Returning from dinner before last week's show, Jeff and I engaged in a little conversation regarding dance clubs and DJ sound systems. I found some "over the top" pictures, and sent them around to the Puddlestone guys.
Botch suggested that I recreate the e-mail here.
Picture 1
Comb Filtering For Miles
What I would (in my opinion) call an extreme example of a "power and coverage at all costs" array. If the DJ is trying to get the PA to be "super-loud-yo," I would be willing to bet that standing in the imaginary rectangle formed by drawing lines perpendicular to the stacks would be enough to permanently damage your hearing in only a few minutes. Maybe less than a few. I'll also bet that a SMAART or TEF trace of the system would have more (interference-caused) peaks and troughs than a network of pig farms in the Appalachians.
Picture 2
Less Insane Than Picture 1
The same PA (?) arranged in a slightly less frightening fashion. Still, LF power and throw is apparently the height of what is on the system-designer's mind. I've heard (here, and at the LAB) that those Cerwin Vega bass horns are only really good for playing the same note all night long. Loudly.
Picture 3
The Infamous "Wall Of Sound"
The Dead toured with this monstrosity, of which I think most everyone is aware. They had to stand in front of it, so they used "differential" mic arrays (one mic on top, another on bottom, with one having a polarity-swap applied), so that feedback and wash would cancel as much as possible. The sound coming from the PA reaches both mics at the same time, but one mic is out of polarity so it cancels with the other. You try to sing into the top mic as closely as you can, so that what it "hears" from your voice is as different as possible from the other mic.
I've never heard any comments about what the Wall's quality level was like, so those would be interesting to hear.
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Grace, Peace, V, and Hz,
Danny
