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    A sealed, unlabeled box sat undisturbed for decades on a shelf in the Grateful Dead’s San Rafael tape vault on Front Street, its contents an enduring mystery, even to those few with access to the vault. All David Lemieux knew about that box when he became the Dead’s archivist was that it contained tapes belonging to Bear—Owsley Stanley, the Dead’s first soundman and architect of the Wall of Sound. Even in the Dead Heads’ Holy of Holies, the taped-up box was tantalizing. But this was Bear’s personal property, and so he didn’t touch the box out of an abiding respect for the elder luminary of sound. Bear’s archive of Sonic Journal recordings had been kept safe for him for years within the Grateful Dead’s vault—over 1,300 reels of tape stored in heavy-duty cartons like old banana boxes. At any time, David could have popped the tops and explored them to his archivist heart's content. But they were off-limits without the nod from Bear. - Starfinder Stanley, Hawk, and Pete Bell, Owsley Stanley Foundation

     

    With a wink and a nod from Bear, we've peeled back those banana boxes to find some of the oldest and rarest of all recordings of the Dead including the double dose of shows that make up DAVE’S PICKS VOLUME 43. The two virtually complete performances from San Francisco 11/2/69, Live At Family Dog At The Great Highway, and from Dallas 12/26/69, McFarlin Auditorium, are complementary in their clarity and consistency thanks to Bear himself, and in their ability to foreshadow where the Dead were headed in the years to come. If the two killer 20-minute+ "Dark Stars" don't get ya, how about the Pigpen-centric sets featuring "Midnight Hour," "Next Time You See Me," "Big Boss Man," "Good Lovin'," and the once-lost-now-found complete rendition of "Dancing In The Streets," or the first full acoustic set ever performed? And we're certain you'll be fascinated to uncover the "Mystery Of Bear's Banana Boxes" as told by Starfinder Stanley, Hawk, and Pete Bell in the liners.

     

    Limited to 25,000 numbered copies, DAVE’S PICKS VOLUME 43 was recorded by Owlsey "Bear" Stanley and has been mastered to HDCD specs by Jeffrey Norman at Mockingbird Mastering. Grab a copy while you can.

     

    *2 per order. Very limited quantity available.

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  • PT Barnum
    Joined:
    Doc

    I was concerned, glad to hear you are well. Southwest of you I'm concerned, I still have friends in central florida, my mother lives down there (93 yrs old) but also dodged the main bullet, waiting for others to contact me. Mini vay kay play dead

  • dmcvt
    Joined:
    thanks, Doc

    Good to hear you and yours safe and sound. Thoughts go out to FL friends (so far, all good) and all who were so near the path. Almost at 1972 here, streaming the early December 1971 run at mini-MSG Felt Forum. A gloriously bright sunny Vermont day, fall foliage coming on, first frost tonight. Will pull the last peppers, tomatoes and basil out now.

  • 1stshow70878
    Joined:
    Oro Approved

    Love it! The Ess Amt-4 is a two-way with the slightly smaller Heil Air Motion Transformer and a 10" woofer rated 20W to 250W. They are 4 ohm, 45hz-24Khz, with the x-over at 1000hz, and called the sleeper in their killer line up from BITD. The best thing they have going is that Amt which delivers clear beautiful highs and solid mids in all directions from an open top design. Easy placement that way too. Look up their big boys, ESS Amt-1s and their Towers (I forget the number), well respected and still fetch four figure prices as parts units which tells you a lot. The Amt itself is indestructible and lifetime warranted. Mine had a solid pure pulp cone on that 10" which I have had to replace with a set of Misco, made in Minneapolis, Oaktron 10" from their Heritage line made to replace the similar stuff in all the brands from BITD. Same pure pulp cone and big voice coils and magnets but in a stamped steel frame just like the originals. Spec at 16-4000hz and 92 db efficiency.
    Got the ESSs cheap when almost new in 1977 from a college roomy who couldn't manage to get them back home to Cincy without a car. But then when the cat put a hole in one of the woofers in the 90s I replaced the originals with what I thought would be an upgrade but I screwed up. Bought subs that were 8-ohms by Pyramid, Super Pro Super Blue, made by Eminence in US ( Kentucky?) famous for their instrument speakers for bass and guitar. Great deal from a car audio shop going out of business and they took my torn ones in trade as well. As you know, that 8-ohm mistake changed the x-over to 2000hz and I traded off some midrange for killer, punchy bottom end which I thought at the time was good. Found out about five years ago that I screwed up and got the Miscos for about what I sold the now valuable subs for. Fit like a glove which no one who tried that swap with the only available 10" direct from ESS could do as all they sold was the big boy 10" from other higher models with a cast aluminum frame that required sawing into your cabinets just to make it fit. Found that out on Audio Karma luckily from others trying to do the same replacement on their various ESS. A couple of those guys used Dayton woofers to good effect but I went with Misco as their specs were a perfect match to original, hence original sound. Was not going to try to mess with upgrading as I might have had to upgrade the x-over too and taking a saw to the cabinets was out of the question. SO, long story longer, I got my midrange back and Phil bombs sound better than ever! Not bad for a novice hack job since I have zero skills with electricity or carpentry. Not even interested in a sub really. Pretty small living room and I want to keep peace in the neighborhood. Anytime you upgrade there is a leap of faith that the money you're spending will get the result you're after so I got lucky in all this I'd say. Some with a little more dinero are switching stuff all the time but you don't know unless you go. I certainly was OK with all my 70s stuff but you get used to your sound and don't realize how much better it can be until you go there. Thanks Oro.
    Cheers

  • daverock
    Joined:
    Doc

    I wish your last statement was true - but I suspect that the selfish behaviour of the powerful will have long lasting negative consequences for years to come.

