Quote:
Originally Posted by US Blues
Dan, you've hit on a topic that is close to my heart! The WOS ran at 26.4 KW's, Ivan's Room is a few KW's short of equalling the Wall. The tweeters were made by Electrovoice, all the cone speakers were JBL's.
A few bits of audiophile related and other trivia:
1- John Curl was an engineer for the Wall, he designed a special preamp for the vocal microphones (using B & K capsules) used in the system.
2- Curl hired a brash young engineer named Mark Levinson to build the mic preamps.
3- Levinson used to sell his early gear by setting up his amps driving JBL speakers stacked up as they were in the Wall.
4- The Wall was so heavy that it required a specially designed stage to hold all the weight. There were two stages constructed, so that one was in use and the other was being set up at the next venue on tour. The stages leap-frogged one another around the country.
5- People I have spoken to who experienced the Wall in person said it was utterly amazing. One fellow told me that he did not realize how loud it was until he tried to have a conversation with the person next to him- clean sound!
6- There is nothing like a Grateful Dead concert. And sadly, there never will be again. 
7- The WOS is why I own McIntosh gear. Until his departure Jerry Garcia's on-stage guitar amp was an MC2300.  |
Great history and info guys!
I have always liked my Curl Halo amps, but there latest models seem somewhat cutback.
Was not John also involved with the THX stuff and the Mobile Sound 1/2 speed albums too?
I saw Kenny G one of several times at the Universal Amp Theater and they had MC gear, I no I was looking down on it. This was pre-digital cameras and cell days.
Great stuff, funny yet neat to look back.
Are there any really decent books that talk about all the names from the hey day like Bob Carver, all the companies, devorces etc he had, the Altec and more JBL history etc....