• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join freeLog in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

No, Fender. Stop it.

Oddly enough, Garrard was considered a top brand at the time along with Dual and ELAC/Miracord. They sold record changers, you could stack up 6 LPs or 45s and they would play one after another. Tried playing your 45s on your Rega lately? They were only considered crappy by audiophiles. Truly crappy was the BSR mini-changers with ceramic cartridges that roamed the earth in millions of cheap stereo systems.

View attachment 4413932

When Pioneer went mass market pushing component systems with belt drive and direct drive single play turntables, the rest of the audio manufacturers went that way and changers started to vanish from the market along with the big hime consoles. Integrated AM/FM, turntable and tape deck all-in-one units soldiered on for decades. I've seen those coming back, and I don't mean Crosley stuff.
I have a couple of Garrard Type A changers and when they are in shape, they are good players. I wouldn’t play my best records on them but for old beat up coasters, it does the job nicely.
 
View attachment 4413574 I'm about to show my age. It is probably made by Gerrard. For those of you who are admirably young, Gerrard was one of several really crappy turntable manufacturers.

Oddly enough, Garrard was considered a top brand at the time along with Dual and ELAC/Miracord. They sold record changers, you could stack up 6 LPs or 45s and they would play one after another. Tried playing your 45s on your Rega lately? They were only considered crappy by audiophiles. Truly crappy was the BSR mini-changers with ceramic cartridges that roamed the earth in millions of cheap stereo systems.

View attachment 4413932

When Pioneer went mass market pushing component systems with belt drive and direct drive single play turntables, the rest of the audio manufacturers went that way and changers started to vanish from the market along with the big hime consoles. Integrated AM/FM, turntable and tape deck all-in-one units soldiered on for decades. I've seen those coming back, and I don't mean Crosley stuff.

I still use a Garrard record changer. Was my dad's, he he bought it in the late 60s I think. It's been serviced a few times over the years and has a few dings and scratches. The grease in the mechanical parts gets hard after a while, especially if it sits unused for long periods of time. Since I've been using it regularly again in the last few years it's been fine.

Recently I bought a handful of 80s hits on 45rpm and stuck them on the changer for fun. As for LPs, it handles the older, thinner LPs very well but some of these newer thicker LPs sometimes don't always work as well on the changer. For LPs I don't stack more than 3 or 4 on at a time.

2015-04-04 00.13.49.jpg


I also have an 80s Technics turntable which I refuse to part with. It's technically higher quality than the Garrard, but no changer of course. Also has a much more high tech modern electronics look to it as opposed to the faux wood grain of 60s and 70s stuff.
 
I still use a Garrard record changer. Was my dad's, he he bought it in the late 60s I think. It's been serviced a few times over the years and has a few dings and scratches. The grease in the mechanical parts gets hard after a while, especially if it sits unused for long periods of time. Since I've been using it regularly again in the last few years it's been fine.

Recently I bought a handful of 80s hits on 45rpm and stuck them on the changer for fun. As for LPs, it handles the older, thinner LPs very well but some of these newer thicker LPs sometimes don't always work as well on the changer. For LPs I don't stack more than 3 or 4 on at a time.

View attachment 4414385

I also have an 80s Technics turntable which I refuse to part with. It's technically higher quality than the Garrard, but no changer of course. Also has a much more high tech modern electronics look to it as opposed to the faux wood grain of 60s and 70s stuff.
The Garrard’s or the Dual’s were built like tanks. Once you apply new lube and clean them, and maybe replace the idler drive, they are good for the next 40 years.


The Dual’s in particular, are built like clockworks. Talk about « Precision »…;)
 
