I've Heard Vinyl Records are "Coming Back"...

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   6 String Veteranposted 14 years ago

   ...indeed they never fully went away. What are your thoughts about this?
   
   It is said that vinyl records of the 1950s have never been beaten, sound-wise...and that digital formats such as CDs / MP3s, etc., sound "flat" in comparison.
   
   Do you agree or disagree?
   
   
   6SV

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      Travis_S_Musicposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      ive never personally listened to vinyl records, i have seen a lot, specifically at hastings though. i think it's just become the next "thing" for people to make a trend of. just like the old clothing/hairstyles.

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      Friendlywordposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      Yes, and I happen to have most of what is left of them. 78s 45s and 33s! I have all the great R & B greats!

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   Cagsilposted 14 years ago

   Interesting. I nor agree or disagree, because it doesn't matter.

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      6 String Veteranposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      Well, it might matter if vinyl is to be brought back to the marketplace. For ex., what material will records be made of, and will they hold up to that 50s standard? CDs nor MP3s sound as good, in my humble estimation.

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      Friendlywordposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      Just to wet your appetite; look around and try to find some "Big 45s" like Plane love(Jeffrey Osboune) or Tearin it up(Chaka Khan) or anything mixed by Larry Levan at the GARAGE! The experience will make even you raise an eyebrow.

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   kereeves3posted 14 years ago

   I absolutely love my record player, and I love searching garage sales, thrift shops, and even my parents' record collections for old gems.  I recently found some old Beatles records that I can't stop listening to!
   
   For some reason, the vinyl just sounds *better.*  I don't know if it's because of the way the records were made, or what, but I just love listening to old records.  If it makes any sense, the sound is just more "full" I guess.
   
   BTW, I'm a 25 year old female, and I don't mind some of the new stuff on vinyl, but for me, the older the better!

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      6 String Veteranposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      You're right, the best vinyl does sound better than digital formats. I just hope the latter can be brought up to speed LOL. Quality (and artistry) was traded for convenience. I admit, I love being able to simply click a sound file to someplace thousands of miles away if necessary. BUT, I miss the full-bodied sound of vinyl at its best. Not to mention the album art.
      
      Btw kereeves, I don't know the tech reason why it sounds btr, but it has something to do with the analogue format capturing real sounds btr than digital, which is based on 0s and 1s.

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   Friendlywordposted 14 years ago

   Interested in the 78 version of WHITE CHRISTMAS by the DRIFTERS?

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   Midasfxposted 14 years ago

   I have tons of old records. Franky, Dino, Wayne newton, Tony Bennett, Neil Diamond,  and Nat King Cole to name a few. I wish I could get rid of them but! I have not had a record player ....?? EVER I' m only 23 haha,
   
   I bought them as classics, then later found out that they are actually completely worthless.

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      kereeves3posted 14 years agoin reply to this

      Why do you say they are completely worthless? Do you mean in terms of resale value, or do they just not play well? I would LOVE to take them off your hands!!

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         Midasfxposted 14 years agoin reply to this

         I bought them to resell, figuring anyone who likes records would want the good stuff meaning franky, dino, nat king cole... etc.  You can have them if you want, send me an email at jgoody4x@gmail.com  if you are seriously interested, ill send you pics of each item and you can tell me which ones you want.

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            6 String Veteranposted 14 years agoin reply to this

            Whoa sounds like a good deal!

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   RedElfposted 14 years ago

   Part of this whole phenom is nostalgia for the "old golden days" of recording artists.
   
   The sound of analog is far superior to square midi waves (which, honestly hurt me ears after a while), but if the musicians of the 50's and 60's had access to the digital equipment we have now, they would have been ecstatic. I have a personal (small, hand-held) DRV, that records with the clarity of an old style 24 track machine in a sound studio.
   
   Vinyl was high-tech for it's day - and a big step up from wax cylinders - my grandparents had a bunch of those.
   
   I love my old vinyl records too, but don't be too fast to give up total clarity for muted nostalgia - even the best vinyl wears out - every time you play it, in fact, you are grinding off a microscopic piece of the performance.

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      6 String Veteranposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      Almost forgot about that negative physical aspect of vinyl. What I'll say to that is: with both formats (analog + digi) available to them, audiophiles could simply digitally record their records.

