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Does anyone activelly collect/listen to vinyl records?

My brother bought my a turntable over Christmas and I've slowly been getting into it.

hipster.

I'm contributing!

hm

I can't wait until I move to D.C., make hipster friends and always bring them around you so they can talk about how 'ironic' your shirts are.

BananaHands said:

I can't wait until I move to D.C., make hipster friends and always bring them around you so they can talk about how 'ironic' your shirts are.

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You're never going to move to DC because you spend all of your money on Coachella tickets and vinyls.

Came in here expecting something... else.

Officer_Charon said:

Came in here expecting something... else.

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You and me both.

Minor NSFW

Oh man. Soon as I heard you can get a laser turntable, I wanted one. I have so much vinyl, and Kati brought more.
Too bad they're so expensive right now, though.

--Patrick

I'm still jonesin' for an SL-1200 turntable. Just not enough to pay $1000+ for one new.

I actually miss my Vynil copy of Young Americans and Hunky Dory.

I've owned Hunky Dory on every medium available. IMO, it's the best album ever made.

DarkAudit said:

I'm still jonesin' for an SL-1200 turntable. Just not enough to pay $1000+ for one new.

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No longer a worry, since they have been discontinued...over a year ago.

--Patrick

PatrThom said:

No longer a worry, since they have been discontinued...over a year ago.

--Patrick

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But they're still available as NOS on Amazon and other sites for a grand or more.

Necro necro necro...

Still looking to go vinyl, and definitely not paying $700-$1000 for a "new" SL-1200. I've seen them on Amazon and ebay as low as $300 (even lower sometimes... but with $170 shipping).

An alternative I've found is the Audio-Technica AT-LP120. Goes new for as low as $250. But... is it worth it? People seem to love it or hate it. A fair number of the haters go on to say they spend upwards of $1200 on a phono cartridge. That's way too much for me. I'm more likely to spend $90 on a Shure M97xE or go with the stock AT-95e. both seem to be regarded well enough at needledoctor.com.

Once that's out of the way, I can start on my version of Rusty Venture's record collection.

Today's haul:

(obscured by glare bottom right is Camel - Mirage)

After speaking with the proprietor of Jerry's Records in Pittsburgh, I ordered the AT-LP120 from Amazon. $261.78 including tax and one-day shipping.

I keep all of my music as mp3's...


........


I'll show myself the door.

Switch the positions of the ELP and Al Caiola, and then you'll have 'em right.

Ravenpoe said:

I keep all of my music as mp3's...

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Nothing terribly wrong with that, assuming they're all at least 160/48.

--Patrick

PatrThom said:

Switch the positions of the ELP and Al Caiola, and then you'll have 'em right.

Nothing terribly wrong with that, assuming they're all at least 160/48.

--Patrick

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They were all recorded from the radio onto cassette, and then "ripped" to mp3 by playing the stereo with the pc microphone held in front.

Don't forget the tube amp, and the cheap hundred dollar

Ravenpoe said:

They were all recorded from the radio onto cassette, and then "ripped" to mp3 by playing the stereo with the pc microphone held in front.

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Whoa... It's like you've got the same recording rig I have!

Except mine also come with random questions from children who came and bothered me while I was ripping mine.

My table died a few years ago, I should probably get a new one. The AT-LP120 Looks pretty nice, and it should make it easy to finally get my Journey Through the Past album ripped to my computer.

Order arrived Tuesday night and it's all set up...

Only thing I really need to complete the rig is a proper receiver with a real phono in, instead of a repurposed random line in.

The tweaking has begun. Other threads in other forums suggested o-rings to help dampen the tonearm, so I did this:

At the very least, I had to rebalance the tonearm after I was done. I think I did a better job of it compared to the day it arrived. Next step is to replace the felt slipmat with a rubber mat.

I'd post iPod, but my wife's died, so she took it.

Moar...

Set of three were from the dollar bins, and JCS came with the booklet.

that's some classics right there.

Now you just have to find yourself a copy of Dark Side of the Moon.

--Patrick

PatrThom said:

that's some classics right there.

Now you just have to find yourself a copy of Dark Side of the Moon.

