 The ongoing “Somewhere Back in Time" world concert tour by Iron Maiden, featuring an all-EAW main loudspeaker line-up, has come to North America, with the major portion of this tour leg kicking off on May 21 in San Antonio. (Click here to view the latest itinerary.)
ML Group continues to serve as the sound company for the tour, with a very large EAW KF760 Series line array contingent - optimized with EAW UX8800 digital processing - being the primary components of the large-scale sound reinforcement system.
ML Group Managing Director Gary Marks is coordinating system issues with partner companies around the globe, such as Norwest Productions of Sydney, Australia and Brantley Sound Associates of Nashville. (Thanks to Norwest Productions for the photo that accompanies this report.)
 Josh Evans, an ace in working with EAW Smaart and now a system designer based in the Middle East, is offering a stable of audio tutorial videos on a channel he's set up on YouTube. The videos provide a load of useful information regarding subwoofer alignment and aux-fed sub techniques, as well as an ongoing series about lobes.
Click here to access the videos. Great job, Josh!
 The 2008 Major League Baseball season kicked off in fine style with the grand opening of Nationals Park, the new 41,000-seat ballpark of the Washington, D.C. franchise that features high-octane venue-wide sound reinforcement led by an all-EAW loudspeaker lineup. The system was designed by Wrightson, Johnson, Haddon & Williams (WJHW) of Dallas, with Principal Ron Baker serving as lead designer. Tech Inc. of Latham, Maryland handled the fast-track installation, while the Columbia, Maryland office of AVI-SPL supplied custom engineering services.
As they’ve done with frequently with ballpark sound reinforcement projects, WJHW elected to deploy a distributed system, and in this case, it includes more than 450 full-range EAW loudspeakers, with the majority being compact, two-way members of the MK Series.
 The MK Series has proven popular in numerous stadium and ballpark projects around the globe due to their quality sonic properties, durability, and compact footprint.
Most of the loudspeakers for Nationals Park are outfitted with either 12-inch or 15-inch woofers, although some MK Series enclosures with 8-inch woofers also proved fortuitous in regions dictating a particularly low profile.
Continue reading "Inside The All-EAW Loudspeaker Set At Nationals Park" »
 The upcoming concert tour by Pearl Jam will feature EAW MicroWedge MW12 stage monitors deployed by Monitor Engineer Karrie Keyes to provide monitor sound on stage for several band members.
The 2008 Pearl Jam tour kicks off in June, with the band serving as the headline act for the Bonnaroo Music Festival. They then move on to at least a dozen shows in the Eastern United States. The band is comprised of Eddie Vedder, (lead vocals, guitar), while Mike McCready (lead guitar), Jeff Ament (bass guitar), Stone Gossard (rhythm guitar), and Matt Cameron (drummer).
Keyes (pictured below) first deployed MicroWedge during Vedder’s just-concluded solo tour, using six MW12 for opening act Liam Finn.
 “When I fired them up in rehearsals, I was blown away. They had power, were clear and just kept going,” she says. As a result, dual MicroWedge MW12’s will be deployed with Pearl Jam for Eddie Vedder’s guitar mix, as well as for Jeff Ament’s mix.
“I’m also very excited to try MicroWedge on the drum mix, because again, we’re always looking for smaller options that deliver top quality,” Keyes adds. “In my evaluations, I came to believe this new version has the performance capabilities to more than keep up in arenas and sheds.”
(Click here to see the current Pearl Jam tour itinerary.) Thanks to Rat Sound Systems for the photos that accompany this report.
 Every year for two weeks, the small city of Vinarós in Castellón, Spain, is transformed with the celebration of the Carnaval de Vinarós, a huge fiesta featuring vibrant shows with various themes, with sound reinforcement for this year's recently concluded Carnaval led by EAW line arrays and subwoofers.
E.J.R. SYSTEMS S.L, a sound & lighting rental company based in Benicarló, headed the sound reinforcement effort, and they collaborated with production supplier Dodinuf, who provided a main system featuring 24 KF730 line arrays joined by and 12 EAW SB1000z subwoofers.
Further, Yapadú Produccions, provided Dodinuf with 8 more KF730 and 4 more SB1000z to complete the main system. Amplification was all Lab.gruppen - 10 fP6400, 8 fP3400 and 2 FP13000, with processing from Dolby Lake.
 ”Day after day, I honestly enjoy my job more," states Eduardo Soriano, Yapadú Produccions co-owner and sound technician specialist. " I’m working with an unbeatable team of world-class brands in EAW, Lab.gruppen and Dolby Lake. They are all exceptional - great to use, and the quickest and easiest set-up and adjustments I’ve ever experienced.
"For this event, we had a clear goal: excellent sound with a great sound pressure level. And we got it, as well as the congratulations from the organizer of the event,” Soriano adds. (Thanks very much to EAW distributor Pro3 & Co. S.L. for this report and the excellent photos.)
