10-19-10 Augusta Civic Center, Augusta, ME Source Review

Yet again, Phish has played a great show in an out of the way place and there are 5 different tapers (at least) there to chronicle it.  The recordings for this evening are all quite good, with a few that rose above the rest.

Source 1 (hereafter MK22 source)

Source:FOB-Schoeps mk22>kc5>cmc6>psp3>mini-me@48-24>r-44>sd

Transfer:sd>vegasSRC44-16>cdwave>flac

Etree Source

Source 2 (hereafter AKG 214 source)
Source: AKG c214 > Silver Cables > FR-2LE [BA TMod] (24/96)
Transfer: CF Card > Audacity (fades, tracking) > r8brain (downsampling) > TLH > Flac (level 8)
couple of feet left of DFC/DIN/about 10' high

Etree Source
24 bit Etree Source

Source 3 (hereafter AKG 393 source)
Source: AKG393's(OTS/DFC) -> Hydra Silver XLR's -> Edirol UA-5 (Oade warm mod) -> NJB3 @ 48 Khz
Transfer: NJB3 -> Firewire -> PC-> r8Brain (Resample to 44.1 Khz) -> CD WAVE Editor -> Flac Frontend
Microphone Config:Mics aimed at outside edges of PA Stacks, 10 ft high

Etree Source

Source 4 (hereafter Sennheuser source)
Field: Sennheiser MD441U > Edirol R4Pro ( Oade preamp mod ) @ 24/88.2
config: pointed slightly outside PA array, centered, 12.5 feet high.
Path: R4Pro > WaveBurner ( track on sector boundaries, fades, SRC, BDC ) > xACT ( to flac, and for tagging and checksums )

Etree Source

Source 5 (hereafter ADK source)
Location:  OTS just LOC
Microphone Configuration: DIN
Source: ADK SC-Ts  > Busman UA-5 > Iriver 120
Transfer: Audacity > WAV > FLAC

Etree Source

I want to thank the tapers for doing all the work to make this kind of blog possible.  Also, I want to thank the folks at etree for setting up a site that allows these recordings to be disseminated so quickly.

The MK22 source has low levels, and like many FOB recordings, has more crowd noise than the other sources.  The kick drum is really, really boomy on this recording.  Overall, there is less tonal quality on lower frequencies, which really hurts this recording.

The AKG 214 source has much lower levels than either the AKG 393 source, the Sennheuser source, or the ADK source.  Gordon sounds really good at higher frequencies, but become really muddy at lower frequencies.  At the beginning of A Day In The Life, Page doesn't sound nearly as good as he does on the ADK source.

The AKG 393 source has fairly low levels to begin with, but the taper corrected this early in the show.  The bass is nice and full throughout the frequency range and the highs are quite crisp.  This is my favorite recording of the five sources.

The Sennheuser source has great levels right from the start.  The bass is very distinct, but doesn't have the punch that the ADK or AKG 393 sources have.  I would say this is the 2nd or 3rd best recording, pretty much a tossup with the ADK source. 

The ADK source has great levels right from the starts.  The high end is very crisp and the bass has nice tone.  However, at lower frequencies the bass becomes muddy and the recording is very boomy overall.  As with most of the shows on this tour, Page is fairly low in the mix.  Overall, this is probably the 2nd or 3rd best of the recordings as the Sennheuser source is also very good.

Happy listening!