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Stuck in the Past - a 33 RPM thread for vinyl listeners and collectors

FLEABttn

Banned
Hm.. any recommendation you might have in mind? Preferably not higher than than 150$.

There's nothing new you'll be able to buy with that price range that's adequate. Your best bet is going to garage sales in hopes for finding some late 1970's to late 1980's that is in good condition. Maybe you know someone who has one chilling in an attic somewhere?

Someone else can probably speak to which "classic" players are good. I pretty much ruled it out in my case because of limited supply in my area. Didn't want to try my luck with eBay.
 

Danielsan

Member
Hm.. any recommendation you might have in mind? Preferably not higher than than 150$.
I'm by no means an expert on vinyl, but from what I've picked up out of this thread as well as some other sources the Pro-Ject Debut III is the cheapest worthwhile record player out there that is offered new. A quick search on Amazon.com shows me it's $400, and though I'm sure it can be had for cheaper, it will still be out of your price range.

As others have stated your best bet it to look for a second hand turntable from 70s and 80s. A Technics SL-1200, SL-1200 MKII or SL-1210 would be a turntable to really look out for. But, if your local area as anything like mine, you'll have a hard time getting one of those for less than $250-$400 as well. I personally bought a Technics SL23 secondhand for €50 to tide me over until I have the money to purchase a nice new Pro-Ject player. It may not be as great as its far more popular direct drive brethren, but it's still a very nice deck and far better than what you will get new for double the money.
 
You could easily get a hi-fi Dual or Marantz or even Sony or whatever for less than $100. Only good thing about recommending Pro-Jects and shit to everyone is that in 5 or so years you can get boatloads of them used for pennies.
 

Wolfe

Member
Alright an old vinyl thread I never noticed. I just got back into records the other year but my setup is nothing special at the moment, an old Harmon receiver + JVC direct drive record player and some uh, DCM I think, timeframe 600 speakers? Something like that. Just been buying used records of 80's stuff I'm into when I find them, I love the current print 180 gram records just that it's a lot easier to drop 2-5 dollars on an old album than 20-30 on a recently printed one.

Edit: I think the model of the JVC is L-A31, not sure if it's shit or not but it's doing well for my needs.
 
My first post so I wanted it to be in here :)
YuoWS.png

I've only recently started getting vinyls, but I think I have a pretty damn good collection so far. Sorry about the bad quality pic. In Rainbows, For Emma, Forever Ago, Bon Iver, Bon Iver (Red), Alligator (Green), Boxer (Yellow), High Violet, Funeral, and Neon Bible. Need to get the Suburbs next..

Nice score on the purple High Violet, Danielsan! How much did that cost you?
 

Danielsan

Member
My first post so I wanted it to be in here :)
YuoWS.png

I've only recently started getting vinyls, but I think I have a pretty damn good collection so far. Sorry about the bad quality pic. In Rainbows, For Emma, Forever Ago, Bon Iver, Bon Iver (Red), Alligator (Green), Boxer (Yellow), High Violet, Funeral, and Neon Bible. Need to get the Suburbs next..

Nice score on the purple High Violet, Danielsan! How much did that cost you?
Welcome to the boards. Excellent taste in music I must say. I want that red Bon Iver vinyl so bad, but shipping alone would be $40. :(

The purple High Violet cost me €23 which roughly translates to $30. However most new records cost €20 over here are, so it wasn't that bad.
 
Welcome to the boards. Excellent taste in music I must say. I want that red Bon Iver vinyl so bad, but shipping alone would be $40. :(

The purple High Violet cost me €23 which roughly translates to $30. However most new records cost €20 over here are, so it wasn't that bad.
Thank you! You as well :) Oh wow that's twice as much as I payed. If you have extra cash, though, I definitely recommend buying it. The red color is absolutely beautiful. Pictures don't do it justice.

Are you serious? The normal black High Violet (which is the one I have) is $20, but I haven't even seen the purple one on sale anymore. Probably at a really high price on ebay, I'm sure.
 

Danielsan

Member
Thank you! You as well :) Oh wow that's twice as much as I payed. If you have extra cash, though, I definitely recommend buying it. The red color is absolutely beautiful. Pictures don't do it justice.

