Direct driver

On 2/5/2021 at 9:10 AM, tape said:

Gives me memories to the time in college a tweeter got broken in one of my speakers during a move, so to fill in the frequencies a bit I ran my receiver into my guitar amp. Worked well enough for a little while until I could scrape together the cash to deal with the speakers.

 

I run my iPhone into the aux input of my bass amp to listen to stuff while I'm setting up or cleaning at my practice space. Sounds great honestly. 

Yep. It really depends on the amp. Some are surprisingly hi-fi.  Heck, my first bass speaker was an Acme low B2. at the time they were only about $350.  It is a 3 way bass speaker and a pair could be the speakers for a KILLER hi-fi system. They were that good. In fact, the biggest complaint from some people was that they were too "flat". And yes, they faithfully produced the low B from my fiver (32 hz). Flat is good in a world where tone comes, not from the speaker, but from the electronics and effects.  My Boss GT 6B puts whatever tone I want into my speakers.

Edit: HAHA! I just checked. They're $725 now.

13 hours ago, nardes said:

I really wish we’d drop the PO Now, PO Soon, PO-, and dates in the titles. Dumb and not necessary. It should just be the artist and album title/collection being discussed. 

I'm a member of a lot of forums on various subjects. Something I notice that is interesting is that if they allow politial posts or threads, it takes little time before if you select the "latest posts" tab, virtually ALL posts are political. Fortunately, this site doesn't have that problem. It has "PO", instead.

At least it's related to the site purpose.

Because I have so many records already, I don't really "look hard" for new stuff, but I recently discovered Vinylmeplease, ironically, via a youtube video about them raising their membership price. I ended up buying five records that I really like a lot. And one of the reasons, I'm embarrassed to say, is the cool colored vinyl as well as the album art. But then I noticed an album pair by  Sturgill Simpson called Cuttin' Grass. And their version is seven dollars more than another one (also colored vinyl, but not quite as "cool"). 

I remember getting a Tomita album called The Bermuda Triangle back in 1978 that used salmon pink vinyl. I loved that. But if it had come in black or pink, and pink was 25% more expensive, I'd have gotten black. The color is a bit like a rule I know of in real estate. That is, some things won't increase the value of your home, but they will make it easier to sell. That's how I see this stuff. i.e. it might cause me to buy it in the first place.

18 minutes ago, Wasda Deelwifkramer said:

I need to check out Purple Dog. I live 10 minutes from there,

Funny thing: After my comment I went to yelp to find them and they said the same thing I said on prices, as well as them being small. And that latter can not be emphasized enough. The place is smaller than a large bedroom. But they have a LOT of stuff for their size. I think this is a case of "Low overhead, and we pass the savings on to you." This is a record store you go to in order to actually BUY STUFF and not just look around.  

They also may have enlarged since I was there.

7 minutes ago, MicLima said:

I am once again asking....

 

Does anyone have a Skid Row they're willing to sell, that won't charge me my left testicle and first-born?

 

TIA!

Sorry. I never heard of them.

10 minutes ago, daegor said:

Please don't confuse opinions with science.  Unless you start wearing a mask we have not come to any agreement.

We have come to agreement on the concept you very succinctly described in that previous post to which I was referring. And I appreciate that. Regarding whether or not you or anybody else should be wearing a mask is highly controversial and the subject for another thread. This is my last word on it.

I hope we all enjoy RSD this year! I really am looking forward to the crowd as long as I don't have to wait in a long line. I was at Waterloo records in Austin Texas a few weeks ago and the line was crazy. I ended up going online and just ordering from my phone in the parking lot, and the guy came out with my bag of goodies - and we were off to Waco.

54 minutes ago, daegor said:

It's important to remember not to spew willfully ignorant bullshit.

I truly love when posters with opposite opinions can come to agreement. And we have!  Thanks!

47 minutes ago, Dub said:

Probably should have left the arbitrary and unnecessary detail that you refuse to wear a mask out of your og post.  Anyone with half a brain could have seen this coming.

It's a critical part of who I am and no, I did not see it coming. Most of my friends and even "virtual" relationships on the internet either agree with me or have room for the opinions of those who disagree with them. 

But as a newbee, it did give me a feel for the culture of the site. That's a good thing.

6 minutes ago, Derek™ said:

Welcome to the boards.  I hope to be actively interested in vinyl at your age.

