5 Things I Hate About Vinyl
Vložit
- čas přidán 2. 11. 2023
- I like vinyl. I buy vinyl. I talk about vinyl. But that doesn't mean I can't bitch about vinyl. So here's my rant. 5 things I hate about vinyl. There's one I realized that I forgot already. It's one I sort of covered before - records being pressed as 45s when they should be 33 1/3's. Just wanted to get that in there. Specialty pressings...great. But don't make it the standard.
#vc #vinylcommunity - Hudba
I worked in a record store in 1988. Prices for vinyl were between $7.99 and $9.99. CDs were $12.99 to $14.99. I worked with a bunch of music snobs, but none were vinyl snobs, probably because we were making $5 to $7 an hour and couldn’t afford the turntables and needles you need to make vinyl sound good. I don’t recall anyone ever saying vinyl sounded better back then. When vinyl came back it was bizarre to see they were so expensive. And don’t get me started on the whole cassette renaissance.
All reasons why I stick with CDs. Vinyl fanatics tell me records are "perfect" sound and how the music is meant to be heard, then they go off about the damaged goods they received, the pops/clicks, sibilance and inner groove distortion. Yeah, perfect!
Yeah. Unless a record is absolutely mint and played through a quality turntable and speakers, don’t even bother
Accurate AND delivered at a jaunty angle. Couldn't ask for more :)
I fully agree. I listen to music on CD format and never collected vinyl since the end of the 1980s. I am often amused about the ‘snobbery’ of people collecting and displaying hundreds of records. Cataloging them into (first) pressing and then obsessively go digging for more, like collecting stamps or coins. Where’s the time to properly listen to music? Which I believe in terms of great experience is best with a proper recording on a CD. 👍
I am all for a revival or re-appreciation of the CD format and tempering of price levels of all the music formats. And full appreciation of music instead of the hype of collecting for the sake of it.🌟And it’s great to have more channels talking about music and artists instead of just the records.
Definitely music first for me. I never got into stamp collecting or baseball card collecting either.
Thank goodness most of his valid concerns don't normally apply to me. What I enjoy about vinyl is being able to drag out my old LPs and find new, cheap ones at thrift stores, garage sales, and the dollar boxes at the record stores. If it turns out that I really love something new that I try to, I might look for a better copy or get it on CD. In the meantime I get to try out all kinds of things that I probably wouldn't even have found on streaming services. And then I get to keep it forever if I want.
Well put. Thanks
I have that cartoon framed on the wall above my turntable -- both to remind me of what I missed so much over the decades when my record collection (what remained of it after CDs became the accepted "permanent" format for music in the 1990s-2010s) dwindled and sat in boxes in the garage (it wasn't easy to buy a turntable back then, except on ebay) and the ritualistic aspects I still love about it now. But it can be a pain. During the oil embargoes of the '70s and '80s vinyl quality definitely suffered (warping, poorly recycled materials, dirt and bits of label paper pressed into the grooves). There's no excuse for that now, but I still find myself returning roughly a quarter to a third of the (American-pressed) LPs that I buy, mostly because of (often visible) manufacturing defects -- bad pressings with unlistenable patches of distortion (non-fill, groove cramming/bleeding), or swooshing static at the beginnings and ends of tracks (even in the middle of sides on supposedly top-quality remastered "audiophile" jazz reissues).
I keep x-acto knives handy for opening shrink-wrap and enlarging badly pressed center holes. Just stick the tip in and twist -- though you should be sure to dust (and/or wash) the record before playing it in case some of that debris sticks to the surface. Vinyl weight doesn't concern me, since it has absolutely nothing to do with the audible quality of the pressing itself. The microgrooves are still microgrooves. But I share your bewilderment at those for whom the showy aspects of collecting seems to be more important than listening to the music they're supposedly collecting. I know there are "label completists" out there -- and that's fine if someone wants to have an original copy of every Blue Note record from the 1500 series to the 4000 series, but it will cost a fortune and the music itself is available in plenty of other great-sounding forms, including reissues.
