Bluegrass Box

[goose 2]

I have tried many times in the past to be able to download shows from BBB. I have joined the lists, added the appropriate software, etc. . . and I just cannot make it work. Any help out there?http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/rock.gif

Well i have the same problem you have. Its been a waste of time so far. Go through the process and get no music. Not good at computers i am. Sounds like a great place but i never get the darn things to work.

[Brian Ray]

Here's a link to a tutorial I cooked up... Bluegrassbox mini-how-to (http://dasspunk.com/index.php?wl_mode=more&wl_eid=128&wl_search=bluegrassbox)

[mandowood]

I'm a bluegrassbox.com newbie as well and was hoping to get a few recommendations on stuff to download. Anybody got a top ten essential download list?

[Martin Jonas]

In my view, the top show I got from there is the 1976 Doc Watson/Merle Travis gig, an utterly jaw-dropping piece of history and musicianship in great sound quality. It's the only time the two ever played together in public. The Watson/Monroe duo gig is pretty good as well (the best version of Watson's Blues I've heard), as are some of those Stanley Brothers shows from the 1950s.

Martin

[sjusk]

Friends, Bluegrassbox is a first class source of true stage material, and I have benefited a lot from downloading and listening to shows for inspiration.
It´s an outstanding opportunity to get to listen to some great musicians - something I haven´t found elsewhere on the Internet.
For someone as me, living far away from the scene of this music, it´s a treasure!

To get to the music on Bluegrassbox, you need an FTP installed on your computer, that´s how you download the rather huge files. The sound quality is in general very good because of the lossless file format, and worth it all.
You have to convert them into wav-files to listen to them, whick won´t make them any smaller, but then you could turn them into mp3s if your harddesk isn´t that big.
It´s very democratic and useful to just about everyone - I recommend.

Søren

[Brian Ray]

I really like these shows from the Station Inn...

Rowen/Compton/Vassar (http://www.bluegrassbox.com/txtfiles/rowan2002-01-04.txt)
Hartford/Compton (http://www.bluegrassbox.com/txtfiles/hartford1998-08-22.txt)
Tim O'Brien (http://www.bluegrassbox.com/txtfiles/obrien2004-03-25.txt)

[pickinNgrinnin]

What FTP installer do you recommend? I was on this site for the first time today after reading about it here. I'm still lost http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif

Looks like a goldmine of BG music!

[mandowood]

dasspunk- I have used bluegrass box today once and it worked fine. I used SmartFTP and the Flac codec and it was great. I downloaded another one tonight that is a .shn file and I can't get the shorten codec to work properly. I download the codec, extract the files, and then it won't do anything when I open the application. I'n not the sharpest tool in the shed, can you tell me how to decompress these files? Thanks.

[GVD]

mandowood Posted

dasspunk- I have used bluegrass box today once and it worked fine. #I used SmartFTP and the Flac codec and it was great. #I downloaded another one tonight that is a .shn file and I can't get the shorten codec to work properly. #I download the codec, extract the files, and then it won't do anything when I open the application. #I'n not the sharpest tool in the shed, can you tell me how to decompress these files? #Thanks.

Do you mean for listening on your computer or burning to CD? If it's for listening you do have to download a codec for Winamp. I use Nero to burn and it automatically converts .shn files to .wav.

GVD

[mandowood]

GVD- I'd like to eventually burn it to a cd. If I download nero that'll take care of it? Thanks for all the help.

[goose 2]

Thanks for the tip Dasspunk, but I still cannot make it go. I have downloaded flac, smart ftp, winamp. After I download the file on flac, I cannot not get it anywhere to play it. I have been hard at it for several nights now. Oh well, I think that I will play my mandolin. I feel like Der Dumkof.

[caglebagle]

Try downloading dBpowerAMP music converter.......it will convert *.shn and flac files to wave files which can be burned with any common CD burning utility. That really is the trick once you already know how to download them.

[Martin Jonas]

I use the mkw Audio Compression Tool (http://www.etree.org/mkw.html) to convert .shn files to WAV files after downloading. Never had any problems with it. I agree with caglebagle that the way to deal with .shn and flac files is to convert them to WAV prior to burning to CD. It's just asking for trouble to let the CD burning software do this for you on the hoof. Incidentally, the same applies to mp3 files: if I'm burning them on CD, I convert to WAV first rather than trusting the burning software.

Martin

[harmonist34]

If you've got the files downloaded on your computer, it sounds like you just need help using the FLAC decoder. I'd be glad to walk you through it over the phone, assuming you've already downloaded it.

Give me a ring at 612-790-8251 some evening after 9:00 p.m. CST

I love bluegrass box and I had some difficulty getting it working when I first started.

Andy
Mpls, MN

[KevinM]

I use Smart FTP to get the files, which can be tricky learning how to use, then I use the mkwSHN tool and one of the FLAC programs to decode to WAV files. In what part of the process are you having trouble goose?

[goose 2]

harmonist34,

Thanks and I will take you up on that offer. I will be away from my computer for a few days traveling bt will definitely get with you when I get back and are settled. Thanks agaan.

[man doh]

goose 2,

I'm stupid for not knowing about this. I got everything set up today. I have DSL. Can you make this thing go any faster it is working at a 56 k speed.