The Client

The Sound Division Group has completed a complex sound installation for a sophisticated, new-age bowling and leisure concept, set within a landmark London building.

Brothers Charles and Adam Breeden had originally contracted the technology specialists exactly three years ago to fit out The Lonsdale, their award-winning venue in Notting Hill.

When the Breedens (in partnership with Mark von Westenholz) set out to plan All Star Lanes, within the regenerated Victoria House on Bloomsbury Square, they had no hesitation in returning to David Graham’s company.

System Solution

Central to the team were the project managers – installation contractor Jon Carey, responsible for masterminding most of the company’s fit-outs, and freelance sound designer Ed Manwaring, working alongside the Sound Division team.

The company has produced an intelligent four-zone system based around a JBL/BSS Soundweb solution. This ensures that the hard disc-generated background sound is distributed evenly throughout the main lanes and diner, the private bowling lounge, the reception area, and the sophisticated cocktail bar.

JBL Control 29AV speakers reproduce the mid high frequencies above each of the four main lanes, boosted by a single JBL AL6125 2x15in sub, with a pair of JBL Control 28 speakers at the rear of the room. In the small two-lane private hire room, there are a further five JBL Control 29AV speakers.

The diner forms part of the general concourse and local coverage is provided by eight JBL Control 25AV speakers. In the separate cocktail bar – forged into what was once heavily reinforced bank vaults – are six further Control 29AV speakers. Completing the array are Control 25AV speakers in the reception area, while Control 24C compact ceiling speakers deliver to the most important rooms in the house! The system is powered throughout by Crown XS and XLS Series amplification.

However, it’s the sophisticated signal processing and levels of controllability that really set this installation apart. Having produced the acoustic site documents (as well as the Soundweb DSP files) in Stardraw, Manwaring and Sound Division specified a line-configured BSS SW9088iiLL and SW9008 breakout device – providing them with eight extra outputs – and set up control stations via an 9010 ‘Jellyfish’ (main touch panel controller) with three 9011 ‘Shrimp’ wall plates (positioned in the private room, reception, and cocktail bars). All the other areas, including the toilets, are run off the ‘Jellyfish’.

But Sound Division also made the inspired decision to supply a BSS SW9016 video/audio matrix switcher to handle the additional mono and stereo inputs that are beyond the capacity of a single 9088, as well as the video switching from the DVD/VCR playback sources on the Jellyfish.

Featuring eight broadcast-quality composite video inputs, the SW9016 is capable of routing multiple video signals to several zones, all within the control of the Soundweb architecture. This will form the hub of All Star Lanes’ expanding video facility, when strategically placed monitors come into play.

Finally, for higher profile occasions, Sound Division has equipped a dedicated state-of-the-art DJ booth, positioned at the side of the main lanes, with a pair of Technics SL-1210MK5 turntables, Pioneer CDJ-1000 CD decks, an Allen & Heath XONE:62 mixer, and a powered EON G2 for DJ monitoring. They also made a provision for DJ plug-in points in the cocktail bar and private bowling alley.

Summing up, Ed Manwaring said, “Bowling lanes are normally hard reverberant surfaces, but thanks to the thick carpets and wall covering – plus the acoustic treatment already given to the cocktail – we had to do very little with the EQ, and the result is a great sound.”

The catering has been masterminded by celebrated bar consultant Henry Besant, who has created an authentic American drinking and dining experience – with the bar using a liquor product list that is almost entirely American, still a rarity in London.

As for the Diner, this will serve both the players at their lanes and the spectators with a simple and elegant menu of American brasserie dishes.

And so All Star Lanes looks set to revolutionise the bowling industry in Britain. With so much attention paid to the drinking and dining aspects – as part of the overall entertainment experience – the operating team envisages that the bar and restaurant will become destinations in their own right.

The Result

“They did a great job for us at Lonsdale and here they have met the acoustic challenges of the building head on,” declares Adam. “In the areas where we have been able to overcome these obstacles they have delivered an incredibly crisp and excellent quality sound. It is enabling us to run the music fairly loud with the confidence that it is still easy to make conversation.”

He added, “Sound Division provided an excellent team and we have formed a great relationship with the company. What was particularly impressive was the way in which they were able to compromise – and compensate – when we needed to downspec part of the system.”

For Sound Division Group managing director, David Graham, the experience has been a memorable one. “In view of our existing relationship with the Breedens, it was great not only to have been brought into the project right from initial conception, but to then discover that we would become integral to pioneering a completely new concept in upmarket bowling within a sophisticated environment.”