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What's a tapelist?
Definition: A tapelist gives relevant info about tradeable tapes you have. A tapelist is useful for two reasons: to let you keep up with what you have (which assumes that you have more than a handful of tapes) and to make it easier to let others see what you have (which assumes that you might one day be interested in trading for other tapes.) That is, even if you don't think one of these items is useful to have on your list, you ought to at least be able to give the relevant info on any particular tape.
Convention: There is no consensus on form, order, or meaning (especial determination of generations, and while there are vociferous debates with no end in sight, there are also some clear and widespread conventions. (BTW, number gens how you want and be prepared to explain your standarization; there is no *right* answer.) But however it's listed, and by whatever convention, certain information about each tape ought to be listed, and you ought to be decisive about and concisive in how you list that information.
Contents: However listed, important information might include any or all of the following: band/performer [mostly phish, of course:)], date, set(s), venue, location of venue, source (FM broadcast, audience, soundboard, monitor feed, suzy-Q, studio, board remix), generation (you define!), whether the original was digital, whether your copy is on metal, whether your copy has been dolby-ized, some form of grading (try A, B, C; + or - for hiss and noise; try to be strict, it'll come to you), and any other comments (eg first Harpua, only show with Sofie Diloff, etc).
Quality ratings: A note on subjectivity: There is a difference between tape quality and performance quality. You may want two systems, both numbered, both lettered, one letters and the other suffixes (+,-,=,*,etc) or whatever works for you. Just be sure that you know what it is and that you can decipher it for anyone who asks. The inimitable Charlie Dirksen <dirkch00@dons.ac.usfca.edu> posted (11/25/96) this suggested set of gradations:
- A = clear, clean well-balanced SBDs, and DAUDs that have no hiss and are extremely well-balanced, with the music very clear (good enough that I woudn't care for a DSBD of the show.. very few DAUDs get an "A" grade on my list.. not one DAUD from this year so far)
- A- = modest amount of hiss, if any, but the sound isn't perfectly awesome; pretty listenable even without any equalization.. very reasonable
- B+ = noticeable hiss, perhaps slightly muddy sound, but not intolerably so, or, if there is no noticeable hiss (I've given D>A tapes B+ ratings), the general AUD quality is too hollow or too crispy or too muddy or too ANYTHING.. not well-balanced, tacky, tinny, whatever..
- B = pretty noticeable hiss, but still fairly listenable with equalization
- B- = more of the above
- C+ = a lot more of the above
- C = EVEN MORE OF THE ABOVE..
Software: Many netters have found helpful various freeware, shareware, or otherwise commercial products aimed at music collectors. One product has received particular rave reviews:
- Tapetracker, explained by author Steve Zimmerman <saz@well.com> (12/7/95):
TapeTracker for Windows is a cataloging and reference system for collectors of live musical recordings. TapeTracker was born out of dissatisfaction with existing products that perform similar functions and is designed to serve the needs of both the casual collector and insatiable trader. TapeTracker handles an unlimited number of artists and tape entries. The program has the ability to import tape lists, export lists, generate reports, print j cards for DAT, Cassette and CD (with mutiple formats to choose from and the ability to add graphics), and run complex queries on the data that you enter.
The program ships with a database of all known Grateful Dead shows and a database of Phish shows [and Allmans] is also available (Jerry Band & Allman Bros. are on the way). You can run queries on these databases and import the info contained in them to your tapes list. All you have to do is enter the date of a show and push one button for all the venue and set list info to be imported into your tape list for the given show.
The program is available for a 30 day evaluation period free by download or for a nominal shipping and handling charge if mailed on disk.
For more information see the TapeTracker home page at http://www.barclay.com/tapetracker/, or send an email message to info@barclay.com (no subject or message text is required) or call Steve Zimmerman at (415) 461-2440.
FTPable? Yes it is. Go to ftp.nbn.com/home/softsell/ftp and download TAPETRAK.ZIP. See the README.TXT.
Program and Show Database updates can be retreived from the TapeTracker home page at http://www.tapetracker/ or via ftp at ftp.nbn.com/home/softsell/ftp
To update an existing TapeTracker installation to the latest version, you will need to download the file TAPETRAK.ZIP.
For an initial TapeTracker installation you will need to download the file TTFULL.ZIP. If you have MS Access 2.0 installed on your system, you can use the smaller TAPETRAK.ZIP file.
The Show Databases are named appropriately for the artist (i.e. Grateful Dead (DEAD.ZIP), Phish (PHISH.ZIP), etc.)
See the README.TXT file contained in each of the archives files for instructions on how to perform the update.
The TapeTracker site also offers a nifty database of TT tape traders and their interests.
- Another popular program is WinTaper, created by Dan Tepper.
- Another is the Helping Phriendly Program (HPP); contact Tom at Hppmail@aol.com
Where to put it: There are also a number of places to put your tapelist, online, besides just emailing it and having on your own Web pages (which, btw, you might not have). One example, noted by Doug Greene <gwiz@wco.com> (on zero@rockweb.com, on 3 Aug 1996) is "www.tapetrading.com, which is set up to allow traders to display their lists on a web page for various bands."
Thanks also to Kevin Larsen <kevhd@flash.net>.
Phish.Net FAQ: (none)
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