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'Record Store Day' Creates Vinyl Logjam (newyorker.com)

Posted by EditorDavid on from the breaking-records dept.

An anonymous reader writes: Today is Record Store Day, an event which includes exclusive vinyl releases distributed only through record stores. But besides complaints about scalpers hoarding the limited-edition releases, musicians and labels say the event monopolizes all of the available production capacity for pressing vinyl records, creating delays as long as six months and inflating vinyl record prices as high as $30. "The bottleneck persists even though plants work around the clock for months to accommodate the surge in orders leading up to Record Store Day," writes the New Yorker, noting that the demand for vinyl records has now increased six-fold over the last eight years.

Part of the problem appears to be big labels. (One insisted on printing 2,100 copies of their 1974 novelty hit "Kung Fu Fighting" for the independent record store event, the New Yorker notes, "meaning that an up-and-coming band's new album could, in theory, be delayed.") Meanwhile, with current techniques, one production plant still has to scrap up to 20% of the records it presses due to quality issues -- although in the last four months, two companies have introduced new faster technologies for pressing vinyl records.
This year's records include a Dr. Who track called "Genesis of the Daleks" and a track from the "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" soundtrack on a vinyl picture disc, as well as releases from Anthrax, David Bowie, Johnny Cash, Miles Davis, the Flaming Lips, and even Devo members Mark Mothersbaugh and Gerald Casale. Metallica -- this year's "ambassador" for the event -- plans to stream a live performance at Rasputin Records in Berkeley California.)

75 of 120 comments (clear)

  1. Fetishization by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

    The fetishization of vinyl is for posers. The same kind of posers who fetishize $10,000 audio ethernet cables.

    What matters most is mastering. A poorly mastered vinyl release will sound like shit compared to a quality mastering on CD or even an MP3. And then there is degradation and convenience, digital never degrades and is easily copied, shared, backed-up and stored. Given an identical mastering, the only reason to prefer vinyl is if you care about something other than audio quality.

    1. Re:Fetishization by Transist · · Score: 4, Funny

      I don't think that's entirely fair to a lot of vinyl 'enthusiasts'. I am not one myself, but I can appreciate why people like it. The ritual of playing a record on vinyl restores some sense of intimacy with the music. I have several friends who collect vinyl, and none of them are remotely interested in snake oil audiophile products. Hell, half of them use cheap, unimpressive old speakers. Perhaps that's part of the aesthetic?

    2. Re:Fetishization by mrbester · · Score: 1

      "You get more milage from a cheap set of speakers"

      In any case, it is better to spend money on a high end turntable, arm, needle, preamp and power amp than the best speakers as they will only faithfully reproduce the crap signal they receive.

      --
      "Wait. Something's happening. It's opening up! My God, it's full of apricots!"
    3. Re:Fetishization by Locke2005 · · Score: 1

      My favorite is the current batch of phonographs with USB connectors... as in, you know that's converting the analog signal to digital, then your amplifier is converting it back to analog, right? So that's better than a digital recording exactly how?

      --
      I've abandoned my search for truth; now I'm just looking for some useful delusions.
    4. Re:Fetishization by Locke2005 · · Score: 1, Informative

      Sure, I want to listen to a recording media that degrades every time you use it! My audiophile friend has high-end electrostatic speakers driven by a tube-based 500W amplifier, high end phonograph and oversampling CD player... and the CDs sound better.

      --
      I've abandoned my search for truth; now I'm just looking for some useful delusions.
    5. Re:Fetishization by ottawanker · · Score: 2

      Just because something 'sounds better' doesn't mean it's higher quality. Take a listen to some vinyl, and I think you'll at least be able to agree that it sounds different. If it does sound different, some people might think that it might sound better..

    6. Re:Fetishization by ottawanker · · Score: 4, Informative

      Lots of vinyl has been mastered 'better' than CDs. Basically anything in the 'loudness war' that was released on both vinyl and CD will sound better on vinyl, because it won't constantly be clipping (Red Hot Chili Peppers' Californication is an album I can't stand to listen to on CD).

