Our Project – Salts Bar
In late 2025, we noticed that Salts Bar in Sowerby Bridge, which had been vacant for some time, had been purchased and was set to reopen again as a hospitality venue.
Over the years, the canal-side site has gone through several iterations, with varying levels of success. Amongst its many evolutions the venue has previously operated under the names ‘Warehouse 12:04’, ‘Cobblestones’, ‘Alexanders’ and ‘Artemis’ to name just a few.
For each of these mentioned, The Music Business designed and installed the sound system, so we know the premises well! The latest venture adopted the name Salts Bar as a tribute to the building’s history as a salt warehouse.
Salts Bar long before it became known by this name.
We reached out to the new owners to offer support with the design and installation of a new sound system. Because we already knew the building well, we were confident we could propose an effective solution quickly that aligned with their planned reopening timescales.
After an initial discussion with the owners, we were able to: agree the requirements and priorities for the venue, begin the sound system design immediately and therefore provide a quote as soon as possible.
Salts Bar week of 08.12.2025 just before its opening 12.12.2025.
Our plan for the installation across the two floors was as follows:
- Speakers – Ten Bose Professional FS4SE loudspeakers (Four on the ground floor and Six on the first floor).
- Mixer/zoner – Cloud Z4.
- Amplifier – Cloud CA4250.
- Local control – Two Cloud RSL-6 remote volume and source-selector panels (one behind the bar on each floor).
- Sources/inputs – internet-streamed music player, plus provision for a DJ input socket on the first floor raised platform.
With the owners happy to proceed, we moved to installation straight away. Within two weeks, we started the first-fix cabling.
As the venue was being fully refurbished at the same time, we coordinated closely with the other trades. This allowed us to run cables whilst both upstairs and downstairs bar areas were being built, which kept wiring routes as discreet as possible, with cabling hidden wherever possible.
Once all cabling and preparation work was complete and any refurbishment tasks that could obstruct the speaker locations had been finished, we carried out the next step in the installation. The ten loudspeakers along with the Cloud Z4, CA4250 and the two RSL-6’s were fitted.
The mixer and amplifier were installed out of sight and away from areas likely to be affected by further building works. The FS4SE loudspeakers, however, were positioned within the refurbished areas. So we protected them to prevent accidental damage while work continued on-site, in this case using clean and empty polythene bags which we, of course, removed prior to the opening date.
After extensive renovations and the hard work of the new owners and everyone involved, Salts Bar Sowerby Bridge opened on 12 December 2025, just two weeks before Christmas, with strong support from the local community.
Our installation at Salts Bar now also includes a Panasonic PT-VMZ51SEJ LCD projector (5200 lumens) with a ceiling mount, together with a digital terrestrial TV receiver.
To provide maximum flexibility, the projector’s audio was connected to the venue’s sound system via a dedicated input, allowing seamless integration.
With the installation completed quickly, Salts Bar was fully prepared to welcome patrons for key sporting occasions, including the Six Nations Championship and the Cheltenham Festival.