  • Forensicdoceleven
    Joined:
    Most anyplace one lives is essentially dangerous......

    For all those who asked, or were concerned...............

    The Gillespie household is doing fine. So far, we've only lost power for about 45 minutes, but it's back on now. We've only caught the "tropical storm" part of Ian, but I have heard that potentially, this may be the deadliest hurricane to ever hit Florida. We now live in Green Cove Springs, about 30 miles southeast of Jax, safely away from the beach, the St John's River, and Black Creek. We're in a newish house, on high ground, have lots of food and water, and have an excellent generator. The St Augustine area is getting badly flooded........

    The strongest hurricane to ever hit Florida was the Labor Day hurricane of 1935, sustained winds of 180+ mph when it hit. There is a lovely--and moving----monument in the Keys to the hundreds who lost their lives in that storm. I've visited that site many many times while I lived down there. The deadliest? Probably the same hurricane, the exact toll is unknown, but probably in the hundreds.......

    For Matthew, we evacuated. For Irma, we hunkered down and rode out the storm. For a hurricane, either get out early, or be prepared to ride it out. I reassured my wife, "No matter what comes, we'll ride it out together".

    Out of an abundance of caution, my office is closed today and tomorrow, and I don't work this weekend. A "mini-vacation" of sorts. Now that the power is back, I'm actually busy spreading 1972 Lyceum shows around. Some things never change, hurricane be damned!!

    Here we dodged a bullet, yet I pray for those in harm's way on the Gulf coast...............

    Stay safe, and rock on,

    Doc
    What we have done for ourselves alone dies with us; what we have done for others and the world remains and is immortal......

  • Oroborous
    Joined:
    Well said 1stshow

    Don’t think I’ve heard of the ESS Amt 4s, looked them up, interesting, do you use a sub with them?
    And you refreshed my memory about adcom so I looked into that brand a little too.
    Interesting video comparing Adcom and NAD to contemporary Schiit audio.

    Almost bought a Schiit Yggdrasil DAC before I got my Meitner. For like 22-23 hundred bucks they sound as good as many DACs costing many thousands more! Schiit makes simple but value friendly great sounding products, or at least the ones I’ve heard.
    But yeah, NAD and Adcom, same idea, BITD budget friendly but great sounding gear. Sounds like a sweet little system!

    Hybrid stuff. I’ve heard some sweet sounding hybrid stuff at audio shows.
    Of course Jer Bear had a hybrid system utilizing a Fender Twin Tube amp for his pre and a SS MC2300 power amp and we all know how great that sounded and perhaps why he never changed his backend!
    I would say if your going to try hybrid go tube pre and SS power…
    My best recollection was with my buddy who started YFS and built my custom Ref 3 server: had an amazing sounding system one year at RMAF using YFS server, Meitner DAC, Custom made fully analog pre (tube?) biamped with one of the best sounding MC 275 tube amps on the highs, and a 200 per McIntosh solid state amp on the lows (don’t recall the model), powering some Von Schweikert audio stand speakers. I thought the sound and imaging of this system, even in the shitty little hotel room sounded as good or better than much bigger and expensive systems there that year.
    Just can’t describe what a big clean sound this relatively small system produced! Of course for the price of the system it should! Lol.

    I think it’s like everything else: trial and error and if it’s done right it can be a plus!
    I’ve never had tube stereo gear, but I’ve heard some great stuff, but that particular MC 275 that my buddies dad (some kind of engineer/scientist) restored and modified, is perhaps the best tube amp I’ve ever had the pleasure to hear. His dad is the one who built the custom line stage too. Ya know, let’s design and build a one of a kind killer audiophile unit just for something to do lol. They build their own bike frames too!
    So to me it’s like all this stuff, tube versus SS, analog versus digital etc, there’s not just one thing that’s best or better, if it’s done right, and you get the right synergy for your room etc, I’ve heard systems of all kinds that were amazing!

    Just a thought, yeah tube amps can be great for instruments for musical creation when you want that slightly overdriven sound (think Dead 72 before using Mac amps on the instruments), but for sound reproduction they can get tubby or muddy with perhaps too much distortion. Some people like that as it can give a richer, or warmer sound, I’m with you 1stshow, I prefer a more neutral sound, though some think that’s too dry etc?

    In the end, it just comes down to what’s best for you!

  • Crow Told Me
    Joined:
    There and Back Again

    For a few years, I was deeply into audio: or as deeply as my meager budget would allow, anyway. It started when I realized I needed a tube amplifier. This was because I realized that I would never in a million years use a transistor amp for my guitar, so why would I use one for my home listening?

    But of course tube amps and preamps are pretty pricey, so I had to go the DIY route: I built a preamp from a kit (Bottlehead) and bought an old ST-70 power amp, and I spent a lot of time tweaking them with various upgrades. They sounded pretty good, eventually. And I needed some efficient speakers, so I paired them with some Klipsch Heresys that I got off craigslist (for $100!).

