Vinyl Records are back!

[Forgotten Man]

Back in 99 or 2000, I recall a friend showing me that the Rock-A-Billy group "Big Sandy" pressed a record, it was neat cause, their album art work was very 50s and so was the label... was a 10" Lp I believe.

Pretty neat.

 

[Selvaggio]

Did they ever go away?

I have lots of people who come to my house and see that I have a turntable, thus...

and the conversation normally goes like this...

other; "ooooh a record player, do you still use it?"
me: "Yep, all the time"
other: "Well I used to have lots of records but I threw them away years ago"
me: says "Oh" thinks "Why on earth would you do such a thing!!! At least give them to someone who will appreciate them!!"

 

[Atticus Finch]

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.

Now I understand. Thank you, Lizzie. I've downloaded much of my favorite music from iTunes and, yes, it somehow just misses the mark. In my younger days, I listened to original recordings by the Buffalo Springfield, Creedence Clearwater, Grateful Dead, the Byrds, Santana and other 'sixties bands enough to memorize every nuance of their music. The iTunes versions of those songs often sound remixed and...well...artificial to me. Now I know why.

AF

 

[John in Covina]

The audiophile junkies never abandonded vinyl. While many of todays major pop artists may not do a big release of their latest, many short run pressings are made and many fabulous pressings are made of older recordings. Original Masters half speed masters, Japanese pressings, 180 gram and higher are availiable right now. I have looked at a number of audiophile catalogues and turntables are still listed from around $400 to about $30,000 and the needle cartridge set ups are as spendy as you might want to go for these days. A good analogue set up can often reveal more of the music than most CDs and MP3 compression is actually anti-fidelity.

See the turntable section at audio advisor
http://www.audioadvisor.com/products.asp?dept=78

 

[Atterbury Dodd]

Thanks for posting that link John in Covina.

 

[John in Covina]

For the actual albums you can look here for a start:
http://store.acousticsounds.com/AcousticSounds

 

[Cousin Hepcat]

FOUR NEW pressing plants that I know of have opened up just this year...


"RIP-V", in St-Lambert, Quebec, Canada: (Prior to this opening, Canada had NO remaining vinyl plants) If you don't speak the language, skip to the middle of the vid:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jk5xNd5Nyi8


Gotta Groove Records, USA's newest plant - Cleveland, Ohio:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rpOXnhJS2qg

RetroActivo Records, Mexico:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4TsQQ3-fuBA

And Palamino Records in USA (no vid).

At this point, it seems each plant that closes, another one or two opens, so vinyl isn't disappearing anytime soon...

- CH

 

[Chas]

There ya, go, Bob. Why don't you start a record label down your way, I'll start one out here and we can work our way west/east. I'm sure there are some NC 'billies and funk bands that would love to record on vinyl.

 

[Bustercat]

Ironically, I "outgrew" CD's, and spent my adolsescence pawing through record bins for brand new vinyl records, released that week: techno, Jungle, trance, House, and other forms of electronica always came out on 'wax' before anything else. It's nice to have had that experience.

They even have lp shaped devices now that you plug in to your computer, and allow you to play an mp3 like a record... spin it backwords and forwards, slow it down with your hands, scratch, etc.

 

[Rat Pack]

Still all vinyl and tubes at my house.

Yeah, it's all modern tubes and table, but to my ear, there is no comparison between analog and digital.

 

[Hereward]

The sound is better. There are many pressings plants in the former Eastern Bloc and that's where my vinyl releases are made.

 

[Talbot]

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

Looks like you need new stumps old chum!

Hard to cut a rug when the fang on the tone arm cobra is doing a rhumba between the grooves as well.

T

 

[Blackjack]

I'm with a band (The Moon-Rays) which have recorded four albums (CD's) for a small label in Chicago. The first album Thrills and Chills was recorded on 2" tape analog then converted to digital to release on CD. When we were mixing I loved the sound of the recording, when we mastered it to digital I HATED the sound and still do. The other three were recorded digitally so we never got to hear what they would have sounded analog but I can almost guarantee they would have sounded better. I'm a big fan of analog sound, we gained nothing by going digital except it makes recording a whole lot easier and cheaper.

 

[Talbot]

^^^^^^

Double hipness,

I just wanted to say how much I enjoy your stuff. Digital or no, keep it up!

T

 

[Blackjack]

Thank you Mr. T, glad you enjoy the efforts!!!!

 

[Fletch]

There used to be an outfit in Des Moines that supplied juke box collectors and would press 45s, 78s, what have ya. This was 20+ years ago now - I doubt they're still in business.

I remember thinking it would be neat, when I had my band, to press copies of just one 78 - until I realized people who can play them do so to hear old music, not new music in the old style.

 

[Tiller]

I've noticed the rise of Vinyle Records at the local mall. It's rather odd really, I wonder why their has been a rise [huh]. Five years ago you couldn't find them, now their is a whole section dedicated to them.

 

[Pompidou]

A brand new record is second only to live in quality. That said, MP3s are my medium of choice, solely for convenience, of course. I'm the sort of person that likes to loop one song ad infinitum, till I get sick of it, and then choose another. I don't even buy CDs anymore. I get all my music on iTunes. If I can't play it on my computer or phone, I'm not really interested. That said, I wouldn't mind owning a really early gramophone sometime - the sort with the large brass tulip/tuba shaped speaker device on top.

 

[Foofoogal]

I received one of those record player/cd/tape etc things a few years ago for Christmas.
I have picked up many LPs.
When I am done with the world for a bit I get my 1950s magazines out, turn on the thing and escape.

Just picked a polka LP up. That will pick up your spirits. lol

Even has a song called Happy Life Polka. lol

For Lizzie it states it was produced on an Ampex Tape Recorder, Model 360 with Altec and Telefunken microphones. Masters were cut on a Scully Lathe with Grampion Feedback Cutter heads driven by specially designed 200 Watt Amplifier.

(sounds impressive but I have no clue.) lol