Category: Jam Session
I was visiting a blog the other day, and found the following post, which I found very interesting. As someone who has collected vinyl for about 3 years now, and endured a lot of snide comments about how young people shouldn't care about that stuff, I got some satisfaction from knowing I'm not alone. So, here's the article.
"The New Face of Vinyl is a project that explores why young people across the United States have started a digital “devolution” by becoming vinyl record enthusiasts. Throughout the country, young people are buying more and more vinyl, thus getting back to the analog roots of listening to music. Collecting and listening to vinyl l has become a unique experience for many teens and young adults throughout the world who have chosen to explore the once forgotten black wax. Photographer Ben Meadors and writer Owen McCafferty are setting out to discover what vinyl means to these enthusiasts, and will create a full color photo book along with a narrative to tell the story."
Just found out about this. Apparently these guys are making a book full of interviews with young people about why they collect and listen to records. The cities they are visiting include San Francisco, LA, Cleveland, NY, and Nashville. So if you live in those areas and/or are an avid vinyl collector, make sure to fill out this survey and they just may interview you!
If there's interest, I'll get the website where the survey is taking place. What do you guys think of this? I'll save some more of my opinions for future posts when this gets off the ground.
Yup, my nieces do it. They love their shiny toys like iPods and the like, but like to get records also. Unlike us, who couldn't wait to get away from the beastly things that would warp and scratch, they just love them. Love 'em enough in fact to take pics of 'em and write messages about 'em in textspeak on Facebook.
What a conundrum you all are.
The thing is, now a days we could probably create records that wouldn't scratch. I know little about this. I had a collection of records when I was young, but that was decades ago. I don't see the appeal, but then I also haven't experienced it in recent memory. I do know that a couple years ago I was going to import a CD from Finland. It was new, and I was really interested to find out they'd also released a record of their album too.
Well, there were/are laser turntables, which prevents scratching, but A. they're very expensive and B. it's thought that the laser reading actually does more damage in the long run than normal use.
It's funny how people say records are more delicate, they scratch easily, etc., yet cd's do the exact same thing. In fact, while a scratch or two on a record doesn't affect the overall sound quality too negatively, nor does it render the record unplayable, accidentally put a scratch on a cd or dvd and it's all over. You'll lose a song or two, or maybe even the whole disk if it's scratched badly enough. This is why I no longer buy cd's. I'm not going to pay $20 for something that won't last more than a year or two, as opposed to records, which last for decades if taken care of.
I have nothing against digitalization in general. I love the portability of my mp3's as much as the next person. However, when I throw a record on my turntable, there's nothing like it. I find that I pay attention to detail much more than I do when listening to music on my computer. I often catch lyrics or guitar riffs that I never noticed before the first time I listen to the song on vinyl.
Hipsters. The answer is hipsters.
I collected records when I was younger, didn't have the money to buy many new ones though, so I bought used ones, 10 cents for a 45, and 25 cents for a LP. The sound does seem different on CD's, but I welcomed the absence of all the snap crackle and pops from the vinyl records. I find it strange that people talk about CD'S getting ruined from scratches. I have never had a CD get scratched, maybe I am just more careful with them because of growing up with vinyl. I love my CD's, the fact that I can burn my own CD, you cannot burn your own record, I used to burn copies of a CD when I bought a new one and put it away and just listen to the copy. I still like records, but I would never want to go bac to only records. When it comes to music, I still like to have something I can actually hold in my hands, and not something that could just disapear if my computer crashes or something.
Well, that's just it. Used records are cheap, even in good condition, unless we're talking about rare/privately pressed ones. But as far as new lp's go, it's much more worth it to pay $20 for something that will be with you for life, rather than pay the same price for something that will probably break in 2 years. Speaking of breaking, it's a hell of a lot easier to break a cd than it is to break an lp or a 45. 45's actually seem sturdier than lp's even if it's been proven they don't last as long. I mean sure, you can break them, but it's more difficult than it is to break a cd. I have actually demonstrated to scoffing skeptics on more than one occasion how easy it is to break a cd.
