Sound quality at iconic nighters

[Geeselad]

Can't recall the quality of sound reproduction being discussed on here. Was it loud at Wigan? Good acoustics, decent system? How about the wheel, cats or torch? 

 

I know it's all relative to the era. but it's not something that folk talk about that much, unless it fails, every promotors nightmare, I can speak out of experience  

[Pete Morgan]

it sounded very loud , and good for the era. Speakers were very big at front of stage .( Wigan that is )

 

Edited September 11, 2023 by Pete Morgan

[Tlscapital]

It's my understanding that very few punters actually know what good playback is nor give it so much importance if not for the "ear bleed" factor like too loud with 'harsh highs' distortions. 

When you hear and see what the majority play their records back home either on unsuited cheap 'toy like' gear or dee-jays stuffs sounding lifeless where does quality come into the game ?

Was told that Wigan was 'bad' enough. I guess those knew where my 'high' expectations on playback quality were to acknowledge that. For example the 100 Club by the mid nineties was 'good'.

[Soul16]

I can only really speak for the Keele all-nighters in the 80’s and 90’s.

Huge speakers hung up high on the wall, tilted down towards the dance floor. It was very loud and the sound quality was excellent, that was the first thing I noticed about the place. Bobby Valentin never sounded so good...

I still am something of a sound quality fanatic, which can be a curse at times.

 

[Solidsoul]

The main hall in Wigan Casino allnighters had a very full boom sort of sound, not at all tinny but not muffled either. It was obviously loud at the front.

I don't think the sound system was very sophisticated at all, but what really made a special sound to me was the hall itself. It had good acoustics being previously a ballroom for live orchestra's etc.

Some of the dj's sounded muffled on the mic! I think the decks might have played fast, unless that was me

Edited September 8, 2023 by Solidsoul

[Ian Parker]

1 hour ago, Soul16 said:

 

I still am something of a sound quality fanatic, which can be a curse at times.

 

me too !! 

   Stafford oldies room (downstairs disco)  had a fantastic sound system.    Grosvenor rooms does too.    most are pretty ropey at best.  its down to the guy who sets it up, i suppose.      Monaco nr wigan,  had a woefully inadequate PA,  far too small , it absolutely screamed,  got so hot, they had individual fans behind each powered speaker. .  Winding wheel, chesterfield,  had a massive sound system,  insanely loud, but clear.   I remember Brian Rae's old columns,  on stage in Mr M's,  in hindsight,  really not big enough,  but in those days, we didnt care. 

  theres the thing ,  big , with lots of headroom, is the key.   not pushed to limits 

[Geeselad]

2 hours ago, Soul16 said:

I can only really speak for the Keele all-nighters in the 80’s and 90’s.

Huge speakers hung up high on the wall, tilted down towards the dance floor. It was very loud and the sound quality was excellent, that was the first thing I noticed about the place. Bobby Valentin never sounded so good...

I still am something of a sound quality fanatic, which can be a curse at times.

 

I do remember a superior system at Keele 

[Soul16]

52 minutes ago, Ian Parker said:

 

  Stafford oldies room (downstairs disco)  had a fantastic sound system.  

Yes, indeed it did.

[Hooker1951]

There is nothing worse at at a Soul Night or all niter or all dayer than a bad sound system, What used to amaze me was that most people seemed completely oblivious of it, No matter what medication I had took I was always aware if the music didn’t sound right, it used to annoy the life out of me and spoil what should have been always a special time, if the essence of what Soul music is not right how can anything else be right, 

KR

ML

[Soul16]

Sound quality begins at the stylus tip of course, so everything after that, from turntable set up, mixing desk quality, good amplification & decent speakers all contribute to the end result. 

Rubbish in = Rubbish out

Quality in = Quality out

Room acoustics then need factoring in, which I guess can be difficult initially.

[Chris Turnbull]

11 hours ago, Tlscapital said:

For example the 100 Club by the mid nineties was 'good'.

Reminded me of a trip to the 100 Club around the summer of '96 with my brother in law - admittedly a non-believer but who likened the sound quality to listening to someone operating an industrial hoover for 8 hours

[Geeselad]

8 hours ago, Soul16 said:

Sound quality begins at the stylus tip of course, so everything after that, from turntable set up, mixing desk quality, good amplification & decent speakers all contribute to the end result. 

Rubbish in = Rubbish out

Quality in = Quality out

Room acoustics then need factoring in, which I guess can be difficult initially.

I recommend these

https://www.hanacartridges.com/products/hana-umami-red

[Jessie Pinkman]

The new sound system at Keele University is the best one I've ever played on.

Although it did have a sound guy twiddling with the knobs of the console at the side of the stage.

[Geeselad]

2 minutes ago, Jessie Pinkman said:

The new sound system at Keele University is the best one I've ever played on.

Although it did have a sound guy twiddling with the knobs of the console at the side of the stage.

It's unusual these days to find a big system that copes with vinyl so we'll. It is pretty impressive, probably the best I've heard at any current venue. 

[Roburt]

Decks, speakers & amplification moved ahead at the fast pace from the late 60's thru to the mid 70's.

Of course, not every venue kept up with the times & some had sound systems that were crap.

The 'power' (wattages on the amplification) of systems in the mid 60's was quite low but I don't recall the sound in clubs such as the Mojo, Nite Owl or Wheel being that low-fi (but I was young at the time & it was a very long time ago). Of course, being small cellar type rooms meant you didn't really need massive wattages.  

 

 

Edited September 10, 2023 by Roburt

[Mach]

Got tintininus from Wigan being sat on the stage next to the left speakers whilst recording on a weekly basis so yep was loud also bassy too, also recall The Ritz,s rarest of the rare allnighters having a very loud clear system, used to watch dj,s on the decks from the balcony above, noticed everytime Searling started a spot he,d ramp up the master switch. Wakefield Unity Niters had a thunderous system too.

[Chalky]

Jimmy Wensiora’s wall of sound, fabulous. 

[Geeselad]

5 hours ago, Chalky said:

Jimmy Wensiora’s wall of sound, fabulous. 

Where was it used, chalky?

[Mark R]

As the man above said, being into sound quality can be a curse, at home you can end up listening for imperfections rather than the music itself.  I'm an automotive sound/vibration engineer by trade,  so you can imagine how anal it can get for me!

But at a venue, despite being a bit of a perfectionist, it's about more than that I guess.  The first all nighter I walked into was the Ric Tic Review at Hinckley Leisure Centre, and being a sports hall, the acoustics were crap and the sound was coming back off the walls out of phase with the source (speakers), BUT I was blown away by the whole sight/sound/experience......thinking, jeez, this is IT.....this'll do for me.

I suppose as long as it's not dire, it's just one part of the whole thing.

DJ's not understanding how to use the mixer etc is a different thing though, some of the shite sound is down to that.  DJ'ing is far more than just having a load of (rare) records.....far more.  I think that fact gets lost, especially on the Northern scene. Many are simply not DJ's in the greater sense I'm afraid.

 

Cheers,

Mark R

Edited September 9, 2023 by Mark R

[Chalky]

5 hours ago, Geeselad said:

Where was it used, chalky?

Winding Wheel