Press release
01.10.2010 - Phoenix, Arizona
Music from around the world: Instruments of every kind come to life at the Musical Instruments Museum thanks to guidePORT
Exotic instruments hang from the ceiling, electric guitars form a guard of honour and screens display a violin maker at work: covering an area of approximately 19,000 square meters spread over two floors, the Musical Instruments Museum in Phoenix portrays the entire spectrum of musical instruments. The award-winning museum includes valuable exhibition pieces, background films and unique audio samples from every region of the world and from (almost) every era. An audio guide for visitors is provided by Sennheiser: guidePORT brings the instruments to life.
 Great and small instruments from around the world can be heard in the Musical Instrument Museum (MIM) in Phoenix thanks to guidePORT  The audio guide for visitors – MIM has around 1,800 such devices ready for use Bob Ulrich, founder of the MIM and chairman of the board
www.themim.org |
Unusual musical instruments such as the Ghatam have a place in the Musical Instruments Museum (MIM) and collectors’ items sit alongside more run of the mill instruments. The MIM is in possession of 12,000 items, of which there are around 4,000 on display. And their sounds can also be heard thanks to ultra-modern video and audio technology: from an insight into klezmer right through to the beat of a powerful Japanese o-daiko, visitors will be absorbed in new worlds of music as well as in ones to which they are already accustomed. The musical journey around the world continues on the museum’s upper floor – to Africa, the Middle East, central Asia, East Asia, South-east Asia, Oceania, Latin America, North America and Europe. The history of music is brought to life in every corner, with the greatest variety of instruments imaginable on display, incorporating genres ranging from the Chinese opera to a typical jazz big band. Further highlights include the “Experience Gallery”, for those wishing to hear and play instruments with which they have no previous experience, as well as a restoration workshop which allows visitors to see historical items being repaired and serviced through a large viewing window. MIM even has a dedicated concert hall. The MIM has approximately 1,800 compact guidePORT receivers with headphones available to guide visitors through their musical journey. These provide the sounds of the instruments and the audio for videos at 300 points around the museum – completely automatically and with CD quality. Robert Généreux, the guidePORT expert for North America, comments: “Such a wealth of audio samples, music and commentary would of course be impossible with loudspeakers – it would just result in complete audio chaos. However, with guidePORT, each and every visitor effectively has their own personal tour guide through the museum thanks to wireless technology and headphones. Hidden identifiers have been installed at listening points and exhibits so that the audio guides automatically know which information to provide and which ‘sound track’ should be played for the relevant exhibit. The music or audio for videos fades seamlessly in – this applies to previously saved audio information as well as information transmitted live, as is done here at the MIM. Around 80 guidePORT transmitters are used for these transmissions. If the visitor leaves an information area, the audio fades away again.” Bob Ulrich, founder of the museum and chairman of the board: “Music is everything at MIM – we therefore took great care when selecting the audio technology to use. In guidePORT we have found a system that is not only extremely user-friendly and technically very impressive, but also provides the best sound quality of all the audio guides we tested. guidePORT is therefore a very important tool for us in our aim to provide all our visitors, from the children to the music professionals, with a unique experience that allows them to hear, see and feel the unifying power of music in a completely new way.” |
The Sennheiser Group, with its headquarters in Wedemark near Hanover, Germany, is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of microphones, headphones and wireless transmission systems. The family-owned company, which was established in 1945, recorded sales of around €390 million in 2009. Sennheiser employs more than 2,100 people worldwide, and has manufacturing plants in Germany, Ireland and the USA. The company is represented worldwide by subsidiaries in France, Great Britain, Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, Denmark (Nordic), Russia, Hong Kong, India, Singapore, Japan, China, Canada, Mexico and the USA, as well as by long-term trading partners in many other countries. Also part of the Sennheiser Group are Georg Neumann GmbH, Berlin (studio microphones and monitor loudspeakers), and the joint venture Sennheiser Communications A/S (headsets for PCs, offices and call centres).
Download press release:
press_release_01102010_en.zip (2,7 MB)
You can find all the latest information on Sennheiser by visiting our website at www.sennheiser.com, or by contacting:
Sennheiser electronic GmbH & Co. KG
Press & PR • Edelgard Marquardt
Am Labor 1 • 30900 Wedemark • Germany
Tel. +49 (51 30) 600 - 329
Fax +49 (51 30) 600 - 295
edelgard.marquardt@sennheiser.com