But, you know, fetishists gonna fetish.
I got 1:52 into this and thought "meh". I am of a certain age where all I could buy music on was vinyl. I have a reasonable collection of albums, and a pretty reasonable turntable. I also stream a lot of music these days, and the joy of discovering something new takes me right back. So I stream stuff, hopefully on a platform that is more fair than Spotify, and if I love it, I'll buy the physical copy on my preferred format. Thereby doing what is most important - supporting the artists that bring us so much joy.
100% agree with everything you said! Quality control is my biggest pain point; specifically, new vinyl that is significantly warped! And I’m a recovering FOMO. Selling so many albums I purchased over the last few years after asking myself “why?”
I sometimes get a “I need to buy everything I once had on CD” mindset as well as FOMO. Trying to change that.
@@lostmixtapes busted! I’m guilty of that. A lot of 90’s stuff!
We are terrified of truth tellers like you! I hear you man. I’m into year 7 of my “back to vinyl” journey. I keep lying to myself that I’m not a collector. That’s exactly what I am. Most of the classic albums that I’ve repurchased these past years I already have on CD. Lastly 2 cd’s that come to mind that sound terrible are PF The Wall (2011) version and 50th Ann of Derek & the Dominos.
That’s my biggest problem…buying things on vinyl that I had on CD and sometimes wanting to build that library back up rather than discovering new stuff.
I agree with you on all five points. I have an older collection of vinyl, and a few newer ones. Some sound amazing, most pale in comparison to the cd. Sorry music snobs. And price should definitely be mentioned as a gripe. The pricing scale for vinyl is completely insane. I haven’t visited a used store for a while, but I’m sure the boom of “the return of vinyl” has driven the fun out of the search. Once again, great video and great perspective.
Supposedly things are going to even out now that pressing plants are not so overwhelmed and stores are well stocked. I’ll believe it when I see it.
This is a very honest and accurate rant. I have a friend who has an online record shop here in Brasil. I talk to him extensively about the current situation of the vinyl record market and many of the issues brought on this video we address on an on. Since his forte is buying and selling used albums, he told me it is getting ever more difficult to find them. He is a very creative person and always finds new sources, but most of them soon cease to exist. His prices are very actractive, a reason why I am one of his best customers. And it is also the reason why he has been very succesfull. Another hobby of mine is analog photography, and it has a lot to do with collecting vinyl records for both use non-eco friendly chemicals and materials in their maufacturing processes. Film is even worse, since it also makes use of these dirty materials to be developed and even printed. Thanks for addressing all these inconveniences.
Thanks for the comment. Your friend’s record store sounds like a place I’d feel at home in. The environmental impact of vinyl isn’t ideal. At least they have real value second hand.
I stopped buying new vinyl in the 1990s, it's been CD ever since (and downloads). But recently I bought a couple of coloured vinyl records. I'm a sucker for coloured vinyl, can't help it. What I noticed though is that the quality of current vinyl and sleeves, artwork etc is in parts excellent, much better than was common in the era when vinyl was the main delivery format for music.
I agree about the packaging. Love how thick the spines can be and gatefolds and great artwork.
With Vinyl vs. CD's, vinyl scratches,more easily. It takes a bit more effort to scratch a cd but that scratch may make it difficult to track on the cd player. Scratches,unless very deep,will still play through. Very hard to find '50s and early '60s vinyl in nm condition as people did not take good care of them.
*’Only’ 5 things? Dang, my list would be triple that.*
You've made some valid points. Since I got back into vinyl this year I've been fairly lucky with quality. Ordering from Amazon is convenient when it comes to returns. I had an LP I ordered that had the 'A' Side label on both sides, and the replacement was the same so I ordered it from somewhere else. I also had a CD I ordered that was a CD-R that I returned, and I don't know why that crap is allowed. I agree about the undersize holes, and there is no excuse for it. It is pretty crazy with all of the variants of the same recording, not only the colored vinyl but the ½ speed mastering, 45 rpm multiple discs instead of one 33 ⅓ rpm, etc. A regular pressing on black vinyl is just fine with me as long as it's not warped or has surface defects.