    7. Re:Fetishization by U2xhc2hkb3QgU3Vja3M · · Score: 1

      Virtual +5 million informative.

    8. Re:Fetishization by Nutria · · Score: 2, Interesting

      I had a CD player and record player at one point. CDs sounded better. (Less scratch/pop/hiss.)

      And much more convenient.

      --
      "I don't know, therefore Aliens" Wafflebox1
    9. Re:Fetishization by Applehu+Akbar · · Score: 1, Insightful

      " A poorly mastered vinyl release will sound like shit compared to a quality mastering on CD or even an MP3."

      And a perfectly-mastered vinyl release will degrade a little every time you play it. Welcome back to the world of dusty needles and space-hogging turntables you thought you had left behind forever. So the hipster faddists are going to "rip" their vinyl to MP3, saving the actual vinyl until some hoped for re-re-revival of the format in their grandchildren's time.

    10. Re:Fetishization by peragrin · · Score: 4, Insightful

      True but that is the fault of the sound engineers who mixed it, the artists who approved it.

      It is possible to make a digital version of that vinyl that sounds better. It required talent and care. Two things the music industry greatly lacks.

      --
      i thought once I was found, but it was only a dream.
    11. Re:Fetishization by philco · · Score: 1

      POF, CD medium lasts about 10 to 15 years, whereas vinyl lasts a lifetime. That's why it's better. Oh ya. Warmth as well.

    12. Re:Fetishization by philco · · Score: 1

      Apples to oranges. I listen to vinyl on a 1965 BSR turntable at the moment. It sounds great, better then radio lol. My records will be around when they brush the dust off my bones. Your CD's will be blank pieces of plastic by then. Enjoy the quiet, buddy. PS: I listen to Ministry on this hardware. Beat that.

    13. Re:Fetishization by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      You calling me out? If I leave your CD for 15 years it's gone. Whereas that vinyl record is still playable after over 100 years. Screw the mastering, if it sounds good then ship it. Your copy will start skipping after 10 years lol.

    14. Re:Fetishization by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Except it costs nothing. Are you claiming that cooking your own food is the same as microwaving frozen dinners?

    15. Re:Fetishization by delt0r · · Score: 1

      CDs out last vinyl by every single possible metric dumb arse.

      --
      If information wants to be free, why does my internet connection cost so much?
    16. Re:Fetishization by delt0r · · Score: 1

      My brother got his daughter a turntable that does just that. Rips em to mp3.

      --
      If information wants to be free, why does my internet connection cost so much?
    17. Re:Fetishization by delt0r · · Score: 1

      I have CDs in perfect condition from over 20 years ago. CDs outlast vinyl by any possible metric. Similar storage and care CDs *ALWAYS* last longer. Even better you can play CDs as often as you want. Vinyl, not so much. What are you vinyl heads smoking. Cus it is really strong shit.

      --
      If information wants to be free, why does my internet connection cost so much?
    18. Re:Fetishization by religionofpeas · · Score: 1

      If producers already take the effort to make a better master for vinyl, why don't they just release the same master on digital format ? The extra cost is negligible.

    19. Re:Fetishization by bheading · · Score: 1

      Setting aside from the fact that even from brand new a vinyl LP will add pops, ticks, surface noise and other distortion to the sound .. .. you can't assume that when you are listening to a vinyl LP that you are not listening to a digital master. This recent uptick in the production of vinyl LPs appears to me to be largely opportunistic, and I'd guess a lot of the LPs are simply the original digital master, with all the clipping/loudness/etc, are remixed to create the cutting master used to create the LPs.

      "Californication" is an exception in terms of albums from that era in that it was recorded and mixed on analogue tape. If the vinyl is cut from that master, then you are fine (excepting the limitations inherent to LPs). If the vinyl is cut from the next-generation digital master tape used to press the CDs, you've been fooled by hipster exhuberance.

    20. Re:Fetishization by bheading · · Score: 1

      The oldest CD in my collection was manufactured around 1990.

      when I extract it in the computer and checksum it using "accuraterip" the audio is 100%, bit-for-bit, perfect. The CD returns the exact same signal that it did 25 years ago. I'm confident that in 25 years time, if someone wanted to play it, it would still be bit-for-bit perfect.

