The Vinyl Appreciation Thread (Purchases, Discussions, Collections)

Vinyl fans, unite!

Some questions if you don't know what to write:

- When did you start buying vinyl records rather than buying CD's or simply downloading music?
I have a pretty large digital music collection and that's the only way I listened to music for a long time. But I always felt that something is missing... simply clicking on a file and it starts playing felt to me as if I missed out on an experience, something people before the era of computers were enjoying and I couldn't have.
I first started buying music in 2009 on vinyl - I never bought CD's before and I still don't buy CD's, just a little amount of Japanese CD's because they weren't released on vinyl and the spinecards make up for being a CD

- Why do you prefer this format?
I always hated buying CD's because they they did not give me any pleasure in collecting them - at all. For the same reason that I collect Japanese video game, I collect vinyl records only (if possible): They look better and satisfy my aesthetical needs. When I buy a vinyl record, I take it home... maybe open the gatefold cover, look at a gigantic artwork, put the record carefully on the turntable, move the needle on top of it, put on my headphones, press the start button and expectantly wait for the noise to stop and the music to start. I think the practical preparation that is needed enhances the experience by a whole lot - I have most of my albums on both, vinyl and on my computer, but if I have the choice I'd always go for vinyl.

- Do you have a collection? Is there anything special about it?
I do have a nice little collection with some focus on my favorite genres. I have all Kraftwerk albums (German first prints) except for two, all but the very early Tangerine Dream albums (over 25), some mint Japanese folk/jazz LP's from the 70's which I'm very proud of, 10-15 classical music records including the 1959 2LP-boxset for Beethoven's 9th Symphony and the German 19LP-Boxset for Wagner's "Ring des Nibelungen". Almost all AC/DC stuff in mint condition and then there's some other stuff I can't remember. Stoner classics like Maggot Brain/Velvet Underground/Led Zeppelin/Joy Division/Bauhaus or modern electro like Justice, Chicks on Speed, LCD Soundsystem,...
They are all in very good condition and in protective sleeves - I love mint collecticles, music is no different
I don't have many LP's yet (maybe 100?), but at least I can say that I never picked up some random shit because it was cheap. I only ever picked up the stuff I really like and would listen to again and again, and I sure hope I can keep this spirit even when I have 1000's of vinyls some day.

- Pictures of your collection?
Maybe later... everything is packed away in some big boxes right now.

 

LOVE VINYL BUT don't they wear out over time?

 

Maybe if you listen to the same album for 5,000 times. I don't think they wear out in a lifetime if you treat them well, wipe them before listening and store them vertically. I bought used records from the 1950's and 1960's and they still look brilliant and sound fantastic (no noise) - and then you see some LP's from 2005 that looks like shit and are scratched as hell. I think the same rule applies to vinyl as to everything else: Take care of your stuff and it'll serve you until you die.

 

The tonearm/needle combination on some players, particularly cheap ones, can be overly heavy and cause much more wear. A good quality needle and a light tonearm probably won't cause any noticeable wear during a lifetime of playing. My dad kept all his rock records from the 1970s, and they are all in excellent condition. Just be sure to store your records vertical.


I bought lps for awhile, but have since stopped. I'm really into 1960s rock, particularly psychedelic rock. Buying the actual record for a lot of what I was interested in was prohibitively expensive, but the timespan from 2000-2010 was a glorious time for vinyl reissues of rare albums.

Why did I buy records? I liked having a large tangible object to represent my taste in music. I also really really liked old music, particularly unpopular stuff that no one knew about. There's a lot of good old music that is only known of to enthusiasts for whatever genre, and some genres like funk and rock seem incredibly formulaic and stilted today when compared to what was coming out 40 years ago. They just don't make music that sounds like this anymore: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x35JAIYAcBg

Just like many collectors for all sorts of objects, I kinda had the feeling that I was saving something I was passionate about from the dustbin of history if I bought it and held onto it to show to people in the future, and having the big record jacket and looking at all the details in the picture and on the back, and the record label itself, was all part of the experience that someone 40 years ago would have had from the music. As far as music is concerned, having the lp seemed more authentic and easier to show people than having some MP3s on my hard drive or ipod. If I had an lp, I was more inclined to just spend time listening to the music, which was enjoyable, rather than throwing on headphones and using music as background noise or an afterthought while I exercise or something.

I also used to make hiphop beats out of vinyl samples, and tried to make doing it out of psychedelic rock my gimmick.

 

Haha! Youngsters! There WERE no CDs when I was young - it was all vinyl and cassette. So there was no STARTING to buy vinyl INSTEAD of CD! One of my earliest memories is of listening to Revolver by The Beatles and watching my Mum's warped copy on the turntable!

