It's A Thread About Vinyl !

[Kotowboy]

- Record lovers of the World DTF Unite ! -

I just got a turntable again after many years of using CDs and MiniDisc.

So Far I have the following Records :

* The Police - Ghost In The Machine - very old - not good sound but I had it back when i was a kid with one of those all in one Hifi with double cassette, Radio and turntable on top

I didn't really look after my records back then.

* Dire Straits - On Every Street - sounds a bit better but still 25 years old and not looked after.

* Green Day Revolution Radio & American idiot - both are brand new and sound great.

* Mastodon - Blood Mountain Green Vinyl. Also brand new - sounds GREAT. Almost no noise at all.

I've also got Metallica - Hardwired to Self Destruct, Green Day - Nimrod & Mastodon - Once More Round The Sun on the way


Share your vinyl collection / stories / cleaning tips !!

I also bought one of those really soft velvety brushes for keeping my vinyl clean.

[SoundscapeMN]

I have been making Vinyl videos for over 2 years on YouTube (usually embedded in my blog), and been collecting regularly since I met my wife in 2011.

How many? including 7, 10 and 12" 45's, pictures discs, probably 500 or 600.

Sadly, I have not been able to listen to them given my living situation and in the interest to avoid disturbing my neighbors; but hopefully the next place I move to I should have a setup to do so.

[dparrott]

I have about 95% of Blur's vinyl releases, otherwise from the bands I like I get colored vinyl or vinyl with exclusive songs.  Total collection is between 100-200 I guess.  Don't have time to listen to them, and now my player is broken, belt came off inside during the last move.

[orcus116]

I also got a turntable and speaker setup for Christmas. I've had a small collection of records for awhile but never had a means to play them. I've picked through my parents collection but sadly two of the three crates were pretty much destroyed in a flood about ten years ago and took a lot of good albums with it. I did manage to find this which, I mean, why wouldn't I take this?



Going to head to a record store tomorrow and pick up a few essentials.

[PROGdrummer]

Newest additions to my vinyl collection thanks to Christmas generosity from family members

The Contortionist - Language: Rediscovered (2LP with acoustic re-recordings on Sun Yellow vinyl)
Genesis - Nursery Cryme (2008 remaster)
Opeth - Atonement/Demon of the Fall live (7" from the Book of Opeth)


I think I've been collecting for like 3-4 years now? I've got 61 albums on vinyl, mostly 70s prog and 80s metal. Everything from Asia to Zappa.  A few newer releases like Fallujah's latest album that I picked up at a show just to support the band, and Spellcaster's 'Night Hides The World', because I knew it would sound great on my sound system and it looks sick (purple smokey swirl design), and Bjork's Homogenic, among others.

[TAC]

I miss the good old days taping quarters to the needle so the record doesn't skip. 

[Kotowboy]

I miss the good old days taping quarters to the needle so the record doesn't skip. 

My Dad properly balanced my stylus.

[TAC]

That's something every good father should do.

[orcus116]

If a record pops is it forever fucked? I have my parents A Night At The Opera and it pops so bad it's unlistenable. Should I just buy a new one?

[TAC]

If a record pops is it forever fucked? I have my parents A Night At The Opera and it pops so bad it's unlistenable. Should I just buy a new one?

Yes. There's a reason CDs came into existence.

You can try and clean it. Try some rubbing alcohol on a cloth.

[sneakyblueberry]

i had a decent collection that i lost in a house fire   now I kinda just pick em up here and there, I'm not super into it like I used to be.  I have a decent set up though, and some nice speakers in my living room set up so it's always a joy.

In my little crate at the moment I have:

Genesis - ... And Then There Were Three
Iron Maiden - Number of the Beast
Opeth - Sorceress
Michael Jackson - Thriller
Michael Jackson - Off the Wall (Japanese pressing, which I'm told are always good... *shrug*)
Bob Marley - Kaya
Kanye West - My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy
Spook the Horses - Flood
The Beatles - The Beatles (White Album)
Joanna Newsom - Ys (my favourite of all time, which my youngest daughter took the liberty of scratching the shit out of... nice.)
A couple of random 'golden hits' collections, which usually have a handful of good tracks on them.

random collection.  all of these records are excellent for rolling spliffs on though.

[Kotowboy]

Green Day - Nimrod & Mastodon - Once More Round The Sun arrived


I was hoping Nimrod was yellow vinyl but it wasn't.

[red barchetta]

I still own 147 vinyles.  I used to have about 300 of them but decided to have the very good idea of selling a lot of them in a garage sale 15 years ago.  I still play them on my Akai turntable I bought in 1979.  I have another turntable, a unique one which I bought from a friend in 1984 who had already switched to cd's.  It's a J.A. Michell Eng. Ltd. (new avatar picture)  It has a wire problem since a couple of years so can't play it until a repair.