    What happened next is so typical of me it's embarrassing: the ST-70 worked great for about 10 years and then just cut out one day. By this time, I had forgotten all the various rewirings and component upgrades etc I had done, and lost all my paperwork. So I had no idea how to troubleshoot it! Couldn't even find my volt meter! I decided to just sell the ST-70 for a couple hundred, get myself a used Sansui Au-417 (since they're reputed to have a tube-like sound, also a great phono stage), put all new caps in there, and call it day. So after all that I'm back to transistors. Sounds pretty good, though.

    Somewhat bemused to read the travails of my fellow heads who ordered the MSG set via Rhino and are now working through the delays and shipping mishaps. I didn't get the box set (early '80s are just not my era) but I went for the 3 CD breakout. Ordered it from Bezos and received on the day it was released. What a concept! I'm glad to have it, it's a good performance, but disappointed in the mix. It's all Jerry and Brent, Bob's guitar is completely (and I mean completely) inaudible, Phil and the drummers much too low. But you can hear Jerry great, and it's a high energy show so probably most people will really dig it. Still, I hope the rest of the box is better, for everybody's sake.

    Five for the universe:

    John Coltrane: Coltrane
    GOGD: Dick's Picks 36 (yow!!!)
    Joe Henderson: Mode for Joe
    Zappa: Hot Rats
    Sturgill Simpson: Cuttin Grass

  • 1stshow70878
    Joined:
    Bang For The Buck

    I went to separates during covid after doing some research and hearing from a collector of Heil Amt speakers that I wasn't hearing all my ESS Amt-4 floor standing speakers could do. Got an Adcom dual mono amp with 100W and 180 damping factor and was blown away like the Maxell guy. Got the other Adcom separates one at a time and noticed improvement each time. The pre-amp was better than using my old integrated amp as a pre and the digital tuner was way better than the old one. All are late 80s MOSFET stuff and fully restored they are still way cheaper than either vintage premier like Oro's McIntosh or 10x cheaper than modern audiophile. Just got to find a reliable restorer. They were the bargain audiophile brand BITD and made in USA. Very neutral coloring which some don't like but it's better to hear it exactly as it was made and play with the tone controls if you want different. Diminishing returns to go higher but I would have if the money was there. All in I spent maybe $700 and it sounds good to me. The bonus was I got a bedroom system from the old stuff, just have to add some speakers.

    Ten days to get my 3 CD MSG from CA to CO doesn't sound very innovative. Mail Innovations, aka the Louis Dejoy enrichment scheme, adds almost 500 more miles to the route that would have gotten to me two to three days earlier had UPS shortcut Mail Innovations and delivered it straight from the handoff point only 60 miles away. Bad for the customer and bad for the planet. Should be here tomorrow. Oh well, as Neil says, "don't let it bring you down, it's only castles burning".
    Cheers

    Edit: I find it interesting that folks are going back to valves, or tubes, especially in the pre-amp. I was advised to go with a hybrid solid state/tube pre-amp but stick with a solid state amp to get the benefit of the "warm" tube sound without the big bucks of the tube amp. But the hybrids were beyond my budget even used/restored as they are a newer thing. Wish my family had kept my Dad's old home built Heathkit tube amp. Would love to have heard that again.

  • dmcvt
    Joined:
    AJS audio, 1968 NW, Doc11

    Thanks Oro, a wealth of helpful information. AJS, there with you, floor standing wise, found a pair of 1986 Klipsch Cornwall IIs, 3 foot tall, 2 foot wide, 16" deep. Horn loaded tweeters and mid range, 15" woofers. They sound incredible for 35 year olds. Was driving them with an Onkyo receiver, one of the high end spec models for a long time and was happy. Eventually hooked up a power amp/pre amp combo and was surprised how much improvement... like Oro said. The power supply on the amp is huge, output rated at 150 watts per channel so a very efficient speaker like Klipsch has no stress, there is so much headroom. The damping factor as well important, a measure of how effectively (tightly) the amp controls bass response. When damping factor number is large, bass is well defined with detail and timbre, not boomy muddy. Whatever sub anyone might be using, not much useful response below 18-20Hz, as it's exponentially demanding to get lower, subsonic. The octobass and piano lowest notes are A0, about 27hz, Pipe organ low note is C0, 16 Hz. Except there's this thing called a rotary woofer that can go down to single Hz numbers at hideous expense, IMAX theater only? I would love to see and buy a 1968 NW tour box. Meanwhile, hoping Forensic Doc will let us know how it goes, we know he's in the Jacksonville area.

  • daverock
    Joined:
    Magic Carpet Ride

    Mr Ones - great band, Nick Mason's Saucerful of Secrets. I saw them just before covid, and was supposed to be going again in 2020-but... That dvd/blu ray disc of them live is worth getting, too.

    Irrespective of the extent to which climate change is affecting the hurricanes in America, there can be little doubt that the countries who are suffering most are the poorest ones. And the ones who are contributing to it most are the richest.

