This picture is too loud

[GAD]

ZZ-Top. First one I saw on FB where it said 1970 but according to Austin Museum of Pop Culture (Armadillo World Headquarters) it was 1972. Second one I found on Pinterest.

I'm thinking those are Marshall "Plexi" Superleads. While it doesn't look like the one on the far right is hooked up (maybe a hot spare or just there for looks) my ears are still ringing just from looking at the pics. Well, that might be from me having a new 4x12 in my home office...

 

[Midnight Toker]

I think it's just loud enough. (ZZ needs to be felt as much as heard!)

 

[Walter Broes]

And it looks like it's indoors even.

I don't get it. Big festival, stadium, etc...stages are a different thing altogether - your 20W 1x12 combo that will have the neighbours calling the police will have you wondering if it's even on on a big outdoor stage.

But even a 100W halfstack in a club is just painful, literally.
I like to feel like it's "nice and loud" on stage, I'll admit that - but compared to a full stack with a 100W non-master head, I'm somewhere between civilized and wimpy, volume-wise.

 

[Bill Ashton]

...I am lovin' the Shure Vocalmaster and the Kustom head trying, probably in vain, to keep up with those Marshall's

 

[matsickma]

I think ZZ Top had their big world tour in '73 with the on stage longhorn steer and vulture perch.
I saw them on the tour. Was able to work my way up close to the front. Was a "little out of it" and don't remember it being to loud but I do remember that longhorn steer. I think it kept looking at me!! LOL!!

 

[GGJaguar]

It would be louder if they were playing Garshall amps.

 

[Midnight Toker]

...I am lovin' the Shure Vocalmaster and the Kustom head trying, probably in vain, to keep up with those Marshall's

The Kustom oddly looks to be a KA400 bass head, not a straight power amp. But I guess it would work fine. Power is power when you need to get the job done.
Also looks like the only things mic’d are vocals both kicks, one under the mounted toms and a snare/HH mic. Basically a garage band setup. That’s rock and roll!! (That’s how I started in my 20 yrs of doing live sound…riding eq faders and vocal mic gain at max vol JUST before feedback….while yelling at guitarists/bassists to turn the %#$& down!! )

 

[matsickma]

Looks to me that the Kustom is a PA head with the 4 input channels. The side chrome bracket is typical of the PA heads that mount into the chrome tubular mounting stand that allows the head to be pivoted at different angles. Not sure of the power output but typically the model number is 2x the RMS power. At least that was the nomenclature used on the guitar and bass amps.
Definitely old school "garage band" PA and simple way to add vocals. Definitely an improvement over plugging the mic's into a unused guitar amp channel!

As an aside...back in the day a friend of mine bought a 200W Marshall head. He got it at a good price because the guy he bought it from found it was too loud. If I recall correctly it only had a single volume control so you had to crank it up to get it to saturate. It was loud so lower efficiency Jensen's 12's were used and occasionally burned out.

Many, many years later I acquired a late mode Guild Thunderbass Quantum amps using 6550 power tubes. I ran the amp through similar 12" Jensen's as the Marshall 200 and the volume was truly painful! Now I'm a lot older that the days of the 200 W Marshall but it it sure seemed like the Guild Quantum amps was the loudest amp I ever played a guitar through.

 

[GAD]

It would be louder if they were playing Garshall amps.

Time machine rock.

 

[GAD]

I think ZZ Top had their big world tour in '73 with the on stage longhorn steer and vulture perch.
I saw them on the tour. Was able to work my way up close to the front. Was a "little out of it" and don't remember it being to loud but I do remember that longhorn steer. I think it kept looking at me!! LOL!!

Awesome.

My threshold for “too loud” has certainly changed. I may have blown an eardrum at some point in my life because one ear causes me serious pain any more if the volume gets to be too much.

I tend to blame that George Thorogood concert in the ‘80s. I couldn’t hear for days afterwards, though years of 100W amps (even though SS) probably didn’t help.

 

[Bill Ashton]

Back in...uh...'72?...saw Cactus at a local college (Worcester area, Anna Maria?). First or second date with new girlfriend. The Youngbloods (of all bands!) were the openers! We all were close to the"raised platform" that was the stage in the "gym." When Cactus came on, we all laid flat on our backs, the sound went OVER us,and we were fine.

Sorry for the vere, its just habitual...

 

[matsickma]

Cool! I saw Cactus in July '72 at Concert 10 at Poconos International Raceway. They were the 3rd band up when the show started around noon.
Outdoor Festival sound wasn't overpowering but the crowd, heat and then late afternoon into evening downpour took its toll on the crowd. Around 6am the next morning Keith Emerson of ELP cranked up the Moog and did loud foghorn sounds to match the heavy fog that came over the early morning mountain air. Pretty sure ELP was on the Trilogy tour that summer.