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   Muldanianposted 14 years ago

   I still have all of mine from the '70s and '80s.  I also have several 78s, some going back to the '20s, although I don't play these, as they sound like frying eggs, but would not throw them away, as they belonged to my grandmother.

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   Uninvited Writerposted 14 years ago

   I wish I had held onto all mine. I moved to the other side of the country a few years ago and couldn't take them with me. I had a great 80s collection and I still miss it...
   
   At least I managed to sell my Smiths collection for a good price on Ebay...

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   Rafiniposted 14 years ago

   The only place I've seen vinyl records for sale was at Best Buy (Big surprise to me!!) 
   
   I actually thought cd's sounded better than records - but I do miss having them.

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    shoganposted 14 years ago

    How I miss the days I'd cut out of school early and go to a local record shop.  I think it was the smell of the place...browsing CDs just doesn't compare.
    
    No, records do not sound better than songs in electronic format.  They sound more familiar to anyone who grew up with them, though.

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       6 String Veteranposted 14 years agoin reply to this

       "browsing CDs just doesn't compare."
       
       It was the artwork, sir, the artwork!
       
       Oh well, things change.

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    I am DB Cooperposted 14 years ago

    Vinyl was pretty much the top quality audio until the past decade, when storage space increases and a huge decrease in the price of bandwidth made uncompressed audio tracks more common (although still rather rare). People like vinyl because of the "warm" sound, the crackling, and the artwork on the cases. You just couldn't get anything like that from 8-track cassettes, the smaller cassettes, or CDs. Also, it's just cool to have old things.

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    GmaGoldieposted 14 years ago

    My son collects vinyl records and swears the sound is the best.
    
    I agree the 8-tracks and the cassettes just are not cool.
    
    The jackets the black vinyl are timeless treasures sure to make a strong comeback.

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    TamCorposted 14 years ago

    I think it'd be great if vinyl records made a comeback--I've always loved their sound...
    
    By the way, to those who love the oldies, try checking out local auctions, especially estate auctions.  We used to go to these every weekend, and there were almost always a good selection of albums, for great prices, except for a very few "collectible" ones.
    
    You can probably pick up your favorite artists for a song...pardon the pun...

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       6 String Veteranposted 14 years agoin reply to this

       Estate auctions--sounds fun! It's amazing what gets thrown out / sold for barely nothing, even today.
       
       My fondest memory of a something similar to that (estate auction) is a 'flea market' I visited with my grandfather about half my lifetime ago...I managed to get nearly every Rufus + Chaka Khan record for $1 each, all in great condition.

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    timorousposted 14 years ago

    I enjoy vinyl playback as well.  They're likely to remain a niche product though, given the constantly improving state of home music server systems.
    
    I don't want to give up the convenience of playing whatever tracks I want, in any order I wish, wherever I wish.  The current and upcoming technologies are such that you need no longer compromise high quality sound to keep all such options available, and still affordable.
    
    This has given me a few ideas for a hub.  It would be about various aspects of the whole analog/digital playback, as well as high-rez music server systems.  Stay tuned...

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       6 String Veteranposted 14 years agoin reply to this

       Sounds awesome, timorous. The whole digi thing was literally a technological revolution affecting huge, bedrock industries: medicine, telecommunications, entertainment (film, movies), finance, and of course, the military.

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    timorousposted 14 years ago

    There's nothing fundamentally wrong with digital. After all, we've been watching movies that are (literally) sampled at 24 frames a second for many decades.  No one seems to complain about that.  If you have enough samples and a way of storing and re-constructing those samples, you can replicate just about anything.
    
    The main problem these days, is many recording engineers are not trained in the art of natural recording techniques, the way they were back in the 50's and 60's.
    
    The current crop of CD's are made to sound as loud as possible, even grossly distorted.  This produces a sort of in-your-face kind of sound that turns many people off.
    
    It doesn't have to be this way.  If it weren't for such market forces, digital recordings could sound (nearly) as good as vinyl.  The vinyl records back then have a more laid-back sound, that is generally easier to listen to.  It can be done.  It seems that people are speaking with their pocketbooks..sales of CD's have plummetted.

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       6 String Veteranposted 14 years agoin reply to this

       Hmm. And what about MP3s? I wonder if this was done on purpose to make the MP3 format more attractive? You know, nudging us along into future technologies...

