Big, black, vinyl CDs
This thing is just ridiculously fun. It works perfectly, the sound quality is excellent, and it's probably the best turntable I've ever owned. I realize that for audiophiles, I might as well say I'm playing LPs with a Cheeto attached to a party hat; but from my standpoint, it's a rock-solid, heavy turntable with a really well-balanced tonearm. Old, scratchy records sound remarkably clear, and all but the deepest gouges are ignored and left unskipped.
It ships with Audacity, but I imprinted on GoldWave so long ago that I never installed it. GoldWave's pop-n-click filter is effectively magic, and my iRiver is now filling up with out-of-print or just-never-replaced-with-CDs goodies. Obscure 70s and 80s Cleveland bands (is your copy of American Noise's eponymous album autographed? no? ha!); Queen's "Jazz" and "Live Killers"; and, at my kids' request, "Peter, Paul and Mommy" -- the same copy my parents used to play for me.
Next up, Nick Lowe. Almost wish there was some Clash or Who left that I haven't picked up in smaller, shinier form. I kinda miss the clicks, and Clampdown still sounds weird without that skip in the intro. And more of my parents' stuff that I hated as a kid, but now... hey, Tom Jones Live in Las Vegas! Awesome! But then, I recently lent my dad "Sam Cooke Live at The Harlem Club", so maybe I'm cooler than he remembers, too.
Speaking of which, witnessing the proceedings, Miranda got curious:
M: What's that?
P: It's a record.
M: Is it like a kind of CD?
P: Yeah, sort of like that.
M: But how do you get music out of that?
I love that there's not a moment spent wondering how "High School Musical" comes out of an iPod Shuffle attached to a dancing toy dog. Of course that works.
Comments
I've had the same table for about 6 months and haven't gotten into the workflow of ripping albums. Thanks for the link to GoldWave. I'm Disappointed with Audacity so bought the Pyro sofwtware but that has no USB-in support. Blech--I don't want to try to tweek sound levels!
The needle broke but on a lark our local music shop had a two-pack replacement box. Have you considered buying a new stylus? I was expecting to have too but it seemed like a quality one would set me back at least a hundred bucks.
We got into albums picking them up at garage sales. (Mostly classic rock era) Very fun pass time, and there's nothing like timing your morning routine to one side of an album. :D
Now to NOT spend 20/30 bucks a pop on the cool vinyl at the eclectic music shops....
Congratulations on the SourceVault gig. Eric rocks.
Posted by: DeanG | May 2, 2007 10:11 AM
1) Thanks for pointing this out... ~300 lp's in the closet can now come out and play with their newer all-digital friends. At least, once I get one. My birthday IS coming up. Which brings me to 2) Happy Birthday! So far, the 40's aren't as bad as some people fear. I certainly wish you the best for yours.
Posted by: Pat Morrison | May 17, 2007 1:19 PM