Best sound: Empire Stadium, Vancouver: Summer Sunday Concerts 1978 - 1982?
Worst: The Cars 1979 Pacific Coliseum, Vancouver. (found out later they said their sound was so bad because most people listened to their music on AM car radios and they wanted to recreate the effect...if you can believe that.)
Loudest: Thin Lizzy backing up Queen, Pacific Coliseum, Vancouver late 70's. (so loud couldn't hear the teacher the next day.)
Worst: The Cars 1979 Pacific Coliseum, Vancouver. (found out later they said their sound was so bad because most people listened to their music on AM car radios and they wanted to recreate the effect...if you can believe that.)
Loudest: Thin Lizzy backing up Queen, Pacific Coliseum, Vancouver late 70's. (so loud couldn't hear the teacher the next day.)
I went to see Status Quo in Glasgow in 1977 before the sound limiting laws came in.
Despite being stood behind a stone column I couldnt hear for 3 days afterwards.
That was possible the thursday when the enviro health were setting up the limits,it was turbos first outing and tony was rather eager to see how loud it could go outdoors.i will always rember him in his pink trousers dancing around the foh tower when the enviromental chaps let them take it up to 11 for a few minutes, happy days
And to all those who think bands use walls of real amps
Attachments
Video on the Wall of Sound that J Curl was involved with designing (not mentioned in the this vid)
The Grateful Dead's - 'Wall Of Sound' - YouTube
The Grateful Dead's - 'Wall Of Sound' - YouTube
Same tour, at Chicago Soldiers' Field, used many racks of Crown K2 switching amps. No fans. But they brought some large LP gas flame effects the Chicago fire dept. would not allow them to use near the stage and audience. I was 5th row.
Yeah I still can't get over the fact they did the whole thing, all instrument amps and all PA, with McIntosh power amps. You'll never see that again.
This is the million dollar question
It all depends where you are located with in the venue, you mite have heard the best sound you have ever heard, and then, you locate to another location within the venue, and the sound has changed due to off a number of factors.
with my experience's, to listen and witness the best sound possible in a enclosed venue, is to locate around the live sound engineer.
What are your experiences to hear the best sound possible, as a punter within a enclosed venue??
It all depends where you are located with in the venue, you mite have heard the best sound you have ever heard, and then, you locate to another location within the venue, and the sound has changed due to off a number of factors.
with my experience's, to listen and witness the best sound possible in a enclosed venue, is to locate around the live sound engineer.
What are your experiences to hear the best sound possible, as a punter within a enclosed venue??
ultrasound rules!
i've seen many big acts in a number of venues and NO ONE from the mid seventies till 95- could even come close to the live sound of the grateful dead. they invented it. the wall of sound was the lab and after the claire brothers rigs, which were quite nice, as i remember square cabs with 2- 15" and some jbl 10" (?) don't recall what the hf was. but those were sweet in the hands of dan healy. quantum leap with john meyers speakers and don pearson and ultra sound.
i went to many dead shows for the MUSIC first and SOUND a close second. for three hours i could stand and watch my favorite band with the worlds best stereo system. make no mistake - it was high fildelity.
check out: ftp--gdead.berkely.edu-pub-gdead-interviews-absolute
very informative and fascinating interviews with dan healy.
i also surfed through the venue to find the audio sweet spots. with healy and company- there were many. i also invariably wound up near the board- ususally in an altered state and peppered healey with questons and "cosmic" comments.
those were the days!!!
peace - tom
i've seen many big acts in a number of venues and NO ONE from the mid seventies till 95- could even come close to the live sound of the grateful dead. they invented it. the wall of sound was the lab and after the claire brothers rigs, which were quite nice, as i remember square cabs with 2- 15" and some jbl 10" (?) don't recall what the hf was. but those were sweet in the hands of dan healy. quantum leap with john meyers speakers and don pearson and ultra sound.
i went to many dead shows for the MUSIC first and SOUND a close second. for three hours i could stand and watch my favorite band with the worlds best stereo system. make no mistake - it was high fildelity.
check out: ftp--gdead.berkely.edu-pub-gdead-interviews-absolute
very informative and fascinating interviews with dan healy.
i also surfed through the venue to find the audio sweet spots. with healy and company- there were many. i also invariably wound up near the board- ususally in an altered state and peppered healey with questons and "cosmic" comments.
those were the days!!!
peace - tom
Finally a topic on here that isn't over my head, a rarity! I work in the business as a touring audio engineer and its very interesting hearing everyone's comments. First, you guys are spot on that the "wall of sound" was wildly ahead of its time. They really nailed it, and unfortunately the point-source boxes of the 80's and 90's were a huge step backward. It wasn't until the rise of present-day line array technology that fidelity really began to move forward.