I have a few collection vinyles like The Pretenders singles, Back on the chain gang and on the other side, My city was gone.  They were recorded on big LP vinyles. I bought it in '83.
And a half speed mastered extended range recording of Boston's first album which I bought in 1984.

[Kotowboy]

Is it true that heavier pressings are better ?



P.S. Just bought Octavarium on Vinyl

[orcus116]

Stopped by a nearby record store and was a little taken aback at the amount of, uh, "unloved" records there were. I had planned on buying up a bunch of essentials but there were barely any A-level albums although I did manage to snag a new Pet Sounds. I guess I shouldn't be too surprised because some of the records I was looking for are ones people usually go for first.

Ordered Moby - Play and The Who - The Who Sell Out on Amazon.

[seasonsinthesky]

Is it true that heavier pressings are better ?

P.S. Just bought Octavarium on Vinyl

I ordered SDOIT recently. Spent way too long without pulling the trigger because Enjoy the Ride promised a crazy nice triple gatefold press whenever they get to it, but then they didn't get to it this year, and I don't like the graphic design job they did with FII and I&W. No matter the authenticity or sourcing issues levelled against Music on Vinyl, they at least spend the time/money to get the art right, and fade the audio at the starts/ends of sides when required. And they use the same sources as ETR, since they have the exact same audio on their version of FII as ETR.

Heavier than 180g is a waste of vinyl. The benefits of extra weight fizzle out once you get heavier than that because you monumentally increase the risk of non-fill, where the cutting lathe has difficulty with the thick vinyl and doesn't write all of the audio into grooves the way it's supposed to. If you do a >180g pressing with a place that offers superior quality control, like King Crimson seem to do, then it's fine; but if you can't afford that level of service or you don't want to pass that buck onto your fans, >180 is a bad choice. The supposed quality increase is mostly marketing crap – the sound of an LP is tied specifically to the mastering and lathe cutting engineers, the virginity of the vinyl pellets (seriously), and the pellet colours used.

[Kotowboy]

I'm loving ordering records and unwrapping them when they arrive.

I got one of those velvet-y foam brushes for them too and give them a gentle wipe over before I play them.

i don't think i will buy any second hand vinyl as you never know how it will sound til you get it home.

Octavarium ordered. Will be here in a few days

[Kotowboy]

Heavier than 180g is a waste of vinyl.

My Blood Mountain record is green and it sounded great. Hardly any crackle or pops. I hope I can keep them that way.  I only touch them by the very edge and give them a wipe with a very soft cloth before and after playing and have them facing upwards in the sleeve. Although maybe facing the spine would be better as there's nothing exposed at all then.

[orcus116]

i don't think i will buy any second hand vinyl as you never know how it will sound til you get it home.

I agree to an extent because it really depends on the store. I went to an antique place yesterday that had an old book and vinyl section. Very disorganized, a lot of really beat up looking covers, but I paid $8 for two records knowing it was a crap shoot. I listened to one and it was slightly poppy but I kind of expected that. On the flip side the owner of the store I went to today said that he makes sure his records are in good shape and that there were a ton of records he either didn't buy or put out for sale because they were crappy quality.

[Kotowboy]

It's mad how music of such high fidelity can be imprinted onto a disc of plastic and read back with a tiny needle.

[seasonsinthesky]

You need some polysleeves, bro. Then you can keep the discs outside the gatefold and thereby prevent cover wear!

[ytserush]

90 percent of my records are Rush, Marillion and Dream Theater.

[Kotowboy]

You need some polysleeves, bro. Then you can keep the discs outside the gatefold and thereby prevent cover wear!

I might buy a record case soon. I've seen some on Amazon for £35 for 100 records.

[orcus116]

You need some polysleeves, bro. Then you can keep the discs outside the gatefold and thereby prevent cover wear!

I definitely need to pick some up especially since they're so cheap.

Also I can see vinyl collecting will become an expensive hobby for me. I went looking at the "best" copy of The Who Sell Out and people are selling it for $150+. I just opted for the cheaper remaster.

Does anyone have any recommendations on needle replacement/care? I have an Audio-Technica LP60 so it's not a super expensive turntable but it works beautifully for what I need. They recommend changing the needle after 400 hours of play so is that a hard cap or can you get some more mileage out of it? It just seems like an oil change on a car.

[Kotowboy]

 

[Kotowboy]

I thought that as a fan of high quality music - the crackling would annoy me a bit - but if I clean the record well before I play it - it's usually only between songs I hear it.

LATEST PURCHASE :

[ich bin besser]

My collection can be found in my sig. Quite some of those are still back from the 80s. Nowadays, I mostly try to go for vinyl.

For cleaning, I still have one of those (Nagaoka Rolling Cleaner RC-100 - still working great):

[Kotowboy]

I use this. I gently hold it from centre to edge - so widthways - and just let the record spin underneath it - I let it turn and do this for a minute or two before I play any record.

