No, the correct answer is not "who cares!" Check out the varied responses from various LABsters, about the biggest system ever assembled. Was it Monsters of Rock? Donington? The Wall? The Prodigy? Manowar? (Who the heck is Manowar, anyway?) And of course, the Grateful Dead's infamous "wall of sound" has to make an appearance. Very entertaining.

For fun, i'd thought i would ask what provider/tour, etc has assembled the biggest badest reinforcement rig to date, the kinda thing that would be a entry for a world record with Guiness? Any pictures or specs?

David "Can't sleep" B

Reply Posted by Matt Carlsen on February 08, 2002

How about the Monsters of Rock tour that Played across Europe and in Russia at some Airforce base (military on crowd control). I think I recal pics in MIX Magazine. Wasn't that a huge EV MT rig? Something like 200 MT4L's (that's 800 18"s). I don't recall the number of Hi Boxes though.

Reply "Monsters In Moscow" Posted by Kari on February 09, 2002

They had 42 blocks of EV MT-4 onstage, 4 blocks on center delay and 6 blocks on every other delay. A total of 80 blocks with 730.000 watts behind them. Each block consisted of two MT-4H and two MT-4L.
Attendence was btw. 500.000 and 750.000 with 50000 troops taking care of crowd control duties / barriercage.

Reply Posted by Mikael Holm on February 10, 2002

Wasn't that at the time when Metallica and Guns 'n Roses were touring together? As i recall that tour was with 84 blocks or something like that and db providing sound...

Do you have Metallica's "A Year and a half pt. 2" available? ;-)

Reply Posted by Kari on February 11, 2002

No Metallica, AC/DC and The Black Crows were touring together. db Sound was the provider. I found an article describing the concert from a Mix book, featuring an interview with Harry Witz.

Kari

Reply "Roger Waters, The Wall, Berlin 1990, rent the video" Posted by michael on February 08, 2002

performance of "The Wall" at the site of the Berlin Wall, 10th anniversary of removal or something.

Doesn't tell you anything about the PA but it looks like maybe 400k attendance, an undeducated guess. Nice show too, guest singers doing many of the songs. A little hokey at times, but fun. (?)

Certainly challenges the senses to see it. A lot of coordination. I can't locate anything on the 'net about the PA / provider / system.

Reply Posted by Jason Kelly on February 09, 2002

If I remember correctly this was the first outing of the then very new Turbosound Flashlight system. I believe it was its first use outdoors, possibly ever, at a public performance. I dont think it was the largest though, simply because there wasnt much Flashlight around at the time, they we all from the Turbo Factory I think. But I could be wrong.

Have fun!

Posted by Mikael Holm on February 10, 2002

AFAIK the first production versions of Flashlight appeared on Dire Strait's "On Every Street" tour which kicked in 1991. So if Flash was used they must have been beta or from factory.

Miffe

Reply Posted by Dave on February 09, 2002

The Wall is one of my fav all time pieces, with that production being particularly interesting. I could relate to it when I was touring too much, doing too many drugs and living the full tilt roadie lifestyle.

The Berlin Wall came down about Nov 9 1989. The concert was taped July 21 1990. I got to see the Berlin Wall a few times before it came down, and several times after, what was left of it anyway. Last time there, I could walk past where the Wall was, to a huge Sony plex and shopping center in what was the former East Berlin. Not all parts of the former East have faired so well, at least when last I was there in 2000.

I'm told by one involved with the gig, Brit Row did the sound. There were some problems, as with any gig that size. Some delay towers were down for a while due to a power outage, and when the power came back up, the crossovers went into auto mute and it took some time to get techs to the towers due to the crowd.

They taped the show the night before and ran it parallel with the live show as a backup. I'm told they lost stage power for a song or two, around the time Sinead was doing "Mother". I'm told the reason she looked so pissed off, (more than normal for her) was that she was lip syncing to the backup while they were fixing the problems. Don't wish that on anyone. The Englishman telling me this story (I've toured with him three times) has been known to embellish a story or two, though he spins a good yarn.

The video is good, haven't seen it on DVD yet, the original "The Wall" starring Bob Geldolf only made it to DVD in the last year or so.

Dave

Reply "Texas International Speedway" Posted by Jon Martin on
February 08, 2002

I remember reading in PSN about Showco setting up a massive Prism rig (200+)not counting delays @ TIS
Over a million HP or somthing like that?
Anyone else ?
Triple-J

*ManOwar/Jeff Hair hold the loudest record with a massive MT-4 rig + a bunch of Jeff's boxes.
Mesured @ 129.5db
(mmmmmmmmmm?)

 

Reply Posted by Joel Ashcraft on February 09, 2002

That was at soundcheck, and a measurement from FOH. Jeff told me about the rig (he is a friend of mine, and lives about 3 miles from me). It was something like 184 MT4 per side, I think. Nuts, is what it was. Manowar leaves in a couple of weeks for another HUGE euro tour, and I expect it to be another loud one. Something like 3 years touring in support of this new Album. WHOA!

Joel

Reply Posted by rick on February 08, 2002

been a while but the stones were in INDY with that show ..working in local 146 here in town they needed extra guys for the indy show so we went to indy to work. the cobra head was bridled wrong and when the pins werelet loose the crane operator ALMOST lost the cobra head and it swung all the way accross the stage and started, comming back at the 8 or so guys that were still on the tower!!!!!!! they freaked out WHO
WOULDNT! but it came only with in 3ft of them (close enough) the crane operator recovered control as some little guy from belgum tried to grab it, weighs several ton, but it sure was a close call and some of the guys on the tower came down. and called it a day
most dangerous thing ive ever seen on a job.

man we ate the best of any show I' ve ever worked in 14 years with IATSE..meals alone were worth $60.
and union scale at that time was like $24 per hour
rick brown...aandbsound

Reply Posted by Doug Fowler on February 08, 2002

I was there with the B Stage, it's Texas Motor Speedway. The show was Blockbuster Rockfest in 1997.
I think I counted 14 deep x 10 wide Prism per side, plus a good number of delay towers around the track which were about one side of a shed rig.

Let me tell you that was a fine sounding PA. Howard was the system engineer, BTW.

It was bloody miserable Texas hot and humid, and on loadout night it rained cats and dogs. The mud which was created smelled like a pigpen.

fwiw

-doug