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 From EAW Europe Sales Manager Sean Martin
The B4 Roadshow tour bus pulled up in the outskirts of Paris at the premises of Axente, France, close to Orly airport. The weather was cool and windy, which did not bode well for the next day's Bootcamp and Tradeshow.
Paris was the only destination on the tour that gave us the opportunity to actually hold the roadshow at the distributor's premises. In this case the Bootcamp was held in the massive car park of Axente and parent company Impact Evenement.
 This gave us for the first time, the opportunity of setting up the systems the day before we opened to the public, although the speed with which the scaffold towers went up did make us think that spare day could easily get
used up!
Continue reading "B4 In Paris: Concluding On A (Very!) High Note" »
 Leading up to the B4 Roadshow stop in Barcelona, we'd been hearing that attendance would be especially strong. But we were totally blown away with just how many audio professionals came - and stayed - for both full days.
System Bootcamp and Tradeshow was held in a venue plenty big to accommodate everyone and then some. The site, Velòdrom D'Horta, a bicycle racetrack built for the 1992 Barcelona Olympic Games, was ideal to provide full-fledged demos of KF760 Series line arrays, the new SB1002 flying subwoofers, the coming-soon UMX.96 live digital mixing console and more. (The rig and venue are shown above.)
 And in what must be at least close to a record, Smaart School attracted more than 60 attendees! With so many audio professionals wishing to learn about recently released Smaart v.6 as well as solid test and measurement principles, we definitely could accommodate the crowd. A bit of reconfiguring, some great work by EAW distributor Pro 3 & Co., and everything worked out just fine.
A lot of people, a lot of learning, and even more fun. Now it's on to Paris for the final stop of the European leg of B4! (Click on the link below for more images from Barcelona.)
Continue reading "B4 In Barcelona: Great Facilities, Huge Attendance" »
 Day Two of the B4 Roadshow stop in Milan featured well-attended System Bootcamp and Tradeshow sessions. The range of current and coming-soon EAW products drew crowds, and in particular, the UMX.96 live digital mixing console. (Moray is shown at left providing a console demo.)
Exhibo, S.P.A., the EAW distributor for Italy, did a fantastic job in handling the numerous (numerous!) details it takes to pull off a successful B4 presentation. Our sincerest thanks to them for their hard work. The B4 site - Alcatraz Music Island - is a noted live music venue in downtown Milan, and it worked out great. As expected, the acoustics were conducive to effective audio presentations. Now, on to Barcelona! (Click on the link below for more Milan images.)
Continue reading "B4 In Milan: A Busy Day Of Bootcamp & Tradeshow" »
 The B4 Roadshow team arrived in Milan, Italy around
1 pm, and upon figuring out that our hotel was near the famous Monza Motor Raceway, we set out on what we thought would be a quick stroll over to see it.
I should mention here that Bernie is a huge racing fan (shown here with Ferrit at a statue at the track), so for him this was more like a pilgrimage. After about and hour and a half of walking, it started to feel like Gilligan's Island to the rest of us: "A three-hour tour, a three-hour tour..."
 Actually, we ended up walking though the Monza city park and it was absolutely gorgeous. We saw the Royal Palace at Monza, built by the Hapsburgs in 1777, and then, the location where the last king of Italy, Umberto I, was assasinated in 1900. We also saw some interesting art in the park that the boys promptly named "The Wicker Bundt Cake." (Pretty accurate description, according to the photo at left.)
Continue reading "B4 In Milan: Setting Up, Smaart School & Racing Fun" »
 The ongoing B4 Roadshow, currently appearing at several locations across Europe before moving on to North America, has drawn the attention of the Live Audio Board (LAB) community on ProSoundWeb.
Click here to check out the LAB discussion, including comments from attendees.
From EAW Marketing Director Karen Anderson
The B4 Roadshow team set off from Wolfach in the morning and drove south through the Black Forest and into the Swiss Alps. Absolutely gorgeous.
We didn't have an actual destination or any hotel reservations, but thanks to Bluetooth technology,we were able to hook into the Internet from the bus. Wiith Moray translating into Italian, we were able to find a hotel with six rooms available at the last minute. (May 1 is a national holiday in Italy so most everything was booked.)
The hotel is in a little town called Ispra, on Lake Maggiore in the Lombardy region of Italy. It took about eight hours to get there, as well as some expert driving from Werner as he navigated our 48-foot tour bus through mountain passes and narrow Italian hillside streets.
Continue reading "B4 In Europe: Through The Alps And On To Italy" »
 April 29, 07
On the bus
One of those memorable moments: 12:45 pm and everyone is upstairs in the rear lounge watching the Bourne Identity. Moray is sleeping in his bunk. I came down to watch the drive for a bit, and as I came down the stairs I could hear a bit of whistling coming from the forward cabin. It’s a bright balmy, lovely afternoon and we’ve just passed immigrations into Switzerland. We’re motoring down the Bahn, passing through the entrance into the Alps. It’s gorgeous, a storybook day.
