Orbital The Spin - Spring 2016

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Welcome to the opening Spin for 2016, a year that is proving to be busy and adventurous on all fronts.

I was asked the other day by an industry friend why we undertook a newsletter if we were so busy - whilst in the same breath asking me "what are you up to?

How could you help me?"

Our work spans all areas of performance audio - from 42 regional pantomimes this Christmas to supporting the world's leading sound designers around the globe. From London to Sydney. From simple sale to complex musical.

So, along with my industry friend, have a read of our newsletter and learn about Orbital, why we're in such demand, and what we could bring to you!

Chris Headlam, our MD, attending yet another opening night, with amongst others, multiple award winning and Tony nominated sound designer Gareth Owen, at the Gala performance of Stage Entertainment's production of Disney's Beauty and the Beast in Holland.

There is only one sound designer's name that is synonymous with the hit musical Chicago, and that is Rick Clarke. The veteran sound designer has been involved with the show since 1998, embarking on yet another UK tour this spring as the show returned to the regional stage for the first time in 4 years.

Chicago is set for another long and successful run, with venues announced through to the end of October and more scheduled. Starring Eastenders actor John Partridge, and Coronation Street star Hayley Tamaddon, the show kicked off in Oxford on 12th February.

Rick has consistently innovated with regard to the show's sound design over the years, and this new tour is no exception, now featuring Flare Audio's radical X2 Compact Vertical Point Source Array loudspeaker system.

> Read more

Combine a much-loved classic with something totally new and innovative, and the result is a match made in heaven.

For 2016, audiences are looking forward to a sparkling new production of Breakfast at Tiffanys, starring multi award-winning Pixie Lott, the three times No1 hit single recording artist, in the iconic role of Holly. Adapted by acclaimed playwright Richard Greenberg and directed by Nikolai Foster, Breakfast at Tiffanys is a stage play with music, featuring sound design by veteran Mic Pool.

Making its debut is Flare Audio's tiny tourable XO line column system - delivering high quality and SPL in a variable length line column format. Full details will be unveiled after the show's opening in March, but be prepared to be amazed...!!! Flare Audio is once again demonstrating just how far it can push the boundaries of sound, with its brand new XO system.


			Based on the 1980s hit film that took the world by storm, Footloose the musical sensation returns to the UK stage in a remastered show with sound design by award winning designer Chris Whybrow. Starring Maureen Nolan and Gareth Gates the nine-month tour kicked off in January at the Spa in Bridlington with week long runs along the way. This intensive schedule means trucks arrive early at a venue on Monday mornings with a show to open that same evening and with this in mind the decision to take a compact, easy to rig, line array system was paramount. Enter the Nexo Geo M6. > Read more

The Clear-Com DX410 is a two-channel 2.4GHz digital wireless intercom system that features 7 kHz wideband audio for exceptional audio clarity. It is the first DX Series wireless intercom system to offer this level of audio frequency range.

The DX410 also comes with upgraded radio technology for better transmission/reception, 2-wire/4-wire bridging, and 2-wire auto-nulling. The bridging capability allows the 2-wire and 4-wire ports to be combined on either channel A or B; enabling operators to use a 4-wire out to send all audio to a mixer, matrix intercom or other audio source. 2-wire auto-nulling makes it easy to integrate the DX410 with Clear-Com or TW wired partyline systems.

The DX410 uses a frequency hopping system (FHSS), and offers spectrum-friendly and Adaptive Frequency Hopping (AFH) modes, to avoid interference with Wi-Fi, while operating in the

2.4GHz band means that DX410 does not require radio licensing for use.

The DX Series technology is renowned for quality and performance, and the new DX410 will only affirm that reputation," said Craig Fredrickson, Product Manager at Clear-Com. "This new addition is truly an exceptional digital wireless system in terms of range, reliability, sound quality and comfort for the size of the system."

