A Robert Collins Master Recording. Artist / Title: Frank Zappa Date December 11, 1980 (Early Show) Location: Santa Monica Civic Auditorium, Santa Monica, CA (USA) Seats: Somewhere near Row-12, center Deck: Nakamichi 350 Mics: Nakamichi CM-300 Source: A:C Master Tape; Stereo Sample Rate 44.1Khz, 16-bit (FLAC) Rating: A- / B (Backfill for missing parts is B-rated, master tape is rated A-) Length: 109 Minutes Also Available * A "Raw" version of this show is available at Zappateers.com as 44.1Khz, 16-bit. * Frank Zappa, Santa Monica Civic Auditorium, 1980-12-11, DVD-Audio, 96Khz, 24-bit (@TTD) Extras Pictures of the original cassette tapes and covers. ----- Musicians: Frank Zappa Guitar, Vocals Steve Vai Guitar, Vocals Ray White Guitar, Vocals Ike Willis Guitar, Vocals Arthur Barrow Bass, Keyboards, Vocals Bob Harris Keyboards, Trumpet, Vocals Tommy Mars Keyboards, Vocals Vinny Colaiuta Drums ----- Notes: The night of the concert, we were running late and I believe we even got lost on the way to the show. Consequently, we missed the first song -- Black Napkins. Regardless, we managed to capture a fantastic show. For a few years, this show was traded as cassette. At some point during this time, I managed to accidentally erase 8 seconds of the master tape during Easy Meat. Most people thought the missing section was a bad tape turn...which it wasn't. For the next 18 years, this show sat in my collection; well preserved, dry, in the case, with no dust -- and UN-TRADED! In 2000, I imported it into my computer and mastered it to CD -- and I thought everything was hunky-dorry. But in 2006, I was contacted by a friend and told of a discussion at the Zappateers.com web site about this recording -- they were looking for the best version available to make available to their members. They had rejected my CD because I had applied Sound Forge noise reduction software that destroyed some of the sonic qualities. I promised the folks at Zappateers that I would eventually re-master this show and give them a new, fresh copy from my master tapes. But unfortunately a few projects took higher priority, and the Frank Zappa project took back burner until now. The re-mastering process is very time-consuming. First the recording is sampled at an extremely high 5.6Mhz, 1-bit DSD format (roughly equivalent to 192Khz, 24-bit) and down sampled to 24/96. All of the audio processing is performed at 24/96 resolution. The recording is imported into the computer, levels are normalized between L/R channels, then the individual L/R channels are separated to allow software to fix the equalization differences between channels. The pitch is adjusted using Time Factory II; noise reduction is applied using iZotope RX-Advanced (completely non-destructive to the audio). Then all of the pieces are put back together, the missing pieces are filled in with the alternate source (see "Tape turns and missing pieces below), and track marks are placed in the audio. The results are a contiguous playing concert without any gaps whatsoever. In spite of all of this hard work, the show isn't without its problems. There are a few places where the levels seem a little saturated; a few places where the tape was crinkled, etc. But what do you expect, it's a 30 year-old recording! Levels & Equalization The recording levels were different on L/R channels. This is relatively easy to fix if you know you shouldn't blindly boost the volume on the lower channel on analog recordings -- as it would cause other problems. But worse, the equalization between L/R channels was different -- causing the channels to sound completely different than each other. Thanks to modern technology, software now exists to fix this type of problem...it just takes a little time. Spectrum Editing In spite of its age, the master tape was relatively free of drop outs. In fact, I only found one drop out on the entire show. However, using the spectrum editing features of RX, I removed the drop-outs, sound of mic cable shorts, breathing, pops, ticks, etc. Tape Turns and missing pieces Thanks to the folks at Zappateers.com, I was able to acquire an alternate source of this concert and able to back-fill my missing pieces. There were three missing pieces to replace: * Black Napkins, and the first 10 seconds of Cosmik Debris. * Tape turn during Suicide Chump. * 8 seconds of Easy Meat -- accidentally erased on the master recording (it wasn't a bad tape turn as many people think). Each back-fill section is time/pitch adjusted to match the master recording, and EQ adjusted to sound as identical as possible. The original master is rated A-, and the back-fill sections are rated B. Special Thanks: I owe the