Are you serious? The normal black High Violet (which is the one I have) is $20, but I haven't even seen the purple one on sale anymore. Probably at a really high price on ebay, I'm sure.
Haha you know what's bad? I'm now looking at ordering some extra stuff from them to mitigate the shipping costs. It seems to be a fixed rate of $40. I just have to have that red Bon Iver vinyl and while browsing the site I noticed their exclusive M83 vinyl as well. I might need that one even more. I'll probably end up spending around €120 ($160) thanks to your post! Where did you get those coloured The National records by the way? I have The Boxer, but it's a normal black edition which I got The National's site.

Yeah. I got it from a local record store franchise. They still have the limited edition in stock on their website for the same price.


edit: I somehow only just noticed you James Blake avatar. You're officially my favourite new member.
 
Haha you know what's bad? I'm now looking at ordering some extra stuff from them to mitigate the shipping costs. It seems to be a fixed rate of $40. I just have to have that red Bon Iver vinyl and while browsing the site I noticed their exclusive M83 vinyl as well. I might need that one even more. I'll probably end up spending around €120 ($160) thanks to your post! Where did you get those coloured The National records by the way? I have The Boxer, but it's a normal black edition which I got The National's site.

Yeah. I got it from a local record store franchise. They still have the limited edition in stock on their website for the same price.
Haha. Yeah Urban Outfitters has such cool colored vinyls. The M83 one looks amazing (I would play Midnight City nonstop for a week if I had it). I remember in store they had Washed Out's new album on white. Was so tempted to get it. Wow 160.. Might be worth it lol.

I got them from the 4AD store. They're colored and 180 gram too! Also have a great price. Here are the links: http://shopusa.4ad.com/vinyl/boxer-colored-vinyl and http://shopusa.4ad.com/vinyl/alligator-colored-vinyl
Trust me, Boxer in yellow looks amazing. My Alligator has a red streak on it though :(

EDIT: Haha just saw your edit. Thank you! I noticed yours right away, obviously. :p
 

Danielsan

Member
Haha. Yeah Urban Outfitters has such cool colored vinyls. The M83 one looks amazing (I would play Midnight City nonstop for a week if I had it). I remember in store they had Washed Out's new album on white. Was so tempted to get it. Wow 160.. Might be worth it lol.

I got them from the 4AD store. They're colored and 180 gram too! Also have a great price. Here are the links: http://shopusa.4ad.com/vinyl/boxer-colored-vinyl and http://shopusa.4ad.com/vinyl/alligator-colored-vinyl
Trust me, Boxer in yellow looks amazing. My Alligator has a red streak on it though :(

EDIT: Haha just saw your edit. Thank you! I noticed yours right away, obviously. :p
Man. I would have loved to buy that white Washed Out record.
$160 is a lot of cash, but I'm trying to justify it in my mind. I'll be getting 4 records + 4 album frames. The records would cost me €85 in the Netherlands and which leaves €35 for the four frames which all things considered is reasonably cheap. It will have to do. :lol

Thanks for the links. I'll bookmark them for now, though I doubt I'll double dip on The Boxer. Really wish I had known about the 180 gram coloured version before though. Shame about the red streek Aligator because it looks fantastic in the photos.
 
Wow, didn't realise GAF had a vinyl community. It's good to be hear.

Currently rocking around 2000 7"/10" and maybe 400 LPs across loads of genres. My girlfriend is a huge 80s fan so we've got some classics plus a lot 90s britpop/indie and indie from now-a-days.

I'll take some pics of the real good stuff over the weekend to post.

Woo! Three months to record store day!
 

Alucrid

Banned
you can try posting a list here, or sell on ebay. i never bought from discogs but it seems to be a good storefront, the selection is massive.

So for anyone thinking of selling some vinyl Discogs has been working out great for me. Made about $400 so far.

Wow, didn't realise GAF had a vinyl community. It's good to be hear.

Currently rocking around 2000 7"/10" and maybe 400 LPs across loads of genres. My girlfriend is a huge 80s fan so we've got some classics plus a lot 90s britpop/indie and indie from now-a-days.

I'll take some pics of the real good stuff over the weekend to post.

Woo! Three months to record store day!

:lol, I wonder how many pounds (kilos) that weighs.
 

Danielsan

Member
WPlW3.jpg


At least a record a month for a poor student like me.

