Hardcore Speaker Porn
- Thread starter Firky
- Start date
ska invita
back on the other side
sherriff rosco
Mostly harmless unless catering is shut.
A little job I did back in Dec last year....
sherriff rosco
Mostly harmless unless catering is shut.
Yep.... 3 different companies boxes all on one big job....
Took a few amps to run that lot as well...!
Took a few amps to run that lot as well...!
beesonthewhatnow
going deaf for a living
Should have got some D80's, could have halved your racksYep.... 3 different companies boxes all on one big job....
Took a few amps to run that lot as well...!
beesonthewhatnow
going deaf for a living
They are all D&B Audiotechnik. Like most pro stuff nowadays you can only use their own amps with their cabs as they contain all the system processing.wow!! What amps did you use ?
Don't fancy re-coiling all those wires
sherriff rosco
Mostly harmless unless catering is shut.
144 J-Line boxes plus flown 32x J-Subs, some Infra, Q & V.... 112 x D12 amps...
Yes D80`s would be lovely..... but not a lot in Aus yet...
.p.
Yes D80`s would be lovely..... but not a lot in Aus yet...
.p.
beesonthewhatnow
going deaf for a living
A big rig! What was the show?
sherriff rosco
Mostly harmless unless catering is shut.
Errr...
Well
errr...
How do I break this gently....
Well
errr...
How do I break this gently....
beesonthewhatnow
going deaf for a living
I'd take that over a warehouse any day of the week
sherriff rosco
Mostly harmless unless catering is shut.
And now for something completely different.....
I dare you to get in the Fluffy Egg ...
I dare you to get in the Fluffy Egg ...
pesh
Well-Known Member
sherriff rosco
Mostly harmless unless catering is shut.
Yes they have.... had lots to do with it at Womad....
Very hi-fi sounding, not as powerfull as everyone thought but looks great !
Just for you Bees...it was all run through the SSL , everything digital 96k from mic pres to x-overs & amps ( XTA`s and MC2`s).
.p.
Very hi-fi sounding, not as powerfull as everyone thought but looks great !
Just for you Bees...it was all run through the SSL , everything digital 96k from mic pres to x-overs & amps ( XTA`s and MC2`s).
.p.
beesonthewhatnow
going deaf for a living
The angle on those boxes look the wrong way round 
beesonthewhatnow
going deaf for a living
Also - what's the SSL Live like? Not had a chance to play with one yet...
sherriff rosco
Mostly harmless unless catering is shut.
Very Digico in use, and there`s some neat touch screen action with eq`s...think iPad movements. You can put anything anywhere over the 3 fader banks and with layers underneath you can build the board however you want it... say for mons you want all your inputs on one bank , auxes on another and primary channels on the third...just drag and drop on the screen..nice!
Sonically the engineers I`ve spoken to so far have said it`s very clean, no Midas pre-amp contour but much like a Digico.
Overall very good but there`s a couple of things that need looking at.. can`t recall different patchs over scenes, 4 touches/ actions to get to some things.... GRR!
I`m sticking with Midas Pro as my fav but given one of these for a while I might change my mind
.p.
Sonically the engineers I`ve spoken to so far have said it`s very clean, no Midas pre-amp contour but much like a Digico.
Overall very good but there`s a couple of things that need looking at.. can`t recall different patchs over scenes, 4 touches/ actions to get to some things.... GRR!
I`m sticking with Midas Pro as my fav but given one of these for a while I might change my mind
.p.
beesonthewhatnow
going deaf for a living
Can't change patch per scene? Instant fail for me right there I'm afraid.
The channel flexibility sounds good though
The channel flexibility sounds good though
beesonthewhatnow
going deaf for a living
ska invita
back on the other side
is that the phillipines? these came up before...somewhere in south east asia...
the love their soundsytems but dont seem to dance to them
the love their soundsytems but dont seem to dance to them
ska invita
back on the other side
Brazil dub conference
ska invita
back on the other side
killer b and any other Prestonites (and leeds and hud crew)
PAUL HUXTABLE – AXIS SOUND SYSTEM
Paul Huxtable was born and brought up in Preston, Lancashire. He moved to Huddersfield in 1996 with his then girlfriend, now wife, Amanda Huxtable. The couple lived in Leeds for a year before settling in Huddersfield: "They were a lot more welcoming in Huddersfield regarding music and sound systems and the more we visited the more we liked the feel of the place. A lot more friendly and open and when I looked into it there was a lot more sound systems operating at that time in Huddersfield than there was in Leeds. So it seemed a logical choice to move to Huddersfield."