      An LP cannot do that. Each time you play it, the sound gets worse. Scratches, tics, pops all get added. Dust ends up in the grooves which you simply can't completely remove.

      So while I get that people prefer the sound of an LP, let's not pretend that this is about audio quality or reproduction, or about longevity. It's about adding artificial - analogue - effects on top of the work originally created by the artist.

    21. Re:Fetishization by thegarbz · · Score: 1

      True but that is the fault of the sound engineers who mixed it, the artists who approved it.

      You are accusing the two very people who are most outspoke and out of control of such a situation.

      The record industries are the one who demand their album be louder than the competition because it sounds "better". The artist rarely has a voice when it comes to how the final master is prepared, and the sound engineers.... well they are dime-a-dozen and the answer is typically either you mix it the way we want or someone else does.

      This is one of the reasons that they love working on vinyl masters, as they aren't the main product there's less micromanaging and they can actually do what they want.

    22. Re:Fetishization by trabby · · Score: 1

      I only ever listen to the bootleg of Californication, extra tracks, some extra vocals, no clipping.

  2. Non-issue? by Transist · · Score: 2, Insightful

    As a sell-proclaimed audiophile I can appreciate the point of the article- limited production capacity, high demand, and large budget production runs leave little capacity and long delays for small vinyl releases- but I can't see this really being much of a tragedy. If you're wanting the music itself, a digital copy with superior quality is just a few clicks away. If you're in it for the novelty of vinyl, well you clearly enjoy ritual, waiting, and inconvenience. It would probably make actually receiving the plate all the more rewarding. Vinyl demand has shot up fairly aggressively in recent years. Production capacity will meet demand eventually. When it does. the only thing that will maintain the novelty of vinyl will probably be artificial scarcity and inflated prices.

    1. Re:Non-issue? by thegarbz · · Score: 1

      ritual, waiting, and inconvenience.

      What makes you say that given that most people can throw a record on a turntable faster than they can boot a computer, look for and start playing digital media?

    2. Re:Non-issue? by Lumpy · · Score: 4, Funny

      You obviously have zero clue how to play a record.

      you do NOT throw it on the turntable.

      You put on a cotton glove, carefully remove the record from the sleeve, then carefully place it on a dampening mat on the turntable, you now zero stat it with a static dissipation device and then hit it lightly with a dust removal super soft brush. then you can spin up the turntable wait for it to get to speed, then carefully lower the needle on the record once it hit speed.

      My computer boots from OFF in less than 15 seconds. it takes at LEAST 15 seconds to get the record safely on the turntable and the static dissipation applied.

      Unless you love the experience of buttloads of pops and clicks as well as damaging a $580 cartridge on your technics turntable... you do it right.

      --
      Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.
    3. Re:Non-issue? by Mr+D+from+63 · · Score: 3, Funny

      If this vinyl thing gets much bigger, it will no longer be cool.

    4. Re:Non-issue? by Alomex · · Score: 1

      faster than they can boot a computer

      You mean one can do this manually? ...

      Seriously, I haven't rebooted any of my computers in years. For windows usually MS Update does that every month or so, and outside of that they are always on. For my Linux boxes they reboot with every major new Ubuntu distro release, again every few months.

    5. Re:Non-issue? by Locke2005 · · Score: 1

      I leave my computer always on. However, my audiophile friend needs to wait 15 minutes for his tube amp to warm up every time he listens to music... now THAT'S convenient! He has several thousand vinyl albums, but mostly listens to CDs these days.

      --
      I've abandoned my search for truth; now I'm just looking for some useful delusions.
    6. Re:Non-issue? by Nutria · · Score: 1

      What makes you say that given that most people can throw a record on a turntable faster than they can ...

      stick a CD in a CD player?

      Stupidity says you can get a record playing faster than you can get a CD playing.

      --
      "I don't know, therefore Aliens" Wafflebox1
    7. Re:Non-issue? by thegarbz · · Score: 3, Funny

      Not all of us live in countries where we can happily piss 100watts of power continuously into the wind. Admittedly the parent's basement dwellers may not realise electricity has a cost.

