• 7,852 replies
    admin
    Joined:

    "When we began discussing audio projects to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Grateful Dead back in 2012, we knew we wanted to do something completely unprecedented. We could think of nothing more exciting or ambitious than a career-spanning overview of the band's live legacy focused on what best tells the story: complete concerts. Our first criterion was the very best live music to represent any given year in the band’s history. We wanted to make sure that there were not only the tent-pole shows that fans have been demanding for decades but also ones that are slightly more under the radar, but equally excellent. For those who listen to the entire box straight through, chronologically, the narrative of the Grateful Dead's live legacy will be seen as second to none in the pantheon of music history." - David Lemieux

    We are more than pleased to announce the Grateful Dead's most ambitious release ever: 30 TRIPS AROUND THE SUN. Available as both an 80-disc boxed set and a custom lightning-bolt USB drive, the collection includes 30 unreleased live shows, one for each year the band was together from 1966 to 1995, along with one track from their earliest recording sessions in 1965. Packed with over 73 hours of music, both the boxed set and the USB drive will be individually numbered limited editions.

    The 80-disc boxed set is individually numbered and limited to 6,500 copies, a nod to the band’s formation in 1965. Along with the CDs, it also includes a gold-colored 7-inch vinyl single which bookends the band’s career. The A-side is “Caution (Do Not Stop On Tracks)” from the band’s earliest recording session in 1965 with the B-side of the last song the band ever performed together live, “Box Of Rain” recorded during their final encore at Soldier Field in Chicago on July 9, 1995.

    The box also comes with a 288-page book that features an extensive, career-spanning essay written by Nick Meriwether, who oversees the Dead archives at the University of California, Santa Cruz, along with special remembrances of the band submitted by fans. Also included is a scroll that offers a visual representation of how the band’s live repertoire has evolved through the years.

    The USB drive version* will be shaped like a gold lightning bolt with the Grateful Dead 50th anniversary logo engraved on the side. The drive includes all of the music from the collection in both FLAC (96/24) and MP3 formats and is an individually numbered limited edition of 1,000 copies. Digital version of the book also included on USB.

    Shows will NOT be sold individually on CD. This release is sure to sell out quickly so pre-order your copy today and stick around as we will be revealing a mighty fine selection of music, art, and much, much more right here.

    (Looking for a smaller 50th Anniversary commemorative keepsake? September 18th will see the release of a four-CD version of the collection titled 30 TRIPS AROUND THE SUN: THE DEFINITIVE LIVE STORY 1965-1995. More on that here.)

    ROLLINGSTONE.COM SONG PREMIERE AND EXCLUSIVE DAVID LEMIEUX INTERVIEW
    Head on over to Rollingstone.com for the very first listen of "Morning Dew" 9/18/87 Madison Square Garden, David Fricke's exclusive interview with archivist David Lemieux, and the reveal of 30 TRIPS AROUND THE SUN's '69 and '84 shows.

    *Helpful hints for using your USB:

    Running the 30 Trips Player / Reader program:
    On Windows – Navigate to the USB drive and double click the PCStart.exe file to run.
    On MacOS – Open the GD 30 Trips drive, and double click the MacStart to run.

    Viewing the digital book:
    You can either view it within the program that comes on the drive, or by opening the PDF directly.

    To view the PDF, open the PDF folder on the drive and the USB_bk_spreads_08-31 file within. Selecting the option within your PDF reading application to view as a “single page” might be preferable to viewing as a continuous document.

    Importing music into iTunes and other library programs:
    When you import the songs from the USB into your library, the information used to identify the track will likely leave them sorted incorrectly. Please use the song list found here to re-number the songs for each show so that they playback in the correct order.
    PDF
    Text