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          timorousposted 14 years agoin reply to this

          mp3's were initially conceived as a way to make streaming and downloading less of a burden on the networks.  This was at a time when systems were considerably slower and lesser bandwidth than they are now.
          
          The problem with mp3's is that the file compression is a 'lossy' process.  Subtle musical information is literally being thrown away to make the file smaller.  This has nothing to do with the loudness issue.  The FLAC and AAC formats are lossless, so the full audio signal is accurately re-constructed on playback.
          
          With current network speeds, there's no longer a reason for lossy formats, but the low quality will no doubt persist for a while.  It seems to be more about quantity and not quality...how many songs you can fit on your iPod.
          
          I'm currently working on a hub, mostly about music servers.

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             6 String Veteranposted 14 years agoin reply to this

             So are FLAC and ACC the new wave, so-to-speak? I've heard of the 1st, not the 2nd.

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                timorousposted 14 years agoin reply to this

                Well, let's hope so.  FLAC is pretty much the 'de-facto' standard for lossless audio files.  AAC is the Apple equivalent.  Mac's won't play FLACs, in preference for their own AAC, which is a very similar codec.
                
                Most iPod users don't realize they can use AAC for high-quality playback, if they want to, or have access to the AAC file equivalents.  Of course, you won't be able to store as many tunes, but if musical quality matters, you do have a choice.
                
                Even mp3's can sound better, if people would just use the 'variable' bit rate settings, when they save a higher rez file to mp3.  The file size is exactly the same as the fixed rate, but sounds way better.

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                timorousposted 14 years agoin reply to this

                Please note: On further investigation, it turns out I was slightly incorrect about AAC.  This is a 'lossy' file compression, similar to mp3, but an improvement. 
                
                Apple has their own lossless file format that is similar to FLAC, called ALAC.  While Apple doesn't call it ALAC officially any more, if you use .m4a file format for copying AIFF (Linear PCM) files, you'll get a lossless compressed file that plays back with the same quality as the AIFF, or WAVE files.
                
                You may also be interested in my Music Servers hub.

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    SomewayOuttaHereposted 14 years ago

    ...i love my vinyl...analog...i have purchased new vinyl - it's good, but i find there is definitely a difference in the recording sound....i've been collecting for a long time....and of course i have cds etc, but love to spin some vinyl - analog or digital.

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    ross670dawposted 14 years ago

    Great, love listening to my old vinyl LPs, glad I kept them all. Brings back some fine memories when I do listen to them.

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    vinylvenueposted 14 years ago

    Vinyl never really went away, but there is some truth in the fact that the analog waves stored on a vinyl better replicate the original than digital.  Whether your average listener can tell is often a subject for debate.
    
    Personally I prefer vinyl for the sleeves and the Artwork you get on them... squinting at an iPod screen just isn't the same

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    vinylvenueposted 14 years ago

    The BBC reported a few weeks ago that people who love the sound quality etc have started joining Vinyl Record Clubs.

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       6 String Veteranposted 14 years agoin reply to this

       There's good news.

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    Lisa HWposted 14 years ago

    I had a great record collection in the 70's, but in the 80's I started my family and got separated from all music-listening until all the babies were school aged.  I dabbled in cassettes, and later, CD's here or there; but by the time I was really reunited with real music-listening, mp3's were around.
    
    Maybe I'm not picky enough when it comes to sound quality, or else maybe my old stereos weren't the best; but I love mp3's.  I think a lot of us from the "record era" spent a lot of time trying to figure out how to get just the songs we wanted, and how to keep it with us in one place or another.  I don't know...   I'm just absolutely thrilled (after all those years of recording cassettes and albums that had one song I liked on them) to be able to have only, and all, the songs I like in my pocketbook at all times.  Between me and my husband, our record collection took up feet upon feet of family-room shelf.  Every time we moved we had to pack up the zillions and pounds of records and find somewhere new for them. There was skipping on some, and scratches on some. 
    
    Records were nice at that time; but as far as I'm concerned, everything that came after them has been better (at least for people who want music to be convenient and of reasonable quality).  (One reason I got "separated from music" when I had little kids was that I couldn't go sit in one place, babysit records, and listen to them.)

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       6 String Veteranposted 14 years agoin reply to this

       @ Lisa HW, yes the convenience can't be beat...especially for those in the business of making music. Also DJs have a much easier time nowadays.

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