Anybody Still Listen To Lp's

[6STRINGS 9LIVES]

I spent a little time this past weekend sifting through my old albums , dusted off a couple of old chestnuts and fired up the turntable . funny thing is I can remember the details of the purchase of each album i played . Looking at the cover art and the liner notes brought back great memories and reminded me that something seems to have been lost in the way that cd's present the music and the artist . Maybe its just me but i never seem to look to closely at the art or notes in the cd package ( maybe because i cant read the small print anymore ) But I distinctly remember enjoying the whole package as presented by an album , the art especially , those Roger Dean, Yes , Uriah Heep albums were amazing .. I had the Doobie Brothers " The Captain And Me " on the platter and it seemed so warm and full compared to the digital percision of the cd , still gotta love the crackles and subtle pops of vynil , and you are sortta forced to listen to the tracks in the order the artist intended , no random or shuffle features .. My old Zepplin lp's still sound great and bring back great memories of a simpler time and place .
So I was wondering if anyone else still listens to their lp's.....6S9L

[M29]

Hello 6STRINGS 9LIVES,

Man you really put that experience into words! I get this feeling to a lessor degree when I hear an old song but to actually take the old albums out would really bring it home. This I must do!

A couple songs that bring memories to me are like you say Led Zepplin. I remember hearing this being played in the halls at school in 12th grade. Hmm Now that I think back I wonder what they were playing it on? I don't remember but I think they actually had a record player in the hall, must have been as I think the only other players were 8 tracks. Lots of stuff went on back then and I wonder why they let us do that stuff in school, today they probably would not. Another song or album memorable to me is The Amboy Dukes Migration album, Ted used to play around around our area all the time. The guitar player I used to play with in our band had this record and we used to listen to it in his attic bedroom all the time trying to pick parts off of it. I remember a drop of florescent red paint dropped on the record and messed up part of the song. I think I ended up with my friends album, I will have to take a look for it and see if that paint drop pis still there... I have been trying to find my friend over the past few years and maybe...he might like to have this album back, hmm...

Thanks 6STRINGS 9LIVES for the walk through memory lane...
Now...where the heck did I put that turntable...And the albums..........

M29

[sunvalleylaw]

I still pull mine out occasionally. After my first few albums, I started recording on to Maxell tapes and archiving the vinyl, so I have lot in really good shape. I would like to try the iMic thing to record some of them into iTunes. But the experience of listening on vinyl is just so different as you say. I was always looking for perfect album sides. Side two of Abbey Road comes to mind. Also, I listened to Dark Side of the Moon endlessly, and still feel it is mandatory to play it in order. I also can look at old albums and remember buying nearly each one. Sitting, listening, and looking at/reading the album covers and liner notes is a bit of a lost art. Some are produced nicely that come with CDs, but it just doesn't seem the same. Also, probably, because I am not 15 with time in the afternoon to sit there and listen to an album. ;-)

[Tim]

I have some Reader's Digest LP that my mother gave me. They have everyting from Blues, Jazz, R&B, and the so called diferent Island music, etc, etc. I plan to make CDs out of all the LPs in this set. There are about 20 LPs.

Oh yea, i will need to buy a new record palyer. If anybody rememebers what these are, hopefully you can recommened a less costly one than what I have seen so far.

[sunvalleylaw]

If you can find a straight arm, belt driven turntable by Technics or the like, and get a reasonable stylus (or needle) it should be good enough. Maybe check ebay. There are lots out there for big bucks, but a simple, belt driven unit in good shape should do the trick. When I bought mine in 1985, a straight arm was preferred in the price range. I still have the same one, and it works fine. A couple years ago, I bought a new Shure stylus from the local electronics store for twenty bucks or so.

[pie_man_25]

Yeah, I listen to the LPs my dad has, and I'd have to say I agree with what you're saying, except when I get that feeling of nostalgia, I also feel kinda depressed, becausethis is the best music I've ever heard, and I completely missed out on it all. But it still sounds better than CDs, by far waayy better.

[Tim]

Hmmm! Maybe I will attempt to resurrect the one I own. It has been in the attic for 13 years. A new stylus, a small lube job and a new belt maybe all I need. I believe it is a Pioneer record player. I will look tomorrow. Thanks all for the inspiration!!!

[sunvalleylaw]

Hmmm! Maybe I will attempt to resurrect the one I own. It has been in the attic for 13 years. A new stylus, a small lube job and a new belt maybe all I need. I believe it is a Pioneer record player. I will look tomorrow. Thanks all for the inspiration!!!

