Why I Love Collecting Vinyl (Records)

Napoleon Plural · January 2016

Briefly diving into this... I bought a Pioneer PL 990 turntable, budget for about £120, over Xmas. Sounds great, esp first real try out with a copy of Sinatra's Come Fly With Me, heavy vinyl, from when it came out. Picked up for £1 at a charity shop.

One caveat, I had taken it to Sister Ray in London's Soho to be professionally cleaned, 50p a side, and it sounds great, I would recommend that for old vinyl.

That said, may need to upgrade the speakers and not all vinyl sounds great, it does depend a bit. CD is more dependable of course, and I can see why that would have appealed to my teenage self when they came out... you just select the track, press pause, crank up the volume and hit play--- BAM! You can skip any bad track too without having to jump up and lift the needle, etc. All at the push of a button, but with vinyl, well Loeffs prob has a different system but I hate the dismaying crash as the automatic needle lands on the turntable. Vinyl - when it's good, it's very very good, when it's bad it's horrid.

Loeffelholz · January 2016

NP, you're quite right about the relative quality of vinyl. Abused and uncared-for vinyl is a sad and distracting experience, to say nothing of skips. I have cleaned up some old records myself; it's a painstaking process, but some old vinyl can be saved.

I manage the volume when the stylus drops, so that I only get as much of the stylus pop as I like (and honestly I do like a bit of it

)...and at the moment I'm only collecting essential records, on which all tracks are worthy, so I tend to play them from beginning to end without interruption :007)

My biggest problem is that my late father configured the room when he first installed the system, (and it can't be modified much because of the location of a Franklin wood-burning stove), so playing rock and roll at high volume causes the stylus to vibrate, and in turn causes the woofers to feed back, so there are limits to playback volume. But those limits are fairly high -{

Napoleon Plural · January 2016

Is there a way of 'curing' a stuck record (other than moving the stylus of course) or is that only fit for the dumper? Does cleaning ever help?

Rubber Soul on vinyl mono is great but the White Album is hard to figure, both the mono and stereo has its merits. It has been remastered on vinyl like all the Beatles albums and the mono ones are analogue but the stereo ones are digitally remastered, it's not just about vinyl it's the whole analogue vs digital debate.

Loeffelholz · January 2016

I haven't fixed a 'stuck' record - that's a gouge - but I have cured skips with a thorough brushing...worse ones can be fixed by applying a small amount of downward pressure on the stylus (using an art brush atop the end of the tone arm) as it hits the skip. It will leave a small 'pop,' but IMO that's better than losing a moment of music.

As far as the digital remasters, it's an interesting question...but if it's a digitally remastered recording on vinyl, the playback IS analogue, so you could say it's the best of both worlds?

I've only got one Beatles on vinyl currently; Sgt Pepper, and it's stereo. I've got their whole catalogue on iTunes (stereo), so not sure how I'll proceed as I collect those platters.

Napoleon Plural · January 2016

You can Google the whole mono v stereo thing with the Beatles, but imo the mono thing only works better on vinyl, it meshes... in digital, somehow the soundscape is like a pancake. You have stuff to the left and stuff to the right, it separates the sound better, but in mono digital the sound feels all crammed together to my ears.

They say the Sgt Pepper mono is way better, certainly She's Leaving Home is a lot faster so it doesn't drag the record down so much. Again, it depends on the quality of the vinyl, but this is one that is imo a no brainer for getting in the analogue remastered thing.

Pet Sounds imo is a lot better in mono. Except, bizarely, God ONly Knows, which becomes a bit plodding.

Loeffelholz · January 2016

That's interesting. Whichever way I go, it'll be virgin 180 gram pressings. Not going to mess with anything used with those guys

To my ear, the stereo Sgt Pepper works perfectly well.

Golrush007 · January 2016

I've really enjoyed my new remastered Sgt. Pepper record. It sounds great, and the legendary packaging is an attraction in its own right. It's great to finally be able to see the famous cover in the size that it was meant to be seen.

I have a few three other Beatles records - an original Mono copy of 'A Hard Day's Night' which is still in great condition. I also have a nice copy of 'Rubber Soul' which I play quite a lot. My copy of 'Revolver' is in terrible shape though. I don't bother listening to it (I'd rather hear my CD copy), but I just keep it as a placeholder in my collection until I get a better copy.

