If you have any questions/comments, please send email to:
PLEASE READ THIS FAQ carefully, and save this info for future reference. It explains the Digest and administrative addresses, and many commonly asked questions are answered below so that subscribers don't get annoyed by seeing the same questions asked repeatedly. Yes, this sounds authoritarian, but the truth is that you should read this FAQ before posting any questions, and there is some useful material below that you may want to save.
LuckyTown.org currently hosts two separate Internet mailing lists:
The luckytown-digest mailing list is for discussion of any and all issues likely to be of interest to people who enjoy Bruce Springsteen's music. Since LuckyTown-Digest is basically a reader-participation forum, topics vary widely depending on what people are interested in at the moment. Opinions and debate are more than welcome -- they're the spice of any mailing list -- we only ask that you be tolerant and respectful of the people who share this list with you. Flames and name-calling are NOT welcome on LuckyTown; we're striving for a friendly atmosphere here.
The luckytown-ads-digest mailing list is for posting of Springsteen-related classified ads, such as items for sale or trade, trades wanted, etc.
Both lists are semi-moderated, digestified mailing lists. For each list, subscribers email posts to the appropriate list posting address, and posts are bundled into a "digest" file and broadcast via email daily (approximately daily, sometimes more often depending on the email volume and the level of Springsteen activity going on). They are "semi-moderated" in that while the moderator does not read and approve every post, the moderator reserves the right to control in a totally subjective and capricious manner what goes into each digest and who is allowed to post to the list(s).
Unmoderated Springsteen discussion can be found in newsgroup rec.music.artists.springsteen . LuckyTown has a goal of keeping a high ratio of "interesting" (aka signal) to "banal" (aka noise). With an unmoderated forum (the newsgroup) and a moderated forum (the luckytown mailing lists), by definition the moderated forum is for people who don't WANT to sift through everything that anybody wants to post; you basically concede some editorial control in exchange for a hopefully more enjoyable end-product.
You can browse some recent luckytown-digests via WWW at http://www.luckytown.org/luckytown-digest.html .
You can browse some recent luckytown-ads-digests via WWW at http://www.luckytown.org/luckytown-ads-digest.html .
To subscribe to the luckytown-digest mailing list, send email to
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LuckyTown uses Majordomo, a popular mailing list manager software package.
For complete information on the available commands to allow you to
subscribe/unsubscribe/change your address, etc., send email to
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Alternatively, there is a WWW-based way to manage your subscriptions at http://www.luckytown.org/cgi-bin/majordomo
You may submit mail to the next luckytown-digest by sending email to luckytown@luckytown.org .
You may submit mail to the next luckytown-ads-digest by sending email to luckytown-ads@luckytown.org .
End of LuckyTown Introduction and Administrivia
FAQ Table of Contents
Section G. General Springsteen Questions
G1: Q: What's the most recent info on a new album/singles/videos?
- For news, see the following WWW pages:
LuckyTown news
Backstreets
Badlands
Drive All Night
- For info on releases, a great reference is Matt Orel's Springsteen discography.
- For information on the TGoTJ album & previous tour dates, see the LuckyTown TGoTJ page.
G2: Q: What's the most recent info on a tour or live appearances?
- For news, see the following WWW pages:
LuckyTown news
Backstreets
Badlands
Drive All Night
- For information on TGoTJ tour dates, see the LuckyTown TGoTJ page.
G3: Q: What's this "Prodigal Son" or "Unearthed" thing and where does it stand?
"Prodigal Son" is dead, with the lawsuit by Springsteen versus Dare International being settled out of court in 12/94 (no details on the settlement, other than that Dare has agreed not to release the record and has returned the master tapes). "Prodigal Son" was to have been a 2-CD set containing 23 songs, all from 1973, including outtakes from the first and second albums and several publishing demos. It was billed as a legitimate release by Dare International, which claimed to own the rights, but Springsteen sued Dare in the English courts and got an injunction before the set was ever released. Many "Prodigal Son" bootlegs have been produced, of varying quality, likely taken from advance tapes of the actual PS package. The consensus is that "The Early Years" is the best available boot."Unearthed" basically entailed a different British company trying to issue the same material that was on "Prodigal Son". Springsteen's lawyers filed suit in the UK in August 1996 to block it and seek damages, and won that case in 1998.
