Vinyl Records

Roomic Cube

Couldn't seem to find a thread about this specifially,

I'm not just talking about techno/house etc etc

I'm talking about anyone who listens to records in general, be it old stuff, new stuff or whatever....

I've got a mix of my dads old stuff which is alot of Lynyrd Skynyrd, Pink Floyd, Black Sabbath, Queen and a heap of Genisis
Have a few bits and pieces myself from Tool, Qotsa, RHCP and some Kraftwerk.
Imuch prefer listening to them for the sound quality, and the artwork blows cds to bits anyway :P

anybody else out there collect records/singles be they new or old?

rcaz

My Dad has a ton of vinyl, and I've started buying them relatively recently. A lot of stuff is going back to vinyl, with a download code so you can have the record on vinyl and still put it on your MP3 player.

On the right system, yes, sound quality is much better from vinyl from CD, but this could also be down to the quality of the CD player.

I like the ritual of putting a record on a turntable rather than into a CD player. The extra effort makes you pay more attention.

El Pr0n

El Pr0n wrote: »

I like the ritual of putting a record on a turntable rather than into a CD player. The extra effort makes you pay more attention.

I'll plus one that. There's something having a side A and B that just seems right. Don't get me wrong, I love my mp3's, but when it comes to bluesy stuff (Tom Waits) and oddly enough post rock and post grunge, vinyl can't be beat. Also, the artwork is always better on vinyl

Roomic Cube

I find i'll just chill out and listen to an album or whatever, but not do anything else while listening to the music, whereas if im listening to mp3s im probably on the internet abnd whatever else at the same time

BlueNemo

I've hijacked all my dad's vinyls, and have recently been putting them onto the laptop with a USB Turntable.

One question, is there anyway to stop vinyls from skipping? I dunno, some old trick to have them play better?

If someone could even link me to a thread on here that might help I'd be very grateful. I have searched but haven't really found anything useful.

Put a 2c coin on the needle part of the arm

rcaz

A good turntable should be set up and have the tonearm properly weighted. Too little weight on the cartridge end makes skipping more likely, too much wears out records. I know club turntable cartridges are heavier than normal so they stay in place with all the manipulation that turntablism requires. But a turntable intended for listening shouldn't need extra weight on the cartridge.

Dudess

I own a small few records (mostly purchased at record fairs in recent years, they were never the format of choice for my generation) - I absolutely love the feel, look, and of course sound of them. They have the best sound of all really - no digital compression. And there can be miles of a difference between the look of a record sleeve and that of a CD sleeve.

There's something almost exciting about checking out a LP.

Wish I'd a cool dad - my dad's collection inclues Cliff's 40 Golden Greats and Nana Mouskouri...

BlueNemo

I've fiddled around with the weight on the end, seems to have worked a good deal.

Dudess wrote: »

I own a small few records (mostly purchased at record fairs in recent years, they were never the format of choice for my generation) - I absolutely love the feel, look, and of course sound of them. They have the best sound of all really - no digital compression. And there can be miles of a difference between the look of a record sleeve and that of a CD sleeve.

There's something almost exciting about checking out a LP.

Wish I'd a cool dad - my dad's collection inclues Cliff's 40 Golden Greats and Nana Mouskouri...

Yeah my Dad's got The Kinks, The Beatles, The Clash, Sex Pistols... Basically all the good music I listen to. Pays to have a cool dad

Hi Dad if you're reading this. You'll get your vinyls back eventually. Sorry they're all over my bedroom floor.:o

therewillbe

Papa Smut wrote: »

Put a 2c coin on the needle part of the arm

That brings me back! I NEVER got into cds.Still buy vinyl and as was said it is a ritual.Ye all the latest technology is handy for out and about but having to go through your collection looking for something to put on the table is in my opinion the only way.

rcaz

BlueNemo wrote: »

One question, is there anyway to stop vinyls from skipping? I dunno, some old trick to have them play better?

You could wall-mount your turntable, or just move it closer to the wall. Our turntable sits on top of a little shelving unit on casters that used to be about two or three feet from the wall, and you had to tread awfully carefully to walk by the gear without making the record skip. Now it's against the wall, where I guess the floor (varnished floorboards) is a little more solid, there's less play in the floor and the records don't skip nearly as much.

But skipping is an inherent problem with vinyl. One that is avoidable and tolerable, imo.

mike65

Old I feel even older than I already did.....:(

BlueNemo

Holy crap your collection's in good condition.

My (inherited) vinyls are a little... Used :rolleyes:.

Roomic Cube

props for the Kraftwerk - Autobahn, i was only listening to my Radioactivity LP today!

RayCon

Respect Mike65 - having Mechanical Resonance in your collection puts you top of the class :cool:

mike65

Looking at that pic you'd swear I love 80s American rock, when I don't really! (nearly all my British rock is on tape for some reason).

What are those USB-enabled turntables like?

tony 2 tone

Dudess wrote: »

I own a small few records (mostly purchased at record fairs in recent years, they were never the format of choice for my generation) - I absolutely love the feel, look, and of course sound of them. They have the best sound of all really - no digital compression. And there can be miles of a difference between the look of a record sleeve and that of a CD sleeve.

There's something almost exciting about checking out a LP.

Wish I'd a cool dad - my dad's collection inclues Cliff's 40 Golden Greats and Nana Mouskouri...

Don't forget the smell! Not talking about the moldy smell of the cover but the lovely chemical-y smell of the record.
I have a small (60 odd) collection ranging from stuff I got in charity shops for a euro to albums and singles I got off e-bay. The thing that kills me is the price of vinyl in some places in Dublin, 20 euro for a ratty LP with scratches all over it. I suppose it's because vinyl has become cool or trendy to some people and they'll pay that.

blastman

Still have all my vinyl, including the coloured vinyls, picture discs and all! I still buy some new releases on vinyl when available too, it's a much more tactile medium than CD.

