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Vinyl


MarkDrummer

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So, after not believing that vinyl was worth it, my brother played me an old album and the sound quality was incredible.

 

As such, I'd like to get myself a turntable/record player but have no idea where to start.

 

Any advice or tips on what to start with? I'd be looking for something to set up at home, and be playing mostly old albums.

 

Ta

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It's funny, nowadays we are so used to listening to music on high quality MP3 with amazing speakers or headphones so good you can hear every last little detail. But sometimes music just sounds so much better on scratchy old vinyl with the pitch changing ever so slightly on every revolution. My general rule is that anything that was made for vinyl (pre 1980) sounds better on vinyl. I used to have a pile of old country records that were trashed, dusty, scratched and they sounded piddly and thin and trebly. But sounded 100 times better than they did on cd. It just sounds more... honest or something.

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I kind of got the same impression - my brother is well into his vinyl and let me hear a Smiths album and how you can fiddle with the pitch etc. It sounded amazing, genuinely better than any MP3 or CD or download I've got. He's got a shitey old gramophone he inherited from my father and it still sounded great.

 

MP3's are great for music on the go, but I'm moving house at the end of the week and would love to drive my missus mad with a home set up.

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It does have a lovely sound, much warmer I think. When I had vinyl I'd quite happily spend a whole evening sitting on the floor surrounded by records, boring the shit out of my girlfriend going "Listen to THIS! Now listen to THIS! Now listen to THIS!". It's not the same with an iPod or a laptop. I get much more passionate about music when I'm listening to it on vinyl for some reason.

 

This has made me realise I miss having vinyl :(

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Vinyl is good, but it's a bit of a myth that it always sounds 'better'. It really is a lottery from record to record, dependent on the production, and the balance of low and high frequencies. A poor EQ balance can lead to inner groove distortion where the record will sound worse and worse as it stylus approaches the middle of the record. I own a few records which sound like they have been recorded astonishingly well, to my ear anyway, but on vinyl, they are almost un-listenable. It's always a bit disappointing to buy a record, get it on the turntable and for it to sound shite.

Edited by Joda Serk
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Aye, that system would get you going nicely. However, if you already have an amp with your current set up you wouldn't need another one...all you would need is the turntable. Rega are really good and have been a classic for years and years. I'm not going to get in to the whole 'hi-fi' discussion just now as it's very subjective. However, I will say this...for my the only advantage of new technology is the ease of storing large collections of music, and sometimes it's free. But as mentioned above there is something special about sitting surrounded by records (except if you are very drunk) listening to them and looking at the 'decent' sized sleeve notes. I learned more off my albums covers than any cd cover etc.

Warning though...vinyl is harder to look after etc.

 

Also, it's great to build up separates, buying something better when you have the money and getting an awesome set up:) 

Edited by britheguy
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Discogs - http://www.discogs.com

 

Norman Records - http://www.normanrecords.com

 

Juno - http://www.juno.co.uk

 

Rough Trade - http://www.roughtrade.com

 

Boomkat - http://www.boomkat.com

 

Bleep - http://www.bleep.com

 

Black Lake Records - http://blacklakerecords.bigcartel.com/

 

Record Store UK - http://www.recordstore.co.uk

 

Piccadilly Records - http://www.piccadillyrecords.com

 

That list should keep you busy.

Edited by Duckula
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www.normanrecords.com - a weird collection of records, mostly in the noise/noise rock/drone/ambient/shoegaze arena but with occasional metal/punk releases as well as some chart stuff

www.banquetrecords.com - mostly punk/emo/diy but they also stock a little piece of everything (electro/indie/pop)

www.monkeyboyrecords.com - similar to banquet, but with more focus on Bridge 9/Topshelf/Deathwish bands as well as British DIY releases.

www.staticshockrecords.com - one of my most frequently ordered-from sites. London based punk label who put out a lot of good snotty punk rock records, as well as distroing a lot of other snotty punk records from other labels.

 

and of course there is always ebay/amazon/discogs for all your second hand/cheap/out of print requirements.

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