When Paul first arrived in Huddersfield there were many more venues prepared to put on a sound system dance: "From when I first started coming here I've been to the Arawak Club, the Rising Sun, Brackenhall Community Centre, Deighton Hall... there was quite a few places where dances were being held... even visited a couple of Blues parties towards the end. Sounds used to get more opportunity to play so there were more out there. Venues are very difficult, a lot of complications with the no-smoking ban and environmental health and noise complaints and a general complacency has killed it down a bit, but it was quite vibrant. I caught the last of the vibrant years in Huddersfield, but unfortunately witnessed the decline of it. But,compared to Leeds, it was a lot more vibrant and more friendly."
Paul first noticed sound systems at Preston Carnival as a youngster: "As a kid I noticed sound systems and I was pretty fascinated by them. Then it kinda got put to the back of my mind for a few years. I was always fascinated by bass, I remember going to the cinema and running down to the speakers when the credits were rolling on the film and feeling the bass off the speakers on my back and being fascinated by it."
As a teenager Paul played in a band, and he found himself in charge of the PA system. His love of Reggae music wasn't shared to the same degree by the other band members so, using his PA equipment, he left the band and began putting together his own sound. He was also a resident DJ at various clubs in Preston, and would often play private parties and functions: "I've always been interested in the Reggae music from being very young. It appealed to me more than any other type of music. I listen to all musics but Reggae has always had a special place for me."
Through his job as Nightclub Manager Paul provided the venue for sound system dances: "I used to run a club in Preston called The Paradise Club and I used to rent out a big space upstairs. A certain bloke called Felix said ‘I'd like to put sound system dances on here’. And I said ‘ok’. I wasn't really that well versed on sound system culture but I said ‘Yeah, cool, it's this rate to hire it, no problem, I look forward to it’. Anyway, the first sound he had in was a local sound, a big one at the time, which was Rootsman. I was fascinated by all the amount of speakers and the amplifiers, it was all valve then, and a custom-built amplifier with the lights and it just looked beautiful. I was working that night behind the bar and that first night just changed my life. I just enjoyed the music and the vibes so much. It was pitch black, we'd run out of special brew in about 10 minutes!”
“Over the time I spent there I saw lots and lots of sounds come from all over the country, and most of them back then were valve sounds. I used to love the different design of the boxes, the different way they presented it, the different musics they played, the crowds of people on coaches... I got to know a lot of people from the Preston black community from those nights. The sounds were playing records that I was buying and when they played them on their sound systems it took those records to another dimension for me, and I always wanted to build my own sound system from listening to those sounds coz I wanted my records to sound like that."
Paul started building Axis, a sound system custom-built for Reggae music, in 1989 and his first dance was at the Caribbean Club in Preston in 1992: "I went round a lot of sound systems in the day and listened and looked what they were playing with. Sometimes you weren't really very welcome to look too deep into it, you'd be pushed aside or asked, ‘What the hell are you doing?’ because there was a lot of competition within sound system, and people didn't want to give away their secrets because they wanted to stay on top and carry on earning some money out of it. There was a lot of trial and error, a lot of blowing up amps and blowing up speakers and seeing how far things would go. When you're on a small budget it's a long slow process."
PAUL HUXTABLE – AXIS SOUND SYSTEM
Paul Huxtable was born and brought up in Preston, Lancashire. He moved to Huddersfield in 1996 with his then girlfriend, now wife, Amanda Huxtable. The couple lived in Leeds for a year before settling in Huddersfield: "They were a lot more welcoming in Huddersfield regarding music and sound systems and the more we visited the more we liked the feel of the place. A lot more friendly and open and when I looked into it there was a lot more sound systems operating at that time in Huddersfield than there was in Leeds. So it seemed a logical choice to move to Huddersfield."
When Paul first arrived in Huddersfield there were many more venues prepared to put on a sound system dance: "From when I first started coming here I've been to the Arawak Club, the Rising Sun, Brackenhall Community Centre, Deighton Hall... there was quite a few places where dances were being held... even visited a couple of Blues parties towards the end. Sounds used to get more opportunity to play so there were more out there. Venues are very difficult, a lot of complications with the no-smoking ban and environmental health and noise complaints and a general complacency has killed it down a bit, but it was quite vibrant. I caught the last of the vibrant years in Huddersfield, but unfortunately witnessed the decline of it. But,compared to Leeds, it was a lot more vibrant and more friendly."