Comments

sort by
Recent
Reset
  • supe80
    Joined:
    Box Art Work
    I hope someone hasn't asked this already. Does anyone know who did the artwork for the outside of the box?
  • johnny361
    Default Avatar
    Joined:
    hi gang
    I spent the day with Cobo 1976. I really like these fall 76 shows with Dicks #20 being a personal favorite since it's release many years ago. This Cobo show is really growing on me with each listen. 30 Trips has been a monster to get through but I love the task! There are still shows I haven't spent time with.. but I will!
  • KYTrips
    Joined:
    1975
    So... this is another show that's a bit tough to grade. It's relatively short for a Dead show (I think it was just one long set), and I'm guessing that they were part of a bill that included other bands at this free show in Golden Gate Park. Also, it's one of only 4 shows that they played in 1975, so I'm guess they were a bit rusty, though you wouldn't think so from the performance itself. It starts off with a really sold Help > Slipknot that sounds a bit strange without the third jewel of Franklin's Tower, but that comes later in the show. Then there's a long break as the band attempt to summons a doctor from the crowd because a woman is apparently having a baby somewhere near/behind the stage. This alone makes the show memorable. They then move into a really, really good Music Never Stopped, followed by They Love Each Other. Beat It On Down the Line is above-average, in my opinion and it's followed by a good Franklin's Tower. Big River is straightforward, and the first disc ends with a routine It Must Have Been the Roses. The second disc starts off with an above-average Truckin' followed by a good jam and Drums. That heads into an excellent Stronger Than Dirt/Milkin' the Turkey which eventually leads into 10+ minute Not Fade Away which is light on lyrics and strong on jamming. The show ends with Going Down the Road Feeling Bad and a very energetic One More Saturday Night. The highlight of this show for me is the Music Never Stopped, but there really are no off numbers in the entire show. It's a consistently good show from start to finish. Overall Grade: B
  • unkle sam
    Joined:
    1990 1994
    Just returned from a long road trip and listened to these two shows in their entirety during this trip. 1994 was the first listen. Show starts off with a nice Help>Slip>Franklins that is nice, Jerry in good form and everyone contributing their parts, not the best, but not bad. Then Walkin blues, not my favorite and Bobby's slide work is ok at best, then Atlhea, a good tune done well by Jer. Me and My Uncle, Big River and Just like Tom Thumb's Blues, no real Jerry in MAMU, BR just ok and JLTTB's has Phil taking lead vocals, enough said. An ok So Many Roads and Jerry sounds tired, voice a bit shaky and "old Jerry" sounding. Promised Land is good, with Bobby in fine voice, which ends the first set. Second set starts off with Scarlet>Fire, scarlet is ok but the Fire is grate, with Jerry getting his voice to perform about as good as it can get for these days. Way to go Home is next and I always liked this song, Vince in fine form throughout with Jerry adding some fine lead lines. Then into Saint of Circumstances, no Lost Sailor which I miss and wish they would not have dropped from the list, it's the better of the two tunes. A nice Terrapin with Jerry hitting all the notes and lyrics into a short but very trippy drums into an excellent space with Jerry showing us all that he can still blow heads away. Everytime there is "The last time" after a drums>space you know it was a great drums>space, like you know this could be the last time you ever hear that wonderful sound again. A good but short Stella with Jerry sounding tired in both voice and playing into a good OMSN. The encore is Liberty, a great tune that Jerry flubs the lyric on, but comes back and repeats it right. Thought the sound was ok, but a little boomy All in all a good show but....C+. 1990, good first set with a great Jack-a roe black throated wind ramble on rose and bird song, Jerry in fine voice and playing with bruce on the piano making it all sound nice. The second set here is very good, Chinacat, rider and saint all done well, very deliberate and a bit on the slower side, which is nice. At Crazy fingers and this is where it starts to get real good, the ending jam in Crazy Fingers has a bit of the x factor and was very nice then into Playing>drums>space>playing reprise, just awesome all of it, I highly recommend it. The stella is very nice into throwing stones into a great NFA with crowd chant into a fine one more Saturday nite. All in all a good show from France. The sound was ok, but had a bit of an echo in spots, not sure if it was the audience singing along or an echo, but was a bit distracting in places, a bit boomy in parts also, but all in all, not bad....a solid B. I haven't had time to get to all of them, but these two I took along just to give them a good listen, was not disappointed. For the 90's, both shows were ok, but not the same band we all fell in love with in the 60's and 70's.
  • KYTrips
    Joined:
    1974
    I will go out on a limb here and officially declare the 1974 show as the first "miss" of this embarrassment of riches known as 30 Trips Around the Sun. First of all, there are a few sound-related issues that I had to overcome. The overall sound "quality" is very good, but I definitely thought that Jerry's guitar was too low in the mix (who does that... puts Jerry's guitar low in the mix?!!!?) and then there is the issue with the vocals for the first 2 songs of the second set ("Loose Lucy" and "Big River") which are missing. I mean... they're there, but they're apparently not being picked up by the mic intended to pick them up or they didn't make it to the recorder... Whatever's going on, they're not to be heard in these recordings, unless you lean into the speaker and hear them buried somewhere off in the distance. In any event, it annoys me, and I think it spoils what would have otherwise been a pretty decent "Loose Lucy" (one of my faves). In addition, this show contains a between sets "Seastones." Not my favorite in any case. So... this show was fighting an uphill battle for me. The show kinda begins with the boys being a bit sloppy. The "Uncle John's Band" opener is nice, but uneven. "Jack Straw", "Friend of the Devil" and "Black-Throated Wind" are all unremarkable. The standalone "Scarlet Begonias" is a notch up from the previous songs, but that tune was still really finding its legs in the Dead's repertoire in '74. The next 5 tunes are again, unremarkable. The first CD ends with a nice "To Lay Me Down." I have to admit, I'm partial to this song. I've always loved it and thought it was underrated as a Dead song. The first set ends with a 23+ minute Playing In the Band which is good, but again, nothing special for this era. Then we are faced with "Seastones" and the aural problems mentioned previously to start the second set. A good "Peggy O" and an unremarkable "Me and My Uncle" round out Disc 2. The meat of this show (and presumably, the reason it was included in 30 TATS) is in Disc 3. Things finally take off with a wonderful "Eyes of the World" and the rest of the show is pretty darn good. Highlights for me included the Truckin' > Drums > Caution Jam sequence, which is pretty hot. The "Drums" is particularly interesting in that in addition to Billy on drums, Phil is also participatory in the part of the show. "Ship of Fools" is really nice and smooth and the "Johnny B. Goode" to close the set is also pretty smokin'. "U.S. Blues" is a good encore and a nice way to round out the evening. I'll be brutally honest... I don't think this show would have ever merited release on it's own, so it was, in my opinion, thrown into this box set. I certainly hope it's not the best there is remaining in the vault from 1974. However, I'd be less than honest if I didn't acknowledge that the third disc of the show is pretty darn good. But it certainly was my least favorite show thus far in the box. Grade: C+
