The vinyl spin-all

jonnypolite wrote:

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

Cool! How long does it take your needle to drop? Mine will take a good five-seven seconds after pulling the lever all the way. Just curious because mine seems to take awhile. Does your arm tend to lower at a bit of a diagonal? The guy told me that this is normal and is part of how the anti-skating works. I sort of have to watch it and push it back towards the record to get it to drop in the right spot.

The coolest thing about this turntable is that I was FINALLY able to listen to the secret songs hidden in the label of The Dead Weather: Sea of Cowards. I don't have the rare colored vinyl, just the regular one.

interstate78: As far as new turntables go, the one that SixteenBlue has is a good starting point for something new, I think. It's the PRO-JECT - DEBUT III, I think. It's $300 US on Amazon. The one I got is another good starting point, but it's just a little bit more expensive. If you are on more of a budget, start checking Craig's List for used turntables. If you find anything that looks reasonable, do some research. You could always ask on here, and we could try and help see if it's any good. You could probably replace the cartridge on a used one and get a really nice table if you take your time and do the research.

I'm pretty impressed with the performance on this Rega Carbon cartridge. I think it's some sort of repurposed Audio Technica cartridge that gives great bang for the buck performance. I probably won't replace it for a long time. If I were ever to upgrade, I would get the RP1 performance pack. I want to stick with this for a long time and get used to it, though, before changing anything. Gotta make the upgrades worth it.

Assuming your turntable has anti skating adjusters, use a smooth piece of vinyl (some records are only pressed on one side, for example) start the turntable, drop the needle somewhere in the middle of the platter, and adjust the knob until the needle tracks straight. If you can adjust the weight on the stylus, more weight means that it will track better through dust, but that the record will wear out faster. Similarly, elliptical needles track better but cause more damage than round ones.

I cracked open my receiver yesterday because some of the knobs were scratchy and some of the switches were loud. I wish I had taken a picture of what 40 years of dust looks like before I blew it out with compressed air and cleaned/lubricated all of the pots. Now the knobs a smooth and silent and somehow it seems like the thing sounds better in a way I can't put my finger on but that's probably all in my head.

Also, I hit Jackpot records yesterday as well (I was already at Powell's) and got five or six records for less than $50, it didn't seem too overpriced to me.

Yeah, if those are the records you posted earlier, that's a great deal. To be honest, I think I've always just thought Jackpot Records was bad because an old friend thought that. When I actually think about it, I don't really hold his opinion on such things in high regard, so scratch what I said earlier about Jackpot.

If Jackpot is the place I'm thinking of (a block or two down from Powells on Burnside) then I thought it was super overpriced when I went. I'm very impressed you could get multiple LPs for less than $10 a piece.

Yeah, I didn't pay more than $14 for any of them. As far as upgrading my setup, would you recommend updating my turntable or my speakers first as far as effectiveness per component goes?

That's a bit of a tough call. I'm guessing turntable, but who knows. If you've got a couple hours over a weekend when you are bored, you could hit me up. I could show you what my current system sounds like (you could bring some vinyl to try on it). I have an old turntable, too, which I need to get rid of (it would be free -- I'm not trying to get any money out of it).

I think that receiver is probably pretty great. I don't know if the speakers would be a bottleneck or the turntable. If it were me, I'd upgrade the turntable first.

Is it possible that a record would skip if the turntable isn't level?

What do you all do to keep your records clean? Since I've been picking up records from the thrift store, I know I need to do some cleaning. I know you can actually give them a bath, I recall seeing a "recipe" for mild detergent to clean them. Do you use one of those brush things on them whenever you play them?

Yes.

[edit]

To expand on this a bit. When the stylus hits a dust particle or other obstacle it can jump. The goal is to have it jump straight up and fall straight back down. If it goes to either side, the record skips. So if the turntable isn't level, the tonearm will have gravity working against it to some greater or lesser degree. I wouldn't bother breaking out a carpenter's level, but you want the surface the turntable is on to at least appear level to the eye.

I use the brush and fluid pretty regularly. There are ways to wash records to remove even more dust, but those aren't all for the faint of heart. A home setup isn't likely to get dust on a record very quickly though. It's a bit different when you're using slip mats and the turntable doesn't have a cover.

