Lets go analog!

[Pilzolli]

Hey there,
just want to share my latest experiences with the brothers.

Last year it came to my mind to get a recordplayer again.
I have to point out that I am 35yrs, so my childhood music experiences were based on the good old black discs.

The idea bred quite a while in my mind and finally I got a mono 'allinone' solution from Dual (P81) few months ago driven by my newly discovered love for the Beatles. To be honest I never really got into them, so it was about the time for that and I listened to mp3s all day long and then I thought- Beatles on CD or mp3??? - what the hell, thats not quite right.

So I got my hands on all the record albums starting from Help! plus Red & Blue. I didn't really care about the condition of the records, got them in the VG/VG+ range.
At that point I was absolutely sure I can't even think about BoCs records- surely because of their price range.

But the more I listened to records (still talking about the mono player equipment with build in amp & speaker), the more I felt- 'hey isn't it a pitty to only hear mono'?!
So I got another Amp/recordplayer combi, a more advanced the KA32L incl. some nice original Dual speakers. I then started to look around for other records, but still in the 'low price range' which doesn't mean I bought not great albums. Like JM Jarre's first 3 great ground breaking albums.(and they are very cheap)
Back to BoC- about 2 months ago, before I got the KA32, I bought the Geogaddi Kaleidoscope from a dear Twoism member who lives near my parents-in-law's home. Blown away by this gem, which I always dreamed of possessing, I really got back into their music.

So on one hand I got a fresh BoC feeling and this met the experiences with the new -great- sound from my KA32- fed with the great analog electronic genius Jarre. I was blown away by the soundscapes of Oxygene, Equinoxe and Magnetic Fields from this pure analog (record+analog amp) equipment. The warm and so much more live sound with the clear and vivid output, really makes listening to the music like a psychedelic experience- but without taking mushrooms.

Now take a guess what immediately was growing inside me...
Yes! I now have all three albums plus Twoism and Hi Scores (both from 2nd purchase). Beautiful Country and Trans Canada Highway are still on the list but atm. due to lots (really a lot) of other record purchases, they have to wait- another 70-80Euros for 'only' few songs are too much.
But it was a hard and expensive journey the last six weeks. I got nearly all from Discogs, because there is a much better base of record pro-s. Hi Scores, Twoism and Beautiful Country went back one time, bought by Ebay. There was a really fu..ed up guy who labeld HS and IABP nearMint and sent me shit. (like barely G+)

So, I paid (all incl. shipping) for MHTRTC, NM 36Euros (got very lucky with that, bought it from a guy in my town via Ebay ) for Geogaddi via Discogs, VG+ (cover only VG, but the sound is the most important) 48Euros (from the UK) and Campfire Headphase, NM via Discogs for 50Euro (from Hamburg)
Twoism was quite 'cheap' for 25Euros (UK) and I got lucky with a '3rd release' - Hi Scores for 20Euros from Holland.
But I don't wanna bore you to death with money talk. Every cent was well paid, thats all I can say!

In fact it feels like I've never really heard their music before, I just listened to it.

And this goes for all of the records I bought- with one exception. Talk Talk's 'Spirit of Eden' was the only record I bought when it was released 1988 (at that time I was into cheap dance music).
And I felt in love with it. It might have been the turning point in my music interest, though I heard my dad's Beatles singles a lot when I was 10 and got my first record player.
Sadly Talk Talk's 2nd masterpiece 'The Laughing Stock' is out of my price range now- 80Euros for a VG+ copy. (one wants to hear that album with from a NM copy)
And I sold my copy from those days for a few german marks when I was infected by the compact disks years later...

I really hope I haven't bored you too much, but I just wanted to say to all of you out there...

GO GET A RECORD PLAYER AND THE BROTHERS ON VINYL!!!

with love yours Pilzolli

I made a poll out of it, might be fun
So, do not only vote- please share your experiences with vinyl records, especially with the BoC's ones...

