Vinyl records are growing in popularity!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[AstroDan]

You all do realize that a very large percentage of new vinyl is cut from a 16/44.1 master CD?

Really? That is ridiculous.

That coupled with the fact that vinyl mastering can be botched by improper cutting - which realistically would a large problem if big box retailers commissioned cheap vinyl manufacturers on a massive scale - further puts the brakes on my enthusiasm.

Really, I'm not against it. But it's like trying to get the world to take the scenic route when life rapidly keeps getting set up for the freeway. Right now, people who make music and people who record music are too used to knocking out something and making it accessable immediately, and vinyl isn't going to play a great big part in that.

Thankfully, people are keeping it alive. I just don't see it becoming the de facto medium and I'm okay with that.

[monkeyweasel]

man there are some uptight ppl in this thread!

was interesting all the same tho

[gabe real]

i closed my record store a year ago on sept 29th. it was a DJ shop mostly, but the computer based DJ options made vinyl obsolete. there is software that can be controlled by time code on a record. so, the audio file in the computer gets mapped across the code, then you can actually needle drop though the song this way.
you can backspin, scratch, etc. its like a VST instrument, but you still use the turntable to control the song. every function that a turntable can do is still possible.
pitch, start/stop, needle drop, skip.

it was a very gloomy time in my life, to say the least.

damn kids pissed all over my dreams!

i worked in record stores from 1999 to 2005. it was good those years.
then right when i opened my own shop, this damn digital stuff took over.
my customers just started disappearing, and records got harder to find.
UNIVERSAL records had told us we have a few years left of records.
that means its a wrap, done deal, see you later. they were phasing them out for mp3 files. much cheaper to send out promos that way, quicker too.

right from the horses mouth, its over.

not enough profit.

there will still be independents pressing records, but if the big labels stop,
prices go up because not enough records are being pressed.

so, the whole thing collapses. bye bye

i used to sell the crappy top 40 records to pay for the cool ones.
so, the majors keep the ball rolling. when a record company releases 20-50
titles per month on vinly, thats alot. thats at least 20,000-50,000 copies total.

now your little 1-2 records per year is not going to keep that business going.
records cost too much to make.

you need PVC beads(oil based, so it gets expensive when oil does)
the beads are melted into pucks then smashed together with a label on both sides between two stampers on the record press.
ovens for the labels.(bake the printing)
water heater for pressure(record press)
plating plant for stampers.(like in chrome plating) special permits
a lathe to cut the master lacquers.
then the compressors and preamps for that.
then packaging and manpower.
shipping


and im missing a few things too.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lDmBx4R-Gas


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H342sImBY1s

this is who mastered and pressed my last record.

http://www.myspace.com/giltmastering

he used to be in downtown LA in a loft, with his lathe upstairs and the press downstairs. he only had to send out for plating.


so yes, i DJ, and yes I use the damn digital fake records now:(
i still buy vinyl, and sell vinyl too.

here is a cool place in LA, kind of a revival we are trying to do.

http://www.myspace.com/beatswapmeet


so yeah, i hope it says around.

[punk]

I work at a vinyl pressing plant.

we are seeing in increase in people wanting records.
especially 7"s as its relatively cheap for bands to do and means a little more than a cd or a download.

we are setting up right now to do direct to acetate.
this will get rid of any "digital" conversion issues but will be a little hard for most bands as you don't get to do any drop ins or fancy mixing, one go all the way through.
we will probably be the only place offer this.

I buy lots of vinyl, in fact its all i really buy.
this week i bought about 10 records.
next week will probably be the same.

i hope its keeps going as i dont know what i would do if i couldnt get all i wanted on a nice last forever format like vinyl.

cheers

[hiddendriveways]

I'm sorry that was such a bummer experience, Gabe.

I too DJ and I have Serato Scratch Live. Here's an interesting thing to do. Take a song that you have both a digital copy of and a vinyl copy of. Put the original vinyl on one turntable and the digital copy on the other turntable (either using timecode vinyl or internal mode). Play both records at the same time. As you crossfade from one deck to the other, listen in your headphones and tell me if you can hear the difference in sound quality between the digital and the vinyl. It's a pretty startling thing. And to the grumpy naysayers, I was using a good sounding digital file, not a stripped out MP3.

I was at a huge flea market in NJ yesterday. There was tons of old vinyl for sale. It goes to show you that the people who sell in those things still gladly go through the trouble of bringing those heavy crates with them. Why? Because they generate money. I think there was more vinyl than there were CDs. Variety wise, the CDs were mostly N'Sync and that sort of thing. There were a few CDRs with sharpie writing on them - I suppose those could have been an attempt at the resale of digital downloads, but I doubt even a packed CDR could fetch more than 25 cents. No one was selling vinyl for under a buck, and lots of people were price tagging each record individually, from $2 to $20.

I saw a few middle aged normal looking people walking out of there with a turntable they had purchased, but I didn't see too many people selling turntables at all. It was as if they'd all been snapped up.

