Alembic speaker cabinet from the Grateful Dead's wall of sound

[SkyPilot]

Hello: I have an original Alembic speaker cabinet from the Grateful Dead's wall of sound project complete with four D120F speakers and original tie dye front speaker cover. Photo attached showing keyboardist Keith and behind him to his right are a stack of several of these square shaped cabinets with tie dye front speaker covers. It is in very good condition, excellent, near furniture grade craftsmanship using fine wood and VERY heavy. In storage in Marin County for 35+ years so it's time for me to find a good home for it with someone who plays and also appreciates this piece of vintage Grateful Dead history. All inquiries welcome and thank you for your interest!  Rick
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PS - I will be posting the speaker cabinet dimensions tomorrow.

[sonicus]

Hello Rick ,
         Welcome to our little corner of the web , our Alembic Club .
Thanks for posting this piece of history . It would be very handy to know the exact dimensions measurement , as well as front and back photos of the cabinet with and without the Tie-Die cover . Close ups of the speaker cones would also be helpful .
  Thanks
Wolf  ;  AKA " Sonicus " at the Alembic Club .

[lbpesq]

Hi, Rick.  Do you know the condition of the speakers?  If they’ve been in storage for 35+ years, it’s very possible they may need some work.  That would significantly impact on value.  Have you tried to fire it up yet?  And is “VERY heavy” north of 100 lbs?  A piece of the wall would be cool, indeed.  I experienced it a bunch of times in ‘74.   To quote Richard Nixon, (something that I have rarely done),  “What a great wall!”

Bill, tgo

[SkyPilot]

Thanx for the response Bill.  The speakers appear to be good, cone and surrounds look clean and undamaged.  However they should be removed and tested operationally before using.  I would estimate the weight at 200 pounds.  If I was to use it I'd install wheels so it could be rolled around rather than carried.

[cozmik_cowboy]

Just to pick the fly poop out of the pepper:  Here is a diagram of the Wall of Sound:


  http://www.dozin.com/wallofsound/


Note that there are 1X15" and 2X12" cabs, plus the massive piano & vocal clusters; no 4X anything.  The cabs in your pic do, in fact, look to be Alembic, and were obviously used by the Dead - but they weren't in the Wall.


Which is not to say that, had I the price (and the no-doubt-larger shipping price to Illinois), I wouldn't take at least one off your hands; very cool!


Peter (who wishes you luck with the sale and envies the buyer(s))

[SkyPilot]

Just to pick the fly poop out of the pepper:  Here is a diagram of the Wall of Sound:

http://www.dozin.com/wallofsound/

Note that there are 1X15" and 2X12" cabs, plus the massive piano & vocal clusters; no 4X anything.  The cabs in your pic do, in fact, look to be Alembic, and were obviously used by the Dead - but they weren't in the Wall.

Which is not to say that, had I the price (and the no-doubt-larger shipping price to Illinois), I wouldn't take at least one off your hands; very cool!  Peter (who wishes you luck with the sale and envies the buyer(s))

Just to clarify that "fly poop out of the pepper": That diagram of the Wall of Sound is qualified as "Hollywood Bowl 1974"

While I am not an expert on the Wall of Sound I would never suggest that the Wall of Sound project development was ever "static", never changing and uniformly consistent on every occasion.  Since the diagram is specifically dated, it can only be certain that the diagram of the assembly of the wall shows it as it existed on that one occasion.

As a matter of fact if you read the accompanying text below it states: "The Grateful Deads sound system has evolved over the last eight years as a technical and group enterprise, a sort of logical accumulation of speakers and people. Changes have been made continuously in all directions which aid in improving the quality of the sound ... "

... and away goes " fly poop" down the drain.

[lbpesq]

I think Peter may be on to something here. 


The photo with the square tie-dye cabs behind Keith is not the Wall of Sound.  Also, if you look at the 2 x 12s next to Jerry to get perspective, it appears the tie-dye cabs by Keith are too small to hold four 12s.  I would guess they are more likely four 10s.  And while the Dead’s sound system did assuredly evolve over the years, the Wall itself was a creature of 1974.   


Most of it was unofficially unveiled at the three night stand at Winterland in February of that year.  The official debut of the full Wall was in March of 1974 at the Cow Palace in South San Francisco.    The last Wall of Sound show was on October 20, 1974, the conclusion of the five night stand at Winterland that was filmed for the Grateful Dead Movie, after which they took their two year hiatus.  (I was there for all of the above).


