Wall of Sound ( Grateful Dead ) - wikipedia Wall of Sound ( Grateful Dead ) The Wall of Sound was an enormous public address system designed specifically for the Grateful Dead 's live performances in 1974. It was the brainchild of audio engineer Owsley `` Bear '' Stanley. The Wall of Sound fulfilled Owsley 's desire for a distortion - free sound system that could also serve as its own monitoring system. The Wall of Sound was the largest concert sound system built at that time. Contents 1 History 2 Technical challenges 3 Retirement 4 See also 5 References 6 External links History After Stanley got out of prison in late 1972, he, Dan Healy and Mark Raizene of the Grateful Dead 's sound crew, in collaboration with Ron Wickersham, Rick Turner, and John Curl of Alembic, combined six independent sound systems using eleven separate channels, in an effort to deliver high - quality sound to audiences. Vocals, lead guitar, rhythm guitar, and piano each had their own channel and set of speakers. Phil Lesh 's bass was piped through a quadraphonic encoder that sent signals from each of the four strings to a separate channel and set of speakers for each string. Another channel amplified the bass drum, and two more channels carried the snares, tom - toms, and cymbals. Because each speaker carried just one instrument or vocalist, the sound was exceptionally clear and free of intermodulation distortion. Several setups have been reported for The Wall of Sound : 89 300 - watt solid - state and three 350 - watt vacuum tube amplifiers generating a total of 26,400 watts of audio power. 604 speakers total. 586 JBL speakers and 54 Electrovoice tweeters powered by 48 McIntosh MC - 2300 Amps ( 48 × 600 = 28,800 watts of continuous ( RMS ) power ). This system projected high - quality playback at six hundred feet with an acceptable sound projected for a quarter mile, at which point wind interference degraded it. The Wall of Sound was the first large - scale line array used in modern sound reinforcement systems, although it was not called a line array at the time. The Wall of Sound was perhaps the second - largest non-permanent sound system ever built. The Wall of Sound can be seen in The Grateful Dead Movie, a documentation of the series of shows played October 16 -- 20, 1974 at the Winterland Ballroom. There were multiple sets of staging and scaffolding that toured with the Grateful Dead. In order to accommodate the time needed to set up and tear down the system, the band would perform with one set while another would `` leapfrog '' to the next show. According to band historian Dennis McNally, there were two sets of scaffolding. According to Stanley, there were three sets. Four semi-trailers and 21 crew members were required to haul and set up the 75 - ton Wall. Though the initial framework and a rudimentary form of the system was unveiled at Stanford University 's Roscoe Maples Pavilion on February 9, 1973 ( every tweeter blew as the band began their first number ), the Grateful Dead did not begin to tour with the full system until a year later. The completed Wall of Sound made its touring debut on March 23, 1974, at the Cow Palace in Daly City, California. A recording of the performance was released in 2002 as Dick 's Picks Volume 24. As Stanley described it, `` The Wall of Sound is the name some people gave to a super powerful, extremely accurate PA system that I designed and supervised the building of in 1973 for the Grateful Dead. It was a massive wall of speaker arrays set behind the musicians, which they themselves controlled without a front of house mixer. It did not need any delay towers to reach a distance of half a mile from the stage without degradation. '' Technical challenges The Wall of Sound acted as its own monitor system, and it was therefore assembled behind the band so the members could hear exactly what their audience was hearing. Because of this, Stanley and Alembic designed a special microphone system to prevent feedback. This placed matched pairs of condenser microphones spaced 60 mm apart and run out of phase. The vocalist sang into the top microphone, and the lower mic picked up whatever other sound was present in the stage environment. The signals were added together using a differential summing amp so that the sound common to both mics ( the sound from the Wall ) was