Why not columns for clubs?

[Rockbobmel]

Traynor Amps: Vintage Traynor

I saw some of these recently and it made me scratch my head.. Why not? I bet they sound decent for vocal reinforcement.....

 

[dhsierra1]

early line arrays. Which are de rigeur for large venues for some time now. No idea how that Traynor sounds, though. Check out the BFM website as he has a small line array column that looks pretty cool.

 

[Mugre]

I'm 54 and I was there for vocal columns. Your average 12 or 15 and a horn on a stick has better and more sound.

The idea (line array) behind those columns was correct but the understanding, and speaker technology was not yet available to make it ready for big time. 2x15's, horn loading and point source arrays had to be explored until enough understanding and technology was developed in the eighties/nineties to make line arrays the dominant technology as it is today.

 

[MNAirHead]

I've owned stuff like that...

PA gear has come light years since then

Plus it has a funky geezer vibe.

I did see a 60s band in NYC that used all period gear... Shure vocalmasters etc... they sounded.. period correct lofi.

 

[seamonkey]

They're called "Small Line arrays" now

Bose seems to be the biggest seller, but I don't know why.

There are other options. The concept works.

 

[steveksux]

Ah, I used to play through Shure Vocal Disaster columns.... lol
That was the Shiznit back in 77.

Randy

 

[T-Bird]

Hi.

I have several old tube PA heads, and I've used 'em through some old "PA" cabs as well.

FOR VOCALS!!!

I haven't, and won't put bass, drums, keys, etc. through 'em.

I'd say those cabs still perform adequately compared with modern enclosures in the same price range.

Regards
Sam

 

[bleepo]

An old singer has a pair of those. I imagine they were passable in the decade they were released. These days, not so much.

My gigging pa was a touch overkill for rehearsal and he kept pushing those on us. Awful! It seemed like they only produced 1.5k. We tried using them as monitors too, the guitar player even built angled stands for them. We used them for one show, never again.

I'd say those cabs still perform adequately compared with modern enclosures in the same price range.

What do you figure they cost in 1965? $40?

 

[T-Bird]

Hi.

My gigging pa was a touch overkill for rehearsal and he kept pushing those on us. Awful! It seemed like they only produced 1.5k. We tried using them as monitors too, the guitar player even built angled stands for them. We used them for one show, never again.

Frozen cones or replaced speakers most likely.

The anodizing on those old motors is less than adequate, and even though the gap is a Grand Canyon compared with most of the drivers today, it'll rust shut if stored in damp environment.

What do you figure they cost in 1965? $40?

Probably very close, that'd be ~$280 today.

I vaguely remember seeing a price list of a pair of Marshall 410 columns being a hair over £100 in late 60's.

I was talking about their used prices compared with new crappies though .


I'm not saying those old columns or any other consumer PA stuff of days gone by are bass monsters by todays standards, but when in good working order, I'd still make a claim that they smoke any budget "PA" stuff circling around today. IME anyway.

Regards
Sam

 

[c2thej2theizzo]

This design was used alot on stages as side fill for dancers and broadway shows and stuff like that cause they are easy to hide behind a curtain and slim and less noticeable. Most of the old ones I've heard sound like tin cans (1.5k range only) If its the thin look and tall spread that you want look at these:

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I own em and use em alot for floor monitors, they have a much wider dispersion than most single 12 and 15 stage monitors. Two of em across a medium stage work pretty good. Good if you have singers walking back and forth on stage. Also low profile, crowd can see right over em.
Also make great tops. for mains or side fill. And if you position it right on a mic, as a monitor the two 10's aim right into each ear, making it seem alot louder than it is.- almost like having 2 12 wedges. I've even used these the tall way for drum monitor in tight spaces usually when the drummer is in a corner. I own alot of yorkville stuff and these are my most versatile speaker.

 

[bleepo]

i'm also a yorkville fan, running all elite series speakers for foh. (jbl on monitor duty)

My post was partly tongue in cheek. As far as the drivers, I believe they were original, but you're right, who knows how many years they lived in a barn.

 

[Keithwah]

The old traynor columns, the Vocal Masters, the Kustom Tuck and Rolls..man those were some dopey things to haul around. The acoustical center of the box was at about the center of the cabinet and it only had a horizontal dispersion of around 35-40 degrees with a horizontal of about 110-120 degrees. As you would think, the bandwidth capability was very limited in them, maybe effective from 200-8,000K. So for vocal or speech reproduction they were fine, but you had to get the center of the columns at about 6-7 feet off the ground to get your vocals to the back of the room in the direct field. So for the little piano trio or acoustic guitar group playing small rooms, they'd actually still work OK. When Peavey put in piezos and I want to say Altec came out with a set that actually had a CD horn in a model or two, they actually had some more clarity. But I'd try putting them with a slightly more modern PA head.