Should I start collecting vinyl?

  On 4/18/2011 at 11:36 PM, Zephyr_Nova said:

  On 4/18/2011 at 4:06 PM, Rhombix said:

You're a little late. Since I started this thread, I got these on vinyl:

Brimful of Asha

Gantz Graf

Smojphace EP

Chiastic Slide

Koyaanisqatsi

Digeridoo (original Belgian pressing. Yeah...)

 

Aha, well, it's all over now then. Welcome to the dark side. You're off to a very good start, I must say. I've been thinking about grabbing the Koyaanisqatsi soundtrack myself. But that's because I have a sickness.

just fyi the koyaanisqatsi LP is significantly abbreviated and not as well-produced as the CD version(s). not to bash anybody since i too have it on LP (b/c i have a sickness). but if you're looking to experience the full score you'll want the CD.

juss sayin

I have Koyaanisqatsi on DVD so there's the soundtrack right there, I just got the LP because it was crazy cheap on Discogs. It's not in great condition, but it should be interesting to hear a recording of it I haven't heard before.

lol wow that article was really bad

aye im not bothered, i love vinyl. i like paying to support the music i love, but i dont like paying for something completely insubstantial and pathetic. also as far as mixing goes vinyl still wins, the quality of the altered speed of a records is unbeatable digitally.

i dont see why you'd collect it if you didnt dj though

Ah it's still nice to own vinyl though. But yeah nothing beats DJing with it, you're constantly got to be top of your game. Could never go back to Ableton now

if anyone is in the the ny/nj/ct/pa area and has vinyl they want to sell PM me

i buy funk/soul/jazz/old school jungle/drum and bass/library/ost/rock /reggae/ska /old hip hop etc

The day has arrived! After getting my phono lead, I had everything I needed to play my records. Smojphace was fucking epic on vinyl, but I heard somewhere that the KTPA tracks were different on vinyl and this turned out not to be true. Next was Gantz Graf, which sounded so effective that I was actually hit pretty hard by its raw emotion. Brimful of Asha was a nostalgia bomb, and the Norman Cook remix turned out to be damn awesome. Koyaanisqatsi was the noisiest of my records, but it wasn't as bad as I had feared. It was really great to just lie down and listen to The Grid booming into my bedroom. So, overall, a great experience.

One problem, though: Grounding. My turntable came without a ground cable, and without it, I get a humming noise when I listen to it. Could someone recommend a cheap cable that would connect to the back of an SL-BD22? Bear in mind, I have to strip the other end to connect it to my amplifier (that's what it says in the instructions, anyway...)

  On 4/21/2011 at 10:16 PM, messiaen said:

http://my-retrospace.blogspot.com/2011/04/vinyl-makes-comeback.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Retrospace+%28Retrospace%29

  Quote

3. Vinyl is tangible. You're more likely to purchase something you can hold in your hand, and possibly keep for years, versus something that is as insubstantial as air.

oh that's right, CD's can't be held

edit: jesus, every following point was terrible and stupid. same with the comments. people make such dumb comparisons between the two formats, when the actual music is all that really matters

im not gonna bother with the debate any more, but im genuinely shocked that oni a forum of avid music lovers, you are all happy to have a completely disposable collection of mp3's on your computer. why even mention cd's, they're complete balls, they get scratched beyond playability within a year easy peasy.

anyway. enjoy your enormous winamp collections.

and yes the music is the most important point, but if you spend your entire life obsessing over the stuff, i cant see how you wouldnt want a beautiful and tangible collction.

walking into a friends house and seeing their 15,000 plus collection just fills me with jealosy.

who knows. maybe im an idiot and you guys are right

I think we're all idiots.

  On 3/16/2011 at 9:16 AM, Rhombix said:

I also tried to buy the Smojphace EP from Discogs, but alas, I received a message from the seller shortly after, telling me that the item had sold out and should have been removed from the listings.

this kinda happened to me on ebid: i found the chicago bulls dynasty dvd box and ordered it only to find out it was out of stock... goes for about $100 used, had it shouldn't've sold it

.

  On 4/28/2011 at 11:00 PM, messiaen said:

and yes the music is the most important point, but if you spend your entire life obsessing over the stuff, i cant see how you wouldnt want a beautiful and tangible collction.

 

walking into a friends house and seeing their 15,000 plus collection just fills me with jealosy.

 

 

who knows. maybe im an idiot and you guys are right

I think most people can see your point, and agree with it to some extent... but that was a really terrible article. I definitely can appreciate the love of an extensive vinyl collection. It's a beautiful thing. That article's just not a good endorsement for it.

fair enough, i cant even rememeber it saing anything apart from 'vinyl is better than mp3's' i just remmeber my pal posting it on face books a few weeks back

  On 4/28/2011 at 7:35 PM, Rhombix said:

One problem, though: Grounding. My turntable came without a ground cable, and without it, I get a humming noise when I listen to it. Could someone recommend a cheap cable that would connect to the back of an SL-BD22? Bear in mind, I have to strip the other end to connect it to my amplifier (that's what it says in the instructions, anyway...)

I had to unscrew my table and solder in a ground wire on a screw inside the table and hang it out stuck between the plastic. I have a Technics SL-DD22 which looks pretty similar to yours.

