Unlistenable 2010 bootlegs

After listening to all the boots except Bristow and Newark, Ill have to say the sound quality of the Boston and MSG shows are subpar-this is while listening to the flac on my high end mp3 player. The earlier shows on tour seem to be of better quality IMO.

I'm no expert, but they need to go back to whatever they were doing in 2003. Ed's voice itself sounds great on these, but the vocals sound distant and like they are coming from a tin can.

Can't understand the OP? :shock:
These boots are sounding great and i love each one! Sure, there's a difference to the 2000 and 2003 recordings but i do not get headackes from listening to the 2010 shows - i'm feeling great while listening to them!!!!

I do actually know what you mean, on one boot I think Columbus Eddie sounds horrrible like the quality really hurts my ears.

Also I feel that something just isn't right with them.

Just listening to "Force of Nature" is horrible. One can't hear Eddie, and everything sounds bunched-up and shrill. Please do me a favor and compare it with some other recording.

I posted this in the 2010 bootleg thread:

Ya know after St. Louis. which sounded a bit better than the first couple of boots and obviously better than 2008, I thought we were headed in the right direction. Nowhere but up. Unfortunately Boston sounds very hollow. Very echoey or tinney and distant. The crowd noise I could care less about. As a musician myself I pay for these bootlegs to hear the band with a little bit of the crowd mixed in. Anyone that says they want more crowd noise should go straight to the audience recordings imo. Anyways, I'm still very happy to have to ability to get these live shows so soon after the shows are over, but in the past we got them almost sooner with better quality. What is going on here? Matt seems to be the only one that is either well mic'ed or just mixed the best, cuz everyone else is drowned out.
A poster named reborn fixer wrote this in the Columbus 2010 bootleg thread which was articulated perfectly. I couldn't have said better myself nor agree completely. Anyways, this is what he said. Later

"I am still extremely happy that we are getting official boots, but I agree that the sound is a tad "off". The different channels blend together more now, into a wall of noise ... I like the 2000 and 2003 boots, where you could distinctly hear Mike, Stone, and Ed's guitars. More headphone friendly. I used to focus on Mike or Stone's channel, depending on the tune and my mood. Now, it takes more effort to hear the details. About the only thing I do appreciate on the 2008/2009 boots is Matt's drum sound, which is pretty solid. I am still buying all the boots, but perhaps the sound could be cleaned up a bit in 2010?

The words "wall of noise" are exactly how I would describe this years bootlegs. Everything mixed together instead of the different instuments/vocals coming out of different channels. I the past, I'm talking 2000, 2003, 2005, and 2006 u distinctly hear everyone individually. The "trash can" explaination I thought was pretty right on. Cuz that's pretty much how it sounds. How some people think these are brilliant I just don't get, or maybe they don't have any old bootlegs to compare them to. U can even hear the difference on PJ Radio. Pleases bring back Brett Eliason. He seems to be the one that really made the older bootlegs amazing now that we have something to compare them to. I really appreciate your amazing work Brett. Later

I got seven hard discs for the seven shows I went to and they sound fine.

12345AGNST1 wrote:

I dont have any of the boots yet but Ive been listening to PJ radio and all I have to say is that you people need to stop complaining. theres nothing wrong with any of these boots. geez

To be honest, I couldn't wait for the '10 boots to be released based on a variety of reasons, one of which was the quality I was hearing of the PJ radio. The '10 shows sound incredible on PJ radio. Much to my disappointment, when I bought Columbus, Hartford and Boston, the quality was sub-par.

They sound very flat and like they were recorded in a small metal box.

Just my observation and opinion...certainly still think they are the best band in the world.

On a positive note...the '09 boots are up there with the best they have released...

As a sound technician and musician myself, I must respectfully disagree.

I was at the Bristow show, which was held in a venue notorious for terrible acoustics - concrete floors, steel ceilings, and it's basically a dome built into the side of a hill. During the show, Matt's kick was just slightly behind the rest of the band, so much I think it was affecting Jeff (and maybe the crowd...but the show was still one of the best I've EVER seen). Needless to say, there were challenges.

Last Friday night, I received the CD boots, and my friend (who went with me) and I listened to them on his stereo system. We had also gone through the New Orleans boot the week before. We listened for highs, lows, and to see if each member was distinguishable.

We were thrilled. Even in this terrible venue, the production shined. The recordings aren't as warm as the 2000 or 2003, I'll give you that. However, they are fantastic and I absolutely love this band for taking care of us in this manner.

(By the way, Jeff has been mixed PERFECTLY in the 2010 series...I mean just perfectly)

Wow. Really? Im thinkin the 2010 boots sound freakin great! Drums and bass and crowd all pumped up. Ed nice and clear. You should compare to older year boots...like European shows in 2000...Huge diff. in sound quality. So, I think the biggest prob w/ the 2010 boots may be your stereo... Listen to Hartford 2010 and tell me that shit dont sound freakin awesome!!! Or was it just b/c I was there, making me bias? :?: IDK but I will just reiterate how greatful I am that PJ puts out all their shows....no matter what. This band rocks.

I was listening to my Boston boot at work last week and my co-worker was like, turn that down it sounds so...tinny. At first I said it was because of the PC but then I played my 2006 Boston show and it sounded perfect. It was at that moment I realized she was right.