CA: OK, let's delve into the audio. What were the condition of the tapes? Were there any inherent aural deficiencies or problems that you had not counted on or that complicated the process further?

JN: Well, we had to physically bake the tapes. This is done to readhere the oxide layer to the plastic, or mylar, backing. Because this is a known anomaly with mid 1970s vintage 456 Ampex tape stock, I had anticipated having to do this and it was not an issue. I baked the tapes for 12 hours at 130 degrees in our small oven, which was crafted by Ultrasound. Then, I loaded them into the Pro Tools workstation.

Once we had them transferred, they sounded great. On Bob [Weir]'s guitar track, we had to pump up the audio and then suppress any noise. It was recorded at like -40 db and it was pretty much all hiss. Plus, because of the chaos on stage, trying to get "Sugar Magnolia" — the opening song — up through "Fire On The Mountain" to sound cohesive was a challenge. That was a couple of days right there working with noise reduction in Pro Tools. I would re-record the audio track and then have to make all sorts of other adjustments. I really took a long time with everything and I could mix to what was prominent in the video as well.

The oven Norman used to bake the 30-year old Ampex analog tapes.

CA: That reminds me of the segment right after "Fire On The Mountain" when Weir makes his stage announcement and the crew are popping all the balloons on stage. Did you enhance or mix those pops specifically for 5.1. They sound frighteningly realistic.

The Grateful Dead, New Year's Eve 1978 at the Winterland Arena.

JN: No, that one is strictly serendipity. But I know what you mean. There are several places that were mixed specifically to enhance the visuals. To answer your question though, the majority of the problems that I had to deal with were the standard run of the mill issues that come with the territory. For instance, a few times the drums were recorded a bit low, like Weir's guitar. Some of these older tapes and recording methodologies were far from elegant. So, I just attempt to repair that stuff as best I can.

CA: So, was the theory as practical as you had initially envisioned it?

JN: Oh, I'd say so. We did a rough mix with time code, cut the video to the correct audio and then I had an audio and video document that I could fine tune both in stereo and 5.1.