The DX410's compact BP410 wireless beltpack and WH410 all-in-one wireless intercom headset are designed to remain comfortable during long hours of usage, with both units providing up to 12 hours of battery life on a single charge. Each DX410 base station can support as many as 15 BP410 wireless beltpacks and/or WH410 all-in-one wireless headsets at a time.

> Read more

Orbital is pleased to welcome new staff member Patrick Belcher to the growing Technical Support Team as Service Engineer. Patrick spent the previous 5 years providing technical support for a well-known and respected pro audio distributor and reseller, specialising in studio recording equipment, computer based music production environments, mixing desks and synths.

When not working, Patrick can sometimes be found trawling car boot sales for rare vinyl, making bleepy sounds in his home studio, wandering about with a field recorder or slow cooking something!

Central Saint Martins is one of the world's most influential centres for art and design - and the Platform Theatre is its stage. The Platform Theatre complex at Central Saint Martins comprises four performance spaces and a bar. Performances regularly showcase experiments in design, and inventive theatrical techniques and materials.

And so when the theatre technical crew were looking for a replacement for their outdated sound systems, it was Orbital Sound that was chosen to help them out. After initial surveys and product demonstrations, it was a Nexo PS series integrated system that won the day. With four spaces to kit out over a period of time the college has started with one of their studio theatres for the new system based around the PS8 cabinets with LS400 sub bass reinforcement all run from NXAMP4X1-powered controllers.

> Read More

With the launch of the new X Series, Powersoft plans to change the landscape of the professional amplifier market once more. Much more than a simple amplifier, the new series promises to provide unmatched levels of versatility, flexibility and power without compromising on size, efficiency, audio quality and sheer elegance that has become Powersoft's modus operandi.

The X Series consists of two models. The X8 is the largest amplifier in the range, boasting eight channels in a 2U chassis, while the X4 features four channels in a single rack unit. Both models share the same power density, being capable of delivering up to 5200W @ 2 ohms per channel.

> Read more

The new Nexo ID24 super-compact loudspeakers have been installed for the first time, working as under-balcony fills in the 2000-seater Bristol Hippodrome theatre for last year's pantomime production of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs starring Warwick Davis amongst others.

Orbital is the first rental company in the world to deploy the ID Series, used in Bristol alongside two other NEXO systems - an STM M28 modular line array for

main PA, augmented by GEO M6 compact line array modules for the upper balcony. Orbital Sound is also making extensive use of their recently acquired Nexo compact line array system, the GEO M6, featuring as the main PA in two other major British theatres for their pantomime productions, the Opera House in Manchester (1800-seats) and the Marlowe Theatre in Canterbury (1200-seats).

> Read more

ID - In Space Definition describes a new category of products, which are intended as problem-solvers for the toolkits of system designers and installers in all areas of the audio business. The physical characteristics of the ID Series of loudspeaker cabinets are super-compact and low profile, to enable their use in awkward and acoustically challenging spaces. Using a variety of mounting options, the ID24 compact cabinet can fit into almost any environment, whilst its ability to offer high SPL output with variable directivities enables it to 'beam' sound into difficult spaces.

The ID Series promises class-leading power and performance combined with an unprecedented level of versatility, making it suitable for a huge variety of install and touring applications.

The ID Series currently comprises three products, the ID24 full-range compact speaker using twin 4" drivers in a 'V' formation in combination with an HF compression driver. Complementing the ID24 are two low-profile powerful subs, ID S110 (1x10") and ID S210 (2x10").

> Read More

Following its record-breaking run at the London Palladium and after touring for several years around the Far East, the world's best-loved musical THE SOUND OF MUSIC is now touring around Australia taking in Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne and Adelaide.

Designed by Olivier award-winning sound designer Mick Potter, Orbital were tasked with making sure that the sound system used on the show would stand up to the rigours of Australian touring and continued to provide outstanding results worthy of the show's sound design.

Orbital's Principal Build Engineer John Wildridge was despatched out to Sydney to recondition the system before it embarks on its Australia tour.

