'73 & '74 also special in that the boys were breaking out of set list/song ennui and ruts. Post hiatus years very good for that too!
I am going to another note of negativity, dressed up as caution, and say, "I really hope that none of these shows run at the incorrect speed. Plangent Processing is good and all but largely fruitless if the tapes are not transferred at the correct speed (and therefore pitch)."
That doesn't bother me too much unless I try to play along with the music on an instrument. I don't have "perfect pitch" ears. But, yes, hopefully this box will be A=440.
It's more the principle of the thing that bothers me - if they go to all this trouble and expense to avoid tape wow and flutter it is surprising that they apparently don't go to much trouble to ensure that the tapes are transferred at the speed that faithfully reproduces the pitch of the performance.
The Dave's Pick releases are streets ahead of Dick's in the sound quality/attention to detail department. There are def a handful of Dick's that could use a bit of erm.....audio fluffing, if you will. Lols.
Agreed. The early DPs could be better. But overall the consistency has been pretty good, if you like Norman's sound. At least we don't have to talk about loudness issues. I can't even imagine that.
There's still over 9000 boxes available. This is not going to sell out, not even close. The downloads are cheaper and no extra shipping cost, and the compilation is to damn good and has a great price I'm betting they'll go with a 3, maximun 4 show box next year. Priced at $99 or lower. Arc '69, Fox theatre '72 or '80s pre coma
Ark box, Ark box, Ark box, Ark box, Ark box, Ark box, Ark box, Ark box, Ark box, Ark box, Ark box, Ark box, Ark box, Ark box, Ark box, Ark box, Ark box, Ark box, Ark box, Ark box (ad infinitum until finally released.)
Speaking of which, that actual original Ark poster and its dimensions would look good just like that as the front cover for an Ark box release (matching the exact same dimensions as the July 1978 box.)
This is I am really psyched for this box set. Norman does a great job overall. I am curious to know if anyone thinks that the last Dave's Picks ('71) seems to be mastered noticeably louder than previous ones. It certainly seems to be the case to me. This will likely go down as my favorite of any box set released so I just hope that they don't mess this one up.
The speed/pitch has been correct(ed) even on Dave’s Picks for the past couple of years now. I think the last snafus were in the 30 Trips box.
Which ones need fluffing? The only one I had major issues with was #9. Only Dicks Picks I’ve sold or traded in.
I only own a few Dave's but, based upon what I hear of DaP v. DiP (of which I own or have owned almost the whole series at some time), I would say there's been a shift in philosophy, over how the raw tapes are turned into official releases; the early DiP feel like flat transfers much of the time and, whilst very crankable, they suffer to a degree from lacking a certain sparkle. Compare, for example, DiP2's drum/cymbal sound against DaP's 26 - there's much more clarity to the latter. This isn't to say that I would advocate major EQ "goosing", but I think that lessons have been learnt & applied, re some subtle tweaking, as the GD's 2-track release programmes have evolved.
It's funny how quickly we adapt to new circumstances. With the last few DaPs and GSTL box selling out in record time, it's like we expect everything to be at the same pace. It's only been for sale 1 week, and still has just under 3 months until it ships. Patience Daniel San.
There’s distortion in the recording itself for the last ‘71 Dave’s Picks. Vocal microphones are overloaded at times.
I am not through the whole thing yet, and I have not looked at any numbers, but it didn’t strike me as being any louder but rather a good bit brighter; and I don’t think that was Norman necessarily. I think the vocal mics they were using, the guitar tones, the upright piano, Phil a little drier, it to me leads to notice a pretty big, maybe 6-7 kHz, spike all over that tape relative to most any other GD tape I have heard in a long while (just a guess as to what Hz, I’m no expert). I don’t so far think it is related to the quality of the tape either but rather it seems mix related to me. That and I think Billy is so far pretty light on the kick this night, so it is all drawing your ear to this hump that I could certainly see as being perceived as louder as man it is a less than soothing part of the spectrum. I am completely guessing that Norman well noticed this but perhaps he felt he could only work around it so much before changing the nature of other areas or the mix overall. I for one am in the camp if it’s the way it is then it’s the way it is, so this isn’t any issue for me, and I know he does the best he can with these things.
