Trey Anastasio explains why “no one will ever have an amp on stage at the Sphere”
The Las Vegas Sphere has made headlines since it opened last September, thanks to its eye-catching appearance and capabilities for offering an immersive live music experience unlike anything seen before. Anyone thinking they can play a residency with conventional guitar amps, however, might be in for a surprise according to Phish‘s Trey Anastasio.
Phish played a short residency at the Sphere earlier this year and Anastasio has now revealed the state-of-the-art arena makes it “almost impossible” to use conventional amps on stage. For Phish’s residency, his amps were placed well out of view, meaning his rig looked like it didn’t have any on-stage tube amps whatsoever.
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“No one will ever have an amp on stage at the Sphere,” Anastasio tells Guitar World. “They might have dummies, but they’re not on. The 52,000-speaker sound system comes down right behind your back. So there’s a slapback [echo].
“That’s why anyone who will ever play there will have to have the drums wrapped in plexiglass.”
Anastasio, of course, won’t be the only musician who has had to adapt. John Mayer, who is just approaching the end of a residency with Dead and Company, recently said he had to keep his amp rig in wooden shipping crates in the venue’s loading dock.
“If you happen to be walking through, you’ve got no choice but to hear it!” he wrote on Instagram.
It has been speculated that the Sphere’s unique PA and amalgamation of speakers would mean the stage volume has to be kept down, which seems to be the case if amps have to be kept elsewhere.
Indeed, when U2 played the Sphere’s inaugural residency, The Edge had to make a notable switch from his usual tube amps to Universal Audio’s amp sim pedals.
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Source: www.guitar-bass.net
