Did I miss the boat on Vinyl?

[JoRillo]

Hey Guys (I guess Gals too - if any of you are out there),

For someone who has never sampled from vinyl and owns 0 vinyl records or turntables - do you think it is worth it to get into? From my understanding it is getting more and more expensive and harder to find - which is understandable.

There is also the whole facter of Digitally pressed vinyl (does that just sound like digital or does it still have the Mojo?) So I would have to research all my vinyl buys.

In your experiences do you regret investing in so much vinyl - or was it worth it?

There is also the chance the chance that the records will be worth even more by the time I am ready to sell them - somewhere down the road - so I guess in that sense it would definitely be worth it. I know some of you are just going to reply, No, because you don't even care enough to have a discussion about it, but if you feel like it is not worth it - stick around for a second and let me know why you feel that way.

Opinions are always appreciated, Thanks always,

Rillo

[godphaser]

In your experiences do you regret investing in so much vinyl - or was it worth it?

You gotta have love for vinyl I guess.

I mean, I've bought vinyls for years before beatmaking and sampling so...

You can do without I think. Depends of what you're looking for.

[DJ TEKNIK]

I have so many vinyl is disgusting mostly Hip Hop, R&B and house. I wish I had more 70's soul,rock & disco records in my collection

[JoRillo]

Would you guys say there is a rough price that the average vinyl should cost - or is it dependent on the specific album? I know a limited edition beetles album won't cost the same as a no name band from the 50's - but if I just went to a record store and was picking out random music - what would you consider to be a fair price?

Also how do you go about picking what albums to buy and not to buy? Do you know most of them before hand? Do you just hope to get lucky?

[wreckingstuff]

If you are into sampling, yes it would be totally worth it imo.

It's fairly inexpensive to get a TT/Cartridge/Phono Preamp (Compared to the cost of instruments virtual, and real) and it gives you access to a massive, cheap, convenient resource of sample fodder.

For listening purposes I like to listen to old recordings, up to about 1978ish on vinyl, because they were created with the intention of being listened to in that format. Anything else I play on CD/Wav. Not that it's a 'rule' or anything, I just enjoy it that way usually.

[wreckingstuff]

Originally Posted by JoRillo

Would you guys say there is a rough price that the average vinyl should cost - or is it dependent on the specific album? I know a limited edition beetles album won't cost the same as a no name band from the 50's - but if I just went to a record store and was picking out random music - what would you consider to be a fair price?

Also how do you go about picking what albums to buy and not to buy? Do you know most of them before hand? Do you just hope to get lucky?

Buying old music is sort of the same as buying new music: Artists lead you to other artists, labels lead you to other labels or other work from the same labels. You get involved in it without really consciously trying to, and end up buying stuff because of the engineer/producer/bongo player on it.

Price depends on demand, condition, and in many cases elitism/snobbery. My advice is buy cheap, rinse for samples, sell for what you paid. Now and then you get things you want to keep because they are so good in their own right.

[RonGherkins]

How did you miss the boat? I always find vinyl in the weirdest places. I've never bought a single(vinyl, obviously) record and I have over 100 albums.

[JoRillo]

Originally Posted by Pete Marriott

Dude, seriously...watch this documentary!

WOW! Thanks Pete. That was awesome. I think I have decided to get some vinyl going. lol

How did you miss the boat?

Not so much that I missed the ability to get and use vinyl - it was more a question of in this day and age is it worth it to get started? I am definitely starting to think it is worth it though.

[3rd Degree]

Honestly, I think that it is actually cheaper across the board now that it ever was. You can buy great equipment for cheap used as you aren't seeing as much interest in young kids DJing and older DJ's choosing to move on from it.

Vinyl seems be cheaper and more available in my area. I honestly have $1 and even $0.50 bins in my area with decent records so for $10 or so, I usually can have some great material. The condition varies but if I am just sampling, I don't mind if something is a bit past gone. I haven't paid more than $5-6 in a long time for anything, unless it was either new or a repressing.

You can find vinyl in all sorts of weird places as well. The most common place besides the record store is actually at collectible toy stores, believe it or not, around here. They can be weird on pricing as they price things based on how they feel that day. You can always find really cheap records at places like goodwill and thrift stores but I don't really go to those types of places as I rarely find anything good, much less something I don't already own.


Anyway, I would say go for it, personally. To me, it's almost a "right of passage". It's crazy how many people I know who own MPC's and only want to do sample based music but have never used vinyl, or any physical material you own, for that matter. I know you can find almost anything on the net but I feel like I find much better material through digging. On the net, you need to have an idea what you are looking for. When buying, it just has to exist and catch your attention. There are so many artists I absolutely love that I doubt I would have found any other way than buying cheap vinyl, it's part of the hunt.

