Post: #1

I searched for a thread on this but could not find one.



Three years ago my girlfriend (now wife) bought me a record player for my birthday. She knows music is my favourite form of entertainment, that I am mostly interested in 20+ year old music and that I enjoy reading the liner notes on albums and reading about the composers, musicians, bands, etc. So she thought this would be a good gift for me, along with a starter blues record (Howlin' Wolf's 'Rocking Chair' - great album btw).

At the time I thought 'what a big waste of money', since I had collected hundreds of CDs along the years (that I have now mostly sold, gave or threw away). It took me a while to warm up to it but now, at the risk of sounding too hipster, I have grown to appreciate it and have a, admitedly short, collection that I treasure much more than I ever did CDs.

Not only do you get the artwork in decent size, plenty of space for notes, lyrics, etc, it's also a much sturdier medium. Once I found that I didn't have to buy newly pressed stuff (duh), which is not only more expensive but also lacks the 'old feel' that I have grown to appreciate, and found the second-hand market, I was sold. It's a lot of fun checking the notes preivous owners made, imagining the people who heard it, which situations they were in, etc. Other than a handful of newly pressed LPs I bought or was gifted at the beginning, all the albums I own are second hand. The oldest one I have is a recording of Beethoven's 3rd Symphony (Eroica) from 1950 (!) that cost me 5€ at a flea market. My latest buy was a 3-record live album by Emerson, Lake and Palmer for 8€. The cover and sleeves are heavily handled, but the sound is still good. What a buy!

In an age of fast-paced everything, I grew to appreciate the ritual, the dedication, the non-immediate nature of it. It's true the sound quality is very rarely above or even matching what you get on CD (at least initially) or digital, but it's not a deal breaker given the other pros.

There's nothing like getting home from work, putting a record on and checking the notes or looking at the artwork while smoking a cigarette.

I can't be the only non-soyfag to enjoy this. So out yourselves.

***

Here's a video of side one of Donald Fagen's 'The Nightly' playing, which I also own, and that to my surprise cost only 10€:

Post: #2

(03-31-2019 10:46 AM)ilostabet Wrote:  but now, at the risk of sounding too hipster,

Yeah, you sound pretty hipster, but in this case it's OK. Records are cool.
I grew up with them.

In grade 9 I had a classmate who's dad worked for A and M records (sorry, I have a Spanish keyboard, and for the life of me, I can't figure out how to get the ampersand to work). This dude was a bit of a groveler and would present me with new and strange albums every couple of weeks, I'm not sure why, I think he just wanted my approval. I've got a collection of really neat albums. An original Police 45 shaped like a police badge, very rare Rolling Stones limited releases, man, I could go on and on. They are all sitting in a basement in Canada. Maybe my son's friends have stolen them all by now.


However, records are cool.

Oh, I forgot to add, I had a part time job when I was a teenager, and got a weekly paycheque of $56 Canadian dollars. This was before bank machines could spit out money. Fridays during my school lunch hour, I'd race to work in my jalopy, pick up my cheque, line up at the Bank of Nova Scotia in the mall, and keep $20 back for my weekend fun. $9.99 of that was spent right away at the "Record store". Remember when they were called that?

Post: #3

Im old enough to have bought records, and often listened to my parents and older siblings records. Also, I had a car with an 8 track player in it.

I don't get it. The audio quality is not as good as a CD, and the permanence and convenience are less. i.e. they scratch more easily, warp, you have to be careful with the needle, you can't bump the phonograph, you can't hit replay, etc.

You have a point about the cover art, but back in the day they never really did much in terms of liner notes, lyrics, etc. There is more of that stuff on line anyway.

Hipster absurdity if you ask me.

Post: #4

Sound quality was better than cassette though! Id prefer to listen to them over cassettes. And CDs were expensive at first.

Post: #5

I'm a not too serious record collector. I usually prefer music on a CD (more on that later) but collect mostly because it's fun and digging is a good social opportunity. Also, I'm a classic country fan and a lot of the older albums are out of print and/or never sold in CD format. Vinyl or streaming is the only way to listen to many of these albums, and I prefer the album experience. Some of the obscure stuff can't be streamed.

