Vinyl Records are back!

[Atterbury Dodd]

"Vinyl albums, which began to be replaced by CDs in the mid-1980s, have rebounded in recent years as enthusiasts young and old turned sentimental for the old pops, cracks and warm sounds emitting from grooves on a record."

More here:http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/wireStory?id=9282623

 

[BinkieBaumont]

"When CD's were first introduced, they were described as "Indestructible"lol lol lol I do have a large collection of Old Vinyl, but I convert them to MP3, seems to be the best format, (just at the moment)

 

[dnjan]

But you have to convert (digitize) at a higher level than what is used for normal CD's. Otherwise they don't sound any better than a CD.

I hadn't realized this until I played both versions consecutively. Even my old ears could hear the difference (with real speakers - not earbuds, of course).

 

[LizzieMaine]

An important point to remember, too, is that vintage recordings were designed with the playback response of vintage equipment in mind, which may account in part for the "warmer" sound. When they're reissued on CD, usually the equalization is tampered with to emphasize the high end, which makes them sound unpleasantly distorted to anyone who's familiar with the way they originally sounded. And if "digital restoration" means some hack has fed ithe recording thru noise gate software, chances are you're going to hear muddiness and warbles instead of surface noise -- not much of an improvement for my money.

Give me shellac 78s any day.

 

[The Wolf]

I was the last person I knew to get a CD player. Even though they "don"t scratch or skip" I preferred my L.P.s and 78s. I treated them well so they sounded great. Once LPs were no longer produced I got a CD player for my birthday. I have since had ones that skip and got scratched.:eusa_doh:

I do like that a CD can hold so many more songs than a 78 and can be played in the van.

I still have most of my LPs and and all of my 78s though.

Sincerely,
The Wolf

 

[Djupis]

I proudly call myself a collector of vinyl. Though I'm not opposed to CDs or MP3 if that's the only way I can hear the music I want to hear.

 

[repeatclicks]

Ive collected since I was 16. Buying, selling, then buying again as my tastes changed. Some I bought for $8 and are now worth over $100, some I bought for $100 and are now worth $400. Some are still worth the 50 cents I paid.

For me it was always the thrill of the hunt!

 

[BinkieBaumont]

"If you live in a home with timber floors you can not possibly , walk around the place whilst the needle is on the record!"

 

[Djupis]

Buying, selling, then buying again as my tastes changed. Some I bought for $8 and are now worth over $100, some I bought for $100 and are now worth $400. Some are still worth the 50 cents I paid.

For me it was always the thrill of the hunt!

I have never gotten around to the selling part, I can't bear to part with them, even though I might have identical copies.
The problem with collecting is that you get more and more picky, things you would have bought without thinking earlier you barely look at now because they're not 1st edition or released in the wrong country etc.

 

[Forgotten Man]

Vinyl really didn't take the back seat when CD's came out in the mid 80s... it was due to the cassette tape that really bumped the LP's... I know, I was there. My folks had a HiFi and remember them playing their LP's, and 8 tracks. Cassette tapes were much more affordable in the 80s then the new "CD" format. Any of you remember how expensive a VCR player was? Golly, I know my folks took a hit on the RCA they bought! And VHS tapes were around 60-80 bucks a toss!!! And that was the birth of the video rental store!

As for me, I have many CD's that get plenty of use in the car or at the house while I do house work or what not. But, when I want to hear something that isn't released onto CD, I pull out one of the ol' 78's I have and give it a turn on the GE. And for that pure nostalgic sound, nothing is better than a 78 on a late 30s electric player. If the record is clean, the sound is warm and sweet.

I used to have a portable electric player that had all speeds... I sold it, I only have a player that plays 78's. The girl has a player that plays all speeds though... time to dig out the ol' LP's I have and let her play them!

 

[DutchIndo]

A couple a Christmas's ago I bought a turntable for my kid who wanted one. I looked up and down and no one had one locally. I finally found one a decent one but thats all they had. It wasn't a "Direct Drive" Akai I had back in the 70s but a "Belt Drive". We hooked it up Christmas Morn and played it . All the pops and hisses came out loud and clear. My kid said whats that ? I said thats the reason we have CDs.

 

[vitanola]

"If you live in a home with timber floors you can not possibly , walk around the place whilst the needle is on the record!"

Poppycock!

Here in the 'states our building code has for eighty years or more called for a maximum deflection at full floor loading of 1/360th of the floor span. On a proper wood-framed floor of this sort, one can play an LP on a good turntable such as the Technics SL-1200 with a Sure Super Hi track cartridge (tracking at less than 1 gram) with no problem. Even with a dancing couple or two in the room.

 

[LizzieMaine]

Poppycock!

Here in the 'states our building code has for eighty years or more called for a maximum deflection at full floor loading of 1/360th of the floor span. On a proper wood-framed floor of this sort, one can play an LP on a good turntable such as the Technics SL-1200 with a Sure Super Hi track cartridge (tracking at less than 1 gram) with no problem. Even with a dancing couple or two in the room.

Agreed. I've done studio-grade transfers of radio transcriptions in a wood-floored room for over ten years. As long as your turntable is level, you won't get groove jumps unless you jump up and down on the floor.

 

[Forgotten Man]

All the pops and hisses came out loud and clear. My kid said whats that ? I said thats the reason we have CDs.

lol No, that's called a needle passing through a dirty record!

Most LP's and other records will have surface noise, and most of the time it's more noticeable when the treble is turned way up. If one cleans their records, then it will have a few hisses and pops but, it won’t sound like you're playing a bowl of Rice Krispies. lol

 

[AtomicEraTom]

I've got all my parents' and grandparents' old vinyl and some I've bought and I do listen to them here and there. I usually just listen to AM radio, and invested in an iPod for in the wagon. I think it's great that they're bringing back vinyl records. That sound, clicks, pops, and all cannot be beat. It is just so full of charachter.

 

[Forgotten Man]

Now, I think I'm missing something here... some are talking about Vinyl coming back... is that in reference to old Vinyl becoming more popular to collect or are there record companies pressing records again? Now, if it’s the later, I’d say most of what they’re recording today will still sound like noise no matter what they record it on… in my own humble opinion of course. The kids call it music, I call it noise! lol

 

[Djupis]

Now, I think I'm missing something here... some are talking about Vinyl coming back... is that in reference to old Vinyl becoming more popular to collect or are there record companies pressing records again? Now, if it’s the later, I’d say most of what they’re recording today will still sound like noise no matter what they record it on… in my own humble opinion of course. The kids call it music, I call it noise! lol

I would say both.

 

[DutchIndo]

lol No, that's called a needle passing through a dirty record!

Most LP's and other records will have surface noise, and most of the time it's more noticeable when the treble is turned way up. If one cleans their records, then it will have a few hisses and pops but, it won’t sound like you're playing a bowl of Rice Krispies. lol

Yep remember that well ! I don't know how many padded brushes with cleaning solutions I've bought. I knew a girl who used cotton balls and rubbing alcohol. Buying Cartridges was a thing to do also. I would go to Radio Shack and buy Shure needles for 35.00 bucks. Most of my records are in mint condition. I would record the album on cassette tapes and play the crap out of them. Using the Records as "Masters" preserved alot of them.

 

[Djupis]

Coincidently there was a news segment on this very subject here in Norway today.

 

[Miss Neecerie]

Wait.....Records left?


There have been groups still pressing LP versions of their releases this entire time...maybe not mainstream, but enough groups have chosen to release on both LP and CD enough to refute the -gone- and now back thing.....