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A sealed, unlabeled box sat undisturbed for decades on a shelf in the Grateful Dead’s San Rafael tape vault on Front Street, its contents an enduring mystery, even to those few with access to the vault. All David Lemieux knew about that box when he became the Dead’s archivist was that it contained tapes belonging to Bear—Owsley Stanley, the Dead’s first soundman and architect of the Wall of Sound. Even in the Dead Heads’ Holy of Holies, the taped-up box was tantalizing. But this was Bear’s personal property, and so he didn’t touch the box out of an abiding respect for the elder luminary of sound. Bear’s archive of Sonic Journal recordings had been kept safe for him for years within the Grateful Dead’s vault—over 1,300 reels of tape stored in heavy-duty cartons like old banana boxes. At any time, David could have popped the tops and explored them to his archivist heart's content. But they were off-limits without the nod from Bear. - Starfinder Stanley, Hawk, and Pete Bell, Owsley Stanley Foundation

 

With a wink and a nod from Bear, we've peeled back those banana boxes to find some of the oldest and rarest of all recordings of the Dead including the double dose of shows that make up DAVE’S PICKS VOLUME 43. The two virtually complete performances from San Francisco 11/2/69, Live At Family Dog At The Great Highway, and from Dallas 12/26/69, McFarlin Auditorium, are complementary in their clarity and consistency thanks to Bear himself, and in their ability to foreshadow where the Dead were headed in the years to come. If the two killer 20-minute+ "Dark Stars" don't get ya, how about the Pigpen-centric sets featuring "Midnight Hour," "Next Time You See Me," "Big Boss Man," "Good Lovin'," and the once-lost-now-found complete rendition of "Dancing In The Streets," or the first full acoustic set ever performed? And we're certain you'll be fascinated to uncover the "Mystery Of Bear's Banana Boxes" as told by Starfinder Stanley, Hawk, and Pete Bell in the liners.

 

Limited to 25,000 numbered copies, DAVE’S PICKS VOLUME 43 was recorded by Owlsey "Bear" Stanley and has been mastered to HDCD specs by Jeffrey Norman at Mockingbird Mastering. Grab a copy while you can.

 

*2 per order. Very limited quantity available.

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Check out the following article by writer Kendall Hamilton “The Great 'Touch of Grey' Debate” - an enjoyable read, and always nice to see the Dead get some contemporary press coverage.

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into the transitive nightfall of diamonds. not one, 2 Darkstars. what's not to love, thanks Bear and all the rest of you crazies at Deadnet. More of this kind of music is what we all need in these times. If only the orange sunshine that was around in those days was around now, things would be quite different. Peace, Love, Dead.

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not AT the great Highway. No longer there, heard it's just sand dunes now with a condo across the street.

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Direwulf, that's a very funny comment you made regarding Nurse Ratched, what a great sense of humor. I think if I saw the Dead pulling off a live version of Lovelight in 1969, it would be much more interesting then just hearing it on a tape some 50 years later Seeing Pig Pen and the Dead tearing it up live would have been very cool. Seeing hockey live is the best, seeing it on TV, not nearly as good.. I saw Bobby Blue Bland close out the S.F. Blues festival with Lovelight, and it was a knockout . Fireworks are the same way, they are way better live then on tv.

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Nice release, I like the two shows on one release because of the shortness of shows. Recording sounds GREAT!

I just thought the cover was "The Hippy and the Cowboy",,,,, San Francisco and Dallas.

My cohort and I was listening to "Little Sadie" last night (one of my faves)

He commented he thought Garcia's E string was missed tune,,,, he wasn't sure if it was out of tune or tuned intentionally that way. I had no clue.

Anyone?

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Help on the Way!?

David, can you please illuminate this HDCD spec for us? It seems to be an increasingly esoteric format. The critical question…

Is a special player, transport, or DAC needed to realize the full value of these HDCD discs?

There is conflicting and unclear information online; mainly in forums like Reddit. Be nice to hear officially from the horse’s mouth.

Thanks!

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I'm not sure you'll hear anything from TPTB regarding HDCD.

You need to have your digital gear decode that codec to get full benefit and I think the end digital stage would have to decode it as well as your transport. I have not had success playing any release in HDCD. My Oppo DVD player is capable of HDCD but my digital Parasound preamp is not. If I had an analog preamp, I think it would work.

I had looked a few years back at new CD players and did not have much success finding any. If you don't have HDCD capable gear, best bet is to find on used market.

I don't think it was widely adopted, but some of the digital converters on PCs like dbpoweramp or foobar might work. I don't have any experience playing with that stuff. Maybe a search of Steve Hoffman forums may help.

I mainly rip and play music thru my phone or my sonos system, so I never really pursued it further.

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I ditched my long term DaP subscription when the 80s releases started flying again.

Have confirmed many times over that my era is essentially 1967-78, but that I've got enough already that only 1968-1971 will tempt me with new purchases. So here we are again. Yay!

Still monitoring for an eventual Ark release, and now any more surprise bananas that may pop out of Owsley's boxes.

Mixing things up the last couple years!!
I’m a all the years guy, so having a 60s pick is truly wonderful.
If it were up to me, I’d release 2 70s, and 2 of a revolving varying mix of 60s, 80s, 90s, etc.
meaning, each year 2 of the picks would be from 60s, and/or 80s, and/or 90s.
Since theres probably not a lot of usable tapes from the 60s (though I’m dying to know what else is in that box!), and so many people hate the eighties?, and perhaps there’s a tad less interest in the nineties (overall?), and of course tape quality must factor, I think it would be a fair way to get the most music to the most people.
I mean I get you folks who LOVE what YOU love, and pretty much only that, which is cool, hey we all want what we want etc. But it’s not fair to everyone else, AND it’s probably not as good for business.
So my 2 centavos, PLEASE keep mixing em up!
1965-1995, all the years combined…

Really psyched for this one: a fine lil 69 samich with a tasty acoustic center! And hey, who dosent like Sammiches!