    8. Re:Non-issue? by thegarbz · · Score: 1

      I leave my computer always on.

      I have a power bill to pay.

      However, my audiophile friend needs to wait 15 minutes for his tube amp to warm up every time he listens to music... now THAT'S convenient! He has several thousand vinyl albums, but mostly listens to CDs these days.

      No he doesn't. He just claims he does because it makes his penis bigger.

    9. Re:Non-issue? by thegarbz · · Score: 1

      Yeah and I suppose I could fart faster too, but what has that got to do with digital downloads an records?

    10. Re:Non-issue? by Nutria · · Score: 1

      It has everything that I said it did. Which is nothing.

      But people seem to forget that there is a different way to play digital music other than booting up a computer.

      --
      "I don't know, therefore Aliens" Wafflebox1
    11. Re:Non-issue? by Iamthecheese · · Score: 1, Funny

      Not all of us live in countries where we can happily piss 100watts of power continuously into the wind.

      That's pretty sad. It's 2016. It's time for a certain base load to be available and all-but-free almost anywhere in the world on demand. Some basic infrastructure is essential to basic industry, and that essential infrastructure includes enough electricity for 100 watts per person on an ongoing basis to be overshadowed. If a region doesn't have that it doesn't have the electricity to support and repair heavy equipment, industrial-scale cooking, modern hospitals, and so forth.

      --
      If video games influenced behavior the Pac Man generation would be eating pills and running away from their problems.
    12. Re:Non-issue? by geoskd · · Score: 1

      Not all of us live in countries where we can happily piss 100watts of power continuously into the wind. Admittedly the parent's basement dwellers may not realise electricity has a cost.

      And not all of us have such an incredibly inefficient PC.

      You can get laptops that idle at less than 2 watts. Even under load, they're going to use far less than 100 watts,

      --
      I wish I had a good sig, but all the good ones are copyrighted
    13. Re:Non-issue? by thegarbz · · Score: 1

      I have a power bill to pay.

      Tough shit for you.

      Based on your other comment about penis size, I'm sure you're just a joy to be around. I leave MULTIPLE computers on at all times, and my power bill is lower where I live now than it has ever been.

      If you can't afford to do that, it's not really relevant to the discussion.

      Nobody Cares.

      Congratulations you live in a world where there's cheap power. More power to you ... errr literally?

      As for my comment on penis size, you don't think your audiophile friend is actually able to hear the difference in his tube amp between running when first powered on and 15 minutes later do you? Or does that only work with monster cables. The difference in distortion between a tube that has been on for only a few seconds vs a tube that has been on for 15 minutes it borderline immeasurable. But mind you the same things are set of classical FET amplifiers, except that in this case the difference is actually immeasurable. I have little patience for those who practice homeopathic audio.

    14. Re:Non-issue? by thegarbz · · Score: 1

      Oh I didn't say the power wasn't available. It just results in me actually parting with money for literally no good reason to run a device that is doing zero useful work. This is actually why I "upgraded" my Xeon based home server to an Intel Avoton based server. That paid for itself already even with 2 additional drives in the new server.

    15. Re:Non-issue? by thegarbz · · Score: 2

      Ahhh yes the ever practical but you can get things low power enough to keep them always on and don't consider any of the actual performance or use cases involved with a computer.

      I sure as heck won't be replacing my video editing machine with an ultra-low power laptop, and I'm sure you agree buying an entire laptop for the soul purpose of making sure your music is available 15 seconds faster is not really a great use for money, or a laptop.

    16. Re:Non-issue? by GrumpySteen · · Score: 1

      most people can throw a record on a turntable faster than they can boot a computer, look for and start playing digital media?

      I can plug my headphones into my phone, launch the MP3 player, search for the song I want from a collection of about 150 albums and be listening in a matter of seconds. And I can do that anywhere, anytime.

      I'd love hear an explanation of how you can do the same thing even faster with 40 lbs of vinyl records.

