Ad info:http:// foh.hotims.com News Alice Cooper Drives a New Wedge into “Psycho-Drama” Alice Cooper shows no signs of slowing down with his lastest Psycho-Drama tour. TEMPE, Ariz. — After 18 albums and more than four decades of touring, Alice Cooper certainly isn’t showing any signs of slowing. Cur- rently out on his aptly named Psycho-Drama tour, the original shock rocker has among his collection of essential stage items a guillotine, electric chair, boa constrictor, plenty of fake blood, and now, 10 coaxial L-ACOUSTICS 115XT HiQ stage monitors. Along with a pair of L-ACOUSTICS ARCS and SB118 enclosures for side-fill and LA Series amplification, the 115XT HiQ wedges round out the loudspeaker complement of a monitor system package furnished by Tempe, Ariz.-based Precise Corporate Staging (PCS) LLC. “Night after the night, the HiQs are performing very well for Alice and his band,” says PCS President David Stern, who has worked with Cooper on and off for the past four years and is additionally providing the tour’s <strong>FOH</strong> console and processing racks. “In my opinion, there’s not a better monitor built. Just like the 30-box V- DOSC(r) rig we also own, the HiQ wedges are extremely clean and rarely need much EQ, if any.” Stern points out that the monitors are beneficial in that they help minimize the tour’s overall stage volume. “We’re running the stage system in zones and I know that Paul Bostic, Alice’s monitor engineer, appreciates the exceptional clarity and articulation of the HiQ’s design. This enables the musicians to better hear themselves while performing and spares them from the vicious circle of having to crank up their amplifiers to compete with the wedges. Live Audio Companies Find Strength in Numbers continued from cover and share similar values and aspirations. I am confident that with the resources provided, Ashly will achieve strong sustainable growth,” said Dave Parse, CEO of Ashly Audio. Ashly Audio will maintain its brand identity; the company will continue to engineer, manufacture, and distribute the Ashly and Camco brands from their current offices located in Webster, N.Y. All employees of Ashly will be retained. “We are natural partners, and this investment not only provides synergy for both firms, but will further our long relationship and will allow us to bring Ashly branded products to their full potential,” said Executive Vice President Martin Szpiro. We are very excited about the leading-edge technologies, both in amplifiers and signal processors that Ashly is developing. The prospect for our future together looks very promising.” In other news, Riedel Communications, German manufacturer and supplier of communication systems for the broadcast, theatre and event industries, has acquired digital audio specialist Media Numerics. Media Numerics has developed the realtime audio network RockNet. Shipping began Q1 2008, and among the first users of RockNet are productions like Bruce Springsteen, Queen and the Grammy Awards. “With RockNet we have a new product line, which really complements our existing portfolio. The acquisition also strengthens our development expertise in the field of professional audio products. We really look forward to the further development and success of RockNet,” said Thomas Riedel, managing director of Riedel Communications GmbH & Co. KG. FCC Puts Screws to Live Event Audio Industry continued from page 5 was sold. But check with your vendors and find out if they are going to have some kind of program in place to absorb at least some of the blow of replacing fairly new wireless gear. And no matter how good a deal it is on eBay, don’t buy anything in this spectrum. Period. The rest of the spectrum? No one really knows right now. Sabine makes a unit that operates in the 2.4 gHz range that should not be affected and X2’s digital wireless along with Audio Technica’s ultrawideband technology point to some possible future tech fixes but none of those by themselves are the answer to the entire problem. “While not unexpected, today’s FCC decision will greatly complicate the lives of wireless microphone users across the United States and negatively affect tens of millions of Americans listening to live and broadcast events,” said Mark Brunner, Shure senior director of Global Public and Industry Relations. Brunner is among many who have worked tirelessly on this issue for several years. And now they — and our entire industry — have lost. The future is not entirely clear, but be prepared for interference from lots of stupid and worthless text messages to start hitting your wireless mics and ears in the near future.
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