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They had a couple copies, but they were both a little more beat up than I'd like. My priority was to find prog I didn't have yet. turns out that stuff goes out almost as fast as it comes in. I may be better off hitting up online shops for new copies or ebay for used with those titles.

(ETA: Long thread on cleaning records with a coating of wood glue. I'm tempted to give it a try on some of the antique store buys. Eye in the Sky may be the first vic^H^H^H guinea pig.)

I did a glue job on my copy of Romantic Warrior. Glued one side, and then did a spritz of record wash (3 parts distilled water, one part 91% isopropyl alcohol, and a few drops of Fit) on both sides to reduce static after the peel. The results were stunning. The glue side was almost as clear as a brand new copy. The wash alone side was still a bit noisy.

People swear by that wood glue trick. I'm still tempted to get a really good turntable and rip some stuff, just don't want to spend the time/money.

--Patrick

Moar moar...

Tubular Bells the original UK release. Animal house and JFK albums unopened.

Heh. I have that Oldfield album, too! (though I think mine is the black jacketed version) Some things you can't avoid, I guess.

--Patrick

Add your name if you're on Discogs. I'm DarkAudit.

Never heard of Discogs.
I mainly have a lot of leftover vinyl from my parents, as well as what I've picked up myself from trash day around the neighborhood.

Probably the biggest jewel is a copy of Hunky Dory I found on someone's curb.

--Patrick

It's a good place to seek out info on your physical music collection. Is your copy of whatever the original release? Rerelease? Re-rerelease? It's probably indexed here. And then there's a marketplace to buy from other users when you want to fill in the gaps. Feedback system is in place to help keep everyone honest.

Quite the find at a music store about half an hour away that also does used books and records...

Most were in decent shape to almost new. Except for one:

The wash solution didn't do anything to that, so I post on Audiokarma. Response is the wood glue method may rescue even this. And so...

In about an hour I'll turn a fan on to speed curing, and then by time to get up for work I will know. Worst case is I'm out a shot of glue and 50 cents.

Heh. What is this? I have the West Side Story album, too.

Is this like Videodisc, where theres only so many copies of things that everyone seems to have?

--Patrick

It's an unwritten rule that any used record store or thrift shop (ESPECIALLY thrift shops) must carry a) Herb Alpert, b) Ray Conniff, or c) Bert Kaempfert. Usually all of the above. I've yet to find a store that didn't have at least one copy of Alpert's Going Places. Too bad for me I chose the worst quality one of the bunch to finally buy.

I admit, I'm curious.
I imagine your profession lends itself to the discovery of some gems.

--Patrick

PatrThom said:

I admit, I'm curious.
I imagine your profession lends itself to the discovery of some gems.

--Patrick

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Heh, in all seriousness, this was cool 20-25 years ago... but now it just sounds like hilariously dated punk. But dat album cover.

Whole album:

Appropriate for the occasion this weekend...

(Finds like this keep the rest of the family interested and gives me free reign to spend whatever on vinyl )

Ironic find. 50 years to the week after his career essentially ended, I find this at my local Goodwill:

Man, that First Family album was still in print when I was in high school around 85-87. I remember seeing it in the stacks at Musicland.

sixpackshaker said:

Man, that First Family album was still in print when I was in high school around 85-87. I remember seeing it in the stacks at Musicland.

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Which is odd, as the story goes all unsold copies were destroyed after November 22, 1963.

DarkAudit said:

Which is odd, as the story goes all unsold copies were destroyed after November 22, 1963.

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It could have been the Nixon or Reagan ones that were done later.

Kind of Blue was remastered in mono and released on 180g vinyl on Record Store Day Black Friday this year.

My copy just arrived:

It sounds awesome.

This week's haul...

First haul you've posted that doesn't duplicate at least one of anything I already own.

--Patrick

The Esquivel album is the only one of that set I didn't already have on iTunes. Bought 'em anyway.

More...

http://www.dustandgrooves.com/

--Patrick

More more. $40. $15 of that was for the White Album...

The single is Friends of Distinction - Grazing in the Grass. Original is on the Hugh Masekela album I bought on Sunday.

Ooo, a 45!

--Patrick

In between paydays run was a little sparse, but still productive:

Heh. I have Moving Waves on CD. It's a great one to spring on people unawares.

