Vinyl Is Once Again King?

[jimbutsu]

Oh yeah - Thriller. I bet there are some pressings that just don't sound that good just for the simple fact that they made SO MANY of that record. If you don't want to spend your life hunting, a good rule of thumb is to look at the jacket - the very earliest pressings only had Quincy Jones listed on the back as a producer, but this was quickly changed with an addition of Michael below as a co-producer. The Quincy Jones ones should always sound good if they're in good shape (and nothing weird like switching out a disc happened).

[jimbutsu]

I've been a member for the last 5 + years and I think jimbutsu is also a member there.

Quit stalking me, creep!

Seriously, though, it's a good place for info, though it does have to be taken with salt from time to time. There's some folks in there who get out over their own skis when it comes to unbreakable laws of physics, especially with digital music.

As for the records skipping on the more "entry level" tables, I'm not surprised. Some of the cheaper tables being made today are not very good quality wise and anything less than idea record wise will probably jump around a lot. The thing to keep in mind with that is that it can be a result of a lower quality/not very good profile stylus, which means that there's a very real possibility with some lower end gear that the equipment is actually chewing up the records, even if they aren't skipping or sounding bad right away.

[cjefferys]

I would tell anyone that may be interested in Vinyl, or just music in any form, this is the forum to check out:

http://forums.stevehoffman.tv/

I've been a member for the last 5 + years and I think jimbutsu is also a member there. I've learned a lot and the one thing I would tell anyone is that you need to learn how to read the runout groove of any record you buy when it comes to vintage/early pressings/first pressings. Chad said that his copy of Thriller was lifeless...it may be that he got a later pressing within the early pressings of the album. It sold something like 20 + million copies worldwide. Each time they make a new pressing a new master must be made for them to press with. It's also like a photocopy...further away from the original the less the sound quality. As I mentioned before...it's the reason why a lot of early CD's that were pressed here in the US sound awful is because they were using 2nd/3rd generation copies of original master tapes.

One thing I will not buy these days are re-issues/re-masters. Especially at some of the ridiculous prices they are asking for what to my ears is inferior product. I'd rather go out and hunt down an original.

Yeah, that's a great forum, I've been a member there for quite awhile as well. And it is one of the most active forums I regularly visit, probably because it's mostly old people like us who prefer to use "old fashioned" forums like this rather than social media, etc.

RE Thriller: considering how well it sold, I'm sure there were tons of different pressings and re-pressings early on. So lots of variables involved as far as how good the vinyl might sound.

RE Re-issues/remasters -you are correct about a lot of them, but some do sound really good. For example, the new Metallica box sets have really good quality vinyl that sounds awesome. They even got the included vinyl picture discs to sound good, I was really impressed about that aspect because picture discs almost always sound crappy.

[Werewolf]

Cassettes are cool again.

[glimpy]

I still love the old crackling sound

[Blue Meanie]

I would tell anyone that may be interested in Vinyl, or just music in any form, this is the forum to check out:

http://forums.stevehoffman.tv/

I've been a member for the last 5 + years and I think jimbutsu is also a member there. I've learned a lot and the one thing I would tell anyone is that you need to learn how to read the runout groove of any record you buy when it comes to vintage/early pressings/first pressings. Chad said that his copy of Thriller was lifeless...it may be that he got a later pressing within the early pressings of the album. It sold something like 20 + million copies worldwide. Each time they make a new pressing a new master must be made for them to press with. It's also like a photocopy...further away from the original the less the sound quality. As I mentioned before...it's the reason why a lot of early CD's that were pressed here in the US sound awful is because they were using 2nd/3rd generation copies of original master tapes.

One thing I will not buy these days are re-issues/re-masters. Especially at some of the ridiculous prices they are asking for what to my ears is inferior product. I'd rather go out and hunt down an original.

[Nostalgiabuff]

I use a vintage Magnavox console system with the original turntable. I figure it is late sixties. still sounds great. cost me $300 to have the turntable repaired but well worth it, IMHO

[noelani72]

This is surprising to me - early pressings of Thriller are notoriously good sounding and very punchy.

Intersting. I wonder if there were different versions pressed/mastered - as in AC/DC's Back in Black. The pressing we have was the one known for the best sound - and they aren't kidding. That thing has great punch.

Something I've not seen a lot of folks mention is this new age of players & vinyl and the skipping issue. I have a re-press Ozzy Diary of a Madman and on Crazy Train, that sucker will skip like there's no tomorrow unless I play it on my direct drive Audio Technica $300 player. Same LP has been played on three different players in the $70-$150 range (that are widely common in stores right now) and it skips. That's not the only new LP I have that does this. I sent three KISS LPs back to Amazon for the same reason...three of the exact same LP did the exact same thing unless I use a quality turntable. Weird.

[jimbutsu]

This is surprising to me - early pressings of Thriller are notoriously good sounding and very punchy.

[noelani72]

I hear things in vinyl that I can't in a CD.
Vinyl, to my ear, has an entirely different depth.
I have all my records from before the end in 1986...and have been buying again for prolly the past five years now that I can get a minty Purple Rain.

I have also developed a distaste for some first pressing LPs from the 1980's...I have Pyromania and Thriller and I am not pleased with them one single bit...they have no life to them, just flat sound. Another one that upset my ear was the 2003/2004 KISS Symphony LP set. The vinyl isn't mastered worth a damn, but the iTunes download sounds far superior.

[Mikey]

Are CD's too "sterile" of a listening experience for some people? I'm not quite old enough to have personally bought a lot of brand new vinyl records from stores back in the day so I'm not an expert on this but do people feel more "attached" to the buying and listening interactions with the records and cassettes?

To the listener that is used to it, records sound more "warm" compared to CD's cold sterile sound.

It's something you wont notice unless you've trained your ears --- which most people over 40 have done being brought up on records.

Also, many modern music producers tinker with the sound dynamics (see many Beatles remastered CD's).

This leaves the recordings sounding distorted and sloppy...

[spockoda]

Are CD's too "sterile" of a listening experience for some people? I'm not quite old enough to have personally bought a lot of brand new vinyl records from stores back in the day so I'm not an expert on this but do people feel more "attached" to the buying and listening interactions with the records and cassettes?

[cjefferys]

In the past when I did sell some of my 8 tracks it seems that the buyers were always from Japan.

I'm not surprised at all, music in vintage formats, along with vintage clothing are even more popular in Japan than they are here. Great record stores over there!

BTW: My very old Kiss cassette still sounds really good.

I stupidly threw out all my cassettes when I moved around 12 years ago, including a bunch of KISS ones. At the time they were just worth pennies on ebay and moving time is when I get rid of crap that's just taking up space. I regret this particular decision now. I still have a couple KISS 8-tracks though.

Sony would make a mint if they'd reissue the original Walkman with a Guardians of the Galaxy Tie in.

They absolutely should have done that, but it's Sony, so I'm really not surprised, they mess up everything.

[palitoy]

It is shocking that they haven't done that, even in a limited release.

[Werewolf]

Target carries Walkmans again. Yeah, it's a budget brand. But who would of thought you could walk into a Target in 2018 and buy a Walkman.

BTW: My very old Kiss cassette still sounds really good.


Sony would make a mint if they'd reissue the original Walkman with a Guardians of the Galaxy Tie in.