But Vinyl sounds better to people who do not.
That is a completely subjective opinion without a shred of evidence behind it. First, it has been well established that even among vinyl collectors that the point of the thing it to collect them. It's like expensive men's watches; they just tell time, but you either want the experience of owning an expensive watch or you don't. People like vinyl for the history, vibe, art, status, etc. But there is no discernable inherent audio quality of vinyl.
Second, because it is an analog format the number of things that can impact the sound heard by the listener are massive. The turntable, the cartridge, the phono amp, the pressing, the mastering, etc all impact the listening experience. That is a lot of variables, making impossible to firmly say that any music heard on vinyl would be better than the same piece on different format.
There is a used record store I go to.
You can buy used CDs for cheap too. And used CDs are more reliable because they don't wear out after being played. Every single time you listen to a record, it is being slightly damaged. That's just an engineering truth. You have a hard needle running across a softer plastic surface.
But I'm not talking about used, especially since used is just another way to take money out of the pockets of musicians. I'm talking about new. New vinyl pressings can be two to three times more expensive than a CD or digital purchase.
Lastly, young people are listening to albums. If go to a record store you will find it filled with new music. Not just classics.
And? That only bolsters my point. We live in a affluent society where people can spend money on luxury goods. People buy records these days because they can, not because they are inherently better. The format was originally phased out because it has a lot of faults. Now nostalgia is cool, so going back to an older format that represents a different time in the music industry is understandable. But it has nothing to do with audio quality.
Thanks, but most music is not easily available in that format.
Because of what I said. A cheaper digital format became available and the largest portion of music listeners don't really "listen" to music as much as enjoy it as entertainment or a cultural moment. The sound of it is lost on them. Initial attempts a physical high rez formats came along at the wrong moment. Digital Hi rez is out there, but the market has decided that low quality streaming feeds are more attractive. Streaming trounces vinyl purchases by leaps and bounds. People just like cheap and easy. "Good" has it's limits.
I do not understand your hostility towards music on vinyl or it's listeners.
I don't have any. I'm just explaining that the idea that the "myth" of vinyl being popular because it is good is just that, a myth.
Why can't people be happy to let others enjoy listen to vinyl records.
Who said you can't? People spend money on all sorts of things I don't care about, and I spend money on all sorts of things other people don't care about. Just realize you can't make definitive statements like "vinyl is better."
 
Well, I have some European or Japanese vinyls in pristine condition and honestly, apart a little background noise, you wouldn’t probably notice it’s old tech 33 1/3 old plastic.

For the record ;), in the 90’s, I was still listening to my record collection as I was too poor (University student, beer, marijuana!) to afford a CD player. I always kept my collection and even bought a new REGA P1 back in 2005 during the so-called « revival ».

Now, I have more turntables than needed (2 Lenco’s, 2 Dual’s and 3-4 Japanese 80´s decks), thanks to my father, neighbors or yard sales.

Add to this that we just sold our summer’s cottage so all the collection there ended here in our house: 700-800 records total now.

I like the ritual of playing vinyl, that’s me..
 
Currently in some genres of music people only buy vinyl or cassette, (ugh, cassettes) and listen on Spotify or Bandcamp and if they go the digital route they ain't buying your music. I like vinyl, despite having a kinda crappy turntable I will be ditching and upgrading soon.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Patrice B
I'm just explaining that the idea that the "myth" of vinyl being popular because it is good is just that, a myth.

It's way more complex than that. Even the term "good" is entirely subjective. The reduced dynamic range of vinyl might seem like a minus but actually it makes the format easier on the ears at higher volumes. Which means it's better because it's worse. CDs can be harsh.

But vinyl is popular really because a lot of people - like me - didn't ever let it go meaning it was never actually "phased out" but just dipped in popularity for a decade or two. And then of course new hip people discovered this ancient ritual way of consuming music that complimented their man-buns and their jeggings and 60s autos and the rest is recent history. But like the phenomenon of vintage Boss pedals, it's amusing to earlier generations that what was never lost is rediscovered.
 
On the other side of that, friends of mine that are all into vinyl say that pressings and masters can go sideways. One pressing will be good, and another will be awful. Again, a drawback of such a finicky medium.
Likewise with CDs. Some mastering on CDs is absolutely horrendous. I picked up Led Zeppelin IV on CD, expecting to hear the thunderous boom of Bonham’s drums on When the Levee Breaks. It was so wimpy, small and thin. That album was made for vinyl. But, like you said, their are different masters, remasters and mixes for everything. I personally have my own list of what sound best on CD and what sounds best on vinyl.
 
Likewise with CDs. Some mastering on CDs is absolutely horrendous. I picked up Led Zeppelin IV on CD, expecting to hear the thunderous boom of Bonham’s drums on When the Levee Breaks. It was so wimpy, small and thin. That album was made for vinyl. But, like you said, their are different masters, remasters and mixes for everything. I personally have my own list of what sound best on CD and what sounds best on vinyl.
Music that wasn't originally recorded and mastered for CD or digital probably won't sound that great on newer formats. The recording capabilities of the 60s and 70s were very limited, so they try to remaster them to sound more current never works.
Black Sabbath is the only 70s band I listen to, so it isn't an issue for me. Most of my music buying is current works.
 
On the other side of that, friends of mine that are all into vinyl say that pressings and masters can go sideways. One pressing will be good, and another will be awful. Again, a drawback of such a finicky medium.

But at the end of the day vinyl thrives and CDs are consigned to the temporary dwindling technology footnotes of audio history, like wax cylinders, 8-tracks and cassettes. I still have all my cassettes.