Loeffelholz · January 2016

I've just arranged for brand-new 180-gram copies of these:

Rolling Stones - Exile on Main Street
Deep Purple - Machine Head
Rush - 2112 (actually this one is 200 gram!)
The Who - Who's Next

...as I don't care to entrust these recordings to second-hand platters...

Golrush007 · January 2016

Nice Loeffelholz...Exile on Main Street and Who's Next are both on my wish list.

Napoleon Plural · January 2016

Do Americans have second hand 'charity' shops? I suppose the nearest you get is a car boot sale, or the kind of garage or verge sale you see in Ghost Town, the one with Thora Birch.

Over in the UK, we have high streets, which have a lot of charity shops selling second hand stuff, esp nowadays as the rents get a discount. They've had a makeover of late, so they don't seem too depressing. Anyway, that's where I've been buying vinyl the last year or so - but without an actual turntable to play it on!

It is an excellent arrangement and I recommend it, because albums are only a quid a throw usually, and when you get them home you avoid disappointment because you can't actually play them.

But there are some oddities. I mean, very rare will you happen upon a Beatles, Who or Stones album. You get a lot of Barry Manilow, Barbra Streisand, and then all the easy listening stuff like James Last. I mean, Burt Kampfkert, who the f is he? But he did Swinging Safari, which you will recognise if you hear it. Ray Conniff was another, and he did some albums just to get you to test the stereo effect, which was new then.

BBC4 did a recent programme on easy listening, saying it was a way for the oldies to appreciate pop tunes by the Beatles by having them neutered and rearranged in anodyne style. I suppose it wasn't so different to the current Nouvelle Vague thing of taking a modern pop tune and making it into a whispy salsa, though less ironic... The King Singers did a version of Fool on the Hill, ugh.

The Bachelors crop up a lot, and The Seekers (actually I quite like some of The Seekers).

Singles that you get a lot of are Chas n Dave's Aint No Pleasing You for some reason, plus Shakin Stevens, an early 1980s UK act that was retro 50s rock n roll. The most successful male solo pop star of the 1980s in fact, though he only really lasted half the decade, and a lot of it is down to his corny smash Merry Christmas Everyone, which shifted shedloads.

Another trend is these pop compilation albums that were not for contractual reasons allowed to use the original recordings, so you got soundalikes to do it! The Top of the Pops albums, which always had some Page 3 style model on the cover, fell into this category, and have a kitsch appeal. It's not David Bowie's Space Oddity, but rather someone else doing it, a bit like the cover versions on Strictly Come Dancing.

It is a bit of a habit nipping into these charity shops to see what turns up, esp as the unpredictability of it is a draw. But sometimes I see some nerdy bloke flipping through the albums and think, hmmm, that could be me actually, and I back off a bit.

Golrush007 · January 2016

Napoleon Plural wrote:

Do Americans have second hand 'charity' shops? I suppose the nearest you get is a car boot sale, or the kind of garage or verge sale you see in Ghost Town, the one with Thora Birch.

Over in the UK, we have high streets, which have a lot of charity shops selling second hand stuff, esp nowadays as the rents get a discount. They've had a makeover of late, so they don't seem too depressing. Anyway, that's where I've been buying vinyl the last year or so - but without an actual turntable to play it on!

It is an excellent arrangement and I recommend it, because albums are only a quid a throw usually, and when you get them home you avoid disappointment because you can't actually play them.

But there are some oddities. I mean, very rare will you happen upon a Beatles, Who or Stones album. You get a lot of Barry Manilow, Barbra Streisand, and then all the easy listening stuff like James Last. I mean, Burt Kampfkert, who the f is he? But he did Swinging Safari, which you will recognise if you hear it. Ray Conniff was another, and he did some albums just to get you to test the stereo effect, which was new then.

BBC4 did a recent programme on easy listening, saying it was a way for the oldies to appreciate pop tunes by the Beatles by having them neutered and rearranged in anodyne style. I suppose it wasn't so different to the current Nouvelle Vague thing of taking a modern pop tune and making it into a whispy salsa, though less ironic... The King Singers did a version of Fool on the Hill, ugh.

The Bachelors crop up a lot, and The Seekers (actually I quite like some of The Seekers).

Singles that you get a lot of are Chas n Dave's Aint No Pleasing You for some reason, plus Shakin Stevens, an early 1980s UK act that was retro 50s rock n roll. The most successful male solo pop star of the 1980s in fact, though he only really lasted half the decade, and a lot of it is down to his corny smash Merry Christmas Everyone, which shifted shedloads.