Paul first noticed sound systems at Preston Carnival as a youngster: "As a kid I noticed sound systems and I was pretty fascinated by them. Then it kinda got put to the back of my mind for a few years. I was always fascinated by bass, I remember going to the cinema and running down to the speakers when the credits were rolling on the film and feeling the bass off the speakers on my back and being fascinated by it."
As a teenager Paul played in a band, and he found himself in charge of the PA system. His love of Reggae music wasn't shared to the same degree by the other band members so, using his PA equipment, he left the band and began putting together his own sound. He was also a resident DJ at various clubs in Preston, and would often play private parties and functions: "I've always been interested in the Reggae music from being very young. It appealed to me more than any other type of music. I listen to all musics but Reggae has always had a special place for me."
Through his job as Nightclub Manager Paul provided the venue for sound system dances: "I used to run a club in Preston called The Paradise Club and I used to rent out a big space upstairs. A certain bloke called Felix said ‘I'd like to put sound system dances on here’. And I said ‘ok’. I wasn't really that well versed on sound system culture but I said ‘Yeah, cool, it's this rate to hire it, no problem, I look forward to it’. Anyway, the first sound he had in was a local sound, a big one at the time, which was Rootsman. I was fascinated by all the amount of speakers and the amplifiers, it was all valve then, and a custom-built amplifier with the lights and it just looked beautiful. I was working that night behind the bar and that first night just changed my life. I just enjoyed the music and the vibes so much. It was pitch black, we'd run out of special brew in about 10 minutes!”
“Over the time I spent there I saw lots and lots of sounds come from all over the country, and most of them back then were valve sounds. I used to love the different design of the boxes, the different way they presented it, the different musics they played, the crowds of people on coaches... I got to know a lot of people from the Preston black community from those nights. The sounds were playing records that I was buying and when they played them on their sound systems it took those records to another dimension for me, and I always wanted to build my own sound system from listening to those sounds coz I wanted my records to sound like that."
Paul started building Axis, a sound system custom-built for Reggae music, in 1989 and his first dance was at the Caribbean Club in Preston in 1992: "I went round a lot of sound systems in the day and listened and looked what they were playing with. Sometimes you weren't really very welcome to look too deep into it, you'd be pushed aside or asked, ‘What the hell are you doing?’ because there was a lot of competition within sound system, and people didn't want to give away their secrets because they wanted to stay on top and carry on earning some money out of it. There was a lot of trial and error, a lot of blowing up amps and blowing up speakers and seeing how far things would go. When you're on a small budget it's a long slow process."
ska invita
back on the other side
Paul has travelled the world learning his craft: "I've been to Jamaica many times over the years. I've studied sound systems over in Jamaica, I've studied it all over the UK, I've studied it in Europe. I used to live in St. Lucia in the West Indies for a year in the early mid 80s and every weekend I was at sound system dance. Even though that's the Eastern Caribbean, it's not Jamaica, but Reggae and sound systems still very popular all over the Caribbean. A lot of other countries outside Jamaica have the tradition of sound systems as well."
He looked to the past when seeking out new tunes: "I've always gone very deep with the Roots music and the Reggae music, a lot of lesser known artists like Freddie Mckay, Ronnie Davis, all the different bands. I was more influenced by the 70s. As the early 80s started to progress I kinda lost interest a bit because it got a little bit too Roots and a little bit formulaic, the studios all started sounding the same, because they were using the same standard clean equipment. There was no atmosphere in the music. A lot of it had gone very Rasta, you weren't seeing any women in the dances, it just got too Roots and I kind of lost interest in the music and I stopped buying current Reggae music in the mid 80s. And I started looking back to what I had missed, which was before my time, the early 70s and 60s and finding a whole heap of quality in that music. I love the recordings and the engineer and the horn section, real songs and melodies and good harmonies, real musicians playing instruments, good sound engineers recording it. And it just said a lot more to me than what was actually coming out. I found my middle ground in the early Reggae sound, which was often about Roots and Resistance but often about the price of cheese, or your woman leaving you or whatever."