January: St. Vincent - Strange Mercy
That looks fantastic. What kind of player are you using? And is that an Ortofon 2M on there?
I still need to give St. Vincent a decent shot. For some reason it never clicked with me, which is odd because it should be right up my alley.
 

Cosmic Bus

pristine morning snow
Ugh, I just looked around for Kate Bush's Aerial to complete my collection and the damn thing is going for $225+ most places. Looks like that's going to remain a pipe dream. :(

Everyone here has such slick turntable setups! I'm rocking a $20 Sony from the '80s.
 

Danielsan

Member
Ugh, I just looked around for Kate Bush's Aerial to complete my collection and the damn thing is going for $225+ most places. Looks like that's going to remain a pipe dream. :(

Everyone here has such slick turntable setups! I'm rocking a $20 Sony from the '80s.
I'd still love to see your turntable setup Cosmic.

I've repurposed an old TV cabinet of mine to be my turntable cabinet. Decided to paint it white last week. It's pretty much almost finished. I just have to give the doors one last lick of paint. That said. I'm kinda considering leaving the doors off and maybe take out one of the shelves so that I can put my records vertically in the cabinet.

Here's what the setup looks like now (without the doors).

aalpR.jpg
 

Cosmic Bus

pristine morning snow
I dig that you put the white vinyl on to go with the newly white cabinet. ;)

I'd still love to see your turntable setup Cosmic.

The deck of shame that sits just below my cutting edge 19" CRT hand-me-down tv!

dFhdW.jpg


I almost want one of these '83 Sony PS-F5s simply for the novelty:

tumblr_lyky6uvw1n1qjbrwqo1_r1_500.jpg
 

Prez

Member
Does anyone keep a list of his collection? How did you make it? A simple excell sheet or did you use a program that's made for it?
 

l1geh

Banned
That looks fantastic. What kind of player are you using? And is that an Ortofon 2M on there?
I still need to give St. Vincent a decent shot. For some reason it never clicked with me, which is odd because it should be right up my alley.

It´s a Sony PS-LX 310. Not the best player to have, but it´s the one my parents bought when they first moved in together, so it has sentimental value. Still, I might replace it sometime, new speakers are more of a priority right now.

St.Vincent definitly isn´t easy to get into and I go months at a time without listening to a single song. But if I´m in the right mood...

@Stabbie: So far I can name all the records I´have from memory, so no need for a list..
 

andylsun

Member
Hm.. any recommendation you might have in mind? Preferably not higher than than 150$.

If you have Craigslist where you are you should be able to pick up a lesser Direct Drive technics for well under that. I picked up a very clean SL-1700 with dustcover and original matt for $20 - the SL 1200MK2 is high price, but the others that are nearly as good go for much less.

I've got a 1200MK2 as well, and the 1700 is nearly as good - if you get one of the models with suspension get a 7mm long reach socket (Kobalt tools one works well) to adjust the suspension, as it probably won't be right when you get it.

Etrcv.jpg


SL1700 with Choose Life - PF Project spinning

Where are you (country/area)?
 

Hazaro

relies on auto-aim
I have about 60 records I want to unload. I searched under two websites for listing prices and only have a few over $10 (Classical collections mainly).

Anyone know what the trade-in value for records that go for ~$5-6 is for about Very Good condition is? The covers are sort of worn on some of them, but some are Near Mint as well.

There's a record shop I passed by that I'm considering offloading them too.

I've been holding on to these for too long and I don't have much space here and I need to offload 'stuff' that I have.

When I have some extra time I'll photo the covers into an image album.
 

sankt-Antonio

:^)--?-<
ghyzoneh.jpg

Just got these two. Bought the JB LP because of all the hype on Gaf... :D

Oh, and I´m eagerly waiting for my new cartridge (Ortofon M2 red) and a acrylic platter to arrive.
 
So I guess this is the right place to ask this.

I recently picked up myself a turntable and set up a station in my home office.

Now I'm really loving it, and have found a bunch of great used records at local stores, mostly soul and funk from the 70s that sound great and are just a delight to listen to. Some of it is quite hard to find in any other form, and the novelty of records is just too much fun.

I also have a couple of brand new records - repressings/re-releases, such as James Brown's "Live at the Apollo" that I recently found after much searching, but I don't really understand why people buy a lot of new albums in record form.