  • KYTrips
    Joined:
    1973
    It took me a little while longer to get to this review than I would have liked... Life's been busy with vacation and then I was in trial for a week (I'm an attorney... don't throw rocks), so my listening has been sporadic for the past few weeks. At any rate, let me start off by saying that this show is a total GEM!! Although I don't think it's the best of the box, so far, I do think it might be my favorite so far. It starts off again with a "Big Railroad Blues" which to me is a sign of good things to come (see my review from 1972). The next few songs (Jack Straw, Sugaree, Mexicali Blues) are all good, but nothing special. After all, it's just the first set. But then, this show morphs into a classic. "Here Comes Sunshine" is one of those songs that I absolutely love, and that I feel the band didn't play often enough. Accordingly, it was, in my opinion, a treat when it did show up in a setlist. Well... this one may be the best HCS EVER! It's so melodic and the playing so smooth, with a killer jam in the middle of it. It ebbs and flows nicely and you know from this point going forward that "tonight" is going to be "one of those nights." The other part about this show that is a bit different is that the first set is EPIC in length. It's actually longer than the second set, and the goodies start showing up much earlier than in a typical Dead show. I'm not going to go song-by-song, but the remaining highlights of the first set for me are: an appearance of "The Race Is On"; a very nice "Brown-Eyed Women"; "Tennessee Jed" and a late-first set China>Rider. The first set closes out (more than mid-way through Disc 2) with a hot "Around and Around."As good as the first set is, the second set is even better (although I still think the overall highlight of the show is still the "Here Comes Sunshine" in the first set). Due to timing issues, the second set actually starts on Disc 3, with the final three (3) songs on the set appearing at the end of Disc 2. I definitely recommend listening in the order in which the show was played. And let me tell you, Disc 3 is awesome!!! It is basically a non-stop, continuous 70+ minute jam which begins with an excellent "Truckin'" which then morphs into an unbelievable, three-part "The Other One" sandwich, which has "Big River" and "Eyes of the World" for the filling. It is hypnotic the way the boys weave in and out of "The Other One" throughout this portion of the show, never losing stride and hitting on all cylinders. Finally... the last portion of "The Other One" leads into a great "Wharf Rat", and they finally silence their instruments for a few fleeting moments. The show closes with three (3) stand-alones... "Me and My Uncle" (which seems strange to hear this late in a show), "Going Down the Road Feeling Bad" and "One More Saturday Night". They're all good, but it's almost impossible to top that which just went down in the first 70+ minutes of this set. I definitely see myself coming back to this show over and over in the future. Show grade: "A- to A", depending upon my mood. Again... I don't think it's the best show, so far, but I do think it's my favorite!
  • KYTrips
    Joined:
    Ahhh.... 1972
    If ever there was a more stellar year in GD history, I'm not sure what it would be (okay, okay... I realize this topic is up for debate, but I cast my lot with 1972). That being said, I had really high expectations for this show, as I do almost all '72 shows. This one didn't disappoint. However, I do think that this show will suffer a fate of being underplayed by many Heads, as it's so close in proximity to the DP 11 show from the Stanley Theater in Jersey City that took place 3 nights after this gem. I do think the Stanley Theater show is better, but this one is pretty great too. My only knock on this show... I think the sound is a bit spotty. There's one period in the show where the tape hiss is very audible and a bit distracting until you realize you're just gonna have to deal with it. The show opens with one of my personal faves... "Big Railroad Blues". You know a show is gonna be good when they open with this one. Everything in this show is filled with energy. Hell... I even liked "Mexicali Blues" which to me is usually a snoozer. "Loser" and "Black-Throated Wind" both deliver, while the band takes a bit of a breather in a subpar "Cumberland Blues" in my opinion. "Sugaree" is great (as per usual), and is followed by a consistent run of "El Paso", "Tennesse Jed" and BIODTL. In my opinion, this show REALLY gets rolling when they break into "Bird Song" later in the 1st Set. I've heard much better versions of "Big River", but the first set closes with an awesome "Brown-Eyed Women" and a MONSTER "Playing In the Band." Not bad... and that was just the 1st Set!!!The 2nd Set kills! The boys keep raising the pot (no pun intended) with each subsequent song, starting with "Greatest Story Ever Told" and continuing through "Bertha", "Promised Land", a beautiful "Fried of the Devil" and "Jack Straw". Things fall off a bit when they play "Tomorrow is Forever", a short-lived song in the Dead repertoire for good reason in my opinion. Then they ease back into things with MAMU before they head into "Dark Star" which is sandwiched around a nice little drum solo by Billy. Out of "Dark Star"?... Why yes, I do believe I will take a China Cat>Rider. And it's a good one. The show closes with the Bobby one-two.... "Sugar Magnolia" and "One More Saturday Night". All in all, a great show. Grade: A-
  • Cousins Of The…
    Joined:
    1971??
    I have not gone through the 2nd set of 1971...and yes, I listed 1985 twice, my mistake.
  • One Man
    Joined:
    1971?
    I don't see 1971 on your list. And is something listed twice?
  • Cousins Of The…
    Joined:
    1984!
    I'm usually partial to the 60's and 70s, however this show is tremendous! short but impeccable first set, from beginning to end; second set is quite adventurous, with a long UJB, a standalone Playin' reprise and a killer Morning Dew. My favorite 80's Trip so far. Revising my rankings... 1970 1967 1973 1975 1974 1972 1976 1968 1984 1969 1977 1983 1991 1979 1980 1981 1982 1978 1990 1993 1992 1966 1985 1986 1994 1985 1995 1987 1989 1988
user picture