    17. Re:Non-issue? by geoskd · · Score: 1

      I sure as heck won't be replacing my video editing machine with an ultra-low power laptop

      Sure, but otoh if you are using your video editing machine fro browsing the web, and powering it on just to listen to music...

      Most people dont have / dont need a computer for video editing. Their needs can often even be met using a tablet. It should also be noted that the cost of my time to wait for a PC to boot every day exceeds the cost of the electricity to just leave it on 24/7. This is especially true when the PC automatically goes into sleep mode automatically, thus reducing the power consumption dramatically.

      --
      I wish I had a good sig, but all the good ones are copyrighted
    18. Re:Non-issue? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      NO! You have to zero stat AFTER using the brush!

    19. Re:Non-issue? by mbstone · · Score: 2

      This is how you play multiple vinyl records: You use a record-changing turntable.

      1. Stack a bunch of records on top of one another on the spindle.
      2. When a record finishes, the next record will drop down on top of the record(s) already on the turntable.
      3. This is good for 80-100 minutes of music depending on the number of stacked records supported by the device.

      No need for expensive cleaning cloths or solutions as long as you are able to buy more copies of your records.

    20. Re:Non-issue? by delt0r · · Score: 1

      I pay the power bill and rates of my mother in laws place you insensitive clod!

      --
      If information wants to be free, why does my internet connection cost so much?
    21. Re:Non-issue? by KGIII · · Score: 1

      I'm the furthest thing from an audiophile but... Umm... Err... I'm also old. I also play a variety of musical instruments. I also have some tubed amps.

      You can absolutely tell the difference between a warmed up tube-driven system and one just started. It's not just a little different, it's a lot different.

      --
      "So long and thanks for all the fish."
  3. Well... by wonkey_monkey · · Score: 1

    ...hipsters gotta hip. Or is the verb "to hipst"?

    This year's records include a D[octo]r Who track called "Genesis of the Daleks"

    It's not so much a track as audio from a 1970s TV story.

    --
    systemd is Roko's Basilisk.
  4. Digital streaming from a record store? by Mr+D+from+63 · · Score: 1

    Metallica -- this year's "ambassador" for the event -- plans to stream a live performance at Rasputin Records in Berkeley California.

    I wonder if that performance would sound better on vinyl? Maybe we should just wait for it.

    1. Re:Digital streaming from a record store? by Locke2005 · · Score: 2

      Would is sound better with earplugs?

      --
      I've abandoned my search for truth; now I'm just looking for some useful delusions.
  5. But... but... but... vinyl is dead by QuietLagoon · · Score: 1

    Didn't they get the memo?

  6. Karate Kung Fu by ZipK · · Score: 1

    Sure, Carl Douglas' "Kung Fu Fighting" was a hit single, but the Emperors' earlier "Karate" was the musical basis of Santana's "Everybody's Everything."

  7. What is attraction for under 30 crowd? by kencurry · · Score: 2

    I'm over 50, grew up on vinyl records, so I like vinyl for the combination of nostalgia and having grown up with classic 70's era album masters. My vote for all-time best recording for vinyl is Supertramp's "Crime of the Century." But you had to look for quality recordings and pressings. We would seek out import version of our favorite bands, as they tended to come from higher quality masters and (sometimes) came in more interesting covers/jackets.

    What do millennial and younger crowd love about vinyl? why do think it is regaining in popularity? Please post.

    --
    sigs are for losers (except to point out that sigs are for losers)
    1. Re:What is attraction for under 30 crowd? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      None whatsoever for the most part. By and large, most people nowadays listen to music using their computers and/or phones.
      LPs are liked mostly by people who do it because they can then tell other people they ‘prefer vinyl’. This hasn't got anything to do with music, it's a fashion statement, like how they drink $8 cups of coffee (but only if they can be seen drinking them) and they have to wear glasses with thick black frames and chequered berets.
      There's also a tiny professional segment of DJs who like to be able to muck with the speed of the turntables, either for ‘scratching’ (which I personally hate) or to match up the beats of two songs while cross-fading. But nowadays digital devices can do this too and they're gaining in popularity because they're more portable, don't destroy the records they play, allow the DJ to pick from more songs, are better and more convenient at cross-fading, and generally better all-round.

