• 2,765 replies
    marye
    Joined:
    New year, new update. Tell us of your musical adventures in real time!

Comments

sort by
Recent
Reset
  • icecrmcnkd
    Joined:
    12-18-73

    Dark Star just started.

    12-18,19-73, and the other chop jobs from that Fall tour (11-20, 11-30, 12-4, 12-6) should be Plangentized/Normanized, Boxed up, and released.

  • Dennis
    Joined:
    Uncle Trip and 7/4/86

    I was there, I recognized the t-shirt Jerry is wearing :-)

    Second set opened with a great Cold Rain & Snow intro that stretch until the first raindrops started down, then, "I married me a wife.....", and the cold rain poured down!

    And poor Dennis in only a t-shirt!

  • uncle_tripel
    Joined:
    a day on the green...

    ...with some unbelievable dry sunny weather
    (82 degrees in these parts) in the mid-atlantic for late october,
    I'm putting on my boogin' shoes for
    oakland coliseum
    june 8th 1974

    can hardly wait to get started...

    PEACE for ALL!
    uncle_tripel

  • Oroborous
    Joined:
    The sound

    Of thick air...

  • Oroborous
    Joined:
    The sound

    Of thick air...

  • uncle_tripel
    Joined:
    always...

    ...avoided the NR on recording
    and found very early the highs just got too muted for my ear,

    returning to some more 1978 this week:
    june 4th 1978
    at Campus Stadium, UCSB in Santa Barbara, Ca

    some more friends of the devils? lol...
    ...= the "on stage" harley davidson acceleration into--->NFA

    make LOVE, not war!

    PEACE!
    uncle_tripel

    PS: new avatar = mickey & jerry on 7/4/86 @ Rich Stadium

  • JimInMD
    Joined:
    Noise Reduction and...

    I used Dolby for a brief blink of an eye when I first started copying tapes. Being young and naive, I thought who wants tape noise to come through on the recording, duh.. no brainer, I flipped the Dolby switch on my Nak and hit record. I just want to hear the music, no hiss.

    Very quickly reality set in. Was it Dolby A or Dolby B? Was the source tape recording using Dolby, if so, if you hit Dolby wouldn't it further compress the recording and further alter the sound, you can't play back using Dolby Squared, right? And what do you do in the car, in the boom box (yes.. we were just a few years out of 8 tracks when I started getting tapes). And who really flips or unflips the Dolby switch anyway based on how you think the recording was made. After all, were all these tapes properly notated every step of the way.

    So I quickly gave up on noise reduction, I had a good enough tape deck that I shouldn't be so worried about tape noise. I quit Dolby and never looked back (and never worried about pressing the Dolby button again).

    Just spit balling here, but my prejudices sometimes come to the surface when I hear a Dicks or Daves or Road Trips that sounds a bit muffled and I wonder if the particular Reel or Cassette or Betamax or whatever might have had a Dolby snafu baked in. To be clear, I have no proof this has ever occurred, I just wonder sometimes.

    I should emphasize Jeffrey Norman / David Glasser, etc. have gotten better at their jobs. So if there is any compression or noise reduction used anywhere along the way, they better at making this music sound as good as it possibly can, regardless of the sordid history of the source tapes. Thank you GD, Mockingbird Studios, the good folks and Plangent Processing and all the others that get this music to my front porch. Oh, and thank you tapers too!

  • Oroborous
    Joined:
    Ooops, forgot

    I can’t say for sure off hand about everyone who recorded Dead and NR, but Betty was known for not using it, and if things are done right, no need.
    Nothing comes for free, so every time you do something, it will effect other things, sometimes negatively…a cost benefit trade off…perhaps just like BITD with high gen cassettes? To Dolby or not to Dolby, that is the question lol
    I always have tried not to do any permanent adjustments/fixes, preferring to try and fix some other way, eq etc, but nothing permanent that you can’t fix yer fix!

    Imho NR etc becomes more of a band aid for when things weren’t able to be right, or to help mask issues beyond repair, i.e., the ravages of time.
    Don’t think I’ve ever used any on a master recording?