HDCD: don’t quote me, but my recollection is that you only need a player with HDCD software/licensing to play that codec. Long, complicated, and sometimes controversial story about what it does etc, but how it does it is pretty simple.
Should only need appropriate player, but I wouldn’t go outta my way/worry too much about it. If your player has it, then do more research (try more audio centric forums like audiogon etc) and mess around with it, if not, I’d say most people couldn’t tell the difference especially if you didn’t know any better, and HDCD discs are backward compatible so will play just fine normally on any normal player. So nothing to worry about! Hope this helps…

BOBLOPES: I’m curious if your using the DAC in the Oppo, or the parasound?
I have an Oppo that HDCD worked fine, but I was using the Oppo’s DAC and thus passing analog output.
Wondering if using a digital out and the use of a different DAC (in this case the parasound) is the issue?

EDIT: oh, glad they seem to have rapped their pointy heads around the idea that 2 super but short shows are just as good, perhaps better than one good long one! Think this door opening could open up a whole new slewfoot of possibilities. I still think the ultimate 60s box is out there, just waiting to be born: bits of 66, 67 etc, with some short but great 68, followed by some fine 69, and topped off with something from 1970 on top! Boo-yah!

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I'm in that category. I was lucky enough to have been able to catch a decent number of shows from my first on 7-1-84 up until the very last one with Jerry. This series helped open my listening to era's I had my personal biases away from, and in the long run its all good.

From my tape collector days I pretty much stopped worrying about source recordings and find that it's lucky any of it got documented. When there's such an abundance of very listenable recordings it's interesting to follow the translations, member changes, the evolution from pizza parlours to multi-night stadium venues and mega-festivals. You don't get that with every popular band or musician.

Ultimately I felt much better about the more variety angle with the series and was more likely to stick with subscribing. I don't own every single release they put out because there so much and it's cost prohibitive, but for what you get with the subscription and the early bird pricing, you can't beat it. I love the Deer Creek and Hartford 4 disc releases. They were nice surprises. At some point a 90s post Brent show will makes its debut in this series. It might take 44 releases or more to get there but I have faith that a great 91 show is screaming for the Norman treatment.

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and they released the 30 Trips box. I'm with you as far as another look at '66 to '70. They probably have some full shows in that era, but they probably also have some choice material that would be good to release. They've done a nice job on the bonus tracks for the first three re-released 50th album releases. Surely there's more!

Even a mini box of one disc per year would be awesome. Of course, we're on the fan side, not the business side, so who knows what the biz thinking is. Even if not destined to be a big money maker, releasing music purely for the fans would still do better than break even. Maybe it's on Dave's to-do list.

So we get two '69 shows right quick here. Works for me!

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In reply to by Oroborous

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Since my AV preamp is all digital with no analog bypass, could not really test it. The Motorola DSP in it does not due HDCD. I think the DACs in it are Wolfson.

I could hook up the Oppo to my NAD Integrated from the 1980's that's in my office but have not tried that. Not sure it has the wattage to power the low end where I think you notice the difference. The cool thing with my old NAD was there's a u-connector that can be removed that allows you to use just the preamp stage to power a separate AMP. I had done that for a bit, but my fancy interconnect cables I think were too bulky and may have caused a cold solder joint which prevents me from outputting one channel. That's at the bottom of my list of fixables since it works fine as an integrated setup.

Someday I will test it out and try to A/B it with an old Sony 5 CD carousel unit, but looking forward to this set up for the upcoming Lyceum vinyl!

About to turn my Nephew from France onto the glory of live releases. My Brother and his boys flew over from Paris for a family get together in GA at my sisters place. His son is really good at guitar but has turned his muse to painting and is trying to make a career of that. But he's been checking out the Grateful Dead via Spotify and was asking me which albums he should listen to. He was really impressed with Jerry's playing of Althea on GoToHeaven. So I recently ordered a portable hard drive and ready to blow his mind with some archive releases.

My brother was definitely the DARE generation with an anti-dead mentality. I think he was jaded by an ex-GF in college that probably got into them in the late 80s. When DaP11 came out, I grabbed an extra and sent it to him thinking the ripping Me & My Uncle might change his disposition since he plays guitar and had a large Rickenbaker collection at the time. Funny with me being older I turned him on to Kiss, the Beatles and classic rock, but our paths diverged when he went the Alternative route (DuranDuran, Joy Division, Smiths, Echo&Bunnyman, Replacements, Butthole Surfers) while my working concerts in college exposed me to so much different music (most I liked). As he got older and learned to play guitar as a stress relief from his divorce, he got into Elvis and some country but now exploring Jazz, he still has no desire to check out the Dead. Psyched his son does! My sister's youngest just saw Dead and Co @ Citi. Her boyfriend's parents grew up in the Bay area and his mother and uncle saw over 500 shows - they met @ Columbia Medical School a couple of years back. I turned her brother on to the Dead early on and he's been to a bunch of Dead & Co but has seen more Phish shows around the Big Apple, which is fine too.

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38 years ago today, I was at the Greek Theatre, ( along with a lot of other great folks on this forum), for another great day with with the Good Ole Grateful Dead. The Dark Star from 7/13/84 caught everybody's attention, but this was a great show as well. I think the new box set is fantastic, what a great time to be following the Grateful Dead. They were playing at some great venues, Greek, Frost, Ventura ,Warfield Theatre, Oakland Auditorium, and on & on . What a blast to be seeing them at this time! I would love to see them put together a Fillmore East/ Fillmore West box set, man that would be a knockout!