I still have most of my record collection, well, except for the many 45s that were broken, just leave one on the bed and accidentally sit on it and see how easy it is to break one. Maybe some of the early LP's were easy to break, but most were very flexable, rarely did I ever break an LP. And I have some old CD'S that I just threw away cause I burned a new version, think I'll get it out of the garbage and see if I can break it, tried it once before but seemed pretty difficult. I don't know, I have CD's that are several years old and they are all in perfect condition, can't say that about any of my records.
@Post5 Yeah you're probably right. So do them a favor and tell them to pull up their pants when you see 'em k?
Seriously, though: CDs break more easily than records?
I remember in the mid 1980s going into a store and watching a salesman frisbee-throw a CD at a wall, let it clatter, go pick it up, wipe it off and put it in the CD player.
You know why that was popular? Because you *can't* do that to a record.
If you want records, fine. But this nostalgia business from a generation who never had their favorite record melt in the sun, or the cat or something bump the needle and cause a nice big scratcharoo on there.
And note that they always say "If you take care of them." Yes, if you regularly dust them, keep them out of sunlight or heat, and a myriad other things many could not be bothered with. So vinyl is back for the hobbyists who want it. Great. But CDs came along for a reason. And before some of you were even thought of, salesmen in stores were throwing them against the wall and other gimmmicks to show how hardy they were. Things you would never dare do to a record.
Don't try washing your vinyl, like you can a CD.
As I said, go out and get 'em if you want. Take 'pics' of 'em, text about 'em, geolocate with 'em, and post about 'em on Facebook. They're fun for you, and watching you do it is kinda fun for the rest of us.
Um, you must be really hard on your CD's, are you using your keys to scratch them? Ok, I broke a CD, I had to bend it almost completely in half before it broke, I can't imagine a situation where I accidentally bent a CD in half. A 45 is by far the easiest to break, I've done it accidentally several times. If you want to collect records more power to you! I keep my record collection even though I never play them anymore.
But that's just it. Why would you*want* to break a record? My own experience has taught me that they last a lot longer, so the extra effort should be put into preserving them. Back when I was in high school and I was buying CD's, I kept them in their cases, only held them by the sides of the disk when handling them, and put them straight back in the case when I was done with them, and while I still have many of them to this day, not a single one plays without at least 2 or 3 of the tracks skipping so much that you can't enjoy them. Of course this can happen to records as well, and especially some of my parents' collection which wasn't taken very good care of, suffers from that problem. And as for the condescending tone of post 9, I don't even use Facebook, nor do I find it necessary to write in text-speak. It makes you look uneducated and I don't think it's cool at all. Surely you can tell that by reading how I write on these boards? If I were as big an idiot as the people who do that stuff on a regular basis, I wouldn't be taking care of my records as well as I do. Maybe that's where the misconception is coming in--people who probably can't even spell vinyl are the ones who collect it, break it and give the rest of us a bad name. As for myself, I prefer the sound quality, and if that's not a good enough reason I don't know what is. Even the snap crackle pop, if not too severe, does something for me. It adds a warmth to the music that digital representations lack. Of course, when I'm on the go, I have no problem carrying my mp3 player with me.
Everyone is different, and while I'm sure there are plenty of young people who are following a trend, I'm sure I'm not the only one who has their own personal reasons either.
First off I make no claim on how you spedn your money: You earned it, you collect what you want.
I will say this though. Your experience with records outlasting CDs defies statistics and physics.
There is no vibrating needle on a CD, meaning a laser need not come in contact with it to read it. Those grooves do get worn down with time. The records that have lasted for generations are like the old English pipe or some other heirloom: brought out and enjoyed once a year, then carefully restowed for safekeeping.
Lots of collectors' items are like that. But the science isn't with you on their ability to outlast a CD, play for play.
Probably if this is your experience, it is because you don't play them as often.
Oh and yes I can see you're part of the counter-movement who doesn't write like that on the net.
I just find some of these things funny, like ms. Rugged Pioneer woman heaping great and fantastical qualities on an outdoor pre-industrial existence, from her iPhone.
I look at a lot of things that way, though, when you see fantastical nostalgia about eras long before the person was even thought of.
If you just say "i like how it sounds", or "I like it," or any number of reasons people collect and do things, without adding in the erroneous anecdotal data as though it were statistics, you'd go further.