As far as audio quality, I'm not an expert by any means, but IMO it depends on the album and technology used to record it. Stuff that was recorded in the CD age and on was made with the medium in mind and sounds better. A lot of the older stuff was recorded in a way that would sound good on a record player (I don't know that for a fact, but it seems so). Buck Owens intentionally recorded music that would sound good on an old car radio, doesn't sound quite right in stereo.

I buy records to listen, they don't have to be mint. My Ray Charles "Modern Sounds" sounds great with the white noise from imperfections

Post: #6

If you can overcome the handicapped starting point of a record -- needing a well-adjusted, clean needle and disc, a nicely driven turntable, AND then get clean pre-amplification and power-amplification, THEN have at least some decent speakers, -- then you can make a good comparison.

Certain great vinyl pressings, on an adequate (not audio-fool, but reasonable 80/20 studio quality) sound system, will easily surpass the same CD.

Others simply won't -- sometimes the CD releases went to the original tapes and treated them much better.

Sometimes modern printed records are using a digital master -> vinyl, thus defeating the purpose in a hilariously hip$ter-retail way.

-

Either way, if the audio's being passed through streaming, and played through earbuds or "plastic subwoofer plus two tiny speakers smiley curve" setup, it's irrelevant...

Post: #7

I like records, have a decent amount of prog, soul, funk, jazz records. I don't pay a lot for them, usually hitting dollar bins and a couple spots that are inexpensive. I would probably have a lot more records pre-ebay, now you got guys buying up all the good stuff just to re-sell and prices are stupid if you aren't lucky.

I got into it making hip-hop, sampling vinyl imparts a vibe you don't get from CD (and mp3 sound quality is low.)

New music I just get mp3s. It's all digitally recorded and mastered (and the mastering usually involves brick wall limiting, which reduces dynamics) so no point shelling for the vinyl. I will NOT buy a CD I don't like them, they've always seemed disposable to me.

It is a pretty geeky/hipster hobby I don't bring it up in conversation with people I just met or anything.

Post: #8

The only new music I listen to is vaporwave and stuff like that. And I've never paid more than 25€ for a record, and even when I did it was a new pressing of old stuff, for example, In the Land of Grey and Pink, by Caravan (a special edition with a second record of extras). Unless it's one of my favourites (like that one) that I can't find anywhere second hand, I am not paying those prices - and I don't go out of my way to find them either. I think the latest album (in terms of release date) I have is from 1988.

I disagree that CDs are a more reliable medium. When you buy them they sound great, but even if you don't play them that much they wear down easily and quickly. If you do, then its life is very short. My Superunknown copy has seen so many plays that you can see through it in some parts. It's 15 years old. Whereas my 70 year old record of Beethoven's 3rd still plays flawlessly, despite the grainy sound - but it doesn't bother me, in fact, it gives it a certain nostalgic flavor.

I guess if you are like me and like old stuff (I buy old suits and furniture as well, for example), vinyl records aren't that much of a stretch.

Post: #9

I'm always down to talk about records. I've been collecting since around 1994, but I had to stop buying records a few years ago because they were taking up too much space and it's a real pain to log them around from place to place. I would love to prune my collection down to about 100 or so. I've already given away a couple hundred in the last few months, but I have a long way to go!

When I was in school in the late 1990s, I used to always go to charity shops in between classes. Back then you could find great records in pretty much any one. Nowadays it's the same crap everywhere.

When people find out I collect records, they often ask me if I own a copy of the Beatles "Butcher" cover record. I do! I found one at an estate sale for one dollar a little over ten years ago. It's not even that rare of a record - there are thousands out there, but it is valuable just because it is so famous. Also, my copy is the stereo version, whicch is about ten times more rare than the mono version.

But my most cherished record would probably be a copy of The Velvet Underground & Nico, which I found in a shop in the late 90s. There is a guy who collects as many copies of that record as he can track down, and has around 800 of them. The banana on my copy has been peeled and re-pasted on. It was like that when I got it, I swear!



