Looking to get into Vinyl

[Y_I_Otter]

I would have thought that's a given.

You would, wouldn't you? Yet there are people at every swap meet, convention-center show and yard-sale whose main purpose is grabbing stuff they know (or at least have an inkling) will re-sell favourably down the line. That's no way to collect records.

 

[danny la rouge]

That's no way to collect records.

No, it isn't. It's very sad (in the old fashioned sense).

 

[rutabowa]

i don't get this "looking to get in to vinyl"?? i just buy records i like on vinyl, and have ended up with quite a lot of them. i wouldn't go in to a record shop and say "i'd like £100 worth of vinyl records please, don't matter what so long as it's vinyl", that is wierd!!

 

[danny la rouge]

i don't get this "looking to get in to vinyl"?? i just buy records i like on vinyl, and have ended up with quite a lot of them. i wouldn't go in to a record shop and say "i'd like £100 worth of vinyl records please, don't matter what so long as it's vinyl", that is wierd!!

Me too. I used to buy vinyl because I liked the sound, so I jst didnt stop when the CD revolution happened. I only went onto CDs when I started to find it harder to get what I wanted on vinyl. But what I buy is records I like, not items for a collection. It just so happens that in 35 years I've now got a collection.

 

[rutabowa]

exactly... and really on the sound quality thing, unless you've got loads of time and money and will to spend on a setup then cds are going to sound "better", because they are easier to deal with. i don't mind crackle etc though. i am sure my stereo isn't good enough to detect the tiny harmonic or frequency improvements vinyl might or might not give! but i prefer vinyl for some other reason, otherwise i guess i woudl just download music.

 

[toblerone3]

I invested in some Technics about four years ago and started collecting house/balaeric and techno released between 1988 and 1993. There are quite a number of lost and semi-lost classic records from that period. But I'm not really a collector and will only buy records that are thrilling I would like to play now in 2008. Have collected about 50 to 60 records. I used to think I had all the records I needed, but am continuing to find a few new ones on You Tube and then buying the vinyl online.

These accounts of people with hundreds and thousands of records do not appeal to me.

 

[killer b]

exactly... and really on the sound quality thing, unless you've got loads of time and money and will to spend on a setup then cds are going to sound "better", because they are easier to deal with. i don't mind crackle etc though. i am sure my stereo isn't good enough to detect the tiny harmonic or frequency improvements vinyl might or might not give! but i prefer vinyl for some other reason, otherwise i guess i woudl just download music.

you'd have thought this - but i've got a crap stereo, and the disco 12"s i have sound much better than the same tracks on cd - a much richer, warmer sound...

 

[danny la rouge]

you'd have thought this - but i've got a crap stereo, and the disco 12"s i have sound much better than the same tracks on cd - a much richer, warmer sound...

Yes, I've never liked the sound of CDs, and find a cheap record player makes a far nicer sound than even my current CD playing equipment. I don't know whether really expensive CD players make a difference, because I can't afford one.

 

[Spandex]

i don't get this "looking to get in to vinyl"?? i just buy records i like on vinyl, and have ended up with quite a lot of them. i wouldn't go in to a record shop and say "i'd like £100 worth of vinyl records please, don't matter what so long as it's vinyl", that is wierd!!

For people above a certain age buying music on vinyl is completely natural - the choice used to be vinyl or cassette, and cassettes were shite. But there's now a generation of people whose default music format is downloads, with CDs seen as a slightly dated way of playing music. There's people about now who are into music, but may never have seen a record player.

 

[killer b]

Yes, I've never liked the sound of CDs, and find a cheap record player makes a far nicer sound than even my current CD playing equipment. I don't know whether really expensive CD players make a difference, because I can't afford one.

don't know how it can tbh.

 

[rutabowa]

well i think records sound better, but cds (generally) sound more like the record producer meant the music to sound like, without crackles scratches or worn out record noise!

 

[El Jefe]

well i think records sound better, but cds (generally) sound more like the record producer meant the music to sound like, without crackles scratches or worn out record noise!

I don't know if that's the case, though. Some producers still don't like CDs and produce to sound better on vinyl - Steve Albini for one, and I know Neil Young still has 'issues' with with digital.

 

[killer b]

isn't there something about the digital process changing the shape of the soundwaves? the sound might be clearer, but it isn't necessarily closer to the 'true' sound.

 

[chico enrico]

errr... has anyone ever actually heard of a floor caving in due to weight of vinyl?

i find that a bit scary.

I've got three metal shelving units of vinyl at home and about 2,000 12"s / LPs in metal shelving units in my room.

plus a massive big bookcase with hundreds of books which weighs a ton too.

and loads of other furnishings.

 

[dodgepot]

happened to my uncle.

 

[rutabowa]

I don't know if that's the case, though. Some producers still don't like CDs and produce to sound better on vinyl - Steve Albini for one, and I know Neil Young still has 'issues' with with digital.

i don't exactly mean that, i just mean that in most setups people will have battered needles, cheap record players, worn records etc, all of which will affect the sound much more than whatever mystical impurity changing the sound to digital adds... whereas a cd will just play, or not. there are a lot more variables with vinyl.

 

[Yuwipi Woman]

Yes, I've never liked the sound of CDs, and find a cheap record player makes a far nicer sound than even my current CD playing equipment. I don't know whether really expensive CD players make a difference, because I can't afford one.

CDs sound cold, bland and mechanical to me.

 

[Y_I_Otter]

CDs sound cold, bland and mechanical to me.

It's not really about sound for me, but content. I continue to snap up vinyl of stuff I like because there's often little chance of it having broad enough appeal to ever make it to CD.

When that does happen, and it's a re-issue that includes previously unreleased material or out-takes, I'm right there with plastic card in hand, especially if it's by an artist I've been completist about with their LPs.