--Patrick

Yes, I bought another copy of Moving Waves. Side two of the first one was a disaster. That DNFTF is a recent remaster bought new.

The collection grows again...

How did Freedom of Choice work out for you. That has been one of my favorite albums for 30 years now.

sixpackshaker said:

How did Freedom of Choice work out for you. That has been one of my favorite albums for 30 years now.

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Very well, thank you. Freedom of Choice (the track) just THUNDERS on this setup.

Small run this week. Was holding onto cash for a new receiver (that was already sold before I got back to the store after seeing it a few days ago) and a new stylus for the current cartridge (the one everyone keeps telling me I need to get).

Payday haul...

We're finally moving all our albums over to where they will be displayed*, perhaps I shall shoot a pic or two.

Two did not survive or were in too bad of shape to be rescued: Bill Cosby's "Wonderfulness" (too scratched) and The Beatles' "The Beatles" (cracked from edge to center).

--Patrick
*no decent player, yet.

Another nice haul...

Pink Floyd is mono UK reissue on pink vinyl. Both Who albums are on Decca.

And a triple-Zappa, to boot!

--Patrick

PatrThom said:

And a triple-Zappa, to boot!

--Patrick

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Quintuple. Freak Out and Sheik Yerbouti are double albums.

And I found out those colored vinyl copies of Piper at the Gates of Dawn are fakes. Unauthorized by the band or label. Sounds decent enough, so no biggie.

Today's Record Store Day! Attic Records had 20% off all used. Jerry's Records had a grab bag off 100+ free records. That's all in the crate.

Just arrived from the UK. Mono, 1967 vintage:

Let me tell you guys... this LP, 12 inch, by Masonry? Worst album I've ever heard. Hands down. I can't believe anybody listens to this crap. "Discard if Damaged" is a halfway decent track, though.

GasBandit said:

Let me tell you guys... this LP, 12 inch, by Masonry? Worst album I've ever heard. Hands down. I can't believe anybody listens to this crap. "Discard if Damaged" is a halfway decent track, though.

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I've always found that 12in cut to be a bit abrasive, even if Forney did carve out their own niche in rock.

--Patrick

No one else is hitting the shops? Oh, well. On with today's haul from Attic in Pittsburgh...

Giant Steps is a plum label ~'61 copy. Wheels of Fire tri-color Atco. Both hard to find. And they both just fell into my lap.

The nice thing about my schedule is I tend to hit the shops first thing in the morning after they've just put out the new arrivals.

Doing the wood glue thing to clean up an old Sinatra album. Getting rid of 60-some years of crap...

I have the Peter Gunn one.

The main reasons I don't hit the shops are a) we already have so much vinyl and b) we don't have anything to play it on right now.

--Patrick

Glue job went well on the Sinatra. Quieted the surface noise decently. No skips. Side two will be the real test. Some really big pops need straightened out.

A Night at the Opera didn't fare so well. Did not remove the skips on Death On Two Legs. At that point it wasn't worth checking You're My Best Friend. Fate is sealed. Back to the shop it goes.

(And I *still* haven't gotten into the habit of a listen test AT the store before I leave.)

The new remaster of Houses of the Holy has a pressing error on the US version. Excessive distortion on The Ocean. The EU version was pressed at a different plant, and does not have the distortion.

So I order my copy from Amazon UK. Total price at checkout with standard shipping is actually less than the US version before tax or shipping*.

*Per the Amazon currency converter.

PatrThom said:

I have the Peter Gunn one.

The main reasons I don't hit the shops are a) we already have so much vinyl and b) we don't have anything to play it on right now.

--Patrick

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This place is local to you, right? Last craigslist post I saw from them, they've got some good turntables available right now.

DarkAudit said:

This place is local to you, right?

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Not any more since I moved, but I'll certainly keep it in mind the next time I'm back there. Sure wish I'd known about it before I moved.

--Patrick

Found a new store about 15 miles south of me. Assumption Records in Rivesville. A bit more expensive than the ones in Pittsburgh, but I made out fantastic yesterday...

Dammit.

Given this morning's events, I dragged this one out of our collection for a photo op:

I would even give it an honorary spin if only we had a decent platter to put it on.
Can you believe I pulled this out of someone's trash over 25yrs ago?

