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The Untold Story of the Grateful Dead's Short-Lived Wall of Sound

70 points by braythwayt 8y ago

jefflombardjr 8y ago
They had to solve some pretty cool technical challenges to build it - there is a cool Interview about the use of noise canceling mics in the grateful dead movie[0] Also, I don't think a lot of people are aware of the link between the Grateful Dead and the EFF. John Perry Barlow was a lyricist for the Dead and a founding member of the EFF.[1] I really really respect folks like Barlow who were bay area hippies that saw tech as a way to change the world for the better. RIP. [0] https://youtu.be/PODPgBaiFI4?t=202 https://youtu.be/PODPgBaiFI4?t=202 [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Perry_Barlow https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Perry_Barlow
z-cam 8y ago
There's a great video essay on this topic: https://youtu.be/r86Sb4heCWM https://youtu.be/r86Sb4heCWM
- Daneel_ 8y ago
  Came here looking to post the exact same thing. The channel (Polyphonic) is excellent - I'd highly recommend his other videos.
Jgrubb 8y ago
I admit I haven't read the article yet, but I have read an incredible amount on the wall of sound and I find it hard to believe there's anything remaining that qualifies as a fully untold story. I will report back after reading TFA.
- Jgrubb 8y ago
  Ok,couple tidbits that were new to me. I didn't know about all the tube amps they used, that probably sounded really nice when they started pushing things, especially on the low end. I didn't know how they solved the problem of a line array being behind the band WRT feedback on the vocals, that's worth the read alone. Most interesting takeaway for me was that the Wall time period basically overlapped w the period that they'd booted Mickey from the band. Those two things together - no wonder those are my favorite shows.
MichaelMoser123 8y ago
Wouldn't you get deaf if you put all the amps right behind yourself ?
- hluska 8y ago
  Yeah - a lot of high profile musicians end up with terrible hearing as they age.
  - MichaelMoser123 8y ago
    In the words of the classic: roll over Beethoven (he used to be deaf for a decade of his live)
  - Applejinx 8y ago
    Bear in mind that for many of those guys, notably Townsend, what killed their ears was not stage volume but abuse of headphones in the recording studio. If you're wearing headphones to record and they don't isolate very well and you're in a live room with drums and stuff around you, the bleed from the live sound seriously interferes with your ability to keep track of what's going on. If you choose to turn the headphones up until they drown out the bleed, you're effectively doubling sound pressure levels and that's what will make you deaf. Effectively, you add to the bad-sounding but still loud bleed, another layer of distorted cranked-out audio from tiny speakers right against your ears. The Wall Of Sound was line arrays. If you stand right next to those, you hear only a tiny fraction of the loudness of the full system. Much of the wattage is literally firing over your head or at your feet. If you've not experienced line arrays, this is counterintuitive, but it's very true. There's nothing that can even out 'distant volume' against 'close-up volume' like a line array.
    - MichaelMoser123 8y ago
      very interesting, thanks!
- _greim_ 8y ago
  Yes. If you're a musician or attend lots of live shows, consider visiting an audiologist and investing in some custom-formed earplugs. You'll be able to hear clearly and comfortably without destroying your hearing over time.
deleted 8y ago
[deleted]
Projectiboga 8y ago
The Grateful Dead were always the clearest band throughout the 80s and 90s, they kept working on low distortion, even sound and sonic fidelity. 6 shows of their's in 7 or 8 days were less stressful on the ears than a single show by anyone else. Roger Waters, King Crimson 95 tour, Peter Gabriel 80s & 90s were the only bands I saw that approached the Dead's clarity while being gentle on the ears.
- gumby 8y ago
  > The Grateful Dead were always the clearest band throughout the 80s and 90s, they kept working on low distortion... I agree, but have to say that Marvin Minsky once walked into my office (where my office mate and I were frequently playing the Dead) and, as an aside, said, "I thought the idea was to minimize the distortion".
  - LowLevelHacker 8y ago
    Idiot.