I actually changed my opinion a bit on cleaning after getting the Rega. I have one of the felt things with a bottle of cleaning fluid and then an anti static brush. The instructions manual said that people clean records too often (I have been guilty of that), and it's not really good for the records. It also said that a bit of dust is fine. The stylus is designed to push it aside. So, I think that I'll only clean records if they're visibly pretty bad. I haven't really been worrying about dust either unless there is a lot.

You definitely have to let the record dry for awhile after cleaning it. Otherwise, you'll get a lot of crackle.

I checked out Music Millennium last night and went to Mississippi Records today. I found MM pretty overpriced for new stuff and their used selection was a bit slim. Mississippi seemed to have the best value, although they only take cash. Picked up some at each though because I feel weird walking out of a record store without something under my arm. It's bad for my wallet.

Ha! Just wait till record store day. You feel really bad for not buying records when it's record store day.

Was listening to this while working at the computer yesterday. The album cover just makes me smile, it's so awesome.

IMAGE(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51rXZqW8IML._SY300_.jpg)

I would really love to see them live some day.

I don't usually get out on RSD either. I probably won't this year because it's the day before leave on a business trip and I'll probably still be scrambling to get ready.

tuffalobuffalo wrote:

Ha! Just wait till record store day. You feel really bad for not buying records when it's record store day.

Honestly, I hate record store day.

Most of the pressings feel like cash grabs and the absurdly long lines of people who tend to not even buy records on any other day can be hard to take. Flipping on eBay is also rampant.

Edit: Yes, I realize how snobby that sounds.

Well, I like a lot of the stuff I've got on record day. It's always fun to pick up a couple of the 7" records which are never that much money, and usually there are some cool ones. I definitely don't do the line thing, though, so I don't even worry about the rare stuff. I hate the eBay reselling, too.

Well, yeah, I still have a bunch of records from previous RSDs. Well...had, I lost all my 7"s when I moved to Seattle.

So, H to the ikle came over yesterday and brought some records among which was a Bill Withers record. So, naturally, after he had left and after a few beers, I walked over to the record store. That was a bad idea as usual. I bought a Bill Withers record at random which ended up being Just As I Am. Turns out, it was a good buy because Ain't no Sunshine is on it. Damn, that's a good song.

For the curious:

I also bought Sgt. Peppers on vinyl because they have the new remasters on vinyl now. That's probably the only Beatles vinyl I feel the need to buy since I bought the complete stereo CD collection a year or two ago.

Does it have Grandma's Hands on it? That is one of my favorite songs ever.

It does! The one that H got is really good too. I need to start getting more soul albums. To be honest, this is the only one I own at this point.

Just As I Am is definitely on my list next time I got out. Does anyone else have any soul recommendations?

H to the ickle wrote:

Just As I Am is definitely on my list next time I got out. Does anyone else have any soul recommendations?

Interested in recommendations, too. BTW, there are 2 copies of Modern Jazz Quartet: The Last Concert at Everyday Music on the East side for 7 bucks apiece. I picked up a couple other MJQ records for a few bucks and noticed them.

tuffalobuffalo wrote:
H to the ickle wrote:

JDoes anyone else have any soul recommendations?

Interested in recommendations, too.

See my Sharon Jones post above.

Oh, I completely dig that and will probably try and pick it up. Need moar.

Heh. I came across this at the local thrift store at lunch today.

IMAGE(http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b39/atomic_dog/record_zps195685d1.jpg)

Sterling Archer is married?

jonnypolite wrote:

Sterling Archer is married?

Ha!

H to the ickle wrote:

Just As I Am is definitely on my list next time I got out. Does anyone else have any soul recommendations?

I was thinking some more about this. I don't have much and what I do have are mostly thrift store pickups, but on that list that I really enjoy are:

IMAGE(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51VOIFL-ExL._SY300_.jpg)

IMAGE(http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/8/8a/RayCharles_IngredientsInARecipeForSoul_HaveASmileWithMe.jpg)

As far as I can tell, this stuff isn't available on vinyl (or even as a whole album), but if I ever do find it I will most definitely pick it up. I'm absolutely loving this song.