canceled, and only the vocals were amplified. The Wall was very efficient for its day, but suffered from more drawbacks than its sheer size. Frequent guest keyboardist Ned Lagin ( best known for performing experimental interludes with various permutations of Lesh, Jerry Garcia and drummer Bill Kreutzmann throughout 1974 set breaks ) preferred to play through the powerful vocal subsystem ( considered to be `` the best part of the entire... PA '' ) ; however, the group 's sound crew often neglected to switch between his quadrophonic input and the vocal input during long sequences, resulting in few of his contributions being recorded. Additionally, as many as two channels of his input would still be lost in the mix when the system was working properly. The Wall 's quadraphonic format did not translate well to soundboard tapes made during the period, as the sound was compressed into an unnatural stereo format and suffered from a pronounced tinniness. Retirement The rising cost of fuel and personnel, as well as friction among many of the newer crew members and associated hangers - on, contributed to the band 's October 1974 `` retirement. '' The Wall of Sound was disassembled, and when the Dead began touring again in 1976, it was replaced with a more logistically practical sound system. See also Grateful Dead portal References Jump up ^ Long Strange Trip on IMDb. Jump up ^ Grushkin, Paul ( 2006 ). Rockin ' Down the Highway : The Cars and People that Made Rock Roll. Voyageur Press. p. 132. ISBN 978 - 0 - 7603 - 2292 - 5. Jump up ^ `` 1974 : Wall of Sound Technical Specs : The Grateful Dead 's Sound System ( Hollywood Bowl -- July 1974 ) ''. Grateful Dead Sources. December 23, 2012. Jump up ^ `` Grateful Dead and the Wall of Sound ''. Jump up ^ `` An Insider 's Look at the Grateful Dead 's Wall of Sound ''. Audio Junkies. October 29, 2007. Jump up ^ Michie, Chris ( March 1, 2001 ). `` Line Arrays ''. Mix. Retrieved December 31, 2011. Jump up ^ McNally, Dennis ( 2002 ). A Long Strange Trip : The Inside History of the Grateful Dead. New York : Broadway Books. p. 472. ISBN 0 - 7679 - 1185 - 7. The Wall of Sound required two stages, which leapfrogged each other, alternating shows, so that as one was being set up, the other was traveling to the next show. Jump up ^ Stanley, Owsley ( December 15, 2001 ). Liner notes for Dick 's Picks Volume 24, GDCD 4044. `` We had three complete staging rigs and crews. One was being torn down, one was being erected and one was in use at any given time during the tour. '' Jump up ^ Stanley, Owsley ( April 5, 2006 ). Description of the Wall of Sound, lowcarber.org. Retrieved December 31, 2011. Jump up ^ `` The Wall of Sound : The Grateful Dead Sound System '', dozin.com. Retrieved December 31, 2011. Jump up ^ http://nedbase.blogspot.com/ Jump up ^ http://nedbase.blogspot.com/ External links An Insider 's Look at the Grateful Dead 's Wall of Sound Photograph of the Wall of Sound 's JBL Professional speakers Grateful Dead Listening Guide The Grateful Dead & The Wall of Sound video Grateful Dead Tom Constanten Jerry Garcia Donna Jean Godchaux Keith Godchaux Mickey Hart Robert Hunter Bill Kreutzmann Phil Lesh Ron `` Pigpen '' McKernan Brent Mydland Bob Weir Vince Welnick Studio albums The Grateful Dead Anthem of the Sun Aoxomoxoa Workingman 's Dead American Beauty Wake of the Flood From the Mars Hotel Blues for Allah Terrapin Station Shakedown Street Go to Heaven In the Dark Built to Last Live albums Live / Dead Vintage Dead Historic Dead Grateful Dead Europe ' 72 History of the Grateful Dead, Volume One ( Bear 's Choice ) Steal Your Face Reckoning Dead Set Dylan & the Dead Without a Net One from the Vault Infrared Roses Two from the Vault Grayfolded Hundred Year Hall Dozin ' at the Knick Fallout from the Phil Zone Terrapin Station ( Limited Edition ) Live at the Fillmore East 2 - 11 - 69 Ladies and Gentlemen... the Grateful Dead Nightfall of Diamonds Postcards of the Hanging Steppin ' Out with the Grateful Dead : England ' 72 Go to Nassau Birth of the Dead The Closing of Winterland Rockin ' the Rhein with the Grateful Dead The Grateful Dead Movie Soundtrack Rare Cuts and Oddities 1966 Truckin ' Up to Buffalo Fillmore West 1969 : The Complete Recordings Fillmore West 1969 Live at the Cow Palace Three from the Vault Winterland 1973 : The Complete Recordings