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When we're choosing recordings from a trading list, these are the main points we're considering, pretty much in this order of priority:
Is it a band we trade?Our interests are fairly wide, but restricted: we'd consider recordings by artists already on our list, but absolutely no others (exception: if we're looking to sample a band we don't yet know, it'll be specifically stated on this page). If you have a huge collection of Grateful Dead or Bob Dylan soundboard recordings, congratulations; however, we just don't trade them! Are we looking for that band at present?Like anyone else, our tastes have evolved over time, and our interest in some bands has declined or changed emphasis. Is it of high quality sound quality?We collect recordings to listen to them, not just to hoard them for the sake of collecting! If we wouldn't choose to play a CD-R more than once, that's a bit of a waste. Essentially, we look for 'A-' or 'Ex-' quality at the very least, unless there's a compelling reason to choose something worse. Consequently, we tend to favour soundboard or recordings made professionally for broadcast, rather than covert audience recordings - unless they're really good, of course! OR, is it repairable?If we were offered a particularly interesting or rare recording which was generally good but marred by intermittent recording flaws, occasional audience yells, or tape hiss, there's a good chance we'd be interested, as those factors are fairly easy to clean up. However, the recording would have to be something special, to justify the effort. Is it different?All credit to their professionalism, but any two Pink Floyd shows from the same tour tended to be identical, so we might as well listen to one wonderful recording repeatedly, rather than two mediocre ones only one or twice. The same applies to other bands, of course. We're generally looking for one top-quality recording to represent each tour, plus special one-off shows or any that are known to have been of special interest, but don't really want anything that merely duplicates the best available recording. One thing we don't really consider: Is it rare?That's something that doesn't particularly interest us; we'd almost always go for the highest-quality recording, which often means the most popular and hence common. The fact that we put no premium on scarcity has occasionally caused problems; traders offer us something rare, but expect multiple recordings in return, as if the rare one is somehow more 'valuable'. We disagree; we trade CD-Rs one-for-one, irrespective of what's on them. That's our general position; now the specifics, as they stand on 30/04/08 (we update this page every month or so). We're actively looking for these recordings - at present, pretty much ONLY these recordings:
We respond to all enquiries. However, if we've taken the time to cover a subject on these pages, that is our definitive response, and there'd be no point in our sending an e-mail too. |
