Any vinyl lovers out there?

[Lt. Bob]

Ok, I can't avoid it any longer. Is there anyone out there besides me who loves vinyl? I'm outta control with it with about 5000 albums and growing. I just saw a bunch of reissues on 180-gram vinyl and even though I'm broke, I've just got to have them. Oh, I bet I'm the only one.....so lonely.......hello?........is that someone?...hello?

[dr.colossus]

i'm a slight vinyl junkie, i've only got about 250, but my damn stylii keep wearing out and im too lazy to do anything about it....

http://www.vestax.com.au/products/vrx2000.htm

i wanna get me one of these, not that i do much electronic music, but i'd love to put some nice accoustic stuff down on it.... about $8000usd though

[Lt. Bob]

Wow! A vinyl cutting lathe--how cool is that? I want one..no-no-no...I NEED one!
Really, do your styli really wear out? they should last for thousands of hours. What kind do you use? Maybe I can help with that. There are a lot of new products out for vinyl, believe it or not. A lot of people use that stuff that's for DJ's but it's not really hi-fi and to hear what vinyl can do you should have something better. The good news is you can get a Grado, which is really a very good sounding cartridge for about $40. Let me know about your turntable and cartridge if they are wearing too fast and I can make some inexpensive suggestions that might make a big difference.
Ya know, an argument can be made that some music, especially delicate stuff like acoustic stuff and jazz etc. sounds better on vinyl than digital although the 24/96 stuff is finally erasing the gap. That's why, I tend to buy things on vinyl, even new stuff, rather than cd even though it's more expensive. Steve

[dr.colossus]

i use the turn table on my big old hmv zodiac mk ii (see attach).... it uses these doulbe sded stylii (mono/stereo) and when the stereo wears out i switch it over to the mono..... this last stylus lasted me nearly two years, which i guess isn't that bad.....

ok so here is a really stupid question, can you play your 33 1/3 lps on those "dj" turntables? do they have a speed selection switch? i know this is a really silly question, but i was just wondering...

[Lt. Bob]

Cool old rig. Yeah, you have 331/3 on the DJ rigs. If you were wanting a turntable for home use though, you would get better sound out of an "audiophile" type rig. You can get the DJ stuff for as little as $100 and then you could put a better cartridge on it. Audiophile stuff starts around $200.The dj cartridges are conical styli and heavy built to stand abuse. The audiophile cartridges wouldn't hold up to dj work but do have more detail in their sound. Kinda depends on what you want and what is available there. I can give you some websites when I get back from work if you like. You won't believe some of the beautiful and exotic turntables there are right now. Steve

[The Green Hornet]

Yo Officer Bob and Super Colossus of Rhodes:

I still have the turntable and some vinyl in my studio. I have an LP of sound effects that I turn to once in a while when doing one of my crazy things with an old standard tune with "new" words.

My Turntable does 45, 33, and 78. Cartidge still singing after many years.

Although I use it in a limited manner, it's cool to have it as part of my studio rig.

Long live vinyl.

Green Hornet

[dr.colossus]

hey vynil buddies

i have this vynil by mr. bungle, now bear with me as i get tounge tied when i try to explain things....one of the songs has got this double groove thing happening...ummm on the cd the song goes for about 8 minutes but on the vinyl it goes for for what they have done is split the song into parralell grooves on the vynilso if there is a slight bump, or for absolutely no reason at all the needle will slip to the other groove...... basically they have two songs running on parralell grooves, and when you put the needle at the start of the song one day you will here a completely different song to the next day, and then sometimes in the middle of the song it will jump to the other song for a minute and jump back.... its hard to explain and even harder to believe... it fucking freaked me out the first time i heard it!!!!!

check it out if you can track down a copy "mr. bungle : disco volante... the track is called to carry stress in the jaw"

you guys sort of get what im going on about right?

[overseas]

I get what you mean. Companies like Mattel (sp?) used that parallel groove thing on their talking dolls. That's how they said different things when you pulled the little string-thingy. There actually was this mini phonograph encased within the doll, and each pull of the string set the internal stylus down on a different groove every time. (I know this after having "dissected" a few of these dolls in my youth.)