[Synthestesia]

Man, I have one that's my dad's, but it doesn't work(trust me, I tried). Plus, the future doesn't look to bright for me as far as buying things like that, but I swear, if an oppurtunity opens up, I will jump right on it!!! Reading that made me feel pretty stupid as far as the equipment I use, and well, have been using my whole life. Fuck my generation

[Joebot Kill]

the only boc i dont own on vinyl is peel session, aquarius. aquarius is too much and i really should get on that peel session...

anyway, i bought geogaddi, twoism, geogaddi promo, TCH and the campfire headphase all off of a member on this forum.

then i bought MHTRTC for myself. only to find out my girlfriend at the time had already bought it for me for my birthday! so i had to cancel my purchase.

anyway, boc on vinyl makes way too much sense. its such warm music to begin with. sounds so rich. i love vinyl because the sound creates a real tangible presence in the room. and sitting down and putting on an LP is so much more of an event. i love the ritual. and i love the lavish packaging.

i'm a total vinyl junkie now. (theres a post up in the playground about all the records i've recently purchased while in scotland)

i noticed my biggest jump in quality when i finally got plaid's double figure. sounds so much better than the shit mp3s i have.

some records, like Yes's classic stuff just cant be heard any other way.. and i agree oxygene sounds so amazing on vinyl. i think i got mine for like 5 dollars...

its warm and real. vinyl all the way. also, if you're into this kind of thing, i highly recommend sunnO))) and Boris' collaboration, Altar. amazing packaging. sounds totally killer on LP too.

cant wait to get home so i can finally hear "...i care because you do" and "cosmogramma" on my turntable. and of course my boards collection

[s7409651]

i want the campfire headphase on vinyl so baaad

one day!!!

[Pilzolli]

@Synth.
It's NEVER too late.
I've just started playing one of my gems from the 90s, which I never heard analog since I got it last week- 'The Orb's adventures beyond the ultraworld'.
Unfortunately it's only VG, there's annoying surface noise at lots of the quiet parts, but still very enjoyable.
This warm and full sound while you can clearly hear each component, every instrument within the music- that is so unbelievable and a whole new experience.

Try to get an analog amp as well. If you play a record through modern digital amplifiers half if not more of the magic is lost. I'll get myself a better (mine is already great, but this is my last step up ) Dual Recordplayer/Amplifier combi(HS150) next month. The seller will bring it with him when he has work near the place I live. It's 60Euros. And the price at release 1973 was around 650Euros.
You should get something like this, they look so great and have a wonderful sound.

@Joe
Yes, I am a vinyl junkie, too - again. Listening to records is a magical and unexplainable feeling, the only 'thing' I could compare it with are my mushrooms.
And you're so right- the artwork/cover and the feeling, the 'act' to put one on, yeah that gives me a calming feeling, not only because I have to be careful with the black gold.

The bands you've mentioned are all new to me. My gems besides the brothers are Talk Talk Spirit of Eden, Orbitals In Sides, The Orb's Ultraworld, the Jarres, Brian Eno (a MUST on vinyl, too), Seefeel Quique (60Euros, but I'll get it, I have to) and some others.
I also love to hear to The Doors, The Beatles, Love- Forever Changes, Led Zeppelin -IV, Richard Ashcroft/the Verve, TheThe - Soul Mining (!!!), Roxy Music...
And Daft Punk, Justice, Prodigy are great analog , too, although their music is not made analog.

[turquoise70]

No.

</lone>

[polar sky]

I have all of their buyable releases on vinyl and cd, except for some rare releases. i choose vinyl, but try not to listen to them on vinyl often, to preserve the vinyl it's self.

[Pilzolli]

You make me cry

Btw. if someone- anyone wants to offer me their Beautiful Place or Trans Canada EPs- please don't hesitate to write a pm...

[Cupz]

I dont have the money for vinyl. I hardly listen to any music lately.

[Tarsier]

The only difference I can hear between vinyl and CD is that vinyl has an annoying crackling noise. I assume that's what people are calling 'warmth'... I don't think it justifies having to flip big cumbersome records around and tend to the needle every time you want to change tracks.

[nick47]

I found a bunch of records at my parents about 6 months ago. Highlight: Prince - Purple Rain

Have wanted a record player ever since. I cant even begin to imagine how awesome vinyl BoC is

[Joebot Kill]

The only difference I can hear between vinyl and CD is that vinyl has an annoying crackling noise. I assume that's what people are calling 'warmth'... I don't think it justifies having to flip big cumbersome records around and tend to the needle every time you want to change tracks.

the crackling sound comes from poorly cared-for records. dust, microscopic scratches and whatnot. but as autechre said on the sticker of tri repetae, music is "incomplete without surface noise." and to quote john peel "life has surface noise."

in my opinion, the right level of surface noise can have a nice charm to it. you can bet it sounds great on albums like geogaddi. but that's a personal opinion, and i can understand why it would bug people. especially when it's a big annoying pop.
i would argue that maintaining your record collection is part of its draw.

the warmth is something different altogether. something harder for me (as more of a visual guy) to put into words. its less tinny. it's a smoother, creamier sound. i cant explain it in a way that isn't cliche. if Eric (lunar testing lab) were here, i'm sure he could do a great job of speaking about it.

the warmth is something elemental. it fills the room like an odor.