[gabe real]

yeah, records do sound better, no way around it. if you get a good digital copy its dang close. one good thing about digital DJing is you dont have to worry about turntable rumble or feedback. so when you have 6 18inch bass cabs next to you, it lets you crank the crap out of it. no more feed back.

but it looks so much more cooler and legit when you play records. it even feels better.

the DJ scene used to be really cool. now its just a bunch of damn laptops and kids with no experience.

there is alot of good used records to be had for cheap right now, and turntables too.

i miss my shop on the daily. it was my record shop and studio downstairs, and my bedroom upstairs. ooh, it was great. i was gonna stay and turn it into a full studio, but there was to many windows.

when it was open.......


when i moved out.....

[chconnor]

Just for the record: apart from the music issues, PVC ("vinyl") is infamous for its environmental impacts (even more so than plastics in general)... it's used in all kinds of industries, and records are a tiny fraction of that use, but the general impacts aren't simply about the use of "petroleum" or "energy". Dioxins/carcinogens/doesn't decompose/difficult to recycle, etc. There are calls for banning PVC entirely, etc. Plenty of info online. As far as alternatives for records, surely there could be some, but my understanding is that vinyl was chosen for good reasons... Anyway, choose something else when you replace your gutters, if you can.

-c

[chris harris]

How am I ignoring reality?

I was at a huge flea market in NJ yesterday. There was tons of old vinyl for sale. It goes to show you that the people who sell in those things still gladly go through the trouble of bringing those heavy crates with them. Why? Because they generate money.

What?!?! Why do people bother to drag heavy crates to a FLEA MARKET? Maybe to get rid of a bunch of shit that they don't have any use for? Isn't that the whole idea of a flea market?

I saw a few middle aged normal looking people walking out of there with a turntable they had purchased, but I didn't see too many people selling turntables at all. It was as if they'd all been snapped up.

THAT is how you're ignoring reality. Again, I appreciate your enthusiasm... but, you're completely manufacturing this imaginary world that reinforces what you want to believe in. You really think that you didn't see many people selling turntables because they had "all been snapped up"?!?! You don't think that it's more likely that you didn't see many because the demand for them is just a microscopic increment above NONE AT ALL?
It also stands to reason that there are a lot more used records out there than there are used turntables.

[Smitty]

Most people that set up at flea markets do it every week, with the same merchandise. Unless they specialize in records and have a high turnover, there's a good chance that their inventory has been offered for sale a BUNCH of times.

Every time I find a bunch of records at a flea market (and I'm willing to bet that I've spent way more time at flea markets than most folks here) it's usually because people want waaaaaay too damn much money for them. Thus their presence there. Because they haven't sold.

[Judas Jetski]

yeah, records do sound better, no way around it. if you get a good digital copy its dang close. one good thing about digital DJing is you dont have to worry about turntable rumble or feedback. so when you have 6 18inch bass cabs next to you, it lets you crank the crap out of it. no more feed back.

but it looks so much more cooler and legit when you play records. it even feels better.

the DJ scene used to be really cool. now its just a bunch of damn laptops and kids with no experience.

there is alot of good used records to be had for cheap right now, and turntables too.

i miss my shop on the daily. it was my record shop and studio downstairs, and my bedroom upstairs. ooh, it was great. i was gonna stay and turn it into a full studio, but there was to many windows.

when it was open.......


when i moved out.....

I prefer "open."

[dsw]

a nice last forever format like vinyl.

Well, they don't last forever, they do wear out. And the more times you play them the worse they sound. If you never play them, they last forever maybe.

[Judas Jetski]

Yeah, really. If you want vinyl to sound good, play it once or twice to knock out any gank left over from the recording process. Then record it to analog tape on your reel to reel. It'll be good for the next 50 years.

Unless the tape develops sticky shed

And assuming your tape deck still works in 50 years.

And assuming you can still hear, after 50 years of playing or recording loud loud music on stage or in your studio.

And assuming you don't get hit by a bus in the middle of year 27

Nothin' lasts forever...



don't mean records aren't plenty cool though

[hiddendriveways]

You can keep your flame torches lit and try to burn up this thread, but the vinyl movement will not be stopped! </patheticintentionalsilliness>

Ableton, one of the fastest growing + most popular + by far the most innovative DAW's out there, recently notified the public of its partnership with Serato:

http://www.ableton.com/serato-partnership

Why partner with Serato? A large portion of Ableton's user base has been requesting to use Live with turntables and timecode vinyl.

Dude, note:
The WFMU record fair is this weekend! DO NOT SLACK. Start writing out the list of albums that you want to buy there now. If you just show up unprepared - your head will spin when you get there and you'll forget every single artist you love. START LIST NOW. YES I AM YELLING.

http://www.wfmu.org/recfair/

[hiddendriveways]

Jay Leno backs it up:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bja0ajElyTo

[chuckfurok]

There's a new Bauhaus record? This thread offers some hope.