There is also a musician in Brazil, Ed Motta, who collects copies of Steely Dan's Aja. Honestly, that is a record you should definitely track down. From a technical standpoint it is pretty much a perfect album. I own a couple copies myself.




For now, I'll put up a couple of my favorite records to listen to when I want to mellow out. The first is one I found at a charity shop around 1999. It is not particularly rare or valuable, but it's a nice slice of 1970s jazz that I have always loved. The second is a record I picked up during a trip to Brazil about ten years ago. My Brazilian friend hipped me to it, and it has become one of my favorite records in my collection. Again, more funky 70s jazz. Oh, and this one is worth good money!

Freddie Hubbard - Keep Your Soul Together





Azymuth - Azimüth

Post: #10

I started collecting records before it was cool. No really, I started when it was literally uncool, before most Hipsters were even born.
When I was a teen, records were pretty much obsolete. I couldn't afford to buy many CDs, and I couldn't afford a $300 CD player for my bedroom on my pocket money/odd jobs.
I liked 70s rock anyway, and most of the music I wanted to listen to was available for a dollar or so second hand on record if you were prepared to look, rather than $30 for a CD.
My friends and I could easily pick up turntable/cassette/radio units for a few bucks or free, and share or copy the old school albums we loved onto tape for each other that way.
I always went to junk shops and markets anyway, so I would pick through the record crates while I was there.
Records used to be fifty cents at the tip shop right up into my twenties, and I started buying albums I'd never heard of just based on cover art and band photos I liked (Man, look at the size of that hair and those leather pants, I'm having that one) I found some of my favourite albums that way.
When records became cool again, lesser known Australian bands started doing limited edition releases on vinyl, and I started adding them to my collection. I actually got my name on the liner notes of a couple as a guest artist. There's something very cool about getting on vinyl. Anybody with a computer can burn a CD, and anybody with a tape recorder can make a casette, but to hear yourself on vinyl, well it's something special.

Post: #11

^^^^^^^

One of my favorite Australian records:





Another one:

Post: #12

(04-01-2019 04:33 AM)Tex Cruise Wrote:  There's something very cool about getting on vinyl. Anybody with a computer can burn a CD, and anybody with a tape recorder can make a casette, but to hear yourself on vinyl, well it's something special.

That's my next bridge: I looked into pressing some of my albums but it's so damn expensive, unless you do huge runs.

Post: #13

(04-01-2019 04:41 AM)Prufrock Wrote:  ^^^^^^^

One of my favorite Australian records:

This is from my actual favourite record... and those two you shared are awesome, especially the Freddie Hubbard one.

You get a rep point for having such exceptionally good taste.

Aloha!

Post: #14

I collect LPs and 45s by my favorite artists, but strictly cause they look "cool," not because I listen to music on vinyl.

Anyone that honestly thinks they sounds better than noise and hiss-free digital music is lying to themselves. I know that's what was pitched by the record industry as a desperate attempt to keep people buying the super expensive boxed set reissues of old stuff, but anyone with ears knows records sound awful. But the strategy worked and for over 20 years now, records are seen as cool and collectible. I admit it, I bought into the idea that it's "cooler" to have the album "bigger" so that artwork looks better, and I'm a huge sucker for colored vinyl. I've always loved translucent blue limited editions and stuff like that. So I have a small stack of stuff I've got over the years, but they're just "things" I collect and have sitting around; I never listen to them. I have digital for that.

The latest hipster craze is a cassette resurgence, mostly fueled by the millennials' desire to take part in the old school ritual of "making a mix tape" that they were born too late to take part in. They're buying up old tapes on ebay in droves. The garbage old crap cassettes we couldn't give away 20 years ago. And stores are trying it too; limited edition "colored plastic" re-releases of bit hits, now $19.99 at Hot Topic.

Sorry record industry, not this time. It might have worked for vinyl, cause there was always a "cool" factor that people became convinced of, but that won't work with cassettes. They're small, they sound like garbage, the tape degrades and gets stuck in the machines and gets destroyed, it sounds hissy and lossy. Taking an old ugly cassette and coloring the plastic on it a different color is not the same as colored vinyl. But hey....if Williamsburg hipsters are forking over cash for this crap, then what do I know? Those record label scumbags just found yet another method to keep screwing people for another few years.