[Pilzolli]

The only difference I can hear between vinyl and CD is that vinyl has an annoying crackling noise. I assume that's what people are calling 'warmth'... I don't think it justifies having to flip big cumbersome records around and tend to the needle every time you want to change tracks.

the crackling sound comes from poorly cared-for records. dust, microscopic scratches and whatnot. but as autechre said on the sticker of tri repetae, music is "incomplete without surface noise." and to quote john peel "life has surface noise."

in my opinion, the right level of surface noise can have a nice charm to it. you can bet it sounds great on albums like geogaddi. but that's a personal opinion, and i can understand why it would bug people. especially when it's a big annoying pop.
i would argue that maintaining your record collection is part of its draw.

the warmth is something different altogether. something harder for me (as more of a visual guy) to put into words. its less tinny. it's a smoother, creamier sound. i cant explain it in a way that isn't cliche. if Eric (lunar testing lab) were here, i'm sure he could do a great job of speaking about it.

the warmth is something elemental. it fills the room like an odor.

I couldn't describe it better.

Vinyl records can replay stored natural sound waves. And being played back through an old amplifier (which also works analog) nothing of the natural sound has become digital till it reaches your ear. And therefore it really sounds like live played.

[Numerator]

keeping it analogue is fucking expensive

[turquoise70]

oops. that was supposed to say "/ lone dissenter"

anyway.... all i have to say is, records came before me. my lame analog fetish item was cassette tapes, and i'm in love with tape hiss, which is my generation's record pops. wait, i'm not finished. the point is, when CDs came along, then mp3s, I still went with them, happily and without regret or disappointment, cause in my heart I was willing to admit "tapes are fucking inconvenient" even though i love them.

i feel the exact same way about records, except that i never had the experience of them in the first place to generate any nostalgia value towards the medium, so essentially i could give a fuck about vinyl.

[GrangalanJr]

My parents always had a record player and record collection, and during high school a friend got heavily into DJing, so I experienced a bit of the vinyl mystique, even though in my own listening tapes and then CDs and computer files were the main thing. I think vinyl does have a bit different sound, with the high frequency rolloff (perhaps less harsh or "tinny" as someone wrote?) and different mastering, and I think I might prefer it that way. I also like the big cover art.

But it seems like too much cost and too much hassle to amass a vinyl collection and care for it, which is why I stick to CDs and files. Maybe if I ever have a bunch of money to throw around.

[IanRedpoint]

Equally, my love of music came via vinyl, and cassette felt like a retrograde step. I can now see/hear the unique qualities of cassette, although that nostalgia kick you have is missing for me. Interesting how it's such a generational thing.

I'm fortunate that I've been able to amass a vinyl collection over a good 25 years now. I could never afford to get a fraction of them if I started today. So glad I kept all my Talk Talk stuff looking at those prices!

[Joebot Kill]

I also like the big cover art.

amen!
and cool colored vinyl

id also like to add that i was never that into "...I care because you do" by aphex twin. well, while i was in scotland i saw it in edinburgh for 15 pounds! needless to say i snatched it up. what i am hearing right now is a totally different experience. analog machines on an analog medium. the synths all of a sudden have an organic waver to them. the percussion sounds full and well mixed into the synths. theres a new cohesion here for me now. what used to sound kind of primitive to me, now sounds rich[ard] and pure. i'm gonna go ahead and say it might be my favorite RDJ album now. and i should note that i've owned this album on CD for years.

this is what vinyl does for me!

[Snufkin]

I've wanted to get BOC on vinyl since I got a record player (only at the back end of last year tbh), but it's just too expensive...

I'm kinda hoping out they'll re-issue the old albums on wax but obvs I have no reason to keep this hope alive that they will...

-Snuf

[polar sky]

keeping it analogue is fucking expensive

Maybe now it is, but for those of us who bought their albums several years ago before they gained more fans didn't pay the prices at what they are today.

I paid 18.00 USD for Geogaddi on vinyl in 2004. Now they can fetch over $100.00!