Yeah, just do that. Mine still has the same belt even (22 years?? ) and it still holds an even speed. My speed is adjustable with a little dial so I can check it. Works same as it did when it was new. I think it was the cheapest part of the system. I still use it, my Denon receiver it came with, and have the Dahlquist DQM-V speakers it came with, but they need to be re-coned. Will get to that some day. They sound really good. Right now, bookshelve speaks are doing the job. The CD player (pretty new technology when I bought it) bit the dust, plus a couple more since. The Nakamichi cassette deck hung in there, but has some sort of tension problem. It is still in the garage, but I don't really have a reason to fix it. The receiver and turntable have just kept plugging though!

[Spudman***]

I still have hundreds of vinyl albums. I haven't listened to any in years and years though. My turntable still works great. One of these days I'll get all my albums out so I can start playing them again. The problem has been that they take up so much space and I don't want to fill up the living area with my "junk." Gotta keep the girls happy ya know.

I think about them often because I have some real gems in the collection. KC and The Sunshine Band just doesn't sound as good on CD. Ya know?

[Jimi75]

Unfortunately, all my LPs got lost when I moved away from home and my father died. Sometimes that is what happens. A friend of mine is a LP trader and he visits the fleemarket twice a week to buy and trade new LPs. Everytimne we listen to one of his LPs I feel that it sounds completely different than a cd. Nothing beats the warm analogue sound of vinyl. The direct transportation of dynamics is what lacks the cd.

Furthermore, I still remember working out songs only with vinyl, means to turbn the needle back and forth thousands of times to figure out a lick, without having the chance to look up tablature on the internet and without having the money to buy tablature books that cost around 45 USD back then.......

Those were good times.

[Tone2TheBone]

Mine were stolen and or lost and or never returned by borrowers. I replaced those with cassettes remember those?

[Tim]

For all you LP owners ... just turn them into MP3s. I plan on burning all the Reader's Digest albums on to a DVD as MP3s. I understand you can put something like 20 hours of MP3s on a DVD.

[6STRINGS 9LIVES]

I use a program called ezaudiorecorder , it allows me to record anything that goes through or can be routed through my sound card including streaming audio , it converts to several types of audio file including mp3 .
In my set up I have all my audio components hooked to my reciever and then take a rca to a 1/8 cable from a tape out to my sound card line in , line out from the sound card runs back into aux in on the reciever , so recording lp's cassettes , reel to reel or whatever is as simple as switching sources on the reciever . If anyone is interested the web site for ezaudiorecorder is
http://www.ezaudiorecorder.com.. great little program with a very cool interface and it sell fro about 30 bucks , its a digital download purchase .
Neat to hear everyones take on lp's , I've managed to hold on to mine over the years and have been given collections by friends who have lost interest or ran out of room , i never turn down lp's . I've got a couple of old turntables that work well and like SUNVALLEY said maintance on them is very minimal and parts are easy to find . I remember when i was a teenager having the obligatory blacklight posters , the Hendrix head shot one is especially memorable , and my albums in my room and retreating to my inner sanctum to listen to THE STONES, Tull, yes , etc . , burn some strawberry insence and read Cream , or Circus .. those were the days , now its hard to find time just to write about it .. hey Tim if you ever transfer those readers digest lp's to dvd I'd love a copy .. 6S9L

[ted s]

The last time I hooked up my turntable it must have been 10 years since I listened to an LP, I sat in the dark with "Who's Next" and "The Wall" cranked .. aah, good times.. sometimes I miss static and dust.

[Tim]

Hey! Dig the new advertisement above to convert LPs into CDs.

[SuperSwede]

I have a lot of LP´s in my garage but my record player broke down a few years ago. I´m considering to buy a new record player so I can transfer all that music to my computer, all thanks to this thread (thank you 6s9l )

I was thinking about something like this, a USB turntable:

http://www.numark.com/index.html?htt...overview&n=144

[tot_Ou_tard]

Oh yeah, I still listen to LP's from time to time.

And I agree, there is nothing like holding that almbum cover in your hand and immersing yourself in the art. I also like the look and feel of the big, grooved, disc.

When they skip...not so much.

[6STRINGS 9LIVES]

Wow Super , a usb turntable ,now thats an idea whose time has come , thanks for the heads up on that . seems everyone has some albums kicking around the house , garage , basement etc , by the way some of those albums are getting to be pretty pricey , I have a Buddy Holly thats worth about 350.00 , just do a google on record collecting , or vintage lp records , amazing how valuable some of this stuff has become . 6S9L

[SuperSwede]

6s9l, a friend of mine has one of those USB turntables and he says that they give superior audio quality. The signal doesnt have to go through any dodgy rca cables, it converts the signal directly inside that fancy apparatus and send the digital audio straight into your computer. You can always add a little post-eq inside your favorite sound recording app.