Regular black vinyl pressings are good for me too.
Love that Ty album !
The thing also about price: Maybe with inflation records might be adjusted fairly to our current economy, but our wages haven't, so yeah, they seem more expensive. I used to have an old Sears Silvertone record player and it played wonderfully for many years. One shouldn't have to have a expensive system to appreciate music (it's why I stick mosly with CDs--convenience too).
Totally agree.
With you 100% on price and quality control. I'm at the point where I'm getting new releases on CD again! I'm buying vinyl directly from the artist at a show, but if it's a new release, I'm going to CD. It's about 1/3 of the price nowadays. That snobbery issue has always kept me at arm's length from most record collectors/gear heads.
Don’t blame you, I would probably be more open to that if I hadn’t sold most of my CDs a while back. By the way…saw Tommy Stinson/Cowboys in the Campfire last night. Great show! Picked up the vinyl. He didn’t kiss me. :)
@@lostmixtapes glad you went to the Stinson show. Is it just him & Chip now? No stand up bassist?
@Thedarkstuff Just him and Chip
You're right,even used vinyl is getting expensive THAT really sucks!!!
Great rant, and you are so right there! Cheers
Stones or Beatles, CDs or vinyl. Both are great in their own ways., If you have a high end system, nothing beats vinyl for its feel, soundscape, and warmth. As they say, the breaking down of music into binary data can never match the smooth continous nature of analogy vinyl Period. And as a baby boomer, i listen to my collection of records from the 60s, 70, 80 and 90s when the cost was under 6 bucks.
Why is no one else talking about the piss poor quality of modern pressings - even so-called “audiophile” pressings??
They’re generally warped, dirty, noisy, scuffed, and make are just unlistenable. I actually won’t buy from my local stores (except for used) because I feel bad returning records, sometimes 3-5X, just to find a decent one. So I order from Amazon because I don’t care about inconveniencing them.
It’s a sad state of affairs.
'Conqueress-Forever strong and proud', the new album by Doro, comes as 3-sides pressed double vinyl and costs 56€, which is about 60$! Today a single album cost more than a double album last year! For example 'Pirates' by Visions Of Atlantis (2LP/3 sides, released April 2022) 35€/37,5$ and 'More inspirations' by Saxon (1LP, rel. early 2023) 35€ or 'Hackney diamonds' by the Rolling Stones 40€/43$! Many of the vinyl freaks don't understand, that people don't have money for overpriced records after paying rent and other bills!
Ouch. Things have to settle at some point.
@@lostmixtapes Right! But these examples are only from the first seller stores! The yellow/black splatter of Metallica's '72 seasons', which costs 109$ incl. shipping on Amazon Germany, comes with 203$ (average!) and 380$ (highest) on Discogs! Some people are dumb enough to pay that horrible prices! You're right! Things have to settle at some point, but it won't happen as long as buyers are dumb enough to feed the greed of people, who are going to destroy the whole vinyl thing sooner than later!
Back in the 90's I loved buying used vinyl. Everyone else wanted CDs, so there was a great supply of excellent quality vinyl. 30 years later, I listen mainly to streaming services or CDs.
I wish I had bought more in the 90s, but got a lot of classic rock albums. Shocked when I see the price stickers that are still on some of them.
Im pretty much listening to cds a lot more and buying used cds too. Vinyl is expensive and there seems to be a lack of quality control too. I have returned so many brand new vinyl because of bad pressings.
got to remember one thing music was recorded using magnetic tape on reel to reel 8 to 24 track. if not stored dry free from dust and water they will deteriorate big time. loss of highs and mids! keep this in mind.