Personally? I think if you really like those records, you may well find they're worth some change in awhile, if you can hold onto them. But they'll only stay in this fabulous shape if their grooves aren't worn down too often. Which means, if they're not played too often. In other words, treat them like your coin collection or anything else of value that's potentially fragile.
I don't own an IPhone or any other piece of IShit either. But that's a whole other topic.
Back up what I like with statistics? Why? So that I can be part of the masses? What if I don't give a flying fuck about the masses but simply do what I want whether it's popular or not?
Oh well, at least I know how to remedy this situation. You all won't see me on here for about another year. That's what I've done before when people found it necessary to attack me without knowing me. All things blow over in time. I'm sorry I brought up this topic, and I'm even more sorry you all think I'm a goddamn airhead, but there's nothing I can do about that.
I know this topic is about vinyl, but I have to say that I've owned CD's for several years (most of which are still in as great a condition as when they were bought, and none are scratched). so, unless you're rough with them, I don't see where this misconception arises that they only last a year or two.
I love CD's, I think they out last records and have better sound. But that's my opinion, nothing personal. Not an attack on you. No, I wouldn't want to break a 45, but I have done it by accident many times over the years. Never accidentally broke a CD. So now, after all this, are CD's becoming obsolete?
I wasn't referring specifically to you. I said "you all" because I didn't want to point fingers. But you know, here we all were, having a civil discussion, even if we were disagreeing, and *somebody* had to drag my age into it. That was what I had a problem with, not whether or not cd's or vinyl was better. In fact, I don't think I ever said that everyone should collect vinyl, nor that one was better than the other. I was simply stating my opinion, not asking to be snubbed about whether or not I can write coherently. Just because 95% of my generation may be idiots doesn't mean there are no exceptions. And really, I shouldn't have to defend my opinion no matter how old I am, not solely on the grounds of age. I can no more help being born in 1989 than anyone else can help being born in what year they were.
My apologies for coming off as attacking. Naturally whatevr you choose to collect is your decision and your reasons for it are your own. I've known people who collect wax recordings, actually like their crackly hissy sound, and the rarity of it.
But they won't tell you those recording can keep pace with your vinyl. In fact, your vinyl collection will be around for your grandkids to piddle with, while their wax may not.
Don't run off of here on account of old Leo though. Dislike me, or put me on ignore or whatever choice you want, but don't judge the rest of 'em on account of me: they didn't do it.
I'm also a vinykl collector as well. I've got about 200 lps I think. I've actually lost count of them. I personally find vinyl to be probably the closest thing to time travel that we have. The scratches and clicks tell you that this album has a history with its previous owner and they either were careful with it or weren't careful with it.
To me, vinyl, even in very bad condition, will usually sound warmer than a cd or mp3. Of course, I still have most of my music ripped from the vinyl as mp3s for my iPhone and old aph Book Port. Even having it ripped as mp3s, it still loses something crucial though...
I have collected records/vinyl/78s like a maniac all of my life. Nothing in the world beats the sound of a 1920s jazz 78, or a 50s vocal group record that has been used a bit, or just vinyl in general. Mp3's just don't interest me as much, you can't hold them, you can't watch them spin round and around, you can't imagine who owned them before you etc etc. I am currently digitising my 78s, very slowly, as it's amazing how little of that old music has been put on cds or even tapes or lps and the responce i'm getting is great!
re: lazer turntables. Don't even think about playing an used record on one of those! my friend has one and i saw it just a few weeks ago. His records are mostly new reissues of things, so i brought a scratched up copy of the beatles rubber soul and ack, it sounded nasty. It makes the hiss/crackle sound finned out if that makes sense.
I have records that feel/look like a real wreck that don't even skip. Scratch a cd a little bit and all hell will break loose.
78s break easily if dropped, but if not and if they are kept in good condition they play so much better than a brand new 45 if played on the rite stuff. I have records from the mid 20s that seriously sound like they could have been recorded yesterday.
78s? Again, that's gonna be worth money someday. I have never seen a 78 in my life, and I was born in 1970. I believe my grandparents may have had one or two, but they were treated like the rare commodity they were, none of us touched them.
As to the sound of things? I can imagine: analog is less brittle than digital any day.
Apology accepted. Let's get back to the topic.
