The vinyl spin-all

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After spending my lunch break thumbing through records at a nearby store today, I got to thinking it might be fun to have a thread here about those nifty discs we enjoy spinning. I don't know if there will be enough interest to keep it going, but I'd love to see what people are picking up and what they've been listening to.

I've been scoping out the thrift stores quite a bit lately for older music on the cheap. Hidden amongst the Chuck Mangione and Ray Conniff records are some tidbits here and there. It's nice because I don't mind grabbing stuff I'm not familiar with or not sure if I will like on a whim when it's only 99 cents. My favorite score so far was a copy of Dave Brubeck's "Time Out", which I happened to find about a week after he passed away. I also came across a copy of DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince "He's the DJ, I'm the Rapper" in a sea of Mormon Tabernacle Choir records.

Today's trip to the record store netted me a copy of El Camino by the Black Keys.

I had gone in there to see if they had a copy of "Between the Ditches" by Reverend Peyton's Big Damn Band. I just love this song so much.

A couple weeks ago I picked up the newest Toadies album, it's really good too.

So whatcha been listening to lately?

Edit: Also, apparently April 20 is Record Store Day.

I'm in the drawn-out throes of upgrading to a grown-up hifi again. A turntable is on my to-get list, as there's a box of records living in my basement that aren't getting any love.

At least the new receiver has phono inputs - baby steps!

Most of my records are hardcore punk records so I don't know how much I'll fit in here, but I still like this.

SixteenBlue wrote:

Most of my records are hardcore punk records so I don't know how much I'll fit in here, but I still like this.

Ohnononono sir, you'll fit right in. I would love to get my hands on some good punk records. Unfortunately the record shop in town has a pretty sparse selection of such things. Speaking of which, through a strange linking of facebook pages I ended up "friends" with the record label Oi! The Boat out of the midwest somewhere I think. They just released an EP for the band Victory and have been posting some of the songs on youtube. I really like this song and might just have to order a copy of it. They had a preorder of the first run and sold out in a couple hours, but I think they have a second printing in the works.

fleabagmatt wrote:
SixteenBlue wrote:

Most of my records are hardcore punk records so I don't know how much I'll fit in here, but I still like this.

Ohnononono sir, you'll fit right in. I would love to get my hands on some good punk records. Unfortunately the record shop in town has a pretty sparse selection of such things. Speaking of which, through a strange linking of facebook pages I ended up "friends" with the record label Oi! The Boat out of the midwest somewhere I think. They just released an EP for the band Victory and have been posting some of the songs on youtube. I really like this song and might just have to order a copy of it. They had a preorder of the first run and sold out in a couple hours, but I think they have a second printing in the works.

Where in WA do you live? Might be able to recommend places.

Edit: Also check out the band The Whiskey Rebels on Oi! The Boat.

I'm yonder east, in the Tri Cities.

I was in Walla Walla last weekend and meant to check out Hot Poop, but never got around to it.

Hurray! Anyways, I got a Rega RP1. I like it pretty well. I can really hear good bass now. It sounds like someone is actually playing a bass in the room. I was playing the new Jimi Hendrix previously unreleased vinyl.

I was at His Master's Voice, otherwise known as HMV when I saw In The Aeroplane Over the Sea by Neutral Milk Hotel and it was so beautiful I had to have it.

I rarely buy vinyls but when I do, it's for the artwork. I have a turntable but it's not very good and it's too much work.

Listening to Joy Division's Unknown Pleasure on it is an experience though

Indy Brit guitar rock stalwarts British Sea Power's "Valhalla Dancehall" is a joy to listen to on vinyl.

I went on a bit of a buying binge in the last few weeks. Got some Dylan, Talking Heads, Arcade Fire, Radiohead, and Titus Andronicus. Needless to say, my roommates have been pleased with me dominating the main room of the apartment.

interstate78 wrote:

I was at His Master's Voice, otherwise known as HMV when I saw In The Aeroplane Over the Sea by Neutral Milk Hotel and it was so beautiful I had to have it.

When I bought that record I probably listened to it three times in a row.

My 1210s are still in the flight cases until I get a bigger house =/

I have, however, been able to teach my son to do the "aaaaaaaayah!" from the start of Cissy Strut by The Meters

Maq wrote:

My 1210s are still in the flight cases until I get a bigger house =/

I have, however, been able to teach my son to do the "aaaaaaaayah!" from the start of Cissy Strut by The Meters

Wilco is my favorite band so naturally this came to mind:

I listened to The Modern Jazz Quartet: The Last Concert while eating lunch today. It was magical. It's so nice to finally have a turntable that does bass right. It really does feel like there's someone in my stereo playing a real string bass. The bass and vibes sound ridiculously good. It makes me so happy!

