More signs of a vinyl resurgence?

[Shawn]

Not "every" album is recorded digitally these days, there are still some artists out there (Lenny Kravitz comes to mind) who only record with vintage gear, leaving the A/D as the very last step. Wolfmother is another recent band who insisted none of the equipment used on their album should be post-1973.

But of course these are exceptions and not the rule. There have to be "analog only" studios out there still for those who have the money/desire to go that route.

Another band that loves vinyl; Queens Of The Stone Age - they issue LP only bonus tracks that don't show up on either the CD or download versions of their albums.

Edited June 5, 2008 by Shawn

[Chalupa]

http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/06/10/vinyl.records.ap/index.html

[Chalupa]

I never had any difficulty in looking after my old jazz LPs, and it pisses me off when I get used jazz LPs on eBay and they are so crackly. Certain eBay regular sellers can often be relied on to sell you a lousy copy, described as VG++. Grrr.

TESTIFY!!

I'm swearing off Ebay used vinyl for good. I've bought too many LPs lately that were either described as "Near Mint" or "VG++" that sound like crap. What really pisses me off is that these sellers have 100% feedback w/ a 4.8 or 4.9 rating for "item as described." WTF?? There are maybe 4 or 5 sellers that I can count on and that's it.

[captainwrong]

I have a theory on that, vinyl neophytes don't get that old vinyl doesn't have to look (and sound) like crap. Where I used to work, I'd have arguments with a coworker about pricing vinyl. I'd insist most of it was $1 bin, but he'd price it, not outrageous, but in the $4-8 range. I'd be damned if I didn't watch it walk out the door with customers amazed they were finding the Doors on vinyl or whatever even though the record was common as dirt and maybe VG- or G. I'd rarely see anyone actually pull a record out of the jacket to have a look.

Too many people new to this aren't familiar with grading and buy into the whole "it's old, so it's going to be worn" thing. My theory anyway.

[clifford_thornton]

I just send shit back if it ain't right. Usually.

I mean, pressing quality varies and most BYGs, ESPs and Americas aren't going to sound like a quiet Japanese pressing. Even Liberty-era BNs can sometimes be a crapshoot. I think I even have a couple of Oguns and Derams that aren't so hot. So... just do your best and if it's common enough, you'll find it again.

[Ted O'Reilly]

http://www.theonion.com:80/content/amvo/cd...own_lp_sales_up

[Brownian Motion]

http://www.theonion.com:80/content/amvo/cd...own_lp_sales_up

heh heh.

[stuartjewkes]

I but on vinyl, cd and mp3 pretty much equally. If I really like it I usually try and get it on first pressing vinyl.

MP3 are perfect for bulk buying experimental music purchases.

CDs sit somewhere in the middle for me and I buy a lot of multi cd sets and 4 for £20 deals.

Sometimes it really works out to buy a copy of something on vinyl for an improvement in sound. Today I got Rust Never Sleeps by Neil Young in near mint (sleeve not so good) for cheap and it sounds much better than the CD I have. The guitars ring out and it's less muddy.

I do buy a fair few new vinyl releases but that's because they are only released on vinyl or from labels I trust for high quality. The Robert Wyatt recent album is quite pleasing to these ears, and I wouldn't buy something like a Sunn0))) album on anything but vinyl.

[BruceM]

I'm sorry, but the proposition that vinyl is having some sort of comeback is ridiculous. Vinyl may survive, but only as an increasingly expensive niche market.

Vinyl sales are still less than 0.1% of overall music sales. The reason that CDs have declined has nothing to do with people buying vinyl. People now purchase music digitally from the Internet (or get it for free from the numerous file sharing sites).

I sold my 1000+ LP collection 12 years ago and have never regretted it. I live and travel overseas with home moves every two years or so. The idea of lumping around vast quantities of scratchy records does not appeal. I now carry 2000+ albums in a pocket sized hard drive. To these ears, modern CDs also sound better than what I remember of LPs.

I do agree that LPs have a nostalgic appeal and are fun to look at. But the convenience, reliability and much lower cost of digital music will always make it it the preference for 99.99% of people.

[patricia]

I would love to get back on the vinyl bandwagon, but I just can't see going back and trying to rebuild my vinyl collection. It would just take too damn long and cost too much money. I love the sound, I love holding that record in my hand...but I just don't have the time to waste on it. Now and again I'll pick up an LP of something that I can't find any other way, if I can get it cheap, but that's about it.

