq Mackenzie, Marcus Eaton and others.

BUENA PARK, CA — Stanley Clarke’s FOH engineer Travis Rogers used a Yamaha CL1 Digital Audio Console to mix and record several of the live dates on the artist’s promotional tour in December using the console’s Nuendo Live software. The songs will be released for an upcoming album due for release later this year.

NEW YORK – Rob Hofkamp has joined British loudspeaker manufacturer Void Acoustics as the North American director of operations. In 2015, Void Acoustics opened a warehouse facility in New York. Hofkamp completes Void’s plan to set up a solid base of operations in North America and to build a dedicated team of system integrators and dealerships across the region. Meet up with Hofkamp and the team at NAMM later this month.

DENVER – Denver-based Initial Production Group (IPG) recently acquired an Allen & Heath dLive S5000 Surface and DM64 MixRack, which it now uses on a variety of its projects ranging from corporate and religious events to the recent Professional Rodeo Cowboy (PRCA) awards ceremony in Las Vegas. Rep firm Pro Tech Marketing convinced IPG that dLive was the right choice, and IPG’s MacKenzie Smith discusses its helpful features.

LAS VEGAS — Suppose your company has a new president. Perhaps the previous guy in charge, a skinny dude with a funny name, just headed out the door for an extended vacation in Hawaii. And the new guy storming in is a blustery fellow with a red tie and tangerine hair. And let’s say you just ignored our annual plea to update your company’s listing for the 2017 Event Production Directory. All year long, instead of being informative, your EPD listing can be summed up in a single word. Wrong!

EAST MOLINE, IL – Although not original to the building, Wildwood Church’s sound system was nevertheless old and regularly imperiled services with the threat of feedback, complaints of unintelligibility, and uneven coverage. That’s all changed with the installation of Danley Sound Labs loudspeakers and subwoofers, spurred by the realization that Danley was responsible for the sound quality at nearby Kinnick Stadium and confirmed by a direct A/B comparison of the old system with Danley boxes.

MORRISTOWN, NJ – Although Irish pub Grasshopper Off the Green upgraded its sound system in 2011, it needed to do so again when the amps in the loudspeakers couldn’t keep up with the pub’s constant near-use. They’ve got karaoke, video DJs and live music seven nights a week, and their sound system feeds whatever’s going on to other floors and zones. Starview Satellite recently replaced the system with Ashley Audio KLR-3200 and nX 3.02 amplifiers.