Shrek the Musical recently kicked off its first ever global tour in Istanbul, staged by Broadway Entertainment Group FZ and NETworks Presentations and featuring sound design by Shannon Slaton, acclaimed for a host of Broadway shows and US tours including Hairspray, The Producers, Kiss Me Kate, and Memphis The Musical. Sound equipment and technical support is from Orbital Sound, London.

The schedule includes a wide diversity of countries and venues, ranging from Qatar, Asia, Australia and China, including traditional theatres, outdoor tents and arenas. Shannon's design has had to take into account the complex costumes, rapid venue turnaround times, challenging climate conditions and tour logistics.

> Read more

Richard O'Brien's "Rocky Horror Show" returned to the UK stage in December, at the beginning of a major tour scheduled to run through until October 2016. The iconic musical has been given a major refresh, under the direction of Christopher Luscombe. Sound design is by Gareth Owen, continuing his 15-year association with the musical, with the sound system supplied by Orbital Sound. Gareth's design includes d&b audiotecnik's new V7P point source array loudspeaker system, making its UK stage debut.

Rocky Horror is a show with an enormous amount of audience participation, and Christopher Luscombe has focused on balancing this with the demands of one-day touring and the tight schedules that go with it. The result is a tight, dynamic production that loses nothing from the original concept, maintaining the cult status and the audience fun. For Gareth, the new tour represented an opportunity to try a different dimension with the V7P system, and put the latest developments in point source technology to the test.

> Read more

As the cast of Aladdin took to the stage for the final time on 31st January, the production has notched up audiences totaling nearly 120,000 during its 6-week and 74-performance run - the best at the Hippodrome for 14 years. Aladdin starred Marti Pellow, Julian Clary, Lee Mead and Matt Slack, with sound design by Gareth Owen, who elected to include d&b audiotechnik's new V7P point source system for the stage foldback - the first time it has been deployed on the UK stage for this application. The sound, communication systems and support were provided by London-based Orbital Sound, responsible for the pantomime season at the Birmingham Hippodrome the past 15 years.

Associate sound designer Russ Godwin explains the choice: "We wanted to use a system that we knew would work, especially given the stars we were working with and their very particular preferences for foldback.

Steve Jones at d&b assured us that the V7P was "the box" for the job, so despite not having heard it - we spec'd it for the stage monitoring. The V7P is extremely flat and we could work them really hard, which was exactly what we needed for an artist such as Marti Pellow. Very little EQ or work was needed at all - they just sounded great, and everyone was very happy with the results."

The equipment list also included the Nemesis CCS-2 computer control switch, which is designed to allow two computer systems to share a keyboard, mouse, monitor and distribution of GPI data and MIDI messages and switch between main and redundant audio in a variety of programmable formats.

> Read more


	For Orbital's expert Event Communications team it's been a busy 6 months, handling demanding events and solving communications challenges are our forte and we are frequently called upon by returning customers who value our expertise and experience in this demanding field. One of the tools that we are using more and more is ClearCom's FreeSpeak II™ high end radio comms solution. Once clients experience FreeSpeak 11 they won't ask for anything else!		Working in the license-free frequency bands, including 1.9GHz, this high performance wireless intercom system is designed for extensive communication in large-scale operations. Its ability to maintain a strong and continuous wireless connection across an expansive coverage area while providing crystal-clear digital audio makes FreeSpeak II the ideal wireless roaming solution for live event, broadcast, sport production and industrial applications. > Read more

The Orbital Sound sales team again go into action at the PLASA Focus show at the Leeds Armouries Exhibition Centre on 10th and 11th May, stand number R-D14, where they will be showing products including the new Nexo ID Series, the recently introduced Clear-Com DX410 wireless comms system and miniature microphones from Point Source Audio - now specified on the new Chicago theatre tour designed by Rick Clarke.

Orbital were also present at the PLASA Focus Glasgow show earlier this year where they sponsored a completely packed out seminar by Nexo's Stuart Kerrison talking about modular PA systems and how to maximise your ROI, whilst on the show floor the team met many new and existing customers both from North of the border and further afield with customers visiting from Dublin and Belfast.