July 2, 2011 Superball IX, Watkins Glen, NY Sources Review

After a smoking beginning to Superball IX, Phish settled in for a fairly routine first couple of sets, highlighted by several new songs, but then the third set raised the bar several notches.  This review will only encompass recordings of the 1st 3 sets.  Tomorrow, I will have a review of the Storage Jam (4th set) sources.  Once again, I have to take my hat off to the tapers who chose to record this magic rather than partying like rock stars.  I know that is one choice I would not want to have to make.  There are nine sources available for this recording and several are really top notch.

Source 1 (hereafter CCM4 source)
Source:Schoeps CCM4(ortf) Schoeps/VMS5u>R44(ocm) 24/96
Location:FOB/DFC 6' stand
Transfer:SDHC>Audacity 16/44 >Amadeus Pro>xACT

16 bit source

Source 2 (hereafter MK41 source)
Source:Schoeps MK41(din) > Kcy > Sonosax SX-M2/LS2 >R44(OCM)24/96
Location:FOB/DFC 6' stand
Transfer:SDHC>Audacity 16/44 >Amadeus Pro>xACT

16 bit source

Source 3 (hereafter MBHO source)
Source: MBHO KA500HN >>> Hi Ho Silver Actives >>> MBHO MBP 603A >>> Darktrain Silver Interconnects >>>  Naiant LittleBox[Output Transformers] >>> Darktrain Silver Interconnects >>> Sony PCM-M10[24-Bit/96kHz]
Location: DINa/FOB/DFC
Transfer: Sony PCM-M10 > WaveLab 6[Normalize/Crystal Resampler/UV22HR Dither] > CD Wave 1.98 > CKRename > Traders Little Helper v2.6.0[Encode To FLAC/Level 8/Align On Sector Boundaries]

16 bit source
24 bit source

Source 4 (hereafter AKG392 source)
Source: AKG392's -> Hydra Silver XLR's -> Edirol UA-5 (Oade warm mod) -> Microtrack II 24 bit @ 48 Khz
Location: OTS/DFC; Omnidirectional 39" separation, 75 HZ bass rolloff, Mics aimed at PA Stacks, approximately 12 ft high on stand.
Transfer: Microtrack II-> USB -> PC-> CD WAVE Editor -> Adobe Audition 3.0 16/44.1 conversion -> Flac Frontend

16 bit source
24 bit source

Source 5 (hereafter Oktava source)
Source: Oktava MC-012s > Edirol UA-5 (DIY digi-mod, 44.1kHz) > optical > Creative Nomad JB3 (WAV)
Location: hyper, OTS, 10' up, NOS
Transfer: Creative Nomad JB3 > USB > Creative Play Center > CDWav > Trader's Little Helper (FLAC Level 8)

16 bit source

Source 6 (hereafter CA source) ***lossy (MD) source***
Source: CA-14s > CA-9100 > Sharp MD-MT15
Location: cardioid, OTS, 10' up, NOS
Transfer: Sony MDS-PC3 > optical > Creative Nomad JB3 > USB > Creative Play Center > CDWav > Trader's Little Helper (FLAC Level 8)

16 bit source

Source 7 (hereafter CK93 source)
Source: AKG-CK93 > PS-2 > DEAD-20 > MARANTZ-PMD661
Location: BOB
Transfer: MASTER > AUDACITY > CD WAVE > FLAC LEVEL(8)

16 bit source

Source 8 (hereafter SKM184 source)
Source: Neumann skm184>sd702>wav24/48
Location: OTS>13ft
Transfer: CF>goldwave(dither resample 16/441)>cd wave>flac level 8

16 bit source

Source 9 (hereafter DPA source)
Source: DPA 4023>Sonosax SX-M2>Sound Devices 722 (24/96)
Location: DIN/FOB/DFC 6' stand
Transfer: 722>Firewire>Macbook>Sound Studio 3.6(fades, normalize peak, +gain, track)>
Wave Editor (iZotope Resampler/MBIT+ Dither)>
xACT 2.13(align on sector boundaries, encode, tag, fingerprint)>flac16 (level 8 )

16 bit source

 

Phish - 7/2/2011 "Tube" from Phish on Vimeo.

The CCM4 source sounds very distant.  The bass tone is quite nice.  However, the levels are fairly low and there is a large amount of crowd noise.

The MK41 source has even lower levels than the CCM4 source and, like the CCM4 source, has quite a bit of crowd noise. 

The MBHO source has better bass response than I have come to expect from these mics.  However, it still isn't as much as I would like, and doesn't really compare to the Oktava or DPA sources when it comes to bass response.  Still, a very nice recording.

The AKG392 source is very crisp sounding, however the bass response just isn't there.  While this was one of the top 3 sources from the previous night, it just doesn't have the umph that would put it there for this one.

The Oktava source is, once again, very good.  The low-end is quite nice and the highs are excellent.  However, the tone on the bass just isn't as nice as on the DPA's.  Notice Mike's first big bomb at the beginning of Tweezer Reprise.  Just not comparison really.

The CA source sounds a bit hollow in the high-mids.  The levels are fantastic though.  It just doesn't have the punch of the Oktava or the DPA source.

The CK93 source is relatively thin sounding compared to the DPA or Oktava sources.  Also, there is a large amount of crowd noise on this recording.

The SKM184 source has great bass tone and has excellent highs as well.  As you  might expect, this recording is very warm sounding.  There is lots of crowd noise, and good overall balance.  The levels aren't as nice as on the Oktavas, but this is still right there as one of the top 3 sources for the evening.

The DPA source is the best sounding of the recordings from this evening.  The bass isn't as overpowering on this recording as it was on the previous evening.  There is just great tone from low to high and the sub kicks when it is supposed to.  As I stated earlier, listen to Mike's first bomb on Tweezer Reprise.  Once you hear that, you know this is the best sounding recording.

Happy listening!