Like MCDELTAT mentioned, this board lends itself to a lot of limited, newer releases and reissues.  I'm not too sure where your tastes fall – outside of Pink Floyd – but you may have the most success by monitoring specific "catch-all" threads – classic rock, metal, jazz, etc.  They seem to get updated with news of reissues a little more frequently.  Most of this forum is fixated on new age trash, pressed on colorful wax limited to < 1,000 copies.  As such, we are no stranger to playing the pre-order game.  And especially with Covid delays, placing an order that's supposed to take 6 months - but having it take 7-9 instead - is kind of accepted as the new norm, unfortunately.  Sometimes the advertised product doesn't even include all of the features or color of the vinyl that we were led to believe we were purchasing.  It's a frustrating hobby to keep up with, at times.  But not as frustrating as ignoring a release / pre-order in hopes of just "picking it up" later, only to find that all available copies are $80+ on the aftermarket.

 

Anyways, it sounds like you won't really have to bother with most of that nonsense.  Most of us are a slave to FOMO – Fear of Missing Out – which is why you'll see so much scrambling in a lot of the pre-order threads.  We're all just trying to stay ahead of the curve, and score our favorite limited releases to avoid gouging our wallets down the road.  The majority of users on the board are passionate about the releases they're ordering and discussing, but there are a handful of diddlers that lurk here and snatch up anything that's gaining buzz, in hopes of making a quick buck once it sells out.  Don't be one of those guys.

 

I'm sure you'll find something on VC that strikes your fancy, at some point.  But until then you may have to wade through a lot of goofy pre-order threads.  And if you ever develop a thirst for overpriced 7"s of Nickelodeon themes, or reissues of circa-2005 Hot Topic hits, we've got you covered.

That was a great, informative, and funny post. Thanks for that. BTW, I tried to put my musical tastes in my profile but the site is not allowing me to edit my profile, so I'll just wait until it does. My tastes are ridiculously eclectic. The only "music" I don't like is Hip hop and Rap. But that's just a taste thing.

The only "pre-order" i've ever been involved in or cared about was the DVD release of the Pulse concert by Pink Floyd. I lost my laser disc copy in a divorce back in the late 20th century and waited YEARS for the DVD release, and followed it carefully.

Now it's just another disc on my shelf.  

i.e. I don't do pre-orders any more. I just look for what's actually out there. I was being pushed to "pre-order" an awesome three wheel commuter car about ten years ago. It was always "just around the corner". It never happened. But I didn't do the $100 pre-order, because I've gained the wisdom of a 65 year old.

I'm quite new here and I'm seeing something I've never seen in a hi-fi/music forum: PO threads. I always think "Purchase Order" but discovered quickly it meant "Pre-Order". I clicked on one of the links in one and got a malware warning immediately. 

But my question: Every site/forum as its own core purpose even though it may overlap with others. Is this site more about ordering new music than anything else? I notice the site is now owned by SRCVinyl. That, and all the PO threads are the hints that cause me to ask this question. Other than that, I don't actually understand the reason for extremely cryptic OP's in "PO" threads. 

Thanks in advance for any help.

On 12/30/2020 at 3:51 PM, Wasda Deelwifkramer said:

Mile Long Records in the western suburb of Wheaton in Illinois is where I go.

http://milelongrecords.com/

Heh. I collect branded TT mats from any store I visit. I went in there last year and asked for one to go with my purchase. They don't have one. But they DID have a "Now Playing " block of wood to hold the record jacket of the record I'm "currently playing" with their logo on it. So that's what I now use when playing records. Nice guys in there too! 

BTW, for me a real "sleeper" is Purple Dog records. I couldn't figure out why it was where it was. It seems like an absurdly quiet location. Then I realized it was right next to a commuter train "station", so he picks up all the commuters as they come home. Anyway, the big advantage of that place is the prices. I got a VG+ copy of Mr. Heartbreak for five bucks. But be warned that the place is small

I'm going to add my favorite record store here because they no longer show up in google maps. It's Siren Records in McHenry Illinois. The back section of the store is like an early 70's hi-fi store. For me it was like stepping back in time. But the whole store is awesome. The record selection is great, and they have live acts (though I don't know if the lockdown is affecting that now).  They also have a facebook page. 

I live in Kentucky, so whenever I go there I will pick up an album from their "local acts" section. I've come up with some real winners!

