Hi Aidan,
"Back then" there were few studios outside of Dublin and the gear was pretty universal at first...a Binson Echorec was a must and Dynacord was the rage for PA amps. Marmac was a manufacturer based in Sligo that manufactured Amps and speaker enclosures (I used to live across the street in Union Place). I'm pretty sure the name "Marmac" came from the two owners, one of which, John Martin, I knew well, but I'm not sure who the other owner was. John also worked for RTE as a technician, so he knew his stuff. There were only a few major retailers around, probably the most famous being Joe O'Neill's in Glenamaddy. There were a lot of Marshall amps, Orange, and Vox. Guitars were mostly Fenders, although some Gibsons and other makes were available. Later, Bose PA's became very popular (early 80's) and many of the top bands appreciated their compact size!
One could probably write a book about the various equipment being used. But the Echorec stands out as it was a real essential piece of gear that gave vocals that extra "liveliness" they all needed...especially when a hall or marquee was packed with sound absorbing bodies. As usual, many bands abused the reverb and sounded like they were singing from the bottom of a well! Anyone else? By the way, here's a photo of our Marmac 120 PA amp (circa 1975) with a Copycat echo (the poor man's Binson). Marmac eventually went into the cable TV business and stopped making amps and speakers years ago.

The wem (Watkins) Copycat was in my opinion a better guitar echo than the Baby Binson. (This was in a time before built-in reverb and effects).

As for guitar pedals, I remember seeing Dunlop Cry Baby wah wah pedals (but they weren't used a lot), many guitarists used compressor (Dynacomp was popular), maybe a chous pedal, and many also had a fuzz pedal (the Fuzz face, Electro Harmonix, and a couple others). I don't remember anyone having a floor full of pedals like you see today. In the mid to late 70's, combo amps with built in reverb and sometimes chorus started to become popular, especially as bands downsized their gear and some started using sound systems with mixers located down the floor, or at the back of the hall or side of the stage with a dedicated "sound" man (usually the roadie).

Bet ya didn't use Monopole strings. They were a fantastic yoke for breaking. 8)

hi there im surprised noone mentioned dermot hurleys crazy boxs they were the greatest thing since a rotten bugger on the way home from a gig  anyone still got a set
monday tuesday wednesday test,,,,,

Hi all.

This thread reminds me of something that an old Pro' said to me many years ago when I was starting out in the business.

We had just finished work and he was looking at the P.A. when he remarked. " In my day day we complained if there was an echo in the palce you were playing. Now we bring one with us" !!

Barry