During the course of 1974, the Dead actually toured with two Walls.  They would leapfrog each other from gig to gig so that while the band was playing a venue, the second Wall was already being shipped and set up at the next venue.  Under such circumstances, it doesn’t seem likely that they were making changes in the size and shape of the cabs that made up the two Walls.

Bill, tgo

[rv_bass]

These photos suggest they may be from their 1973 sound system (and the photo from the the first post in this thread is labeled 1973), cool none-the-less.

[SkyPilot]

I think Peter may be on to something here.  The photo with the square tie-dye cabs behind Keith is not the Wall of Sound.  Also, if you look at the 2 x 12s next to Jerry to get perspective, it appears the tie-dye cabs by Keith are too small to hold four 12s.  I would guess they are more likely four 10s.  And while the Dead’s sound system did assuredly evolve over the years, the Wall itself was a creature of 1974. Most of it was unofficially unveiled at the three night stand at Winterland in February of that year.  The official debut of the full Wall was in March of 1974 at the Cow Palace in South San Francisco. (I was there for all of the above).  During the course of 1974, the Dead actually toured with two Walls.  They would leapfrog each other from gig to gig so that while the band was playing a venue, the second Wall was already being shipped and set up at the next venue.  Under such circumstances, it doesn’t seem likely that they were making changes in the size and shape of the cabs that made up the two Walls.  Bill, tgo 

That's right, the photo with the square tie-dye cabs behind Keith is not part of the 1974 Hollywood Bowl version of the Wall of Sound system as stipulated on the diagram.[/b]  As I said Bill, I would never claim to be an expert historian on the Wall of Sound development project however the Dead's statement makes it clear that: "The Grateful Deads sound system has evolved over the last eight years as a technical and group enterprise, a sort of logical accumulation of speakers and people. Changes have been made continuously in all directions which aid in improving the quality of the sound ... "

The photo is dated 1973 so perhaps by 1974 the continuous changes they refer to phased out various components of the previous incarnations of their PRE-Wall sound system?  In fact, as we dive deeper down the rabbit hole, we are trying to make the distinction now as to what was part of The Grateful Dead's PRE-"1974 sound system and what was part of The Grateful Dead's subsequent 1974 Wall of Sound system.  In either event I do not believe that at ANY time the Dead's sound systems were ever completely "static", never changing and uniformly consistent on every occasion. I've met Dan Healy and will remember to ask him about this whenever I see him again. 

FROM WIKIPEDIA: 'Dan Healy is an audio engineer who often worked with the American rock band the Grateful Dead. He succeeded Alembic and Owsley "Bear" Stanley as the group's chief sound man after the Wall Of Sound in 1974 and subsequent band hiatus through 1975.'

As to: "the tie-dye cabs by Keith are too small to hold four 12s", they do not look too small to hold four 12s to me? I suppose we could speculate endlessly without achieving a degree of certainty that is presently unavailable.  I'm sure if needed Alembic could have made such a cabinet with 4 10"inch speakers. The speakers in my Alembic cabinet are 12"inch, not 10"inch.

NOTE: for further information I will be posting the outside dimensions of the cabinet and photos of the speaker arrangement asap. I don't have a cell phone or camera so photos may take a few days until I have a friend take the photos.

[StephenR]

Bill makes a good point about the speaker sizes in the cabinets pictured behind Keith. It doesn't look like four of the 12s would fit in a cab that size. They may be tens but without seeing the drivers anything is a mere guess.

My take on the Wall of Sound is that the 74 system was merely the culmination of the project. For the Boston Music Hall shows in 73 the band had to set the entire system up behind the band for the first time due to the volume of equipment and space limitations in a small theater. Prior to that "forced experiment" they weren't convinced of the ability to squash feedback from the vocal mics if the entire array was behind the band (Bear's vision). But much of the equipment and technology that went into the final wall was developed and used during 73 in particular and had its genesis in the "Alembic PA" of 72.

I also do not think there were ever two "Walls of Sound" on the road. There were definitely two sets of scaffolding, one which was being erected ahead of the next date on the tour. The expense for the Wall was staggering enough without adding the expense to purchase, transport and set up a second 75 tons of equipment. They would have also needed two complete road crews to set up a second Wall ahead of time.

