Time for the Vinyl Revival to GET REAL

Chances are, all these self centered old people you speak of were just as self centered when they were young.

jeff

 

Not a personal attack. Just a personal observation. Of course, there's NO way anyone from your previous generation would have EVER said, "You can't begin to compare music from the 40's to modern music..." As if you actually have a way to validate the worth of any music produced at any time.

As I said, it's all in your head. You THINK the music you like is better, so of course, it must be. As for me, I believe it's OK to like what you like, without trying to diminish what someone else might like. I was born in 1960, so I know all about this music you speak of. And probably own most of it.

Including 7 different pressings of "Aja"...

 

I'd add Tidal as well, in my case...but very much in agreement with you.

Yeah, because you seem like a real open-minded individual. I think we all know how that kind of comparison would really go, let's not kid ourselves here.

I think @Spin Doctor already said it best though...it's in the mind of the individual. If you live and breath 60's and 70's music, that's fine and dandy but that's your choice, it doesn't mean you're any more correct than someone who only listens to music from the last five years. I have albums that I listen to from those last five years that I actually get as much enjoyment, if not more enjoyment, than the rock classics of my youth.

Awesome time for music in 2019. Too bad you can't join the party.

 

Facts: Not all analog tapes can be used to cut records. Those tapes must be able to be played through. No stopping between tracks when cutting a lacquer master. Tapes must be in excellent condition, splices must be in good condition (often have to be redone). Level and azimuth between tracks must be reasonably consistent. And the tape machine used for mastering is also required to have a preview head, as part of the look ahead limiter and for banding between cuts. There's a lot of tapes which are not suitable to cut records from today.

Also, many record companies likely won't let the tapes out for just anyone. Or insist it be mastered at a studio of their choosing. And anyone licensing a track for reissue is much more likely to get handed a CD-R, or a DAT than an original or low generation analog master tape. And also some mastering rooms lack the capability to cut from analog tapes. Things to consider here.

 

Even if this were true (it's not), remind me why I'm supposed to give a **** what other people do with their records?

 

What a stupid f***ing thread.

 

In an earlier post I said that we "of a certain age" describe these new turntables/record players bought by today's kids as "crapaphones." most are made in China.

 

I think nobody gets albums on DAT or CDR. Where have you been the last 15 years? The norm is send a file (usually 24 bit) from the label to the pressing plant over the internet. Email attachments would do the job. Plant will even premaster the file so it can then be cut straight to vinyl (usually DMM). No preview required. I refer you to the Analog Planet GZ video.

 

Files these days is the norm. CD-R and DAT have been used in the past (so technically files is the norm when digital is involved, so you're correct).

 

Again with the personal attacks. You really have no real argument here, do you?

 

You insulted my intelligence with your earlier ridiculous claim that MANY people here also took offense to. It was nothing but crickets from you until now?

 

The best part of the internet are the people who interpret all disagreements as "personal attacks" expect of course for what they say to others. It's fun to sit here reading you talk trash to people then pretend to be upset by the responses.

 

I'd say this is a real golden age for vinyl. With all the various pressings being put out, specialty labels, rare stuff that has been out of print for ages being pressed, etc there hasn't been a better time. Even when it was a vinyl only world there wasn't the availability for all of these different pressings. The internet has made someone from one country who basically was stuck getting whatever pressings their country got can now get anything from basically anywhere.

 

I purchase LPs ONLY because of music either from bands I like or have heard on another medium and like. Simple really.

AAA, DDA or whatever never comes into that decision because my musical enjoyment doesn't need a preconceived idea that something might be deficient in some way.

Although I'm a child of the 60s & 70s, I also disagree with the idea that there isn't great new music being produced these days, there's plenty if you seek it out. In the UK, mags like Shindig, Mojo, Prog Rock etc suit my tastes & I also support a lot of upcoming talent via Bandcamp (listen to digital, purchase LP when available).

 

Not sure I agree with this.

How many people on this board buy many different pressings of the same album? Even if it's an easy cheap one to get, some will go through a handful of copies before finding one that is to their liking at least in how it handles playback. At $10/pop, you're already at the $50 mark and still have had to go through all the trouble of locating the copies, buying them, playing them and being disappointed either due to condition or SQ, etc.

You buy once and do it right after which there's no need to fiddle with any of this stuff. All the time and effort spent into trying to save a few bucks is far better spent actually listening to an album I am wholeheartedly ecstatic about from its condition (unspoiled silent vinyl) to its SQ (AAA or otherwise). My 2 cents.

 

It's quite easy to generalize but there's far more to it than that, in my case.

