[John Casler]

Glad to hear everyone is enjoying these. 

I have received and sent out a LOT of download notices.

If you didn't get yours, let me know.

I think we have about 5 more days on WE TRANSFER before I would have to upload them again (a task that takes a few hours) so if you want them, please send me an "E-MAIL" (not a PM)

[Brian Cheney]

After four years of doing the live vs recorded demonstration at CES/THE SHOW, I decided to make this iteration as challenging as possible, knowing the great liklihood that we would fall short of our goal, which was reproducing live music with levels, dynamics, extension and fidelity to source intact.

By hiring Merv Harding's quintet of great players, and encouraging them basically to go wild, play what they wanted as loud as they wanted, I felt we were redefining the true limits of high end hifi.  I wanted a system that did more than play everyone's favorite CD's in a pleasing manner.  The only means I saw to advance the art was to compare today's best gear with live musicians in full swing.  Merv's group, particularly their spectacular drummer Paul, produced more sound pressure, sharper transients, and wider dynamics and frequency extension than any commercial recording  ever made could handle.

But handle it we did, with at least 10 dB of headroom in playback.  The most frequent audience request I heard was "turn the playback level down" to match the live sound levels.  Indeed, playing back at precisely the correct levels was a requirement for the live vs recorded illusion to work.

Fine as all the hundreds of playback systems great and small at CES and THE SHOW were, ours was the only one IMHO capable of doing the job convincingly.  In the end I felt we were held back more by the limitations of recording (microphone transduction errors in particular) than by the amps or speakers. 

Kudos to all participants, who covered themselves with glory.

[Deep Hz Audio]

Hi John.

Thank you for supplying the Download.

Had a quick listen and sounds excellent. Will run through the whole list of tunes/songs tomorrow.

Glad to hear THE Show went so well. Congratulations to everyone involved.

Peter.

[John Casler]

To all you who have been listening to the  VMPS SESSIONS I thought I might mention what I found strikingly realistic. . . .Soundstage and Imaging.

As I have finally had the opportunity to spend a little time with these I have found them absolutely TRUE to the stage and positioning of all the singers and musicians.

Take a look at the photo below and see the positioning of the instruments and that is how the Soundstage and images should appear when you are in the sweet spot if your system is capable of reproducing recorded images. . .

[TF1216]

These recordings are wonderful.  Have these performances been shared on Head-Fi yet?  I have never felt imaging like this on my headphone setup before.  Truly remarkable~

How far into song #42 do you folks hear the cymbal crash?  I hear it dissipate until 20 seconds.

[Housteau]

I have never felt imaging like this on my headphone setup before.  Truly remarkable~

There was a recent article in either Stereophile, or The Absolute Sound about modern technology being used in the recording process and how often it is used to create sound rather than just properly record the music itself.  It also mentions that how some of the better recordings can be simple two track stereo recordings.  This is mostly what you have here.  It really doesn't get any simpler than this.  Yet, most music that I buy misses that special something that is captured here.  This is why I enjoy doing this for myself.  I get to experience the performers right in my room with me when finished, and in a raw naturalness that I have a hard time finding elsewhere.  Also, a big plus for me is that I get to know the musicians personally and it makes the whole experience more personal and connected.  I had previously felt detached and isolated before not being a musician myself, and the way most of us listen can be a very selfish and solitary experience.

In my notes I mentioned that these were recorded and mastered at 24/96.  In truth these were not 'mastered' at all.  This is pretty much raw material recorded in a less than ideal room under less that ideal circumstances.  What is mastering?  Basically it is the manipulation (moderate to extreme) of the music with the goal to refine and improve upon what is there to create the best possible sound.  That can be either very subjective with good intentions and/or, to follow predescribed benchmarks set by the industry, often not related to sound quality at all, such as loudness levels.

I think of live recordings as captured moments in time that may never be repeated again.  If done right what you get captures the truthfulness of those moments and very little, if any manipulation is necessary afterwards.  Even with this less than ideal set-up I think the truth of these performances comes through.  Are they perfect recordings?  No.  Were they perfect performances?  No.  Sometimes music is not pretty, smooth, or in good balance, but it is always real.  Personally, I like to listen at home with material that is real, warts and all that retains its full dynamic range.  It helps me to stay grounded in that reality, as well as test my listening conditions, components and set-up.  I wonder how many of us can accept this reality after being so used to the refined artificial nature of what we mostly buy and listen to? 

I enjoy the decent commercial recordings out there just like everyone else.  Well mastered material by good engineers, and I met several of them in Vegas this year, are able to impove the sound while remaining faithful to the truth of that reality.  One day I hope to learn more of their skills.  However, others abuse their tools and while producing a viable recording for market, will compromise sound quality for market share.  Not everyone listens to music and enjoys it in the way us audiophiles do, and I think all of us have more than a few of those recordings at home.