    2. Re:What is attraction for under 30 crowd? by Tapewolf · · Score: 1

      What do millennial and younger crowd love about vinyl? why do think it is regaining in popularity? Please post.

      The physical aspect of it. Large cover art, booklets and the like. I see it as a reaction to MP3 and similar digital formats which exist purely electronically. MP3s and such are way more convenient to listen to, but they just don't look as good on the shelf.

      Many trends act like a pendulum. Mobile phones were large, became unusably tiny and are now in their 'large' phase again. Centrally managed computers gave way to PCs so the users were in control and now things are heading into the cloud and back to the mainframe model again. I don't see why the tension between physical media and digital downloads should be different.

    3. Re:What is attraction for under 30 crowd? by thegarbz · · Score: 2

      What do millennial and younger crowd love about vinyl? why do think it is regaining in popularity? Please post.

      Hipsters buy them so they can take photos of them with their Polaroid cameras which they then take a photo of with their phones to upload on Instagram with an old cross-processing filter applied.

      Seriously though I know someone who buys it as art for his bookshelf then goes and downloads some MP3s to load on his HiFi. The dead giveaway is how much dust is on the record player despite having a relatively recent and new looking vinyl collection.

    4. Re:What is attraction for under 30 crowd? by WebmasterNeal · · Score: 1

      I really like the large album art. I don't even listen to vinyl, they just go in a frame and up on my wall. I have roughly 10 frames hanging up at my house currently.

      --
      "During My Service In The United States Congress, I Took The Initiative In Creating The Internet." -Al Gore
    5. Re:What is attraction for under 30 crowd? by whoever57 · · Score: 1

      My vote for all-time best recording for vinyl is Supertramp's "Crime of the Century."

      Wow! I used to annoy the other people in their dorm rooms at college with this album every Saturday. There are probably a couple of people who, to this day, hate Supertramp because of the way I played it obnoxiously loudly every Saturday morning.

      --
      The real "Libtards" are the Libertarians!
    6. Re:What is attraction for under 30 crowd? by delt0r · · Score: 1

      Stoned hipsters.

      --
      If information wants to be free, why does my internet connection cost so much?
    7. Re:What is attraction for under 30 crowd? by KGIII · · Score: 1

      I'm over 50 and I hate vinyl. Well, I don't hate it. I prefer digital audio. You can pump digital out over a tubed amp anyhow.

      That said, my favorite vinyl was, of course, the White Album. There was a Jame's Taylor's Greatest Hits on vinyl that was pretty good too. Thick as a Brick and Aqualung were pretty good. Man, I got laid with those albums playing in the background so often... Stupid 80s and the AIDS scare. Ah well... I lived through it, I guess. Somehow, I never ended up with AIDS or Hep or any of that interesting stuff. I don't even get cold sores. No herpes, no anything.

      --
      "So long and thanks for all the fish."
    8. Re:What is attraction for under 30 crowd? by KGIII · · Score: 1

      It doesn't much matter. Albums used to be something that went together, often times. You had an album and you could listen to it - entirely. It often told a story. It meant something. It was a singular body of work. Even singles released from an album were part of that story, they were (perhaps) the introduction or preface to the story.

      Today, in the world of digital releases and streaming music, the concept of the album seems to have gone away. The concept of the album being a piece of work, a statement, a period of time, an artistic interpretation of a moment or series of moments, is gone in favor of a single hit and filler material that serves no value other than to pad their work.

      I find the loss of the album, as a concept and a work, to be disheartening. But, who am I to judge? The world goes where it wants to go and there's fuck all I can do about it.

      --
      "So long and thanks for all the fish."
    9. Re:What is attraction for under 30 crowd? by tlhIngan · · Score: 1

      What do millennial and younger crowd love about vinyl? why do think it is regaining in popularity? Please post.

      Easy - digital is easy, but is' somewhat... isolating and abstracted away. You have a CD and it's a silver disc filled with 1s and 0s that mysteriously turns into music. Or it's a file on the hard drive. It's a pretty abstract thing.