--Patrick

PatrThom said:

Given this morning's events, I dragged this one out of our collection for a photo op:
View attachment 20152
I would even give it an honorary spin if only we had a decent platter to put it on.
Can you believe I pulled this out of someone's trash over 25yrs ago?

--Patrick

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The fye at the local mall finally started selling vinyl again over the summer. Picked this up this morning.

This will be out for delivery in a couple of hours. Should be here by lunchtime.

Rebel Rebel in the West Village, NYC, will close for good at the end of the months. I had to stop in at least once before they do. $100 there doesn't go anywhere near as afr as it does at Jerry's in Pittsburgh. But I came away happy.

That's a first issue pre-remix copy of Aoxomoxoa up there.

I have the same Carole King album sitting not 10ft from me.
No Aoxomoxoa, though. Which is a surprise, considering how much Kati's family liked the Dead.

--Patrick

My brother bought my dad a nice turntable for his birthday last year and we've been listening to all sorts of stuff.

Most recent was the original cast recording of Man of LaMancha, as well as some Dean Martin. I'm hoping to get my hands on some Bowie, Queen and maybe some 70's/80's rock/metal.

CynicismKills said:

My brother bought my dad a nice turntable for his birthday last year and we've been listening to all sorts of stuff.

Most recent was the original cast recording of Man of LaMancha, as well as some Dean Martin. I'm hoping to get my hands on some Bowie, Queen and maybe some 70's/80's rock/metal.

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I bought my dad a reeeally nice turntable about 20yrs ago.
I might be the first person to actually use it...when I inherit it.
He has so much vinyl (what wasn't lost in the basement flood 8 years ago, that is). So frustrating.

--Patrick

An epic win for me. Those Dave Brubeck albums up front are 50s-era six-eye. (aka the GOOD stuff for those who know)

I found this among the remainder of my parent's record collection. May not be interesting to many, but I really enjoyed this when I was younger, and have been vacillating whether to buy the CD on amazon or not, since the CDs are over $30 (cassettes going for $200+).

If I haven't already mentioned it to you, you might look into Isao Tomita or Wendy Carlos as well.

--Patrick

I'm familiar with Wendy, but will have to check out isao.

PatrThom said:

If I haven't already mentioned it to you, you might look into Isao Tomita or Wendy Carlos as well.

--Patrick

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Um, that album IS Wendy Carlos. And I have a copy.

For those unaware, Wendy was born Walter. She started hormone replacement therapy in 1968, underwent gender reassignment surgery in 1972, but essentially closeted her transition to the public, going on business meetings and on stage as a man until 1978 when she used several interviews with Playboy magazine to come out. Later she said, "The public turned out to be amazingly tolerant or, if you wish, indifferent ... There had never been any need of this charade to have taken place. It had proven a monstrous waste of years of my life."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wendy_Carlos
http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20091206,00.html

As such it's important for those looking for her work to also search under "Walter Davis," for instance her work on A Clockwork Orange was credited under Walter, but Tron was credited under Wendy.

DarkAudit said:

Um, that album IS Wendy Carlos. And I have a copy.

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stienman said:

For those unaware, Wendy was born Walter.

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Sorry, I meant Walter. I had forgotten which came first.
I first heard the name with the collaboration with Weird Al for "Peter and the Wolf."

--Patrick

Anyone looking for more Wendy Carlos CDs, amazon's showing that switched on bach and switched on bach 2 are available for $25 now, about half their usual going price. Third party, new.

So these days you can get vinyl that is in incredibly limited release, picture discs, goldenrod vinyl, even holograms.
But how about one that comes with its own built-in light show?


Song's not bad, either (though it sounds a bit like it came straight out of some commercial with people rollerskating along a boardwalk while avoiding a fist-shaking cop. Mentos, maybe?)

--Patrick

The movie "Call Me By Your Name" will be releasing a limited edition vinyl copy of it's soundtrack, that is both peach colored and peach scented.

Kati’s birthday is coming up, hmmmmm...

—Patrick

DA I don't have any idea where you get these albums that cheaply. All the places around here sell them for $20-40 a pop no matter what band they are.

This is a hobby that I'm really, REALLY interested in, but haven't done anything about it since it's such a money sink.

figmentPez said:

The movie "Call Me By Your Name" will be releasing a limited edition vinyl copy of it's soundtrack, that is both peach colored and peach scented.