Member for

17 years 9 months

"When we began discussing audio projects to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Grateful Dead back in 2012, we knew we wanted to do something completely unprecedented. We could think of nothing more exciting or ambitious than a career-spanning overview of the band's live legacy focused on what best tells the story: complete concerts. Our first criterion was the very best live music to represent any given year in the band’s history. We wanted to make sure that there were not only the tent-pole shows that fans have been demanding for decades but also ones that are slightly more under the radar, but equally excellent. For those who listen to the entire box straight through, chronologically, the narrative of the Grateful Dead's live legacy will be seen as second to none in the pantheon of music history." - David Lemieux

We are more than pleased to announce the Grateful Dead's most ambitious release ever: 30 TRIPS AROUND THE SUN. Available as both an 80-disc boxed set and a custom lightning-bolt USB drive, the collection includes 30 unreleased live shows, one for each year the band was together from 1966 to 1995, along with one track from their earliest recording sessions in 1965. Packed with over 73 hours of music, both the boxed set and the USB drive will be individually numbered limited editions.

The 80-disc boxed set is individually numbered and limited to 6,500 copies, a nod to the band’s formation in 1965. Along with the CDs, it also includes a gold-colored 7-inch vinyl single which bookends the band’s career. The A-side is “Caution (Do Not Stop On Tracks)” from the band’s earliest recording session in 1965 with the B-side of the last song the band ever performed together live, “Box Of Rain” recorded during their final encore at Soldier Field in Chicago on July 9, 1995.

The box also comes with a 288-page book that features an extensive, career-spanning essay written by Nick Meriwether, who oversees the Dead archives at the University of California, Santa Cruz, along with special remembrances of the band submitted by fans. Also included is a scroll that offers a visual representation of how the band’s live repertoire has evolved through the years.

The USB drive version* will be shaped like a gold lightning bolt with the Grateful Dead 50th anniversary logo engraved on the side. The drive includes all of the music from the collection in both FLAC (96/24) and MP3 formats and is an individually numbered limited edition of 1,000 copies. Digital version of the book also included on USB.

Shows will NOT be sold individually on CD. This release is sure to sell out quickly so pre-order your copy today and stick around as we will be revealing a mighty fine selection of music, art, and much, much more right here.

(Looking for a smaller 50th Anniversary commemorative keepsake? September 18th will see the release of a four-CD version of the collection titled 30 TRIPS AROUND THE SUN: THE DEFINITIVE LIVE STORY 1965-1995. More on that here.)

ROLLINGSTONE.COM SONG PREMIERE AND EXCLUSIVE DAVID LEMIEUX INTERVIEW
Head on over to Rollingstone.com for the very first listen of "Morning Dew" 9/18/87 Madison Square Garden, David Fricke's exclusive interview with archivist David Lemieux, and the reveal of 30 TRIPS AROUND THE SUN's '69 and '84 shows.

*Helpful hints for using your USB:

Running the 30 Trips Player / Reader program:
On Windows – Navigate to the USB drive and double click the PCStart.exe file to run.
On MacOS – Open the GD 30 Trips drive, and double click the MacStart to run.

Viewing the digital book:
You can either view it within the program that comes on the drive, or by opening the PDF directly.

To view the PDF, open the PDF folder on the drive and the USB_bk_spreads_08-31 file within. Selecting the option within your PDF reading application to view as a “single page” might be preferable to viewing as a continuous document.

Importing music into iTunes and other library programs:
When you import the songs from the USB into your library, the information used to identify the track will likely leave them sorted incorrectly. Please use the song list found here to re-number the songs for each show so that they playback in the correct order.
PDF
Text

user picture
Default Avatar

Member for

9 years
Permalink

The USB metadata issue is just astonishing. Setting aside I have no freaking need for show-venue-date-that "the song is live" in the song title field (all captured in appropriate fields already): You simply can't play them as a show without massive repair of the song sequencing. As delivered if you simply try to play a show you will typically hear Set 1 song 1, set two song 1, set two after drums, set one song 2, etc. It is flagged for CD use. I spent two hours re-tagging five shows and am trying to work the rest. At that pace (which will probably be slower since early shows have some really short shows) it is at least 12 hours of re-tagging to make usable. multiply that by 1,000 - 12,000 hours of effort by the buyers because Rhino didn't have one person spend 40 hours doing it right in the first place. They should be ashamed. And now, I find that I can't really listen to the ones I fixed because the music is so good I can't concentrate on re-tagging correctly while listening (but that may be just me :) ).
user picture
Default Avatar

Member for

9 years 1 month
Permalink

first, i agree and echo everything @across the rio has said. but to pile on a bit, there is no doubt that rhino is aware of how incredibly terrible the usb product delivery has been and how inexplicably awful and bewildering the metadata issue is. or how they promised the book, etc etc but are they really just going to blow the whole thing off without a word on it. and by word, i don't mean, "happy holidays. here are some greeting cards we found in a closet and ticket to a show you didnt go to". i love - strike that - live for the music but i have lots and lots and lots of music. i think i may be done supporting the GD/Rhino "products"
user picture

Member for

9 years 4 months
Permalink

"When it comes to product testing, our customers come first!" I'd like to see this metadata issue escalated to the good Doc Rhino. If this is the future of GD music delivery, then we need them to do it correctly.
user picture

Member for

11 years 4 months
Permalink

Takes a person less than 5 mins per disc ripping to WAV on iTunes or WMP. I'm not at all worried about "bit loss" on a brand new, unscratched disc. If there is a problem with a disc, you're going to hear it when you play it anyway. Or if it is such a miniscule error that you can't even hear it, but need a specialized ripping program to tell you about it (after a 35 min ripping and bit checking process), then why should you care when you couldn't hear the problem to begin with?
user picture
Default Avatar

