"We desperately needed a change of image because there were a lot of new venues arriving in the high street," said Stevens. "It was important that we moved with the times and kept ahead of the competition." The new Bar West One boasts a 6ft extension in the room, with bold colours, a curved ceiling, a granite bar, a neat perspex back bar grid lit by AVR Colourmaster colour changers, and a punchy TOA sound system.
The sound rig, comprises four corner-mounted TOA F-605s - a two-way speaker box consisting of a 10" low frequency driver and a HF compression driver - underpinned by a TOA ES-L1 twin 15" subwoofer. These create the audio experience which has to cope with a vast range of styles, from Garage one-offs (with a posse of DJs), to Monday Salsa nights. The system is controlled via its dedicated TOA AC-L1 system control processors, while a TOA L-1102 dual-channel compressor limiter ensures that the most enthusiastic DJ stays on the right side of the maintenance budget by protecting the system in its entirety.
"We had experienced problems before with this and so we have bypassed the user interface by just setting the parameters and locking it away," says Stevens. The system is powered by TOA P Series amplifiers and the DJ has playback options of the obligatory Technics SL-1210 decks or Numark CDN-34S twin CD players - all mixed through a KAM Mobile Pro. Elsewhere, the retractable 6 x 5 big screen is projected from a Sharp LCD projector, while two Abstract VR8 scanners are posted on the walls like two space ships in a docking bay.
"We had used TOA equipment in the past and were delighted with it," said Mark. "It was therefore natural to stay with the brand when planning our refit. We are also delighted with the work carried out by John Breley, who interpreted my ideas exactly. The curved ceiling and bright emulsioned pillars in particular are a big success."
(Lee Baldock)
