FRENCH PRO-AUDIO manufacturer Audio Sud launched a series of new wireless products at this year’s ISE show in Amsterdam. The Montpellier- headquartered company presented several wireless additions to its TAG range of portable sound systems including a lectern, a language training device, and a two-way system, targeted at musicians. First up, the Bellano perspex lectern, which works completely on battery power and features a wireless gooseneck mic, eliminating the need for any cabling. Boasting SD card and USB connectivity, signals can be remotely sent via a wireless audio transmitter to any number of cabinets to provide a full wireless system. The audio transmitter is hidden behind a metal plate, and the battery allows for up to eight hours of continuous use.
SWITZERLAND Claude Nobs: 1936-2013 By Dave Robinson
JOHN AND Helen Meyer, the founders of Californian loudspeaker giant Meyer Sound, have paid tribute to Claude Nobs, the founder of the Montreux Jazz Festival, who died in January after a skiing accident. “We are greatly saddened by
the news of Claude Nobs’s untimely death,” said the Meyers in a message posted on the company’s website. “Claude was a long-time personal friend and collaborator for nearly 40 years. He was instrumental in the development of many of our products, and his contributions to the world of festivals and
Radiohead and Bob Dylan. The Meyer family’s friendship with Nobs led Meyer Sound to become a technical supporter of the event from 1986 onwards. According to press sources,
“Claude will be sorely missed”
music are unparalleled. Claude will be sorely missed.” Nobs launched the festival in 1967 and, over the years, the fortnight-long event has attracted some of the biggest names from across the musical landscape, including David Bowie, Miles Davis, Prince,
Nobs, 76, was injured on Christmas Eve while cross- country skiing near his home in the mountainside village of Caux. He fell into a coma and died on 10 January. General manager and creative
director of the festival, Nobs was known as ‘Funky Claude’ after he was referred to in the Deep Purple song Smoke on the Water, which recounts the story of a fire at the Montreux casino in 1971. n www.montreuxjazz.com
our TAG products is that they are so portable,” says Audio Sud manager, Sabine Mureau. “Everything is manufactured in France, and everything is wireless, which we feel gives us a unique edge.” Also new for ISE was the
6.Napse, an extremely portable product designed for language training in schools and colleges. The small-footprint unit features a single loudspeaker on its base for 360º listening, and has six headphone outputs (each with independent volume control), a microphone input for the teacher/lecturer, and a record function.
The third new addition to the
TAG range is Totem. Targeted at a range of musicians, this two-way active system features a 100W bass unit and a 50W mid- range unit and runs on a 24V battery. Two Totems can also be linked for a stereo PA system. The top unit boasts no fewer than eight tweeters, which the manufacturer says deals with the high and the mid ranges; and that speaker folds into the bass unit for easy portability. In addition, there is a mixer built into the back which includes two mic inputs, a CD player, a recorder and an MP3 input. n www.audiosud.comwww.tag-fr.com
Photo: 2007 Lionel Flusin, Montreux Jazz Festival Foundation