Post: #15

Listening to vinyl is a bit of a ritualistic thing for me. It's a way to slow down, forces me to listen to tracks I would often skip through, and it provides a pause in what ever your to flip or change the record.

When you are with a girl, it's a perfect opportunity to change conversation, change venue from the table to couch, or couch to bed. If you are already in physical it gives you the opportunity to grab a glass of wine, etc.

I am far from a hipster but I do like the nostalgia I get, and opportunities vinyl can provide if it's used well.

Post: #16

(04-01-2019 08:30 AM)etwsake Wrote:  I collect LPs and 45s by my favorite artists, but strictly cause they look "cool," not because I listen to music on vinyl.

Anyone that honestly thinks they sounds better than noise and hiss-free digital music is lying to themselves. I know that's what was pitched by the record industry as a desperate attempt to keep people buying the super expensive boxed set reissues of old stuff, but anyone with ears knows records sound awful. But the strategy worked and for over 20 years now, records are seen as cool and collectible. I admit it, I bought into the idea that it's "cooler" to have the album "bigger" so that artwork looks better, and I'm a huge sucker for colored vinyl. I've always loved translucent blue limited editions and stuff like that. So I have a small stack of stuff I've got over the years, but they're just "things" I collect and have sitting around; I never listen to them. I have digital for that.

...

I think the idea of LPs as the equivalent of giant trading cards is totally hilarious. I guess that's why they sell LPs at places like Urban Outfitters.

I agree about the more active listening experience, listening to LPs is the equivalent of reading a book, as opposed to skimming texts online or watching YT videos. It works better on jazz and classical than on pop, where albums are more uneven.

I am a collector and a music fan as well, I buy in vinyl the albums I really like, and stuff to play as a DJ, though with DJ mixing software, vinyl is not essential. I've trimmed my collection down to about 15 boxes worth after my last major move.

LPs do sound better, but you have to have the right setup to hear it; a decent needle, with decent amp and speakers. A $1,000 system is enough, if you shop around on CL and other 2nd hand sites, because stereo systems are too bulky and older millennials/young Xers move a lot. You can get good used speakers for $500 (even great brands like B&W), and excellent ones for $1,000, especially if you don't need too much power, which is the case if you live in an apartment building. In the burbs it's worth spending more for bigger wattage.

And a $10,000 system doesn't sound 5 times better than a $2,000 system, $2k is a sweet spot if you're a good shopper.

Post: #17

(04-01-2019 11:52 AM)911 Wrote:  I think the idea of LPs as the equivalent of giant trading cards is totally hilarious. I guess that's why they sell LPs at places like Urban Outfitters.

That's a perfect analogy. That's pretty much what they are to me. Big, heavy, unwieldy trading cards. But the art is cool and if it's on see-through vinyl it's even cooler.

Notice everyone that everyone that starts the sentence "Vinyl does sound better" completes it with the "IF" part about equipment. Certainly there are audiophiles out there like yourself that have the systems necessary to make vinyl sound as good as digital, but I bet the majority of people buying vinyl don't invest in a proper system.

LP collecting is alive and well here in Japan, however. I was at a used record store in Osaka over the holidays and the place was packed with crazed collectors like something out of "High Fidelity," straining their eyes to carefully inspect the grooves on stuff they wanted to buy. There's definitely a "type."

Post: #18

I appreciate your post and your perspective, I’m that way about CD’s, mainly because I grew up in the CD age.

In this day and age any physical media is rather pointless with digital downloads and streaming services, but as a musician myself I am adamant about supporting bands/artists I like by contributing to unit sales (especially crucial for young bands at the beginning of their career: first week sales of a new album are a metric the music industry looks at closely).

If I’m going to buy music I’d rather have something physical to show for it; even though I try to own as little bullshit as I can I’ve made an exception for my CD collection. Appreciating the art, looking through the booklet, and reading the liner notes/lyrics is an important part of the music enjoyment process for me that I suspect the average consumer doesn’t care about it, which is fine.