I'm with you on it being about the music. I only have a double copy of 1 record, so when I see people in the VC talk about their 7 copies of "Sgt Pepper's" I feel like they're in it for a different reason.
Sometimes different masterings have their own unique tonalities and it's good to have them if you really like an album.
There are bad and good sounding versions of most recorded music. People who like good sound are no less music lovers than people who don’t care
Your points are well-made and accurate. We should all buy the formats that give us pleasure. I have an average stereo set up and probably a less than average “ear.” I listen to music because it makes me happy. Vinyl, back in the day, was the only option and today it still has its charm for people like me. However, the used vinyl market is a crap shoot when it comes to quality and new vinyl is relatively expensive. Used cds are more consistent in quality and much cheaper. My library of music consists of 98% cds and 2% vinyl. At this point, my “collection” is pretty much complete. I want to thank the vinyl community and its discussions and opinions on CZcams for pointing me in so many directions as I have explored new music.
@@ashrobinson4604 Used vinyl isn't really a crap shoot if you have a trained eye and decent lighting. Brickwalled CDs are far more common than visually misleading used vinyl records imo.
Going by the cartoon, inconvenience could relate to scale, storage and maintainance regarding both equipment and the vinyl itself.
Very good video, and right on point. I just subbed you up, I mainly talk rock vinyl on my channel and post a few concert clips, you make some vert good points about vinyl, thanks for sharing, Peace!
Very good points.
On "snobbery." It's common in any hobby (especially collectors).
Writer Director Sean Anders made a silly, low budget mockumentary called Never Been Thawed. It chronicles a group of people who collect Frozen TV dinners. Record collectors likely relate.
I found a streaming version of that movie on You Tube. Love the premise and can’t wait to check it out. Thanks!
If I remember correctly I paid $0.79 for a 45 RPM single in 1980. Adjusted for inflation that's about $2.50 which is about twice what I'm paying for MP3 songs. Oh yes, a 45 would give me two songs but back then we called the other song the "flip flop" because it usually wasn't very good.
Awhile back I was going through my 45s I bought in the late '60s and early '70s and one had the sticker on it for .79¢, so I'd say you got a good deal on that record. I think back then I was buying LPs for less than $4.00, and for me that wasn't cheap, lol.
@@chrislj2890 Of course I was probably paying slightly more for them in 1980 since I certainly don't have my receipts from forty years ago. 😄
@@scottlarson1548
Yes, I wish I had somehow kept track of what I paid for things back then. These days I pretty much record everything in my banking software and in my computer calendar.
I started collecting CDs in the 90s. Mostly tapes in the 80s and a few records. Around 2006 I copied everything I had into MP3 and started getting everything new as a download. Around 2019 I bought a record player and thought I'd just use it to listen to my old records but started buying new records and now... I buy sort of obsessively. I do feel sort of guilty about it sometimes, the consumerism, materialism sort of thing you're talking about. I like having the physical artwork but sometimes I wonder if just having a digital file is the way to go... It gets expensive. I need better equipment. With files, all you really need is a good set of headphones.
The thing I don’t like about vinyl is that a lot of the recordings are just bad. Multi track recording was relatively new and so a lot of 70s and 80s stuff sounded really thin. Columbia has put out a lot of very thin records wit too much reverb.Ironically, the greatest recordings are jazz records on Blue Note, Fantasy and Prestige where nothing is used but microphones and room reverb.
I hear you about those jazz records. Can sound incredible.
I've been listening to vinyl and your right about the quality, it can be terrible 😬 I've got sick of the hassle of vinyl and just got myself a Audiolab 6000CDT it's a CD transport and a Geshelli JS2 dac. So far I'm happy with my decision.
Any format can sound bad
I don't have much faith in the quality of most new releases on vinyl (and a lot of reissues too). To my ears, the CD sounds just as good...the dynamic range might be a little higher on vinyl but modern production is so processed that it's hard to tell the difference.
I hate those little round price stickers that are almost impossible to take off.