Ah, so I'm not the only one who finds analog recordings warmer than their digital counterparts. Even tapes have that going for them, although it would be a cold, cold day in hell before you see me making a case for those. Talk about a horrible sound after they get worn out, not to mention the fact that even storing without playing them degrades them.
As for 78's, I've yet to see one, though I would like to. I have heard how easy it is to break them, and I'm sure that the aging process isn't very kind to the material they're made out of either. Shellac, right?
And wax cylinders? The only reason any of those are still around today is because they're mostly in museums, although I have heard some digital reincarnations of them. They weren't exactly made to be durable at the time, and it's amazing that there are any still in existance at all.
As far as accidentally sitting on a 45 and breaking it, well, maybe I've just never left any of my records anywhere that I would sit on or step on them. That's not to say it could never happen, but I do keep them well out of the way of my blind ass. Sad, really, as I've accidentally sat on my Braille Note on more than one occasion, and you'd think I'd keep that out of the way too. As for groove wear, yeah, that's obviously gonna happen. I didn't say vinyl was immortal, just in my experience it does outlast cd's. I have yet to see anyone's cd collection that's been around since the 80's, or whenever its inception was. I have, however, seen plenty of lp's from the 50's. Are they scratched? Yep. Crackly? You bet. But do they work, and is the sound compromised that badly? Yes, and not usually. Again, there probably are some original cd's lying around, but I honestly have never seen them.
As for cleaning records, it's really not that hard. There are machines available, but you don't actually have to buy one. When I first began seriously collecting, and restoring my parents' collection to the best of my ability, that was one of the first things I looked up, how to clean them. What I found is that using a solution of half distilled water and half Isopropyl 90% alcohol gets the job done.
There was more I wanted to say, but now I can't remember what it was. Oh well, I'll come back later.
the aging process isn't actually too bad to the material. I have 78s that play like brand new records that look quite warn, it's all about what you play them on, really.
Cleaning records is something i don't altogether trust myself doing, and i tend to find it not even that worth it with this setup, a quick whipe down with a cloth will do it.
Wax cylinders, again arn't all that brittle, just as long as you don't keep them in the sun lol
I usually ask someone sighted to help me measure out the portions when I clean my records. I wouldn't trust myself to pour an exactly equal amount of both things into the bucket I'm using. The cleaning process itself is pretty straightforward though.
well... at least i'm not the only weirdo out there. Vinyl rules! i use cassettes a lot too.I've found CD's can last if you take care of them too. I use all 3 medium's. I used to have 8Tracks, and i'd give anything to have Reel to Reel someday.
take care of it and it'll last.That goes for anything really...
Vinyl does have that warm natural sound. I've heard SACD comes close to reproducing the sound of vinyl but I've never heard one.Its not just the vinyl but also what kinda turntable you got, and what kinda cartrage is used too.
78's break so easy!
As for LP's, it depends on who made them and when they were made. I've found the older LP's from the 50's and even some from the 60's are heavy as bricks, but some are the lighter plastic too.
45's crack easy also.
Anyone get new vinyl ?
I do have some new vinyl. The lp's are all pretty heavy. I believe that what's most commonly used today is 180 gram vinyl. This makes them last longer, but also raises the price substantially. But it's definitely worth it in my book to buy something that will probably be with me for life, spending 25 or $30 one time as opposed to a cd that will probably get lost or broken somewhere along the way.
Hot Topics rocks. I got the Madonna Celibration LP lats year.
Used to use Tower Records but haven't in a while.
baught from Elivate Your Mind before they went out of business.
DJCIty.com sells 'em, along with FastHits.com though they are expensive as hell.
Gotta love the record exchanges that exist also.
Good will i is probably the cheapest along with flea markits, but ya never know what y your gonna get.
Yeah, you can get records for like a dollar at flea markets sometimes. The problem is, they can be really scratched up or moldy, and nobody wants that. I've only ever ordered my records online for this reason. Buying records, for me, is a lot like clothes shopping. I would only want specific people helping me to browse through them, since, as with clothes shopping, you don't go into those places knowing what you want. You've got to take someone with you who knows you well enough to know your tastes, so they can point stuff out to you that they think you would like. Plus, they can point out any severe cosmetic damage or mold. Unfortunately, the one person I would take with me, the one friend I have who doesn't think I'm weird for collecting records, lives too far away for us to hook up too often, so I've never had the pleasure of doing this just yet. He does know of a good store that he's been to a few times, and he loves it. he's promised to take me there the next time I see him.
oh what great fun!