[lbpesq]

Cool pics, Rob.  I don’t think I’ve ever seen Jerry play the Strat with the numbers inlaid on the neck before.  Interesting bridge on that one, more like a Les Paul!  And I don’t believe I’ve seen Bobby playing an SG before, either. 

Stephen is correct about the two sets of scaffolding - that’s what I meant to say but was less than clear.   Since changing the size and shape of the cabs would necessitate a similar change in the scaffolding, it just doesn't make sense that they would be doing so in 1974.  And my understanding is that they did indeed have two crews, so one could travel ahead and set up the frame at the next venue.  It was a major part of the expenses that forced the band to take the hiatus, trim the fat, so to speak, and retire the Wall.

Bill, tgo

[cozmik_cowboy]

No question about the fluidity of the system, Rick; in his masterful book Grateful Dead Gear: The Band's Instruments, Sound Systems, and Recording Sessions, 1965-1995*,  Blair Jackson speculates that the system may well have changed a little every night for 30 years - which seems about right.


 I do not mean to imply that the cabs in question were not used by the Dead (and quite possibly very soon before and/or after 1974's grand experiment); just that they are not likely to be from The Wall Of Sound as such.  While I, unlike Bill, was not fortunate enough to see (and hear, and feel) the Wall in action, I am 1) a Deadhead, 2) a former professional soundman, 3) a committed gear geek, and 4) the sort of...well, all of the above....who keeps Jackson's book in the bathroom and starts it over every time I finish it - and in the pursuit of my obsessions I have never seen any reference or photographic evidence of the Wall, in any of its incarnations, using 4X12s. 


Which, to me at least, does not make your cabs any less desirable (nor, alas, more obtainable........)


*I am not at home to look, and so may be slightly off with the subtitle.  But I do recommend it to any and all who have any interest in the subjects of the Grateful Dead, Alembic, and the development of modern sound reinforcement (the 3 of these being thoroughly intertwined).


Peter (who thinks his current reading of GFG is his 9th or 10th time through it)

[lbpesq]

And let us not forget that the Wall of Sound would not have been possible without Ron Wickersham’s idea of using paired out-of-phase vocal mics that served to cancel the feedback one would normally expect with a bunch of speakers facing directly into the mic.

Bill, tgo

[rv_bass]

Actually, I think a ‘72-‘73 cab might be more desirable, those were stellar years and think of the music that came through them and the vibe they convey! 

[SkyPilot]

(rv_bass) No question about the fluidity of the system, Rick; in his masterful book Grateful Dead Gear: The Band's Instruments, Sound Systems, and Recording Sessions, 1965-1995*,  Blair Jackson speculates that the system may well have changed a little every night for 30 years - which seems about right."

1) I agree and figure they meant exactly what they said referring to the Wall: "The Grateful Deads sound system has evolved over the last eight years."

(rv_bass) I do not mean to imply that the cabs in question were not used by the Dead (and quite possibly very soon before and/or after 1974's grand experiment); just that they are not likely to be from The Wall Of Sound as such.

2) I think your statement "The Wall Of Sound as such" demonstrates that there may be an orthodoxy regarding exactly what equipment/and when the Dead's sound system became "THE WALL" thus defining it by a 1974 date certain final version. 

3) For clarification please note the 1st sentence of my post.  I said: speaker cabinet from the "Grateful Dead's Wall of Sound PROJECT", I DID NOT say it was from "The Wall Of Sound as such." 

4) Personally I have always considered the "The Wall Of Sound" as an evolving project along a continuum with a continuous series of elements up to and including 1974 as reflected in their own statement. My view may disagree with more linear thinking that seeks to define "The Wall Of Sound as such" to a date certain final version that they toured with or other criteria???

(rv_bass) I have never seen any reference or photographic evidence of the Wall, in any of its incarnations, using 4X12s.

5) If the definition of the Wall is confined to 1974 the photo is dated 1973 so perhaps by 1974 the continuous changes they refer to phased out various components of the previous incarnations of their PRE-1974 Wall sound system? Again, this assumes that everything prior to some unknown date certain is not part of "The Wall Of Sound as such.  Thus I refer to this cabinet as part of the "The Wall Of Sound" PROJECT. [/u]