I buy almost exclusively used records and most often thrift/antique stores. Most of my cool records were bought in Chicago in the 1990s, wish I had bought more at those prices.
So I’ve collected music in all forms, (8 tracks too) for over 50 yrs. I’m an old fart like Mazzy and although I don’t have the massive and vast rarities like Mazzy I do own a lot of vinyl and cds. 70 % of my vinyl was purchased when released, 70’s & 80’s and I have worked part time in record stores back then to be around music and get new releases at a discount. Back then costs were $4 - $10 but that was also minimum wage too. So an album then cost one or two hrs work for a young person making min wage. Now to be same a person must make $35 an hr and I don’t know if most younger folks do? I am a audiophile have been for decades and I appreciate the vast amount of detailed differences better equipment gives the listener. I use upper end equipment, expensive shit and all the tweeks so awesome pressings and bad quality pressings are more apparent. I also get so tired of new pressings from small startups or unknown labels having such horrible quality control and basic lack of care. Old Hollywood, OhBoy Records, Wax Time, Now Jazz and yes even Third Man Records just to name a few have been extremely disappointing. Noisy, slight warps and crappy paper inners all for the low price of $30-$45 a pop. It seems frustrating that buying vinyl is so hit and miss nowadays and I don’t recall all these constant issues back in the days of old. Factories seem to pump records out as fast as possible and also new start ups with little knowledge are getting in the game. I find myself gravitating towards CD’s again because they are detailed and “crackle” free. If Blue Note and Verve and Atlantic (there are some others) can press quite, flat, clean lps delivered with quality inner sleeves and jackets for only a few dollars more then so can these other labels but they choose not too over pennies spent. 😢
Thanks so much for sharing your story. Really hope if vinyl is going to be the dominant medium we get back to some quality standards. Maybe it’s a lost art to some extent?
What I hate is a record that could be put on a single disc, but they stretch it out to make it a double, where they will put three or two songs per side. I understand it might be to make it sound better, but the inconvenience of getting up and flipping after 2-3 songs outweighs anything gained in sound. At that point, I prefer the CD.
I might need to do a separate video on this one. Drives me nuts.
I agree with this entirely. A regular length album (not a double album) is being split up into 4 sides. I don't mind flipping one album one time, but having to play 4 different sides for a 12 song album is so tedious.
Having two to three tracks allows for better resolution, larger waveforms, wider grooves, so more room for frequencies. You guys do not know much about how this works.
@@rabarebra Just because we don't like something doesn't mean we don't know how it works.
@@johnburke5624 Strange that you agree with the OP and don't know how this works. You want good quality sound, instead you desire just one disc. Very very very strange. Do you know how dynamics on vinyl works?
I absolutely agree with the snobbery point, particularly with the stereos. Like the way people are immediately hostile to people who get a crosley as their first record player really discourages people from getting into the hobby
Yeah, I find that really annoying. They can tell the difference between a good pressing or not if they can compare it to all the other records they’ve played on the same system and know the album already.
This guy is the real snob
I also don't like attitudes that make record collecting feel more like boring consumerism than an actual hobby. That said, and also as someone who has few record-related accessories, the Stable 33.33 center hold reamer is totally worth the splurge.
As some point I may need to follow up on this one and record a response. Especially the first portion regarding the bazaar variety of pricing. In terms of bad pressing, I get very few, or my cartridge is simply more forgiving 🤷🏻♂️
You do seem uniquely immune from this.
You are NOT uniquely immune my friend
Can't disagree with anything you said well done. I've been saying that for years on deaf ears. Unfortunately nothing's probably going to change 😞
Quite agree about your view entirely..im.61 so grew up buying vinyls since i was 4 years old...first being 60s my mum started me off with then gradually built up a collection throughout years..until lije an idiot i sold most of them for cds .. cds werent great to start with but with progression got better or at least that was idea...its record companies out to make maximum orofits these days that has sucked the fun out of buying vinyl so ive given up going back to vinyl mainly its too expensive and pressings are very bad as your comments...ahh yea indeed the vinyl snobs that actually does piss me off. I thnk cds do still have a future but if only it was done a lot better coukd have potential ....whats happened to sacd these days?.which is in fact dsd which is digital masters used for vinyl re issues
So many variables between the music performance and your brain.