I like records that are in NM , but you dont see that often.
I know, and when you do, they're more expensive. I thought Tower Records shut down though? Maybe I'm wrong, but I thought there was a big deal made about that a few years ago.
A few other things, while I'm at it. I'm really sorry I went off like that in the beginning of this topic. I know I did apologize to Leo already, but I was really not in a good place, mentally, at the time I made this post, and this is something I'm rather sensitive about since people take every oppurtunity to give me a hard time and mock me about collecting records. I often feel like it's something I have to hide from people. But eventually, if they come over to my house, they're gonna see them, so it's not practical to do so. I just get really sick of people, and I do mean people in real life, not on this site, saying that I must be weird for collecting them, and acting like something's wrong with me for it.
Anyway, enough about that. I have to address something else someone said earlier about 45's being easy to break. As you all know, I scoffed at that, and I still stand by what I said that cd's are by far more unreliable. But about a month ago, I was sorting through some of my 45's, and I had put a pile of them on the floor. When I put them back where they came from, I must have accidentally missed one and left it on the floor. So I sat down in my computer chair, and rolled it forward a bit, and all of a sudden I hear this cr'r'r'r'r'r'rack! It wasn't much, but of course a record is useless even with a small crack in it, so I'm going to do the ultimate test. I saved the damaged 45 just for this purpose. I'm going to take a cd, and I'm going to take that 45, and I'm going to break them both in half and see which is easier to do. I'll be honest about the result, even if I don't like it, so stay tuned.
I was glad to go to CD's. I had a big collection of 45's but they were so scratched up they weren't worth keeping. One old-fashioned thing i did was to put them on cassette tapes for listening to when I wanted to go way back. But CD's seem to hold up so much better; I keep each one in its own case. I heard CD's will be obselete in several years, is that true? Another thing: I got good money for my record collection. It was like $500. The guy who bought the collection was definitely more interested in the collection rather than the condition of the records. I had also given him some LPs.
I love the warmth of vinyl, especially on older music. I can't say I'd go out and by modern music on lp but for classic stuff from the 60's and 70's, heck yeah. The crackles just add character so long as they're not too bad. One of the songs I downloaded from Napster back in the day was obviously digitized from an album and it's got some great pops, just enough to add some ambiance.
As for cassettes, yeah, talk about blech after they've worn out. The only cool thing I like about them, ok, yall don't laugh cuz this is wierd, is how I could make a tape off the radio and then years later go back and listen to the dj's commercials, etc, and be transported back to that time. Yep, told ya it was wierd. Not that any of that does me any good since I don't even have a cassette or reccord player any more and my collections probably disappeared about 12 moves ago. *makes nystalgic sad face*
Heck, I'd go record shopping with ya if we weren't states apart and if I could see well enough to do so. I love looking through music collections.
Anyway, cool topic. I think collections of any kind are interesting. I admire the care and attention people give to their collections. Even if it's not something in which I'm particularly interested, I admire the focus that some people seem to have to do the research on their particular collections.
Bea, CDs won't be unplayable since your DVD and Blu Ray players can play them, your computers can play them, etc. It's digital media but not proprietary like a file format from Wordstar or something that is now dead. Your CDs will continue to work it just depends on the devices you'll be able to play them on.
I've heard about CDs getting cracks in them and they still played fine. If a record gets cracked, it's bye bye record.
Impricator, I have no idea if a cracked cd would play or not. You're kind of inspiring me to perform another experiment, lol.
B, I would agree with you that CDs are becoming obsolete, just because almost everyone is either using a smart phone, an IPod, or their computer to play music. CD's can't compete with that. After all, would you rather pay $20 for an entire CD, including tracks you dont care for, or would you rather use Amazon or ITunes and pay 99 cents per track? That's the thinking of people who buy individual songs, anyway, which is contributing to the downfall of CD's. That, and, as I previously said, and I don't care how much the statistics are against me, CD's simply are not durable. for anyone who's been rolling their eyes at me throughout this whole topic, please explain to me how it is that vinyl is still being sold, and select audiences are gobbling it up, but CD's are becoming obsolete. And I'm not being sarcastic about that, either, I would like a serious answer.