I sat down in the forward/lower lounge and could hear Werner, our intrepid and wonderful driver (every bit Austrian) whistling along with something. Delightful, delicate, precise, joyful whistling. Not like passive, mumbling, meandering whistling, but flutelike, percussive, trilling Alpine whistling.
Suddenly he turns up his stereo in the driver’s compartment and I realize he’s whistling along with a classical concert on the stereo. Not just some soft, sweet, beautiful concert piece, but one of those Austrian masterpieces, loaded with flourish, undoubtedly written on just such a spring afternoon, where the sun bathes the countryside in clear light and the new leaves on the trees radiate a green that we only get to see in April in the mountains. The panorama is actually postcard.
So I sit quietly, slide down in a lounge recliner and watch with wonderment as the Swiss countryside glides by in a rolling slideshow of hills and church spires, cows and fences, chalets and Swiss flags, yellow mustard fields erupting in full voice, punctuating the rise and fall of Werner’s whistling concerto. He’s hitting every note. He knows this piece. As the concert rises to crescendo, Werner pushes his participation, steadfastly remaining part of the orchestra. Big Finish! Wow!! That was cool…
People can be so happy, so positive.
Life is good. Really good.
From EAW Marketing Director Karen Anderson
On our way via the tour bus to Milan for the next stop of the B4 Roadshow, we stopped for the evening in Wolfach, Germany. All I can say is WOW - this place unbelievably gorgeous! It's a 1,000-year-old walled city on the Kinsig river. I can't really describe how lovely it is, so check out the pictures.
Besides that, it's Jurgen's hometown, and he and his wife Christiane hosted us for a great day of sightseeing and dinner.
Continue reading "B4 In Europe: The Journey To Milan" »
From EAW Marketing Director Karen Anderson
Day two of the B4 Roadshow stop in Cologne was Smaart School day, and Jamie and Ferrit had a full class of 17 people at the Gahrens and Batterman training academy.
A huge thanks to G&B for letting us use their facility! (It's pictured below.)
 While Jamie and Ferrit busily made the world a little "Smaarter" (sorry!), Bernie and Moray headed over to the Cologne Arena to visit Marcus from Gahrens and Batterman as they loaded in a huge corporate event for DHL, utilizing a KF730-based system.
Continue reading "B4 In Germany: Smaart School & Wireless Cafe Search!" »
From EAW Marketing Director Karen Anderson
The DJP facility in Cologne (shown at left), site of this stop of the B4 Roadshow, was a great old factory which used to make boilers for steam engines. And, although cool to look at… it also came with about 7 seconds of reverb at 125 hz. That was cause for incredulous gasps from the group gathered around Jamie’s Smaart rig.
Bad for sound, but it sure makes a pretty Smaart screen. True to form, Jamie and the guys managed to make the best of the venue and get the rig sounding good.
So what do a bunch of audio guys do when they have a giant old factory, some empty roadcases and time on their hands? Invent the sport of case-luging, of course! Jamie also tried a little case surfing. We were working hard… honest!
Continue reading "B4 In Germany: Fun With Set-Up & Day One" »
 From EAW Marketing Director Karen Anderson
After a much needed change of clothes and some well-earned beers, the B4 Roadshow crew hopped on our tour bus, and with our trusty driver Werner at the wheel, took off for Cologne, Germany. Much merriment was had that first night on the bus… Most of which I can’t post on the web.
But suffice to say it included Moray, Ferrit and Steve practicing their moose mating calls (see picture above) learned the night before from a pair of comely, and drunk, Swedish gals.
 We crossed from Dover to Calais on the ferry sometime around midnight, and after a meal of ship-food and a really bad nap on hard plastic ferry chairs, we landed on the continent about 2 AM. At left we see Ferrit passing his new remote controlled Dalek to Bernie. (Doctor Who fans know what we're talking about.)
Then everyone hit their bunks, and tried to learn how to sleep on a moving, swaying bus. Someone’s Blackberry alarm went off around 6:30 AM and beeped incessantly for the next 90 minutes. Thus instigating the “cell phones off in the bunk area” rule.
 We pulled into the DJP facility in Cologne at about 9:00 in the morning, and met Jurgen, our German Sales Manager. The venue was a great old factory, which used to make the boilers for steam engines. More about this venue in my next post...
As we were all a little sleepy and bus-ruffled, Jurgen met us there with a car full of coffee and Marcus, Uli who helped us load in. Big thanks guys! (Jurgen's "coffee car" is shown below.)
The EAW team had a great time this week presenting the first B4 Roadshow at Bray Studios outside of London. After a full day of Smaart School followed by another full day of System Bootcamp and the EAW Tradeshow, it was time to go. In road-dog fashion, the team broke it all down, loaded it all on the truck, and then boarded the bus to move along to the next B4 Roadshow stop: Cologne, Germany.