(and then you have the biases in your brain.)
Idk, most records sound very good with a proper set-up.
You stated that cost was not going to be discussed and that's mostly what you talk about
I said I originally wasn’t going to talk about cost but changed my mind. Pretty hard not to.
The cost to hear the first press as it sounded on release day compared to the 10th re-release. 1000:1
Since 1987 I have never, ever had to take back a faulty CD ...... amazing ?
I believe it. I can only think of one cassette I had to return too.
@@lostmixtapes cassettes are low to mid-fi. Files on second hand
CD´s are just as new. And played over correct inferfaces are
allmost as good as it gets.
You lost me on the first point. What on earth costs the same? Pickles? Beer? Cars? New records have radically different quality, mostly mastering, pressing, and jackets. Used records have all that to consider, but mostly are valued on supply and demand. All in all, it’s simple economics. If you don’t like vinyl or it’s too expensive, simply don’t buy. I don’t like mayonnaise for many more than reasons than 5, but I’m not going to post a video about it. ✌️
I love Pickles !
You can’t include the Beatles track in that mix, understandably it’s going to be expensive, the collector’s are driving that one up. Comparing CD’s to vinyl, for longevity I’ll stick to vinyl, I’ve had to toss out so many CD’s because they started skipping, taken care of etc. but after 20 years sorry they turn to shit. I have albums I bought 50 years ago that I can still play, after a cleaning a few years ago they sounded better then ever. As a kid in the 70’s I played it all, 8 tracks, cassette etc.
Vinyl is still my preference. 😎
Avoid the $100+ cost of excessively overpriced vinyl....torrent.
You and Telegram Sam should get together. Same style.
Hates vinyl but knows everything about the prices and listens to music all the time?
Buy CDs, no pop's, clicks, off centre pressings, warps, jumps & crackle. CDs are far cheaper & versatile with the added bonus you can rip them to digital files, you be far happier.
Luckaly thats misunderstood by the masses so we buy cd´s for 1 ...... coin.
Don't buy reissues. Buy original pressings. They're usually always good.
it's not about sound quality, but vinyl is more about nostalgia...and scalping...vinyl today is on the same level as toys, cards, retro games, etc...people buy vinyl like investment to be sold in the future...50 % of new vinyl are bought by people who don't have turntable...most of them put the covers on the wall and never listen to records...
regarding quality, it is awful...almost every one of mine new vinyl are with scratches, or some other kind of physical damage, plus clicks and pops like crazy...they are packing in hard paper inner sleeve and you can't take record out without leaving scuffs all over...at the end of the day buying new vinyl looks like you are supporting some kind of underground enterprise, no kidding...
Seems the technology - this early 20th century technology, mind you - has regressed when it comes to these 21st century pressings in such a way that sonic inferiority is the norm, not the exception. Snobbery, yes the cult-like behavior combined with childish bickering and one-upmanship...this didn't exist during the 80s when vinyl was dying and cassettes were the dominant format so why does it exist now? Oh...social media.
- Red
Vinyl is a fad and most of those people have cheap systems. Very few pressings are pure analogue, like the old records were. I have hundreds of those and only a very few sound better than CDs or high-rez files.
I'm 64 and have been buying records for roughly 52yrs. I don't consider it a fad.
You’re off base on cheap systems, I think guys buying vinyl have decent set ups & are paying attention to what they are spinning, not just back ground noise.
Certainly not a fad, important part of a great stereo, along with streaming and CD’s
Not a fad. That’s already been proven
Price and bad pressings.
and you are the snob here! So funny
Because I care about the quality of the records I buy?
Nobody cares.