Another trend is these pop compilation albums that were not for contractual reasons allowed to use the original recordings, so you got soundalikes to do it! The Top of the Pops albums, which always had some Page 3 style model on the cover, fell into this category, and have a kitsch appeal. It's not David Bowie's Space Oddity, but rather someone else doing it, a bit like the cover versions on Strictly Come Dancing.

It is a bit of a habit nipping into these charity shops to see what turns up, esp as the unpredictability of it is a draw. But sometimes I see some nerdy bloke flipping through the albums and think, hmmm, that could be me actually, and I back off a bit.

Very similar to how it is here in South Africa. There are plenty of charity shops around and most of them have some sort of vinyl selection which are sold very cheap, but seldom do I find anything that I particularly want. Ours don't have so much of the 'easy listening' stuff, but tend to be about 90% classical music and musicals (which I do sometimes enjoy) but I primarily collect folk, rock and film scores.

Loeffelholz · January 2016

Golrush007 wrote:

Napoleon Plural wrote:

Do Americans have second hand 'charity' shops? I suppose the nearest you get is a car boot sale, or the kind of garage or verge sale you see in Ghost Town, the one with Thora Birch.

Over in the UK, we have high streets, which have a lot of charity shops selling second hand stuff, esp nowadays as the rents get a discount. They've had a makeover of late, so they don't seem too depressing. Anyway, that's where I've been buying vinyl the last year or so - but without an actual turntable to play it on!

It is an excellent arrangement and I recommend it, because albums are only a quid a throw usually, and when you get them home you avoid disappointment because you can't actually play them.

But there are some oddities. I mean, very rare will you happen upon a Beatles, Who or Stones album. You get a lot of Barry Manilow, Barbra Streisand, and then all the easy listening stuff like James Last. I mean, Burt Kampfkert, who the f is he? But he did Swinging Safari, which you will recognise if you hear it. Ray Conniff was another, and he did some albums just to get you to test the stereo effect, which was new then.

BBC4 did a recent programme on easy listening, saying it was a way for the oldies to appreciate pop tunes by the Beatles by having them neutered and rearranged in anodyne style. I suppose it wasn't so different to the current Nouvelle Vague thing of taking a modern pop tune and making it into a whispy salsa, though less ironic... The King Singers did a version of Fool on the Hill, ugh.

The Bachelors crop up a lot, and The Seekers (actually I quite like some of The Seekers).

Singles that you get a lot of are Chas n Dave's Aint No Pleasing You for some reason, plus Shakin Stevens, an early 1980s UK act that was retro 50s rock n roll. The most successful male solo pop star of the 1980s in fact, though he only really lasted half the decade, and a lot of it is down to his corny smash Merry Christmas Everyone, which shifted shedloads.

Another trend is these pop compilation albums that were not for contractual reasons allowed to use the original recordings, so you got soundalikes to do it! The Top of the Pops albums, which always had some Page 3 style model on the cover, fell into this category, and have a kitsch appeal. It's not David Bowie's Space Oddity, but rather someone else doing it, a bit like the cover versions on Strictly Come Dancing.

It is a bit of a habit nipping into these charity shops to see what turns up, esp as the unpredictability of it is a draw. But sometimes I see some nerdy bloke flipping through the albums and think, hmmm, that could be me actually, and I back off a bit.

Very similar to how it is here in South Africa. There are plenty of charity shops around and most of them have some sort of vinyl selection which are sold very cheap, but seldom do I find anything that I particularly want. Ours don't have so much of the 'easy listening' stuff, but tend to be about 90% classical music and musicals (which I do sometimes enjoy) but I primarily collect folk, rock and film scores.

Springfield, the capitol city of Illinois, is about 30 miles from where I live and has an excellent second-hand store, a family-owned business called Recycled Records - LPs, CDs, memorabilia and novelties, etc.---even used stereo system components. Twenty-five years ago, when I lived there and was still actively collecting vinyl with my previous (marriage-era) collection, CDs had taken over and old vinyl was plentiful. These days, with vinyl back in vogue, the pickings of quality stuff have become slim...and premium items such as Beatles, Stones, the Who, etc are practically unavailable except in high-end boutique price points

In fact, they've jumped into the 180-gram reissue market with both feet, and in fact are slightly more expensive than buying from Amazon.com or other online outlets.