 

[jb78]

I like the sound of vinyl better. Its not necessarily clearer, but its warmer and more alive.

AMEN!

marry me?

There's loads of bad things to say about having a vinyl collection. Once you get enough to actually call it a collection you need to move into a property that can hold it. Moving them there will necessitate hiring a van and getting the vinyl into the van will break your back and you'll be a cripple for the rest of your life.

If you do get them to your new property then you'll want to keep them out of sunlight and away from any heat source like a radiator. Then you'll want to get a decent deck to play them on, which will cost £200 just for the cartridge, which your toddler will pluck from the end of the arm and use as a crayon on the nearest wall.

If you survive all this your only aim in life will be to increase the size of your collection and the fidelity of your hi fi equipment.

Thought about how you're gonna catalogue them?

do not listen to this man. he is obviously a cynic

yes they take up space, yes they are heavy, yes you must take care of them, but nothing else comes close to a record collection. cd's are total rubbish in comparison. going pout digging for records is one of life's greatest pleasures - finding something good, for a decent price is so rewarding it's untrue. i say go for it, the positives of having a record collection greatly outweigh any of the negatives. the artwork, the sound quality, the feel all put any other format to shame. in this pathetic world where so many people are content to download faceless digital files that don't even exist in 'real' life, the joy of having a real slice of history is hard to explain.

vinyl forever!

 

[rutabowa]

CDs sound cold, bland and mechanical to me.

i suspect this not to be based on blind tests.

 

[rutabowa]

AMEN!

marry me?



do not listen to this man. he is obviously a cynic

yes they take up space, yes they are heavy, yes you must take care of them, but nothing else comes close to a record collection. cd's are total rubbish in comparison. going pout digging for records is one of life's greatest pleasures - finding something good, for a decent price is so rewarding it's untrue. i say go for it, the positives of having a record collection greatly outweigh any of the negatives. the artwork, the sound quality, the feel all put any other format to shame. in this pathetic world where so many people are content to download faceless digital files that don't even exist in 'real' life, the joy of having a real slice of history is hard to explain.

vinyl forever!

what about the music?

 

[jb78]

what about the music?

i don't follow?

 

[rutabowa]

i don't follow?

i thought your post was maybe fetishising vinyl to the point where what music was on it was irrelevant! you were probably just being a bit excessively enthusiastic though. in the end it's just a medium of delivering music. i agree with all the bits about artwork, owning a piece of history etc but i don't think in the end this is nearly as important as the actual music on the disc

 

[jb78]

i thought your post was maybe fetishising vinyl to the point where what music was on it was irrelevant! you were probably just being a bit excessively enthusiastic though. in the end it's just a medium of delivering music. i agree with all the bits about artwork, owning a piece of history etc but i don't think in the end this is nearly as important as the actual music on the disc

it's the whole package for me - music included. i don't agree with 'it's just a medium' at all, i think the soul is being sucked out of music by many factors, a major one of which is the digital revolution. collecting music used to be something that took passion and commitment, now any fool can grab anything with the click of a mouse - it's wrong.

i will stick with my vinyl (very, very rarely even buy a cd), and let the vast majority of people stick to their succession of 0's and 1's. that's not a music collection to me.

oh and if the guy whop started this thread lives in london, you'd do well to check out the Record & Tape Exchange/Music & Video Exchange chain of 2nd hand stores - branches all over the place from camden to notting hill to greenwich - many bargains to be had and each one has a 'digger's basement' where all the records are something like 10p - days can easily be lost!

 

[rutabowa]

it's the whole package for me - music included. i don't agree with 'it's just a medium' at all, i think the soul is being sucked out of music by many factors, a major one of which is the digital revolution. collecting music used to be something that took passion and commitment, now any fool can grab anything with the click of a mouse - it's wrong.

this is a little elitist. i can understand how you feel, me almost only buying vinyl too, but i kind of understand how ridiculous it is too! should music be hidden away from people who don't understand it like you do? now MAKING music, that takes passion and commitment.

 

[jb78]

this is a little elitist. i can understand how you feel, me almost only buying vinyl too, but i kind of understand how ridiculous it is too! should music be hidden away from people who don't understand it like you do? now MAKING music, that takes passion and commitment.

i make music too!

i don't think it's elitist at all - i genuinely feel that the digi revolution has been detrimental to music in so many ways. i'm not gonna go into them all, as i've had this argument SO many times, but that is my belief and i'm sticking to it!

 

[Yuwipi Woman]

i suspect this not to be based on blind tests.

I suppose its possible that I'm just old fashioned. I'm also the proud owner of a 1906 Edison so 33 1/3 isn't the only anacronism I have in the house. I do like the tactile feel of cleaning a record and situating it on the turntable just right. However, I don't have the same feel for 8-track or cassette, both of which I grew up with. So I'm not certain if its nostalgia or not. It may just be tactile.

 

[rutabowa]

i don't think it's elitist at all - i genuinely feel that the digi revolution has been detrimental to music in so many ways.

this line is DEFINITELY elitist!:
"collecting music used to be something that took passion and commitment, now any fool can grab anything with the click of a mouse - it's wrong."

i don't mind, everyone is elitist in some way, but you can't deny it! you should revel in it, like me.

 

[rutabowa]

ps i just took delivery of a 1987 GG Allin 7" "Public Enemy No. 1" (minus picture sleeve but not bad price, about £6) and a deleted 3lp Lee Perry set (scuffed box but mint records, £20). so there you go.

 

[bluestreak]

don't know how it can tbh.

#

It does. When i got a decent cd player (quality seperates as opposed to some piece of shit) i was v. impressed by the improvement in quality.

But vinyl is still nicer!