If bucks are really tight, you might consider seeking out torrents of GD shows - there are hundreds (maybe thousands) of soundboard-quality shows in circulation right now. Just get a torrent client (BitTorrent or Azureus), do a Google search for "Grateful Dead torrent" and start downloading music - FREE.
Dick's Picks are usually okay, but many of the soundboards referenced above will blow them away...
-RW- |
i hate to admit it, but i am not too download savvy. do i become a "member" of azureus and go from there? or do i need to find a "client" how does the downloading for me. it's a bitch to be the dumbest kid in the smart class.
in the meantime does anyone have any hot shows on the dix pix universe? |
It's not too hard if you pay attention [smile].
1) Get a bit torrent client. I use Azureus. The bit torrent client is the program that reads torrent files and then downloads the music files you want.
Azureus: http://sourceforge.net/projects/azureus/
Once you'e downloaded and installed Azureus, you now need to find a torrent file of a show you'd like to download. Go to bt.etree.org for those, they have a TON of GD shows:
List of GD shows: http://bt.etree.org/index.php?cat=8
I selected the 3rd show in the list because it's a soundboard and was done by Charlie Miller - he really knows his stuff. Grateful Dead, Soldier Field - June 25, 1992: gd92-06-25.dsbd.miller.32496.sbeok.flac16
To the right of the show name, you'll see a little icon that looks like a floppy disc. Clicking this will allow you to download the torrent file of the show. Click it. You can now save the torrent file to a folder on your PC, I have one called Torrents.
Once you save the torrent file, you can then click the Open button on the dialog. This will cause Azureus to start and will "feed" it the torrent file. Simply tell Azureus where you want to store the downloaded files - you might want to create a folder called Grateful Dead and save them there.
The downloaded files are usually in some kind of compressed format, usually FLAC or SHN. You can either play these files using WinAmp or convert them to WAVs for burning to a CDR.
WinAmp: http://www.winamp.com/
I use dbPowerAmp to convert my FLAC or SHN files for burning: http://www.dbpoweramp.com/
Install dbPowerAmp and the FLAC and SHN plug-ins and you're good to go. Convert the FLACs or SHNs to WAVs and use any CD burning program to burn 'em.
Yes, you will have to do a little bit of reading, and you will mess up a bit here and there. But the payoff is SO great that it's definitely worth the effort. I currently have over 100 GD shows that sound terrific and cost me virtually nothing.
-RW- |
You shouldn't have much trouble getting free downloads by following Rlwainwright's advice, but if you feel the need to spend money, there are also downloads available through the Grateful Dead website: deadnet.com as well as the Apple iTunes store. If you go via iTunes be aware that you can only get it in a lossy format, ie., it won't be as good as Flac. I've heard a few of the official downloads and a couple from circa 1976 and 1977 were pretty good shows (depends what you like though). Or, if you want to buy my cassette tape collection, send me an email. I don't listen to my tapes anymore, lack the time to transfer them to digital, and was thinking of trying to sell them on ebay. Probably have about 50 plus shows, give or take, many are audience tapes though there are some decent soundboards in there too. Just don't know what to do with them these days since I don't even have a cassette player except in my car. Anyway, good luck and let us know what shows you find and like. |
Well done Rlwainwright! I've been meaning to look into that very process as I am a big Govt Mule fan. |
Wonder if anyone out there knows if the Breakfast with the Dead morning show at the US Festival (82 or 83?) was ever recorded and if it was where I could get a copy thanks. |
Tda44:
Downloading is the way to go, definitely. There are some tremendously good sounding shows out there for free (better than many of the Dick's Picks I have). The place you want to go is here:
http://bt.etree.org/
At the top of the page, there is a link to download a BitTorrent client (called Bit Tornado). After that and a high speed internet connection, you are all set.
It is very worth your time to check out how this works, and you can get all the info you need at this site. Presently there are a few hundred GD shows available, and you can read the comments to see how they sound and what the performance is like. Great tunes for the price of a blank. |
Also try Futhturnet.org. I'm pretty sure it doesn't require ANY thinking (it's been a while!).
Also try losslesslegs and dimeadozen. |
All
this is a terrific thread, and i did everything as suggested and got a show downloaded to a CDR (file type WAV).
one little problem: what formats are best supported by universal players? (ideally, lets stick to the high quality file types). the WAV won't play in my universal muse.
any thoughts? or is this thread targeting only PC use?
best
rc |
Rhyno,
What program did you use to burn the WAVs? If you used something like feurio (or any software used for burning audio cdrs) you should be able to play the disc in virtually any player that plays redbook cd. Some players are finicky when it comes to cdrs, but not many.
What speed did you burn the disc at? |
i used the db Power amp as recommended above, went from FLAC to WAV to CDR, using slowest burn speeds possible.
i'll try the disc in a few other players to see what happens. i know the player I tried it in, a muse polyhymnia (review coming in dagogo by yours truly), didn't jive
thanks again,
rc |
Cheers Rlwainwright - wasn't nearly as straight forward as you made it sound but well worth the effort.
I have only downloaded 3 concerts and the quality amazes me.
Looking forward to downloading many more.
Bluegrass Gospel Project , The Old Meeting House, Vermont 10/11/2006 is fabulous and a Dead concert at Adams Field House 1974 is rather nice.
Thanks again. |
Is there anyplace that reviews/comments on the sound quality of the various shows? It seem to me that it would vary wildly.