Member for

9 years 2 months
Permalink

Thanks to everybody that gave me advice on my disc problems. I'm happy to report that shortly after posting here about my couple bad discs yesterday I received a response that the discs were being put in the mail. Rhino is following through with great customer service! I'm follow up here when I get them and can listen to these last shows. With my customer service experience I'm sure the book is coming for all you USB'ers. I'm not sure what the shipping packaging was like for the USBs but I'm guessing it wasn't designed to carry a book and that was intended to ship separately.
user picture

Member for

9 years 6 months
Permalink

trip is a Pigpen heyday , anyone noticed his organ-sound is so similiarto Ray Manzareks ? Really like this baby Dead. Wow , sounds so young and fresh like it`s played today not 49 years ago....
user picture

Member for

9 years 6 months
Permalink

yes , it was the year i bought In The Dark and watched the boys rise in the charts from afar......
user picture
Default Avatar

Member for

9 years 1 month
Permalink

As far as I am concerned, there never was and never will be a hard copy of the book coming to those of us who bought the USB. I certainly never got the email talked about - it seems to me it was a single email from a customer rep to a single buyer. Not an official email to all buyers. None of the official email I received on the USB ever said hard copy book will be coming. Pretending that Rhino has done anything real to address or compensate the buyers for the debacle of delay and poor actual digital product seems beyond reasonably optimistic. That isn't to say I don't think Rhino should do something very significant to try and show they realize that they sold a $700 product with no quality control (those 5 holiday cards you sent me with a retail value of $12 - Do you realize that sending nothing would literally have been better? something that cost you $2 to address a $700 product disaster?). I may buy again (already subscribed for Dave's 2016, but maybe the last time). But I may not. I didn't order this the first day, or week. I spent a month deciding if it was worth it. Now that I have it, I have it, but knowing what I know, I would not do it if I had it to do over. As gerd said, I have lots and lots of music. When I am honest with myself, so much Dead alone I am unlikely to listen to all of it ever again - there are only so many hours in a life.
user picture
Default Avatar

Member for

15 years 6 months
Permalink

Good post. I too never received an email saying I would get the book with the USB (I bought the box too so I have it) and I certainly never had any expectation the USB was coming in the same packaging and box as the physical discs. Frankly I am not sure how anyone could read the product description column above and conclude that they were the same, but hey, whatever. People interpret stuff differently all the time. The Holiday Cards were a decent enough gesture but I tend to agree they were far from sufficient if the goal was a token thanks for the patience. I probably would have preferred a few more tickets and backstage passes over that. But in the end, the grave sin is the tagging debacle. You cannot send out a product two months late and then have it be unlistenable due to being out of order. This is a sophisticated listenership they are selling to and that sophistication made this product even marketable in the first place. Cannot betray your consumers like that.
user picture

Member for

17 years 6 months
Permalink

I just noticed that the Files for Cornell 5-16-1981 (and the PDF with the 'correct song order') are actually incorrectly named as 5-26-1981 !
user picture

Member for

17 years 6 months
Permalink

"Takes a person less than 5 mins per disc ripping to WAV on iTunes or WMP" Sure, on low quality settings. Honestly its a personal choice, I'm not here to rain on your parade. It's your music, do with it what you like. But, if you are making an archival fileset, and only want to do it once, don't you want it done right the first time? I know I do, and I don't trust my hearing enough for it to be the only metric I judge correctness. I might not be the only one who cares about how this set was extracted. Higher quality rippers, such as Exact Audio Copy, general take as long as I mentioned, and honestly I was being generous. But getting back to the cd vs usb time question, even if someone could get an bit perfect copy in the time you suggested, 5 mins, and lets also say it only takes someone 5 mins to tag, cause they're really fast, it still works out to 10 mins per disc. That works out to 13.8 hours for the set and requires you take an action every 5 mins. Hell, even if you tag while you're ripping, you can cut the time down to 6.91 hours, the whole of which you will be active. Then you can add transcoding times if you want lossy copies The usb is just copy and paste. Takes about 90 mins on the faster, newer connection, and 4 -6 hours on the older usb connection. No worrying about bit perfect as the source should be a perfect copy of the files used to burn the commercial compact disc, no worrying about transcoding because the lossy files are included as well. No further effort from you whatsoever. At least that's how it should work, I'm looking at you GD/Rhino. But that's on them, not the usb medium itself.
user picture
Default Avatar

Member for

9 years 1 month
Permalink

how about rhino make a properly tagged set of files available for download to those who bought the usb (at no charge of course). They can make the same set of properly tagged files available to those who did not buy bolt (at a cost of course). Since the USB has not sold out and at the current error correction rate and pricing isn't likely to sell out anyway, seems like a great way to go. This way, those who got the physical bolt itself have the "limited edition" collectors item, such as it is. And all who are interested can receive properly tagged digital files - you know, what we thought we were buying in the first place for $700. Win, win (win). I realize i sound snarky but I am serious. Seems reasonable, no?
user picture

Member for

11 years 4 months
Permalink

The rest of these bolts may end up collecting more dust on the warehouse shelf than Spring '90 Too.I thought about getting one and now am soooo glad I didn't. Good luck out there.
user picture
Default Avatar

Member for

16 years 11 months
Permalink

Mine arrived last night after 7:30. I was able to play it directly on my computer without downloading it...songs are in the proper order. I attempted to download the '67 Shrine show, 6 files did not work and I erased the whole thing. It'll be easier to rip the discs to the computer than having to re-tag all these.
user picture
Default Avatar

Member for

13 years 11 months
Permalink

Yeah, got mine too. Sound is very good. I only found one tagging problem so far. I'm just dragging files that I copied to hard drive onto my flac player for Mac which is called Amarra. Sure I'll run into some issues that I'll have to fix but for now I am finally listening to the music.
user picture