Goddess, yeah, I know what you mean about downloading songs and finding out they've been digitized from vinyl. Most people will digitize their tracks and then apply noise cancellation and pop/click removal, so it's refreshing when someone doesn't. And, as for tapes, I do appreciate the historical value of them, but when they wear out, they're useless. But I did used to make tons of mix tapes when I was a kid. I'd take them to school with me, playing them in my Walkman when I was riding the bus, since I had a fairly long ride. I actually bought some blank tapes recently to make some more, just for nostalgia's sake, but my stereo decided to take a shit, and the tape player didn't work anymore. Then again, neither did the rest of it, since it was one of the modern ones with a CD player that holds 5 disks, and a radio. the radio is the only part that still works. I threw it away after I realized the tape player didn't work anymore either.
I don't think CD's will become obsolete, either.
oh, and, for those who purchase music on amazon, I've found it's actually cheaper to buy an entire album, rather than spend 99 cents per song.
in my experience, at least, there have been times the samples of songs amazon used didn't showcase the artists's talent. so, after being prompted to go back and listen to the song in full elsewhere, I ended up discovering I liked more of the album than I initially anticipated.
sorry for getting off topic, though; since amazon was brought up, I felt I'd share that.
CDs do require proper care but they can take a hell of a lot more abuse than vinyl records. If a CD gets scuffed or scratched, unless it's really bad, it will still play without skipping. Now, I know they're going away. I have all my CDs ripped to an external hard drive. But I plan on keeping the physical CDs around in case of drive failure.
If a CD is cracked it can still play with a modern CD player although it does depend somewhat on where the crack occurs.
A scratch, on the other hand, may yield a skip in a CD which can be different. The way CDs work and the way records work is entirely different.
The vigrations from the sound are transferred via analog signal from the sound source onto the master and then that is pressed onto vinyl. The masters at least at one time used to be gold because gold doesn't corode and is soft enough to be properly impressed. Someone may correct that if I'm wrong.
But a CD does not have a direct connection between the sound source and the engravings on the CD itself. The lasers are simply reading in a digital image of the pattern which is commonly recognized to result in analog sound. To that end, the interpreter (processor inside the CD player) passes the same area through itself several times, up to 32 the last I heard. Remember, your record gets one pass, and since it's just needle on record sending vibrations to sound source, all flaws pass through.
This is the actual mechanics of the situation as it stands, which is what made CDs so popular to begin with. This is also why, if your sound destination (speakers or whatever) is turned off, you can, if you are very quiet, hear the sound from the needle itself vibrating in the grooves on the record.
You could hear no such thing with a CD player of course, because no sound waves are involved until it's time to send it out the speaker or headphone.
It's that digital image, or that processor, which makes all the difference better or worse.
So, let's say that you are looking at a faded Braille page, that has seen some water which tends to flatten dots, and there may be a tear. Now, you, being the digital processor, can interpret and probably get very close to what is on the page, depending on the damage. In fact, if you were tasked to copy this content, because you wanted to make sure you could read it later after further breakdown had happened, you could produce a nice new copy of Braille without any of the mistakes, though there may be some missing parts that get skipped.
Now using a noncomputational physical mechanical model transfer that onto another piece of paper, let's say thermoform, that copy is going to maintain all of the same exact mistakes as the original.
This is the main difference between record and CD.
Your brand new copy of Braille, while crisper and newer, will not have many of the characteristics of the old faded sheet. After all, there is no direct physical relationship between the two. The relationship is computational and abstract. But if you wanted, for instance, to keep all the characteristics of that piece of paper, all the missing pieces, all the creases and lines, a thermoformed copy would be a direct and physical copy of it.
Of course this analogy breaks down since we're talking two different material source types between 100-pound paper and thermoform plastic, but this describes the what and the why behind the situation.
I actually did do the above example, making a clean crisp copy of many pages of Braille, when I nearly had to run home through the rain once as a boy. I was only carrying the notebook and my cane, since it was in June and I was only in shirt sleeves. The rain came as a sudden shower.