G4: Q: Where can I find hard-to-locate officially released material?
- If you need a rare 45, CD-single, or other officially released Springsteen item, and you really can't find it or order it locally, your best bet in the USA is Backstreets Records in Seattle, (202) 232-2677; you can write them for a free catalog (free if you mention you're on this email list) at: Backstreets, 2607 24th St NW Suite 4, Washington DC, 20008. Their catalog is also now online at the Backstreets WWW site: http://www.backstreets.com .
In the UK, your best bet is Badlands, England+1242+579425; their address is: Badlands, 11 St George's Place, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire GL50 3LA, England. There is also a Badlands WWW site.
In Spain, you can try Buffalo Records in Barcelona, for a Buffalo catalog you can fax 34.3.4909171, email 100531.226@compuserve.com, or write: Buffalo, PO Box 16020, 08080 Barcelona, Spain.
- For sheet music, the "Bruce Springsteen Complete" ISBN 0-89898-469-6 book was long out of print but is now again available. "Bruce Springsteen Born to Run" ISBN 0-89898-480-7 (the BTR sheet music) may still be available. Both are distributed by CPP Belwin Inc., 15800 NW 48th Ave., Miami, FL 33014
G5: Q: Where can I find rare and/or autographed memorabilia?
- Billy Smith, well-known Springsteen collector and former owner/operator of the Asbury Park Rock 'n' Roll Museum, now operates "Walls of Fame", which among other things sells rare & autographed memorabilia. URL: http://www.wallsoffame.com . Address: Walls of Fame, P.O. Box 1053, Neptune, NJ 07753. Phone (732)988-0315, Fax (732)988-0247. Email: autographs@www.wallsoffame.com
- Backstreets Records and Badlands (see above) carry some memorabilia.
G6: Q: How can I send mail or email to Springsteen?
There is no email address that I know of. Some people ask for Bruce's street addresses in LA or NJ, but I'm not about to hand those out; he probably has enough security problems as it is. I'll also throw in a comment that like most celebrities, I'd guess someone filters through his mail; having myself mistakenly gotten some email intended for Springsteen, I certainly hope somebody does.The 1997 "Who's Who in America" gives his address as care of his agent:
Bruce Springsteen, c/o Premier Talent Agency, 3 E. 54th Street, New York NY, 10022-3108.It's also possible to write him care of his publicist:
Bruce Springsteen, c/o Shore Fire Media, 193 Joralemon Street, Brooklyn NY, 11201.
G7: Q: What kind of guitar/harmonica/etc. does Springsteen use?
The main acoustic (actually an electric-acoustic) guitar on the TGoTJ tour is made by Takamine, he's using many guitars with different tunings. Similarly, there's a rack of harmonicas tuned to different keys; as of 1992 Springsteen's harmonica brand of choice was Hohner Marine Band harmonicas. More information on Bruce's musical equipment can be found in http://www.luckytown.org/misc/equipment.txt.
G8. Q: Does Landau Management handle any clients besides Bruce Springsteen?
Other known Landau clients are: Natalie Merchant, Shania Twain, and Patti Scialfa.
No, it's a different Jon Landau.
G10. Q: When is Springsteen eligible for induction into the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame?
Springsteen will be inducted at the induction ceremonies to be held in March 1999 at the Waldorf Astoria in New York City.
G11. Q: How can I get tickets for Springsteen's induction into the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame?
Springsteen will be inducted at the induction ceremonies to be held in March 1999 at the Waldorf Astoria in New York City. For previous ceremonies, nearly all attendees were from within the music industry, and any small amount of tickets made available to the public have a face value above $1,000. Basically, even if you're loaded with money, it's not likely you'll be able to get in. Try calling the Hall of Fame at 1-800-ROCKHALL if you want to try.
