LAS VEGAS, NEVADA: On any random day in any random city in America, knock on any random door and ask the person who answers what they know about Rick Springfield. Without fail, you will hear a reference to Springfield’s iconic ’80s hit, “Jessie’s Girl,” but from there things become less predictable. Many people know that Springfield played the character Dr. Noah Drake on the daytime soap opera General Hospital in the early 1980s and then returned to the role a few years ago. What is perhaps least appreciated is the breadth of Springfield’s musical career, which began in the late 1960s in Australia, gained traction in the U.S. during the 1970s, and exploded in a riot of success in the 1980s before the singer/songwriter took a decadal break to help raise his two sons. more

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA: TransAudio Group announces the Daking FET3, a new dual-channel limiter incorporating Class A discrete compressor circuitry and gain stages that is built in the U.S. by Geoffrey Daking. The FET3 builds on the quality and performance benchmarks set by the renowned Daking FET II single-channel limiter while adding several unique front panel features for enhanced user control. more

NEW YORK, NEW YORK: TUBE-TECH introduces the new RM 2, a new two-slot rack that vertically accommodates any two TUBE-TECH M Series tube-based modules. The new two RU frame enables the user to own multiple TUBE-TECH modules and one small two-channel rack, offering the sound of TUBE-TECH in a smaller and less expensive package than ever before. The RM-2 is unique in that it is designed from the ground up for tubes. The power supply and internal voltage rails are specifically built for tube-based electronics, offering much higher supply voltages than the modular 500 racks can offer. This new two-slot RM2 rack, along with the existing eight-vertical slot RM8 rack, expands the flexibility of TUBE-TECH while lowering the per channel cost. more

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA: TransAudio Group, the worldwide distributor for BOCK AUDIO, is introducing the new BOCK 50 omni-tube microphone at the 127th AES Convention in New York. Focused on a tradition that stretches back to classical orchestral recording microphones of the 1950s, the BOCK omni-directional BOCK 50 is similarly intended to capture the natural ambience of groups of acoustic instruments, from small ensembles to large orchestras. It is particularly well-suited for use in a Decca Tree configuration.

The BOCK 50 features a half-inch diaphragm mounted in a sphere offering unique frequency-dependant directional characteristics. The capsule is mated to BOCK-designed tube electronics for wide bandwidth and dynamics. In addition, the custom BOCK inductor loaded linear power supply offers the best combination of long-term power, low noise floor and high-end mic sonic performance. more

LENEXA, KANSAS - SEPTEMBER 2009: Founded in 1884, employee-owned Kiewit Corporation is now one of the largest contractors in the world, with annual revenue in excess of $6 billion and distributed offices throughout the United States and Canada. The company recently built a new $18 million building for their Kiewit Power Engineers & Constructors divisions in Lenexa, Kansas, a suburb of Kansas City. Kiewit Power Engineers design everything from nuclear power plants to hydroelectric dams to renewable energy solutions, and the Kiewit Power Constructors turn their schematics into reality. The new building, which opened in June, accommodates some eight-hundred employees and houses a divisible conference room with audio processing delivered by a powerful, but affordable, Symetrix Zone Mix 760. more

BOWIE, MARYLAND - OCTOBER 2009: Prodigy Engineering has developed the first-ever, remote-controllable, microphone preamplifier for the API 500 Series format, called Bella.

Bella features relay stepped gain from 18 to 69dB in 1dB increments, switchable high-pass filter (-3dB @78Hz), phantom power (48V), polarity inversion (0/180˚), attenuation pad (-22dB), and mute functionality. Additionally, Bella can be remote controlled from professional standard Digital Audio Workstations like Apple’s Logic(r) software and Digidesign Pro Tools(r) | HD systems, as well as ICON(r) control surfaces.

Bella will be on display at the Prodigy Engineering booth #642 at the 127th Audio Engineering Society Convention in New York City, from October 9-12, 2009.

ABOUT PRODIGY ENGINEERING Headquartered in Bowie, Maryland, USA, Prodigy Engineering is a leading electronics design firm specializing in the development and manufacture of innovative audio signal processors. For more information, visit the Prodigy Engineering website more

OLD LYME, CONNECTICUT – SEPTEMBER 2009: Sennheiser introduces a free series of training seminars that focus on the revolutionary line of high-powered K-array loudspeakers. Attendees will learn how to address their biggest and smallest audio needs with the most compact and powerful, live and installed sound speakers on the market. K-array speakers can offer significant space and cost savings in production, rigging, transportation, and setup.

The seminar is ideal for installed and live sound professionals, or anyone interested in learning about the latest live sound speaker technology. Other topics that will be covered include how to invisibly fill facilities with quality sound, how to deliver rich sound to a live audience of 1,000 people using a two-inch-wide PA system, how to fill stadiums and arenas with six-inch-deep line arrays, and more.

The first seminar will be held at Atlanta’s Buckhead Church on more

OLD LYME, CONNECTICUT - AUGUST 2009: The Grammy nominated and platinum-selling artists, Jonas Brothers, continue to ascend to ever-greater heights of success, with over eight million albums sold, film and TV spots aplenty, and tour after triumphant tour throughout the world charming audiences with their charisma and musicianship. For those with ears tuned to pop music, they’ve been huge for years, and now more

JACKSONVILLE, FLORIDA- AUGUST 2009: Nu-metal pioneers Limp Bizkit are back on the road, having kicked off their Unicorns N’ Rainbows world tour in Latvia in May before rolling through twenty countries to complete the first European leg in Paris, France on July 5. The band, which has reunited the original lineup from its twelve-time platinum 2000 release, “Chocolate Starfish and the Hot Dog Flavored Water,” is making use of Sennheiser wired and wireless microphones across the stage.

“All the mics used on tour are Sennheiser,” states front-of-house engineer Bryan Worthen, well known for his long, ongoing affiliation with the Foo Fighters and, previously, blink-182. Worthen has brought some of his Sennheiser microphone model and mounting choices from his work with the Foo Fighters to the Limp Bizkit stage. “I’m pretty particular about what works where,” he says.

Fred Durst is the only more

MIAMI, FLORIDA - AUGUST 2009: The recent sixth-annual Univision “Premios Juventud” awards show utilized Sennheiser’s proven wireless technology to recognize the U.S. Hispanic youths’ top recording artists, movie stars, sports figures and pop culture icons. Over eighty wireless channels were used for the podium mics and most of the monitoring.

Stylized performances from long-time favorites and up-and-coming celebrities punctuated the announcements, with reggaeton sensation Alexis y Fido electrifying the stage with a pair of chrome-customized Sennheiser SKM 5200 wireless mics.

“Whereas most awards shows feature performances that include a little bit of stage scenery, things are a lot more intense at ‘Premios Juventud,’” said broadcast mixer Tom Holmes. “All of the performers are going for full vignettes to help create a mood and a story. Alexis y Fido asked us for ‘futuristic looking’ mics to go with their futuristic theme. I asked more