So in that instance making a laboriously-written-out copy made the most sense, since I could not do that as quickly as you can now with everything the kids seems to have now. But if all that fading and cracking had told some sort of story of its own, for some historical reason, it might make sense to make a direct physical duplicate using a thermoform.
A photocopy, by the way, is very similar to our thermoform in that instance because it is just a physical image rather than a digital interpretation and reprint.
Actually, I love going back and listening to cassettes that I have made years ago, especially if things get left in like comercials, dj's talking, something that makes reference to the date, the time of day, or the temp and forecast. It's like a time machine that takes me back to that time. I was probably bummed at the time that that stuff got left in, now it is a snap shot of a day in my past. And if you happen to catch someone in the room talking, well, that is gold, talk about time travel. By the way, I have stacks of 78 records passed down from my grandparents, and actually a full size victrola that winds up to play. the records are thick, heavy, and very brittle. they have no flex to them at all, drop one on the floor and it will shatter like a dinner plate. Step on one laying on the carpet and it will probably be in several pieces. The needle looks like a nail with no head, a little thumb screw holds it in the head of the arm, very simple to change. The sound is so bad on some of the records, you cannot understand the words, but i'm sure a new needle would make a world of difference. By the way, where did you buy blank cassettes?
I find it amazing that the singing cowboy, Gene Autry started out recording records mechanically by singing into a horn to capture his voice, then later when electric recording came out, singing into an electric microphone, then his music moved to lp's and 45's, and finally, he lived to see his music collection realeased on CD. What an amazing journey of recording of music he traveled.
The last poster points at something I now regret:
recordings are for us what pictures could be for sighted people: time travel, like you said. I did not record my daughter while she was growing up. So while sighted family has pictures, due to my own negligence I have no audio. Slight diversion there but nonetheless true, and if a young parent happens to read this maybe they will be spared that regret.
It's harder to get a recording or decide what should be recorded, perhaps, than it is to do a picture. To that end I really do like Audioboo and the iPhone or whatever device you use, most probably Android has a app for it. It's easy to use.
Anyway enough of my genetic drift from the real topic: I think that's cool you still have mix tapes from those days.
I think you can still get blank cassettes from ILA, independentliving.com, either there or Blind Mice Mart.
Leo, you're so right. My family has tons of pictures of my son. I have made recordings throughout his life but not nearly as many as pictures. They're awesome to listen to. I'm sorry you weren't able to do the same but that's great advice for young parents.
I ordered my blank tapes from Amazon. I didn't know Independent Living Aids sold them, but I suppose that makes sense, since I think they still sell tape players.
I so want a reel to reel multi-track tape recorder.
whoever thought records with cracks in them didn't play? cracked 78s and cylinders do play if they are patched up, as do cracked lps and 45s, but a little worse.
I'd have a job hiding my records, that wouldn't work at all lol I'm always so excited to show the to people, coz you arn't gonna hear the any place else.
How do you patch up a cracked record? Not just a chip on the edge, I'm talking about a deep crack. As in, a place where the plastic does not connect anymore. I accidentally sat on a children's record once and snapped it in half. Tried elmer's gluing the halves back together but that didn't quite work out. Lol.
I was wondering that myself. I was positive that vinyl was useless after it got a crack in it. I've heard that 78's can be patched up though, but since I've never experienced that myself I've never had to do it. One time, I ordered some vinyl in the mail, as I normally do, and one of the albums arrived literally broken in half. When I contacted the person who sold it to me, he didn't believe me. But he had sent it in an envelope that any idiot could see was too small, plus it was wrapped up in plastic wrap inside the envelope. Needless to say I did send it back, and he returned my money, but that was definitely an interesting experience, lol.
Big padded envelope, with the record sandwiched between two pieces of stiff cardboard. That's the ticket.
Yep, that's what sensible people do. Only this one idiot decided to send it that way, then got all offended when I told him what happened.
the only cracked records i've seen were really, really common things, late pressings of beatles stuff etc so i didn't even bother to try and patch them up. I would think vinyl is harder to patch up than 78s, if you know what you're doing 78s can play with cracks in, even i they do go fud fud at every turn.
Just yesterday i discovered that an italian opera record i'd got from over there cheeply had a crack in it, a pitty as it's from 1912 and a real rarity and is worth a large amount of money, it being one of the singer's rarest recordings.
