davesonic
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Vinyl Comeback

Posted about 4 years ago
A weird thing has happened on the way to the graveyard. The vinyl record–something that was declared dead by the early 90s, thanks to the CD–is making a very, very big comeback. Some people even believe that vinyl is about to re-enter the mainstream in a very big way. Why? Several reasons. First, vinyl has never died amongst several hardcore groups, including collectors and DJs. Second, vinyl junkies will tell you that a physical vinyl record provides a greater connection between the fan and the music–a far better connection than you have with an MP3 file that you can’t hold or touch. And third, vinyl just sounds better. It’s tough to beat a smooth analogue recording played over a good stereo. Turntables are hot once again. It stands to reason that if vinyl is big, you need something to play it on–ergo the uptick in sales of turntables. Some of the biggest selling machines are the USB turntables that help you turn records into MP3 files. Many retailers can’t keep them in stock. And did anyone notice that Amazon.com now has a vinyl-only section? By Alan Cross
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Comments (14)

  1. walkingthecow
    walkingthecow says wow cool! vinyl is very much alive!
    Permalink posted 12/03/2007
  2. Spike
    Spike says Acquaintances have sometimes noticed my vinyl accumulation clogging the wall space and have commented in words to the effect that I'm in the sorry position of having let myself be shunted off into a dead end by the ever-changing progress of technology. Silently, I allow them the pleasure of feeling wise. They're right, though, and what's more, my less-than-eagle ears can't even detect the superiority of vinyl versus aiff format. Does the above turntable help you turn records into aiff files like you find on CDs? I hope so.
    Permalink posted 12/03/2007
  3. davesonic
    davesonic says It's one of them. I own a Numark USB turntable and it works great, the funny thing is I don't even bother trying to clean up the file (pops, hisses, etc..) I usually just leave them on the mp3. That's part of the sonic charm as far as I'm concerned. Don't worry I can barely tell the difference either, there's just something about vinyl that's comforting.
    Permalink posted 12/03/2007
  4. Spike
    Spike says It is comforting for me too. But I'm not sure you answered my question about whether it's possible, with your turntable or the one above, to get an aiff file, which has around seven or eight times as many bytes as an mp3 file, and supposedly sounds better if you want to burn CDs off your hard-drive rather than just put songs onto your mp3 player.
    Permalink posted 12/03/2007
  5. davesonic
    davesonic says I would have to check but I think it does give you the option. I just set mine for mp3 when I got and haven't looked at the options since. I'll let you know.
    Permalink posted 12/03/2007
  6. Marigold
    Marigold says I just bought a turntable last week. According to UPS it should be at my doorstep tomorrow. I can't wait.... http://mog.com/Marigold/blog_post/127983 http://mog.com/Marigold/blog_post/128074
    Permalink posted 12/03/2007
  7. davesonic
    davesonic says The fun you will have. The great thing about the one I have and yours will probably do the same, it can transfer cassettes as well. I've been able to dig up some old bootlegs as well as some old favourites that I hadn't got around to replacing (or forgot about)
    Permalink posted 12/03/2007
  8. Spike
    Spike says Sound editing software is useful, too. You can edit out the silence before or after a track, eliminate a boring drum solo, adjust the volume so that a playlist sounds consistent, and who knows what else?
    Permalink posted 12/03/2007
  9. davesonic
    davesonic says Yeah, the turntable I got came with the Audacity program, I had already been using a version I got online so I was already familiar with it.
    Permalink posted 12/03/2007
  10. Marigold
    Marigold says I am still kind of new to this whole turntable thing. Especially turntable's with usb ports. ( a cool new development in the turntable industry IMO ) How would I have the ability to convert tape cassettes with a turntable?
    Permalink posted 12/03/2007
  11. Spike
    Spike says For digitalizing analog signals from my stereo, I use an iMic, made by Griffin Technology. I plug a cable from my preamp into it, and it has a USB cable that goes into my computer. www.griffintechnolgy.com.
    Permalink posted 12/03/2007
  12. darmuzz
    darmuzz says I have a turntable like the one in the photo, which also came with Audacity software. It records as wav files and then I let iTunes convert them into MP3s or AACs. I also leave the pops and hisses in my music files, but then, my records were not seriously abused!
    Permalink posted 12/03/2007
  13. Groon
    Groon says Making a comeback? I never accepted its "death" in the first place! Even when it was supposedly dead and buried I would still buy vinyl, and not just the used stuff, although I have plenty of that around. New releases would also come out on vinyl, albeit not as much. I remember buying Primus's Tales from the Punchbowl on vinyl (brown, as I recall) even before it was available on cd! But it's funny and oddly reassuring to me that it's starting to become that much more of an acceptable medium again. I've even seen stores online that sell turntables for up to and over $10,000. A little excessive, methinks. One thing I love about vinyl that hasn't been mentioned yet? The much larger album artwork. I think that's just about my favorite part of vinyl, honestly. I love looking at the covers and dissecting everything in the artwork. I used to have LP covers on my wall in college like posters (the ones already in not so good condition, not the good stuff).
    Permalink posted 12/03/2007
  14. James12
    James12 says you know, I've heard this myself, that vinyl was coming back, at first it seemed odd, but most people agree, that a vinyl recording is of better quality, I can't really testify to that, considering I've never heard a vinyl record, oddly enough, my old man got a record player as a gift, I'm not sure if it works but if it does, then I can purchase one and find out for myself. Great article man, I really enjoyed it. Peace, James.
    Permalink posted 12/10/2007

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