History lesson

[graymc]

I happened to stumble on this really good write up on the history of the Who's PA systems:

http://www.thewho.net/whotabs/equipment/equip-pa.htm

[jerryskid]

If you're talking vintage P.A.'s you have to mention this one:

http://www.nii.net/~obie1/deadcd/wall_of_sound.htm

[Droolbucket]

Lots of cool info in those two links!
One of those little pieces of trivia that bounces through my otherwise empty brain concerns an article about the Dead's PA from some magazine or other....
One of the techs came up with the idea of automatic mutes for the Dead's vocal mics, to help clean up the mix out front. Since no one in the band grabbed a mic and walked around with it, he put grocery store entrance mats in front of all the vocal mics - the pressure sensitive kind that triggers the door to open. So, the vocal mics were muted UNTIL someone stepped on the mat, which unmuted that channel. They also put a footswitch by the mic stand that muted the mic through FOH, but not through the monitors... that way, the band members could communicate back and forth semi-privately.
I alway thought that was a nifty little tidbit of engineering.
Next, I gotta Google up info on the PA used at Woodstock!:lol:

Droolbucket

[eagan]

One of the most interesting things about that history of The Who's live setups was that it really shows how the change in the state of live sound between about 1970 and 1980 was just huge, gigantic, practically a different world.


JLE

[bunnerabb]

I remember all that.

When VOTs were the shit.. the kit you needed to compete.

Vocalmasters.
Home made 15"/2 bottoims with horns on top.
JBL bullets and diffraction lens tweeters.
Lensed horns for the first 20' off the apron.
Piezo banks.

I remember when the Acoustic 300 slaves made amp stacking possible for multiple boxes.

Crossovers were bricks of caps and resistors that lived in the cabinet.

Phase Linears changed a lot of shit. And those stupid heavy BGW's that weren't as good as the DC 300A but they were half the price.

I remember the first band I ever teched for had an 8 Ch. Heil desk.

I thought that was the coolest thing ever.

The first line of Soundcraft 16/2 desks in the little aluminum road cases. The desk was built into a case.

I did a lot of shows on that. I can't remember the serial number but it was pretty much one of the first batch out.

I remember the startling clarity you could get out of VOTs if you didn't push them.

Sunn Coliseum boxes for mains.

Monitors were usually Fender twin leaning back on the tilt struts and a splitter cable.

And you know?

Those days sucked.

Improvements in live have almost never been a tradeoff.

[AxeSlash]

Phase Linears changed a lot of shit. And those stupid heavy BGW's that weren't as good as the DC 300A but they were half the price.


BGW.

Big Gerbil Wheel.

We sold our last ones off recently (we're clearing out the graveyard) because you just can't get gerbil food that will make them push out 6000W RMS...

[burnsy]

Sad thing is I really enjoyed that read , one of the best history lessons Ive ever had in a long whilre.

Shame people never realise and appreciated the amount this technology has come on , they just expect it to be LOUD. Namely DJ's there.

time to relive the art of eating pizza though. :)

[Mr. dB]

The first line of Soundcraft 16/2 desks in the little aluminum road cases. The desk was built into a case.



That was Soundtracs, not Soundcraft.

Soundtracs = Digico now.

[bunnerabb]

That was Soundtracs, not Soundcraft.

Soundtracs = Digico now.

Nope. (http://www.soundcraft.com/images/about/series_1.jpg)

[Mr. dB]

Nope. (http://www.soundcraft.com/images/about/series_1.jpg)

Oh well, open mouth, insert foot.


The only Series 1s I ever mixed on were not equipped with built-in cases. I'm not OG enough to have mixed on one when they were current production though, in spite of my advanced age.

Toggle switches on a mixer are cute though.