    Onto rest of GDM soundtrack this afternoon…

  • 1stshow70878
    Joined:
    Thx Oro

    So 15 ips or 30 ips would have been impractical for shows I imagine. Expense, changing reels too often, and as these were for listening by the band not studio use, etc. But what about them using noise reduction? I'm guessing no Dolby.
    As an aside, I seldom have my Dolby on when listening to cassettes even though most were recorded with it. Even factory tapes with Dolby seem less muffled without it and I'm not listening at thunderous levels (most of the time) where hiss is an issue.
    Skylabs, a top notch mid-western audio repairer, no longer works on certain categories of equipment: Consoles, quad receivers, linear tracking turntables, automatic turntables, and reel to reels. Just not worth it from a cost perspective for what those machines sell for vs. repair costs. There are still plenty of specialists who will and R-to-Rs are available restored at very reasonable prices but good luck finding pre-recorded tapes (old or new). Nobody makes them anymore. I was never tempted but my cassette guy sells tons of R-to-Rs for like $200-$300 fully restored, but they are more run of the mill Sony and not high end. And they sell fast!
    Thanks again and cheers bro

  • Oroborous
    Joined:
    First half of GDM soundtrack

    Ist show. The more surface area (wider the tape), and/or the faster the recording speed, the higher the resolution. And yes R2R can most certainly sound best. (Like anything though, if done well)
    The problem is a good one is very expensive, they’re as hard to keep maintained etc as a TT, and good linage quality tapes are rare and expensive, oh, and more a pain to “flip” than even a record…but they can sound amazing!

    Remember, many CDs AND most vinyl are sourced from (hopefully) master R2R tapes! A purist with the gear and ears might argue that direct to (vinyl) disc recording is the ultimate…but good luck lol
    One of the main reasons digital still gets such a bad rap is twofold
    1- the conversion used originally, and lack of attention to disparity’s between different DACs in the chain. Conversion has come a loonnggg way baby! AND…
    2- a significant number of the CDs first produced to meet the huge demand were not sourced from the master tapes, and lineage and source quality were often a joke! Caveat emptor: not all CDs are created alike!…or Blu-ray’s, or DVDs, or Vinyl etc Like drugs boys and girls, know your sources!

user picture

Member for

17 years 5 months
New year, new update. Tell us of your musical adventures in real time!
user picture

Member for

9 years

In reply to by icecrmcnkd

Permalink

Hope the streak keeps going and I win Mega Millions tonight.

user picture

Member for

4 years 3 months

In reply to by icecrmcnkd

Permalink

10 31 91

Standing on the Moon is sublime

Wow

Heavy show, bro

user picture

Member for

4 years 3 months

In reply to by proudfoot

Permalink

Bob Mould - Workbook

Prior to that
Side 2 of Husker Du - New Day Rising

user picture

Member for

2 years 11 months
Permalink

The Dead at their best. Lets get this one released, please.

user picture

Member for

4 years 3 months

In reply to by billy the kiddd

Permalink

9/17, 18, 19, 20/70

My sense is that that won't happen, though

I hope I am incorrect in that judgment

user picture

Member for

1 year 1 month
Permalink

...a nickel, he hands you a dime...

Shoreline May 10th 1991 tight, wonderful interplay, sweet mix

...he asks you with a grin, if you’re havin’ a good time!

Peace for All!
uncle_tripel

user picture

Member for

10 years 1 month
Permalink

Also heard it sung;
Hands you a nickel.
Calls it a dime.
Which somehow I like better.
Just makes him all the sleazier, lol.
Cheers

RGM sale: DiP 33 (8-LP), was $175, now $140

user picture

Member for

4 years 3 months

In reply to by 1stshow70878

Permalink

3 9 81

HOT

Have you hugged your MSG box lately?

If you don't have a copy, I highly recommend you get one.

It's spectacular

user picture

Member for

4 years 3 months

In reply to by proudfoot

Permalink

The Who
Live at Leeds

Been a while

This Keith Moon guy...out of his gourd, but can really play drums

user picture

Member for

13 years 4 months

In reply to by proudfoot

Permalink

Hit this one a lot lately myself. An under-rated box, don't tell anyone, it's our secret.

Today for me was 1/17/68. When it ended, I found myself sucking my thumb and holding my blankee.

user picture

Member for

1 year 1 month
Permalink

...and get weird
Amsterdam May 10th 1972
what more needs to be said

Peace for All!
uncle_tripel

Proudfoot, although most of it might be close copy, seem to recall that Moonie's drumming the next night, on Live at Hull is even better.

user picture

Member for

9 years 1 month

In reply to by dmcvt

Permalink

to 8/21/72 first night of the run at BCT - very muy bueno

Uncle T - night after Amsterdam, Rotterdam 5/11/72, Dark Star through end of show is a foundational personal all time favorite.