My records look shiny afterwards.....






I like how the light in the grooves looks like a digital waveform. Very Anachronistic. 

[cfmoran13]

Congrats on the turntable!  I got a new turntable for Christmas - Teac NT-300.  I'm pretty psyched.  Other than DT's Falling Into Infinity, I hadn't purchased a new record in over 20 years.  Since Christmas, I purchased KISS - Destroyer Resurrected and received Soundgarden - Badmotorfinger for free with my purchase of the 25th anniversary remaster CD.

As far as what I have, it isn't much.  Off the top of my head, in addition to the above, I have:
 - Every KISS album from the debut album through Alive III (all original vinyl)
 - KISS - Christeen Sixteen 45rpm
 - Police - Synchronicity
 - Phil Collins - Face Value, No Jacket Required
 - Motley Crue - Shout At The Devil
 - Quiet Riot - Condition Critical
 - Van Halen - VH II
 - Van Halen - Black and Blue 45rpm
 - Aerosmith - Permanent Vacation
 - Billy Joel - 52nd Street, Greatest Hits Vol I and II
 - Jimmy Page - Outrider
 - Led Zeppelin - II (not original, purchased in '80's)
 - Def Leppard - Animal, Pour Some Sugar On Me, Hysteria 45rpm's
 - The Monkees - Last Train To Clarksville, Valerie, I'm Not Your Steppin' Stone 45rpm's (one other I can't remember)
 - Star Wars - Christmas In The Stars

[Kotowboy]

Death Magnetic by Metallica sort of kicked off my interest in high quality music again.

I heard that Vinyls aren't mastered as hot as digital so sound better. ( So for that reason at least - the saying is true...)...

And I love the smell and cleaning them - changing over at the end of a side. The big artwork and coloured vinyl / double gatefold packaging.

Getting one from amazon and opening it. They always come wrapped in polythene so I know they're brand spanking new.

The turntable was given to me from Dad. it was just sitting on a windowsill at his house for years. Worked fine !

It just needed a slipmat and a teeny tiny resistor soldered onto the PCB as it wouldn't go 33.

Also a slight stylus lever balancing ( I had no idea bout any of that ) and I was off.



Mine is a Garrard DQ100.

[Kotowboy]

So Far I have the following Records :

* The Police - Ghost In The Machine - very old - not good sound but I had it back when i was a kid with one of those all in one Hifi with double cassette, Radio and turntable on top

I didn't really look after my records back then.

* Dire Straits - On Every Street - sounds a bit better but still 25 years old and not looked after.

* Green Day Revolution Radio & American idiot - both are brand new and sound great.

* Mastodon - Blood Mountain Green Vinyl. Also brand new - sounds GREAT. Almost no noise at all.

I've also got Metallica - Hardwired to Self Destruct, Green Day - Nimrod & Mastodon - Once More Round The Sun on the way

I've not got Metallica yet - But I can now add

* Green Day - Nimrod

* Mastodon - Once More Round The Sun

* Mastodon - The Hunter

[PROGdrummer]

The only thing better than getting one of your favorite albums on vinyl is getting something you've never heard before at a cheap price.
Went to the record store today, here's my haul:

The Moody Blues - On The Threshold of a Dream
Horrendous - Ecdysis
Jon Anderson - Animation

Never heard of Horrendous, guess theyre an underground Pennsylvania band (support your local metal scene!), had to get it just because of how rad the artwork is. Luckily the music is really great too
On the Threshold of a Dream was quite the trip, and sounded fantastic. I'll have to hear this one again soon.
Haven't listened to the Jon album yet but I'll get to it eventually.

[Kotowboy]

I don't think i'll buy a 2nd hand record. Brand new all the way.


I need more coloured vinyl. I've only one so far. Amazon doesn't always say if a record is coloured or black ( lol ) ...

[PROGdrummer]

I don't think i'll buy a 2nd hand record. Brand new all the way.


I need more coloured vinyl. I've only one so far. Amazon doesn't always say if a record is coloured or black ( lol ) ...

See, but I love having relics from the past. I don't mind wiping the dust off an album that probably hasnt been spun in 40 something years, and listening to an original pressing of an all-time classic, snaps, crackles and pops included.

Honestly, most of the second-hand stuff I buy doesn't even sound bad at all. The only used album I ever bought that ACTUALLY sounded like shit was Rainbow - Long Live Rock and Roll. The hissing on it was so bad that it was actually louder than the music.

I'd argue that alot of the old stuff I have sounds better than the newer stuff, but I'm sure the production and recording has the most to do with that. They were really working with magic back then, every instrument BREATHES so well on almost every 70s/80s album I own.

[Kotowboy]

Yeah I like records a lot. But i'm still a bit of an audiophile and want it to be as clear as poss - without listening to a CD