RCF reach dizzy Heights

Reading-based audio hire company Nightowl have been awarded further continuous supply and engineering of an RCF Event Sound System for Heights 2000 nightclub in Harlow, Essex. A potential 11K system, comprising eight RCF Event ESW1018 subwoofers and eight RCF Event 3000 enclosures are used in conjunction with the Heights 2000 'Club Funky' promotions. On 24 August, this system was doubled to 16 sub woofers and Event 3000 enclosures for the Ministry of Sound Strongbow Ice Tour, and was politely termed "awesome".

Mr Raj, Co-director/owner of Heights 2000, a long-time user of RCF products, was so impressed with the performance that he has instructed AB Acoustics in South Wales to complete a full installation of the same system for the 'bunker room' at the Heights 2000 outlet in Newport, South Wales.

RCF UK Electronics. (Contact Details)

All that glitters is a RacPac

The Hyatt Carlton Towers in Knightsbridge, one of London's premier hotels, has recently made history by purchasing two specially made gold Spirit Folio RacPacs. Used to control the sound in the hotel's largest ballroom without entering the separate sound room, the consoles have been cunningly installed within the ballroom itself. Surrounded by a spread of unnecessary opulence, the Gold RacPacs are perfectly at home amidst the glo-mesh clutch bags, fluffy-duck cocktails, and gold capped teeth.

Pictured is Chief Engineer, Julian Maddix who explains the decision: "We chose to use the RacPacs, because you really don't have to be a sound engineer to operate them, the sound quality is excellent, the price is right, and in gold it looks really cool as well" — err... I'm sure sir would be far more comfortable in one of these fine selection of Pierre Cardin silk neck ties.

Heartened by Spirit's apparent willingness to customise their desks for valued customers, I am now in negotiations to have a faux chipped paint and particle board finish to a Folio that will match right in with the decor of my home studio.

Spirit by Soundcraft. (Contact Details)

New system ordained for Ministry

London's Ministry of Sound have revamped and souped up their sound system for their main room. The Ministry have always had a great name for very loud, very clear music, and winning the DI Club Sound Award this year underlines this — and that was before the upgrade. The speakers are custom designedly New York-based GSA, with various manufacturers' components fitted into the specially designed enclosures, except for the HF boxes which Martin Audio's Engineering Director, Bill Webb, designed and built for the club.

House Sound Engineer, Santi Arribas, was impressed with what he heard: "The new Martin boxes have the cleanest' definition I have ever heard, with no sign of even a hiss at over 140dB. The best way to define them is that they are the perfect upgrade for the best sound system in the world."

Pictured installing the new horns are: (top row, left to right) Gary Stewart and Eric Morales of GSA; (bottom) Austin Derek (GSA Co-owner), Santi Arribas, and Nodd McDonagh (Ministry of Sound General Manager).

New ElectroVoice EVX 150A bass drivers were also part of the upgrade. The choice of speaker for the bass bins was made after a full day of intensive listening tests. The 12 EVX 150As, specially flown in for the Ministry from the USA, were installed and running three days later.

In the words of the Ministry's General Manager, Nodd McDonagh: "After a hard fought, three-way contest, the Electro-Voice EVX 150A scored the decisive winner in a high-SPL final."

Three of Crest's beefy 3U 9001s were selected to drive the sub-bass system, Nodd McDonagh declared candidly: "We've been impressed by the incredible reaction time, and certain SPLs we've achieved are due entirely to the Crests. People used to marvel at the sound when it was capable of achieving 137dB — but this time around we measured the system at 156.2dB, run at 90-percent power... which is like putting your head inside Concord's engine" — something I know many clubbers wouldn't hesitate in doing, given the opportunity.

The Ministry took delivery of a Soundcraft D-MIX500 and D-MIX1000 DJ (pictured) mixers. The mixing desks are used as mobile units for the various, dance entertainment areas of the Ministry of Sound, including the Main Room, self-contained VIP lounge, and the Dance Box.