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HDCD Playback- fair share of older CD players have it which means can be bought cheap (think Toshiba and 20 bucks) on Ebay. Because the CD player does the work, you need analog hook up in order for it to "pass through" so you can hear it. There are some preamps that will do HDCD, like Marantz 8003, just make sure you don't have both the player and the preamp HDCD set to ON.

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Thanks for the primal GD, Dave. Please keep them coming!

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In reply to by RKDeadhead

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Appears that there are <25,000 people who need more grease in their collection.

Wonder why the resellers aren’t grabbing them, maybe they know what the true demand is for that era.

Might As Well start shipping now to the subscribers, don’t make us wait now that it’s been announced.

Beyond FW69, I think the 60's stuff doesn't necessarily gel to the mainstream. But that bothers me not.. I never care or cared how much things sold or sold out or if anyone at all liked what I like. I just know I like it. I like it all, but my desert island stuff is 67 through 74.. yet I find myself on a bender of post hiatus and it is working oh so well. I was listening to the NCal 76 Jerry Band release today and got tingles up my spine on Midnight Moonlight of all songs. When it works, it works. I have really enjoyed several of the later era releases lately.

That being said, I am really looking forward to this. It's about friggin' time Lemieux! and thanks.

On a separate note.. anyone out there a netflix subscriber? I am watching a kick ass series based on the book called How To Change Your Mind. I had to pause it just now as my 14 year old came down the steps and strolled by while some young woman in the late 50's (footage is black and white) was describing what she was seeing while wacked out on 250mcg of pure Sandoz lsd. Holy cow.

Highly recommended, emphasis on HIGH

Edit: I think the 25k number might haunt them, but I could be wrong. It's possible they might reach a number that combined with saturation and perhaps a recession where they might possibly have excess inventory, which would blow a hole in their collectible, limited edition model. That question, does 25k mean limited, or is it 50k, or 100k. If you pump up the numbers indefinitely, eventually you wind up where the cut-out albums were 40 years ago. (Anyone have albums where the corner is cut out? regardless of how kick ass the album is/was.. if the corner was cut out, you might as well be selling at the Dollar General store). Just a random thought.. as you were, and thank you Dave for finally releasing some 1969 kick ass GD.

Of all the shows I've seen, that '84 Greek Dark Star is one of the highlights ... actually, loved ALL the SF-area shows ...
The early 80's is when I saw the boys the most and looking at the MSG set list just makes me smile, smile, smile. Being a sheltered SoCal cat, I've never (to this day!) been to MSG (my loss for sure) and I can't wait to take a deep dive into the shows at that iconic east coast venue. I'm a little saddened tho, that a Greek boxed set that I KNOW Dave will put forth, will just have to wait a bit longer......tc

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now anything over $600.00 in sales is taxable income, so I suspect that there will be a lot less resellers now. It used to be 20,000$ before you had to pay taxes. Its not worth it to go thru all the hassles that go along with ebay to have to pay taxes on your measly 5 dollar profit. These new rules will, in my uneducated opinion, be the downfall of ebay.

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I always feel that these early shows would sell out faster but they don’t. I have the subscription like always so I am covered but I have a problem I I order another one because I am paranoid that I won’t get it. 😂 12.26.69 is one of my favorite shows. When people ask me what my favorite show is I always give them 12.26.69 they pause for a bit calculate and try to think 🤔 of why and if they remember that being a great show. Like Dave said it’s short but great never the less. Dave finally did it 12.26.69 might not surpass Dicks picks 7 but I think 🤔 it might equal it not in length but acoustic beauty. Thanks Dave Dick Bear Norman and yes even Rhino also the Dead themselves long live Pig let it shine let it shine peace

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It's not Ebay's doing, it's the Fed and IRS; not only Ebay is affected, but other marketplaces like Amazon, Facebook, Etsy.
This was part of the American Rescue Plan, to help pay for the millions spent on stimulus for the pandemic.
Ebay has actually been lobbying to get the fed to bring the $20,000 threshold back.

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In reply to by Cousins Of The…

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Isn’t only the profit taxable?
If you sell something that you previously purchased, and have the receipt, then only the profit is taxable. That’s my understanding, but I haven’t gone to the IRS or eBay websites to check.

Sounds fair, why should only brick and mortar sellers have to pay tax on profits?

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Dave Picks 43 brought me out of the shadows and into the light. I'm as happy as a Pig in mud!
Just by coincidence, I was listening to Dave 30 a few weeks back (1/2/70) This show was also recorded by Bear. The performance was top notch and the sound quality was outstanding! Someone mentioned they were worried about sound quality as a reason for not being able to escape Dave's Fort Knox like vault. So I trust Dave's assertion that the delay in release was mostly due to show length and maybe a reel was missing on the 11/2/69 Dog Show is accurate. He also mentioned some prime early 69' shows remain in the vault. (I am assuming direct soundboard recordings) Hmmmm. Tasty!

Be Grateful!

Sam T

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You are correct, fair but it doesn't work for me though, I sold LPs that I collected for years and do not have receipts for, which if I understand correctly means the profit would be the sale price, even though I may sell them at a loss.

You are both correct. I will add to cousins point. If you have something very old.. and do not have a receipt but you have some sort of proof of what it was originally retailed for or the price when purchased, put that together. In the event you are ever audited, it is the best documentation available which will sometimes fly, so long as it is reasonable, and you get a reasonable auditor. If you get a prick that hates vinyl or GD or the old china dolls you are selling or the color of your hair / whatever all bets are off. So long as you are honest and not cheating, that usually helps move things along.