- Why do you prefer this format?

I don't. I like vinyl still, sure. Yes, there's a certain warmth to it and a certain charm, even to a scratchy record. Some stuff sounds better scratched!!

- Do you have a collection? Is there anything special about it?

Yeah, and probably. I have the original copy of The Rolling Stones with the mispressing. A few rarities, or at least scarcer items. Mostly 90s stuff, though - Manics, Radiohead etc. I have a lot of Kylie singles lol - mostly left over from when I bought a DJ collection, but there were so many I thought it'd be easy to get a set. How wrong I was, strangely! I have a signed copy of a Thunderstick album - he was one of the original drummers for Iron Maiden.

- Pictures of your collection?
Yeah... maybe later!

As for wearing out - of course! It's a physical playback method - the needle comes into contact with the moving vinyl, so every play is going to affect the record, even if only in a minute way. Likewise, every time you play a tape you destroy some of the oxide.

 

- Why do you prefer this format?
I like Vinyl, but I'm not exactly in love with it. Well, putting the pin on and hearing that typical scratch, does sound lovely though :biggrin-new:

- When did you start buying vinyl records rather than buying CD's or simply downloading music?
I "inherited" my parents collection as a kid, (mainly took it when the CD craze hit) full of classical and 80's-90's stuff. So I had a good start. Didn't buy too many records though, just things that were hard to come by, or were released only on vinyl.

- Do you have a collection? Is there anything special about it?
The only special thing I have is the soundtrack to an old, "cult" (some call it crappy) anime called Techno Police. It was composed by Joe Hisaishi of Princess Mononoke & Spirited Away fame. It's a pretty rare soundtrack, so rare that as far as I know it, I'm one of two guys, who actually own a physical copy of the music, with the other guy, being the one who digitized it and converted it to mp3's. I had to search and lurk ebay for like 10 years, until I finally managed to get it.

Snippet:
[video=youtube_share;pFdjkc5U4jE]http://youtu.be/pFdjkc5U4jE[/video]

- Pictures of your collection?
Well, here's a small, old pic, of Techno Police (everything is in boxes in the basement :wink-new.

 

Other than when I was a kid and that's how you bought music, I started buying vinyl when I started DJing (in the late 90s) as that was the only way you could DJ. I was a VERY late adopter of CD djing, but I think it's finally caught up, and in some ways surpassed vinyl. It has brought too many DJs to the table though, and most of them are awful.

I have a love for products that have love put in them. Some CDs have this, but not a lot. Anything vinyl today is made for aficionados, and generally by people that care about the music. Also forces me to weed out stuff that I wouldn't care enough about to spend money on, take up space in my place, or even spend energy on to pull out of it's cover.

Collection
I recently picked up Life Through Bombardment on Ebay for IMHO, a great fucking price. The music is beautiful, and this limited to 1000 copies box set is the only time these albums were released on vinyl. Unfortunately, my favorite album by him is part of the Travels in Constants series, and is a single track of 36 minutes or so. Too long for a single side of vinyl, so they opted out.

Any Vinyl Appreciator needs to be aware of Bark and Hiss. This is basically two guys that run a micro label, and ship the records out on their lunch breaks. When they sell out (which almost everything does) they make them available for download (for free). I have recently picked up Gathered Tones, by Trouble Books, Concatenating Fields, by Trouble Books (which is still available), and finally, album of the year for 2011 Trouble Books and Mark McGuire. The latter has been picked up by a Japanese label, and thus the digital download is not available. It's super awesome though.

On a separate label, Get Lost, by Mark McGuire gets a lot of playtime. He actually came to Japan in the Spring. Great show -- very unique. I've never heard/seen anyone play guitar like that. A young guy, and quite humble. He spent some time in the bar area before he played.

 

I started buying vinyl & cassettes in the 80's when I was a teen. its mainly new wave (its entire spectrum, from post-punk to avant-garde, experimental electronics , nazi shit & industrial) & a bit of punk & an even lesser bit of metal (I used to have a lot of metal, but at some point sold most of it; silly me....
used to dj at wave/electro parties till somewhere in the late 90's then all that digital dj shit came out & I quit playing at parties, for me there was no more soul to them. I used select & drag half my collection out of the house every saturday & then these guys started to come around who flipped open their laptop let an entire folder play on auto & stood behind the damn thing like they were "really" running the show...