[Goa-Dubs]

Its great to have best sound for reference.The finest analog recorded potential is reached with vinyl.The scratches just create more dynamics.Its the same as an 808 or moog in that it will always play differently (variate) on every spin.I think its sad that many crate heads are just looking for samples and not stretching out for the whole album.Original is best huh.......

[mikebailey92]

It's totally worth it. Finding a great sample on a vinyl has a feeling that far out-weighs any kind of sampling from downloads. You can hold a vinyl, you can't hold an MP3. That means something to me, perhaps not other people.


This sums it up for me. The whole 'Scratch' documentary is worth checking out.

[faun2500]

Good videos. I bought a Boy's Church Choir vinyl from the charity shop a few days a go, sampled and already based a tune around it.

Broken Bells vinyl for xmas (for myself) With production like that you gotta hear that crackle!

Found a open university music course on vinyl at Winchester cathedral. Lots of classical instrument solos on it - used on Garage remix.

I have 100s of drum & bass, hardcore (though sold 100s already), trance, oldkool vinyls that I still go through and sample. I would NEVER sample an MP3!!!

Just love me some vinyl so yeah, you missed it.

[KT1]

Sad but very enjoyable clip! It's amazing on so many levels. Hell no its never late btw I have a 1210 and radial j 33 phono pre for sale!

Sent from my HTC Desire S using Gearslutz.com

[G. Kaye]

What do you want to buy them for, sampling or just listening?

If to sample, and you're just looking to add some analog sounds/instruments into your mix, I'd say investing in some of the instruments you'd be sampling off the records would be a better investment long-term. Not talking about violins or trumpets, which are expensive and take years to learn how to play, but the cheaper/'easy to play right from the start' instruments like harmonica, glockenspiel, kalimba, tambourine, flexatone, vibraslap, cabasas etc. In a jazz record you might be sampling, a lot of those instruments could combine to make up a good portion of the sound you're taking. If a 4th grader can play those instruments in band, you should be able to as well and just make up your own samples with much more creative control.

I guess my advice is instead of having to continuosly spend money on records for sounds, which it seems like is what you're hesitant about, just buy some of the cheaper instruments and you'll be able to make infinite analog sounds from them forever w/o ever having to spend more money. Sampling vinyl is great too, and a different experience/sound in itself, but is also a constant expense buying records. So I guess from a financial standpoint, buying the actual instruments will probably less money in the longrun. Plus, you don't even have to play them, you can just sample one-shots like you would from a record. Its a lot easier/more efficient to just grab a flexatone, hit record and slap it once, than to have to dig through crates of records for the same sound, and spend a bunch of extra money in the process.

[O'Ryan]

I don't have that many pieces but once you start you won't stop, Especially if you find that producers sound that you love from the era. And then it just looks cool around your spot. lol.

[JoRillo]

Not talking about violins

Funny enough - I actually learned the violin at around age 8. Don't play it anymore - but I still know the fundamentals. I'm sure I could pick it up again.

[Papanate]

Aside from the other advice - keep in mind that Vinyl is not the best medium to repeatedly listen to music on. By the nature of Vinyl it degrades on each play - even if you are a clean/wash freakazoid - but the sound to my ears is pretty cool and the experience and audio can only be approximated in the digital realm.

BTW Vinyl is not an investment that you will get a return on - buy it to enjoy and have fun with - and when you are finished (if you ever finish!<G>) put it all away - because like all us old guys who grew up with LP's...you'll want to drag it out in 30 years just to relive the fun.

[JoRillo]

Originally Posted by Papanate

BTW Vinyl is not an investment that you will get a return on - buy it to enjoy and have fun with - and when you are finished (if you ever finish!<G>) put it all away - because like all us old guys who grew up with LP's...you'll want to drag it out in 30 years just to relive the fun.

I meant it as an investment for 40-60 years down the road. When I am to old to enjoy it - I can sell it and possibly make money because it does not exist anymore (possibly).

[Papanate]

Originally Posted by JoRillo

I meant it as an investment for 40-60 years down the road. When I am to old to enjoy it - I can sell it and possibly make money because it does not exist anymore (possibly).

You never know about that one....For Example 78's are not in demand these days. There is a niche group that will buy them...but not a big one and certainly not a wealthy one (usually).

By the very nature of technology for music I'd bet that in 30 years we are going to have playback systems that sound 'real'...as in you are in the room with the players (if indeed you aren't via some kind of Holodeck type tech). And I would also bet that we will be having conversations with the musicians through some kind of intelligent response systems built into the system. A total immersion technology if you will....

At that point I would say Vinyl will not be considered collectable anymore.