This belief in quality, vintage music sets Paul apart from other sounds operating today: "I've always been a bit of a maverick just doing my own thing, really. I've always really promoted the old music which is even before the time of a lot of my contemporaries. I understand that music and I've collected that music, played that music, promoted that music for a long time. A lot of man will say ‘I'm an original foundation man’ but they only go back as far as the early 80s, which is what was around then. Well, I'm more interested in 70s and 60s even though I wasn't really around then. So I've never really fitted in that league. I don't fit into the Roots and Steppas thing because I'm not really that keen on the music or the presentation, I'm more on my own really. I don't really fit into any league table."
Playing his sound is a spiritual thing: "Sometimes when you've been playing for hours and hours and hours and you're really locked in with the machine and it's performing beautifully, and it's treating you right and you're treating the machine right and you've got this synergy going and the people are just really having a good time being uplifted and listening to the music but also chatting and you just think to yourself, ‘This is as good as it gets’. People need to be entertained. They need relaxation coz the stresses of life are so intense now and that's what it’s about. It always has been since time immemorial. It doesn't matter if you were just banging a drum round a campfire, dancing and telling stories, it's the same thing. You do that to relieve the stresses of everyday life."
Paul designed and built Heritage HiFi, a beautifully crafted custom-built sound system for the Sound System Culture project. The mid bass includes 2 hearts in the centre which give it a softer feminine touch: "I think it's very important to keep in touch with your feminine side, to a certain extent, when building sound system because it’s kind of a macho, male-dominated area. People want their sound systems to look big and awesome and menacing and black and mysterious which I can understand because it all adds to the power and the look of it. But I like the old style where you used to have cartoon characters painted on, musical notes, the name of your sound in jaunty lettering, lightning bolts painted on them... I like all that from the early days... so the heart-shaped cut-outs are feminising it. It's not just saying this is just for men because, to me, a lot of sound systems now is about macho, power, how many windows you can blow out with your bass. But, beyond a point, it’s not entertaining, it’s just about power. So I want to bring back the entertainment, the humour and the passive side of it rather than the aggressive side of it. This is something you can dance in front of, it looks beautiful, it sounds beautiful and, ultimately, you're gonna feel more beautiful if you're around it."
It was Paul's father-in-law that was the inspiration behind the heart-shaped cut-outs: "I got that idea from my father-in-law Neville who had his first sound system in 1968 down in London. He came over from Jamaica in the 60s, and almost straight away he was into sound system. He shared a sound system called Phantom. He loves his old music, loves the fact that I love me old music and we get on like a house on fire. I've learned a lot from Neville and when I got married in Jamaica to his daughter, my wife Amanda, he was so happy to bring out his sound system on the lawn and we just played through the night. Family and friends were eating food and dancing and everything was really nice. And I was looking at his boxes, boxes he's had for years and years, and I noticed some of the ports were the different suits of playing cards - clubs, diamonds, hearts and spades in the cut-outs. And I just thought that was great. I love that. So when I built Heritage HiFi I thought I really like the heart one because you've got two ports on there on the one box, two hearts together. A togetherness. Because all humans have hearts... let’s have two hearts beating together and the voice coming out of that box. So the voice is coming from the heart."
Axis Sound System plays every second Saturday of the month at Bar 1:22 in Huddersfield: "I'm trying to unify people, I'm saying ‘Look, anybody can come here.’ I'm not targeting any one audience here, this is open to anybody. As long as you've got a heart and a head you're human. This is a human thing, it's not a race thing, it’s not a culture thing, it’s not strictly a tradition thing, it’s not a man thing, it’s not a woman thing, it’s about reaching good music into your heart and mind.
He looked to the past when seeking out new tunes: "I've always gone very deep with the Roots music and the Reggae music, a lot of lesser known artists like Freddie Mckay, Ronnie Davis, all the different bands. I was more influenced by the 70s. As the early 80s started to progress I kinda lost interest a bit because it got a little bit too Roots and a little bit formulaic, the studios all started sounding the same, because they were using the same standard clean equipment. There was no atmosphere in the music. A lot of it had gone very Rasta, you weren't seeing any women in the dances, it just got too Roots and I kind of lost interest in the music and I stopped buying current Reggae music in the mid 80s. And I started looking back to what I had missed, which was before my time, the early 70s and 60s and finding a whole heap of quality in that music. I love the recordings and the engineer and the horn section, real songs and melodies and good harmonies, real musicians playing instruments, good sound engineers recording it. And it just said a lot more to me than what was actually coming out. I found my middle ground in the early Reggae sound, which was often about Roots and Resistance but often about the price of cheese, or your woman leaving you or whatever."