On 4/18/2017 at 5:18 PM, jhulud said:

Here are some Guidelines and “Rules” if you’re coming in as a newbie or even the more pretentious asshole regulars.

 

• VC is not a “what is this record worth?” kinda place. Take those queries and research to Disccogs and eBay. Not here.

• Looking for info on that "rare" album you found at your parent's basement? There's a thread dedicated to that type of stuff. Post your queries there. Don't create a new thread asking info about that shitty Beatles record you found at Goodwill.

• Ask a dumb question…and that’s subjective…and expect to get ridiculed and ribbed and flamed especially with plenty of gifs. Don’t take it too personal as it’s only in the Internet.

• Be courteous and respectful towards others and each other. We all have different tastes in music and how we choose to spend our money on THE HOBBY!!!

• Don’t like it? Don’t buy it.

• If you act like an asshole to others, expect to be suspended and/or banned without any warning.

• Trolls will not be fed for long. We’ll have some fun at your expense at first but it’ll all be over once it’s not funny anymore.

• If you don’t have any plans to be a constructive and contributing member of this community…just move on. No deadwood here.

• Your favorite band/artist announced a new album? Great! Don't start a "PO SOON" thread unless there's any solid & legit info on a vinyl release. Get hyped about the release on the EE board. Don't clutter the main board yet.

• This isn't a forum for 'witch hunts'. If you have a personal issue with a band, artist, label, or individual please don't attempt to use VC as a personal army.

• Please do not 'Jr. Mod' the boards. Spamming a thread with demands that an user be banned or suspended is not helpful. Using the Report system is the best way to make sure the staff sees and deals with an issue accordingly.

• Have fun and enjoy the music. And records. And cassettes.

After what has happened in the record day thread, I felt the need to go back and read this list. I don't understand what is happening over there. I'm doing all I can to be respectful but these guys came out with a vengeance. My option, which I'm exercising, is to ignore. I'm fine with that. The reason I'm posting this is that being new, I feel I may have violated a policy on this list and don't want to get "suspended and/or banned without any warning." 

If I continue to act respectful, but they continue with the personal attacks, should I be concerned about being banned? The reason I ask, is that I'm an internet forum veteran, and I've seen people in my position banned because the mods blamed them for "causing" the others to "act out" and therefor they were at fault for all the personal attacks against them. They are simply accused of the blanket accusation of "trolling".  I don't want that to happen. 

Again, I can take any and all personal attacks. They are like water off a ducks back (i.e. this is not a complaint about their personal attacks. They don't bother me.). But if I'm going to be held responsible for the attacks by others against me, I would like to be forewarned. As I said in my "Introduce yourself" post, these rules are one of the reasons I chose this site. 

I have found that too often on the internet, "troll" is the new "ni**er"  That is, the worst attack there is against another member is to call them a "troll" simply because they disagree with you. And I've seen it used to ban people who, in their "trolling" post, was simply stating a valid opinion (which I may even have disagreed with). 

Anyway, I notice this site is relatively quiet compared to most I've been on, and I think being newbee friendly is a big step in growing. Not all are as resilient as I am, and when a simple and honest comment gets them a ton of  profanity laced "you're not one of us" posts, they may self ban. 

I'm just trying to give what I hope may be some useful feedback

14 hours ago, daegor said:

Opinions do, science doesn't.

Zero tolerance for anyone not taking this seriously.

It's important to remember, regarding pretty much everything, that opinions vary. I don't think this thread is the place to argue it.

23 minutes ago, IndigoHollow said:

Like what groups?

I'll have to pull it out when I get a second. I'm still in online meetings. I will say this: On is a DG recording of an all men's choir. The other is "ethnic instruments" and also a relatively large group. Both are from my "shopping at estate sales" days in Seattle around 2009. They are pristine, including the jackets. 

About five percent of the music I acquired at that time is "obscure ethnic stuff". But I did get this one, which is absolutely amazing. South African artist:

29 minutes ago, ZeroNowhere said:

Yeah, only 400K plus people have died from it in the US, so pretty harmless you fucking dunce.

This thread is about RSD 2021. I didn't mean to create a chitstorm just by mentioning I don't wear a mask. It's important to remember, regarding pretty much everything, that opinions vary. I don't think this thread is the place to argue it. I don't think it's the place to argue the usefulness of profanity so I let all that go as well. 