Some final notes on the England stop from Karen Anderson: Bray Studios is a great film studio out in the English countryside near Windsor Castle. The facilities were wonderful and the staff could not have been nicer. Big thanks to Nathan Hendricks and everyone at Bray. Highly recommended for anyone looking to do a large format demo in England.
Load-in was relatively painless with the help of four of our pals from Concert Sound, and big high fives to them for all of their help.. not only during load in, but on the Roadshow in general. Couldn’t have done it without them!
With the help of more fine folks from Peak Sound and Concert Sound, who stuck around after the Tradeshow to help us load out, we were torn down and had the truck loaded in less than two hours! Everyone pitched in…. as evidenced by the pictures of Jeffrey and Sean (Martin) humping crates up into the truck. Who says execs don’t get their hands dirty?
 Day two of the B4 Roadshow in England featured System Bootcamp, led by EAW Technical Training Manager Bernie Broderick, as well as the EAW Tradeshow, where everyone got a look at current and coming-soon products and technologies. The Bray Studios facility (shown here) proved exceptional for hosting both of these facets.
 Interesting notes from EAW Marketing Director Karen Anderson: "Andrew Rowan owns SurgeSound, the EAW distributor for South Africa, and he came all the way up from there for the event. And Terje Engedahl is from Lyd-Systemer, our distributor for Norway. He brought two of his customers all the way from Norway (his customers are Eivind Boganes and Oyvind Aasen).
 Attendees also had plenty of opportunities to network and get the most up-close looks at all products, including SB Series subwoofers and KF Series line arrays shown here.
Next Up:
Cologne, April 26-27
Full schedule
 OK, we admit it: this post is largely an excuse to post the crazy photo of Ferrit (below).
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 After an intense full day of Smaart School, and with System Bootcamp and the EAW Tradeshow all set for tomorrow at Bray Studios, there proved to be a bit of time for the gang to visit a local establishment and blow off some steam. Well, that is, after Bernie got done spooling his cables.
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 Just one question: Does Ferrit's expression have anything to do with the empty glass in front of him? (Actually, thanks to him for being such a good sport.)
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Below is Jamie Anderson with EAW's Moray McMillin and Steve Badham.
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 April 23, 07
London
1:30pm
Peas and Chips! From mighty ‘ol England!!
First day of B4 European Roadshow and it’s actually working out beautifully. Wow!!
We all made it in on time, luggage arrived, hotel is “reasonable”, had a pint, Fish and Chips, drove on the wrong side of the road, got into the wrong side of the car, sitting by The River Thames, all the stations of the cross…
Today is the Smaart v.6 class, with Jamie Anderson conducting. Well attended and we’re at Bray Film Studios, out near Windsor Castle (Mum’s not in, the flags not waving). This studio is where a bunch of 50’s and 60’s British horror movies were filmed, including Dracula with Christopher Lee. Perfect location to assemble the tour and conduct the first presentations. This is where a lot of tours do pre-production rehearsals. Clapton usually sets up here.
8:00pm: Completed the set up, tested, checked and done for the night. Really good day. This is a wonderful bunch of people to work with.
G’night!!
-Jeffrey
 The Europe leg of the B4 Roadshow has begun! Jamie Anderson and Martyn "Ferrit" Rowe led a very well-attended full day of Smaart School at Bray Studios, outside of London.
The focus, of course, is new EAW Smaart v.6, as well as loads of useful tips and techniques for large-scale system alignment and response optimization.
 At right, we see the group in "classroom" mode, and below, a class photo. In the back row, left to right: George Breacker, John Kingham, Lionel Miller, Andrew Rowan, Tom Williams, Jamie Anderson, Simon Ryder, Patrick Hocken, Sam Brandon, Steve Paefrement, Eivind Boganes. And in the front row: Terje Engedahl and Oyvind Aasen.
Coming up tonight: A bit of fun
Tomorrow: System Bootcamp & Tradeshow
Kicking off EAW’s 2007 education initiative, the B4 Roadshow will be making its way through Europe starting April 23. This is an excellent opportunity to immerse yourself in two full days of EAW product training, demonstrations, education and more! Each two-day B4 event will consist of a Smaart School, “System Bootcamp” and mini-tradeshow.
Smaart School:
The specially designed Smaart School is focusing on the fundamentals of Smaart and the new Smaart v.6, as well as tips and techniques for large-scale system alignment and response optimization. Taught by Smaart gurus Jamie Anderson and Martyn Rowe, cost for the Smaart School course is $300 (USD) and includes breakfast, lunch and all course-related materials.
Pre-registration is required - click here to register for the class of your choice. Online pre-payment via credit card is accepted, as is payment on-site at the time of the class (check or cash only). Attendees are responsible for their own travel and accommodation expenses.
Continue reading "B4 Roadshow, Smaart School Coming To Europe!" »
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