Remembering the Grateful Dead’s Wall of Sound: an absurd feat of technological engineering

A truly fun read from Luka Osbourne, published last year by Happymag.tv

Live sound on a big scalle was and (continues to be) a super complex feat of engineering. Read the full piece for the details on the how and the why behind the big build.

On a night in 1974, sound engineer Stan ‘Bear’ Owsley stood alone in an empty theatre – the former Winterland Ballroom in San Francisco. Rumoured to have especially sweet sonic qualities, the venue was a converted ice rink and by this point was showing wear from decades past. Despite this, some of the biggest names of the 70s had graced its stage: Pink Floyd, Queen, The Stones – you name it. This night, however, was the Grateful Dead’s turn, and they had brought some heavy artillery with them – the Wall of Sound.

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