Did Hendrix Mic and PA his amps for Live Settings?

[theactor19]

...Or did he just crank his marshalls, without any mics and PAs for the guitar.

 

[speakerjones]

He just cranked em. They probably mic'ed him up for Woodstock, but in those days, PA systems were very primitive, and usually used for vocals only.

 

[theactor19]

Its no wonder that big live concerts today make the guitars sound crappy. I say paul mccartney live, and they did a tribute to hendrix with some solos over foxy lady, and the guitars sounded horribly digital.

 

[The P-Man]

Its no wonder that big live concerts today make the guitars sound crappy. I say paul mccartney live, and they did a tribute to hendrix with some solos over foxy lady, and the guitars sounded horribly digital.

I'm pretty sure live sound in large venues/festivals has improved a lot since the days of Hendrix...

 

[willyboy]

By the time we get to Hendrix in the late 60's to Woodstock era, engineers are very often mic'ing guitar amps especially for the larger venues where PA was not just for vocals, but drums, bass, guitar, percussion, etc. I've seen a bunch of Hendrix video and there are definitely mic's on the cabs for what I've seen.

 

[SGNick]

Its no wonder that big live concerts today make the guitars sound crappy. I say paul mccartney live, and they did a tribute to hendrix with some solos over foxy lady, and the guitars sounded horribly digital.

The writing in this post reaks of "Following along with the what the crowd tells me think."

 

[Scafeets]

I saw Hendrix three times and the amps, drums and bass were mic'd every time.

 

[theactor19]

The writing in this post reaks of "Following along with the what the crowd tells me think."

maybe horribly digital was the wrong word. The guitar sounded horrible.. not clear at all.. and not pleasing to the ear.. better?

 

[theactor19]

By the time we get to Hendrix in the late 60's to Woodstock era, engineers are very often mic'ing guitar amps especially for the larger venues where PA was not just for vocals, but drums, bass, guitar, percussion, etc. I've seen a bunch of Hendrix video and there are definitely mic's on the cabs for what I've seen.

Keep in mind that those could be for recording the gig. On youtube, there are recordings of plenty of live concerts. So perhaps those mics were strictly for recording.

 

[willyboy]

Keep in mind that those could be for recording the gig. On youtube, there are recordings of plenty of live concerts. So perhaps those mics were strictly for recording.

Perhaps, this may account for some pics and video of stuff being mic'ed. Also keep in mind that the latter part of the 60's is a period of significant change in venue sizes and audio equipment for the purpose of live concerts. Venues increase in size from the small clubs and theaters most performers played in the 50's to the large scale outdoor festivals like Monterey, Woodstock, Altamont, etc. by the end of the 60's.

 

[sixty2strat]

they had to be mic'd no way 3 stacks would fill a place like the spectrum in philly over a crowd. now at a filmore or a small theater who knows but the big halls jimi was playing would need a pa. remember he was one of the first to play the hocky rinks doing a modern style tour. Hewas maybe the biggest most profitable touring act 68-70. i remember reading Jagger telling Lennon after the 69 tour how it had changed, the piss pour sound and screaming crowds of 66, they were gone, they could hear and the crowd was there to hear them

 

[GrisGrisFunk]

He just cranked em. They probably mic'ed him up for Woodstock, but in those days, PA systems were very primitive, and usually used for vocals only.

? If this was the case, why would the bassist and drummer even show up? You wouldn't even be able to hear them over Marshall stacks cranked and vocals going through a PA!

 

[Whiskeyrebel]

Keep in mind that those could be for recording the gig. On youtube, there are recordings of plenty of live concerts. So perhaps those mics were strictly for recording.

Does recording also explain the "two vocal mikes gaffer-taped together" thing that you see in some old concert videos? Is it one mike for recording and one for FOH?

 

[thedroid]

What difference does it make? Not trying to be a smart-ass. Just wondering. It's not like anyone's going to go unmic'ed at a big concert these days just because that's how Jimi did it, and frankly i wouldn't trust people's memories about the quality of the sound at a Hendrix concert in the 60s. It's too ago, and they were too stoned.

 

[Teleplayer]

A friend of mine saw Handrix the first time he played in Chicago. He played the Civic Opera House. Marshall stacks on stage - unmiked.

 

[dsj]

What difference does it make? Not trying to be a smart-ass. Just wondering.

Using that measure we can pretty much shut down the site, eh?

 

[tim boehlert]

A friend locally has a picture of Jimi at the War memorial - no mics other than vocal in sight AND PA columns!

 

[theactor19]

So it looks as though he didn't use PAs for his guitar at some of the concerts based on the posts above. How big is the Civic Opera House and the War Memorial?

 

[theactor19]

? If this was the case, why would the bassist and drummer even show up? You wouldn't even be able to hear them over Marshall stacks cranked and vocals going through a PA!

Based on biographies, I've read that mitch would always complain that his drums were not loud enough, but I've seen his drums mics.. perhaps PAs were for drums and vocals only.

Because if you look at alot of the later shows, Billy Cox was playing on just as many Marshall stacks as hendrix was.. so no problems on hearing the bass.

 

[speakerjones]

? If this was the case, why would the bassist and drummer even show up? You wouldn't even be able to hear them over Marshall stacks cranked and vocals going through a PA!

Because they got paid?

Does recording also explain the "two vocal mikes gaffer-taped together" thing that you see in some old concert videos? Is it one mike for recording and one for FOH?

Yup, typically.

For the bigger, outdoor concerts, stadiums and arenas they were micing everything, but keep in mind that sound reinforcement as a technology, as used for bands, was still in it's infancy. Woodstock had a total of 12 mic inputs. There were few guys in the country with rigs large enough to do big concerts, and those systems pale in comparison to the power of the rigs we use today. I have a single amplifier that equals the power of all of the amplifiers used at woodstock, and it weighs less than just one of those MacIntoshes did. The average theater PA system back then was just that, designed for public address and not much else. The Altec "Voice of the Theater" speakers were what almost every venue had, and they were about as powerful as your average speaker on a stick today. I would imagine that they had enough trouble getting the vocals above the volume of his guitar amps, without actually micing the amps.