So what exactly does FUQ stand for?
Frequently Unasked Questions. Mainly aimed at newbies. If you know what you're talking about then don't go taking offense.
I see. So where did you hijack that hilarious concept from?
www.spinaltap.com
Is the whole of this page written as condescendingly as what I've read so far?
Yes. Sorry.
So if all these questions are so unasked, why are you bothering answering them?
Because I'm bored, and I'm hoping this will be more fun than doing any work. A few of the questions get asked now and then anyway.
What's this page all about anyway?
As you may have noticed, this page has a big list of (mostly) live recordings by a variety of bands. I am happy to trade out the majority of these in order to expand my collection.
And by trade you mean...
Put simply, the exchange of one CD for another. You send me something I want, I send you something you want, and everyone's happy. Put more complicatedly, read this.
How will I know if I have something you want?
My wants list is a good place to start. Always feel free to ask me - I'm sure there are bands that I like who are not indicated at all on this page.
I don't have anything you want but I REALLY want some of your shows!
Feel free to mail me and ask but don't be surprised if I can't help you out. Sufficient spare time for B&Ps is a thing of the past. Sorry. Go out, buy some equipment, and start taping shows. Seriously. Almost every trade I've ever done has at least involved me sending out something I recorded off the radio, if not one of my audience masters. Taping really is the easiest way to get hold of something other people will want.
Can't I just buy a few CDs off you?
NO. Selling is bad. I don't make money of other artist's work because that would be evil. There are, however, evil people in this world - it is none of my business if you want to buy things off such people. Also, I don't want people selling anything I send them. If you're a renowned seller there is a chance I will not trade with you because of it.
Do you trade things other than CDs?
Not usually. I may trade for videos (VHS PAL), DVDs, tapes, MDs etc if they are of particular interest to me, but I can only copy CDRs onto CDR or MD. I can transfer all common media (apart from DAT) onto CDR. I usually trade 1 CDR for 1 CDR - other ratios can be discussed for other media.
What about mp3s?
I used to be OK accepting mp3-sourced shows. Now I really have very little need, so unless you have an mp3-sourced version of something I really don't think I can get elsewhere then I won't be interested.
What equipment do you use to record?
Nearly all of my master recordings are made onto a Sony MZ- MiniDisc recorder (R500 pre Sept 2003, R900 pre Oct 2004, N710 to present). FM broadcasts are recorded from the line out of a Sony micro system. My first four audience recordings (Nov/Dec 2002) were made with a Yoga EM-1 mono omnidirectional microphone, which I bought for £10 as an experiment to see whether recording was fun. Having decided it is, I bought a Sony ECM-717 single-point-stereo cardioid mic as the EM-1 provided nothing more than listenable quality. This will be my setup for the foreseeable future, because I'd rather spend my limited finances on attending and taping more shows than sitting at home to save up for new gear. I'm fully aware this isn't the best mic in the world, or even the best for its price, but it makes recordings that I'm happy with, and if you're skeptical then please check out some of my samples as I think you will be pleasantly surprised.
What's your usual taping location
Front of stack, or if necessary depending on the type of speakers/venue, a bit further back in order to capture the sound sensibly.
Why the hell did you tape so many shows in mono for such a long time?
Because I got some bad advice. Happens to us all doesn't it?
How do you transfer your master MDs to CDR?
I connect the analogue line-output of my MZ-R900 (previously the R-500) to the analogue line in of my computer's soundcard and record to .wav. I appreciate that this is not the best possible setup in terms of signal to noise ratios etc, and so some of my shows get shipped over to Austia for digital transfer and EQ by Martin. However this obviously causes a major delay in how quickly a tape can start being distributed.
How do you copy CDRs?
I extract to .wav & .cue with Exact Audio Copy and burn to CDR with CDRWin.
What shows are you planning to record in the near future?
I invariably have a few planned but choose not to list them on this site in case something goes wrong. If you know me then you're more than welcome to ask and I'll fill you in :)
What do all the source abbreviations on your pages mean?
There's a pretty good starter guide here, and otherwise there is google.
Surely you must be a pretty big fan of all these bands to bother collecting all this live stuff?
Nope. I can safely say that there are bands listed on this page that I do not like.
You're being a bit over-hopeful with some of the shows on your wants list aren't you?
Yep. There's at least one show on there which I was one of about 10 people at and I could see that there wasn't anything being fed out of the soundboard. Oh well.
How do I know you're not gonna rip me off?
You don't. No-one does. You have to trust me. Hopefully any of the traders here would compliment my reliability. I've never ripped anyone off and I wouldn't - at the end of the day, sending off a couple of CDRs in the post is gonna be far less hassle than receiving abusive emails and getting a bad reputation isn't it?
I've had great fun reading this - will you be adding more questions in the future?
Probably, but I'd get out a bit more first if I were you...