Grateful Dead - Wall of Sound

[Bob C]

I think it was Garcia playing lapsteel on Crosby, Pills & Hash's "Teach your Children".

I thought that song was by Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young.

 

[PWV]

In many ways this is actually MORE impressive than the Deads set up!!! How on earth were you able to build a mini version of the wall yourselves? Any and all details PLEASE!!!??

+1 !!!

@Mike Dunbar: Do you have any more pics? That is amazing.

 

[mongo2]

I saw them with several configurations of The Wall.

 

[Bassman822]

What ever became of the McIntosh Mc3500 amps?

 

[Passinwind]

I was at 7/16/72 Dillon Stadium, Dead and Allman Bros. Unreal to say the least.

Yep I was there, and in NY the next night for the ABB show where half the Dead jammed with them.

 

[2milehighspike]

Not so much Vince, eh? Loved Vince in the Tubes. Unbelievable how unlucky their keyboardists have been with keeping alive. Good thing Bruce Hornsby never officially joined them.

I was in berlin for the shows right after the wall came down absolute magic, "the first days are the hardest days dont you worry any more" vince and bruce were magic!

 

[robgrow]

I saw the Dead twice back in the early 70's: Once at a large theater where they were using a horn-loaded sound system. The next time I saw them was in a large arena with the fabled Wall of Sound. I never heard anyone else sound good in that arena, and the Dead with the WoS was no exception. It was very impressive to see though.

 

[bassfreakah]

This is so cool!!! what great reading. Our guitar player playes with a hardtrucker two twelve cab. sounds great and looks phat!!!!

 

[xray]

Yep I was there, and in NY the next night for the ABB show where half the Dead jammed with them.

I grew up in Louisville and was a little too young when these shows took place, plus I don't believe they came that close to KT unless I was just to naive to notice. But after reading the posts you've definitely seen some epic shows. I love the ABB!!

 

[LiquidMidnight]

This is a very cool thread. The WOS looks awesome, but man, having the FOH behind you has to play hell on your hearing. Well, at least you don't need monitors. *lol*

I was never a huge Dead fan, but I always thought Garcia was a criminally underrated songwriter. I'm listening to some of their studio recordings on Youtube right now. I don't know if these tracks have been remastered, but damn, the sound quality is amazing considering when they were recorded.

 

[Blue]

... the sound quality is amazing considering when they were recorded.

... they often sounded amazing live too. Consider their gems were recorded live: Live Dead (1969), Skull & Roses (1971?), and Europe '72 (guess) ... it is quite the feat. Their playing was erratic - but not the sound. I rarely heard them out of tune - and this was before electronic tuners, and they drums were ALWAYS incredible (from a tone perspective).

All IMhO and YMMV, of course.

btw - I "learned" to walk-the venue during the live performance by watching one of their FoH guys do that: Circle the venue slowly (listening), then go back to the the board to report. Circle the venue again, go back to the the board again.

 

[popgadget]

Phil swings like a mofo, but it's a bit more of a sophisticated palette, which is why so many meat & taters "P-bass and root-note-on-the-one" guys get tweaked by it.

His use of off-accents, unexpected octave shifts, non-root notes and contrapuntal arpeggios in unexpected places make for an awesome ride. And, lest we forget, he comes from a far more experimental, far less reactionary era, so what he was doing reflected a rigorous, personal artistic approach and search in a time that was all about that, and which got slowly but efficiently slapped out of this culture.

Keep in mind he never played bass before he joined the Dead. He was a trumpet player and composer. Gerry said that he would teach him about the instrument, that Phil's understanding of WHAT to play was far more important than actually knowing HOW to play it.

 

[popgadget]

What ever became of the McIntosh Mc3500 amps?

Actually, I think that amps in the picture were Mc2300's, as they have two meters on the front. The 3500 was a mono tube amp of 350 watts. The 2300 was solid state and 300 watts per channel.

 

[Brondle]

Yep I was there, and in NY the next night for the ABB show where half the Dead jammed with them.

That Dillon Stadium show was my first. Quite memorable to say the least. Saw everything from topless ladies dancing around being sprayed with water hoses from the stage to riding home on the Merritt Parkway sitting on the open tail gait of a Chevy Kingswood Estate station wagon. I doubt you could get away with that in this day and age. Fun times.

 

[CDweller]

Two things I need when listening to the Dead:

I have to be in the mood.

It has to be a live recording, and they have to be "on".

So I guess that's three things. When these factors come together, it's a mighty tasty gumbo.

I'm so tempted to look into that Hard Truckers 2x15... couple of K140s installed to season...

 

[RickC]

I'm so tempted to look into that Hard Truckers 2x15... couple of K140s installed to season...

ouch, my back...

 

[KJung]

+1 !!!

@Mike Dunbar: Do you have any more pics? That is amazing.

For the first time in 6 years and thousands of posts on this site, I am 'speechless' regarding that 'mini Wall of Sound'.

I felt like a big dog carrying around a couple of 15's loaded with K145's or whatever they were, and an Alembic pre and power amp back in the day. I am simply amazed by that picture, and the idea of, in any way, replicating the Wall of Sound.

 

[MrBEAR]

Ditto on Mike Dunbar's Micro Wall Of Sound.

No comment at all....... maybe questions like what pre-amps, what was powering it all... and are they all Bag Ends or DIY's?

 

[millsbass5]

Man,the "Wall of Sound" definitely personified the 70'-80's band scene. Back when it was,"The more,the better."
Man,now I know how hippies felt in the 80's when I was growing up.

 

[BurningSkies]

Man,the "Wall of Sound" definitely personified the 70'-80's band scene. Back when it was,"The more,the better."
Man,now I know how hippies felt in the 80's when I was growing up.

But that it was quite different and unique for its time. Line arrayed, each player with his own dedicated amps and speakers and a fairly sophisticated mic/amp setup...