      Vinyl however, is not abstract. You can feel it, you can look at the grooves and "see" the music within. It's a more tangible medium to experience the music. Effects like flanger and such were physical effects, not just some random DSP algorithm that happened to sound nice. You can induce wow and flutter on the turntable with your finger and see how it affects the music.

      Same goes for "analog" photography. A lot of Photoshop filters were modeled after real processes (dodging and burning) and it's just more tangible to do it for real than to simply click a mouse.

      They know digital is the best medium for quality out there, but it's not necessarily the best medium to "play" with the art in a tangible way, or even experimentally. Yes, you can run through and click a bunch of buttons and click at the screen and make stuff happen digitally, but it lacks physicality.

      It's like the difference between doing chemistry in a simulator on a computer versus doing it in real life with real chemicals.

  8. Limo by Princeofcups · · Score: 1

    Lars is going to drive his gold plated limo the 20 miles from his palatial palace to grace the event? I'm tempted to go just to spit at him.

    --
    The only thing worse than a Democrat is a Republican.
  9. Printing 2,100 records helps create a logjam??? by Nutria · · Score: 1

    HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

    Production capacity must be pretty damned low.

    --
    "I don't know, therefore Aliens" Wafflebox1
  10. I've asked this about... by mykepredko · · Score: 1

    - The "new" VW Bug
    - Button fly jeans

    I don't consider my self an old fart, but I don't understand the fascination with things that we moved away from because the products/technology that replaced them was so much better.

    Growing up, I had a ton of records that, to preserve sound quality and make more convenient, put on audio tapes: when CDs came out, it was like a godsend as I could save a laborious and costly step.

    Maybe celluloid collars and cathode ray computer monitors are next to make a come back.

    --
    Mimetics Inc. Twitter
    1. Re:I've asked this about... by KGIII · · Score: 1

      A certain subset of users still use (expensive, even) CRT displays. My understanding is that the color reproduction is more faithful and that they're more realistically calibrated with the prints. On the other hand, I can't speak to the reality of that - I'm progressively colorblind but not dangerously so. I just can't tell the difference between tones and shades all the time. I might mistake yellow or red for orange, greens for blue, blue for purple, black for blue, etc...

      I actually thought everybody was fucking with me. "No, Dave. That's blue." Me, "Like fuck it is, stop screwing with me." Eventually, enough people did it and I got my eyeball doctor to look into it. The thing is, I do pattern recognition really well so I pass all the colorblindness tests - plus, it seems, it gets worse with age. So, if you've ever seen something I've designed and I didn't use a color wheel or someone else's template, now you know why it might just look the way it does.

      --
      "So long and thanks for all the fish."
  11. Why is this modded "Funny"? by mykepredko · · Score: 2, Informative

    I grew up in the '70s - if you considered yourself anything other than a loser that didn't know anything about audio, this is what you did.

    That and worry about:
    - Your turntable (always wanted a direct drive for providing the most accurate 33 RPM)
    - Arm (had to be balanced to minimized forces on the cartridge, needle and record)
    - Cartridge
    - Needle

    I have a Technics turntable with a Shure cartridge and needle that probably cost the equivalent of $2,000 today. I couldn't find needles for the cartridges for years (although I can now) but now that I have replaced most of my collection with CDs,

    I haven't brought it out of the (orginal) box for a few years now.

    The irony is, I can't sell it to anybody because it isn't "modern technology".

    --
    Mimetics Inc. Twitter
  12. Sooo..... by Lodragandraoidh · · Score: 1

    I got my vinyl album, a nail, and a hammer. I guess I'll just mount it on the wall here next to my CD, LaserDisk, Betamax, VHS, 8Track, and Compact Cassette tape.

    I rate the most viable technologies by the level of damage the nail does to the technology in question. Right now the LaserDisk, CD, Compact Cassette, and vinyl record are leading, as the nail did a real number on the others.

    --

    Lodragan Draoidh
    The more you explain it, the more I don't understand it. - Mark Twain
    1. Re:Sooo..... by dissy · · Score: 1

      I rate the most viable technologies by the level of damage the nail does to the technology in question. Right now the LaserDisk, CD, Compact Cassette, and vinyl record are leading, as the nail did a real number on the others.

