The Secrets Of Pink Floyd’s Quadraphonic PA @soundonsound
The Secrets Of Pink Floyd’s Quadraphonic PA  @soundonsound
Uploaded July 2024 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Pink Floyd pioneered live surround sound as long ago as the early ’70s. Chris Hewitt has tracked down the groundbreaking PA systems they used at Pompeii and on the Dark Side Of The Moon tour, and rebuilt the custom quad console operated by Alan Parsons. In our exclusive video feature, Chris explains how the Floyd created a fully immersive concert experience more than 50 years ago.

Chapters
00:00 - Introduction
01:14 - Allen & Heath quadraphonic desk
01:39 - Desk designer Andy Bereza
02:00 - Allen & Heath Minimix
02:19 - Pink Floyd mixing in quad
02:43 - Teac A3340 4-track tape machine
03:22 - Alan Parsons at the mixing desk
04:11 - Binson Echorec 2
04:30 - Live mix engineers
05:30 - Introduction of wedge monitors
06:26 - Sennheiser MD 409
07:07 - Phase Linear amplifiers
08:54 - WEM parabolic dish
11:23 - Rebuilding the quad desk

Thank you to Chris Hewitt of CH Vintage Audio for inviting us to film his collection.
chvintageaudio.com

The following books by Chris Hewitt contain a wealth of information and further details about the Pink Floyd PA system as well as the history of WEM the pioneering British live sound company.

The Development Of Large Rock Sound Systems: Volume 1
The Development Of Large Rock Sound Systems: Volume 2
The Development Of Large Rock Sound Systems: Volume 3
The Development Of Large Rock Sound Systems: Volume 4

Available to purchase from:
deeplyvale.com/wem-pa-book

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The Secrets Of Pink Floyd’s Quadraphonic PA

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