Martin Audio. (Contact Details)
Shuttlesound. (Contact Details)
Crest Audio UK Ltd. (Contact Details)
Soundcraft. (Contact Details)

BSS-101 uses for a Björk vocal

BSS Audio report a number of recent sales into television use including a number of DPR-404 four-channel Compressor/De-essers. Top of the Pops has purchased DPR-404s and eight channels of MSR-604II mic distribution system. They are using the DPR-404 in the main control room, which they have found invaluable in view of the recent trend towards live vocals (shock!); the de-ess function acquitted itself particularly well on the Bjork song 'Hush', which soars from whispers to shouts. The DPR-404 is also being used on the floor for stage monitoring.

Another recent purchaser was broadcast television company Linevideo Ltd, who have added two further DPR-402 two-channel Compressor/De-esser and a TCS-804 Dual Time Corrector — first used for satellite time correction at the Wimbledon Tennis Championships (I wish they could have time delayed Cliff Richard sometime into the next millenium).

BSS Audio. (Contact Details)

Café culture

Autograph Sound Recording announces its installation of a high-SPL sound reinforcement system for the new West End show, Smokey Joe's Cafe (pictured courtesy of Lois Greenfield). The high energy production has opened in London's Prince of Wales theatre to widespread critical acclaim and features the hits of songwriting team Leiber and Stoller. The opening of the London production follows the show's successful two-year run on Broadway, where it won a Grammy Award for Best Musical. With sound design by Tony Meola, the musical's London production represents the first UK project to install Meyer Sound's compact CQ-1 self-powered loudspeakers, which were also specified by Meola for the show's current US tour. All that's very well, but from the photo, no one's going to see a show with a set design like that. Sure outgoing theatrical types carrying on, dancing, singing, and showing how white their teeth are, is great, but audiences have come to expect more than a white stage.

Autograph Sound Recording Ltd. (Contact Details)

Cadac concrete promises

The State Theatre in Pretoria, South Africa, is one of the latest venues to commission the recently launched Cadac F-Type Live Production Console, installing the desk in one of its two principal theatres in August this year. Purchased by the Performing Arts Council of Transvaal, the State Theatre's F-Type is configured as one 26-module frame (equipped with 12 of Cadac's basic input modules and a 44-output master section), with a floating 36-input extension frame for other applications, providing up to 48-inputs in total.

OK, take a good hard long look at the picture of the theatre, and inwardly digest. From now on I don't want to hear another bad word about the architecture of London's South Bank Centre. At least our arts centre doesn't look like a gutted tower block in downtown Beirut.

Clive Green & Co Ltd. (Contact Details)

A&H swimsuit edition

Prosound Ltd of South Africa have recently completed a 1 million Rand (get your currency conversion chart out please) contract to install sound and communication systems for the new Rustenburg Civic Centre Complex. The venue is situated in the country's North West Province, not far from the (in)famous Sun City. An Allen & Heath GR1 zone mixer was chosen for the council chambers, mixing signals from remote microphone points and delegate conference systems. Signals are then sent to the translation systems, press boxes, and public galleries. The theatre needed a versatile mixing console capable of being used for anything from drama to rock'n'roll. A 32-channel Allen & Heath GL3000 provided the solution, the first model of its kind in sub-equatorial Africa.

Sun City and the Miss World competition is a match made in heaven, I think it should be held there every year. I loved the coverage we got of the event in the UK, when they staged it. Showing the ladies wandering around the pre-fab opulence of the complex is quite a sight, it's as though they were born there — the first indigenous people of Sun City, a spray-on bikini race of smiling Amazons in high heels. The camera work is done very cleverly as well, lots of interesting off-axis angles, quick and snappy editing between shots to bring credence to what is essentially the pastime of a crusty old perv peering out his window with a pair of binoculars. Long may it last, after all most of the entrant countries are crazy about the pageant, and if you're bright, clever, and beautiful enough to win, you are guaranteed to be opening supermarkets and appearing in women's magazine 'Miss World — her secret tragedy' style articles for the term of your natural life. Wow.

Of course, Allen & Heath are natives of Cornwall, a completely different proposition altogether.

Allen & Heath. (Contact Details)