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I'm scarred for life now, on the subject of peaches, thanks to that movie.

Dave said:

DA I don't have any idea where you get these albums that cheaply. All the places around here sell them for $20-40 a pop no matter what band they are.

This is a hobby that I'm really, REALLY interested in, but haven't done anything about it since it's such a money sink.

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Jerry's Records in Squirrel Hill in Pittsburgh, and Attic Records in Millvale in Pittsburgh. $10 at Jerry's is considered expensive.

New releases do go for ~$25-35 each, so I tend to go for used when I can.

Star Wars the force awakens soundtrack (john Williams) vinyl is on sale at amazon for $25.

This is the hologram record:

Star Wars: The Force Awakens [2 LP Hologram Vinyl] Amazon product

I really, really want this.

/bender Neat!

I think the most remarkable thing about that is that it supports 78RPM.

--Patrick

BananaHands said:

I really, really want this.

View attachment 27209

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Everything about that feels so, so wrong. Just one glance tells me the tracking on that is probably abysmal.

Is tracking a big problem with today's record players? I always assumed tracking issues really only happened with badly damaged (warped, scratched) records.

According to reviews and whatnot as long as that ABOX thing is placed on in the middle there's no tracking issues.

I think it looks cool but I could see how it's seen as an ABOMINATION.

Techmoan has reviewed several vertical turntables, if you're curious:

stienman said:

Is tracking a big problem with today's record players? I always assumed tracking issues really only happened with badly damaged (warped, scratched) records.

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It doesn't appear that the tracking force is adjustable, which means you can't properly balance the tonearm (and even if it were adjustable, how do you balance a vertical tonearm?). Setups like that that are typically reserved for low-end systems and track much heavier that their better-built brethren. The M97xE on my 1200 tracks at about 1.75 grams. Your typical non-adjustable Crosley or Ion tracks at 5 grams or more.

I'm also concerned about support for the record itself. Sure, the platter is full-sized, but oriented like that, it's not doing much for the outer edge of the record. I've had turntables with smaller platters that left the outer portion hanging over, and many times those tracks would skip like crazy. Play on a more professional model, and it's fine.

If you browse some of the audio and vinyl forums, you'll see lots of tales from people who can't play their new 180 gram audiophile reissues on their Urban Outfitter Crosleys. The records aren't damaged, and neither is the turntable. It's just that those cheap turntables aren't built to handle that heavier vinyl.

I could go on, but I'm tired and places like the Steve Hoffman Forums and audiokarma can go into much greater detail.

Was expecting him to test a 78RPM record with it still off center, but that never happened.

--Patrick

figmentPez said:

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I used to have an app called PlatterSpeed that would use a test tone to check your turntable's specs. The tones were found on various test records. You could use a 1Khz tone, but the 3150hz tone was preferred.

Too bad it died after iOS 11 released. They've never updated.

Fire at Apollo Masters facility in California destroys half world’s supply of vinyl, threatening record industry

—Patrick

PatrThom said:

Fire at Apollo Masters facility in California destroys half world’s supply of vinyl, threatening record industry

—Patrick

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Well that's troubling and worrying.

DarkAudit said:

It's an unwritten rule that any used record store or thrift shop (ESPECIALLY thrift shops) must carry a) Herb Alpert, b) Ray Conniff, or c) Bert Kaempfert. Usually all of the above. I've yet to find a store that didn't have at least one copy of Alpert's Going Places. Too bad for me I chose the worst quality one of the bunch to finally buy.

Click to expand...

HaHa. So true when I picked up mine last year I was like, "WOW what a score!"

strawman said:

I found this among the remainder of my parent's record collection. May not be interesting to many, but I really enjoyed this when I was younger, and have been vacillating whether to buy the CD on amazon or not, since the CDs are over $30 (cassettes going for $200+).

View attachment 21912

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I bought that one at a used store. That's Wendy Carlos when she was still Walter right?

Timmus said:

I bought that one at a used store. That's Wendy Carlos when she was still Walter right?

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Yes.

--Patrick

You guys! I found treasure the other day.

I knew about "Jolene," but the rest were new.

--Patrick