Trading Policies

Trading Polices/Mastering Details:

TRADING POLICIES:

Please send songlists either electronically or a separate card/paper. I like songlists or artwork if possible - I will do the same for you. Please include the generations and source if known.
Please use padded mailers for my CDRs and don't send jewel cases. I have only received one package in my trading career that had wrecked shows due to handling and it wouldn't have mattered if the CDRs/tapes were in boxes or not!
I will only trade if we do either simultaneous exchanges or you send first. I had three instances in 1998 & one in 2001 where people didn't send shows for months and it was only after constant haggling (2001 - I was ripped off). I will wait to send anything until I get confirmation you are ready to send - there will be no exceptions...
In the horrible event that a package is lost in transit or is brutalized by the postal service somewhere along the way, I have a “halfsy” policy. I'm willing to replace half of the lost or damaged tapes if the you are willing to do the same.
Please use Disk at Once when mastering CDs and please use best judgement when setting levels or using digital noise reduction - too much processing can be just as bad as none at all (I can always reduce the noise on my end by can't put back what has been damaged)!
Please use reputable CD-R media for my CDs. CD-Rs without labels are OK if you let me know who the manufacturer is - I prefer name brand media such as Imation, Sony, TDK and Verbatim media but others are OK if you check with me first.
I usually will do CD-R for CD-R trades but under certain circumstances may arrange other trades if practical.
I appreciate honesty and expect traders I deal with to do the same. I'm in this to have fun and hope others are too...

CD MASTERING EQUIPMENT:

Audio/Computer Setup Information

General Equipment

Audio:
Aiwa Cassette Deck (to Computer 1)
Sony Dual Cassette Deck (used only for old poor transporting tapes) (to Computer 1)
Sony 100W Stereo Receiver (to Computer 1)
Nakamichi Cassette Deck (straight to Computer 2)
Sony VCR (for Video Audio Transfers - straight to Computer 2)
Gold Stereo Cables between audio equipment & audio/computer

Computer:

Computer 1:
IWILL KK133A Motherboard
AMD Athlon Tbird 1133 MHz CPU
Diamond MX300 Sound Card
Samsung DVD/CD (for DVD audio extraction)
Plextor 16x/40x CD Burner

Computer 2:
IWILL KK133A Motherboard
AMD Athlon Tbird 1400 MHz CPU
Philips Seismic Edge Sound Card
Sony 8x/32x CD Burner

Straight Disk to Disk Copy:
Exact Audio Copy (EAC) [Version 0.9] -> used to extract image/cue sheet
Nero [Version 5.5.6.4] -> used to burn image/cue sheet onto CDR media (DAO)

Selected CD Tracks to CDR:
Easy CD-DA Extractor (4.3.0) or EAC -> used to extract individual CD tracks
Adaptec EZ CD Creator (4.03) -> used to burn individual tracks (DAO) onto CDR media

Analog to Digital Transfer:
Analog Audio Playback to Computer
Cool Edit Pro 1.2a -> Digital Capture/Manipulation of Information
CD Wave Editor -> Segmenting WAV file to individual tracks
Adaptec EZ CD Creator (4.03) -> used to burn individual tracks (DAO) onto CDR media

Additional Information: Digital Capture/Manipulation of Information
This section will describe some of the details around the digital capture and signal processing options that I typically use for analog to digital transfer.

Digital Capture:

· 16 bit resolution
· 44,100 Hz capture
· Levels are adjusted to maximize signal/noise ratio

Digital Signal Processing Toolbox:

Level Adjustment
· Amplify/Fade In & Out - used to adjust WAV file levels to levels that are appropriate for CD playback; also to fade in and fade out for more pleasurable music transitions. PRO: Levels are more consistent throughout shows, more smooth transitions between music pieces CON: None
· Swap/Mix Channels - used in cases where mono recordings have more noise in one channel than other (used less noisy channel for final left/righ channel) or in case where one channel has much more noise and use more signal from other channel to reduce noise/defects. PRO: Better signal/noise ratio; better sound. CON: No drawbacks with mono but loss of stereo separation with stereo recordings
· Compress/Limit - used in cases where high input spikes are encountered or in instances where one instrument/sound is overly loud - compress/limiting will reduce or chop input spikes or reduce an overly loud instrument. PRO: Allow for higher more balanced overall sound levels and no high sound spikes that could damage equipment. CON: Sound can become overly compressed/unnatural sounding
Equalization
· Graphic Equalizer - Used to adjust bass/treble response to improve sonic quality. PRO: Usually much more balanced sound. CON: Up to personnel preferences, sometimes difficult to adjust properly unless have a good ear (especially with 20 or 30 channel equalizers)
· Quick Filter - Cruder algorithm used to adjust bass/treble response to improve sonic quality. PRO: Usually much more balanced sound and easy to use. CON: Up to personnel preferences, not as accurate as graphic equalizer
Noise Reduction
· Click/Pop Eliminator - used to reduce/eliminate pop/clicks from LPs, used to reduce FM static from recordings and also useful in reducing digital pops/skips from poorly mastered or burned digital recordings. PRO: Very useful in reducing LP, FM and Digital artifacts. CON: Usually not 100% effective, very CPU intensive (long processing times) and too much reduction can lead to unnatural sounding music (level changes/pulsing and weird sounding music)
· Clipped Audio Restoration - Used to restore some dynamics to over recorded music. PRO: Useful in giving back audio dynamics to clipped/flat sounding music. CON: Not very effective and not many instances where it is useful
· Noise Reduction (DNR) - Very useful in reducing hiss, FM static and sound artifacts. PRO: When used carefully - very powerful tool for noise reduction. CON: Too high noise reduction can result in unnatural audio (swishy cymbals, compressed sound, tunneling)
Pitch Manipulation
· Speed Up/Slow Down - Useful for restoring the pitch (speed) of the audio. PRO: Can restore speed of audio back to correct pitch. CON: Subjective and needs some trial and error to get pitch correct