enjoy the music everyone. day off after nine day session. enjoying a Pecan Beer from de las Vegas in Las Cruces. the "weekend" is here in bluecrow land

well sorta - truck cd player (yep I have one and use it - cd player in vehicles) went patas arriba in Artesia shell station yesterday on way back - shut vehicle off to gas up and when I turned it back on the cd player (Pioneer aftermarket console) couldn't read a disc. Tough. this afternoon did a hard reset disconnecting the truck battery. Reconnected and car started and loaded Kind of Blue and up came Track 1 and the opening notes of So What which I got to hear jerry tease out at Hampton in 88. Nice minor victory. Couldn't read this disc among many the night before. And true foundational music for me and I chose it specifically for the test because it didn't allow for any excuses from the electronics. But now its 5/13/73 Des Moines and the Eyes > China Doll > Sugar Magnolia.

user picture

Member for

4 years 3 months

In reply to by dmcvt

Permalink

Thank you for the referral, DMCVT

user picture

Member for

4 years 3 months

In reply to by proudfoot

Permalink

3 9 81

3 10 81 was one of the FIRST cassettes I ever got

I didnt hear 3 9 81 until within the past 5 years

Amazing pair of shows

"A nice pair", as a Pink Floyd compilation title sez

God Bless the Grateful Dead

user picture

Member for

4 years 3 months

In reply to by proudfoot

Permalink

One of the best of the 80s

Magical

user picture

Member for

9 years

In reply to by proudfoot

Permalink

Seems way overpriced for just 3 LP’s.
The description says it’s “Audiophile”, but no description is provided as to what makes it more Audiophile than the vinyl version released in 2015.

Let us know how it sounds once someone listens to it.

user picture

Member for

4 years 3 months

In reply to by proudfoot

Permalink

Just heard zappa

You cant do that onstage anymore vol 2, disc 1

Some of the BEST non-GD I have ever heard

user picture

Member for

7 years 9 months
Permalink

I love that 5/10/72 show @Uncle_Tripel. I know Rotterdam tends to soak up the attention but whenever my hands hovers over the two it typically picks the former for my listening pleasure. Maybe it's the quality of the recording itself.

2/11/69 - I'll get running-off-at-the-mouth-disease and start spouting superlatives if given the chance. But for anyone who reads the liner notes (assuming Gary Lambert's work from the CD is brought across to the LPs), might I respectfully suggest you take a gander at Bill Graham's autobiography. The passages on how he got into the Fillmore East, and the memories from the guys who built it out for him, are worth the price of the book itself - which is not to say the rest of the tome isn't worth your time.

Dave's 38. It's 9/7 today and I find I tend to listen to that material more than to that of the main release. But what a surfeit of riches. God Bless the Grateful Dead.

Happy Saturday, folks.

user picture

Member for

10 years 1 month
Permalink

Wanted a Cold Rain & Snow to start the day and found this on first blind random pull from the cassette collection. No clue what show as I didn't take notes from the CDs it is from and not bothering to look it up today. Fills up three 90 minute tapes.
Cheers
Having some fresh zucchini bread with my coffee. As the old line goes, lock your car doors, it's zucchini season. Someone might lay one on you when you're not looking.

user picture

Member for

10 years 2 months

In reply to by icecrmcnkd

Permalink

I didn't get the 2015 version of this album, so this is doubly attractive to me. Value for money is very subjective. I would rather buy a single cd from 1968, for example, than a 4 cd set from 1988- even if they were the same price.

Another case in point - I have been listening to Dicks Picks 36 on vinyl today - 9/21/72. I have no idea what I paid for it, but I am sure if I told one of my friends round here, they would think I was nuts (not that they don't already). But to me - whatever I paid - it was worth it.

user picture

Member for

4 years 3 months

In reply to by daverock

Permalink

6 16 90 DVD

tasty

Edit...phenomenal show

Then a happy surprise...
A bunch of material from 10 3 87

I had forgotten

user picture

Member for

4 years 3 months

In reply to by proudfoot

Permalink

turns out to be Space thru end of show from 10/31/80

Pleasant surprise

Maybe this will be MUATM?

a man can dream

user picture

Member for

10 years 2 months

In reply to by proudfoot

Permalink

Brushed over a bit in my last post, this is a great show. Many things stand out - one of the things I like about Fall 1972 is the way they would start jamming early on in the show. The second song is a 13min 39 second version of Bird Song. A run through El Paso then they go into China Cat-Rider. Quite a way to kick things off.
The highlight though, is the second set, Truckin' to Morning Dew. After which they play Beat It On Down The Line. Of course. Actually a red hot take, but the show seems to end in a way after Dew - the remaining 8 songs sound a bit like add ons to me.

user picture

Member for

12 years
Permalink

It's here!

