Posts by ruggedharbor17

Look, when it comes to piracy, I remember back before the internet even hit the States, everyone was just obsessed with recording stuff onto cassette tapes, and honestly, they weren't exactly rushing out to buy vinyl either. Not even CDs, because decent ones were way too pricey, but they wouldn't even bother grabbing original cassettes since they weren't that expensive either... People would just show up at my door with a pack of ten blank tapes and be like, hey, can you burn me some albums from this artist or that one... Nothing has really changed, except now piracy has just gone totally massive

I was actually thinking about those guys who were pretty legendary back in the day, like, total icons of the underground scene over in the UK during the late 60s and beyond... they ended up doing these super rare side projects that you just don't see often, where stuff might only be pressed in like 500 copies, yet somehow you can still find them floating around for maybe five bucks online. That’s really what I had in mind... there’s definitely more out there like that if you know where to look...

I don't mean they're bad, I just don't think they're particularly exciting... It’s more like you can find those super cheap 80s pop-rock singles everywhere, whether they were massive hits from big bands or just some random obscure stuff that never really took off, so the prices stay low. There probably aren't any true hidden gems or anything really high-end in there. I spend enough time digging through Discogs and hitting up local record shops to have a pretty good idea of what’s out there, and since I know what actual rare pressings from legendary bands usually go for, it's pretty obvious this collection isn't going to have those heavy hitters... So, yeah, in that sense, it just doesn't grab me much.

analogbear40 said:I’ve actually gone back to buying used vinyl—like, 99% pre-loved stuff—over the last couple of years, and I usually just buy in bulk from a few specific sellers I really trust... The prices for the stuff I’m hunting for are honestly pretty killer too, averaging out to maybe like $1 to $1.50 a disc if I'm lucky... It's mostly just 12" singles and LPs that I pick up...

The new stuff is super rare to find on sale or part of any special promos...

As for that other thing—you know, the whole streaming and music service deal—I have to be honest and admit I don't really have a clue what it actually entails, nor do I particularly care to find out... I've heard bits and pieces floating around here and there, but that’s about as far as I go. I guess I'm just from that older generation, you know...

Man, we've seen so much stuff get pulled down through torrents, random blogs, and all those P2P services over the last few years, but honestly, most of it is just about preserving information... It can actually be incredibly useful when you're hunting for those super rare gems that are basically impossible to track down in a physical store or on a shelf anywhere in the States...

Honestly, YouTube is such a massive blessing in my book... I really didn't think back when I was younger that I’d be able to stumble upon so many incredibly rare audio and video gems just by scrolling through my feed. It’s wild to think about how, back before the internet really took over everything, finding stuff like this would have been totally impossible, let alone being able to access it all with just one click without ever having to leave my couch...

If I could snag all the music I actually listen to for like, maybe a buck or two a track, man, life would be absolutely incredible...

I honestly doubt you’ve got anything super rare tucked away in there, or maybe you did, but they were probably beat to hell so you snagged them for pennies... You probably just have those big mainstream releases that everyone was buying back in the day too, so I'm guessing if you ever decided to part with that collection, there wouldn't be much in there that actually catches my eye...

analogbear40 said:I’ve actually heard of—and these are verified cases—instances where vinyls, and what’s even worse, low-quality MP3s were used as the source material for all those cheap budget compilations you see everywhere.
Labels like Demon are especially under the microscope for this kind of stuff......

https://www.discogs.com/Various-100-...elease/1728560

....check out those last two comments......

.....While using CDs as sources for certain vinyl reissues is a known thing lately, this whole business of mixing in MP3s is news to me...

Oh yeah, there's definitely some shady business going on with modern vinyl pressings regarding the source audio, and they hide it like a snake in the grass because nobody would buy them if they knew.

Sure, a CD can sound absolutely incredible, and if you're pulling from a high-end CD master, the quality isn't the issue, but then what's the point of owning the record? I mean, wouldn't I just grab the CD instead, right?

A record only really makes sense if it isn't just a digital file in disguise, because why bother playing a digital source on vinyl when I could just listen to the CD? Vinyl has real value if it's an analog source pulled straight from tape, provided it wasn't processed through a computer, because once you digitize everything, you lose that magic, and honestly, that happens way more often than people admit. They claim it's coming from analog tapes, but then it goes through a PC to be digitized and then back to analog again, which totally defeats the purpose. You can find videos on YouTube showing exactly how that process works.

If you're using the master tapes, it needs to go direct. But that hasn't really been the standard since the 80s. So basically, everything has been somewhat digital in one way or another from the mid-80s onward. Back then, we started seeing digital recordings like Dorian Gray's "Shine in the Dark," The Orgasm's "Distortion," Discipline Spine's "All Zamn," and I think even the early stuff from bands like The Alleyway... etcetera.

The first digital recording I know of that was pressed to vinyl was Hawkwind's "Levitation" back in 1980. Around here, that trend really picked up around '83.

Back then, digital was considered the gold standard, and since CDs hadn't gone mainstream yet, the only way to get that sound out was to record digitally and press it to vinyl.

With anything recorded digitally nowadays, you don't really have a choice; whether it's a record or a CD, you're just buying it for the format you prefer rather than a difference in sound. If you want that true analog soul, you've gotta stick to the original analog vinyl pressings from before the mid-80s.

Rebecca Harris said:A few of mine have some scratches from all the wear and tear, so I don't really touch them anymore. You gonna try telling me yours are perfect again? 😁

Nah, I won't 😁

But if you aren't using them, you're probably just not doing it right... maybe switch over to talking about color instead.

Anthony Carter5 said:Vinyl only exists because of hipsters buying them, even though most audiophiles agree the sound isn't any better—if anything, it's worse. Apparently, tapes actually have the best sound quality.

I’ve actually got a pretty solid Technics deck from the mid-90s, and when you get a really well-recorded chrome cassette, man, the sound is just so warm and beautiful... it honestly made me forget how incredible a good tape can actually sound.

As for the vinyl thing, you probably know as well as I do that most modern reissues are basically just MP3s pressed onto wax, or at best, a CD rip on vinyl. But I'm talking about those classic old-school pressings; when you run them through a high-end amp and some real quality speakers, the sound is absolutely top-tier... and there shouldn't be any popping or crackling either.

I don't really know what people mean by this whole "hipster" label nowadays, and honestly, I can't be bothered to Google it just to see the definition. Besides, how am I supposed to be one of those hipsters if I've been spinning records since the 80s and never stopped? For me, it’s just been one continuous passion...

Anthony Carter5 said:I honestly had no clue CDs were still a thing...

I mean, if vinyl is still holding strong, how could CDs just vanish? They were everywhere for decades, you know? It’s not like they’re some niche MiniDisc format that just faded away into nothingness...

Rebecca Harris said:It’s gotta be without the hyphen. 😳 It just sits on my shelf as a little reminder that I actually respect what someone put together...

I mean, honestly, mine don't have the hyphen either but I still spin them all the time, plus when you get them under a good light, you can barely even see any markings anyway... They've been going strong for almost 30 years and they're still killing it today. So you just collect CDs? Are they all pretty underground or what...😉

granitecyclist said:Yeah,
but are you still actually buying music (like, nowadays, not just back in '91?)🤔

Oh yeah, for sure, I never really stopped buying stuff... I've got everything I need on CD, and since most of my old players don't even work anymore, I pretty much finished my collection and called it a day. It’s not like I’ll never pick one up again, but for right now, there isn't really a reason to keep hunting for them...

I'm still picking up vinyl, though. I even have a few cassettes tucked away for those specific tracks you just can't find on LP or CD. That's basically it. I love both CDs and vinyl for different reasons, and I use them both all the time, but as far as CDs go, I'm taking a break from buying them for a while...

Rebecca Harris said:I collect CDs. I don't actually play them because I don't want to wear them out, I just love having them on my shelf. 😁

Jonathan, for sure...

Wait, how do you even ruin a CD? First off, I've got some releases from Castle back from '91 and they don't have a single scratch on them, though over all these years I did have to swap out the jewel cases since they get worn down over decades even if I'm super careful not to touch them with sweaty or greasy hands... I just replaced the cases and now they look like I bought them yesterday...

The thing is, those old cases used to be decent, but then they started getting flimsy and poorly made, just total junk... Even the blank CD spindles used to be okay, but even those haven't been great for quite a while now... So I ended up buying cheap generic discs just so I could scavenge the cases... But yeah...

Vinyl definitely gets trashed because the needle wears it down bit by bit as you listen, but I honestly have no clue how you can actually damage a CD if you handle them as carefully as I do...