Bruce in Korea

[VOXVENDOR]

My Buddy has an Oracle sort of like this with all the counter weights and shit.. Pretty nice machine... It's a floating platter also..

I think it was about $10,000 Canadian ($6000US)... But not really sure.

[Track Rat]

I still use my Phillips Servo controlled turntable. Audio Technica nude Shibata stylus. Very nice (not as nice as the transporter unit of your friend Vox). Does that come with dilithium crystals?

[VOXVENDOR]

Im not sure about that... But i know it comes with central air and power windows...

[Lt. Bob]

$6000 sounds about right. The oracle was out of production for some years and they recently started making that cd-player you showed to the same style as the old turntables. I think they have also started making a turntable again also. There is no shortage of turntables or cartridges however. There are actually more manufacturers of both turntable and cartridges now than there was 10 years ago. Most of them are high-end stuff but there are a few cheap and good ones. Music Hall makes a line of entry level audiophile turntables starting at $200. I have a VPI Jr ($850) with an Audioquest arm ($450) and a Sumiko Blue Point Special cart. ($350). Really sounds good. If I had unlimited funds however, I'm not sure what I would get. Maybe a VPI - TNT. They're about $5500. That's without an arm. Sigh...oh well, what I have is better than anything I've had before and I'm pretty happy with it.

[giggsy]

Yes, yes, yes!

Finally a very important issue has been addressed.
Thanks, Lt. Bob.

I've always been heavily into vinyls and to this day I only buy CD's to get bonustracks or other songs not released on vinyl.
I just like the format and the sound is more pleasing to my ears.
I own a Technics LP-1210 and I'm very pleased with it. I'm nowhere close to 5000 albums but think I clock in just under 3500.

Living in Sweden, the climate for vinyls are pretty good. Some bands have extra tracks on their vinyl releases to promote the format. Sell figures for vinyl went up quite a bit last year. Part of that is probably a reaction to the insane CD prices here...


giggsy

[SPINSTERWUN]

Originally posted by dr.colossus
.....http://www.vestax.com.au/products/vrx2000.htm
.....

Thanks for the link.

[Lt. Bob]

Glad to see there are some other vinyl guys out there.

Giggsy, one of the reasons vinyl keeps going here is because over there it's cheaper than CDs. My understanding is that in Europe and Japan, the liscensing fees for CDs make them expensive while vinyl is not. So a lot of stuff you guys get is imported into the states. Of course over here the big record companies want to kill it off so the only companies turning out vinyl are some small scale outfits. But there is enough of a market for it that there are quite a few of them.

For analog supplies try: www.needledoctor.com be sure to look at their lines of turntables.

I don't know the exact addresses but we all have search engines so if you want to see some wild and wonderful turntables, look for these companies: Clearaudio, Basis, Rega, Kuzma, Simon Yorke, VPI, Walker Proscenium, Acoustic Signature, Pro-ject and Bluenote. Stick turntables on the end of these names and you should find them all easily. I lust for the Clearaudio Maximin Solution or the VPI- TNT with a Van der Hul cartridge.

[A Reel Person]

but I have about 800 cds. Most of the best stuff I have on vinyl, I've also gotten on cd. Only the most obscure vinyl stuff is not on cd. I still listen to my vinyl albums, every once in a while. I still have a turntable on the top of my stereo rack.

I'm one of the biggest reel-to-reel recorder fanatics you'll ever meet, so I guess it's no surprise that I also like vinyl albums.

Over 20 years ago, vinyl was top of the line! These days, it's considered nostalgic.

