Vinyl Records & Cassettes

[KnightWarrior]

Does people here collect analog media?

I do...I still need to find a Turntable to play my LP's ...I have a Sony Walkman for Cassettes

[MrBroadway]

I have a few dozen albums, but I don't actively collect. I also don't have a turntable anymore to play them on. Generally I just find digital far easier to deal with than vinyl, though maybe if I get a bigger place I'd seek them out. Doesn't help that in the past ten years prices on them have skyrocketed out of my budget.

[wildfruit]

I used to have a pair of SL1210s MK2 and 100s of records but gave up all that when had children.
Seriously if you have to buy a turntable buy a 1210. Nothing better.
I have loads of audiobooks on cassette but they are pretty superfluous since cd/audible.

[KnightWarrior]

I still listen to Cassettes

[Jibbajaba]

I still listen to vinyl.  Wouldn't call myself a collector though.  I used to pick through the records when I would go to thrift stores looking for games, and would grab anything that I liked even though I didn't have a turntable.  Then I got a turntable, and started buying up a lot of the old albums that I used to like.  This was before vinyl became a fad again, so I was able to pick most of them up super cheap.  Then once bands started releasing their albums on vinyl again, I would buy those because they generally came with a free digital download.  I've also bought some of the re-release stuff, when it's an album that I like a lot and I can get it for a decent deal.

I guess I like listening to records for the same reason that I like playing old games on original media instead of using ROMs for everything.  There's something about the physical act of going and picking one out to play, giving it a quick clean, and firing it up that I enjoy, and that is lost when you go digital.

[Otaking]

I have a pair of Technics 1210s and a SH-DJ1200 mixer packed away under the stairs, I used to be a DJ. Had thousands of vinyl records, but gave most of them away, now only have about 600 left.

I do love the sound of vinyl, so one day I'll pull out out and set up one of the 1210s.

[bob]

i have about 300 records that i have picked up at thrift/flea/auctions over the years.  im no expert and i dont actively seek anything.   just stuff that catches my eye that i know i will listen to.  i love the old box sets of classical composers and a lot of 80s one hit wonder bands.
my 4 year old daughter loves when i play old disney records

[esteban]

I still have hundreds of records, but these were purchased mostly in 80's & early 90's when I was really into punk, post-punk, blah blah.

I have hundreds of cassettes, and these actually were purchased from 80's up to early 2000's (when all the old stock would be sold super cheap at supermarkets and gas stations).

All my tape decks have broken except for one crappy one I bought in late 90's...

I traded away all my 8-tracks in the mid-90's when the 8-track players in my car and home stereo broke. I believe I got some Gary Numan LPs for a trunk-full of 8-tracks (man, those were fun, but when the mechanism started to fail, it could be LOUD (like Xbox 360 PS3 loud).

I gave away my turntable a few years ago when I realized I would not be able to prevent my twins from destroying it.

The cassette player broke in my car, which was the last place I regularly listened to cassettes.

I have a Walkman attached to my home stereo/headphones, but I haven't really been listening to them recently.

I HAD A DREAM of transferring all my old movie soundscape/music mix tapes (digitizing them), but it's been years since I've done anything.

I USED to include lots of great/wacky stuff between songs...from local radio shows/commercials/tv shows, wacky VHS tapes (health and safety films), wacky records (lots of kids records had great material). 

Anyway, this all started back in the 80's and I don't think I could even find some of the source material anymore.

I started recording music/soundscapes from VHS films/tv shows around this time, too. It was a lot of fun and you would be really surprised where the best material was (Peanuts Halloween Special is awesome).

Anyways, my backup turntable is on loan to my brother...but I don't know when I'll get it back from him.  Maybe when my twins won't utterly destroy it?

As for cassettes, did I mention that I made fun little covers and liner notes?

That I traded them with friends and random fanzine/music labels/distributors in the 80's/90's?

I sometimes wonder if any of the craziness is still out there.

