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Tateside installs 1 Sound audio system at London’s “12th Knot” rooftop bar

When the time came to upgrade its audio system, “12th Knot”, a rooftop cocktail bar at the riverside Sea Containers Hotel on London’s South Bank, turned to its technology partner Tateside, who already provides managed AV services across various areas in the hotel.

“We’ve worked on projects throughout the Sea Containers hotel for a long time, including the cinema, background audio systems and the event space”, says Jack Cornish, technical director at Tateside. “When it came time to upgrade the ‘12th Knot’ bar, they trusted us to deliver something special.”

The existing audio system at “12th Knot” was no longer meeting the evolving needs of the space. Over time, its coverage had become inconsistent, with components frequently being moved to accommodate different events, ultimately detracting from the overall aesthetics of the venue. The client approached Tateside with a clear goal: to modernise the system, improve coverage across the entire bar and make the setup more discreet and better integrated with the surroundings.

Tateside designed a new sound system from the ground up based around 1 Sound loudspeakers. In the interior bar area, the team installed twelve 1 Sound C8i coaxial 8-inch and two C4i 4-inch loudspeakers. For the low-end, six 10-inch Sub310s, also from 1 Sound, are flown out of immediate sight lines. Tateside commissioned bespoke metalwork to secure this new loudspeaker system. Two additional 1 Sound C8i loudspeakers for monitoring are installed in the DJ booth, which plays host to DJ sessions every weekend.

The previous installation had placed all amplification and processing equipment in a storeroom, which led to overheating issues. To solve this, Tateside undertook a complete cabling rerouting, running all cabling to a nearby communications room, alongside a full backend overhaul. This included the installation of a Q-Sys Core processor for signal processing and audio networking on a Dante network, alongside Powersoft Unica amplifiers, which provide scalable amplification to drive the new audio system.

A Netgear managed switch takes care of advanced signal management. Day-to-day system control is via a wall-mounted QSC touchscreen controller and simplified Pragma Someo PoE wall controllers, giving “12th Knot” staff accessible control of source selection and music volume.

The installation faced several logistical challenges, particularly around working hours and preserving the bar’s daily operations. Every day, ceiling panels had to be removed in the morning to access cabling routes and loudspeaker locations, with everything needing to be put back into place by late afternoon so that the venue could open as usual in the evening. This extended the project timeline significantly. Furthermore, throughout the project, parts of the old AV system needed to remain operational in order to keep the venue functional.

(Photos: Tateside)

www.tateside.com

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