Grateful Dead's 1966 McIntosh set-up

I thought this information from Phil Lesh's new book "Searching for the Sound" would be of interest to Grateful Dead and McIntosh enthusiasts. This exerpt describes their Los Angeles housing in 1966. Per Phil Lesh:

"The equipment was set up in the living room: the 'lead sled' of Mac amps (four McIntosh 240 stereo tube amps running mono, one for each electric instrument - two guitars, bass, and keyboard - bolted onto a single sheet of two-inch plywood), the Altec "Voice of the Theater" speakers (huge woofer and horn combo speakers, four in all, one for each amp), and all the drums and instruments. The volume level of this gear was enough to bulge out the sides of the house when we cranked it."

 

Good thing Bear had a steady source of untaxable cash

 

Is that when they went to the MC-2300 amps, bridged into 600 watts mono? I've seen those live and in films. Those things weight about 130 lbs. each! They look great on stage, the blue meters and all.

Separatley, McIntosh made a high power vacuum tube amp, the MC-3500 or MI-350 for the "industrial" version. 350 watts of vintage McIntosh tube power. Very, very rare. I've been informed there were 10 of these monoblock amps under the stage at Woodstock!

 

Hi all,

At work, we have 2 MI-350 McIntosh Amps. They power our main monitors in the studio. They once belonged to CBS recording studios in New York. They are unmodified and in superb condition. No, we won't sell. They are driving Quad II electrostats.

 

Do they run all day, if not around the clock, or do you power them up and down during sessions?

"No, we won't sell." I've watched a couple auctions (some real, some fake because I remember the pictures, how they had consecutive series numbers, etc.) on the eBay over the years. Those are not inexpensive amps! I understand they sound great, but I rationalize there would be some sort of trade-off in finesse for that much power. I've heard I would stand corrected in my assumption. Maybe someday you could sneak a couple pictures here at the forum.

 

Chris

 

Hi,

The Grateful Dead used 14 McIntosh MC3500's in the late 60's and early 70's. These mono babies put out 350 tube watts ea. for a total of 4,900 tube watts per show. Mile Nestorovic designed these amps in 1968. The Dead always believed in treating their fans to the best sound possible.

Mile went on to design his own line of tube amps and speakers. I like to play back good ole' Grateful Dead on vintage McIntosh tube gear combined with more modern Nestorovic speakers.

Take care,
Jeffrey

 

>The Grateful Dead used 14 McIntosh MC3500's in the late 60's and early 70's.

Both the Dead and Airplane/Tuna used these, coupled with the front end of Fender Dual Showmans. This led Ron Wickersham to develop the Alembic F2-B and F1-X preamps.

 

Hi,

I completely agree w/ Crunch.... John Meyer, Jim Gamble, Ron Wickersham, and Don Pearson did AMAZING things w/ the Meyer/Gamble/Crest PA. The Grateful Dead were always willing to trust these people and experiment w/ the latest & greatest gear on-stage in front of thousands of people. VERY few musicians would spend this kinda money on sound (imo, less than ten groups!) AND even less of them would go live w/ untested gear.

Take care,
Jeffrey

 

Hi Misterbritt,

In my opinion little is given up in sonics. They sound better than the MC275's in my boss's office system. They sound a lot like MC 60's on steroids. I hope to get some good photos one day when the windows in the studio's machine room are open. They are usually used 12-16 hours a day and have been supremely reliable. Terry DeWick refurbished them before they entered daily usage since they spent 2 years in storage. Terry is a factory trained McIntosh technician and does yeoman service on older Mc equipment.

 

Thanks for your reply. Indeed, I'm sure we'd all love to see pix! If you do that, would you please drop me an PM so I don't miss it. I didn't realize until the book quote on the MC 240s and your subsequent post about the MI-350s that the Dead had used valve McIntosh amps. I appreciate your input.

 

I just noticed the sad news that Don Pearson is no longer with us. He passed away on January 9, 2006. I met him once when he was a guest speaker at a sound class I was taking at Columbia College in Chicago. He was a very knowledgable yet affable guy.

http://mixonline.com/mixline_live/meyer-theater-pearson-021606/

http://meyersound.com/remember_dr_don/index.php

 

Hi,

A great man!

Take care,
Jeffrey