Yates Group is striving to give a more contemporary feel to its traditional Wine Lodges, using the latest technology to add a younger, metropolitan concept to its brand portfolio. The new-look venues will give higher priority to dynamic music and lighting, as demonstrated by the most recent conversion - in Peterborough’s trendy leisure strip, The Broadway.

The Yates Group has a long association with Martin Audio loudspeakers, and the company’s technical manager Les Farmer, had no hesitation in returning to their catalogue to create even coverage across the new 525-capacity, 3000sq.ft bar. The requirement from the designers, Mason Wood Architects, was for discrete lighting and sound reinforcement. Thus four recessed white C516 ceiling speakers, with their own volume control, have been concealed in the far corner chill-out area of the four-zone venue, to complement the eight white EM26s distributed throughout the venue, and a pair of strategically concealed EM150 subs (one on the dancefloor and one at the back of the venue). The system is driven by Inkel amplification and mixed through a Cloud CXM modular mixer.

The venue's technology was installed by TTL, who also provided the lighting and their Music Manager hard disk delivery system - which hands over to a DJ several nights a week. The stridency of the lighting effects - predominantly recessed Abstract VR8 scanners and AVR miniature DMX colour changers - are dictated by the style of the music, the compatibility ensured by a Pulsar Replay unit (with memory card). Vision is also a vital part of the Yates’s mix - important since they have their own TV network - and one of the future plans is to automatically synchronize the predominant screen image colour with the lighting.


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