At this point I'd rather invest in upgrading my digital music, getting better gear and using the computer as my main stereo component (which I've been doing for quite awhile now). Now that digital storage has gotten cheaper the idea of digitizing all my CDs, scanning the artwork and then packing them away in boxes out of sight appeals to me. I'm on a quest to simplify my existence as much as possible, running my music from a database on the computer has made picking what music to listen to alot easier.

Took me about eight years to rebuild my vinyl collection, Shawn. I stupidly gave away my turntable a few moves ago, along with my records.

I realized how much more I loved records than I had thought. I found a turntable at a secondhand store in excellent condition and from there my collection it took off.

I had been scouting out LPs for a friend in NYC for a couple of years and had nothing to play them on.

Gradually, I haunted secondhand stores, used record stores, yard and garage sales and classified sections and now have a collection of about 3,000 albums, all in near-mint condition, including some from the 40s and 50s.

They range from old jazz [of course] to classical and some miscellaneous.

Yes, it does take a while, but you have to start somewhere.

It's not about which music format is easier, or takes less room.

Vinyl is a whole experience, warmer, more intimate, IMO.

Edited July 6, 2008 by patricia

[Shawn]

Well it didn't take me long to eat my own words...

I just went out and bought a new cartridge for my turntable today, have picked up a few albums...love the way they sound. Guess I'm screwed.

[patricia]

Well it didn't take me long to eat my own words...

I just went out and bought a new cartridge for my turntable today, have picked up a few albums...love the way they sound. Guess I'm screwed.

Welcome back to the fold, Shawn. My soon to be son-in-law is 23 and I turned him on to vinyl about a year ago.

I had replace the turntable I mentioned earlier and gave the other one to him, along with some records from the '80s that I bought, with him in mind. He likes Nirvana and Blondie and some other groups.

My daughter is neutral, but I guess he could be hooked on something worse.

If anyone says that they don't understand why we would want to collect vinyl when most music is available on other formats, it's just not true, if you are into jazz.

There are whole labels that never went to CD, like Jazz Tone which was a label that only sold through mailorder. Those, among others of course, are treasures and usually, though not always well-looked-after.

Edited July 7, 2008 by patricia

[Stefan Wood]

It's all about the music, not the format.

[Shawn]

It's all about the music, not the format.

Yes, that's true. Like I said I'll probably still use a variety of different formats, there are some pretty cool vinyl reissues coming out these days...but I'm not a purist by any means. Will probably try to fill up most of the holes in my classic rock collection on vinyl, keep buying some jazz reissues on CD, will still purchase downloads. Nothing wrong with having a variety of options to choose from.

[Stefan Wood]

[stuartjewkes]

It's all about the music, not the format.

Yes, that's true. Like I said I'll probably still use a variety of different formats, there are some pretty cool vinyl reissues coming out these days...but I'm not a purist by any means. Will probably try to fill up most of the holes in my classic rock collection on vinyl, keep buying some jazz reissues on CD, will still purchase downloads. Nothing wrong with having a variety of options to choose from.

Quoted for truth

[Chalupa]

Up.

http://www.lvrj.com/neon/49683492.html

Vinyl records -- newly pressed ones, not vintage or pre-owned albums -- are making a comeback. A small comeback, a minor comeback., but a comeback nonetheless.

According to the Recording Industry Association of America -- the trade group whose members include record manufacturers -- about 2.9 million LPs and EPs were shipped in 2008.

In comparison, about 385 million CDs were shipped and consumers downloaded more than a billion singles and about 57 million albums that same year. But, for a recorded medium that has spent most of the past decade on life support, last year's 2.9 million isn't bad.

Again, according to the association: In the years after 1998, when about 3.4 million LPs and EPs were shipped, LP/EP shipments went into a steady free fall until 2006, when fewer than a million were shipped.

Then came 2007, when LP/EP shipments jumped to about 1.3 million, setting the stage for last year's 2.9 million. The bottom line: Last year brought shipments of vinyl records back to where they were 10 years ago.

[Kevin Bresnahan]

I've recently learned that almost all vinyl distributors are refusing returns. Any resurgence won't last long with lousy $50 pressings and a "no return" policy.

[Jazz Vinyl]

Here's a link to an exclusive jazz record shop with 1000+ jazz LPs, including over 100 Blue Notes. Most are originals, all with set prices and pictures.

Reminisce at:

http://stores.shop.ebay.com/wattsjazz