70 points by braythwayt 8y ago

They had to solve some pretty cool technical challenges to build it - there is a cool Interview about the use of noise canceling mics in the grateful dead movie[0] Also, I don't think a lot of people are aware of the link between the Grateful Dead and the EFF. John Perry Barlow was a lyricist for the Dead and a founding member of the EFF.[1] I really really respect folks like Barlow who were bay area hippies that saw tech as a way to change the world for the better. RIP. [0] https://youtu.be/PODPgBaiFI4?t=202 https://youtu.be/PODPgBaiFI4?t=202 [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Perry_Barlow https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Perry_Barlow

z-cam 8y ago

There's a great video essay on this topic: https://youtu.be/r86Sb4heCWM https://youtu.be/r86Sb4heCWM

Daneel_ 8y ago
Came here looking to post the exact same thing. The channel (Polyphonic) is excellent - I'd highly recommend his other videos.

Jgrubb 8y ago

I admit I haven't read the article yet, but I have read an incredible amount on the wall of sound and I find it hard to believe there's anything remaining that qualifies as a fully untold story. I will report back after reading TFA.

Jgrubb 8y ago
Ok,couple tidbits that were new to me. I didn't know about all the tube amps they used, that probably sounded really nice when they started pushing things, especially on the low end. I didn't know how they solved the problem of a line array being behind the band WRT feedback on the vocals, that's worth the read alone. Most interesting takeaway for me was that the Wall time period basically overlapped w the period that they'd booted Mickey from the band. Those two things together - no wonder those are my favorite shows.

MichaelMoser123 8y ago

Wouldn't you get deaf if you put all the amps right behind yourself ?

hluska 8y ago
Yeah - a lot of high profile musicians end up with terrible hearing as they age.
- MichaelMoser123 8y ago
  In the words of the classic: roll over Beethoven (he used to be deaf for a decade of his live)
- Applejinx 8y ago
  Bear in mind that for many of those guys, notably Townsend, what killed their ears was not stage volume but abuse of headphones in the recording studio. If you're wearing headphones to record and they don't isolate very well and you're in a live room with drums and stuff around you, the bleed from the live sound seriously interferes with your ability to keep track of what's going on. If you choose to turn the headphones up until they drown out the bleed, you're effectively doubling sound pressure levels and that's what will make you deaf. Effectively, you add to the bad-sounding but still loud bleed, another layer of distorted cranked-out audio from tiny speakers right against your ears. The Wall Of Sound was line arrays. If you stand right next to those, you hear only a tiny fraction of the loudness of the full system. Much of the wattage is literally firing over your head or at your feet. If you've not experienced line arrays, this is counterintuitive, but it's very true. There's nothing that can even out 'distant volume' against 'close-up volume' like a line array.
  - MichaelMoser123 8y ago
    very interesting, thanks!
_greim_ 8y ago
Yes. If you're a musician or attend lots of live shows, consider visiting an audiologist and investing in some custom-formed earplugs. You'll be able to hear clearly and comfortably without destroying your hearing over time.

deleted 8y ago

[deleted]

Projectiboga 8y ago

The Grateful Dead were always the clearest band throughout the 80s and 90s, they kept working on low distortion, even sound and sonic fidelity. 6 shows of their's in 7 or 8 days were less stressful on the ears than a single show by anyone else. Roger Waters, King Crimson 95 tour, Peter Gabriel 80s & 90s were the only bands I saw that approached the Dead's clarity while being gentle on the ears.

gumby 8y ago
> The Grateful Dead were always the clearest band throughout the 80s and 90s, they kept working on low distortion... I agree, but have to say that Marvin Minsky once walked into my office (where my office mate and I were frequently playing the Dead) and, as an aside, said, "I thought the idea was to minimize the distortion".
- LowLevelHacker 8y ago
  Idiot.