June 8, 2012 DCU Center, Worcester, MA Sources Review

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After a scorching night one at Worcester, Phish continued to bring the heat in night two, with particular highlights in Set 1.  These two shows are definitely must listen Phish for all the real heads out there.  There are seven sources available for this show, many in both 16 and 24 bit audio.  I want to thank all the tapers that recorded these shows and shared them with the rest of us.  Thanks a lot guys!

Source 1 (hereafter MK22 source)
Source: Schoeps MK22>KC5>CMC6>Sonosax SX-R4(24bit/96khz)
Location: Mics were 40' from stage DFC FOB (21cm,110 degrees
Transfer: WAV>USB>Macbook Pro>Wave Editor(tracking,fades,add gain,resample(izotope)/dither(mbit+)to 16 bit/44.1k)>XAct(FLAC 8,ffp,fix sbe)

16 bit source
24 bit source

Source 2 (hereafter M200 source)
Source: Microtech Gefell m200 > Sonosax SX-M2 > Marantz PMD-661 w/ "Oade Concert Mod" (@ 24 bit / 96 kHz)
Location: Front of the taper's section, dead center
mics angled 90 degrees, spaced approximately 8 inches
Transfer: SDHC Card > Samplitude SE v9.1.1 (fades, track splits) > SoX 14.4.0 (resample to 44.1 kHz, dither to 16 bit) > FLAC v1.2.1 (Level 8)

16 bit source
24 bit source

Source 3 (hereafter MD441u source)
Source: Sennheiser MD441U > Edirol R4Pro ( Oade preamp mod ) @ 24/88.2
Location: pointed at PA array, OTS centered, 12.5 feet high.
Transfer: R4Pro > WaveBurner ( track on sector boundaries, fades, SRC, BDC ) > xACT ( to flac, and for tagging and checksums )

16 bit source

Source 4 (hereafter CCM4v source)
Source: Schoeps CCM4V'S(din)>Lunatec V2>Benchmark AD2K>
Sound Devices 722 (24/48)
Location: FOB/DFC/ Approximately 42' From Stage, 6' High
Transfer: Sound Devices 722>Sound Forge 9.0>CD Wave>flac(16)

16 bit source

Source 5 (hereafter DPA 4011 source)
Source: DPA 4011 > V3 Digital > R44 (24/96)
Location: DFC/DIN/8' high
Transfer: SDHC Card > Sound Forge Pro 10.0 (fades, Normalize, Izotope 5, resample iZotope 64-Bit SRC, dither iZotope MBIT+ Dither) > CD Wav (tracking) > TLH > Flac (level 8)

16 bit source
24 bit source

Source 6 (hereafter DPA 4023 source)
Source: DPA 4023>Sonosax SX-M2>Sound Devices 722 (24/96)
Location: ORTF/FOB/DFC 6' stand 40' from the stage
Transfer: 722>Firewire>Macbook>Sound Studio 3.6(fades, normalize peak, +gain, track)>
Wave Editor 1.5.7 (iZotope Resampler/MBIT+ Dither)> xACT 2.18(align on sector boundaries,encode, tag, fingerprint)>flac16 (level 8)
16 bit source
24 bit source


Source 7 (hereafter AKG source)
Source: AKG c480b/ck63 > Lunatec V3 Digital > Edirol R-44(24/96)
Location: PAS, OTS
Transfer: Wave > Sound Forge Pro 10.0(Fade,Track,Resample,Dither 16/44.1) > TLH > Flac

16 bit source



Phish - 6/8/12 "Character Zero" from Phish on Vimeo.

Once again, thanks to all the tapers.  If you are at a show, please be courteous around the tapers.  You don't want your drunk ramblings preserved for posterity do you? Thanks again!

The MK22 source has great levels, a fair amount of crowd noise, though not as much as the DPA 4023 source.  The bass response is quite nice, but on close inspection, is just not as good as the DPA 4023 source.  Notice the intro to Sand, on the DPA 4023 source, the bass is quite distinct and on this source, it just isn't quite up to that level.

The M200 source, just like the night before, is quite warm sounding, but lacks tonal clarity in the lowest frequencies.

The MD441u source is a very good sounding recording, probably the 3rd best of the night.  However, like most of the other tapes, it just doesn't have that crystal clear tone at the lowest frequencies that the DPA 4023 source has.

The CCM4v source is very boomy without much clarity in the lower registers.

The DPA 4011 source sounds a bit hollow in the mids, particularly compared to the MK22 and DPA 4023 sources.  The bass is also a bit boomy.

The DPA 4023 source is my pick for the night.  It has great levels, outstanding separation, and great tonal clarity throughout the frequency range.  The only downside of this recording is that the crowd noise is noticeably more than on the previous nights recording.

The AKG source doesn't have the excellent separation of the DPA 4023 source and the bass tone isn't as clear at the lowest frequencies.

Happy listening!