BlueNemo

mike65 wrote: »

What are those USB-enabled turntables like?

Fantastic. I've one, currently putting all the old vinyls onto my iPod. It keeps the original sound of the record, but still keeps it crisp enough so it doesnt sound terrible through headphones!

The one I use records the sound and converts it over to iTunes. Perfect for me really.

I got mine last Christmas and have only really started using it the past few days. Its my new toy .

mike65

Which make?

BlueNemo

mike65 wrote: »

Which make?

Eh good question that.


*goes and finds box*


its an ION USB TURNTABLE.

Yeah I haven't heard of them either. Does the job though.

rcaz

It might be cheaper to buy a basic audio interface and take a line out from your preamp into the interface into your computer. You'd have a better turntable and a better converter that way, too.

Something like this maybe. That's a really cheap one, but I reckon it would do the job better.

Spiritoftheseventies

Have loads of them. Nothing like good album art. George Best by The Wedding Present was a particularly good one while anything by the Smiths of course are collectors items.

dasdog

Browsing a vast shelved record collection and selecting an album to put on a quality turntable with that costs as much as a small car with similar quality speakers, amp and cables is a joy. Vinyl is a vice for some people and everyone should have at least one friend that is addicted.

jtsuited

had a lovely morning of walking round sunny dublin digging in some record shops. picked up a mint dionne warwick album and a near mint otis redding album for 15 euro. Now if you compare that to getting the same albums on itunes, you're saving 5 euro AND getting the beautiful sound, physical artwork yadda yadda yadda. No brainer if you're planning on not stealing music.

Even though I'm from a house and techno background, I've never really been into vinyl (I started in electronic music just as the digital 'revolution' was happening).

The thing that really gets to me is JUST how much of a difference there is in the sound of vinyl.

Spiritoftheseventies

Yes brother had a copy of Humans league Dare. And always repeated on Dont You want me Baby. But quite liked like the scratched version

Scubadevils

jtsuited wrote: »

had a lovely morning of walking round sunny dublin digging in some record shops. picked up a mint dionne warwick album and a near mint otis redding album for 15 euro. Now if you compare that to getting the same albums on itunes, you're saving 5 euro AND getting the beautiful sound, physical artwork yadda yadda yadda. No brainer if you're planning on not stealing music.

Even though I'm from a house and techno background, I've never really been into vinyl (I started in electronic music just as the digital 'revolution' was happening).

The thing that really gets to me is JUST how much of a difference there is in the sound of vinyl.

Thats the beauty of vinyl and CDs, nothing like wandering around music stores for the day and flicking through endless selections of new and 2nd hand releases... pity about the lack of those stores in Dublin though. Maybe this next wave of vinyl comeback will spark a new wave of music stores (doubt it though!).

And fully agree, absolutely no comparison to the sound of vinyl on a decent system.

Roomic Cube

some of my bits old and new

Herbal Deity

The sound quality of vinyl isn't inherently better than CDs/digital music.

The reason people will claim that music sounds better on vinyl is because of the difference in recording techniques between now and in the past, when vinyl was the current medium.

Digital recording has become extremely powerful nowadays. Producers can add effects and manipulate waveforms in a few mouse clicks. The downside to this is that with such great power comes great responsibility, and well, a lot of the time this power has been abused with negative effects for the listener.

The "loudness war" is a good example of this. This video explains it pretty well:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Gmex_4hreQ

So you see, it's not vinyl, the medium, which accounts for generally superior sound quality in older albums, but the fact that analogue recording was a lot more restrictive , and stopped producers from fúcking with tracks so much, meaning a faithful reproduction of the recording session

What this means is that modern albums which are released on vinyl probably won't sound any better than they do on CD, and if there were to be a vinyl revival, but recording techniques remained the same, that there'd be no difference in sound quality either.

Vinyl is cool in the sense that since it requires more input from the listener, listening to music becomes a more active and rewarding process, and with more space for artwork, that is generally superior.

irlirishkev

I love vinyl. I've got 78s, 33s, and 45s (no 16s though). 12"s, 10"s, and 7"s..
I've got 2 record players - a modern Pioneer, and a 1970s Lenco GL75.

I love just putting on a record, cranking up the volume and sitting back. It sounds so much nicer in my opinion.

Ebay has made it much easier these days, to source and purchase those classic LPs which were once so obscure and difficult to find. 45s aswell.. if I hear something cool on the radio which I don't have, if I don't want the album, I'll often go and buy the 45 on Ebay. Example of this recently, was Blondie's Rapture..

jtsuited

Herbal Deity wrote: »

The sound quality of vinyl isn't inherently better than CDs/digital music.

The reason people will claim that music sounds better on vinyl is because of the difference in recording techniques between now and in the past, when vinyl was the current medium.

Digital recording has become extremely powerful nowadays. Producers can add effects and manipulate waveforms in a few mouse clicks. The downside to this is that with such great power comes great responsibility, and well, a lot of the time this power has been abused with negative effects for the listener.

The "loudness war" is a good example of this. This video explains it pretty well:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Gmex_4hreQ

So you see, it's not vinyl, the medium, which accounts for generally superior sound quality in older albums, but the fact that analogue recording was a lot more restrictive , and stopped producers from fúcking with tracks so much, meaning a faithful reproduction of the recording session

What this means is that modern albums which are released on vinyl probably won't sound any better than they do on CD, and if there were to be a vinyl revival, but recording techniques remained the same, that there'd be no difference in sound quality either.

Vinyl is cool in the sense that since it requires more input from the listener, listening to music becomes a more active and rewarding process, and with more space for artwork, that is generally superior.

erm no. just no.