I had a few concerns about the RP1. First, the tonearm cueing mechanism was taking a long time to drop the needle to the vinyl. I contacted Needle Doctor and the guy said that it might take awhile to break in. It seems to be doing so and it now lowers in under 5 seconds usually. Secondly, the arm tended to lower at a slight diagonal. After making sure everything is level, it still doesn't want to drop perfectly perpendicular. The Needle Doctor guy helping me said that that is normal and is part of how the anti-skating works on the RP1. It seems to be doing it a lot less diagonal than it used to, so I'm happy.

I'll take some pictures soon to share!

Here's my favorite track from that album for anyone curious. It's incredible. I highly recommend picking up the album on vinyl. I think I get it for 8 bucks or so at a record store. It's the perfect music for a cocktail party. You instantly feel cool when you listen to it.

Hey Tuffalo, you live in Portland, right? What record stores do I need to go to?

I have been threatening to get back into vinyl. This thread may push me over the edge. While I have a very wide variety of music I listen to, I would pretty much only focus on Jazz. I already have a pair of 1967 Klipsch Heresy and a 80 watt Macintosh amp. Now I need to get a turntable.

H to the ickle wrote:

Hey Tuffalo, you live in Portland, right? What record stores do I need to go to?

2nd Avenue Records - 400 SW 2nd Ave
Green Noise Records - 3840 SE Gladstone S

Those are my personal go to spots, but YMMV based on musical interests. 2nd Ave is good for everyone though, I think.

fishdude wrote:

I have been threatening to get back into vinyl. This thread may push me over the edge. While I have a very wide variety of music I listen to, I would pretty much only focus on Jazz. I already have a pair of 1967 Klipsch Heresy and a 80 watt Macintosh amp. Now I need to get a turntable.

Sweet, I've got some old Klipsch Forte speakers (late 80s, I think). I love them! I'll bet that Macintosh amp is rad. I've got a Carver receiver/amplifier which does a great enough job that I don't feel the need to upgrade.

SixteenBlue wrote:
H to the ickle wrote:

Hey Tuffalo, you live in Portland, right? What record stores do I need to go to?

2nd Avenue Records - 400 SW 2nd Ave
Green Noise Records - 3840 SE Gladstone S

Those are my personal go to spots, but YMMV based on musical interests. 2nd Ave is good for everyone though, I think.

2nd avenue records is a fun place to go because it's a real hole-in-the-wall that's been there forever. I don't think I've been to Green Noise. I usually go to the Music Millennium on Burnside as my first choice. The people there are pretty decent and the building is fun. They have the best classical selection in Portland I believe. They used to have a Music Millennium on the west side, but that closed down. My second choice is usually Everyday Music on the east side. It's huge, but the people there are usually fairly annoying in that hipster I-don't-care-about-you-whatever way. The one on the west side is also pretty big (right by The Crystal Ballroom). You can get a lot of fairly cheap stuff there. Jackpot is okay but the selection is limited and used stuff is overpriced IIRC. There is a cool place on Mississippi that I've been to once (Mississippi Records). Haven't made it back there.

Record Store Day is very fun in Portland. If you want the really rare stuff, you're gonna have to work for it, and there's no guarantee that the store will get what you're looking for. That being said, it's probably in your wallet's best interest to show up in the late morning. There's always plenty of cool stuff to buy. I probably need to not go this year -- it's just really not good for my wallet.

Edit: I have the Forte speakers, not the Chorus ones.

Green Noise is a mostly punk shop, if I remember right. I think it's run by whoever's behind Dirtnap records...or maybe it's the other way around. Not sure which was first.

I love the Heresy. I wanted a set of Cornwalls, but they were a bit out of my price range. They really love the small tube amps.

Thanks for the recs, I'll definitely get out in the next couple of weeks and spend too much money!

I got everything in my setup as a gift or for free. I have a couple of crappy Aiwa speakers that I got from a friend and a buddy's dad gave me a sweet old Pioneer receiver. It's not fancy or rare or anything BUT it is the one that my mom and dad had when I was a kid and it came complete with the box he bought it in in 1977. It also has giant awesome stainless steel knobs.

IMAGE(http://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash3/602039_10101341116793150_1858238796_n.jpg)

Sweet! That's a rad-looking receiver.

tuffalobuffalo wrote:

It's so nice to finally have a turntable that does bass right.