Member for

11 years 4 months
Permalink

Indeed it does remind me of the Doors style of keys at times. Side Trip-Saw Echo & The Bunnymen in '86 or '87.Cameron Indoor Stadium at Duke. Ray came out and played with 'em for a while and did a few Doors tunes with 'em. One of my favorite concert memories....just too weird. Still have the ticket. I think it was because of the Lost Boys soundtrack. Also,give Bedbugs & Ballyhoo a listen.....tell me ya don't hear Ray.
user picture

Member for

11 years 4 months
Permalink

Drive-By Truckers-The Tough Sell -The Living Bubba ...get some :)
user picture
Default Avatar

Member for

9 years 5 months
Permalink

A lot of moans and groans from some of the USB group and some side (snide?) commentators. GDM messed up by omitting the disc number tag. However, if you are importing to iTunes in a compatible format (ALAC or AIFF or one of the lossy versions, but why do that?) it is easy. Every time you import a show, do it one disc (folder) at a time, and do a batch disc number assignment. Takes but a moment. There is one show (San Diego, I think) that has a couple or three songs out of order. Yawn. Take thirty seconds and change the track numbers manually to move them to the end of the show. If you transcode to WAV (but I think that I'm the only one) it is a little more difficult, because WAV doesn't support metadata (Broadcast WAV does, but I'm not aware of any software that will provide that as an output format). As far as file names are concerned, no scheme will ever satisfy everyone, and therefore they gave all the information. If using a Mac, there are numerous useful scripts for batch operations available for download at Doug Adams website [http://dougscripts.com]. I like "Search-Replace text tag" and "Increment Number tag". These two are a big $2.00 each if you use them for more than ten days. A bunch of posts below Galvinzed pointed out that GDM have effectively given us clones of the master tapes. I'd go even further, because what we have has been processed to correct for analog wow and flutter, and have been given some judicious equalization. What we have received is better audio than the raw tapes. Wish everyone here the best for 2016!
user picture
Default Avatar

Member for

9 years 1 month
Permalink

Glad you are happy Ziffle. But not everyone bought the USB for the same reason or approach you did. To do what you suggest would take me more than the 12 hours I described to find and learn the processes you speak of. And there is no discounting that Rhino itself sent an email explaining that the numbering is wrong and needs intervention - so defending them, when they admitted they screwed up the numbering (which is the major issue) seems odd. I never understand those who defend a company that itself says it screwed up. Anyway, they sent us sets that need work, no matter how you look at it. The FLAC is in folders like CD's and needs work, the mp3s are in a single show folder that is completely unusable as is - and it was the format I wanted for use due to file size and storage issues that swayed me to the purchase. Again, glad you are happy with the way you got it. I think you are wrong that everyone who bought it had the same mindset approach you did.
user picture
Default Avatar

Member for

9 years 5 months
Permalink

Yes, the .mp3 files are not tagged correctly, they will not import to iTunes in the order, although they do play back fine in order directly from the USB (not iTunes). I put the stick in the USB input of my Oppo player. Everything (FLAC & .mp3) is fine and in the correct order. Just now listening to 1994 Scarlet-Fire ... Superb! It's a little unreasonable to expect GDM to predict how each person intends on using the files on the USB. Were you to clone the USB to an HDD or other USB and play directly from it, the FLAC files are in the correct order. Yes, they should have included the disc tag for iTunes import, but I don't believe that it would take anyone with an elementary understanding of iTunes more than a few seconds to add the number "1" "2" or "3" to the disc tag for the folders imported as disc 1, disc 2, or disc 3. Any additional manipulations to the file names and transcoding to different formats is entirely optional and up to the personal interests of the individual. The USB provided works just fine out of the box. The .mp3 files show up in the correct order on my Oppo and in my car. The FLAC files are in the correct order directly played via the Oppo. I'm transcoding to WAV purely out of my own personal interest, and it is my personal interests that are creating extra work. But they should have included the disc # tag, and they should give us the printed book as a thank you for persevering through the inconvenience. Oh well. By the way, why would anyone want to bother with the .mp3 files when we have lossless 96kHz files?
user picture

Member for

11 years 4 months
Permalink

"Sure, on low quality settings." I'm talking CD quality WAVs, i.e. 44.1/16. Takes less than 5 mins. "...I don't trust my hearing enough for it to be the only metric I judge correctness." You don't see the irony of that statement?
user picture

Member for

17 years 6 months
Permalink

It took a few hours to get everything imported into iTunes, but actually no more work required than doing the same thing for CD's (probably would have took longer with 80 CD's)1. Copied the whole USB to my desktop to a temporary folder. 2. Converted all the FLAC files to Apple Lossless, with XLD. 3. Imported into iTunes. 4. Renamed tracks titles (removing the 'live at etc'), and track numbers, into correct set order. 5. Replaced all the original Apple Lossless files with the new iTunes versions in my desktop folder. 6. Backup the whole Folder to a backup drive and delete the desktop version.
user picture

Member for

14 years 1 month
Permalink

With the usb stick where is the scroll? Mr. Pete-------> aging hippie
user picture

Member for

9 years 6 months
Permalink

Is at the end of the PDF, prepare to be underwhelmed.
user picture

Member for

11 years 4 months
Permalink

after reading OldeEnglish800 post ,, happy for you OldeEnglish800 they could get out some replacements, but its inexplicable I sent an email stating the same issue and they shrugged me off.
user picture

