The Wall of Sound

The Project

Recreating a Legend

In 1973, Grateful Dead audio engineer Owsley "Bear" Stanley conceived the most audacious PA system in rock history. The Wall of Sound stood over 40 feet tall, weighed 75 tons, and required two crews — one to leap-frog ahead and set it up while the other was still tearing down. It toured for just over a year before the cost became unsustainable. Nothing like it has existed since.

Anthony Coscia, a luthier and guitar builder from Connecticut, started where any obsessive Deadhead would: a miniature. His 1:6 scale working replica took over 200 hours, featured 390 individually soldered tiny speakers (some sourced from cell phones), and included a custom lighting rig. The Wall Street Journal called it "Wall of Sound Lives Again in Some Dude's Basement."

Coscia didn't stop there. He went on to build a 1:2 half-scale working replica — a fully functional sound system — which has been exhibited at the Dead Forever Experience in Las Vegas and venues across the country. His goal: a full-scale reconstruction, built as a permanent historical artifact and touring exhibit.

The project has been endorsed by the Deadhead community and covered by every major music press outlet. It represents the most serious ongoing effort to physically preserve and recreate this chapter of rock history.