Switched On Brandenburg
Jan. 29th, 2016 04:48 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
stormdogI'm digitizing "Switched On Brandenburgs;" the complete Brandenburg Concertos played by Wendy Carlos on a synthesizer. I've never listened to her work before, and it's nifty! The album jackets for these records have plastic in the central opening to keep the dust out; these LPs are so *clean* compared to some of the others and it really comes through in the sound. I think reseating the cartridge in the turntable may have resolved some noise issues too.
It's nice to be working on an album that plays so well and records so clearly. I was getting pretty frustrated and almost ready to give up on getting decent quality recordings. But I think it's just a combination of old, dirty records and being a complete newbie to setting up a turntable.
It kind of amazes me that vinyl is becoming a 'thing' again. What a pain in the ass it is! Not to say that it's not worthwhile. Aspects of it are really appealing to me. But making it all work just right seems like it would require more concentration than many people would want to put in. I suppose it's easier if you can afford new hardware. And new records for that matter. Or perhaps if you're less geeky than I am about audio theory and less aware of the many shortcomings of the typical home sound system? Personally, I'm coming to think that this is one of those things that I can appreciate as the geeky and somewhat esoteric pursuit that it is while not wanting to really be sucked into it whole.
Is it worth it to me to be able to play LPs for the rare instances where I want something that doesn't exist on CD in the same form (Like my Laurie Anderson boxed set) or at all? Or so that someday, when I have time and money to invest in a hobby, I can have fun tuning a hi-fi system for its own sake? I'm not really sure at this point. But for now I have more records to digitize, and it's mostly more fun than not.
It's nice to be working on an album that plays so well and records so clearly. I was getting pretty frustrated and almost ready to give up on getting decent quality recordings. But I think it's just a combination of old, dirty records and being a complete newbie to setting up a turntable.
It kind of amazes me that vinyl is becoming a 'thing' again. What a pain in the ass it is! Not to say that it's not worthwhile. Aspects of it are really appealing to me. But making it all work just right seems like it would require more concentration than many people would want to put in. I suppose it's easier if you can afford new hardware. And new records for that matter. Or perhaps if you're less geeky than I am about audio theory and less aware of the many shortcomings of the typical home sound system? Personally, I'm coming to think that this is one of those things that I can appreciate as the geeky and somewhat esoteric pursuit that it is while not wanting to really be sucked into it whole.
Is it worth it to me to be able to play LPs for the rare instances where I want something that doesn't exist on CD in the same form (Like my Laurie Anderson boxed set) or at all? Or so that someday, when I have time and money to invest in a hobby, I can have fun tuning a hi-fi system for its own sake? I'm not really sure at this point. But for now I have more records to digitize, and it's mostly more fun than not.
