Shady scams and other silly business ideas to take advantage of earnest new vinyl collectors

Let's hope so. The world needs another Qbert album.

so much unplayed scratch piklz vinyl out there...

those LZ issues sound very good, Page can't have done them.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?t=145&v=FIztJe6REiw

i just thought it was funny that that was a selling point. 80 year old deaf guy edition!

― scott seward, Saturday, May 16, 2015 3:58 PM (4 hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

One of the selling points of a recent-ish Tommy reissue was "mastering overseen by Pete Townshend"!

Wonder how his conversations with the mastering engineers went...

"Wow, this is great! You added a high-pitched sine wave to the entire album! Even between the songs!"

"What?"

This may sound like a stupid question, but is there any way to know the source of the master for new vinyl? I mean, besides a big sticker on the front boasting that it's been mastered from original analog tapes, blah blah blah? I feel like there should be some transparency as far as this goes, like say, acknowledging on labels which foods contain GMOs. Should I assume that if a 2015 vinyl reissue of, say, Loaded doesn't specifically say it was mastered from the original tapes, that it's been digitally sourced and I may as well just buy the CD for a fraction of the price? Because I still kinda like CDs, especially now that they're selling for pennies on the dollar.

i guess just try and get info online before you buy? there is very little info in a lot of cases as far as new vinyl goes.

Should I assume that if a 2015 vinyl reissue of, say, Loaded doesn't specifically say it was mastered from the original tapes, that it's been digitally sourced

imo yes

You could always try and ask the label that's releasing it.

If a vinyl reissue is all-analog, it will very likely be labelled as such. I believe there are reissue labels that specialize in all-analog records (iirc, whichever label does those expensive 45rpm Blue Note reissues is exclusively all-analog).

Does anyone know if 4 Men with Beards use analogue masters? Tho I kinda don't mind, cos the things that come to mind (Sonny Sharrock's Black Woman and Big Star's Third) sound amazing

really hard to distinguish between earnest kickstarter supporters and street teamers

― ultimate american sock (mh), Friday, May 15, 2015 8:48 PM (2 days ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

^^^ hilariously apt

... and applicable to many more situations, besides Vnyl

someone told me that the guy who started 4menwithbeards left and after he left their vinyl became erratic at best as far as sound quality goes. that 3rd Big Star they did is the best i've ever heard. on vinyl or cd. unbelievably good. way better than the rykodisc CD too. i can't vouch for that RSD vinyl version that came out though. didn't hear that.

Gotta love how "all analog" has become a treasured attribute - remember how in the early CD era a "DDD" SPARS code was a selling point to highlight albums untainted by analog recording or mixing?

(also ridiculous that the SPARS code had three letters - it should have been just the first two, since the last one by necessity is ALWAYS a "D" on a CD).

4 men w/ beards are sort of infamous for some crappy-sounding and/or poorly-pressed reissues

but like scott says they have some really good-sounding stuff too

i don't know the full history, but i suspect it's a buyer-beware situation.

Gotta love how "all analog" has become a treasured attribute - remember how in the early CD era a "DDD" SPARS code was a selling point to highlight albums untainted by analog recording or mixing?

― Lee626, Sunday, May 17, 2015 8:11 PM (1 hour ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

this is the essential paradox of the "analog/vinyl revival"! claims that were used to boost the prestige of the CD once upon a time are now being retooled and used to elevate vinyl over digital! for anyone with a long memory or just some perspective it's all alternately hilarious and maddening.

i imagine sound engineers who were instrumental in establishing standards for CDs are probably spending their days yanking their hair out.

Most of the DDD stuff I had sounded terrible -- the Kinks' UK Jive and Rosanne Cash's Interiors spring to mind. Really tinny and one-dimensional. Engineers seemed to think that the best way to show the new "clarity" of digital was with really sharp and painfully brittle high end.

The '80s digital recorders I used were *very* unforgiving about incorrectly set levels and such, a total PITA to work with. Analog recorders have a bit of "headroom"; if you go into the red on the VU meter it may distort a bit (or simply not get any louder), but it won't just chop off the top of the waveform.

...and analog distortion tends to be pleasant instead of horrible clipped noise.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OhVU8RKRaTY
That head-torch gimmick is alltime

"...and analog distortion tends to be pleasant instead of horrible clipped noise."

true, look at, for example, Dave Fridman abominations like The Woods or Yoshimi (or the album that came after that, can't remember which one). That is digital distortion in the mixing stage and it makes me ill; it's clearly an aesthetic he liked for a while though, I don't udnerstand why.