Rocking the Cradle : Egypt 1978 To Terrapin : Hartford ' 77 Winterland June 1977 : The Complete Recordings Crimson White & Indigo Formerly the Warlocks Europe ' 72 : The Complete Recordings Europe ' 72 Volume 2 Dark Star Spring 1990 Spring 1990 : So Glad You Made It Winterland : May 30th 1971 May 1977 Sunshine Daydream Family Dog at the Great Highway, San Francisco, CA 4 / 18 / 70 Live at Hampton Coliseum Spring 1990 ( The Other One ) Wake Up to Find Out Houston, Texas 11 - 18 - 1972 30 Trips Around the Sun : The Definitive Live Story 1965 -- 1995 30 Trips Around the Sun Shrine Exposition Hall, Los Angeles, CA 11 / 10 / 1967 Capitol Theatre, Passaic, NJ, 4 / 25 / 77 July 1978 : The Complete Recordings Red Rocks : 7 / 8 / 78 July 29 1966, P.N.E. Garden Aud., Vancouver Canada May 1977 : Get Shown the Light Cornell 5 / 8 / 77 Robert F. Kennedy Stadium, Washington, D.C., July 12 & 13, 1989 Fillmore West 1969 : February 27th Pacific Northwest ' 73 -- ' 74 : The Complete Recordings Pacific Northwest ' 73 -- ' 74 : Believe It If You Need It View from the Vault Dick 's Picks 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 Road Trips Vol 1 No 1 Vol 1 No 2 Vol 1 No 3 Vol 1 No 4 Vol 2 No 1 Vol 2 No 2 Vol 2 No 3 Vol 2 No 4 Vol 3 No 1 Vol 3 No 2 Vol 3 No 3 Vol 3 No 4 Vol 4 No 1 Vol 4 No 2 Vol 4 No 3 Vol 4 No 4 Vol 4 No 5 Dave 's Picks 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 Digital Download Series 5 6 7 8 Family Dog at the Great Highway 9 10 11 12 Spectrum 11 / 5 / 79 Spectrum 11 / 6 / 79 Compilations Skeletons from the Closet : The Best of Grateful Dead What a Long Strange Trip It 's Been The Arista Years Selections from the Arista Years The Very Best of Grateful Dead Flashback with the Grateful Dead The Best of the Grateful Dead Long Strange Trip The Best of the Grateful Dead Live Box sets Dead Zone : The Grateful Dead CD Collection ( 1977 -- 1987 ) So Many Roads ( 1965 -- 1995 ) The Golden Road ( 1965 -- 1973 ) Beyond Description ( 1973 -- 1989 ) The Warner Bros. Studio Albums All the Years Combine : The DVD Collection Videography The Grateful Dead Movie Dead Ahead So Far Dead Ringers : The Making of Touch of Grey Backstage Pass Infrared Sightings Ticket to New Year 's Downhill from Here Anthem to Beauty Sunshine Daydream Long Strange Trip Side projects and spin - off bands The Other Ones The Dead Furthur Dead & Company 2015 tour Summer 2016 tour Summer 2017 tour Fall 2017 tour Summer 2018 tour Jerry Garcia Band RatDog Phil Lesh and Friends Rhythm Devils Donna Jean Godchaux Band Heart of Gold Band Missing Man Formation New Riders of the Purple Sage Old & In the Way Legion of Mary Reconstruction Jerry Garcia Acoustic Band JGB Kingfish Bobby and the Midnites SerialPod BK3 7 Walkers Billy & the Kids Related Discography Band members Acid Tests Eric Andersen John Perry Barlow Bill Graham v. Dorling Kindersley Dark Star Orchestra Day of the Dead Deadhead Deadheads for Obama Deadicated : A Tribute to the Grateful Dead Bob Dylan Fare Thee Well : Celebrating 50 Years of the Grateful Dead ( album ) Festival Express Bill Graham Gerrit Graham Grateful dead ( folklore ) Grateful Dead Archive The Grateful Dead Channel The Grateful Dead Family Album Grateful Dead Meet - Up at the Movies Grateful Dead Records Rick Griffin David Grisman Lenny Hart Dan Healy Bruce Hornsby Jazz Is Dead Alton Kelley Steve Kimock Ned Lagin Dick Latvala David Lemieux Branford Marsalis Mother McCree 's Uptown Jug Champions Stanley Mouse The Music Never Stopped The Music Never Stopped : Roots of the Grateful Dead Pickin ' on the Grateful Dead : A Tribute Planet Earth Rock and Roll Orchestra Relix Reunions of the Grateful Dead Rex Foundation Merl Saunders Rock Scully Bob Seidemann Shakedown Street ( vending area ) Laurence Shurtliff Owsley Stanley Summer Jam at Watkins Glen Unfinished Grateful Dead album Howard Wales Wall of Sound Wharf Rats Categories Grateful Dead Albums Members Songs Book Portal Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wall_of_Sound_(Grateful_Dead)&oldid=856084202 '' Categories : Grateful Dead Sound production technology 1974 in music Talk Contents About Wikipedia Add links This page was last edited on 22 August 2018, at 19 : 17 ( UTC ). 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Question: when did the grateful dead stop using the wall of sound
Answer: October 1974