[John Casler]

These recordings are wonderful.  Have these performances been shared on Head-Fi yet?  I have never felt imaging like this on my headphone setup before.  Truly remarkable~

How far into song #42 do you folks hear the cymbal crash?  I hear it dissipate until 20 seconds.

I don't know if anyone from "Head-Fi" has e-maile me, but I have sent out at least a couple hundred downloads.  Lots of audio enthusiasts are now listening to the VMPS SESSIONS.   

As well several "well known" professional reviewers and editors also now have them. 

[Brian Cheney]

The cymbal crash was 2ft from the mic, and I let it decay as long as possible.  There was audible output from the cymbals for at least 30 seconds.

The drumkit was also recorded at 2ft, and I told Paul to let it rip. It a tribute to the headroom of DSD and hi-rez that both systems did not overload. 

[John Casler]

Any and all who have downloaded the files need to listen to the DRUM SOLO at maximum volume. 

If your system is capable, the sonic reality is indescribable.

Not even saying anything about the talent of the drummer which is also at a level that you need to hear, this track while short is a real treat.  I know many use the KELTNER drum track but as a LIVE REFERENCE, this sets a NEW standard in reality.

[Delta Wave]

Thanks to Dave, I finally got a chance to download and listen... I've been away for work. Outstanding work gentleman!  The woman actually sat down and listened with me for a bit. I've been to enough shows, as well as performed, to know how a stand-up bass sounds live as well as how hard it can be to record and you guys nailed it, everything was spot on! The drums? Oh the drums! 

[Brian Cheney]

It's worth reminding everyone that these state of the art recordings (much better than any commercial release I've heard, particularly in dynamics, frequency response, and transients) were done simply, with readily available consumer quality gear.  Both recordists were very experienced, but getting good results came down to positioning the musicians correctly relative to the stereo mics, and exploiting the proximity effect (peculiar to microphones, not the ear) to get realistic sound quality in playback.  For takes after number six (IIRC) the trumpet, alto sax, and upright bass were hugging the mics, piano was about 3-4ft away, and the drumkit about 8ft back.  The extra headroom afforded by modern hi-rez and double DSD (5.6 MHz) recorders allowed us to capture full output from the instruments and voices without compression or rolloff. 

[John Casler]

So far I have sent out well over 300 requests!!!

I thought they only stayed up for like 2 weeks but it seems we have had these available for over a month now.

Hope all are enjoying them.

[doug s.]

have any more songs?   

doug s.

[jaylevine]

So far I have sent out well over 300 requests!!!

I thought they only stayed up for like 2 weeks but it seems we have had these available for over a month now.

Hope all are enjoying them.

I certainly am enjoying them!. Are there other free sample downloads available on the net like this (i.e., wonderfully recorded live music in hi rez).

[rbbert]

I certainly am enjoying them!. Are there other free sample downloads available on the net like this (i.e., wonderfully recorded live music in hi rez).

the 2L website has some in 24/96 and 24/192

[John Casler]

have any more songs?   

doug s.

Hi Doug, actually we do, but I am not sure as to their disposition.  Meaning some of the artists were a bit reticent to share their performances except during the demo, so they may not be available for a while, if at all.

[doug s.]

Hi Doug, actually we do, but I am not sure as to their disposition.  Meaning some of the artists were a bit reticent to share their performances except during the demo, so they may not be available for a while, if at all.

i can understand perfectly, john - god forbid anyone might like what they hear, and then go out and buy some of their albums!   

doug s.

[Housteau]

i can understand perfectly, john - god forbid anyone might like what they hear, and then go out and buy some of their albums!   

doug s.

In truth, a lot of musicians do not like what they actually sound like as opposed to what studios make them out to be, especially vocalists, but not exclusively so.  I also believe that most listeners are also predisposed to the artificiality of these commercial recordings, because this is what the market has told us is correct and what we should expect.

I started recording on my own to get away from this and to have the opportunity to listen to real, raw and virtually unprocessed music on my own system.  As I mentioned earlier in this thread, it helps to keep me grounded to what musicians and music naturally sounds like.

I do have quite a bit of music that I have recorded.  This is all live music of mostly singer / songwriter types, some jazz, classical, blues and rock, even some country and cajun folk.  It is as real as you can get, all in 24/96 and uncompressed, warts and all.  I also have what was recorded at the Flamingo in 2010.  Some of that I think is ok to release, but not all.  Some of my own material I cannot release either.

I have been pretty busy lately and I am currently out of town.  But, when I get back and have the time I will consider putting some of my other material up for download if there is an interest.

Dave