[mfx]

Vinyl still gives me a funny feeling down below

Seriously love vinyl. Im not saying its the best format but for me it is. I love the tactality, preservation, look and most importantly the sound and ambiences of records. Recently been buying more vinyl and it is making a comeback. A lot of new releases are becoming more redily available on vinyl which in a lot of cases is great for some music material. It's easier to appreciate a good cover design on 12x12 than on a cd framework.

Gte down your second hand record store, charity shop, garage sale, car boot sale, beg borrow and steal and get a collection of sounds, music and samples that will have nuances to them not heard on CD.

A lot of vinyls I own are collectables and some very valuable for sentimental reasons.

Get digging ...

PS Love the documentary...1,000,000 + lol beats my few thousand

Incidentally a lot of albums, even some records bought over the last decade, are worth more than the CD due to the format....so someone thinks theyre worth it

[bigyo]

Originally Posted by Pete Marriott

Dude, seriously...watch this documentary!

He needs to reach out to some the these Hip hop producers like Just Blaze,Q-Tip,Dre... these guys would take him up on that offer.. thanx.. that was indeed DOPE

[Hobbs_Won]

there's nothing like vinyl....

[Hellaciousj]

I have a TT and archive vinyl for sampling if it's a something rare. If it's something easy to find, I just sample a cd or digital copy. I love listening to vinyl though. It is very sonically exciting!

[G. Kaye]

Originally Posted by JoRillo

Funny enough - I actually learned the violin at around age 8. Don't play it anymore - but I still know the fundamentals. I'm sure I could pick it up again.

Do it. I played trumpet around the same age and I've been looking into getting one again too. I use a lot of those instruments I mentioned earlier, and I'm trying to learn as many as I can to have a full live sound. Never played violin but have exp on guitar/bass.

[ysmgj]

its never too late and it doesnt have to cost anything if you're not a collector.

i'm not a collector, i make music, so i dont lust after records that everyone has especially since i'm trying to make something original (whether i actually do or not is not the point :P ).

but because of that, i like to pick up free stuff, thrown out records, at flea markets, in dumpsters, talking to old people who want to clear their house,..... granted most of it is shit but thats part of the fun of it all, going through what you hauled home and seeing if maybe something usable is in there.

my local record store leaves a box of records outside every now and again, and they're free to take,... mostly elevator muzak but hell, free is free!

[KevWest]

vinyl is awesome. My collection is about 2,000 pieces and my wife hates it because it takes up all of our walk in closet to store them. Honestly though I have considered using services like Itunes for samples just due to space constraints. Sure mp3s sound no where near as good as vinyl does but I think we are in an era where most end listeners cannot tell the difference between an mp3 and a record anyway.

[Smithers]

I started producing before CD's were prevalent so I collected vinyl for a long time. But as someone who also engineers, sometimes those vinyl samples take a long time to mix if the vinyl it was sampled from was bad. For that reason alone I moved to digital when possible. Most of the good oldies stuff has been remastered and transferred to the digital realm nowadays. If I hear a good sample on vinyl, I try to find a good digital copy. I still have some of my oldies records that I know weren't popular enough to ever make it to the itunes store; but for the most part i'd rather pay $.99 for the one song I want to sample then keep a whole record laying around the studio. Make no mistake though, if you're a listener and not into the production aspect, vinyl does offer a better dynamic range in terms of sound quality. But for an engineer, it's a nightmare. And for space concerns, 1000 records takes up a good portion of a room; but 10,000 songs on a computer, even in high quality wav format, is just a small folder in a directory.

BTW: If you have satellite radio you can just listen to the oldies stations all day and scan for samples. They tell you the artist and song name if you hear something you like

[JoRillo]

Originally Posted by KevWest

vinyl is awesome. My collection is about 2,000 pieces and my wife hates it because it takes up all of our walk in closet to store them. Honestly though I have considered using services like Itunes for samples just due to space constraints. Sure mp3s sound no where near as good as vinyl does but I think we are in an era where most end listeners cannot tell the difference between an mp3 and a record anyway.

Couldn't you sample every song from every album and then cut the parts you want later? Put all 2k on a couple TB hard drive. Would take ages... but it would be worth it for the space - and you could sell them.

[viewingstuff]

lately i've been bringing a pad and pen to the record spot and writing down everything that looks like it might have something good on it, looking for drums mostly. then i go home and use soulseek to listen first. i save the step of spending money on records that don't have samples on them.

the thrill isn't lost either it just happens during the soulseeking instead. when i do find something there is some worry about getting back to the store and buying the record before it gets sold, but in this town in 2012 i'm probably the only beat junkie left anyway lol

[digiman]

Your local craigslist is your friend. You'd be surprised how many people would just give a entire record collections to free up space. In fact, one of my friends who lives on the east coast who used to be a DJ back in the late 70's early 80's has a crazy colllection all in immaculate condition. He agree to let me have it all. Problem is how would I ever get all of that all the across the country.