[giggsy]

It's cool when I get kids, 17-18, coming to my studio telling me they've found their parents vinyls in the garage and they love 'em. Sometimes, when they can't play them at home 'cause their parents got rid of the turntable years ago, I let them listen to the albums in the studio.
It's kinda weird when they sit around with big ears while I tell them stories from the good old days of vinyl...and I just turned 30.


giggsy

[Wil Davis]

Wow! I'm not alone! I still use my Denon DP60L tunrtable with a Shure V15 Mk V-MR (I bought a spare V15 in 1985, when CDs started becoming popular - I had nightmares about not being able to get spares etc. - it's still un-opened in the box). I have about 13 linear-feet of shelves packed with vinyl - not an extensive collection by any means, but most of them have only been played once - I used to copy them on to cassettes for use in the car, and to save wearing them out, so they're still in pretty good condition. I even have the little note-book (started in July 1983) with the log of sides played per stylus: (!!)

For the past 8 years I've been playing less than half a dozen sides per year. Mostly copying to cassettes for use in the car or (more recently) burning CDs for a turntable-less friend who buys used vinyl on eBay, of stuff which will never be released on CD. Hey I still use my Discwasher, and my anti-static gun!

- Wil

[strmkr]

..........crackle,pop......."smokin cigarettes and writin' somethin nasty on the wall.....you nasty boy......."......crackle pop crackle.......

Oh sorry,just got a little caught up listening to my old Stevie Wonder "Songs in the Key of Life" album.I have the cd set,but this thread has got me digging through what is left of my once immense collection.A house fire took a lot of them back in '89,but a few dozen survived,and there is this cool booth at the local flea market where I pick up a choice tidbit every now and then.Wish I still had my old Sansui SR-929 turntable.Now that was a piece of gear,along with my old macintosh amp and bose 901's.Now let's see,what next,how about some Sly and the Family Stone,yea thats' the ticket!

Rock on dudes!

[Lt. Bob]

I love finding vinyl at a flea market for a buck a record. Lots of records haven't been played a lot and you can find stuff in like new shape if you look. And I still buy new stuff on vinyl even though it's expensive. Sometimes $30-$40. If you have the right gear a good case can be made that vinyl often sounds better than cd. Just read Stereophile or Listener or The Absolute Sound and you'll find that very many of the so-called "golden ears" prefer vinyl to cd. After all, cd is 25 year old computer technology. What other 25 yr old computer stuff do you use/ None 'cause it's crap. CDs have gotten good but vinyl still has better low-level resolution. Of course it's a pain in the butt. I've got a cleaning machine and alighnment tools and blah, blah blah. But I really like records and so I guess it's a form of G.A.S.

[giggsy]

Wil Davis,
that's so cool, keeping a logbook of sides played! I keep track of where I bought my vinyls, how much they costed and I have 'em all in Access so I can search for titles, year etc.
Also, and this is important, I always keep the A-side face up in the sleeve and I even have the inner sleeves organised in a certain way. Geeky, I know.

Lt. Bob,
I've never had to pay more than $20 for a new vinyl here so I guess I'm lucky. What I've payed for rare items is a completely different issue...


giggsy

[secretorchard]

You seem to be quite knowledgable about turntables. I am wanting to get a decent turntable for my home stereo system. What I am wanting to know is, what is the best bang for the buck out there right now? I look on ebay, and there are tons of used turntables, but I'm not quite sure what is "good" and what is not. I've been watching for a Thorens 124 or 125 to come through ebay at a low enough price (~$150) for me to buy, but they go for more than that. So, what are some good TTs to keep an eye out for on Ebay? Thanks for the help.

[Derek Verner]

After collecting hundreds of sound effects records over the years. I am not about to give up my Garrard turntable until it is pried out of my cold, dead hands.

[tjohnston]

I have some vinyl. Everything from Slayer and Cradle of Filth to Johnny Cash

[BillyFurnett]

I use to have alittle over 1000 LP's and now am all but blind from reading Goldmine magazine. (Which I understand has changed somewhat do to bootleg crack downs.)

In the early 80's I found a two record (Mono) bootleg set of Zep "Live at Blueberry Hill". It was a fairly rare recording in my area, so I was WAY COOL at parties. (LOL)

I seriously miss the art and "vibe" of LP covers!

I thought the Zep 3 cover was cool as hell.

What's your fav, missed or most treasured LP cover??