Mind you, they have $2 bins where some great treasure can be found that hasn't been terribly abused; I picked up both volumes of Linda Rondstadt's Greatest Hits there for $2 each, and after a good brushing they sound splendid...the gents who run the place have been doing it all their lives, and are very careful about what they bring in to sell. When I'm there, I always dig there first B-) Failing places like that, which as I said are a bit of a drive from my small "nothing's here" town, I tend to lurk on eBay, looking for deals on used platters...Amazon sells used as well, but I've quickly learnt that eBay's grading system for condition of the vinyl and sleeve are more reliable. Last week I picked up some very nice used Seventies rock like UFO, Cheap Trick, Sweet and Blue Oyster Cult for $3 or $4. This will constitute the bulk of what I acquire, for obvious financial reasons...but there are a handful of selections, such as the titles in my last post, with which I won't waste time on dodgy used stuff.

Napoleon Plural · January 2016

Loeffelholz wrote:

To my ear, the stereo Sgt Pepper works perfectly well.

Acc to George Martin, I think, until you've heard Sgt Pepper in mono, you haven't heard it.

Now, Beatle ans over a certain age might take that sort of comment from the Beatle fraternity with a pinch of salt; after all that lot know how to shift units. When CDs came out, it was all, wow, the clarity of sound, you can even hear the squeak of Ringo's drum pedal (quite why that would be an improvement I don't know), hey, dump all your old LPs because this is the way it should be.

Now it all back to mono, vinyl, and we have to fork out again!

In any case, it is easy enough to go on youtube and listen to posts outlining the difference between Beatle mono and stereo to get an idea before committing yourself.

Paperback Writer is almost punk in mono and a lot faster, Helter Skelter actually is punk in mono.

Loeffs, do you have your speakers close together, like other side of the stereo unit? That makes a difference, as it was how stereo was originally devised. So Taxman doesn't sound so odd that way, but if the speakers are 10 feet apart, or if you are listening thru the headphones, it just doesn't work as you have the rhythm section in one ear and just the voice in the other. That matters less if the speakers are close together.

There are grounds of thinking A Day in the Life is better in stereo, sure.

Adding to which, listened to Holst's Mars, and a bit on that is just like A Day in the Life, where it builds to a crescendo, then you get the brisk Macca section singing about going to work. Other parts of Holst's Planet Suite anticipate John Barry (the 6 Underground sampled Golden Girl notes, the crash as Blofeld returns in his monorail to blow his volcano up, the eerie moment when Bond approaches Blofeld's rig in the big inflatable ball) and John Williams.

Loeffelholz · January 2016

Well, perhaps I've never heard Sgt Pepper, then

You are certainly correct about manipulating consumer perception to sell the same product in different form

I was never one to actually get rid of my old vinyl, but I was certainly seduced by the digital revolution, and duplicated many, many pieces of music. Regardless, the collections of my past are equally gone...

I'm very curious about the phenomenon of songs being faster, etc in mono, and will definitely consider mono with other Beatles records...and of course Pet Sounds! B-)

My speakers are in two corners of a room - I'd say at least 15 feet apart, but less than 20.

Loeffelholz · January 2016

NP, I have seen a couple of the videos on YouTube, where audiophiles compare mono vs stereo Beatles mixes - it was fascinating and informative. Apparently, the 'ideal' format varies from album to album, with the early ones recommended in mono and others being more of a toss-up and down to personal taste...although mono clearly gets the nod most of the time. Some, such the White Album, are recommended to be owned in both(!).

It's certainly going to make collecting them more interesting. Thanks for bringing it to my attention {[]

Loeffelholz · January 2016

...And in a related story, I have stumbled into a sealed 180-gram mono copy of the Beatles' White Album on eBay for a very happy price

Very much looking forward to giving it a spin.

Silhouette Man · January 2016

Loeffelholz wrote:

...And in a related story, I have stumbled into a sealed 180-gram mono copy of the Beatles' White Album on eBay for a very happy price Very much looking forward to giving it a spin.

Congratulations on that neat buy, Loeffelholz! {[]

Napoleon Plural · January 2016

Yay, that's cool. Yes, many say that Sgt Pepper is the last one to get in mono, because after that the stereo was a bit more sophisticated. That said, Ringo's rubbish Don't Pass Me By is better in mono as it's faster and lifts its feet more, Helter Skelter as said is great, and the ending of Mother Nature's Son is less 'ironically' mawkish. I'd go for White Album in either format, that said Abbey Road is only in stereo.

