College kids,
I was wondering if you guys knew anything about collecting old vinyl records and what advantages does it have over CD's or mp3's.
Tom
24 years old
Long Beach, CA
Tom,
Well Tom, fortunately for you college kid Sisson and I are somewhat experts on DJing and finding records. So without further adieu let me introduce you to the world of record collecting...
In this day in age many people do not appreciate the soft natural sound that records can provide. Because records are analog instead of digital they can capture a more richer sound compared to most mp3's and CD's. This is because the grooves of the record emulate the exact wavelengths of the song. A record can hold as many wavelengths as it needs with no restrictions. When you convert analog to digital you are only copying thousands of small pieces of the audio, but you are not actually copying the "entire" song. Because of this you do not get the softer sound that vinyl can provide. Converting to mp3 will only make the situation worse because you are reducing the quality of the track to save space.
Despite the sound differences, one could easily argue that CD's and i pod's are much more convenient than carrying around records all day. In this case, they would be correct, but what they do not understand is that collecting records is not about convenience. It is about an experience. It is about owning something with history. For example, that Grateful Dead record in your basement may have been played at your dads graduation party. You mom probably listened to those Elton John records all the time when she was a teenager. Regardless of what they were used for, what is important, is that they meant something to the people who owned them, and the same should go for you.
When it comes to owning records, finding them is half the fun. Most chain music stores do not sell vinyl, but many locally owned stores do. Depending on where you live, finding record shops may require you and you friends to take a mini road trip. It may be a long ride, but trust me it will be worth it. Here are some cool record shops I found around the country:
- Spinnakers Records - Massachusetts
- Princeton Record Exchange - New Jersey
- Amobea Music - California
- Backspin Records - Texas
- Corner Record Shop - Michigan
If anyone has more specific questions on record collecting, DJing, or scratching, please feel free to leave a question.
Cheers,
The College kids
1 comment:
Hi:
I agree with your response, collecting is such a wonderful hobby and anyone can do it. It is up to us to preserve vinyl-did you know that only 5% of the music on vinyl has been converted to CD? That leaves a multitude of music and artists that have made great music that may not be heard by the masses. And records are a historic medium, lets not only collect, let's preserve these vinyl treasures. I see you listed some record shops, but I like to utilize www.gemm.com, they have worldwide appeal and you can find just about any artist whoever recorded something on the site.
Did you know that Vinyl Record Day is celebrated on August 12th? Check out www.VinylRecordDay.org and read about what the organization is trying to do, I support them 100%...but then I am a bit biased.
Robert
www.collectingvinylrecords.com
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