 Carlson Audio Systems of Seattle recently utilized the new EAW NTL720 small line array system to great effect for huge events featuring the Dalai Lama at both Qwest Field and Key Arena.
Mark Carlson notes that the NTL720, which supported larger systems featuring EAW KF760 Series line arrays, EAW KF750 Series concert loudspeakers, SB1000z subwoofers and other EAW components, performed exceptionally well in fulfilling their coverage roles at both venues. The NTL720's small size and fast, convenient rigging were quite beneficial as well, Mark adds.
We'll have more coverage of these interesting applications posted here soon. Thanks to Carlson Audio for the excellent photo above.
 The new Shuttle Launch Experience at Kennedy Space Center in Florida was recently awarded a TEA (Themed Entertainment Association) Thea Award for Outstanding Achievement, with EAW selected to play a significant role in sound reinforcement for the attraction.
Conceived and designed by BRC Imagination Arts, the Shuttle Launch Experience is a $60-million project incorporating a wide range of production elements. Techno-media Solutions LLC provided technical AV systems integration, with the Shuttle Simulation Theater featuring an audio system incorporating EAW SB850z subwoofers, three EAW KF695z main loudspeakers, two more KF695z's joined by two EAW KF300z's for four surround sound channels, and an overhead channel with two EAW MK Series loudspeakers.
The project is the subject of an in-depth feature article written by Judith Rubin that appeared in the March 2008 issue of Sound & Communications magazine. Click here to check it out.
 Hugos Lounge and Skyy Bar of Sydney has been named "Nightclub Of The Year" at the recent 2007 Seventh Annual Australian Bar Awards, and a huge key to this success must be attributed to sound design and installation by DJW Projects.
Headed by Dave Coxon, DJW Projects is one of Australia's leading club sound providers, and they oversaw the system conversion to world-class status as Hugos transformed from a restaurant-oriented venue to one of the hottest nightspots in Sydney.
The large-scale system project encompasses Hugo’s Lounge, the cocktail bar, Skyy Bar one and two, as well as the entire outdoor balcony area and a private room.
 "We didn't cut any corners as we fit the entire venue with an array of EAW loudspeakers, ranging from Avalon Series DC5 and DC6 boxes for the dance floor, through to JFX88 as room fill and CIS400 ceiling loudspeakers for the balcony," explains Coxon. "Skyy bar has been fitted with cabinets from the MK Series range, and all aspects of the system are backed by sophisticated digital processing and zoning."
Other high-profile Sydney clubs outfitted with EAW loudspeakers by DJW Projects include Norths Rugby League Club, The World Bar, The Barclay, Springfields, Trademark Hotel, The Piano Room, and W-Bar.
 Proaktiv Systems just finished up a prestigious installation headlined by EAW Commercial loudspeakers and power amplifiers at the Singapore Changi International Airport Terminal 3, which opened to great fanfare earlier this year.
The $1.75 billion Terminal 3 is able to handle more than 2 million passengers a year, offering a multitude of facilities for travelers, including 140 retail shops and F&B outlets spread within the public and transit areas. Proaktiv Systems was awarded the contract to specify, supply, install and commission an Emergency Overriding system for numerous shops - Coach, Bvlgari, Vertu, Harry’s at T3 (a F&B outlet) and Luxury Fashion among them.
Proaktiv chose EAW Commericial components for the system, including CIS50 ceiling loudspeakers and SMS3 surface-mount loudspeakers driven by CXA160 power amplifiers. (The system also includes a Tapco Mix.120 mixer.)
 “As the coverage areas are small, we used EAW models that were small and compact yet did not compromise sound quality," explains Chandan Mahtani, managing director of Proaktiv Systems.
Proaktiv, which has offices in Singapore as well as Malaysia, Indonesia, Moscow and Central Asia, worked closely with the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) on the project, as they've done previously. As a result, they were well aware of the stringent requirements and ensured that every specification was met with. With the EAW Commercial components already in their inventory, the company was able to deliver the project very quickly - within about a week from start time.
(Thanks to Proaktiv Systems for the information and photos, and to see more photos of their work at Changi International Airport Terminal 3, click here.)
Continue reading "Proaktiv Systems Selects EAW C For Singapore Airport" »
 A very good account of sound reinforcement for the European tour of the legendary Joe Cocker is provided in a recent issue of Die Referenz (The Reference), a leading German pro systems publication.
The report, presented in German language, was filed by Tom Becker, who also did the photo work. Tom details the system for the tour that was supplied by leading hire company Concert Sound, featuring EAW KF760 Series and KF730 Series line arrays, as well as other EAW loudspeakers. Click here to read the report. And, if you missed our initial report on the system for this tour, go here.
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