WTF! every page I go to now has a VNYL ad! methinks I picked up a cookie somewhere, still that's a lot of advertising bucks - carpet bombing...

i worked at a company that did that kinda targeted advertising shit once, pretty standard that they only charge for conversions so if you wanna bleed vnyl dry click it every time

thanking u

Install adblock!

Yelps for the Vnyl store totally sound like the fake instagram and twitter fakeness:

"Can't wait to see this place develop and grow over the next few months. Was walking around Venice when I stumbled upon this vinyl shop. I'm a huge analog junkie, and was so stoked to hear that their walls were organized by "vibe" haha. They put a lot of thought into organizing their various record walls, and the individual listening stations are an awesome and innovative idea. Really loved the atmosphere, employees were super helpful. Would love to eventually sign up for their membership and receive records in the mail. Definitely will be returning in the near future."

"The store has just opened so I know it's still finding it's roots. It has a welcoming vibe and the records look interesting. The two sales people were very nice and helpful in explaining how the store's set up. And they explained that you can join their monthly club where three records are mailed to your home and you receive a 20% discount in the store. They also plan on having guest artists in the shop. I look forward to see how it develops."

"Just checked this place out and it is so cool! I am loving the new addition to Abbot Kinney. They have an awesome open air shop with lots of great records and supplies. They carry the U-Turn Audio turntables from Boston...which is a really cool company that got started on kickstarter. They also have the coolest "membership" that I cannot wait to sign up for. $24/month for three records based on your personal music profile. So great to get a new collection started! Can't wait to stop by often."

They also plan on having guest artists in the shop.

um...Ray Conniff's been dead for over a decade.

xp barf

xpost yeah nick alt has 35,000 fake twitter followers, too. kickstarter riches go a long way in that market

Presumably that's not Venice, Italy.

http://www.moviemartyr.com/images/1984paristexas02.jpg

I get it!

you can join their monthly club where three records are mailed to your home and you receive a 20% discount in the store.

wonder how much they'll give you as trade-in on said mailed-to-your-home records?

i've heard employees have been instructed to say "#keepem"

"I checked out your store and saw that you sell records, so I thought you'd really enjoy if I traded in old VHS copies of 'Cry-Baby', 'Valley Girl' and 'Beverly Hills Cop'"

excuse me but Cry-Baby is awesome

That's not the point though is it!

You've gotta hand it to Alt, he seems to be embracing his love for dollar bin records:

http://nicka.lt/post/119317532391/george-benson-live-in-la-love-this-reissue

http://www.discogs.com/sell/release/928872?ev=rb

tbf it's $3 for NM or M-

He has released a couple of his own awesome albums as well:

http://www.last.fm/music/Nick+Alt/Cube+(Demos)

http://www.last.fm/music/Nick+Alt

Nick Alt creates his own formula by synthesizing soul, funk and electronica into self-described “neofunk.”

On his self-produced, self-performed album, Transit, Nick Alt uses an actual LinnDrum, layered organic synths, and sly vocal hooks. The album’s consistent quirkiness draws the connection between 80’s synth-funk remnants and sparks of futuristic lyrical backdrops. Inspiration for the album’s unconventional thematic elements stems from Alt’s own interest in classic novels Fahrenheit 451 and Brave New World; Transit’s cuts serve as candidates for the hypothetical soundtracks. Nick Alt’s vocals remain smoothly layered in contrast to the rawer elements of the arrangements.

I recommend "Seven Year Itch."

did he even need to do a kickstarter? he could've just sold his *actual* linndrum

on a video he made that is on the vnyl facebook page he says that he has an "elaborate record collection". maybe he made a maze out of his records. or a tree house.

Cassandra: Wait, let me show you what I got at a garage sale.
Wayne: What'cha got?
Cassandra: Isn't that great? You've heard it?
Wayne: Exqueese me? Have I seen this one before? "Frampton Comes Alive"? Everybody in the world has Frampton Comes Alive. If you lived in the suburbs you were issued it. It came in the mail with samples of "Tide".
Cassandra: Look at this old one. Gerry and the Pacemakers.
Wayne: Wow. That is old. You know, I bet those guys actually have pacemakers by now.

I'm a huge analog junkie, and was so stoked to hear that their walls were organized by "vibe" haha.

what a wanker

So stoked, brah

Wayne's World (the SNL skit not the movie) originally made the "suburbs" joke about Fleetwood Mac's Rumours. I wonder why they changed it for the movie?