This belief in quality, vintage music sets Paul apart from other sounds operating today: "I've always been a bit of a maverick just doing my own thing, really. I've always really promoted the old music which is even before the time of a lot of my contemporaries. I understand that music and I've collected that music, played that music, promoted that music for a long time. A lot of man will say ‘I'm an original foundation man’ but they only go back as far as the early 80s, which is what was around then. Well, I'm more interested in 70s and 60s even though I wasn't really around then. So I've never really fitted in that league. I don't fit into the Roots and Steppas thing because I'm not really that keen on the music or the presentation, I'm more on my own really. I don't really fit into any league table."
Playing his sound is a spiritual thing: "Sometimes when you've been playing for hours and hours and hours and you're really locked in with the machine and it's performing beautifully, and it's treating you right and you're treating the machine right and you've got this synergy going and the people are just really having a good time being uplifted and listening to the music but also chatting and you just think to yourself, ‘This is as good as it gets’. People need to be entertained. They need relaxation coz the stresses of life are so intense now and that's what it’s about. It always has been since time immemorial. It doesn't matter if you were just banging a drum round a campfire, dancing and telling stories, it's the same thing. You do that to relieve the stresses of everyday life."
Paul designed and built Heritage HiFi, a beautifully crafted custom-built sound system for the Sound System Culture project. The mid bass includes 2 hearts in the centre which give it a softer feminine touch: "I think it's very important to keep in touch with your feminine side, to a certain extent, when building sound system because it’s kind of a macho, male-dominated area. People want their sound systems to look big and awesome and menacing and black and mysterious which I can understand because it all adds to the power and the look of it. But I like the old style where you used to have cartoon characters painted on, musical notes, the name of your sound in jaunty lettering, lightning bolts painted on them... I like all that from the early days... so the heart-shaped cut-outs are feminising it. It's not just saying this is just for men because, to me, a lot of sound systems now is about macho, power, how many windows you can blow out with your bass. But, beyond a point, it’s not entertaining, it’s just about power. So I want to bring back the entertainment, the humour and the passive side of it rather than the aggressive side of it. This is something you can dance in front of, it looks beautiful, it sounds beautiful and, ultimately, you're gonna feel more beautiful if you're around it."
It was Paul's father-in-law that was the inspiration behind the heart-shaped cut-outs: "I got that idea from my father-in-law Neville who had his first sound system in 1968 down in London. He came over from Jamaica in the 60s, and almost straight away he was into sound system. He shared a sound system called Phantom. He loves his old music, loves the fact that I love me old music and we get on like a house on fire. I've learned a lot from Neville and when I got married in Jamaica to his daughter, my wife Amanda, he was so happy to bring out his sound system on the lawn and we just played through the night. Family and friends were eating food and dancing and everything was really nice. And I was looking at his boxes, boxes he's had for years and years, and I noticed some of the ports were the different suits of playing cards - clubs, diamonds, hearts and spades in the cut-outs. And I just thought that was great. I love that. So when I built Heritage HiFi I thought I really like the heart one because you've got two ports on there on the one box, two hearts together. A togetherness. Because all humans have hearts... let’s have two hearts beating together and the voice coming out of that box. So the voice is coming from the heart."
Axis Sound System plays every second Saturday of the month at Bar 1:22 in Huddersfield: "I'm trying to unify people, I'm saying ‘Look, anybody can come here.’ I'm not targeting any one audience here, this is open to anybody. As long as you've got a heart and a head you're human. This is a human thing, it's not a race thing, it’s not a culture thing, it’s not strictly a tradition thing, it’s not a man thing, it’s not a woman thing, it’s about reaching good music into your heart and mind.
sherriff rosco
Mostly harmless unless catering is shut.
Had the pleasure of setting that little lot up for a demo in Melbourne last weekend..
All I can say is move over F1 & Void as the Danley stuff beats it hands down on seamless point source coverage and nice rounded fat bass !
.p.
ska invita
back on the other side
looks like a stack of 4 bass bins! that should do the trick! they're deep cabs arent they?
beesonthewhatnow
going deaf for a living
I'm sure they sound fantastic, but my back hurts just looking at that lot
Had the pleasure of setting that little lot up for a demo in Melbourne last weekend..
All I can say is move over F1 & Void as the Danley stuff beats it hands down on seamless point source coverage and nice rounded fat bass !
.p.
