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Old Memories

Aloha_Mark

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Dec 15, 2011
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495
I attended the final Allman Brothers concert at the Fillmore East in June 1971. Never heard any band give a finer performance, even five decades later. J. Geils was also on stage, and boy did they give a knockout performance, as well. But ... memories are hard to reconcile with recorded history. First, I purchased a CD, followed by SACD and Blu-Ray audio versions of the Allman brothers concerts (dates include March and June). The sound is nothing like I remember. It lacks fullness, and the percussion is uneven. Bass is best on Blu-Ray, but the holistic soundstage is not present. My current speakers are from Martin-Logan. The good old speakers, Acoustic Research AR-3A are dead and gone. Is modern hi-fi the cause of disappointing representations of Rock n' Roll concerts, or has mag tape lost its luster due to old age? Has recording changed so much that only a modern digital recording sounds good through CD's etc.? Help, I am very dismayed. Tell me what sound system works best with the AB recordings.
 

Big Al

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Apr 24, 2002
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14,537
Smoke a joint and it will smooth out all the problems. Works for me.:teeth
 

Texas Blues

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Apr 13, 2008
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4,641
I don't have a problem with drugs...I have a problem with the police.

Keith Richards
 

J.D.

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May 24, 2006
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10,030
IMHO live music cannot ever be replicated by CDs or DVDs even on the best sound system. That is my personal experience.

If it could, nobody would go out to shows LOL.
 

Wilko

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Mar 11, 2002
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20,854
There are ways of getting a better sound. Some involve expensive hardware, some creativity.

Try getting the speakers up off the ground.

Turn it up.

Aim the speakers outwards towards the walls

Use more speakers aiming different directions

make sure you have plenty of wattage
 

J T

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Joined
Oct 20, 2005
Messages
10,501
It goes back to how it was recorded to begin with. A friend of mine asked me to "master" some old 8 track tapes of his band he did years ago. He said all they did was put up a couple of 57s somewhere in the room that they wouldn't knock them over.

Oh my gosh what a mess that was. I was able to even them out and give him at least a cohesive "master" disc, but even with some really good EQ plugins and a lot of time, it goes back to the source.

What did they record that concert with back then? Most likely a stereo mix out of the board and someone pressing play and record to make the tape spin.
 

Progrocker111

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Dec 10, 2003
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4,013
Perhaps the original vinyl with original recording from master tapes would help. Many current remasters are really fucked on digital mediums.
 

Xpensive Wino

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Nov 3, 2012
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6,079
ABBF.jpg



History documents that two shows each were performed on not only Friday, March 12th and Saturday, March 13th, the dates from which the bulk of the material was drawn, but also Thursday, March 11th.

Tom Dowd would have undoubtedly recorded all of this material for the live album release, not to mention the entire show performed on June 27, 1971 that captured the released "One Way Out" from the closing of the Fillmore East.

On Thursday, March 11, the Allman Brothers used a horn section in the show. Legend has it that Tom Dowd played the tapes back for the band and they were so bad that Dowd and the band felt none of the material should be released. This anecdotal story is supported in Randy Poe's recently published Skydog: The Duane Allman Story (Backbeat Books, 2006).

At Fillmore East is considered by this and other writers as one of the greatest, if not the greatest Rock Live recordings ever made.


http://www.allaboutjazz.com/the-col...y-c-michael-bailey.php?pg=2&width=1024?page=1
 

Wilko

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Mar 11, 2002
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20,854
Other considerations are the possible (very likely) change in your hearing over time.

I get measured periodically and have a serious notch in my hearing at around 3k. That is, of course, where a lot of the magic is.

You can try adjusting your playback to compensate for that change.
 

toxpert

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Jul 2, 2005
Messages
3,068
Dating back to the early 70s, I have hung onto my Altec A7 Voice of the Theater and JBL L100 speakers...along with the 250 watt amp, preamp and equalizer separates.
Love the sound of Altec horns in a home system...
 

parts

Member
Joined
Oct 17, 2010
Messages
128
I still have my Dalquist DQ10 phased arrays..and Sub woofer. 250W SAE amp..and a pair of Sonabs with a 100W SAE. SAE Parametric w a Nakamichi pre amp..SAE noise reduction and SAE Parametric EQ and Tuner..Nakamichi 700 deck..w Harmon Kardon linear..all mid to late 70s.. Forgot what the CD is..old 8 disc rotary and a single disc one.
Love the sound but rarely fire it all up..usually here at the computer listening to my recording monitors or Altecs w sub.. Or Phones

But mostly Grado headphones..as the OTHER requires sleep and TV..:)
I mix on the Grados..and when the OTHER is gone I usually fire up the guitar and amps and scare the cats..
 

mistersnappy

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Joined
Jan 20, 2006
Messages
7,321
Reading just yesterday an LPF member's personal page (sorry I can't remember his name-he's an engineer) mentioning that tape loses some high end over time. Don't know if this helps your problem.

There's really no way that 99% of live recordings can get close to what you heard live. You are a lucky man, however!
 
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