To anyone who got a copy....

In the theater marque on the cover, there is a photo of someone,,,, anyone know who?

I thought maybe Bill Graham, but I have no idea what he looks like.

user picture

Member for

11 years 3 months

In reply to by daverock

Permalink

Boston Music Hall

Hope everyone is doing well. Sorry for the erratic posting. Trying to manage living in heart failure doesn't leave a lot of time for sitting at the computer.

user picture

Member for

4 years 3 months

In reply to by TN John

Permalink

Wishing you good health

Heart failure is obviously heavy stuff

Y'all be cool.

user picture

Member for

15 years 1 month
Permalink

Yes I know he isn’t mooning. I don’t guarantee it but the picture looks like contemporary pics of Bill Graham from the internet. You have to fight through many photos of Billy Graham and an apparently pro wrestler Bill Graham. The hair style looks right. Anyone know for sure?

Edit Posted this before I saw the PROUDFOOT reply.

Marquee photo is Bill Graham playing cowbell after being dosed (I think a Fillmore West show). Search Bill Graham Cowbell and a red dit thread comes up that has a cropped photo with Pigpen singing and Bill on cowbell on side of stage. Edit - now I'm reading that at 2/11/69 shows Mickey gave Bill a cowbell to commemorate the earlier dosed show event (exact date unknown). And that the photo could be Bill playing the gifted cowbell on 2/11/69 and not a photo of him at the show where he was dosed. An enigma wrapped in a mystery.

user picture

Member for

9 years 1 month

In reply to by bluecrow

Permalink

Listening to 5/26/73 Kezar (Disc 2 from HCS box).

user picture

Member for

11 years 3 months

In reply to by bluecrow

Permalink

Fox Theatre
St. Louis

user picture

Member for

10 years 2 months

In reply to by TN John

Permalink

10/19/73 for me - the mighty Dicks Picks 36. One highlight you don't hear much about is Jerry's guitar solo on "They Love Each Other".

user picture
Default Avatar

Member for

14 years
Permalink

Dave’s 2023 bonus disc (Folsom Field 9/3/72)…decided to shake up the listening by only listening to September shows this week. Truckin still #1 in Turlock

user picture

Member for

4 years
Permalink

"Smoke & Fiction," the evidently final album from X. And it's the best thing they've done since "Under the Big Black Sun."

I've loved those guys (and gal) since I first saw them back in 1977. They were already unbelievable then. Great to see that they managed to write an excellent batch of songs for this final record, and play with every bit as much fury as they had back in olden days.

Stay away and
don't get taken
we knew the gutter
and the future

user picture

Member for

4 years 3 months

In reply to by Crow Told Me

Permalink

I havent tried the new album

Their first three were in heavy rotation back in the day

Saw X at a local festival in 85, methinks

Then they played at the zoo across the street a couple to three years back and they rocked

And a few years before that

4th album took me a while to warm up to

Love X (well, the earlier stuff in particular)

Yea.. Turlock, per Wikipedia, has a population now (2024) of 72,000 people.

I'm going out a limb here, but my guess is the town does not document nor publish any sort of top 100 radio / pop song list. Bob clearly had (has) a good sense of humor or perhaps inhaled at least once in his life. Of course I could be wrong how would I know..

Turlock's a big agricultural crossroads, lot's trucks with California produce driving in, then driving out and then there are the through trucks. So Truckin', yes certainly, perhaps it's still #1 in Turlock California and the truckers cannot get enough of it. Perhaps Bobby still inhales. Who knows for sure, either way, we win.

10/19/73 is from Fairgrounds Arena - Oklahoma City, Dicks Picks 19. DiP 36 was Philly 72 (9/21 I think?), one of the other Best Eva Dickus Pickus so the two are easily confused, but alas there were so many that fall into the category best ever. Again, win / win.

10/19/73 most certainly changed my life for the betta. That mind left body, that one (and perhaps the one from Dozin' at the Knick) is (are) truly special. So good, so good. And then, just when you let your guard down the left over gnarly discord from the Dark Star crashes and melts peacefully into one of the most gorgeous Morning Dew's ever performed. Practically perfect in every way. Great, upbeat They Love Each other too.

Just got done watching a documentary on the Indigo Girls with Mrs. Grumpkins

Good show

I really enjoyed them opening for GD back in 1993 at Autzen Stadium

31 years ago

Ho lee phuc