djThunderfunk said:

KingSausage said:

I'm trying to score a copy of The Family right now.

I have The Family on vinyl. Beautiful piece of music it is

The fun thing, is that I just accidentally bumped into it on a local second hand store, that had some vinyl records. It also had the Mavis Staples album recorded at Paisley Park and I even found Madhouse 8 at a very random place. Here in Scandinavia, we had too many people that really didn't understand or know enough about Prince, except his biggest selling music. And some people probably loved Parade and Lovesexy, because of it's "european" influence or something. However, I do not know of many people that truly loves his music deeply. Atleast at my age, being 30. The good thing was, that it was easier to find his used music, when nobody bought it. Atleast until vinyl got really popular again, and it happened very fast.

So interesting as I was considering getting a turn table and vinyl not long before Prince left us all behind here - but just dont know where to start.......I looked up several things but it is confusing......so I have not done it yet.......then he went and the prices soared, so I may have to wait alittle longer.......

I do remember buying my first 45s and Vinyl albums though - one was Abba and the other Freddie Mercury Mr Bad Guy - was not a Prince crazy addict back then..........

gollygirl said:

KingSausage said:

BlackandRising said:

Hey serious question; I'm looking at Pro-Ject turntables; I want to add a turntable to my bedroom with a phono preamp for headphone listening, but don't want to go high-end given where it will be. I know yours is entry level, but what do you think of it so far quality-wise?

If you're looking for an entry-level phono preamp with a headphone jack, my research indicates that this is the clear winner: ART USB Phono Plus https://www.amazon.com/dp...DxbT0MDA9D

Thanks but I was asking about the Pro-Ject Debut turntable....how do you like it overall

BlackandRising said:

KingSausage said:

djThunderfunk said:

Top 3 Essential U.S. 12" Singles (in my not-so-humble opinion):

Let's Go Crazy / Erotic City

Sign "O" The Times / La, La, La, He, He, Hee

I Wish U Heaven / Scarlet Pussy

Special mention goes to America / Girl as the only one in which the entire content was exclusively released as vinyl only. For all other U.S. 12" singles, some or all of the content is available on CD.

If you can find them, get any of the Madhouse on vinyl. The albums may be expensive but look for the 3 12" singles, might be cheaper and totally worth it. The first 3 Time albums & The Family sound great on vinyl as well...

You should, like, send me your singles so I can make sure they work on my system. I'll send them right back.

jaawwnn said:

Drives me mad that D'Angelo recorded/mixed the entire of Black Messiah in analogue and then when they made the vinyl they pressed it from a digital file. Defeats the whole purpose. I mean, it still sounds great but I KNOW it would sound better if it had been analogue all the way.

Aren't all the analog qualities preserved in the final digital file? I'm assuming they are, as long as the digital file isn't altered or EQ'd as well.

TrivialPursuit said:

KingSausage said:

gollygirl said:

So interesting as I was considering getting a turn table and vinyl not long before Prince left us all behind here - but just dont know where to start.......I looked up several things but it is confusing......so I have not done it yet.......then he went and the prices soared, so I may have to wait alittle longer.......

I do remember buying my first 45s and Vinyl albums though - one was Abba and the other Freddie Mercury Mr Bad Guy - was not a Prince crazy addict back then..........

I'm happy to help with research I did on turntables. And regarding Prince and where to start, the reissue campaign going on right now should keep prices for his main albums reasonable.

Thank you - I am looking for something that is a complete thing - Turntable, CD, and Flac player if such a beast? I live in a small townhouse so space is a premium and I cant wind the wick up too much anyway - but I do love clarity.........I have to look for something soon I think ..........

Replica said:

TrivialPursuit said:

Aren't all the analog qualities preserved in the final digital file? I'm assuming they are, as long as the digital file isn't altered or EQ'd as well.

That's what I was thinking too. However, it's quite possible they made a mix that was meant for playing in cars, laptops and earplugs. I highly doubt it though. Dangelo never really needed to reach the mainstream that way.

yeah I doubt it makes much difference, but it just bugs me

I've been on a Prince vinyl spending spree since his death. I dont even own a record player but that may be the next step.

gollygirl said:

gollygirl said:

KingSausage said:

gollygirl said: I'm happy to help with research I did on turntables. And regarding Prince and where to start, the reissue campaign going on right now should keep prices for his main albums reasonable.

Thank you - I am looking for something that is a complete thing - Turntable, CD, and Flac player if such a beast? I live in a small townhouse so space is a premium and I cant wind the wick up too much anyway - but I do love clarity.........I have to look for something soon I think ..........

Historically, multi-format players are of lesser quality than individual units. Since the whole point of listening to vinyl is quality, I'd avoid any such player even if you can find one.

Do you have a DVD or Bluray player? If so, then you already have a CD player.

Are you using a computer to post here? If so, just download a good FLAC player.

Now all you need is the turntable...

Replica said:

The actual sound quality of Dirty Mind is pretty damn bad and muddy compared to most of his releases. However it has a sound to make up for it. The life and attitude of it makes it sound nice. And I belive the vinyl has more "meat" and fuller sound, if you known what I mean?

The actual sound quality of Dirty Mind is pretty damned bad but it has a sound to make up for it?

steakfinger said:

Replica said:

steakfinger said:

The actual sound quality of Dirty Mind is pretty damned bad but it has a sound to make up for it?

