grateful dead dick's picks

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"!