Generally, record lovers argue for the superiority of vinyl because it is the purest form of listening to a recording, as it is pressed in analog and no information can be digitally lost, no matter how unnoticeable.

But music today is recorded digitally and mastered digitally. So whereas with old music, you're taking analog recordings and digitizing them, so they are debatably inferior on CD, or at the very least they lose something intangible, nowadays you are taking a digital recording and converting it to analog, making whatever advantage there was void. Am I missing something here, or are new records of new releases purchased just for the novelty of it?

I understand a handful of artists, like Sharon Jones, still use analog equipment to make their recordings, but I didn't think most did?
 

andylsun

Member
So I guess this is the right place to ask this.

I recently picked up myself a turntable and set up a station in my home office.

Now I'm really loving it, and have found a bunch of great used records at local stores, mostly soul and funk from the 70s that sound great and are just a delight to listen to. Some of it is quite hard to find in any other form, and the novelty of records is just too much fun.

I also have a couple of brand new records - repressings/re-releases, such as James Brown's "Live at the Apollo" that I recently found after much searching, but I don't really understand why people buy a lot of new albums in record form.

Generally, record lovers argue for the superiority of vinyl because it is the purest form of listening to a recording, as it is pressed in analog and no information can be digitally lost, no matter how unnoticeable.

But music today is recorded digitally and mastered digitally. So whereas with old music, you're taking analog recordings and digitizing them, so they are debatably inferior on CD, or at the very least they lose something intangible, nowadays you are taking a digital recording and converting it to analog, making whatever advantage there was void. Am I missing something here, or are new records of new releases purchased just for the novelty of it?

I understand a handful of artists, like Sharon Jones, still use analog equipment to make their recordings, but I didn't think most did?

Not all music today is recorded and mastered digitally, and even if it is, it's normally at a much higher resolution (24bit 96khz) than can be reproduced by CD. There can also be large differences in the mastering between CD and LP releases.

CD's are normally mixed to be as loud as possible, where vinyl tends to have more dynamics and headroom. Compare the CD to the LP of Stadium Arcadia by The Red Hot Chilli Peppers for instance.
 

Danielsan

Member
The deck of shame that sits just below my cutting edge 19" CRT hand-me-down tv!

http://i.imgur.com/dFhdW.jpg[IMG]
[/QUOTE]
That doesn't look bad at all Cosmic. Especially considering you only spent $20 on it!

[quote="sankt-Antonio, post: 34688735"][IMG]http://s14.directupload.net/images/120130/ghyzoneh.jpg
Just got these two. Bought the JB LP because of all the hype on Gaf... :D

Oh, and I´m eagerly waiting for my new cartridge (Ortofon M2 red) and a acrylic platter to arrive.
Great pick up. I doubt you'll be disappointed. James Blake on 180grams is still the best sounding vinyl I've heard thus far. It's truly sublime.
Also to segue into King of Fuh's post. This is a quote from James Blake about his record:

James Blake interview said:
Pitchfork: Are you frustrated by how some people are talking about your album?
JB: There's nothing more destructive to the whole process of analysis and press attention than just putting on the vinyl on and listening to it, and nobody has done that yet. That's the funny thing-- I wrote this music [to be heard] on vinyl. When you put the record on, it will sound and look and feel like I think it should.
Listening to [Stevie Wonder's] Talking Book on iTunes doesn't have the same effect as listening to it on vinyl. When I got the test presses for my album and listened to each side, that's when I first felt incredibly proud of what I'd done. Even though I was really happy with it as music, I never really felt that from having this collection of tracks on my computer for a year. The whole dubstep scene helped me to appreciate vinyl.

Though I'll admit, that the novelty of records is a major part of the charm for me.
 

andylsun

Member
Great pick up. I doubt you'll be disappointed. James Blake on 180gram is still the best sounding vinyl I've heard thus far. It's truly sublime.

Be really interested to get this on vinyl - I have it on CD and not sure how well my needle will track the bass on Limit to your Love - it goes very low...

There's also quite a lot of hiss and noise on some of the tracks - I didn't realize it was a home-recorded album when I bought it.
 
Not all music today is recorded and mastered digitally, and even if it is, it's normally at a much higher resolution (24bit 96khz) than can be reproduced by CD. There can also be large differences in the mastering between CD and LP releases.

