Ubiquitous Chip
Ubiquitous Chip Restaurant, Glasgow
The team at Lairds recently completed installing the music system into the vibrant West-End restaurant, Ubiquitous Chip.
Ubiquitous Chip is one of the longest serving restaurants in Glasgow today. Ubiquitous Chip has been the place to visit for wine, whiskey and excellence in Scottish cuisine, in a fantastic setting, on Ashton Lane in Glasgow’s West End since 1971. Consequently, with two AA Rosettes and high praise from critics and customers alike, it was exciting working with them.
Ubiquitous Chip Project Our project began in the routine way with all the appropriate surveys of the restaurant completed so that we could proceed to our planning and design stage. However, as we worked, and walked around we couldn’t help but be enveloped by the vibrant and lush green plant life and natural light from the glass pane peaked ceiling. The restaurant is like a beautiful botanical garden. The natural light cascades down during the day over the entire mezzanine and it illuminates the bursting reds and oranges of the wine bottle caps in the rack by the ground floor bar.
These feelings of vitality, freshness and colour create a vibrant and inviting space. Above all, we wanted to build upon when we installed a music system in Ubiquitous Chip.
The Installation
We installed the award winning Sonance Mariner Series speakers, which we placed strategically and discreetly throughout the levels of the restaurant. Coming in sleek black or white design, these speakers blend perfectly into the interior and using the Precision Fastmount the speakers can turn 180 degrees while still being securely locked into place. The superior Sonance sound seeps through the restaurant like the sunlight coming through the glass paned ceiling. The Sonance speakers can work at high volumes without distortion which as a result, helps to create an atmosphere in the restaurant that is capable of matching the chatter and laughter of a jumping Saturday night service.
In other areas of Ubiquitous Chip, the Sonance Mariners flow seamlessly from room to room with no interruption, and they can still be set independently so that each facet of the restaurant has a unique sound that fits perfectly with the mood in that space. From Inside to Outside Those bold enough to drink in the hearty Glaswegian weather can opt to sit outside on the secluded, rooftop terrace. Ubiquitous Chip loves this space and has it open all year round, rain or shine. Thus, the Sonance Mariner series speakers will be out there too. This is because the speakers can withstand high humidity, salt spray, rain and temperatures between -25° to 65°C. These speakers will perform perfectly in outdoor conditions to keep the flow of the restaurant spill out of the building.
‘We have tested Sonance Mariners in one of the most extreme environments in Scotland. We subjected them daily to the elements on a beach front commercial property on the west coast and after every day that passes, they still sound like they were installed yesterday. So, they are our obvious choice for wall mounted speakers that will be required to operate in a challenging environment. At Ubiquitous Chip, they have a gorgeous garden house restaurant, under glass that gets the best and worst of the Scottish weather and humidity. Moreover, the roof terrace that will undoubtedly put these speakers to the test in the harsh Glasgow winters. However, we have every confidence they will perform as required for years to come.’ – Mark Laird, CEO and installer here at Lairds.
Ubiquitous Chip Now Easily Controlled
It’s easy to control the entire music system via a centralized system. We installed The MusicCast WXC-50 pre-amplifiers and incorporated this into the existing speakers system and then we installed the MusicCast WXA-50 amplifiers and the new Sonance Mariner speakers, improving and upgrading the whole music system. To control the entire system, this elegant and compact set up is easy to use. Moreover, it’s easy to tune each audio zone of the restaurant. Therefore, to create a collective atmosphere, each zone acts both as an individual zone and together.