It's interesting to hear this. My turntable is just an $80 Audio Technica that I got as a gift. I have it connected to my Marantz home theater receiver and playing through the HT speakers. When I first hooked it up and played some music I actually reached down and felt the speaker cone on the sub to see if it was working. I figure that my audio setup isn't the greatest anyhow, but now I'm wondering if the lack of low end has to do with the turntable.

Something I've been listening to a bunch lately is this:
IMAGE(http://www.tumbledownhq.com/sites/tumbledownhq.com/files/imagecache/preview/IMG_2154_0.JPG)

The singer is Mike Herrera, the lead for MXPX. I'm not an MXPX fan, but this is more rockabilly sounding and Mike's voice seems a lot less whiny to me.

A coworker of my wife is from Bremerton and met him at a party a couple years ago. Mike gave him a copy of the record and it ended up in my hands. I never got to listen to it until recently.

fleabagmatt wrote:

I figure that my audio setup isn't the greatest anyhow, but now I'm wondering if the lack of low end has to do with the turntable.

If I was a betting man, I'd put money on this being the case. I've bought a crappy < $100 turntable in the past, and played a record that I also had on CD, and it was almost unrecognizable as the same song. Returned it and bought a decent entry-level nice turntable, and it was night and day.

The other suspect would be the phono stage of your receiver. Multifunctional home theater receivers in particular tend to skimp on the quality of the in-built phono pre-amp. But I doubt it would be that bad. Might be compounding the problem though.

fleabagmatt wrote:

When I first hooked it up and played some music I actually reached down and felt the speaker cone on the sub to see if it was working. I figure that my audio setup isn't the greatest anyhow, but now I'm wondering if the lack of low end has to do with the turntable.

It probably is the turntable. I've gone through a bunch of them with my current system. I've used the Sony equivalent to what you have and the lack of bass definition is was the first thing I noticed when I hooked it up recently. The easiest way for you to get an idea would probably be to play a vinyl and then play a digital version of it. The nice thing about inexpensive stuff is that you always get use to it, so you can always use it and be happy. Then, whenever you do get the itch to invest in something better you can be amazed by the awesomeness.

I think MxPx: Slowly Going the Way of the Buffalo was one of the first CDs I ever bought. Apparently I've always been obsessed with buffalo. It's funny going back and listening to all that old stuff I used to listen to.:) I still like a lot of it, but not MxPx so much. I'll have to give that album a listen.

Edit: Ha! Sort of Tannhausered there.

Gonna busy the next couple of days, so I got in some quick pictures before I take off:

IMAGE(http://i.imgur.com/9zFsMlY.jpg)

IMAGE(http://i.imgur.com/tntDfUJ.jpg)

IMAGE(http://i.imgur.com/8JuUezt.jpg)

IMAGE(http://i.imgur.com/tqvV9AV.jpg)

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I just picked up that shelf thing on clearance, but unfortunately, it's too short for vinyl to fit when you use the plastic covers. So, I'll probably just paint my old shelf black and put some books and whatnot in the new shelf. It works pretty good as a table.

Ikea sells shelves just like that that are PERFECT for LPs.

http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/pr...

I will likely get something like that at some point. My old roommate had one that we were using, and I figured this one would work too. Ah well, I can always put it upright and use it as a bookcase or something if I get one that fits records.

I'm coming at this from somewhat of a different direction, as I used to be an electronica DJ (drum and bass, mostly). I've no room for any of it in the house right now, but out in the garage I still have my decks in a battle coffin with boxes and boxes of records. I had a huge set of carpet covered EV speakers than I sold before the move, but they proved to be a great choice over standard indoor speakers.

My best luck with finding old records was a few antique sales I stumbled across. I picked up a bunch of old ragtime, the original Star Wars record set with folded poster, Kennedy's state of the union still in shrink wrap, some old Killing Joke records, and a smattering of other stuff.

Regarding mushy bass, I'd say most of that is your stylus, with maybe a tad attributable to the tonearm and electronics. For reference, my cartridges were $150 apiece. I don't know what's ideal for home listening, but you definitely have to spend up to get good sound. They wear out too, so once things start sounding mushy it's time to replace them.

Nice, Tuffalo. I have a Rega P3-24 that i love, they make good product.

Portland is the Promised Land of music lovers. I went to Jackpot Records when I visited and I was in heaven. How can so many independent music store thrive in ONE CITY while they're closing everywhere else?

If I was American there isn't a doubt in my mind I'd live in Portland and be a Ducks fan (the football team)

Oh and hum, can someone recommend me a good yet still affordable turntable? I wouldn't mind one with a cover ...

@Hickle: you had to show off your copy of NMH eh?

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