Grateful Dead's massive "Wall of Sound" Did anyone here ever hear this at a early concert?

Never heard the wall, woulda been cool.

McIntosh amplifiers supplied the power.

Would have given anything to be there for a head full of sid and 4 hour GD concert

I know the background of it but wasn’t it completely illogical from a touring standpoint? I always forget why they stopped doing it. Regardless, I appreciate the effort that tDead put into creating a great live show based on the music production.

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I know the background of it but wasn’t it completely illogical from a touring standpoint? I always forget why they stopped doing it. Regardless, I appreciate the effort that tDead put into creating a great live show based on the music production.

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It cost too much to operate. They had multiple scaffolding and would set up one set at the next show.

28,000 watts. PA and monitors simultaneously.

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28,000 watts. PA and monitors simultaneously.

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There were no separate “monitors”, each band member had their own individual sound system, and there was no mixing board, each band member controled their own sound level. It was a fundamental goal in the design that the band heard the same sound as the audience. One major problem created by this was the requirement to have the wall of speakers behind the band which placed it behind the vocal microphones creating a huge feedback problem. To attempt to eliminate the feedback each vocalist had two microphones mounted about 6 inches apart, and wired 180 degrees out of phase. The theory being that they would sing into only one of the mics, any sound that was picked up by both mics would be canceled out. It sort of worked, but severely degraded the sound quality of the vocals, and was a key reason for the demise of the wall concept.

also if you want a visual, watch the “Grateful Dead Movie” filmed at the last shows of 1974. It’s on amazon prime if you have it

welcome
there is room on the bus for all