Sound system (the rig)

Brought Jamaican sound-system practice to the Bronx, seeding hip-hop.

Brought Jamaican sound-system practice to the Bronx, seeding hip-hop.

Operators manage the sound, equipment and dance business.

The deejay speaks/toasts over records in sound-system performance.

Selectors choose and sequence records for a sound system.

Amplification is central to the sound-system rig.

Preamp/control units shape sound-system live tone/effects.

Rae Town oldies/street dances are associated with sound-system performance practice.

The valve (tube) amplifier was a core component of the early sound system rig (Bass Culture).

Custom-built speaker boxes were assembled into the sound system rig (Bass Culture).

The operator ran and maintained the sound system rig at dances (Solid Foundation).

Stacked speaker cabinets formed the output end of the rig (Rough Guide to Reggae).

Active crossovers split the signal across the multi-way sound-system rig.

It describes the bodily power of the whole sound-system rig.

Horn flares give the sound-system rig its efficiency and long throw.

Box-builders are a foundational, often uncredited role behind the rig.

Fine-tuning the set for a room is a distinct performance skill.

Hauling the boxes and power to each dance is core sound-system labour.

The rig is voiced for felt weight rather than domestic flatness.

Sonic dominance is the total bodily immersion the rig produces.

Weight and pressure are what a rig is built and judged to deliver.

The whole rig, boxes, amps and effects, is treated as an instrument.

Rigs are built or heavily modified in-house rather than bought as PA.

Stringing up is the ritual of wiring and stacking the rig before a dance.