Anyway.. way off topic, not sure how it wound up here..

In a prior life I got roped into corporate audits from time to time.. only after they really screwed things up beyond what could be fixed. We are talking systems conversions, data loss property theft, acquisitions where receipts never followed, people took off and absconded with a magic briefcase and were never reachable again, whatever.. Complete corporate meltdowns with enormous audit exposure. We would rebuild what we needed with the best data possible and present it as such. Most times people would be reasonable, but not always.. so you do the best you can. Take cousins point, it's a hobby where something old was liquidated in EBay for whatever reason.. kid needs braces, college, whatever. If receipts do not exist, build a spreadsheet with what you know.. perhaps searches from the Archives Wayback Machine could be used to piece together some pricing and you at least have something. I wouldn't think it reasonable someone paid $0 for something and then sold it for a lot, so do the best you can with what you can put together. Tomorrow never knows..

Hope that helps.. Back to your regularly scheduled Pig in a Pen > Midnight Moonlight.

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Last Five or so (you might see a pattern here)

Flying Burrito Brothers - The Gilded Palace of Sin
FBB - Burrito Deluxe
FBB - Sleepless Nights
The Byrds - Sweetheart of the Rodeo
Gram Parsons - GP ( first solo album with Elvis Presley's band, including Ronnie Tutt)
Gram Parsons - Grievous Angel
Gram Parsons - Alternate Takes from GP & Grievous Angel
Return of the Grievous Angel ( Tribute album organized by Emmy Lou)

I'm also looking forward to viewing a documentary "Gram Parsons - Fallen Angel) I tracked down on DVD.

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have you seen/heard this? recorded by Bear. from Amazon page....it's great. check it out

"LIVE AT THE AVALON BALLROOM 1969 - THIS PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED 27 TRACK DOUBLE CD WAS FOUND IN THE GRATEFUL DEAD'S ARCHIVES. INCLUDES UNRELEASED COVERS AND IS A FULLY LEGITIMATE RELEASE. Amoeba Records. 2007."

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Gram Parsons and the Fallen Angels "Live 1973" on Sierra Records (subsequently reissued by Rhino) is also well worth a listen.

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I used to buy a number of things directly from Sierra Records years ago. It was a small independent label run by a fellow named John Delgado (sp), not sure if they are still around. I recall Syd Griffin and the Long Ryders - Byrds aficionados - were either signed to the label, or Griffin was. They were really big on all things Byrds & Parsons & Burritos & Gene Clark etc, stuff I grew up with and still listen to and love, and they were earnest in trying to promote that sweet country rock sound, and used to send you their typed catalogue with your orders. I’m sure their catalogue was bought out by a conglomerate, which was too bad, because he/they did a great job preserving a really unique niche of “rock music”, whatever that is.

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I too used to buy many LPs and CDs direct from John Delgatto. He used to dig up some great obscure recordings and lovingly do everything necessary to produce top quality releases. He stopped the retail operation a few years ago and I have heard nothing of Sierra since. Sadly missed.

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I recall even buying cassettes (!!) from Sierra, stuff from Gene Clark, Gene Parsons (Byrds drummer, who recorded with his wife), and obscure Clarence White with the Kentucky Colonels stuff. I bought some of my first CDs from them, including the first rate Gram Parsons & The Fallen Angels Live 1973 release.
Agree SimonRob - sadly missed.

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at least, I didn't use to. So, I've owned an item for say 50 years and now, I want to sell it. I don't have a receipt, I don't even remember what it cost. So I sell it on ebay for X dollars, now with new gubment rules, I will pay an income tax on all of that sale. I think this is a big mistake and one that will be quite detrimental to ebay in the long run.
I have read that ebay is fighting this and I myself have reached out to my elected officials to voice my concern about this assault on free enterprise, and there are bills in the senate and the house to increase this low tax threshold, but as of this year, 600 bucks is the limit.
This is exactly why this release has not sold out, there is no profit to be made off of releases if your main source of resale is now a taxable income source. I have sold many items on ebay and now, when it reaches close to 6 hundred which is now the limit before tax is applied, I will stop all resales so as to not trigger a 1099 and a possible audit. I have in the past sold way over this amount in a yearly total so yes, this will decrease resale and therefore initial sales.
The irs, or any other gov. agency for that matter, is not an agency that you want scrutinizing your personal life.

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So why is it a bad thing if fewer people are buying DaPs just to flip them for a higher price?

OK, it takes longer for them sell out, because they're only being bought by people who actually want the music, which means more fans are able to get #43 for $30 from Rhino, rather pay double or triple (or more) for the same product on ebay. Why is this bad?

I mean, yeah, taxes suck, but all of us working schmucks are paying them on everything we earn and just about everything we buy. Why should ebay be exempt? Your local brick and mortar record store pays sales tax and income tax on every record they sell. Why should selling the same product on ebay be tax free? I don't get it.

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25,000 requests for a (new) 50+ year-old recording.

Despite all the diverse age groups or ‘Gens’ (or however consumers are grouped) there is still a strong need to hear grate music…regardless the economy, world events, or eBay’s new tax tracking mechanisms.

Kudos to GOGD! (And thanks Dave and company!)

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I would think that most resellers that are flipping GD releases keep their receipts.
Making a $600 profit on a single DaP release is probably few and far between.
Brick and mortar stores also sell online, so they were probably already paying tax on profit.

