This is a tagged version of shnid: 95970

Grateful Dead
9-16-66
Avalon Ballroom
San Francisco, California

Source: SBD>MR>?>LP>WAV>WAV>FLAC

Equipment used for A/D conversion: Lyra Helikon phono cartridge, Linn LP12/Lingo turntable, Linn Ittok tonearm, Audioquest LeoPard tonearm cable, PS Audio PS2 preamplifier, Kimber PBJ interconnect, M-Audio Audiophile USB A/D converter.

Audacity 1.3.3-beta was used to make WAV files.
ClickRepair 2.1.1 was used to remove clicks at its lowest settings (Declick 1, Wavelet method, Decrackle off).
Trader's Little Helper 1.1.1 was used to make level 6 FLAC files


NOTE-This is a new rip of the "semi-legal" bootleg LPs "Vintage Dead" and "Historic Dead", using high-quality analog equipment. I haven't listened to the other circulating versions, but this should be a substantial improvement assuming they were made with average analog equipment.

These recordings are commonly said to come from Avalon Ballroom 9-16-66 except the last two tracks, which I have seen attributed to The Matrix 11-29-66, though I haven't confirmed that myself. The sound quality of those two tracks is noticeably different. According to set lists for 9-16-66, tracks 06 and 07 were played between tracks 03 and 04, and track 05 was an encore. I have left the tracks in the LP order because crowd noise was inserted between the tracks of side one of Vintage Dead, so reordering the tracks would create an obvious break.

The LPs used for the transcription are both Sunflower LPs. Vintage Dead is SUN-5001 and Historic Dead is SNF-5004. Vintage Dead has a yellow LP label with an orange flower and two orange MGM logos. The label has the catalog number SUN 5001 (MGS 2418) on side 1 and SUN 5001 (MGS 2419) on side 2. The vinyl has what appears to be SHN 5001 MGS 2418-1 2 Sept '70 E.C. engraved in the inner groove on side 1, and SHN 5001 MGS 2419-1 2 Sept '70 E.C. engraved in the inner groove on side 2. Historic Dead has the same LP label with SNF-5004 MGS-2558 on side 1 and SNF-5004 MGS-2559 on side 2. Its inner groove has SNF 5004 and MGS 2558 engraved 180 degrees away from each other on side 1, and SNF 5004 and MGS 2559 engraved 180 degrees away from each other on side 2.

The cover of Vintage Dead is yellow-orange with a Grateful Dead Avalon poster laid out diagonally and an open Ripple bottle. The back cover is shades of light blue with semi-transparent portraits of the boys and liner notes by Robert E. Cohen. It has a diagonal cut-out in the upper left corner of the front cover. Historic Dead has a largely blank blue front cover with black border, and a black and white back cover with the track information at the top and shadowy portraits of the boys that merge into a watery surface with upside-down skull reflections at the bottom. I've never had the opportunity to compare original vs. bootleg copies of these LPs, but these both look on the up-and-up.

You can hear the results from yourself. While I generally prefer European vinyl, these both have pleasantly quiet surfaces, and the occasional light clicks were largely eliminated by ClickRepair. Considering that I only have one copy of each of these LPs, and their covers are far from mint, I was gratified by how clean they sound. There are only the faintest traces of occasional tracking distortion in a few tracks. One nice thing about high-end analog gear is that it can often penetrate through the shortcomings of inferior vinyl.


01 - I Know You Rider [4:22]
02 - It Hurts Me Too [4:20]
03 - It's All Over Now, Baby Blue [4:57]
04 - Dancing in the Streets [6:53]
05 - Midnight Hour [18:20]
06 - Good Morning Little Schoolgirl [11:05]
07 - Lindy [2:53]
08 - Stealin' [3:02]
09 - The Same Thing [11:59]
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C. Muehlfeld 2010-08-31