One of my Christmas presents from my wife was a turn table. For those of you under the age of thirty, here is a photo of what it looks like (at left). It's one of those turn tables with a USB attachment that allows you play a record, and at the same time turn what's playing into an MP4 file.
It's been a good fifteen years since I had a turn table. But I never got rid of my records most of which I collected in the 1960s and 1970s. I've had a great time playing some of my old favorites. Also, I can't believe what a great classical music collection I had in the form of LPs. I'm listening to Schumann's Symphony #3 (the "Rhenish") as I write this.
And they sound so rich—much fuller than MP3s.
I've also enjoyed some works that I doubt ever got turned into tapes or CDs: Ken Nordine's "Word Jazz" and "Colors"; Firesign Theatre; Ralph Towner; early Pat Metheny. A special treat has been listening to some of the very first records I ever owned: early Bob Dylan and Peter, Paul and Mary. The turn table has been a wonderful time machine to allow me to hear them again.
So far, the only downside to LPs is having to get up to turn them over to hear what's on the other side.
I've turned a few of the tracks into MP4s, but not as many as I thought I would. That's because I've enjoyed them in their vinyl form.
Interesting thought question: forty years ago when I was listening to some of these LPs, it never really occurred to me that one day they would be obsolete, and that I would be transferring their contents into a different format.
Forty years from now, what format will today's 20 year olds be turning their MP3s and MP4s into?
LPs are great and actually having a bit of a resurgence in the UK. People who love them note that they outlasted 8-tracks, cassettes, and now maybe CDs. I like having friends over for listening get togethers where we drink and throw one one. The break to flip sides works as a great pause to refill. Hopefully in the future storage options will allow us to have all of our music encoded in an uncompressed format with a very high bit and sampling rate.
Posted by: Fitz | 03 January 2008 at 04:06 AM
We got one of those for my dad, who has you beat - he needed one with the audio jack so he can use it to convert his Reel to Reel tapes!
My prediction: We'll be converting mp3/mp4 files into *.dab . Direct Audio Brainwave files. These are played by a device which transmits to the nerves of anyone touching the device, providing the sound directly to the brain so that there is never ANY loss of fidelity from the recording to what you hear.
Posted by: Maria Helm | 03 January 2008 at 06:26 AM
Now just hope the RIAA doesn't come raining on your parade by telling you that you have no right to store a copy of your recorded music on your computer or MP3 device.
Posted by: Cam Beck | 03 January 2008 at 06:30 AM
Looks like that's an ION? I'm thinking of getting my husband one for his birthday in Feb. Are you happy with the quality overall?
Posted by: crystal | 03 January 2008 at 08:00 AM
As Crystal said, are you happy with the quality and performance? Is it easy to use? What brand is it?
Thanks in advance!
Posted by: Fredrick | 03 January 2008 at 08:17 AM
Firesign Theatre ... man that is a blast from the past as they used to say. A long time ago they were a favorite of mine on the radio.
Posted by: Dean Fuhrman | 03 January 2008 at 08:49 AM
Fitz: Some of my early LPs have only 15 minutes of music per side — that's four drinks an hour! Yes I hope we're able to encode all our music in the future.
Maria: *.dab Direct Audio Brainwave files: I love it!
Cam: I wasn't going to tell RIAA about it. I figured that since I paid $3.95 for each of these albums (that's 1960s dollars—probably more expensive than today's music), I could do with them whatever I wanted!
Dean: "How Can Be In Two Places At Once When You're Not Anywhere At All." "I Think We're All Bozos On This Bus."
Posted by: Roger von Oech | 03 January 2008 at 09:59 AM
Crystal and Fredrick: Yes, it is an Ion (model TTUSB). My wife got it at Brookstone for around $140 or so.
I've found that the quality of the MP4 file it produces is inversely proportional to the amount of stuff happening (at least for me). Spoken word and simple singing and guitar work come off pretty well. Heavy orchestration in the original recording comes off less well.
But as I said in the post, I'm enjoying listening to the (original) direct turn table to Bose to speakers music. I'm also using what I hear as a guide to some classical sections I might wish to get.
It's a lot of fun!
Posted by: Roger von Oech | 03 January 2008 at 10:05 AM
I got my husband one of these last Christmas and he has really enjoyed it. Much of his jazz collection is not even available in modern formats, so this is a great way to preserve it. We still like the LPs, but also love having the music in formats that are more portable.
Posted by: terry grant | 03 January 2008 at 05:37 PM
Your post makes me smile. We too have a turn table and play the old records from time to time...but Firesign Theatre??!!! Oh man, when I first met my husband's family the big test was whether or not I could be indoctrinated into the Firesign Theatre fan club that apparently began in their living room (only kidding but it could have!). To this day he and his sisters can launch into bits from the old records--voices and all! One of our daughters (24) has absconded with a second turn table and "borrows" our old records all the time, much to the amazement and delight of her friends. Our collection seems to be shrinking as a result of this but at least it's all in the family....
Posted by: Mary Richmond | 04 January 2008 at 05:45 AM
It may not sound 'on subject' but I remember having an argument (yes, me - really!) with my lecturer on The Philosophy of Mind course - to wit - if we can use such fine digital steps in the recording of tracks (cd or otherwise) could we tell the difference between the analogue sound of vinyl?
I don't think so as even our minds use steps in listening to things (Note the 'Cocktail Party Phenomenon' [real technical name, or darn close])...
Linking to nervous system by touch wouldn't work but if we get 'implants' then you never know... Why not use those jacks with the big headphones - a strange array would allow for many listeners in a 'quiet room'...
But a TURNTABLE!!! Wow! I could Listen to my Jethro Tull Albums...
Posted by: Free to think free to believe | 04 January 2008 at 09:39 AM
> Forty years from now, what format will today's 20 year olds be turning their MP3s and MP4s into?
Well I think next it will be the OpenSource codecs like OGG, and much sooner than in 20 years.
Posted by: Leke | 07 January 2008 at 01:48 AM
Terry: It's nice to have a choice in formats. Lately I've been enjoying putting records (usually classical music) and sitting down to listen to them.
Mary: That's a fun report!
FTTFTB: You could listen to your Jethro Tull albums. I wonder where it would send you.
Leke: OGG? I thought its time had come and gone. I guess I'd better take another look.
Posted by: Roger von Oech | 07 January 2008 at 07:10 PM
I got a similar one for $160 at Best Buy. It comes with free Audacity software to filter scratches (see wikipedia). You can input audio like a cassette player and put cassettes on your computer. I would not worry about RIAA as long as you don't file share like KAZAA.
Posted by: DJ Danny | 10 January 2008 at 07:44 AM
Brilliant! I think you have inspired me to get a turntable so that I can listen to all my old records. Now, I just need to convince my brother to return them all!
Now THAT is a new years resolution worth keeping! Happy new year, Roger!
Posted by: Gavin Heaton | 11 January 2008 at 02:24 PM
DJ Danny: Are you happy with the fidelity of your MP4s?
Gavin: I didn't think you were old enough to have much of a record collection!
Posted by: Roger von Oech | 11 January 2008 at 03:16 PM
There must be a way to digitally encode analog signal
????????????????????????????
Any "digital" music format will must inferior as there is 'resolution' by design.
Posted by: Bix | 05 March 2008 at 11:14 AM