End of Section G. General Springsteen Questions
L1. Q: Is LuckyTown officially connected to Springsteen or his management?
No. Bruce Springsteen and his management have a long-standing policy that they do not want an official fan club or official fan publication, and they are thus very careful not to endorse or officially support any one of the magazines/fanzines that are out there, including LuckyTown. We have established a relationship with Shore Fire Media, which is Springsteen's publicity firm, so that we can get the same official press releases and access as the rest of the media, but don't expect much in the way of "inside information."
L2. Q: Whatever happened to the backstreets mailing list?
In September 1994, the backstreets mailing list was moved from virginia.edu because UVa was dropping support for mailing lists unconnected to the university. At that time the backstreets list was renamed LuckyTown to remove any possible confusion between the backstreets mailing list and Backstreets Magazine.
L3. Q: Are any back issues of the Digest available?
- Very good question! New subscribers may find it beneficial to plough through the Digest archives (all of the Digests dating back to 3/92 are available) in order to get the general feel of things and to read the many topics that have been covered previously.
- The digests are archived monthly at various spots around the Internet and are available via the LuckyTown Back Issues page at http://www.luckytown.org/archive.html .
- Recent digests can be found at the LuckyTown-Digest Recent Issues page.
L4. Q: What do some of these weird abbreviations I see mean?
- FAQ: Frequently Asked Questions list (what you're reading now)
- LTD: LuckyTown Digest
- BTW: By The Way
- FYI: For Your Information
- WRT: With Respect To (or With Regard To)
- IMHO: In My Humble Opinion
- YMMV: Your Mileage May Vary
- NFK: No Fucking Kidding (as in "Bruce did Achy Breaky Heart, NFK")
- ABHNFK: See NFK above.
- :-) tongue in cheek, indicates humor, aka smiley face
- LOL: Laughing Out Loud
- ROTFL: Rolling On The Floor Laughing
- TTYL: Talk (or Type) To You Later
- AKA: Also Known As
- IANAL: I Am Not a Lawyer. Usually followed by some bad legal advice.
- BTR,BITUSA,TOL,HT,LT,GH,TGoTJ: Some Springsteen album titles, should be obvious
L5. Q: Is it OK to discuss/review bootlegs on the LuckyTown list?
Certainly.
L6. Q: Is this list related to Backstreets Magazine or Backstreets Records?
No relation whatsoever, other than the fact that many (most?) people on the list are Backstreets magazine subscribers, and that the Backstreets phone hotline is a good source of rumor and innuendo. Backstreets Magazine has several active subscribers on this list, but other than that there's no connection.
L7. Q: What other mailing lists are there on the Internet? Is there one for group X?
Your best bet is to use your favorite web search engine and hunt around. There used to be various lists of lists around (PAML, MLOL), but they seem to have become extinct.
L8. Q: What Bruce-related information like lyrics or guitar tabs can I get via the Internet?
L9. Q: How many people are on this list?
Well, I cannot really gauge readership per se, because some people just read it off the WWW, and in some cases this list is taken in as one address and put onto some netnews-type arrangement. As of March '99 there are 3000 email addresses on this list. About 20% of the list typically is from Europe and other parts of the globe outside the USA.
L10. Q: What's the Sony WWW home page, and their Springsteen page?
http://www.sonymusic.com/
http://www.brucespringsteen.net
L11. Q: Why is there a Internet Springsteen newsgroup and a mailing list?
With an unmoderated forum (newsgroup rec.music.artists.springsteen) and a moderated forum (this mailing list), by definition the moderated forum is for people who don't want to sift through everything that anybody wants to post; you basically concede some editorial control in exchange for a hopefully more enjoyable end-product. The newsgroup was created in August 1995 because with 2300+ people on LuckyTown, we were having too many growing pains with rehashing old topics, redundant posts, etc.
