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Ayone know the wattage used at a Rock concert?

I just attended a Dave Matthews concert last night at a large outdoor venue (very good show). The sound level was incredible, the bass was chest thumping. I'm wondering what type of amplification is used at something like this, ie, number of amps, type of amps, number of watts, that type of thing. Anyone have any experience with this stuff? I kinda like trivial knowlegde of this sort. Thanks.
mijknarf
ehoehn
169 posts
 
Spinal Tap had amps that went to 11 rather than 10 just for that added something
hndamike
5 posts
 
Its been a long time, but if I recall correctly The Who was running 76,000 Watts when they set the Guiness Record as the World's Loudest Band at a stadium venue, maybe Shea in NY.
AC/DC was running 45,000 Watts on the For Those About To Rock Tour. I saw them indoors at the Meadowlands in NJ, the place used to be called the Brendan Byrne Arena.
distortion
571 posts
 
I believe "Manowar" holds the current world record for the loudest concert. 129 Decibels, I think. I would guess tens of thousands of watts, or maybe even hundreds of thousands.

I got very up close to Pink Floyds setup several years back. The amps stacks were absolutely massive. Dozens and dozens of amplifiers.
sean
6,231 posts
 
While i think that The Who still hold the record according to the Guiness Book, Manowar is definitely a band that plays on "10". No real man would play any other way : ) Sean
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trelja
3,223 posts
 
I am glad you brought that up, Ehoehn. Spinal Tap is often overlooked when it comes to these discussions. I wonder what ever happened to that amp?

The point I ALWAYS make to audiophiles is, one venture to see live music will totally make you question the "reality" or "liveness" of a system being played at low to mid volumes. Even unamplified instruments play extremely loudly.
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