Brisbane has welcomed a new bar to Fortitude Valley. Described as a “counter-culture whiskey lounge” Sabotage Social’s focus is on top quality drinks without the attitude that sometimes goes along with it.

About the venue:

The new whisky bar is situated on the corner of Gipps and Wickham Streets and boasts more than 50 brands of whisky for patrons to choose from as well as a colourful cocktail menu. A gourmet selection of pizzas and delicatessens served on skateboards is available to satisfy your hunger as well.

The lounging interior is funky and cosy, with small intimate areas for patrons to enjoy an alternative to Brisbane’s regular night scene. The decadent interior design features a wooden bar, exposed brick walls, black and white framed photographs of Brisbane’s past, a chandelier made from whisky bottles and comfortable leather couches. Meanwhile the exterior is semi open-air with exposed brick, stencil artwork, pot plants and a string of colourful lights.

About the audio:

The challenge was to design and install a sound system that was visually discrete but could still provide the necessary volume for night time trade.

The venue consists of fully exposed brick walls, tall windows, pressed metal ceilings and floor boards creating a very acoustically live environment. It was decided to use LG enclosures spaced evenly either side of the common wall to provide uniform sound coverage throughout the venue – LG04’s in the lounge, LG03’s outside and in the bar accompanied by LGB03 compact subwoofers. The LG enclosures provide stunning performance and clarity for their size and this makes them a far superior option in comparison to traditional larger cabinets.

Every LG enclosure inside the venue has a specialised 120 x 10 degree Iso-phasic aperture on the HF to provide pattern control and keep as much energy away from the ceiling area as possible. The 2 centre LG03 enclosures (in line with the bar) are tilted slightly downward so as to focus the sound in the near field and not to interfere with patrons trying to place their orders. The LGB03 compact subwoofers provide very warm bass reinforcement despite them being mounted high up on the walls.

There are 2 DJ / band input points located around the venue as well as an auxiliary connection at the bar for the house music. The whole system is amplified by 2 MK8175 8 channel power amplifiers controlled by a Symetrix Jupiter 8 DSP with an ARC2E wall panel controller.

The end result is an extremely versatile, simple yet capable sound system that sets a standard for highly discrete performance audio.

Equipment List – Inside

4 x Acoustic Technologies LG03 Loudspeaker Enclosures
4 x Acoustic Technologies LG04 Loudspeaker Enclosures
4 x Acoustic Technologies LGB03 Compact Sub Bass Enclosure

Equipment List – Outside

2 x Acoustic Technologies LG03E Loudspeaker Enclosures (Weather Treated)

Equipment List – Rack

2 x Acoustic Technologies MK8175 Multichannel Power Amplifiers
1 x Symetrix Jupitor 8 DSP