End of Section L. List Questions and Internet Site Info
This section has questions that have come up repeatedly before and generated so much useless conversation that people would rather not hear about them again in their lifetime:
S1. Q: What's everybody's favorite song, favorite bootleg, etc. ?
See Craig Stockinger's 1996 subscriber poll.
S2. Q: What's the scoop on this "I'm No Angel" song?
"I'm No Angel" is a Gregg Allman song circa 1989. Springsteen had absolutely no involvement in the song. Because to many people the vocals sound a lot like Bruce, it's gotten to be a recurring question.
S3. Q: Don't them Counting Crows sound a lot like early Springsteen?
Yes, a little bit on a few songs. Next question.
S4. Q: What's this "The Electric Bruce Springsteen" boxed set?
It's just a repackaging of the "In Concert" aka MTV XXPlugged 1992 import CD with a T-shirt and a few trinkets. Probably not worth the money unless you're a real completist collector.
S5. Q: What are some historical Springsteen-related sights to see in New Jersey?
Look in Charles Cross's "Backstreets" book, there's a tour guide in there. If you don't have the book, buy one someplace or order one from Backstreets.
S6. Q: Wasn't that Courteney Cox in the DitD video?
Yes, that was actress Courteney Cox, presently on TV's "Friends." No, thank you, we don't care to hear any more about her.
S7. Q: Has Springsteen ever done advertising/endorsements?
Springsteen was one of the performers on the 1988 Human Rights Now tour for Amnesty International, which was sponsored by Reebok. He's appeared at several multi-performer benefits that had corporate sponsorship. In August 1995, Springsteen was pictured in a print ad for Audix OM-Series Microphones. So far, that's it.
S8. Q: Is there any Springsteen stuff on display at the Hard Rock Hotel in Las Vegas?
Near the elevators, there is a display of some of Bruce's stage wear and a signed guitar, as well as the handwritten lyrics to an unreleased song called "Slow Fade".
S9. Q: Are there any Springsteen cover bands out there?
The band "Tramps Like Us" plays the NY/NJ area, call 908-988-2898 for info, or check their WWW page: http://members.aol.com/trampslike/ushome.html.The band "Backstreets" is now billing themselves at the "B-Street Band" and is still playing bars around the NJ & NY area. They have a WWW page at http://www.bstreetband.com .
End of Section S. Spare us, please
If there are periodic "record collector shows" or "record swaps" around your area, those are generally a good source for buying boot material on a cash and carry basis. You might also want to check your yellow pages for record stores advertising "rare" or "hard to find" imports. If you have occasion to visit New Jersey or New York City, it's amazing what you can find in some record stores out there, or at least you could before the round of raids in summer 1996. As far as mail orders go, check for ads in Goldmine or Discoveries, two newspaper-style record collectors magazines.You should realize that ownership of bootleg CD's is in kind of a gray area of the law, and boot CD's are certainly illegal to sell. Anytime you mail order boot CD's overseas, there is a chance of confiscation by customs, at least in the USA. Some overseas outfits ship their CD's with the paper inserts in flat envelopes (as just a letter) without the CD jewelboxes, in which case you have to scrounge for jewelboxes on your own.
Keep in mind that there are a number of good boot CD's out there, a very few of them in what comes close to official release quality, but there's also a LOT more real trash, including even CD's mastered directly off of scratchy vinyl boots. I swear by the Backstreets Magazine CD ratings, I've found them to be very reliable, I like to stick with material they rate four stars or better.
Backstreets Records does not sell bootlegs, but they do sell three excellent Springsteen bootleg guides, titled "You Better Not Touch" volumes 1, 2, and 3. Volume 2 covers boots released after the first volume (in 1991) up until August 1994. Volume 3 covers releases after volume 2, through July 97. These books are well worth the price in steering you clear of trashy boot CD's.
B2. Q: OK, but where SPECIFICALLY can I get Springsteen bootleg CD's?