Vinyl is cool, I like that you get the artwork in bigger form and there is definitely a “ritual” involved in playing them. I guess for me I have too many CD’s to bow out and I don’t want to take a step back technologically. One thing I never understood is why some vinyl heads will buy 5 copies of the same record to get all the color variants. That seems like a waste to me

Post: #19

(04-01-2019 12:22 PM)BlastbeatCasanova Wrote:  One thing I never understood is why some vinyl heads will buy 5 copies of the same record to get all the color variants. That seems like a waste to me

It absolutely is, but that's cause it has nothing to with the music or practicality, it's just 100% that Pokemon "gotta catch em all" mentality of a collector.

It's almost a mental illness, but corporations know enough to exploit it. Sneakerheads are the same way, buying dozens of pairs of shoes they'll never wear, just to pull out of the box and admire every now and then.

Becoming a "completist" is a dangerous trap for any collector to fall into. You gotta know when to say when. If you find yourself buying multiples of the same thing cause the colors are different, you know you've got a problem.

(And yeah, I've caught myself doing this plenty of times before.)

Post: #20

@etswake 100%, I was thinking of sneakerheads as well. Same with people who collect those ridiculous Pop Funko figures. It’s consumerism gone off the rails and companies are happy to take of advabtage of it

Post: #21

After reading your responses, I'm left wondering how many of you guys who collect records in this obsolete medium are also musicians.

I'm 30, so I grew up with CDs (and caught the tail end of cassettes) but I have to say that despite the price, and maybe because I was younger, I used to be much less judicious when buying CDs. I spent so much money on crap that the year after I was sick of. Now I only buy stuff I really like, or the occasional oddity (like old portuguese music, regardless of genre). And a couple of weeks ago I had in my hand an old copy of an album I already had in a newly pressed version (Mingus Ah Um) and I resisted the temptation to buy it, despite it being a lot nicer edition, so I guess I passed the obsessive collector's trial.

Post: #22

(04-01-2019 01:58 PM)ilostabet Wrote:  After reading your responses, I'm left wondering how many of you guys who collect records in this obsolete medium are also musicians.

I'm 30, so I grew up with CDs (and caught the tail end of cassettes) but I have to say that despite the price, and maybe because I was younger, I used to be much less judicious when buying CDs. I spent so much money on crap that the year after I was sick of. Now I only buy stuff I really like, or the occasional oddity (like old portuguese music, regardless of genre). And a couple of weeks ago I had in my hand an old copy of an album I already had in a newly pressed version (Mingus Ah Um) and I resisted the temptation to buy it, despite it being a lot nicer edition, so I guess I passed the obsessive collector's trial.

I'm a musician. If I didn't love music I wouldn't buy records.

Post: #23

(04-01-2019 05:03 PM)godfather dust Wrote:  

(04-01-2019 01:58 PM)ilostabet Wrote:  After reading your responses, I'm left wondering how many of you guys who collect records in this obsolete medium are also musicians.

I'm 30, so I grew up with CDs (and caught the tail end of cassettes) but I have to say that despite the price, and maybe because I was younger, I used to be much less judicious when buying CDs. I spent so much money on crap that the year after I was sick of. Now I only buy stuff I really like, or the occasional oddity (like old portuguese music, regardless of genre). And a couple of weeks ago I had in my hand an old copy of an album I already had in a newly pressed version (Mingus Ah Um) and I resisted the temptation to buy it, despite it being a lot nicer edition, so I guess I passed the obsessive collector's trial.

I'm a musician. If I didn't love music I wouldn't buy records.

Of course, but you can love music and not be a musician.

Post: #24

For some reason, I though DJ Matt was going to be holding court in this thread.

Post: #25

(04-01-2019 04:33 AM)Tex Cruise Wrote:  There's something very cool about getting on vinyl. Anybody with a computer can burn a CD, and anybody with a tape recorder can make a casette, but to hear yourself on vinyl, well it's something special.

I found that Kunaki, which I used before to produce short runs of CDs, now offers vinyl as well. Only one format, 20min per side, two face cover. It's around 30 bucks each, and they don't have discounts for volume. Decided I would give it a shot, couldn't find any really bad reviews online.

Have you used this service before?