When I say sound, I'm talking about the how effects, playing style, recording process, drum tuning and muting makes the music sound a certain way. The lack of high definition and details can sometimes be a good thing. However I'd love to hear an album like Dirty Mind recorded with as much care as D'angelo did with Black Messiah. It had both an I incredible sound quality, as well as intentional grit.

But that would suck all that is good out of the album. I dare say that the rawness of DM is it's power. After the overproduction of For You and the slick production of Prince, using low-fi home studio recordings was a genius move by Prince. Very much in the spirit of the punk/garage band asthetic.

Black Messiah was labored over for 14 years. They are both classic albums but the differing approaches to their production are too far apart. Apples & oranges and all that.

djThunderfunk said:

Aaah, the first time. I remember listening to 1999 of vinyl. Sounded great. But you know what? It was on a crappy 1965 turnable with cheap plastic speakers. It was the experience, not the sound quality.

Now days, I'm happy to listen to the Tidal files on my 13 speaker bose car sound system. 1999 never sounded better.

Back in the mid-80's I still had a shitty all-in-one tuner/amp/cass/turntable with speakers of equally low quality. I remember in those years, anytime the parents weren't home, I'd play my Prince 12" singles on dad's Technics turntable through his Pioneer amp and a pair of really nice speakers. Today, that Technics player is mine and sounds as good as it did 35 years ago.

SquirrelMeat said:

Aaah, the first time. I remember listening to 1999 of vinyl. Sounded great. But you know what? It was on a crappy 1965 turnable with cheap plastic speakers. It was the experience, not the sound quality.

Now days, I'm happy to listen to the Tidal files on my 13 speaker bose car sound system. 1999 never sounded better.

Same here! I used to be embarrassed because it was at the time that everyone was starting to have CD players and we still used my mum's old turntable, and this well after the batman era. Then we upgraded to the all in one type system (like djThunderfunk) but still with a turntable on the top, and I started making my own mixtapes! That felt like a giant step forward... Still got a massive buzz out of those vinyls. The first listens were always such thrills... And the funny thing is, my mum still has that old turntable... and my vinyls are still there, and yes you've guessed it, she listens to all of them (even Dirty Mind!)

KingSausage said:

I'm trying to score a copy of The Family right now.

Don't know if you found this yet. But I got my"The Family" on vinyl through soundstagedirect.com. And was super cheap too. Check 'em out. Good spot to purchase the reissues too. I got "Dirty Mind" and "For You" from them recently. Fun stuff!

ThirdStrike said:

I grew up in the 70's to mid 80's and about 3 years ago I stumbled upon a vendor at an antique emporium who sold vinyl for $2 an album. He has so many albums (and is always bringing in new stuff), I can never get through all he has for sale. My first pass through, I walked out with about 10 albums and I didn't even own a turntable.

That Christmas my husband purchased me an Audio Technica turntable ... very simple but it works great. I think I need some better speakers, which I still haven't purchased. Anyway, I love putting on the records and experiencing music the way I did when I was young. It's such a trip to hold in my hands the same albums I owned growing up ... to pull out the sleeve, read the lyrics ... or even the "fan club" information!

The closest I've come to finding Prince is my Shiela E Romance 1600 album. I did find Elvis Costello, Squeeze, The Police, The Eagles, Scandal, Loverboy, Journey, Eddie Money, Saturday Night Fever soundtrack, The Babys, Gary Wright, John Waite, Heart, Todd Rundgren, and Bob Welch.

I have purchased some remastered Journey but I definitely want to add Prince to my vinyl collection.

Going back to that store to look the music is quite honestly, one of my favorite little pastimes. Sometimes I get a coffee and pop in there ... so much fun ... and strangely comforting to some degree.

djThunderfunk said:

Replica said:

TrivialPursuit said:

Aren't all the analog qualities preserved in the final digital file? I'm assuming they are, as long as the digital file isn't altered or EQ'd as well.

That's what I was thinking too. However, it's quite possible they made a mix that was meant for playing in cars, laptops and earplugs. I highly doubt it though. Dangelo never really needed to reach the mainstream that way.

They are presevered. The whole "pressed from digital files" thing is another in a long list of things audiophiles like to argue about but really has no real world significance. Digital in itself does not have a "sound".

[Edited 7/6/16 7:18am]

jaawwnn said:

Replica said:

I get what you're saying. But if it's done with care, it's hardly noticable. Atleast for us humans. I'd argue it's impossible to hear, if done correctly. The only problem with digital music is the mastering and sometimes use of bad DACs and software.

[Edited 7/2/16 11:40am]

In most cases I wouldn't notice it but I always do with older vinyl, i.e. stuff before digital recordings and instruments, the cut off point being usually around the early 80's. This would be why i'm usually a little dubious on how much better Prince stuff sounds on vinyl, although I should probably upgrade to a decent system.

But with D'Angelo so much care was put into not having digital instruments/recording instruments etc. I feel he should have looked around for someone who was willing to do an analogue vinyl print you know?

The problem with Prince's 80's CD's (and a lot of 80's CD's in general) is that vinyl masters were used to produce them. Vinyl masters have increased treble and reduced bass. That's why those early compact discs sounded so thin and "tinny" and eventually led people to using those qualites to describe the "digital" sound, when it really was the sound of analog pre-emphasis.

[Edited 7/6/16 7:27am]