Nope, you're on your own. You're really capable of doing your own homework based on the information above, it ain't that hard. As a last resort you can post a request on one of the Internet music newsgroups. Mail order firms selling boots can appear and disappear overnight, so let the buyer beware.
B3. Q: OK, OK, but where in city/town X can I get bootleg CD's?
Dammit bub, you're on your own.
B4. Q: Could you pick up a copy of bootleg X for me and mail it?
Nope, sorry, you're on your own. Personally, I recommend tape trading rather than buying boots, see the info on tape trading below.
B5. Q: What are the best Springsteen bootlegs?
Since 1995, there have been almost-annual bootleg rating polls conducted by Richard Breton. See his online Bruceleg Guide. at http://www.mv.com/ipusers/richbreton/brucelegs.htm .
B6. Q: Where can I find find multiple (double, triple, or quad) CD jewel cases for multi-disc sets?
Try either:Note that we're just talking about plastic jewel cases here; neither of the above companies sell any bootlegs.
- Bags Unlimited, in New York, their number is 1-800-767-BAGS, or see their WWW site at http://www.bagsunlimited.com , or
- Collectors Choice Music. phone 800-923-1122 for a catalog.
End of Section B. Bootlegs
M1. Q: How do I subscribe to Backstreets Magazine?
Backstreets magazine is a quarterly magazine, $18/year in the USA, $25/year for overseas. It usually has an interview with a Springsteen crony or two, the latest news and gossip, bootleg CD reviews, and miscellaneous essay material. Subscribers also get access to a recorded phone message line (the "hotline") for weekly news, a summary of which is usually posted to this list. The magazine is published by Charles Cross, author of the book "Backstreets: Springsteen, The Man and His Music." The address is Backstreets, PO Box 51225, Seattle WA, 98115. Their sister company Backstreets Records specializes in Springsteen memorabilia & collectibles, their phone order line is (206) 728-7603. The Backstreets WWW site is http://www.backstreets.com .
M2. Q: How do I subscribe to For True Rockers Only magazine?
"For True Rockers Only - Britain's Only Bruce Springsteen Magazine," aka FTRO, is a quarterly magazine with interviews, news and miscellaneous essay material (e.g. the very useful guide to collecting Bruce tapes by N. Carruthers). FTRO is published by Badlands, a Bruce Springsteen fan club with stores in Cheltenham and in Huddersfield, England. Address: Badlands, 11 St George's Place, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire GL50 3LA, England. Phone: England + 1242 + 579425. Fax: England + 1242 + 232353. Subscription rates for four issues are (in pounds): Great Britan: # 12; Europe/Eire: # 14; USA/Canada: #17; Elsewhere: # 18. Payment: by credit card, cash (in registered envelope) or Sterling cheque (to "Badlands").
M3: Q: What other fan clubs or fanzines/magazines are out there?
There is no actual official Springsteen fan club. The following is a list of magazines and fanzines other than the Backstreets and FTRO Magazines described above, please let me know if you know of others or can offer any corrections or additions. I do not personally subscribe to these, a lot of this info was provided by digest subscribers some time ago and may be out of date.End of Section M. Magazines & Fan Clubs
- "Drive All Night" is a quarterly fanzine from the "Bruce Springsteen Club - Switzerland." Starting with issue #11 it is written entirely in English (the previous ten issues were in German). The issue I have was 38 pages long and included news, reviews from fans of many of the shows from that part of the tour, set lists, excerpts from some newspaper reviews/stories from the tour, articles on the NJ Shore scene and the bands playing there. Single issues can be ordered for $5 plus postage ($2 in Europe, $4 elsewhere). A year's subscription is $25 in Europe, $35 elsewhere. The address is: Drive All Night, c/o Phillipp Nyffenegger, Kalchbuhlstrasse 66, 8038 Zurich, Switzerland. They have a WWW page.
