Comments on: Making vinyl records the old-fashioned way

At United Record Pressing in Nashville, LPs are very much in demand. As MP3s have come to dominate digital, audiophiles are returning to vinyl.

[Mr. Bloggerific Himself]

You have a mix up between images in the article and those in the gallery. Good article though, I'd love to go check it out.

[M C]

Only about 6 months behind the rest of the media for this particular repetition of the "LPs are coming back" story...but nice to see scenes from the inside of a pressing plant again.

[RenoDavid]

Actually, "vinyl has never gone away" stories have been appearing for years.

[The CyberPoet]

While they may start from CD "Masters" during the transfer from the studio to the press-house, this is actually a little misleading, as there are other bit-rates and frequency widths commonly used upstream of vinyl media that are commonly used compared to standard audio CD's (in part because who knows what tomorrow's technology will bring in terms of remastering the same recordings).
Standard off-the-shelf music/audio CD's (redbook "standard") are 44.1Khz (1411.2 kbit/second); masters recordings are often 2 to 4 times that bit rate with frequency ranges that commonly comprise 5 Hz (or lower) through 40 Khz or higher.
Thus, although the "Master" may be transfered via CD (or DVD, DVD-RAM, DAT, etc.), it is not to say the record can not comprise a better tonal range than a standard music-store CD.

Cheers,
=-= The CyberPoet

[lkrupp]

Audiophiles should be euthanized. Same goes for iPod users.

[anthony f wood]

Move your hand from your privates and think again!

[john_zocco]

I've read some stupid comments, but yours truly takes the cake. Enjoy your cassettes!

[thephantomwindbreaker]

Well, I guess some people prefer listening to the pops, ticks, crackles, etc, that are vinyl. If absence of these things is what they mean by "sterile", then sterile is great. Hey, you pretty much have to store and play vinyl in a clean room type environment to even keep it playable. Why would this antiquated junk come back? Turntable sales are probably increasing because people are tackling the task of transferring their out of print vinyl over to CD.

[grooves]

you are an ignorant imbecile. Michael Fremer, senior contributing editor, Stereophile

[timztunz]

Your comments are similar to your username, you're just passing more gas. If you have pops, ticks, crackles, etc. get a decent record cleaning machine, take CARE of your vinyl and get some decent gear to listen to it on and THEN state an INFORMED opinion of the sonic qualities of vinyl compared to that of digital formats.

[lmr2020]

I'm so happy to see the process of producing vinyl records is alive and well! :) Oh how I love my vinyl! And my MP3s, CDs, reel to reel tapes, cassettes and 8-tracks too! If it plays music, I have it and I listen to it! The memories of hearing the first 45 I ever bought (Light My Fire by the Doors) can be relived every time I put that little round vinyl disc (yes, I still have the same one!) on the turntable, drop the needle, and listen to the music and the pops, cracks and skips that seemed to define my teenage years. When I'm not feeling nostalgic, I happily crank my Linkin Park, Killswitch Engage and P.O.D. MP3s til the rafters shake. To quote Billy Joel..."Ain't it wonderful to be alive when the rock and roll plays?" Indeed it is! :)

[ravenredhead]

Miami Bass & the Mixx Show DJ's can be thanked for keeping vinyl alive for the last 30 years. Some are making the conversion to digital, but analog still rocrocrocks the house.

[CitizenX]

Don't diss the sound quality of vinyl, even with the hiss, snaps, crackle and pops. I'm no audiophile but I do know the difference between the sound quality of vinyl, a good power amp and some halfway decent speakers compared to any digital system.

[thephantomwindbreaker]

Yeah right. And don't diss the horse and covered wagon as a way to travel cross country. And the telegraph is so much better than a phone....

[mjd420nova]

Very interesting to see some of the process of vinyl production but so many of the past generations have discarded their turntables. Yes there are still turntables for sale and some very good quality ones too. My vast collection of LP's and 45's have all been transcribed to digital formats and many were in need of some extensive sound lab work to clean them up and get rid of clicks, pops and wow that have invaded the platters. I still retain the vinyl but don't play them anymore. Since the first direct to tape album by Fleetwood Mac's TUSK album, very few have gone directly to vinyl anymore. Is vinyl on it's way back to the forefront? I don't think so. But there is still a lot of the media around and many businesses still exist that trade and sell them.

[Bill_I]

I will stick with my 8-tracks, they are different layer in the harbor, but well worth digging for.

[hotwaxisgood]

the matter of faxs stands that vinal still and always will remain as a part of american history. it is a very sad thing that the younger generation cant see this because they have not been exposed to it, only cds and mp3s.the days of vinal went before they were born so they never got to see what fun it can be.you get larger artwork, larger photos, you dont have to read the liner notes with a magnify glass, and the music sounds 100% better. this could be why so many people choose vinal over all the digital music now.