Also, is there a list of those that are soundboard feeds. Am I correct in assuming those would be better than the ones from mics? |
I've generally preferred audience tapes to soundboards, with some exceptions of
course, but I am in the extreme minority on that. |
ok, i'm getting closer:
i've confirmed that the disc i burned works on my PC, but in every player i try it with, it may read, but the Table of Contents only finds 1 track (though i burned the disc w/ a WAV for each track), and there's no audio out.
any advice or tricks would be welcome.
best
rc |
Rhyno, Never used dbpower amp, however it looks like there is a support forum where you may post your question here. I have a Plextor USB writer and use Plextools to do all my ripping and writing and here's why. Have fun. |
ok, figured out that i burned a PC disc and not an audio disc. 20 min later, i'm listening to 5-4-72 paris on my main rig.
holy sh*t! this is the greatest thing a deadhead could hope for!
next question: i gather that my cheap burner built into my laptop is not optimal and will lead to increased write errors (found a few already...how uncool) and jitter that will compromise staging / sonics.
any recs on an outbound burner thats suited for burning shows?
btw, this is the greatest thread of all. its free music. rlwainwright, thanks for the info!
rc |
Rhyno, don't want to tell you how to spend your money, but from the looks of your system you might have enough $$ to try a computer to DAC setup that will bypass the whole disc burning issue. |
Herman,
Here is THE resource for shows in circulation... Dead and many others!
http://db.etree.org/etree_shnlist.php
Note that etree only lists losslessly encoded recordings. |
h*ly s***, sums up the response of myself and more pointedly my Deadhead friends!
Not tried using it for any of the downloaded concerts but Exact Audio Copy is freeware and I have had very good results burning from commercial cd's.
I'm going to an external re-writer now as my learned friend pointed out that EAC may sound good but it's hunting back & forward to correct errors will kill the drive in my laptop very quickly - ouch !
Going to Nespa and Audiodesk the blanks before burning with EAC to see how good this gets - overkill really as I find some of these downloads as real as it gets, chair squeaking, audience farting and all.
Great music, great fun and thank goodness lots of bands/artists are happy to share their music for free - a big thank you to them all! |
>> ok, figured out that i burned a PC disc and not an audio disc. 20 min later, i'm listening to 5-4-72 paris on my main rig. <<
Rockin' dude, now you're hooked!!
>> holy sh*t! this is the greatest thing a deadhead could hope for! <<
Yep. It was even BETTER before The Archive pulled all the soundboard shows at Bobbie and Mickey's request. Phil was pissed about that. Nonehteless, all the shows are still available via torrents, it just takes a little more effort to find 'em. BFD, they're still free and that's good enough for me!! One recommendation for a very cool band is The Mermen, available on The Archive, check out this show, it is outstanding:
http://www.archive.org/details/mermen1999-07-09.shnf
You might also enjoy Earth Bombs Mars; great vocals, guitar work, and the recordings are stellar:
http://www.archive.org/details/ebm2003-03-29.flacf
http://www.archive.org/details/ebm2003-04-09.flacf
http://www.archive.org/details/ebm2003-04-18.flacf
*Definitely* check out Calexico, some of the best music and recording quality to be found on The Archive:
(Soundboard and Audience multi-tracks - whoa!!)
http://www.archive.org/details/calexico2000-07-01.flac16
http://www.archive.org/details/calexico2001-02-15.flac16
http://www.archive.org/details/calexico2003-04-25.flac16
>> any recs on an outbound burner thats suited for burning shows? <<
Most any decent quality USB/FireWire burner will be okay. I'm getting very fine service out of a USB external NEC I bought 2 years ago for $150. If you're really fussy, Plextor has the best rep in the business and comes with very good software.
No matter what, make sure your burner supports all shiny disc formats: DVD+R, DVD-R, DVD+RW, DVD-RW, CD-R, etc. I would also recommned at least a USB 2.0 interface, if it has FireWire, too, so much the better.
And, finally, I would highly recommend an external drive in a decent case. A built-in fan is a very good idea. Rubberized corners and feet help to protect the drive and keep it from marring any surfaces it sits on. Also look for one that contains the the power supply circuitry inside the case - no ugly wall wart to carry around or, even worse, forget to bring with you.
>> btw, this is the greatest thread of all. its free music. rlwainwright, thanks for the info! <<
Well, being Da Man does have its responsibilities...
-RW- |
RW,
I looked at those links you gave and it appears to get a high rez version you have to download each song individualy.
Am I missing soemthing? |
My being thick? - there is always a text file with the venue/track list.
There usually is another text file that looks like it may be a code for FLACS to automatically install the titles?
maybe not but it would be nice.
Have so many concerts now it would be a real pain to type in all the track titles manually |
Ditto on the bit torrent responses... however, make sure you check out DP #21 Richmond '85. That's a hard one to beat in the 80's, IMO. Maybe because I was there, but look at the second set and all those Jerry ballads, including "Comes A Time"! |
Guys-
which speed should one burn a WAV or FLAC downloaded file? |
Jafant, what exactly are you asking, are you trying to burn wav or flac files onto a disc in data disc format? Are you trying to make a CD that will play in any CD player? Are you using windows or mac? Cheers,
Spencer |
Spencer,
yes, I will be burning a wav or flac file (whichever is easiest) from a high rez download to a CD-r. The disc will be played in a cd player.
I use a PC/Windows. I have a friend that uses a MAC. |
@jafant I'll send you a PM to avoid getting off topic. Cheers,
Spencer |
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