Member for

17 years 6 months
Permalink

Please pm me. Thanks.
user picture

Member for

17 years 6 months
Permalink

""Sure, on low quality settings." I'm talking CD quality WAVs, i.e. 44.1/16. Takes less than 5 mins." - Let's use a simpler analogy. Lets say you have a digital picture. The file is 4.5 mb and it is a jpg. You can archive the file straight from your camera or print it out, scan it, and archive the scanned image. The scanned image is also a 4.5 mb jpg. Which one is closer to the original? The printed and scanned copy or the one from the camera? Lets expand the scenario. This time the picture is a print with no digital file or negative. You want to scan the picture so you have a digital copy. You can use either of two scanners. One is a consumer grade scanner you got for Christmas a couple of years ago and the other is the professional archival scanner at the library. Both produce a jpg image. All things equal, which one would you choose? The files on the usb are copies of the original that haven't been printed and scanned. Cds are printed copies of the originals. To make a digital copy of the cd, you need to scan the print. It's all moot anyway, my original point was that ripping took more time and effort. Even using your estimation of time it takes to rip a cd, and ignoring all the bits about accuracy, it still takes more time and effort to rip cds than it does to transfer files from the usb. ""...I don't trust my hearing enough for it to be the only metric I judge correctness." You don't see the irony of that statement?" - There is no irony in that statement. What I hear and the information stored in a digital file are two different things. If I'm archiving something I want to archive as perfect a copy of the thing itself, not my impression of that thing.
user picture

Member for

12 years 1 month
Permalink

A big THANKS to all those who made this box set happen. I know this was no small undertaking and there were unforeseeable problems. Complaints and tempers seem to run high at times, ok, and still do. But I think most understand you didn't plan for this to happen, not like you stood around in meetings and said "how can we fuck with them, I know the file id's". There were times I laughed about the complaints, because, generally as a group of fans, Deadheads have to be the most "fucked-up" (drug-wise), group there is and I'm sure many have made more than their share of errors. So at this year end and this holiday time of the year, I just want to say thank you for this set and all the other releases that have come at. I know you all work hard and care about the fans and it's not "just" about the money. I look forward to Dave's picks in 2016, fan night at the movies and what ever box set comes next summer. Merry and Happy Dennis ps - oh yeah and get Dead and Company to schedule some dates around Dallas, there's a lot of fans here. :-) pps - and to the people in the forums, merry and happy and chill.
user picture

Member for

9 years 4 months
Permalink

It took me about 4 days to burn my box set. But i was able to clean the kitchen 6 times, insert CD inner sleeves i got from 'soundsource cds' (round bottom inner). I had to re-name each disc to my format '1966-7/3 Fillmore Auditorium, San Francisco 30 trips' and load up the disc picture. I also folded a few loads of laundry and overloaded my family with 4 solid days of Dead. I like the idea of plugging that USB into the Oppo or the car player. Have USBers been burning these onto another USB for portability like a car or coffee shop laptop?
user picture

Member for

17 years 6 months
Permalink

I just wonder, because I think this conversation would be right up his alley. I'd certainly be interested in what he'd have to say.
user picture

Member for

17 years 6 months
Permalink

It is hilarious the way some here feel the need to try and prove that the medium they chose to buy their 30 Trips on is better than the other, and even funnier that they try to prove this by attempting to define the ease with which they can make a backup and the time this takes. The baseline here is of course that all things are ephemeral and the real question here is what is going to survive the longest, a set of CDs, an USB stick or the owner of the 30 Trips set. I opted for the CDs and I expect them to still be working when I shuffle off to another realm. What happens after that is immaterial, to me at least. On a different note, I think we are all aware that Rhino are great at bringing us fine music on a regular basis but they are not good at production, quality control, customer service and public relations. Almost all aspects of their products are done as cheaply as possible which is fine in a way as it keeps costs and prices down, but nobody should be surprised at the faults and problems that crop up with every release. Every time there is a new release, the same sort of problems are highlighted in these posts and year in year out nothing much changes. This is a great shame as the music really is worth better than this. Finally, I would like to thank all at Rhino for another year of musically excellent releases and of course to MaryE who is always there or thereabouts to help those in need.
user picture

Member for

12 years 1 month
Permalink

Maybe everyone else knows about this site, but I just stumbled onto it. relisten.net They have a load of shows from different groups and a nice player to play them. Great to run on your computer, pad or phone into a speaker system. I can use my tablet and pump the output into my bose wave radio in my kitchen while cooking. Figure I pass it along. d
user picture

Member for

11 years 4 months
Permalink

"All things equal, which one would you choose?" I would use the scanner mom got me for Christmas. I wouldn't want to hurt her feelings, and it's also much more convenient. Here's an analogy for you: An elephant and a giraffe walk into a bar...wait, no that's not it, sorry. Here we are: Let's say there is a delicious cocktail you wish to reproduce. You already know exactly what the ingredients are down to the milliliter (mL). You decide to use a special process to analyze the ingredients down to the microliter (uL). By using your special process you find the original cocktail recipe was actually off by a few microliters (uL) on a few ingredients. You mix up two cocktails, one using each method, and ask a friend to taste them both. Your friend says, "They're both delicious! But I can't taste any difference between the two." You point to one of the cocktails and say, "This one's different, it has 0.1% more Bailey's." Your friend looks at you incredulously, and says, "You can taste that?" And you say, "No, but I don't trust my palate enough for it to be the only metric I judge correctness."
user picture
Default Avatar

Member for

13 years 4 months
Permalink

I havent been on here for a long time it seems like. Would like to wish everyone Happy Whatever and hope you all get to jam to some Grateful music more than usual. Driving from Iowa to Philly then Port Chester for a JRAD run Dec.31-> Jan.2nd. First time at the "Cap" in Port Chester so I am of course giddy with excitement. Philly has a new Fillmore as well that looks fantastic. Anyway, hope you get to see some live music too. Peace.....here is one for you JRAD virgins. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WV-RauOr9Lg or https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lqerTLtEwcc
user picture

