European Encore Series Live 2CD - Quality

[Christian]

Squonkman asked aout the sound quality of the europan Encore Series in another thread so I opened a new thread.

I have a couple of these 2CD Sets

The Hannover CDis pretty awful (imho). There's a lot of reverb / echo on this 2CD-Set that really makesit difficult to enjoy the music.
Munich and London are incredible, although it looks like that one of the main focusses was on the audience microphones, which means the echo in these new european football stadiums was recorded as well and is part of the CD.

nevertheless, it's a very authentic live-cut and sometimes you feel like "yeah, that's the way it was!"

The Gabriel Encore Series sounds far better. Peter has performed in small Amphitheaters (up to 5000 people), but he also uses another recording technique. His Encores sound thicker, more direct, without too much echo.

In the end it's a matterof taste what you like but I a really curious what these indoor show Encores will sound like!

[Squonkman]

thanks for the info Christian. I have Manchester, London, Rome and the first show, Helsinki. They all sound pretty similar, Rome actually sounds crisper than the 2 English ones. I was surprised that they included so much audience microphone sound so you do get a lot of vocal reverb----I thought they would be straight soundboard recordings. My quibble would be by doing that, the drums don't seem as powerful and defined, more of a distant feel at times. But overall, they were better than I feared. I guess they are a mixture of pure soundboards and good audience tapes. The indoor concerts should sound better and improve the reverb effect.

[Christian]

Originally Posted by Squonkman

The indoor concerts should sound better and improve the reverb effect.

Well, there's no guarantee
remember, Düsseldorf, Frankfurt and Amsterdam were indoor shows as well (since they had all the roof closed) and I was in Düsseldorf and frankfurt, the sound was good, but by far not everywhere.

I also have the Düsseldorf cinema broadcast and this is pretty interesting. The sound at the show was very tough, hard, with Phil singing very edgy. On the broadcast, it all sounds pretty soft....

[Squonkman]

Originally Posted by Christian

Well, there's no guarantee
remember, Düsseldorf, Frankfurt and Amsterdam were indoor shows as well (since they had all the roof closed) and I was in Düsseldorf and frankfurt, the sound was good, but by far not everywhere.

I also have the Düsseldorf cinema broadcast and this is pretty interesting. The sound at the show was very tough, hard, with Phil singing very edgy. On the broadcast, it all sounds pretty soft....

you're right, but the American arenas are all much smaller, correct?

Dusseldorf huh? you naughty boy. I too just recently was able to see that show, and I thought the picture was spectacular, and the sound was a little low and soft. I also noticed there were audio dropouts here and there and I am told those were inherent in the satellite broadcast (maybe done on purpose?). Did you notice those short little droputs or skips?

[jebho62]

Originally Posted by Squonkman

you're right, but the American arenas are all much smaller, correct?

Dusseldorf huh? you naughty boy. I too just recently was able to see that show, and I thought the picture was spectacular, and the sound was a little low and soft. I also noticed there were audio dropouts here and there and I am told those were inherent in the satellite broadcast (maybe done on purpose?). Did you notice those short little droputs or skips?

I also notice a synching issue. Was that the case at the show. Was Phil doing the Britney thing and Lip Synching?

[Entangled]

I've got the Encore 2CD of the Francfort gig where I've been....
I nearly listen to them every day!
The sound is just okay - but it's original "my" concert. You can hear everything - Phil's mistake while Follow you Follow me... it's such a great souvenir!

The Sound quality isn't as good as some Bootlegs - but we'll get the Live - 2CD of this tour and the sound of that CDs will be fantastic - Sure!

[AeroZach]

I managed to get London and Rome last week, still WANT Helsinki but cannot afford it at this time

Both shows have a similar sound, only one thing I liked about London was how the guitar was more upfront, yet still being able to distinguish everything else. Compare both "Cage" medleys and you'll notice the difference.

Both shows are also similar performances as well, not much of a difference other than Phil speaking Italian on the Rome one and English in London. Squonkman, how does Helsinki sound in comparison to the aforementioned shows, performance-wise? Is it obvious that it was the first show, and they were a bit nervous, or were they pretty solid?