I do struggle with getting paper envelopes back into the cardboard sleeve, it makes the teeth grate.

Also, lack of remote on my equipment takes some getting used to.

Loeffelholz · January 2016

My consolation is that I already have their entire catalogue on iTunes, which of course is 100% stereo...so I'm emboldened to explore them on mono vinyl

Napoleon Plural · January 2016

There's another reason why vinyl is getting the big promotion from record companies...

You have to buy it.

In a world of free illegal downloads, that makes vinyl the equivalent of 3D cinema as a ruse to get cash registers ringing...

Golrush007 · January 2016

Here in South Africa it seems that we have the problem that prices for vinyl records in stores are inflated by the weakness of our currency. Unfortunately this means that most of these wonderful 180g re-releases of classic albums are way outside of my price range. I have only found a couple of exceptions, two of which were Bob Dylan albums which I was very pleased to buy for a reasonable price. The only other new LP I've bought was Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, which I only bought because fortunately there was a mistake with the price label, meaning that I got it for a discounted price.

Napoleon Plural · January 2016

Thunderpussy · January 2016

)

Loeffelholz · January 2016

Napoleon Plural wrote:

There's another reason why vinyl is getting the big promotion from record companies...

You have to buy it.

In a world of free illegal downloads, that makes vinyl the equivalent of 3D cinema as a ruse to get cash registers ringing...

Whatever works! I'm a vinyl true believer these days...and have always felt that an artist should be paid for his/her work -{

Currently spinning a brand-new, 180-gram copy of Machine Head, by Deep Purple B-)

Napoleon Plural · January 2016

Yeah, Yoko must be down to her last lot of silk knickers...

I have one really stupid question - oh, and btw, thanks TP for appreciating my very obscure joke

- I am trying to buy the thin wires covered with plastic and marked with a dash signifying a minus that go from the amp or hi fi to the stereo speakers, with thin wires you insert, and then screw the fitting down, and just can't find them. All you can get is like, 10m wires that you have to cut down and cost £20.

Am I looking up the wrong thing on amazon? All I want is the wires/leads that come with whatever speakers you buy. Or do I go for cable leads that you just shove into the back, forget the wire stuff? Are they better?

Thunderpussy · January 2016

I'm sure many got the joke NP,

comes from years of watching late night
horror films on bbc2.

ACACIA_AVENUE · January 2016

Loeffelholz wrote:

Napoleon Plural wrote:

There's another reason why vinyl is getting the big promotion from record companies...

You have to buy it.

In a world of free illegal downloads, that makes vinyl the equivalent of 3D cinema as a ruse to get cash registers ringing...

Whatever works! I'm a vinyl true believer these days...and have always felt that an artist should be paid for his/her work -{

Currently spinning a brand-new, 180-gram copy of Machine Head, by Deep Purple B-)

COOL {[] 'Lazy' is one of my top Deep Purple faves

Loeffelholz · January 2016

Napoleon Plural wrote:

Yeah, Yoko must be down to her last lot of silk knickers...

I have one really stupid question - oh, and btw, thanks TP for appreciating my very obscure joke - I am trying to buy the thin wires covered with plastic and marked with a dash signifying a minus that go from the amp or hi fi to the stereo speakers, with thin wires you insert, and then screw the fitting down, and just can't find them. All you can get is like, 10m wires that you have to cut down and cost £20.

Am I looking up the wrong thing on amazon? All I want is the wires/leads that come with whatever speakers you buy. Or do I go for cable leads that you just shove into the back, forget the wire stuff? Are they better?

I'm sure Yoko is fine, haha. I feel the same way no matter how rich (or destitute) the artist, and disapprove of theft from anyone -{

With regard to your speaker question...I've not had new speakers in decades...but I've only ever just connected the speaker wire to the appropriate positive/negative posts, or connections, after stripping some of the plastic coating away from the wire.

Napoleon Plural · January 2016

Very Good Vinyl Handling Clip Here

Loeffelholz · January 2016

Napoleon Plural wrote:

Very Good Vinyl Handling Clip Here

Thanks very much {[] I used to own a Zerostat gun, once upon a time

Why I Love Collecting Vinyl (Records)

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