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Instead of talking about taxes and shipping.. stay with me folks.. We could talk about how exciting it is to finally see another 1969 Dave's Picks, and a twofer at that. As for will it sell out, was there ever a question? This is exciting news.. really two moments in American and World history, preserved by the chemist in chief.. If you think about what was going on back then it's just surreal.. you could not make it up.. if you tried to write fiction and these events all lined up, no one would believe you. Or as Zacherlee once said, the Greateful Goddamn Dead.

Oro tossed 11/8/69 out for pick of the day a couple days ago. I just finished hit. Holy crap.. fall 1969, thank you Dave.

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I would venture to say that I am happier at the news of this release than any 3rd Dave's Picks release of the year in a while. I was surprised this did not sell out sooner, I thought it would be gone within a day. Looking forward to another 2 versions of Dark Star to immerse myself in when this arrives. The rest of the releases that were recorded by Owsley have a really nice, clear sound, so that these were also recorded by him is the day glo icing on the cake.

For anyone feeling a little salty, here are some thoughts from one of the greatest movies of all time, at least to my addled mind. Imaginary bonus points for the first one to recognize the movie. Double imaginary bonus points if you can identify the band that sampled the quote on their debut studio album.

I don't have to tell you things are bad. Everybody knows things are bad. It's a depression. Everybody's out of work or scared of losing their job. The dollar buys a nickel's worth, banks are going bust, shopkeepers keep a gun under the counter. Punks are running wild in the street and there's nobody anywhere who seems to know what to do, and there's no end to it. We know the air is unfit to breathe and our food is unfit to eat, and we sit watching our TVs while some local newscaster tells us that today we had fifteen homicides and sixty-three violent crimes, as if that's the way it's supposed to be. We know things are bad - worse than bad. They're crazy. It's like everything everywhere is going crazy, so we don't go out anymore. We sit in the house, and slowly the world we are living in is getting smaller, and all we say is, 'Please, at least leave us alone in our living rooms. Let me have my toaster and my TV and my steel-belted radials and I won't say anything. Just leave us alone.' Well, I'm not gonna leave you alone. I want you to get mad! I don't want you to protest. I don't want you to riot - I don't want you to write to your congressman because I wouldn't know what to tell you to write. I don't know what to do about the depression and the inflation and the Russians and the crime in the street. All I know is that first you've got to get mad. You've got to say, 'I'm a HUMAN BEING, God damn it! My life has VALUE!' So I want you to get up now. I want all of you to get up out of your chairs. I want you to get up right now and go to the window. Open it, and stick your head out, and yell, 'I'M AS MAD AS HELL, AND I'M NOT GOING TO TAKE THIS ANYMORE!' I want you to get up right now, sit up, go to your windows, open them and stick your head out and yell - 'I'm as mad as hell and I'm not going to take this anymore!' Things have got to change. But first, you've gotta get mad!... You've got to say, 'I'm as mad as hell, and I'm not going to take this anymore!' Then we'll figure out what to do about the depression and the inflation and the oil crisis. But first get up out of your chairs, open the window, stick your head out, and yell, and say it: "I'M AS MAD AS HELL, AND I'M NOT GOING TO TAKE THIS ANYMORE!"

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Faye Dunaway and the quote from the fed-up news anchor Peter Finch (?) who I always thought was too old for Faye. Or was that the bad guy William Holden?
I love that movie! Timeless quote that could have been from today so easily.
No clue on the band.
Cheers

Edit: It reminds me of how the series Newsroom starts with Will's (?) rant. Aaron Sorkin stuff is genius.
Thanks Charlie, thinking of these two made me feel energized after a rough day.

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Yes, you are correct, the quote was from the movie Network and the speaker was news anchor Howard Beale, played by Peter Finch. Enjoy your imaginary bonus points 1stShow70878.

I can never decide if I like that "Mad as Hell" speech better, or the "You see, I just ran out of bullshit" speech he gives, at a different point. Also really dig Ned Beatty as Arthur Jensen and the speech that he gave "You have meddled with the primal forces of nature, Mr. Beale, and I will not have it!" Great stuff. Later paraphrased by another favorite television show character of mine, Jimmy McGill in an early episode of Better Call Saul, directed at Howard Hamlin at the offices of Hamlin, Hamlin, McGill in the conference room at the big conference table. I guess Jimmy dug Network too.

The band is Sublime from their first album, 40oz to Freedom, a masterpiece, especially the original Skunk records release with the tune "Get Out" which was not included on the album once it was picked up by a big label later on due to some sampling issues. Great album to put on, turn up, and listen straight through.

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and I thought 'sod it' I'll order it, but too late. I'm pleased this morning mind, I've got too much GD as it is, I doubt there's anything new there.

Top 5 distilleries

Glenmorangie
Caol Ila
Lagavulin
Highland Park
Bunnahabhain

my nose is getting redder every day

last 5

The Fall- Perverted by Language
The Fall-Hex Enduction Hour (do you have to be English to get The Fall? Just shows you don't have to be great musicians to make great music)
Suede-ST deluxe b-sides
Eliot Gardiner -Bach Cantata pilgrimage vol 25
Spirit-Spirit of '76

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In reply to by Charlie3

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I would say I'm happier with this Dave's Picks than I have been with any in recent years. 60's releases are few and far between these days, so each one is cause for celebration. Also this was the era that first turned me on to the band - through records not live shows - so anything from 1967-1970 has that glow for me.

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