[Jibbajaba]

I picked this bitch out of a bin at Goodwill a few years ago.  Restored the veneer, polished the scratches out of the dust cover, and bought a new cartridge/stylus for it.  Put less than $100 into it including the original purchase price.  This was the top-of-the-line Marantz turntable back in its day and still sells for quite a bit on the second-hand market (more than it deserves, really.)  Sadly, it sits in my basement because my wife thinks that my Pro-Ject RPM 1.3 "looks cooler".  To be honest it probably sounds better, too.  But I like the old 70's shit.  I have a really nice olf Pioneer receiver down in the basement, too, but it needs work.

Interesting story about the turntable, I bought it off of Craigslist.  Show up to the guy's house, in a fairly expensive neighborhood in SF.  He's a middle-aged dude with a very nice house and a VERY nice stereo.  He was selling this TT to upgrade to something else.  So we're about done with the deal, but I'm really curious, so I ask him.  "That's a very uncommon last name.  Any connection to the company?"  "Oh, yeah.  Galoob was my family's toy company."  I told him how when I was a kid, their toys were the bomb, and how much I loved Micro Machines and Game Genies.  He got kind of excited and looked all over his house for a Micro Machine to give me, but all he could find was some other stuff.  I kept telling him not to worry about it.  After all, I have the Galoob turn table now.  I've always wanted to make a custom felt platter mat with the company logo silk-screened on it.

[esteban]

^ GALOOB. Awesome. Damn.

[jtucci31]

When I was a young pup growing up my dad bought my a walkman and I used it incessantly. So I have a soft spot for cassettes, I like 'em a lot. I still have my copy of Chumbawumba laying around somewhere I also still like to make mixtapes every now and then. I find cheap blank tapes at Goodwill's for less than a dollar, buy a few at a time, and make shit for the few friends of mine who still have tape decks either in their car or stereo at home. Currently about to work on one soon actually.

I have a decent stack of records too. Garage sales, parents' leftovers, newer purchases and shows here and there. The first record I ever listened to on a turntable was a Chicago record. I remember playing 25 or 6 to 4 and Saturday in the Park so much that the record now skips on both of those songs. Well that and probably because I didn't know how to use it properly enough. The revival of vinyl is really weird. Do Beatles' records really need to be reproduced and repackaged? I'm sure most people have some ancestor that has a Sgt. Pepper's or Rubber Soul laying around somewhere. I see them all the time at Barne's 'n Noble. They also sell those terrible looking turntables at places that have reprint/whatever records that look real bad.

However, my current dilemma is not having a decent turntable of my own. I wish I knew more on the subject and I wish I could enjoy a lot of my records better. I currently use computer speakers. My music setup is real cheap, all second-hand parts. But the turntable is not of any quality. I've been meaning to upgrade for years, but always opt to do other things instead, sadly. If anyone has suggestions, that would be cool.

I guess I like listening to records for the same reason that I like playing old games on original media instead of using ROMs for everything.  There's something about the physical act of going and picking one out to play, giving it a quick clean, and firing it up that I enjoy, and that is lost when you go digital.

I'm like that with music too. Whether it be a cassette, vinyl, or even CD. I just prefer it to, "buying it on iTunes". Bleh, I shudder every time someone tells me that. At the very least just get it somewhere else (wink wink). If I want to support a band I really like that's still active, I'll find other ways to do so or try to see them live or something. If bands aren't active I couldn't care less.

[thesteve]

have quite the record collection, and a 1965 magnovox console in the living room
the magnovox has new caps and new needle in it, working great

[wildfruit]

I have a pair of Technics 1210s and a SH-DJ1200 mixer packed away under the stairs, I used to be a DJ. Had thousands of vinyl records, but gave most of them away, now only have about 600 left.

I do love the sound of vinyl, so one day I'll pull out out and set up one of the 1210s.

Set up both!
What sort of music did you play?

[Lost Monkey]

I have a restored (nearly 50 year old) Empire 598 turntable and about 1000 records.  I also have a couple consoles which are slowly being restored...

Nowadays I will pick up just about any type of music if the record is in good shape.

[Jibbajaba]

I have a restored (nearly 50 year old) Empire 598 turntable...

Those are gorgeous turntables.