- "The Fever" is a quarterly fanzine put out by the folks in Chicago who run what is known as the Chicago Bruce Party Line. The Fever covers recent Bruce news, plus a lot of fan comments. The Party Line phone numbers were discontinued in July 1995. The last word I had was that "The Fever" will be phasing itself out after current subscriptions are fulfilled.
- "Murder Incorporated" was a fanzine aimed more at the collectors out there. It has apprently ceased publication.
- "The Stone Pony" is a 40 page magazine with color cover (note: written in Spanish). The Stone Pony also works as the Spanish Bruce Fan Club. They do a lot of things: last year they organized a tour by bus to see all 4 concerts of Bruce in Spain. Address: The Stone Pony, Apartado 61 Els Monjos (Barcelona), Spain. Subscription rates: 2400 ptas. (19$) Europe, 2800 (22$) Others. They have a WWW page. Email: stonepony@omega-int.es
- "Point Blank" is a professionally done 40-page bilingual magazine (you can find the articles in both English and Spanish), with news, articles, CD reviews, interviews (Dave Marsh, Max Weinberg, Elliott Murphy a/o), etc. Subscription for 3 issues plus newsletters for US/Canada/Japan/Australia is $30 per year (airmail), Europe is $20/DM31/12.50 sterling per year. Payment only by cash or credit card, no money orders or checks. A single trial issue can be ordered for $7 postpaid. Address: Point Blank, PO Box 23167, 08080 Barcelona, Spain. Fax: 34.3.490-9171. E-mail: pointblank@compuserve.com Web page: http://www.pointblankmag.com
- "Rockin' Days" was a Spanish fanzine that has ceased publication.
- "For You" is an Italian fanzine from the "Paradise by the Sea" fan club. Address: Bruce Springsteen Venice Club, c/o Giacomo Bortoluzzi, via Paganini 16, 30035 Mirano (VE), Italy
- "Wild and Innocent" is an Italian fanzine. Address: Wild and Innocent, c/o Luca Pallaro, via Martiri della liberta 193, 10090 San Mauro Torinese (TO), Italy.
- "Thunder Road" is an Italian fan club & fanzine. Address: c/o Ficara' Piero, Via Tignale del Garda 70, 41100 Modena (Italy)
- "Follow that Dream - The Italian Bruce Springsteen Magazine" was a quarterly Italian publication, it ceased publication with the March 1995 issue (#22).
- "Winged Post" and "The River were Italian fanzines that have ceased publication. Vito Gianfrate has begun a supplement to The River called No Surrender.
- Thunder Road - the Belgian Springsteen Fanclub. Members receive the Thunder Road Fanzine 3 x per year, plus extra newsflashes (all in Dutch). One year subscription is 500 Belgian Franks. Special on-line services (in English), and a private 24 hour hotline. Yearly Springsteen convention, and more. Contact: Thunder Road, p/a Peter Mestach, Hundelgemsesteenweg 409, B - 9050 Gent (Belgium), tel.: +32 (0)9/232.17.90, fax: +32 (0)9/232.28.53 . e-mail: Kris.Saelen@ping.be URL: http://www.victorie.com/thunderroad
- "Roulette" is a fanzine in the Netherlands. For info, see the Roulette WWW site at http://www.brucespringsteen.nl .
- "The Wish" is a German fan club and fanzine. Address : THE WISH, c/o Thorsten Heckrath, Wilhelm-Buss-Siege 20, 46395 Bocholt, Germany. Their email address is: c_derksen@t-online.de (Claus Derksen) . Their fax is: +49 2561 91371 5145 .
- "Cadillac Ranch" is a Hungarian fanzine. Address: CADILLAC RANCH, c/o Istvan Lukacs, Lukacs Gy.u. 15, 1039 Budapest
There are hundreds of live Springsteen shows that tape collectors have on audio tape, some from soundboard tapes, most from audience tapes; collectors trade each other tapes on a 1-1 basis. Quality of tapes is really the biggest issue in trading, and almost any trader has a list of their tapes which includes their own subjective rating system. The most common seems to be (Excellent (EX/EX-), Very Good (VG+/VG/VG-), Good (G), Fair (F), and Poor (P). Generally, anything rated Good in tape trading is almost unlistenable, anything below Good is definite trash, IMHO. In a perfect world every show would be available in EX quality, but it just ain't so, and what one trader might consider excellent, another trader might consider just good, so you can be let down on quality. You makes your trades and you takes your chances, the best you can do is to always start slow with someone you haven't traded with before.