I actually forgot about this topic for a bit. I said I would post what happened when I broke a 45 and a CD, and which was easier to break, so here goes. The vinyl was a little easier, but not much. You still have to bend them both in half if you really want to do it right. Or, you can do what I did and roll a chair over it, lol. That was an accident, but if you really take both and snap them, the difference isn't that noticeable.
Ok, I've got a question.
My mom has been cleaning out and going through old stuff in the process of moving and recovering from a house flood. She has several albums from the 60's and 70's. She'll probably keep some of them but if any that she doesn't want are in good enough shape to sell, where would I take them? Are there actual record shops these days or is it mostly on line?
Ebay
thing is, most albums of that period were mass produced and are worth peanuts, you wouldn't even make your ebay fees back or 99 percent of stuff
if you havn't heard of them they're probably a bit rarer than say michael jackson records which arn't worth what they're pressed on
if you're going to sell beatles, rolling stones etc stuff look very cairfully at everything, all the numbers/letters on the record colour scheemes etc, it could make the difference between a £1 record and a £100 one
don't put silly start prices on stuff either and do try and avoid wors like retro, oldskool, one off/unique etc, record collecters and people likely to buy records just take you for an idiot if you put that stuff.
Anyone know how many minutes can fit on each side of a seven inch record, 33 rpm and 45 respectively? I know for a 12 inch it's 22 at 33 rpm, and about 15 at 45.
about 5 or a 45 and 10 to 12 for an ep.
the closer together the grooves the more easily warn the record, though
and having said that i do have a few jazz eps that play a bit longer than 10 minutes per side.
Ok, I have a question, and I hope someone can help me out here. I'm annoyed.
I used to have this turntable that was a complete piece of crap. My mom bought it for me from rite Aid, and well...that's not exactly an ideal place to buy a turntable, but she works there, and she got a discount on it. this was a few years ago, when I first got into collecting vinyl. It was the thought that counted, and I held onto it until yesterday, even though it was plagued with problems since day one. The pitch was way off, the top fell off, which was the lid that's supposed to protect it from dust and whatnot, there was serious vibration from the turntable itself whenever you would play a record, and I couldn't for the life of me figure out how to change the needle. So, since I hardly ever actually ask for anything, i thought it was only fair that I ask for a new one for christmas.
this brings me to my current problem. The new turntable I have now is much better. It plays clearer, the pitch is right, it has a setting for 78's which my old one did not, so now I can finally begin to think about collecting those as well. So, the problem is, and my old turntable did this too, when playing a 45, a few seconds before the song ends, it just stops, very abruptly. It's not automatic, but it will stop at the end of a record so that you can pick the arm up and put it back. Both the turntables I've owned have had that same feature, if you can call it that. the problem is, it's way worse with this new one. Only a few 45's would do that on my old one, and while it was quite disconcerting to say the least, I dealt with it. but with this one, I've literally tried 10 45's, and all of them did this. Is there anything I can do to fix it? I'm thinking it has something to do with the automatic stop feature--it must think the record has ended before it really has, and is trying to be convenient for me, but it really sucks. it's so annoying, and I have a great collection of 45's, and I don't want to have to give them up. I also don't really want to take the turntable back if I don't have to, since it's really a full stereo system, complete with tape player, radio and CD player. All the rest of it is nice except for this one problem. Any suggestions?
And no, my mom did not buy this one from rite Aid, lol. She bought it from Sears this time. It doesn't appear to be cheaply made, either.
Does sears have a warrantee for the turn table? I'm thinking somebody might be able to find out what switch or feature is turning on at the wrong time and disable it. I certainly would ask the repair department about that.
I'll ask my mom if there's a warranty on it. There should be, I would think.
jjust a thought,
if there are screws and such at the end of the tone arm (the bit you lift onto the record with the needle at the other end of it) try messing about with those. it might not be automatic but i had a similar problem with one that was even though the auto mecanism didn't work and that fixed it.
Anyone ever played with those novelty type records that have more than one spindle hole? You can make all kinds of crazy noise.
i'd honestly take it back if i were you.
by now though you would have had to if you were gonna get your money back or get a new one.
although sears has a 15% restocking fee i believe.