following people thanks for their support and/or help with this project. * Flambay - Lent his hears for pitch/speed correction. * Unicrayon - Schooled me in the finer parts of Zappateers naming conventions. * Drew51 - Let me know that Zappateers actually exist. * Jeff Allen -- my friend and confidant who attended the concert with me. * My wife. I can't believe she actually tolerates all of the time I spend staring at sonograms and waveforms. ----- Lineage: AUD> Nakamichi 350 (Master tape) ---> Playback on Nakamichi Dragon ---> Korg MR-1000 (capture at 5.6Mhz, 1-bit DSD) ---> Sound Forge (adjust levels, tear it into mono L,R channels, break up each song) ---> iZotope RX-Advanced (noise reduction, spectral editing) ---> Har-Bal (Harmonic Balancing Equalizer) to rematch L/R channels to each other. ---> iZotope RX spectrum editor to remove mic noise, pops, ticks, drop-outs, squeeking chairs, etc. ---> Sound Forge (put it back together, adjust levels) ---> Time Factory II -- speed/pitch correction ---> Sound Forge (make into contiguous WAV concert file) ---> Adobe Audition 3.0 phase correction, spectral editing ---> WaveLab 6 (DVD Audio) ---> FLAC ----- Sound Samples: Sample-1 (Tinsel Town Rebellions): http://www.rcollins.org/concerts/mp3/FZ_1980-12-11(E)_Sample-1.mp3 Sample-2 (Goblin Girl / Doreen): http://www.rcollins.org/concerts/mp3/FZ_1980-12-11(E)_Sample-2.mp3 Sample-3 (FZ Guitar Solo) http://www.rcollins.org/concerts/mp3/FZ_1980-12-11(E)_Sample-3.mp3 ----- Song list: Regions List: Zappa CD - Vol 1.wav Start End Length Name ------------- ------------- ------------- -------------------------- 00:00:00.000 00:12:51.184 00:12:51.184 Black Napkins 00:12:51.184 00:16:46.551 00:03:55.367 Cosmik Debris 00:16:46.551 00:19:46.061 00:02:59.510 Keep It Greasy 00:19:46.061 00:26:28.288 00:06:42.226 Outside Now 00:26:28.288 00:30:39.834 00:04:11.546 Honey Don't You Want A Man Like Me? 00:30:39.834 00:35:13.216 00:04:33.381 The Blue Light 00:35:13.216 00:39:59.893 00:04:46.677 Tinsel Town Rebellion 00:39:59.893 00:46:54.106 00:06:54.212 Pick Me I'm Clean 00:46:54.106 00:50:59.349 00:04:05.242 Goblin Girl / Doreen 00:50:59.349 00:54:40.239 00:03:40.890 Heavenly Bank Account Regions List: Zappa CD - Vol 2.wav Start End Length Name ------------- ------------- ------------- -------------------------- 00:00:00.000 00:06:35.536 00:06:35.536 Suicide Chump 00:06:35.536 00:10:20.262 00:03:44.726 Jumbo Go Away 00:10:20.262 00:18:33.257 00:08:12.994 If Only She Woulda 00:18:33.257 00:22:42.330 00:04:09.073 I Don't Wanna Get Drafted 00:22:42.330 00:24:55.825 00:02:13.494 Joe's Garage 00:24:55.825 00:29:03.590 00:04:07.764 Dancin' Fool 00:29:03.590 00:31:31.515 00:02:27.925 Brahms Lullaby 00:31:31.515 00:34:16.759 00:02:45.243 Bobby Brown 00:34:16.759 00:41:50.650 00:07:33.891 Miss Pinky 00:41:50.650 00:53:50.186 00:11:59.535 Easy Meat FFP Fingerprints: 1980 12 11 (E) Santa Monica CA - 01 Black Napkins.flac:b6b41a79ab5b9e5938c5261318d07a3d 1980 12 11 (E) Santa Monica CA - 02 Cosmik Debris.flac:477c43f79575a00c9f57b82f5622f8f0 1980 12 11 (E) Santa Monica CA - 03 Keep It Greasy.flac:fd5a227fb7f4e63cd0fe0ac71740e8e7 1980 12 11 (E) Santa Monica CA - 04 Outside Now.flac:bf6ca69e3de7b4da48901244b6fd5541 1980 12 11 (E) Santa Monica CA - 05 Honey Don't You Want A Man Like Me .flac:f1ed67f630858fe2481571551feb2052 1980 12 11 (E) Santa Monica CA - 06 The Blue Light.flac:ebcb0300882eefd2954af6dabfcaacc1 1980 12 11 (E) Santa Monica CA - 07 Tinsel Town Rebellion.flac:7260f4164226c959e693966ce0505a11 1980 12 11 (E) Santa Monica CA - 08 Pick Me I'm Clean.flac:e4466dd476a8ecf7f2cfc8f590b41c7d 1980 12 11 (E) Santa Monica CA - 09 Goblin Girl - Doreen.flac:057ef359d8c945ab86ea4536b0679f8b 1980 12 11 (E) Santa Monica CA - 10 Heavenly Bank Account.flac:0a3986636d6da4a18dae0c8c765c993e 1980 12 11 (E) Santa Monica CA - 11 Suicide Chump.flac:a212567410e38f8ebd6c056af074169d 1980 12 11 (E) Santa Monica CA - 12 Jumbo Go Away.flac:4810322af7c5152fe0a55b80b9561e23 1980 12 11 (E) Santa Monica CA - 13 If Only She Woulda.flac:6eb8375d3a330a841acdc85a94df837b 1980 12 11 (E) Santa Monica CA - 14 I Don't Wanna Get Drafted.flac:1d5bcf54f51908f3e3e7633cda9685f7 1980 12 11 (E) Santa Monica CA - 15 Joe's Garage.flac:6f18b54c6426b3f0eecc10c2b5427221 1980 12 11 (E) Santa Monica CA - 16 Dancin' Fool.flac:6f5895b824a46c35338821b151ecd3d0 1980 12 11 (E) Santa Monica CA - 17 Brahms Lullaby.flac:ef69af6e87afee65c631897d663c7e07 1980 12 11 (E) Santa Monica CA - 18 Bobby Brown.flac:b9e82ded1c78aca996e21900ec2b2c4d 1980 12 11 (E) Santa Monica CA - 19 Miss Pinky.flac:2c2031de084759385859cedf354f166b 1980 12 11 (E) Santa Monica CA - 20 Easy Meat.flac:2d5fc641b557c8f77f4fd7c5fc0d990f