Building a Columbian Pico sound system myself, why ?
And how did I go about it ?

The journey:

Traveling to Colombia, watching a lot of Pico's, studying Youtube videos of various builders. One thing is for sure, the Colombians are very creative and very skilled when it comes to building beautiful speakers with limited resources. Eventually decided not to want to make an exact copy but to make our own design inspired by the Colombian Pico's. A solid sound with solid low and sparkling high, that was important to me in the design.

The Construction:

After a long search, I arrived at the TH18 subwoofer that was to be the basis of the system. However, the birch plywood panels were hard to get and also very large to cut myself in my shed. But after a good search I found the right wood and enlarged my shed so there was room to saw.

After half a year of building the subwoofers were ready for testing. Testing in my own shed was not very convenient as all the tools and containers with screws vibrated from their place. In the end I had a day of testing in the large hall of Q-factory in Amsterdam where also the setting of the DBX crossover was an interesting challenge.

The choice for the top speakers originated in 1992. Discotheque St. Tropez then sold its set of 4 Karlson K15 speakers which we used for our Drive in show (DMC).

I always kept these very special speakers finished with Plexiglas curtain openings and the famous Fane slot-bullet tweeters in my shed. Eventually we fitted these speakers with new drivers and refurbished tweeters. The electronics were also replaced they were painted in the colors of the subwoofers.

The painting:

Last also came the trickiest part, the painting of the Pico. In Colombia, sound systems are always painted very colorfully on special canvases. After searching for some time I came in contact with Michel Velt from Groningen. Immediately fascinated by his special Graffiti style I asked him if he wanted to paint the Pico. Inspired by various Colombian and South American styles he managed to create a beautiful colorful painting with a typical 'Colombian' tiger !

The DJ Booth:

I personally feel that the DJ should not be in the picture, the colorful Pico should take center stage among the dancing audience. The DJ Booth is therefore kept compact and minimalistic. An All-in-1 unit with everything in it that is needed to mix the various styles of music together. This can be done digitally as well as on vinyl.

Technology:

Amplification: QSC 4x 1200 watts low, 4x 500 watts low-mid, 4x 300 watts mid-high

Speakers: 4x B&C 1200 watt sub, 4x EMinence bass/mid, 4x Fane ultra high

Audio: Tascam rack mixer, Reloop Mixtour Pro, Ipad+Djaypro

Crossover: DBX Driverack PA2

Analog: 2x Technics 1210, Pioneer DM350 mixer

Lighting: Cuety pro DMX, various led strips & spots, Ayra beam