CD's are normally mixed to be as loud as possible, where vinyl tends to have more dynamics and headroom. Compare the CD to the LP of Stadium Arcadia by The Red Hot Chilli Peppers for instance.


Ah, that's good to know....

I had assumed that they just mastered an album these days, and sent the same master to be published in all formats.

I understand that older vinyls - and even older CDs - have more dynamics and headroom than CDs do these days, but thought that was a result of new mixing practices. I didn't know special masters were made for vinyl collectors.
 
Ah, that's good to know....

I had assumed that they just mastered an album these days, and sent the same master to be published in all formats.

I understand that older vinyls - and even older CDs - have more dynamics and headroom than CDs do these days, but thought that was a result of new mixing practices. I didn't know special masters were made for vinyl collectors.

Aside from that, many new records include a download code for the digital version of the album. In those cases, getting the record is kind of a no-brainer for me.
 

Echoes

Member
I'm by no means an expert on vinyl, but from what I've picked up out of this thread as well as some other sources the Pro-Ject Debut III is the cheapest worthwhile record player out there that is offered new. A quick search on Amazon.com shows me it's $400, and though I'm sure it can be had for cheaper, it will still be out of your price range.

As others have stated your best bet it to look for a second hand turntable from 70s and 80s. A Technics SL-1200, SL-1200 MKII or SL-1210 would be a turntable to really look out for. But, if your local area as anything like mine, you'll have a hard time getting one of those for less than $250-$400 as well. I personally bought a Technics SL23 secondhand for €50 to tide me over until I have the money to purchase a nice new Pro-Ject player. It may not be as great as its far more popular direct drive brethren, but it's still a very nice deck and far better than what you will get new for double the money.

Thanks for your input! One last question: if I got a Pro-Ject Debut III, would I need any other thing to make it work? Or just plug in my Denon (and maybe NuForce Icon HDP? Would that work?) and I'm good to go?
 

Stealth

Member
Cambridge Audio is good for entry level pre-amps - 540 or the 640 if you're willing to spend for it. I have a Pro-Ject pre-amp that I got with my Debut III and it does its job just fine, too. Of course you could also look at tube amps, but that's getting you up there in price. Something like a Little Dot MkII or III would work as both a pre-amp and headphone amp, though.
 

joshaleste

Neo Member
This thread is packed to the rafters with loveliness... a lot of great records floating about.

Mxjqq.jpg


B&O 7002 Beocenter. Ram Mini bookshelf speakers.
 

Echoes

Member
Cambridge Audio is good for entry level pre-amps - 540 or the 640 if you're willing to spend for it. I have a Pro-Ject pre-amp that I got with my Debut III and it does its job just fine, too. Of course you could also look at tube amps, but that's getting you up there in price. Something like a Little Dot MkII or III would work as both a pre-amp and headphone amp, though.

Great, thanks. So I'm all set with the Debut III & the preamp, no other mandatory additions?
 

andylsun

Member
Need a phono pre-amp.

I picked up an Art DJ Pre II from amazon for $40. Works well, has adjustable gain and capacitor loading. While probably not up to the quality of the Cambridge Audio, it's a good starter pre-amp. It comes with an AC adapter, but can be powered from battery (PP3). Going to make some measurements to compare the noise floor between the two (AC vs Battery).
 

wenis

Registered for GAF on September 11, 2001.
I just scored a sweet OOP copy of Life of Leisure in a purple haze vinyl print, 1 out of 200. Only for $60 bucks!

not mine, an example

:D
 

STG!

Member
Congrat's on the new pickup! Liking that translucent white of the platter.

Does anyone keep a list of his collection? How did you make it? A simple excell sheet or did you use a program that's made for it?

For the main style of music that I collect I use an Excel sheet that I sort by label then by cat#, which is how I have my actual records stored. It also has columns for artist, title (if the LP/EP has one), tracks, notes, and just recently I added condition which is just a reminder to me if anything I have I could use a better copy of. :)

Everything else though I don't have it as organized, probably should start a separate file just to have on-hand.

Also, many people like to use sites like discogs to list their collection.
 
I don't keep a list. Buying duplicates? It happens when it happens, you can always flip it or keep a spare. I did organize my records alphabetically 6 or months ago but been kind of lacking on that so the new records are at the end of Z. 7"'s tend to get organized after take records out for DJing and put em back.
 
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