I love this medium, coz unlike now, no 2 recrods sound alike, there's the analog hum in the back & every record has its own cracking sound. as stated before, I always loved collection special stuff, got loads of picture discs, gatefolds, coloured stuff, banned records, ets...bit the same as I have with games :wink-new:

the only thing special about my collection is that I put my heart & soul into finding most of it. I used to go to second hand collectors fares every 2 or 3 weeks & spend loads of cash on stuff, when I was younger. I also have stuff thats almost impossible to find on the web (as downloadable content that is), coz some of my stuff simply never got released on cd.
I stopped buying new stuff some years ago, and to be honest its (just like with the gaming business) coz music nowadays stinks. there was a time when I could actually buy an album & listen to it over & over again, loving every song. not anymore...now I usually like 1 or 2 tracks of a new record/cd & its simply not worth buying anymore. most music seems to have lost its soul (either that or I'm turning into an old cunt :wink-new

 

Cool theirs some vinyl people up in here

- When did you start buying vinyl records rather than buying CD's or simply downloading music?
probably like 10 years ago, that's when i started buying vinyl.
I have a bunch of music in CD format but vinyl just has a certain sound that you can't get off a cd.
Also the variety of music you can get on vinyl and still not on a cd is interesting.

- Why do you prefer this format?r
one of the best things about vinyl records is the artwork you get.
nowadays CD albums, you don't get much - basically a blank CDR with a small insert and cover.
youre lucky enough if the cover is full of lyrics or some pictures of the artist/band.
while vinyl is more like artwork itself, sometimes comes with posters and even the sleeves have design too

- Do you have a collection? Is there anything special about it?
my collection is just a random mix of oldies,classic rock, punk, 80's some modern and random misc stuff.
I have a couple of cool vinyls around but the ones that stick out to me are -
Velvet underground andy warhol (banana cover) - I have one of the originals with most of the banana sticker on the album
Introducing the beatles - basically the 1st beatles album off the veejay label before they went to capital records
and my prize album is a Ramones one.
My friend who had a record store actually gave it to me for my b-day - its a ramones album with their signatures.
Always brings a smile to my face knowing that I have something like this

- Pictures of your collection?
haven't taken any lately, i actually should soon and take some inventory (since i've been buying some records lately and probably have doubles..)

with my collection of vinyl I had to start all over because during my mid 20's I had some roommates, we were getting kicked out of our place and told one of them to hold on to my stuff (vinyl, musical instruments and more...)
basically she took it all and I never got the chance to get it back, so sad because I had soooooooooooooooooooooooooooo much good punk albums, 1st pressings there that I have yet still to get back.
Also the beatles red/blue albums but they were the color red/blue vinyls too. >.<
oh wells, what can i do now.

 

I just got into vinyl over the last year in a half or so.

I recently moved so i don't have access to a stereo. i still have my turntable but need to pick up some speakers and a stereo... any suggestions? i haven't been able to listen to a record in months!

I bought an Andy Williams record recently as will. RIP...

 

I only own 1 LP and have no way to play it. I've listened to vinyl vs digital debates, heard some comparisons, and read up on the noise problem. All in all I don't know what to make of it. The stuff I've listened to sounded clearer and less distorted...but I'm not an audiophile so don't really have an ear for the stuff.

 

I just framed a couple of my albums last night. I'm gonna try to line the upper part of my walls with all my favorites.

So far I just have Dawn Metropolis by Anamanaguchi, signed by all the members of the band. And (II) by Crystal Castles. I've been looking for their first album on vinyl but haven't had much luck. And when i have seen it, it's been for over $100. Hopefully there will be a reissue soon.

 

My god damn turntable is cocked. No signal out of the right channel. :|
I'm sure it's just the cable, but I gotta open it to check, no?

 

If it's a 1210mk2, you need to open it and work your way through to the PCB and cables. It's not exactly a 10 minute job, which is part of the reason why I didn't bother fixing my Pitch adjuster yet.

I just bought some of my alltime favorites yesterday. This was long overdue, but they can hardly be found (except for Iron Butterfly) in the wild because of the demand (I'm not too keen on shipping fees).



Joy Division, Afrika Bambaataa and Nirvana are new and sealed. Can't wait to let that white vinyl (Nirvana) sparkle in front of me on my turntable.

 

Yep, someone on another forum was nice enough to post me a Youtube how to. It's not a hard job (requires soldering) but as long as you don't fuck up a couple of tricky parts it doesn't look that hard. Maybe not even intermediate.

 

I've been meaning to respond to this thread for a while, so here goes.

- When did you start buying vinyl records rather than buying CD's or simply downloading music?

I found that there were some singles that I wanted (by 764-HERO) that were available only on vinyl, so I bought all of them. Later I got a nicer turntable and began to enjoy them more.

- Why do you prefer this format?