Hey all. I thought I'd bump this thread after happily collecting and listening to vinyl for nearly three months.

I have recently purchased what I believe to be the crowning jewel of my collection: Einstein on the Beach, original 4xLP boxset, by Philip Glass. Now, my question is, how can I be absolutely sure that my needle is in good condition? I sure as fuck don't want to damage these records.

I'm still using the needle that came with the turntable I originally bought off eBay. Are there any signs of damage I should look for?

I started buying vinyl because it was stuff I couldn't get on CD (and MP3s didn't exist at the time, though that wouldn't have stopped me) and that was like 16 years ago. I've only got like 3 crates full but it's pure quality. So it was just a side thought throughout but I've always gone for CD first cause it's a physical format I can own, and I can play it in the car.

  On 6/25/2011 at 7:52 AM, Rhombix said:

Hey all. I thought I'd bump this thread after happily collecting and listening to vinyl for nearly three months.

 

I have recently purchased what I believe to be the crowning jewel of my collection: Einstein on the Beach, original 4xLP boxset, by Philip Glass. Now, my question is, how can I be absolutely sure that my needle is in good condition? I sure as fuck don't want to damage these records.

 

I'm still using the needle that came with the turntable I originally bought off eBay. Are there any signs of damage I should look for?

You can be absolutely sure by buying a new cartridge. What kind of turntable did you get? You'll love getting colored vinyls and picture discs etc.

OK, I've ran into a pretty big problem. I've just tried to play Einstein on the Beach, and it seems the records aren't exactly in perfect condition. Towards the end of Side A, the music started to get more muffled, more distorted. When I picked up the needle, I found it was completely covered in dust. I tried playing Side B and, about half way through, I got the same distortion. I picked the needle up early, and tried to wipe off the dust and put it back in the same position.

At this point, out of eight sides of vinyl, I've heard the first three. The issue is, I can't listen to the full 20-25 minutes of each side without the dust accumulating and distorting the sound. Sure, I could stop every five minutes to wipe the needle, but it's hard to get the tonearm in exactly the same position again. Also, I'm worried that this is gonna damage the records, which are very valuable.

The obvious thing to do would be to simply wipe the dust off the playing surface before I play it, but it won't come off! It seems to be deeply embedded into the grooves, as it won't wipe off when I use my little lint-free cloth.

What can I do?

edit: Someone suggested getting a can of compressed air. Since I can't simply wipe the dust off, would that work?

You can buy a more professional vinyl cleaner that uses compressed air to get all the dirt and dust out.. But Iţd recommend just getting a vinyl cleaning solution and micro fibre cloth and clean the records by hands. No matter how expensive or rare the records are, they're still sturdy, and keeping them clean is very important.

Also it would be worth making sure that your tone arm and anti-skating is set right. And get some decent cartridges! They last ages if you're looking after everything.

Sorry should've asked, what turntable did you buy?

  On 6/25/2011 at 2:35 PM, Karen Tregaskin said:

You can buy a more professional vinyl cleaner that uses compressed air to get all the dirt and dust out.. But Iţd recommend just getting a vinyl cleaning solution and micro fibre cloth and clean the records by hands. No matter how expensive or rare the records are, they're still sturdy, and keeping them clean is very important.

 

Also it would be worth making sure that your tone arm and anti-skating is set right. And get some decent cartridges! They last ages if you're looking after everything.

 

Sorry should've asked, what turntable did you buy?

Hey Karen, thanks for your advice. I have a Technics SL-BD22. How would I go about checking the tone arm and anti-skating? Also, how do I find out what kind of cartridge I already have, and whether it's worth keeping?

If the needle accumulates so much dust you should probably replace them asap.

They become pontier when used much and wear out the record more as the needle goes much deeper into the grooves...

here's a good video for setting up the tonearm:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lq2Rk7_i6hQ

  On 6/25/2011 at 4:56 PM, Rhombix said:

  On 6/25/2011 at 2:35 PM, Karen Tregaskin said:

You can buy a more professional vinyl cleaner that uses compressed air to get all the dirt and dust out.. But Iţd recommend just getting a vinyl cleaning solution and micro fibre cloth and clean the records by hands. No matter how expensive or rare the records are, they're still sturdy, and keeping them clean is very important.

 

Also it would be worth making sure that your tone arm and anti-skating is set right. And get some decent cartridges! They last ages if you're looking after everything.

 

Sorry should've asked, what turntable did you buy?

 

Hey Karen, thanks for your advice. I have a Technics SL-BD22. How would I go about checking the tone arm and anti-skating? Also, how do I find out what kind of cartridge I already have, and whether it's worth keeping?

EPS34CS is the stylus for that model turntable

All the info can be found on the net. http://www.vinylengine.com/library/technics/sl-bd22d.shtml is straight forward. Tone arm is fixed, so no need to be messing with that.

Enjoy your records

collecting dust is all about your settings. i set up my stylus/needle first time using the technics manual and it would constantly be collecting dust as it played.. i then found the tonearm setting for the stylus/needle that came with them (shures) and i never had the problem again. basically, nothing was wrong with the needles.