      I'm a little confused. Are you saying a technology is most viable if it comes with a hole in it?

      Because I would imagine hammering that nail through the data part of a LaserDisk, CD, cassette, or vinyl would do a pretty bad number on those too :P

      I'll just mount it on the wall here next to my CD, LaserDisk, Betamax, VHS, 8Track, and Compact Cassette tape.

      For the VHS and betamax, there is a small protruding tab attached to a lever that when pressed in will allow the opening of the tape cover. Once opened you could then hang those by the cover itself on a nail without much if any damage too.

      I admit 8 tracks are a few years before my time so can't offer wall mounting advice there, but it did get me a little curious.

      I only recall the tape being exposed on the end similar to a compact cassette, but don't recall any holes through the thing for a gear to move the tape real inside.
      How did the tape deck move the tape?

      I also don't remember seeing any transparent 8 tracks, nor any gear mating holes, even on the back only. A one sided gear mate would certainly pose a problem for wall hanging.

      Was the tape movement pure friction on the tape itself pulled into the deck or something?
      Would it be possible to pull out a small loop of tape and hang that loop on a nail? Could that even support the tapes weight?

      Curse you, I now foresee a time sink with google this evening ;P

    2. Re:Sooo..... by Lodragandraoidh · · Score: 1

      The 8 track was a continuous loop - you can see a great picture of the inner workings at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/... It used a pinch roller system to drive the tape - it was pulled from the center of the spool, and fed back onto the outside of the spool. Of course that means you couldn't rewind the tape - only go forward - so if you wanted to hear the last track you just heard, you had to fast forward all the way around until you got back to the original track.

      My dad's stereo system only played albums and 8 track tapes - so I bought a few 8 tracks (Jackson 5 Triumph was one; can't recall the others) to hear what it sounded like on something other than my boom box (which back then didn't have much bass). It sounded pretty nice.

      The whole nail and hammer bit was a snarky crack about obsolete technology and its relative usefulness. Of course, if you want to take that to its logical conclusion - the rules require you to hammer the nail through the device without modification to secure it to the wall. Hanging it on the nail after hammering the nail into the wall is cheating. As a result, technologies that provide a void/hole at some point are more successful than technologies that don't.

      --

      Lodragan Draoidh
      The more you explain it, the more I don't understand it. - Mark Twain
  13. Vinyl CDs of Digital Music... by mlauzon · · Score: 1

    That's all they are to me, if I want music on vinyl, then I'll go to a used record store and get the music that I listened to back in the late '70s and some of the '80s on real vinyl records with all the hisses & pops that go along with them. If I want a CD, then I'll go and buy a CD, but I will not waste my money on Vinyl CDs!

    --
    Michael
    http://s1.sfgame.us/index.php?rec=58163
  14. Re:Sheep by philco · · Score: 1

    You are obviously someone who listens to Compact Disks. Where is the warmth in your medium?

  15. Kung Fu Fighting by sgunhouse · · Score: 1

    Not surprisingly, this song - somewhat modified - was used in the latest Kung Fu Panda movie. In that regard, 2100 copies is actually surprisingly small.

  16. Re: Sheep by cthulhu11 · · Score: 1

    I'm guessing you also think 2700k Tungsten light is "warm".

  17. Re:Logjam by Lotharus · · Score: 1

    The log jam here is at the point where the vinyl is pressed. There is an oversupply of content (or, rather, requests for pressings, i.e. logs) being served by too few manufacturing facilities (i.e. the river). Perhaps not the most apt metaphor, but not the worst.

    Nice try, though.

    --
    http://undecidedgames.blogspot.com
  18. Re: Sheep by Coren22 · · Score: 1

    You have to admit, they do put out quite a bit of heat.

    --
    APK likes to ask for responses to the same things over and over. Maybe he just likes the responses?
  19. Wanna buy my vinyl? by martinfb · · Score: 1

    I'll sell you my old record collection! $30/disc. No waiting.

    --


    Self-importance and self-indulgence is the root of ALL evil.