I loathe modern production values from the use of modern gear giving the presentation a sheen and clinical sound that I dislike quite a bit, to playing to click tracks, to heavily editing anything in DAWs so everything is perfect, etc. Sure, there is stuff out there that is done differently but it's quite difficult to find. My experience is there's a better chance to find in Jazz something done today that still has some of that musicality I struggle to find in some other genres. Again, there are exceptions.

But I think it's safe to say if a beautiful song like Signed, Sealed, & Delivered were recorded today, it's more likely than not that all the humanity would be sucked out of it.

An analogy I can present is this ; I prefer old architecture whereas someone might prefer modern architecture. No matter how I look at the modern stuff, I can recognize the talent and superior techniques and materials but I don't connect emotionally to it.



Thumbs-up to this.





Pass.

 

He presented a perfect example illustrating how kids/teens are typically not fascinated with the music released decades before they were born, in effect showing there is a driven market for modern music. Most seem to believe it's more based upon re-releases of classic rock albums when it's merely a portion of it.

 

Nothing wrong with your 2 cents. I happen to get some satisfaction over searching out the best sounding pressings. I have some whoppers I paid $2 for. A good example is the original Grundman Steely Dan Aja. My copy is minty fresh. It sounds better than the Cisco (to me) which I also own. Got bunches of nice VG+++ Sterling cuts that I bought for $2-10. Some of the best LPs ever, in great sounding vintage vinyl. And I have some definitive Classic Records and MOFI LPs too. That's what makes this hobby so great. A holy grail is just one used record store visit away.

 

An architect or team of architects actually intentionally designed this? Good grief!

 

Right. Many are made in China, but others are 'assembled' elsewhere in the world, like Pro-Ject and Rega, including some made in the U.S. What unsuspecting buyers may not realize is that many of these are assembled units and if they looked inside them, they would find various components were made in China or other parts of Asia. Not just turntables, but almost everything has parts outsourced from various parts of the world. It is not bad for something to be manufactured in China or Asia, many quality components are manufactured there now. For the U.S., many of the factories in China actually belong to U.S. companies because of cheaper labor and overhead.
I remember in my lifetime that products made in Japan were considered cheap junk years ago. Today, products made in Japan are considered premium. Japanese companies also outsource there products, including being assembled and parts being manufactured in the U.S., including automobiles. Honda, Toyota, Mitsubishi, Mazda, etc have build automobiles in the U.S. for decades. Consequently, with U.S. vehicles, they have included outsourced components from all over the world for decades. Some major U.S. companies, like General Motors, moved their electronic manufacturing to Malaysia and Mexico decades ago. Like other U.S. automakers, they have even imported complete vehicles from other countries.
Now, with turntables, atleast one model of the re-introduced Technics SL-1200's is made in Malaysia. Audio Technica, a Japanese company, has manufactured their products in China, also for decades. There pretty much is no such thing as being made in the country where a company's headquarters might be. We live in a world economy. The country of origin can't be identified as just producing cheap junk. Cheap junk can come from any country and any company.

 

Yes, from a product quality perspective, equating Chinese manufacture with “junk” is just as “out-of-touch cranky-old-man” as saying there’s no new music worth owning anymore. And would somebody get those kids off of my lawn?

Globalization has been reality for quite a while. That’s just how most things are made now.

Having said that, most turntables that are junk do seem to be made in China or southeast Asia. Companies selling junk products need to keep costs down, too, after all. They are not bad because they are made in China; they are made in China because that’s where companies can afford to have things made that they can sell cheap enough to entice people to buy junk.

Also, as relates to this thread, it’s not even a relevant point, anyway. Almost everyone I know that has a turntable has a legit, solid turntable, whether that’s a used SL-1200 or a Chinese OEM that is at least higher quality than a Crosley Cruiser, LP60, etc. To say everyone listening to vinyl now is using a cheap POS is just not true.

 

Yep. It's in Toronto ; a museum. Started out like this. Won't win awards for breathtaking structure but was definitely a whole more dignified and IMHO much better than the eyesore we have now.

 

On the subject of contemporary recordings.

When you think, "back in the day" we occasionally used to complain about repetitive lyrics or repeated phrases.....

 

I don’t mind slick, geometric architecture in general, but it is a little weird that the ROM was expanded in that style. More stately, classic architecture reads more “museum” to me, and, perhaps counterintuitively, is less prone to looking dated in the future. Most things that are designed to look “futuristic” end up looking cheesy when the future actually rolls around, IMO.

My main objection to that much glass is bird strikes, honestly...

 

"Get off my lawn you hooligans!" Can't give you a big enough eye roll here. Your musical taste is NO BETTER than anyone else's. Absorb that for a second and move on accordingly.