1 minute ago, daegor said:

 

I don't think the rules here prohibit offensive language.

Apparently.🤣

15 minutes ago, jhulud said:

Does Mexico have RSD?

 

I ask because there's a record I stumbled upon on eBay for a Mexican pop artist and it's being labeled as an RSD release. 

That's pretty cool.  I'm finding that I'm enjoying collecting more "obscure" stuff these days. In rifling through my records when I unboxed everything after the move. I found some interesting stuff from Russian groups. Some from the USSR days. 

13 minutes ago, craigeduk said:

Well FUCK YOU then! Hope you miss RSD again

Well, I've survived without it so far.  But most stores will let me in without a mask. It's not really an issue.

BTW, this year I did a lot of driving around the US. I like to collect "record store branded" turntable mats. I got one in Waco Texas, Dallas Texas, Seattle Washington, Chicago Illinois, Indianapolis Indiana and Nashville Tennessee. I did have to wear a mask going into one store, but was able to take it off once I got inside. I stopped at dozens of gas stations, typically Loves and Pilot. Never had to wear one. Nobody said anything. 

The US may take this differently than the UK. It's pretty harmless to those of us outside nursing homes.

I always miss record store day. I was really, REALLY gonna do it last year, but then the lockdowns happened. 

I refuse to go into any store with a mask on, but I'll give it a shot this year and, hopefully, sanity will have returned to the brick and mortar retail world - and I'll be able to participate in RSD.

I'm a bass player. I also have that same TT for use at gigs during breaks. Through one of my bass setups this would sound almost hi-fi. But it would not sound very good in the other one. First, YES, you need to turn on the built in pre-amp. At that point it is just like any other piece of electronics that can be plugged into the "aux" jack. My main hi-fi has two phono inputs. I use them for my other two turntables and connect the AT LP120 through the Aux input, using it's built in pre. 

And as bad as this may sound through your bass amp, it may sound better than some cheap speakers out there, depending on your amp.  But if your budget is tight right now, and your bass amp has the stereo aux input (I used to use that for plugging my phone into the amp for playing songs I could then practice to. That's why the plug is there) this should actually be a "not bad" solution. Modern bass amps tend to sound more "hi-fi" than guitar amps for the simple reason that guitar amps NEED TO color the sound, and bass response is not part of their audio footprint. Bass amps, even fairly inexpensive ones, will give your much better bass and a lot more highs than people think, and they tend to be flatter throughout the frequency range. 

But I'd consider this just a temporary solution until you can afford something better. 

Some might find this interesting. 

I purchased a used Audio Technica AT LP 120 USB a few years ago to play vinyl in the "breaks" at my band's live gigs. It plugs directly into the mixing board and was only $150 and I was willing to risk damaging it. Anyway, it will play at 78 RPM. That coupled with a very high torque motor allows me to do something with it that is difficult with other TT's. That is, for all records I set the speed to 78, run the Discwasher over the record, applying fairly strong pressure, and the motor keeps the record spinning at 78 rpm or close to it. Then I drop the speed back to 33. It brakes down to 33 in about a third of a second. And I play the record.  

I moved from Seattle to a "hobby farm" in Kentucky 10 years ago. Almost all of my approximately 3,000 records have been in a non-climate controlled shed in storage that entire time. I just had my 30x60 shop/mancave built and am getting the mancave room going (30x16 feet). step one was getting one of my systems up and running, which included unboxing all my vinyl. 

The vinyl experienced high humidity up to 105 degrees all the way down to -5 degrees. Fortunately they were all packed pretty tightly, but I didn't know what I was going to get. 

Here's what I got: They are all undamaged, but there are, here and there, slight "mold" spots on some records. I was surprised to find that a wipe with a discwasher would usually remove any "visible" sign of this mold (it's a very thin "cloudy spot" on the record).  I have a nikon 3D microscope for examining styluses and records, and using that I could see that some remained in the grooves. When I played them you could hear it. 

But I used the cleaning system I mentioned in my post above (link below)  on a few records and the results are that they are quite literally as good as new. An examination with the microscope shows completely empty and shiny grooves. And that's exactly what they sound like. 

This is kinda like a guy saying, "Hey, I'm new to cars and I just bought my first one. It's a Dodge Challenger Hemi."

It may not be a Ferrari, but most people I know would love to have one. (ignoring gas mileage, of course. ).:)

Nice start!