T2. Q: How do I get started with cassette tape trading?
There are a couple of ways. Many traders will trade 2 blanks for each recorded tape you want. Extra blanks are their compensation, but with mailing costs it's pretty much a break-even for them. If you respond to people's trade ads in Backstreets Mag with a letter about what a big fan you are of Springsteen, that you're just getting started in trading, and would they please please (grovel grovel) be willing to trade 2-1 blanks to help you get started, that usually works with some people (all traders had to get started somehow, so they generally take pity on novice traders, if they have the time to do blank trading). Others will outright sell tapes for anything from cost to $6.00 a tape, although many traders consider selling tapes to be sacrilegious. You can sometimes find tapes for $4-6 at the record shows mentioned above, in that case always listen to some of it before you buy. After all is said and done you usually pay about $4-6 a tape when starting. Once you have a few to trade you need to find other traders. Backstreets Magazine classified ads are very good for this, but there are other sources (other Bruce fanzines, record collector mags like Goldmine, etc.). Once you get a small collection of tapes to trade, it's like playing a big game, searching for the shows you want in acceptable qualities.There are a number of traders that have hundreds of shows. When just starting these people are difficult to trade with because they have all the more common shows; the same ones in your meager collection. Also, the response rate when sending out your list to other traders varies widely (in other words, X% of the people never respond). Trades are almost always done on a 1-for-1 basis. It's slow and frustrating at first but with time your collection DOES grow.
T3. Q: What about videotape trading?
There are a growing number of people who trade video as well as audio, and that trading works similarly. Trading 2 or 3 recorded audio tapes for one recorded video tape seems to be common. Video degrades much further from generation to generation than audio though, and even EX rated concert videos are usually a BIG dropoff from normal TV-transmission-grade video quality. Concert videos are sold at many record shows and by mail order for $20-25 for a 2-hour tape, it's strongly suggested that you not buy any video without viewing some of it first.
Digital Audio Tape (DAT) is a digital tape format developed in the mid-'80s by Sony and Philips. With the ability to record 48KHz digital audio, CD-quality recordings can be achieved with a set of good microphones. It is a high-end medium, with blank 2-hour tapes costing $6+ and both portable and consumer decks starting at around $600, and pro-quality decks starting around $1000.Most of the better audience recordings from post-1988 come from DAT recordings, leading to the phrase "DAT-source" being used. DAT-source tapes generally are assumed to be a higher quality recording than an analog-source recording from, say, a cassette Walkman. In actuality there are a lot of other factors in what makes a good audience tape (how good the microphones are, ambient noise, audience chatter around the mics, etc.), but in general DAT-source tapes are more sought after. The use and trading of DAT's in tape-trading circles continues to grow, because a digital DAT-to-DAT copy, sometimes called a "DAT clone," should not lose any quality from DAT generation to generation as long as the copies made are digital rather than analog (a tenth generation cassette is hissy as hell, while a tenth generation DAT clone is as good as the original master tape).
DAT enthusiasts may want to check out the dat-heads mailing list, which tilts somewhat toward Grateful Dead taping, but also provides a lot of good technical information about DAT. To get a copy of the dat-heads FAQ, send email to:
dat-heads-request@virginia.eduwith a message body of:send faq
End of Section T. Tape Trading
A: From my wonderful subscribers, who send me ideas, additions and corrections. Thanks especially to Richard Breton, Charles Cross, Agostino Inzoli, Matt Orel, Monty Smith, and Alan Stein.
End of Section K. Kudos
End of the LuckyTown FAQ
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