Member for

17 years 5 months
Permalink

....and lovejerry, Kate and wharfratwhitey, the only girls I know that regularly post. Yeah, I said Merry Christmas. I aways do. If I offend, oh well. Been spinning the '94 Boston Garden Trip for the past couple days. I haven't heard every 1994 show, but this one was release worthy. Jerry and the boyz sound strong. Love Vince on this one. You all take care. To the boxheads and boltheads I raise my glass of eggnog....(spiked a bit)....
user picture

Member for

9 years 8 months
Permalink

Thanks Vguy, Merry Christmas to u2.
user picture

Member for

17 years 5 months
Permalink

....I raise my third glass of nog to the heads that could not afford this release. Digital releases are bound to happen. All good things in all good time people....God Bless. Full moon to boot tonight.... ....wrapping presents with a buzz is an adventure all its own....
user picture

Member for

17 years 6 months
Permalink

My lunar calendar says Full Moon tomorrow. Don't know how rare it is to have a full moon on a holiday, but cool nonetheless. I noticed it when I looked this morning.
user picture

Member for

15 years 2 months
Permalink

The last time we had a full Christmas moon was in 1977. The moon cycles every 29.5 days, meaning every 29.5 days, there will be a full moon. ... So, on average, every 29.5 years, a full moon will land on December 25.
user picture

Member for

9 years 8 months
Permalink

To all, think I' listen to ''77 next. Love the Christmas arrival of 30 trips,
user picture

Member for

10 years 8 months
Permalink

Hope everyone is getting to where they need to be safely, the pass here in WA is preventing some travels for sure.Here is a great band from Korea, surf/psych/instrumental,Recommended listening for tonight and tomorrow: the band "HE5" the album PSych Xmas. These guys really impress and they are doing this type music pretty early for their location and time, Korea 1968/69. Anyway happy holidays and check out HE5's Korean psych xmas album. Highlight is probably the Jingle Bells>GaddaDaVida>PIB jam> Jingle Bells 13 min track.
user picture

Member for

17 years 6 months
Permalink

The thing I must be poor at getting across is that I'm only speaking to the objective nature of one format vs. another, not the subjective. Things that can be measured like accuracy of the data, time it takes to do a certain task, the tools used to accomplish a certain task, reducing the steps from Point A to Point B. A recipe off by a microliter, is still off by a microliter, even if you have to use a tool to tell the difference. Repeat the recipe wrong a number of times and the microliter adds up and is soon much more obvious. My perception of a drink mixed differently from the recipe is not the metric, the recipe is the metric. Subjectively, like I said, it's your music, enjoy it how you wish. God knows, you don't need my permission. Guess that's all I can say at the moment. If anyone wants to talk about the objective parts of this discussion, I'm all ears. I'm barely competent discussing my own subjective musings, I'm certainly no expert on anyone else's. I hope everyone enjoys the Holiday, I know I will.
user picture

Member for

10 years 2 months
Permalink

SimonRob, your's is a curiously mixed message; yet, with respect to the assertion that, "I think we are all aware...", don't presume to speak for me, as I have no earthly idea of, or common experience with, what you say. "...but they are just not very good at production, quality control, customer service..." I purchase a lot of music and Rhino's releases are industry standard; in fact, the pendantics over at SteveHoffmanForums are currently percolating a thread regarding 'box sets that don't disappoint', which, conversely, also addresses complaints of substandard production specs - none of which are characteristic of the many Rhino releases populating my collection, to name a few: Phish NYE 95/Live Brooklyn; Circles/Sun; SF Nuggets; CSNY 74; Doors (Felt Forum, Hollywood Bowl, Vancouver, Pittsburgh, Weird Scenes); Smiths Complete; Pogues 5-cd set; No Thanks (70s punk comp); Left of the Dial (80s "underground"); the comprehensive lot of superbly packaged, documented, and accessorized Dead sets (May 77; E72; FW 69; Spring 90; 30T; Winterland 73/77); and at least a dozen others. Regarding QC & customer svc: out of 300+ Rhino discs, I've had problems with 5: 3 from E72 and 2 from 30T; all of which were replaced without further problem within 10 days of request. Brilliant. Defective product is a statistical reality in any line of manufacturing and these complaints should be rightfully resolved on a case-by-case basis; but there is nothing to suggest that Rhino is plagued by systemic dysfunction in any aspect of production or service. Indeed, given the apparent commercial success of their prodigious catalogue, I'd conclude the contrary. In summation, I shall join you in thanking Rhino for another year of spectacular releases./peace, Katherine Cole.
user picture

Member for

17 years 5 months
Permalink

....always lurking, waiting to strike. I'm in a comfortable groove right now. Wrapping and jamming. Keeping the volume lower than usual though....don't wanna scare Santa away...Terrapin just crossed the horizon....
user picture
Default Avatar

Member for

15 years 8 months
Permalink

The very excellent Spin out of Newcastle, England reported a few weeks ago that the first vinyl breakout of the 30 box set will be a 3 disc release of the Shrine show, bit surprised nobody picked up on the news, so, Ive put on my Jultomte (santa Claus)outfit to give the news as a present to all you out there in Dead land.
user picture

Member for

11 years 4 months
Permalink

One of my favorites (I think I may have posted this last year, but it's definitely worth reposting anyway):
product sku
081227955892