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Gigant 80's Turbosound rig - former ABBA |
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dj scratchy 
Young Croc 
Joined: 06 July 2010 Location: cambridge Status: Offline Points: 1263 |
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 Posted: 05 November 2013 at 3:25pm |
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i hope someone here buys this and saves it, a real piece of history there and it would be a massive shame if it ended up in the hands of a free party crew or broken up for drivers of something
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sound, light, trilite, stage decks, complete stage packages indoor and outdoor 07568188104 sl systems sound&light
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jazomir
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Joined: 20 November 2006 Location: Sunderland UK Status: Offline Points: 1711 |
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Posted: 05 November 2013 at 3:55pm |
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It is possible that these were used by, and possibly even built for, Abba. The original TFA system IIRC, was a one box system consisting of both the Low box and the mid/high box as shown in the ad, with the lows I believe, on either side of the mid/highs (and was immensely disliked by a certain Mr Andrews). It is possible that this particular system was custom built for use on a major world tour and needed to be flown between countries in which case the one box system may have been too cumbersome. Strange it has suddenly appeared on the market now, but the components do look authentic - good to see the Quad 405s in there for highs - but the drivers may have been changed and could the cabs have been cut and spliced together? Whether is actually exists is another matter - has anyone checked the validity of the ad/advertiser?
Edit. The original TFA System using the technology was the 'Brown System' (I kid thee not!). ABBA used 2 x planes for their world tour - a Boeing 747&727. (Guess who's bored, today?!)
Edited by jazomir - 05 November 2013 at 5:04pm |
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For sidefills, can we have two enormous things of a type that might be venerated as Gods by the inhabitants of Easter Island, capable of reaching volumes that would make Beelzebub soil his pants.
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London Sound1
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Joined: 06 January 2009 Location: East London Status: Offline Points: 279 |
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Posted: 05 November 2013 at 4:09pm |
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I have an article somewhere about that system, in something like Beats International.
Ian |
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We know what most of the knobs do
http://www.soundengineer.co.uk |
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burningbush
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Joined: 25 May 2009 Location: Pictland Status: Offline Points: 5897 |
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Posted: 05 November 2013 at 4:24pm |
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Does look like it was preserved in a bog.
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music is the message
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madboffin
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Joined: 03 July 2009 Location: Milton Keynes Status: Offline Points: 1539 |
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Posted: 05 November 2013 at 4:54pm |
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TFA-Electrosound definitely provided audio for at least one Abba tour, it's documented in a few articles written at the time.
I had a good look at this rig shortly after it was built and, of course, was fascinated by the innovative design. One of its first outings was a Rod Stewart tour, and Tim who designed the Turbo midrange travelled with it for a while. The shows that I heard it used on included, I think, Wings, and the Pretenders. This would have been around 1977- 1980. From what I remember it sounded good, but it was noticeable how directional the mids were. In practice, like most similar 2-box and 1-box rigs, the boxes were usually not arrayed properly and as you would expect this resulted in comb filtering and split beams in the coverage pattern. Apparently Tony Andrews was very unhappy with the system, and I would guess that this arraying / coverage problem was the reason. The whole point of his Festival system concept was to use curved arrays in which the cabinets were set up to optimise smoothness of coverage. Edited by madboffin - 05 November 2013 at 5:02pm |
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jazomir
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Joined: 20 November 2006 Location: Sunderland UK Status: Offline Points: 1711 |
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Posted: 05 November 2013 at 5:59pm |
I believe the 'Brown' system was actually designed specifically for the Rod Stewart tour.
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For sidefills, can we have two enormous things of a type that might be venerated as Gods by the inhabitants of Easter Island, capable of reaching volumes that would make Beelzebub soil his pants.
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norty303
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Joined: 18 August 2004 Location: Eastbourne Status: Offline Points: 8806 |
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Posted: 05 November 2013 at 6:05pm |
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So yeah, break it up for firewood I reckon, like a few of the earlier comments...
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My laser stuff: Frikkin Lasers
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jbl_man
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Joined: 12 January 2005 Location: London. Status: Offline Points: 11155 |
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Posted: 05 November 2013 at 8:01pm |
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Did a quick tot-up of the component value on that lot,(at realistic used prices,not over-inflated "ebay dreamer" prices.ie £150 for a dc300a,not some silly £400 ebay nonsense),and the seller has priced it at pretty much the exact value of the component parts...it is probually worth the 7000 Euro asking price,but take the transport into account,and the work involved,its doubtful.
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Be seeing you.
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bee
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Joined: 14 June 2011 Location: Middlesex Status: Offline Points: 4553 |
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Posted: 05 November 2013 at 8:13pm |
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nice find, the boxes look fairly solid, a bit of dodgy fixes on some of the cabs, and im sure the subs were not ported originally. The ports look like they have been added (random hole sizes and placement)....
The tops could be brought back to life, not sure about the subs.... the main issue with the tops is the added ring, and some of the phase bungs look non original.... the added rings could mean the backs of the phase bungs could of been butchered....
Edited by bee - 05 November 2013 at 8:17pm |
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https://www.elements-audio.com
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TONY.A.S.S.
Old Croc
Joined: 21 February 2007 Location: United Kingdom Status: Offline Points: 6878 |
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Posted: 05 November 2013 at 8:24pm |
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I would imagine Bill Kelsey had something to do with that. There were various things that he tried with the early Turbo stuff. When I saw the Quad in the rack, I thought of Bill straight away. I did two really big systems for him and he used RSD amps and the top amp was the rack mounted 405.
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RobinMatrix
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Joined: 23 August 2013 Location: Kidderminster Status: Offline Points: 567 |
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Posted: 05 November 2013 at 9:02pm |
I don't know what sort of house you live in, but there is no way that lot would fit in our bog. Even if you took the sink out, it wouldn't fit.  |
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Matrix Pro Audio ::http://matrixproaudio.com/"
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madboffin
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Joined: 03 July 2009 Location: Milton Keynes Status: Offline Points: 1539 |
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Posted: 05 November 2013 at 10:11pm |
The bass boxes definitely had those ports in 1978, I remember seeing them! The turbo mids look like they may have had new baffles, perhaps to fit alternative drivers. I thought the originals were JBL. The HF horns might be cut-down Vitavoxes (who else here remembers those?). But it's hard to tell, without a picture looking directly down the bells to see if they have the diffraction vanes in the throat. The 2402's are original, but I bet they will need new diaphragms, even if they are producing some noise on test... I think JBL man is right about the pricing. Bill Kelsey may well have had a hand in these, he certainly designed the later Electrosound system (the one with the Transylvanian tweeters) Edited by madboffin - 05 November 2013 at 10:13pm |
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madboffin wrote: