As I sit here, as I do most nights, picking through file-folder crates filled with cardboard sleeves, and deciding on which ones to pull from the lot. A thought hit me.
"Mr Sparks," I address myself as Mr Sparks in my head, makes me feel important.
"Why is it, you spend so much time talking in the fine IRC channel for this particular forum;" It's in my head, I can know the context without having to state it ever, kind of fun.
"And you talk often, but yet you have neglected to bring some of the conversations to aforementioned forum." Which is a rather strange thing to ask myself, it's like asking the wall why it doesn't have any windows. Naturally I didn't answer myself, as asking oneself questions is normal, responding is a sign of insanity.

But here I sit, my headphones covering my ears, melodies flowing freely from them to me. Pulled from the musical imagery of one Joe Walsh by the sound of the needle of my record player reseating itself. I realize I have had this input box open for quite some time. And have rambled for quite a while, only to ask is anyone else in this fine forum collects and listens to vinyl records.

I myself have around 90 or so. With a sort of variety of pieces, nothing too strange, not counting my newer ones. And I do rather enjoy buying these windows of a method of music that is most certainly in it's twilight ages. I do have a few that are hard sought after, and are met with much care by me. But that is how it goes with any semi-collector I suppose. And I say "semi-collector" because I mean that I do not buy these to put them in plastic sleeves and never touch them. My copy of Dark Side Of The Moon gets regular play, and yes it has developed more character since I acquired it. I collect them to listen to them.

Which is what I am really getting at here when it comes down to it. And I asked this already, but I ramble, ask anyone.

Does anyone else here collect and listen to vinyls? If so, what do you collect? Do you happen to have a list? Prized pieces? Share, converse, discuss! As one may often see, collectors of physical media are sometimes few and far between.

While I certainly appreciate your dedication to the collection and enjoyment of physical media in the form of LPs, and I believe you're in the company of many like-minded individuals among the general public, I personally am not among them. Although I am picky about the music that I listen to, I don't consider myself an aficionado of any sort, nor do I own many non-electronic forms of media. Unfortunately, this is to my significant disadvantage when I encounter hardware failure, but I'm happy enough. I'm curious though if any other Cemetech member is a collector of LPs.

I also encourage you to be more active on the forums, considering that as you say, you are a loyal adjutant on #cemetech.

My Dad has a fair collection of LP's and I've often wanted to go through them but as of yet I have not had the chance. I'm pretty sure most of his are well played, Hotel California and Dark Side of the Moon being two of the top played ones. Sadly I haven't seen him play any of them in recent years even.

Ah, those are two great ones. What kind of hardware does he have to play his LPs? For that matter, what do you have, CDI?

Those are great albums. I am not a huge fan of Hotel California the SONG per-se, it's overplayed. But it is a great example of a great guitarist. But anyway.

My hardware is a mix of a couple of Sony Hi-Fi units. I have a TA-AV421 receiver that pumps out sound for everything I own that needs sound pumped out. ( it has a CD player and a tuner sitting underneath it, but I never use those anymore sadly enough ) And by a strange set of circumstances, and my own laziness. I have a TA-AX285 receiver that has the sole purpose of powering my PS-LX285 belt drive turntable.

I am sad to say the turntable contains more than it's fair share of plastic bits, so the swing arm isn't properly counterbalanced, but I have to weigh the needle down with a dime or penny often anyway, it's alright. The needle, if you were curious, is a replacement for the stock one, I forgot the model number of it exactly.

And of course now that I sit here looking at my system, I realize I could get away with 2 units, instead of 5 ( that's alright, I used to have 7 in the stack ) if I had a way to power the turntable separately.
Perhaps that is a thread for open discussion on hardware then.

My grandfather has a collection somewhere in the 200's that is amazing. He lived through the best years, collecting every Beatles, Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, Van Halen, etc... album. While I visited with my brother, we went through them and picked out which ones we wanted. I got good ones like DSOTM, The Wall, Sgt. Pepper's, Led Zeppelin 4 (untitled), and 1984. I can say that the collection must be worth in the thousands. I'm very happy that that is the kind of music I like too, for I don't plan to sell them when I obtain them, rather to revel in their epicness.

That's great to hear! What are you reveling in listening to them on? And Epic, Storm, and CDI, do you/will you have any plans to transcribe them onto digital media for the sake of longevity?

That is pretty cool. DSotM is always a great find, especially if it's an original pressing. And Sgt Pepper's is a fine example of album easter eggs, with the lead-in and lead-out loops. Good finds I must say. Do you have a means to play them?



I usually own fancified digital copies from other means rather than spending money and effort ripping the vinyls. I do agree the mix is usually better on them. But listening to a ripped vinyl on a computer still feels less lively.

Where I live I don't have the means to listen to them, so I use my CD copies. My grandfather had an extremely old model, too old to see a brand name as it is faded out, but it doesn't work now.

I plan to transcribe them eventually, as soon as I get the right hardware. I found a good one here I've been watching.
Here

What would you consider your most cherished record? I would have to say "The Wall" because of Roger's tour right now, it will surely boost in worth.

My most cherished record is certainly not based off of monetary value. If that is what you were alluding to with comparing The Wall to Roger's tour. ( not to mention, having talked to a few hard-core fans, they say the tour, like all of his tours, really isn't the same without Gilmour )

But to actually answer your question... I might not be able to actually. I mean sure, I have albums like Wish You Were Here by Pink Floyd, or The Roaring Silence by Manfred Mann's Earth Band that I do love. But it's hard to pick one. Each album has a story behind why I purchased it. Wether it be for a particular song, or because just the artist involved. Or in a few cases, just because it looked neat. My collection as a whole is cherished dearly.

That being said, if I was somehow caught in a fire, and could only save one album, however or a ridiculous statement that is. I'd grab Lateralus by Tool. As I have been looking for that album since before I was collecting them. Heh.


Also, I do suggest finding a means to listen to them, even before copying. Though don't find the cheapest means, because usually the cheapest means is cheap for a reason. You also don't need to go into the super high-end usually. But feel free. If you can find a player that has vacuum tubes in it, go for that one. Experience taught me that they do sound that much better.

Oh no, monetary value isn't the only reason The Wall is my favorite, but because I grew up with it, and it certainly changed who I am as a person. I think I am going to the tour in November, if I can grab a ticket, and of course it won't be the same with only Roger, but it could be his last concert ever.

I have a tool record, Ænima, your lucky for getting Lateralus!

Thanks for the advice on a player, by the way.

I also have an older pressing of Opiate, not original I think. But definitely older. And I am still in search of Ænima, but it is a hard find for reasonable. And I really don't trust online, as you cannot guarantee you are getting the real deal. Many fakes of these exist in the world. But you my friend, are lucky for having such a great album!

Also, the most random figure I decided to work on. I have three days, one hour, fifty four minutes, and seventeen seconds of music on vinyl WITH THE EXCEPTION of the box set "Mood Music for Listening and Relaxation" to which I cannot find the length for.