UK: eMerging has announced a discount offer to mark the UK launch of v6.0 of the Pyramix DAW, writes PSN-e. In its capacity as Merging Technologies' UK sales and distribution operation, eMerging has revealed that until August 31st this year, Pyramix Native v6.0 - the software-only version of the DAW that requires no extra processing hardware - can be purchased from £499 (incl VAT).

US: An EM Acoustics system was specified for a recent tour by Nicole Hart & the NRG Band, writes David Davies. Supplied by EM Acoustics US, the system for the genre-defying New York-based act - who has been compared to singers as disparate as Cowboy Junkies frontwoman Margo Timmins and Tina Turner - comprised a pair of EMS-81 8" x 1" passive enclosures and a single i-8 quad 8" subwoofer.

ITALY: A Martin Audio system has been installed at the legendary Paradiso club in Rimini, writes David Davies. The new sound system for the VIP zone was devised and installed by Max DeLux of San Marino's Titansound & Light, and formed part of a substantial renovation and technical upgrade of the nearly 50-year-old club by new owners Luca De Simone and Alessandra Volta.

US: Auralex Acoustics is offering free acoustical analysis to customers dealing with larger spaces, writes David Davies. Following the model of its earlier Personalized Room Analysis Form, the Large Room Analysis Form enables customers to supply project data and receive information covering product recommendations and placement for venues such as churches and gymnasiums.

Audiovisualbay.co.uk is a new website designed to help companies offload equipment they no longer require, writes PSN-e. Equipment available through the site - the brainchild of Hertfordshire event production company Universal Event Production (UEP) - includes sound, lighting, data & video, rigging and more. Both sale and purchase are conducted through the site's administrative team.

To mark the arrival of its Road To Success UK roadshow in May and June, pro-audio equipment manufacturer Audio-Technica has launched a competition that will see the lucky winner awarded a pair of Audio-Technica W1000 headphones (pictured) worth £399.95, writes Joanne Ruddock.

Shure Distribution UK, a leading distributor of professional audio equipment, has announced a price reduction on its Shure Performance Gear Wireless Systems, which includes the PG58, PG185, PG30 and the Wireless Guitar System, writes Joanne Ruddock.

Following PSN-e's coverage late last year of efforts by Radiohead and The Charlatans to circumvent traditional methods of music delivery (read here (http://prosoundnewseurope.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=552&Itemid=26)), Nine Inch Nails and Coldplay have become the latest major name acts to unveil new material online with little or no advance warning, writes David Davies.

UK: AKG's UK/Eire distributor, Harman Pro UK, has announced a trade-in deal for users of old Shure SM58 dynamic vocal microphones. From last month until further notice, users returning an old SM58 at participating music shops will receive a discount of £20 on the price of a new AKG D5 dynamic vocal mic (list price £109.99 incl VAT), writes David Davies.

Orban/CRL's parent company, Circuit Research Labs, has made the first public beta of Orban Loudness Meter available as a free download. Accessible at the Orban website, the new software is suitable for use with Windows XP and Vista operating systems, writes David Davies.

US: Spectrasonics has launched a new competition that enables registered virtual instrument users to create music using special Spectrasonics loops. The ten-week Omnisphere Preview Remix Contest is based around loops created from the forthcoming Omnisphere Power Synth, the first instrument to be based on Spectrasonics' newly developed core technology STEAM Engine, writes David Davies.

UK: A flat-pack earplug system the size of a credit card designed by a UK university student has won an RNID competition. The contest was part of the charity for deaf and hard of hearing people's ongoing efforts to educate young people about the dangers of prolonged exposure to loud music, writes David Davies.

Described as North London's best kept secret, Fish Factory Studios' striking name is matched only by its striking choice of console: a 32 channel API Legacy Plus which recently became the first of its kind in the UK having been supplied by KMR Audio, writes Barney Jameson.

The EAW UMX.96 digital console finally lands in Europe this month, with the US company's distributors in Spain, Poland and Greece the first in the world to take delivery of fully tested and approved production models, writes Dave Robinson.

UK: Sound Control, the UK's largest MI retailer and the owner of Turnkey, Media Tools and Soho Soundhouse, has gone into administration. Dunfermline-based Sound Control Group, which comprised 26 stores across the UK and was established by managing director Pat Kelly (pictured), had been the subject of speculation and rumours for many months, and was believed to have been in discussion with several potential buyers in the weeks before its collapse, writes Gary Cooper.

UK: Noise measurement equipment design and development company Cirrus Research has achieved registration to internationally recognised internal quality management standard ISO 9001:2000. The UK-based company has earned the right to display the BSI logo following an independent assessment by the UK's leading certification body, BSI, reports David Davies.

US: Lipps Inc's classic disco hit Funkytown has been restored and transferred to digital from fragile 24-track, 2-inch tape masters. The project was undertaken at Santa Monica's Cups 'N Strings studios by owner/engineer Bruce Maddocks, with supervision from the song's writer/producer, Steven Greenberg, reports David Davies.

US: A new competition from EASTWEST will give one composer the opportunity to win all seven products in the PLAY virtual instrument range. The 'Score This Movie' contest invites composers to produce a varied score for an original short movie using only sounds from EASTWEST-distributed libraries, with an emphasis on EASTWEST PLAY-powered virtual instruments, writes David Davies.

UK: DMX Productions is making frequent use of its newly purchased Electro-Voice XLD compact line array system at Birmingham's Q CLUB. Back in action after a five-year hiatus, the Q CLUB is housed in a former Methodist church and is used for a variety of dance events, reports PSN-e.

UK: Sound Control, the UK’s largest MI retailer, owner of Turnkey, Media Tools and Soho Soundhouse, has gone into administration, appointing John Reid and Bill Dawson of Deloitte to oversee the company's affairs, writes Gary Cooper.