My Bloody Valentine's Kevin Shields Discussing Analog vs Digital for an hour on NPR

Discussion in 'Audio Hardware' started by Brian Gupton, Mar 6, 2018.

Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.
  1. vinylsolution

    vinylsolution Forum Resident

    Location:
    Denver, CO, USA
    I had a very different experience, I do however put my new vinyl into the ultrasonic then RCM since I know that most albums do not leave the pressing plant without some schmutz on them. I just accept it, and know that a good cleaning is required to minimize disappointment most of the time.
    My 3 LPs were very quiet, and even more rare these days - flat!
    I felt the quality on these was excellent, made a hi-res transfer, it came out very nice, none of the issues others are reporting thankfully.
     
  2. MondoFanM

    MondoFanM Member from ATX

    Location:
    Austin
    I just ordered. Kept forgetting about it. Thanks!
     
  3. recstar24

    recstar24 Senior Member

    Location:
    Glen Ellyn, IL
    1/2" tape I believe.
     
  4. Paully

    Paully De gustibus non est disputandum

    Location:
    Tennessee
    You should get read the dedicated thread. My copy of Loveless was flawless. Get a bigger sample by reading the thread before deciding.
     
    scotth and vinylsolution like this.
  5. Mugrug12

    Mugrug12 The Jungle Is a Skyscraper

    Location:
    Massachusetts
    I'm holding out for mono. Jk
     
    Minty_fresh, GentleSenator and Paully like this.
  6. captwillard

    captwillard Forum Resident

    Location:
    Nashville
    Well, analog doesn’t serve every recording. It’s all what the artist wants us to hear. I remember an interview with the Strokes about their first album and they said that they didn’t sound right being recorded to analog. Some NIN albums aren’t going to sound as good all analog.
     
  7. Carl Swanson

    Carl Swanson Senior Member

    Well, what about the TWANG?!?
     
  8. ralf11

    ralf11 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Earth
    twangy, but not Tangy
     
  9. recstar24

    recstar24 Senior Member

    Location:
    Glen Ellyn, IL
    I'm holding out for the double 45 RPM :)
     
  10. Mugrug12

    Mugrug12 The Jungle Is a Skyscraper

    Location:
    Massachusetts
    If you haven't heard "glider" on reel to reel then you haven't lived.
    :uhhuh:
     
    GreenNeedle, Moebius and recstar24 like this.
  11. Ulises

    Ulises Forum Resident

    Location:
    Denver, CO
    Yeah I cleaned them on my RCM (as is my custom). There are a few problem spots that are consistent on a couple of turntables. By no means do I suggest no one should buy these or that my sample of one should be taken as conclusive. It's just that, when buying albums one already owns, the bar is a little higher for perfection. I'm glad others are getting flat, quiet copies. Sometimes I wonder if pre-ordering releases is a bad idea. Maybe better to let the first pressings work the kinks out and jump in later. Anyway, as others have mentioned, this is a fascinating interview—thank you for sharing!
     
    Paully likes this.
  12. missan

    missan Forum Resident

    Location:
    Stockholm
    I really don´t want to derail this thread, really not. But that it should be an advantage going for 'analog', left me gasping for air.
     
    Last edited: Mar 9, 2018
    SquishySounds and ralf11 like this.
  13. Juan Matus

    Juan Matus Reformed Audiophile

    I don't have any insights into the new release but I saw them once and the volume was insane one of the loudest bands I have ever heard, thankfully I had earplugs. I wonder did Kevin have hearing problems before or after he started performing?
     
    gingerly and missan like this.
  14. missan

    missan Forum Resident

    Location:
    Stockholm
    I reckon both. I love this 'have you stopped beating your wife yet'. :)
     
    Last edited: Mar 9, 2018
    Juan Matus likes this.
  15. Rolltide

    Rolltide Forum Resident

    Location:
    Vallejo, CA
    Heh. Owning many albums from both of these bands, they might be worried that analog might be harder to brickwall.
     
  16. jtw

    jtw Forum Resident

    I'll admit up front that I did not listen to the entire interview nor read the entire 36 page thread about the new version.

