UKFF Vinyl and Records

[SuperBacon]

I know we already have a thread, but it's full of someone who I'd rather not have to see the posts of.

Anyway, eldest wants a player for her birthday/Christmas so please give me your recommendations. I'd rather an all in one system with speakers but happy to be talked into otherwise. 

The price of vinyl these days, she will be taught very quickly that the bulk of a collection is made up of second hand gems/markets/boot sales and charity shops. I've already bought her a couple and was pleased to find Dark Side Of The Moon for 15 quid (everyone should own that on vinyl surely?) which is a good price for me.

Also started following that Cheap Vinyl twitter account but recommendations on decent sites and shops (let's be honest, just in my small area of Hampshire) would be welcome too, as well as seeing all your lovely set ups and collections again!

[mim731]

32 minutes ago, SuperBacon said:

I know we already have a thread, but it's full of someone who I'd rather not have to see the posts of.

Bit harsh on @Loki

[air_raid]

I am incredibly proud of my vinyl collection. I own two singles. One I brought from a flea market in Cardiff, the other a car boot sale in the West Midlands.

They are "Leave A Light On" by Belinda Carlisle and... "Runaway Horses" by Belinda Carlisle.

Discerning, me.

[Loki]

All in ones are shit, but if you don't already have an amp with a phono input then I guess it's a way to go.  If your eldest actually gets into it they can upgrade at a later date I guess.

Record decks really aren't expensive, the expensive bit it the cartridge/needle, and then amp and speakers.  A second-hand electronics store is the place to go, get a 2nd hand amp with a Phono In, a couple of speakers, a second-hand deck and then buy a good cartridge.

My collection has expanded onto another shelf of my studio.  It's still relatively small but I buy maybe a dozen records a year, mainly from www.juno.co.uk

 

 

Edited October 6, 2023 by Loki

[SuperBacon]

This is incredibly annoying as I had hundreds of vinyl, a set of 1210s and a beautiful Marantz stack system and sold it all for I forget what, probably debt from my Mum.

So as I've only ever had decks for that purpose I've never looked into singular decks and the pros and cons of them.

 

[Merzbow]

I've pretty much given up on vinyl after seeing many that I want being released at close to forty quid. More and more smaller artists have gone back to cassettes and CDs for their physical releases because it's just not financially viable for them to get anything pressed, if they can get it pressed in the first place due to Adele etc blocking up the pipeline with shit that'll end up being waste.

[Tamura]

13 minutes ago, Merzbow said:

I've pretty much given up on vinyl after seeing many that I want being released at close to forty quid. More and more smaller artists have gone back to cassettes and CDs for their physical releases because it's just not financially viable for them to get anything pressed, if they can get it pressed in the first place due to Adele etc blocking up the pipeline with shit that'll end up being waste.

If new records are being sold for £40, that's because they are being pressed somewhere stupidly expensive or because someone is milking buyers for all they are worth. Although ~£10 for an album used to be the norm in the DIY punk scene before Brexit, it's still only gone up to around ~£12-15, that's for albums bought from a UK distro importing from the EU. I was in Sweden at the weekend and bought a brand new album for around £8. Admittedly it was direct from the band, but it does demonstrate that £40 is taking the piss.

[Loki]

Be thankful for small mercies!  You can go into HMV today and actually buy vinyl.  When I was putting records out in the early noughties we did some small runs of 1000 copies of our releases.  At that point there was ONE remaining European pressing plant.  The format was *this* close to dying out completely if that had folded.

I loved cassette tape at the time but it's an awful format for actual physical releases - great for mixtapes though.  The tapes wear quickly, the machines need regular cleaning.  I have records that are 70 years old that still sound great, all my tapes pretty much are shot now after 20 years.

If "the kids" want to being back a physical format, why can't it be MiniDisc?  Recordable, durable, great sound quality, perfect for mixtapes plus they look futuristic and cool.

MiniDisc players can be worn out and about like Walkmen as well and the batteries last for ages.  It was far and away the best physical format.

[SuperBacon]

24 minutes ago, Merzbow said:

I've pretty much given up on vinyl after seeing many that I want being released at close to forty quid. More and more smaller artists have gone back to cassettes and CDs for their physical releases because it's just not financially viable for them to get anything pressed, if they can get it pressed in the first place due to Adele etc blocking up the pipeline with shit that'll end up being waste.

No idea if this is related, I'm sure it is, but I've just received her Beabadoobee album, and it says it was made in the Czech Republic. 

Have things always been pressed in places like that?

[Loki]

48 minutes ago, SuperBacon said:

No idea if this is related, I'm sure it is, but I've just received her Beabadoobee album, and it says it was made in the Czech Republic. 

Have things always been pressed in places like that?

Eastern Europe stuck with vinyl a lot longer than the West, the CD revolution started very late there for obvious geopolitical reasons.  So pressing plants survived there longer.  The aforementioned single remaining pressing plant was GZ in Czechoslovakia I think.  Bear in mind until very recently nobody had manufactured a new pressing machine in decades.  I think there's like... two manufacturers even now?

So setting up a pressing plant is incredibly hard and usually involves tracking down a decades old machine and getting it serviced.  You need the master cutter as well.

[FLips]

Got into a habit of buying a Vinyl record maybe once or twice a month years ago, Discogs was usually a decent place for some older ones, and then HMV for newer stuff. Have a collection now maybe 30-40 records deep but as others have said, the price just kept going up and up so now it's a rare treat of maybe once or twice a year.
HMV promote a "2 for £55" and I just look at it every time I go in and mouth "fucking hell".

That being said I did buy Stornoway's new LP "Dig The Mountain" today for £27.99 as they're one of our favourite bands. They made the entire packaging from recycled cardboard and plastic and then the disc itself is also marbled and made from recycled plastics. It's all very lovely.

 

Edited October 6, 2023 by FelatioLips

[SuperBacon]

Check out @cheapindievinyl and @vinyldealuk on Twitter. Some bargains in those feeds.

[Chest Rockwell]

Since the resurgence of wax there's actually a decent amount of investment going into simplifying and making the process cheaper and more accessible. I think there's going to be a breakthrough there that'll be a real game changer. 

I don't buy anywhere near as many records as I used to but a record shop opened up in my little town just under a year ago so that's been nice. I also got gifted a bunch of records by my father in law who doesn't own a record player anymore. Some nice stuff in there 

Edited October 6, 2023 by Chest Rockwell

[Merzbow]

3 hours ago, Tamura said:

If new records are being sold for £40, that's because they are being pressed somewhere stupidly expensive or because someone is milking buyers for all they are worth. Although ~£10 for an album used to be the norm in the DIY punk scene before Brexit, it's still only gone up to around ~£12-15, that's for albums bought from a UK distro importing from the EU. I was in Sweden at the weekend and bought a brand new album for around £8. Admittedly it was direct from the band, but it does demonstrate that £40 is taking the piss.

Yeah, we've got places like La Vida Es Un Mus and No Front Teeth still selling decently priced punk and hardcore, actually bought a couple of tapes from the latter this past week.

[Jazzy G]

I've got a couple of Smiths singles, I used to have all their studio albums on vinyl, but had a flood at the house I was at in uni. My mum's got a fair few records though, and I bet there's a decent selection at my gran's as well.