Today, there are many great PA's out there, but of course always dependent on the implementation. The Meyer systems, L'Acoustics, and JBL Vertec are all very respectable, but for my money absolutely nothing comes close to d&b Audiotechnik. Whether PA or stage monitors, they make the best products in the world today, and 2nd place doesn't even come close. But I have to say again, that even the best PA can be absolutely ruined by a system tech who doesn't shoot the room (calibrating the array for room layout) and time align properly. These are not easy tasks and a good system engineer is sometimes harder to find than a good mix engineer. One factor that helps set d&b apart is that they are always used with d&b amps, making crossover settings etc kind of a no-brainer. One still has to calculate the hang, but they are a bit more idiot-proof than say JBL Vertec which can be implemented with nearly any amp or crossover that a company chooses to use. We touring engineers have often experienced the sensation of walking in and seeing Vertec and thinking "great!" until you find out its being powered by QSC amps 4 boxes to a zone with some idiot's home-brewed crossover settings!
One other note, very very few bands actually own a PA, its not really cost effective. Most of us maintain relationships with vendors and take(rent) a PA on the road on a tour-by-tour basis. Other tours are "racks and stacks" meaning the PA and amps are provided locally while the band brings "control" meaning mixing desks, etc. And of course some bands just go for it with whatever the house owns. The band that I work for has a relationship with 8th Day Sound for example and on some tours we bring PA, other times we take only control, and last week in Japan we took nothing but mics and cables! It all depends on budget and logistics, and only the truly mega acts can have it all, all the time.My point is that, its not really enough to say "what band has the best PA", it doesn't work like it did with the Dead anymore. Today the more relevant question would be "what band has the best engineer" or "what band has the most consistent good sound"?
Today, there are many great PA's out there, but of course always dependent on the implementation. The Meyer systems, L'Acoustics, and JBL Vertec are all very respectable, but for my money absolutely nothing comes close to d&b Audiotechnik. Whether PA or stage monitors, they make the best products in the world today, and 2nd place doesn't even come close. But I have to say again, that even the best PA can be absolutely ruined by a system tech who doesn't shoot the room (calibrating the array for room layout) and time align properly. These are not easy tasks and a good system engineer is sometimes harder to find than a good mix engineer. One factor that helps set d&b apart is that they are always used with d&b amps, making crossover settings etc kind of a no-brainer. One still has to calculate the hang, but they are a bit more idiot-proof than say JBL Vertec which can be implemented with nearly any amp or crossover that a company chooses to use. We touring engineers have often experienced the sensation of walking in and seeing Vertec and thinking "great!" until you find out its being powered by QSC amps 4 boxes to a zone with some idiot's home-brewed crossover settings!
One other note, very very few bands actually own a PA, its not really cost effective. Most of us maintain relationships with vendors and take(rent) a PA on the road on a tour-by-tour basis. Other tours are "racks and stacks" meaning the PA and amps are provided locally while the band brings "control" meaning mixing desks, etc. And of course some bands just go for it with whatever the house owns. The band that I work for has a relationship with 8th Day Sound for example and on some tours we bring PA, other times we take only control, and last week in Japan we took nothing but mics and cables! It all depends on budget and logistics, and only the truly mega acts can have it all, all the time.My point is that, its not really enough to say "what band has the best PA", it doesn't work like it did with the Dead anymore. Today the more relevant question would be "what band has the best engineer" or "what band has the most consistent good sound"?
Roger Waters..The Wall 2010..Made the Honda Center sound like the Hollywood Bowl
30th Anniversary of Dark Side of the Moon 2006..Made the Hollywood Bowl sound like a recording studio
Roger Waters..In the Flesh Tour 2000. Irvine Meadows Ampitheater. (Shed)
Pink Floyd..Animals 1977...Made Anaheim Stadium sound like an acoustically balanced shed.
All 4 shows were quad systems
Dave Matthews Band. DMB ALWAYS sounds incredible!
30th Anniversary of Dark Side of the Moon 2006..Made the Hollywood Bowl sound like a recording studio
Roger Waters..In the Flesh Tour 2000. Irvine Meadows Ampitheater. (Shed)
Pink Floyd..Animals 1977...Made Anaheim Stadium sound like an acoustically balanced shed.
All 4 shows were quad systems
Dave Matthews Band. DMB ALWAYS sounds incredible!
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