    OK. The guy really cares. But all of his effort, time, and money seems to be misplaced. He was concerned about the transitions between songs. Nobody on the 6 pages of the thread that I read mentioned anything about those transitions. They didn't notice. They did however notice a lot of surface noise.

    My tiny, simple music mind would have put effort into making the vinyl super quiet, and maybe make an attempt to get the DR much higher than its 10-11 average. I would think that would make more sense and result in a bigger improvement and more enjoyable product.
     
  17. recstar24

    recstar24 Senior Member

    Location:
    Glen Ellyn, IL
    The interviewer struggles with what your saying at many times during the interview :) while still remaining nice and professional, you can tell he basically implores Kevin maybe he should focus on making more music! It did appear Kevin even acknowledges this and talks a bit about having limited time in life and that he’s focused on some new material he and the band have been working on. At the same time I wouldn’t dismiss if he goes down the rabbit hole and goes crazy on a 45 rpm loveless version! (There’s a spot in the interview where he makes a reference to the idea of a 45version).

    Even though most of the work was with the transitions and getting the tape spliced just right (which in the interview sounds super complicated), he does truly feel this all analog version captures everything about the sound he’s always wanted with it. It’s actually a cool interview to listen to as it’s pretty audiophile-ish which was surprising.
     
    GordonM likes this.
  18. scotth

    scotth Forum Resident

    Location:
    Charleston, SC
    Obviously this was a labor of love (obsession?) not rooted in practicality. However, I think the fact that people familiar with the album didn't notice the transitions was exactly the point.

    Also, fwiw I didn't notice hardly, if any, surface noise on my Loveless or Isn't Anything.
     
    recstar24 and GordonM like this.
  19. 200 Balloons

    200 Balloons Forum Resident

    Given that Loveless remains both highly-regarded and influential almost three decades after release, I think it's safe to say his vision is quite far from "misplaced." As far as I can tell, the surface noise complaints are the exception in this case. I certainly don't have that issue.
     
  20. saturdayboy

    saturdayboy Forum Resident

    Location:
    Chicago
    $45 for an LP with tics and pops, how is that not a money grab?
     
  21. Summerisle

    Summerisle Forum Resident

    Location:
    Seattle, WA, USA
    Some people here really want to tell you what they think and don't know how to properly hold their drink.
     
  22. Manimal

    Manimal Forum Resident

    Location:
    Southern US
    When he turns and the neck hits you in the face it sounds perfect!:)
     
  23. captwillard

    captwillard Forum Resident

    Location:
    Nashville
    That doesn’t mean that they would have benefitted from analog. There is no universal solution to the recording process.
     
  24. jtw

    jtw Forum Resident

    No doubt, there are lots of quiet copies out there. But even a poor process is capable of producing good quiet copies. There are enough folks on that thread with noisy copies to say that he would have made more people happy if he had put his energy into the production process.

    The transitions? Nobody on that thread, which covers announcement through getting copies in people's hands, ever said that they hoped he would get rid of 'those digital sounding transitions'. No one perceived that as a problem in the originals. It's an artificial effect. He was trying to make an artificial effect more real?
     
  25. vinylsolution

    vinylsolution Forum Resident

    Location:
    Denver, CO, USA
    Re quiet copies:
    FWIW, I trust the quality consistency of the pressing plant far more than I trust the random subjective comments from members here.
    The variances in rig setup, as well as the gear itself, and cleaning regimen, and fundamentally, "quiet" vinyl is a bit subjective too.

    Some folks contend new vinyl does not need to be cleaned, to each his own, I disagree completely.

    Not knowing this sort of info and the environment it was heard and assessed in makes the commentary just south of useless to me.
    I am not suggesting there is no variance or possibility for quality issues in the pressings, every shop puts out a few turds for sure, but if it were epidemic there would be more of an outcry I believe.

    I already mentioned, I cleaned mine in the ultrasonic, and on my RCM, then made a hi-res capture (my gear is listed in profile) that came out extremely good, quiet where it should be, no significant clicks or pops, nothing distracting, just a great listen.
     
    recstar24 and Summerisle like this.
Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.

Share This Page

molar-endocrine