I don't, actually. I prefer CDs, for a few reasons: firstly, I think they sound better. I have no problem with the crackle and hiss of vinyl, but I just think that CDs sound fuller, more defined than vinyl. However, I am somewhat biased (or maybe you would say hindered) in this matter because my CD player is of much higher quality than my turntable. So maybe if I got a better turntable my attitude would change. The other thing is that CDs are usually dirt cheap, whereas vinyl can be quite expensive. That said, vinyl is cool because some music is only available on vinyl. Therefore it's a good way to find obscure pieces of music, which is something I'm constantly doing. I also like the physical nature of vinyl, the ritual of taking the record out of the sleeve, placing it on the turn table, lifting the needle, etc. My turntable is fully manual, which is pretty cool.

- Do you have a collection? Is there anything special about it?

I wouldn't call it a collection per se. Most of it is just records I've borrowed from my parents. Besides that, I have a bunch of singles, two LPs, and one EP. This EP, called Spork e.p., is my favorite record. It's pretty rare and obscure. It's by Flake, aka Flake Music, aka the precursor to The Shins. Not many people know about Flake, and fewer know about this EP, which was only released on vinyl and not any other format. It's really interesting because it fits in perfectly with what was going on at the time, but it's nothing like The Shins' later work. It cost me a pretty penny, but I love it.

- Pictures of your collection?

Here's a picture of Spork e.p. by Flake:



Here's a picture of the EP in my turntable:

 

Does anyone know when approximately the Western (US & European) publishers stopped using virgin vinyl for most of their releases in favor of cheaper recycled plastic ingredients?

The reason I'm asking is that I did some research on the common legend of Japanese vinyl being generally superior to Western releases and one of the reasons for that is because they used virgin vinyl for their releases. Apparently this must've started really early, given the popularity of Japanese Pink Floyd and even Miles Davis LP's, but when exactly was it? And did the quality of Japanese vinyl decrease for the same changes later or did they never stop using virgin vinyl?

 

When did you start buying vinyl records rather than buying CD's or simply downloading music?
I never really went out of my way to buy vinyl. Before I was even old enough to own anything of my own (cassette was all the rage, CDs were for rich kids), I had an old-school record player that was built into a wood-grain cabinet. My parents had a pretty awesome vinyl collection of music from the 50s, 60s, and 70s (I was maybe 4 but that's how I discovered the Beatles).

Why do you prefer this format?
Vinyl is the best medium when it comes to physically representing music, imo. The sound was uniquely pressed into basic materials. It could skip and repeat, speed up, slow down. Overall, the experience of listening to music on vinyl is far more atmospheric compared to listening to digital music. Sure, digital music gives you millisecond precision, perfect clarity, and the ability to pretty much do whatever you want, but the warmth and tone of vinyl really can't be emulated. Analog technology still has that raw power behind it that digital has a hard time comparing to.


Do you have a collection? Is there anything special about it?
Nah. Not at the moment at least. Someone gave me a couple boxes or records from the 60s-80s, and there's probably a lot of awesome music hidden in my attic somewhere, but my current setup is far too small for a vinyl collection. It is kinda cool that vinyl has been making a comeback, though. More and more, I see new releases coming out on vinyl, and I approve. Even 90s bands like Nirvana have been getting postmodern vinyl releases. Considering the 90s was probably the all-time low for records, it's great to see the age-old format getting some appreciation again.

 

Just opened a package from Japan (thx P):



A great start to my Japanese Kraftwerk collection. I already have an almost complete collection of the original German releases (only missing green cone & Ralf+Florian), so I thought I may wanna start collecting the Japanese ones cause it's stylish =P
G.I.S.M - Detestation is the original from 1984 and not one of the many, many bootlegs that are floating around (a bootleg costs $20 and can be found anywhere, the original is $150+ and is very rare).
Golden Earring's Moontan in the Japanese version is very, very rare as well... I don't use the word "rare" if I don't mean it, check popsike.com for "Moontan Japan" and see for yourself ... probably the rarest one in the picture and my rarest vinyl to date. It's almost impossible to find it in this condition with obi and clean dust jacked (no stains at all!). I just needed it for this:

Sooooo good!

 

I was lucky enough to grab Boards of Canada: Music has the Right to Children for about half the Ebay price, and Autechre: Amber for a paltry 735 yen. Both are stellar albums, and will make long lasting friends in my box of vinyls. My friend has been getting me into Autechre, so I'm starting where I can appreciate them more... back when they were a bit more melodic and less noisy. Amber is fantastic... can't recommend it enough. Music Has the Right to Children needs no introduction... dope ass shit, through and through.