I'm pretty sure Elvis had a better system than that. That system looks pretty hideous.
What is the Ultimate system for a Deadhead? A True Time Machine to re-create a show?
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I'm pretty sure Elvis had a better system than that. That system looks pretty hideous.
Not much. It had the same vibe. I'm sure there's a picture somewhere. His room was down in the basement of the main house at Graceland, it was pretty tacky and had those same cut outs in a cheesy plywood painted wall; i can't remember the gear, it was surprisingly mediocre. I did dig the old CRT style televisions he had mounted into the wall in the same way.
Remember that pic of Frank Sinatra's system? It killed Elvis'.
We could do a blog called Retro Systems of the Formerly Rich and Famous. (But somebody out there in webworld probably already does that!).
All you need is a cassette player. That's what most deadheads would use to record their shows.
You are right; Frank had much more class than Elvis ever did and a much better system according to what you said about Elvis and his jungle room.
To be authentic to the "Wall of Sound" in a live show you need some vintage JBL and EV speakers. Lots of them!
Rob
That tour setup bankrupted the band. Wish I was old enough to tour during that era.
They were my era, and I always "heard" that someone else [Bill Graham of the Fillmore Auditorium] was bankrolling that setup. He was the Promoter of many of their monster concerts, therefore he would pay & share in the profits.
Also, supposedly many of the upper components in the wall of sound were actually empty.
The info. is from my old brain, but it is to the best of my historical knowledge.
I have some of the old JBL & EV components that are the same type used in Grateful Dead & Led Zepplin stage setups.
My brain just popped something out. Their financial problems were caused by "Recording Contracts" with the major corporations. This has been the problem with many [most] - "Rolling Stones" were totally ROBBED for a long period of time. Get It In Writing - but read it & think - and do NOT count on your lawyers reading it thoroughly & properly.
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The Wall of Sound was very expensive to keep and use, but it's true it isn't what caused their biggest financial problems. The major contributor was Lenny Hart running off with over $100,000 in late 1970 / early 1971, and then problems trying to run their own record company (including distribution!) in '73-'74.
The only time some of the speakers didn't work was actually pre-Wall, at Stanford Univ. on 2/9/73 when the whole tweeter array blew in the first few seconds. That concert was the debut of a new sound system, but the official debut of the Wall was over a year later at the Cow Palace 3/23/74. When the Dead played the Boston Music Hall in late 1973, they were forced to deploy their then current system more vertically than usual because the stage was so narrow. This resulted in a near-line source, and Owsley liked the way it sounded so much that he and Ron Wickersham (an early friend and associate of John Curl) used it as the basis to design and build the Wall of Sound (actually 2 identical systems that leapfrogged around the country on tour).
The only time some of the speakers didn't work was actually pre-Wall, at Stanford Univ. on 2/9/73 when the whole tweeter array blew in the first few seconds. That concert was the debut of a new sound system, but the official debut of the Wall was over a year later at the Cow Palace 3/23/74. When the Dead played the Boston Music Hall in late 1973, they were forced to deploy their then current system more vertically than usual because the stage was so narrow. This resulted in a near-line source, and Owsley liked the way it sounded so much that he and Ron Wickersham (an early friend and associate of John Curl) used it as the basis to design and build the Wall of Sound (actually 2 identical systems that leapfrogged around the country on tour).
To be authentic to the "Wall of Sound" in a live show you need some vintage JBL and EV speakers. Lots of them!
Rob
Ummm, did you read post #9?
Hello rbbert
Yes but I figured it would be fun to post a photo of "The wall". I didn't think many would get what you meant. Saying the Wall of Sound just doesn't have the impact of seeing what they actually used. This day and age you would be hard pressed to find many of those vintage JBL's in the kind of shape you would want to use them in. JBL stopped supporting all of those cone drivers, no more cone kits, a couple years back unfortunately.
Rob
Yes but I figured it would be fun to post a photo of "The wall". I didn't think many would get what you meant. Saying the Wall of Sound just doesn't have the impact of seeing what they actually used. This day and age you would be hard pressed to find many of those vintage JBL's in the kind of shape you would want to use them in. JBL stopped supporting all of those cone drivers, no more cone kits, a couple years back unfortunately.
Rob
Right you are!Hello rbbert
Yes but I figured it would be fun to post a photo of "The wall". I didn't think many would get what you meant. Saying the Wall of Sound just doesn't have the impact of seeing what they actually used. This day and age you would be hard pressed to find many of those vintage JBL's in the kind of shape you would want to use them in. JBL stopped supporting all of those cone drivers, no more cone kits, a couple years back unfortunately.
Rob
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