ANAHEIM, CA — Waves Audio, at top developer of professional audio digital signal processing technologies and the recipient of a Technical Grammy Award, unveiled the new Version 9 (V9) of Waves plugins. Add a comment

NILES, IL — Thousands of counterfeit Shure microphones were recently confiscated by customs officials in Peru and Paraguay.  The actions were the result of ongoing investigations by Shure representatives in both countries, in cooperation with local customs and law enforcement agencies.  The seized products will be destroyed under the supervision of customs agents. Add a comment

INDIANAPOLIS — Indiana’s lawmakers, undoubtedly mindful of the Aug. 13, 2011 Indiana State Fair staging collapse that killed seven people, made progress in late January toward the establishment of a new state law that will govern the use of outdoor staging.

NORTHRIDGE, CA – Harman’s JBL Professional announced that Belgium-based AV rental system provider AED Rent has signed on as the first adopter of JBL’s new VTX V25 line array loudspeaker and as a strategic partner in the VTX Network. Representing the next big step in JBL’s 65 years in loudspeaker design, VTX V25  is designed for portable and fixed-venue system operators. Add a comment

MONTREAL – Solotech has acquired Specs Audio, a privately-held AV systems integrator that is active in both sales and rentals. Based in Gatineau, Quebec, Specs Audio adds to Solotech’s expanding number of regional offices and expands its logistical resources in the greater Ottawa area.

SANTA FE, NM — Stefan Svard, president and system designer with Audio Video Electronics (AVE), specified a pair of Tannoy QFlex 40s to improve the sound quality within the Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi. Placed on a pair of columns about six feet above the floor just in front of the altar, the QFlex provide coverage to close to 75 percent of the 1,200-capacity, 90-by-65-foot space.

PALM DESERT, CA — James D. Anderson, audio director at the McCallum Theater here, worked with Bob Patrick and Dennis M. Kornegay of IPR Services on a recent upgrade of the all-Harman audio system at the venue that included the addition of Soundcraft’s Vi6 digital audio mixing console at FOH. Add a comment

NEW YORK — Freelance audio engineer Andy Leviss found Lectrosonics wireless mics well-suited to the needs of The Iron Curtain, which was staged recently by the Prospect Theater Company at the at the Baruch College Performing Arts Center’s Rose Nagelberg Theatre. Leviss used a 16-channel system consisting of three Venue Series receiver mainframes, four SMQV dual battery beltpack transmitters, eight LMa beltpack transmitters and four UM400a beltpack transmitters. Add a comment

LONDON — When Brixton Academy was built in Art Deco style during the cinema boom of the late 1920s, it never expected to be hosting rock bands like Chickenfoot, led by former Van Halen frontman Sammy Hagar. Ghosts of Brixton’s cinema past remain within this Grade II-listed building, and the bulging balcony facade has proved the downfall of many a sound system, returning the firepower off the stage and bouncing the sound waves back at the band. But Martin Audio said it was able to pull off a rare feat when their Multi-cellular Loudspeaker Array (MLA) made its debut there (via Capital Sound). Add a comment

JACKSON, CA — GJM Sound and Lighting recently installed a sound and lighting system for the Jackson Rancheria Casino ballroom that is used as its indoor concert hall. The system was designed so that it can also be used for the casino’s outdoor event center, pictured here.