After nearly dying out, vinyl records have become the most successful format for selling music in recent years. According to Forbes, the format has seen a 260 percent growth since 2009.
Music fanatics can agree that the experience of listening to music on vinyl is something that cannot compare to the compressed, digital format that is ubiquitous in today’s world.
The problem with buying records and becoming interested in the art is learning where to begin. In order to learn the smart way to buy records, we sat down with Andrew Schaer, store owner of local record shop Hear Again Music and Movies.
According to Schaer, it all begins with the system you play them on.
“A lot of people get into the cheaper, all in one units, because they are so readily available,” Schaer said. “I would deter people from doing that, honestly, because what you’re going to end up doing is paying upwards of over $100 for something that is not going to last you at all and not even be a fair way to introduce yourself to the advantages of buying records.”
We have all seen record players like Crosley or Jensen’s line the walls of Target and Urban Outfitters, but these units will only cost you more in the long run. While you think that it may be more convenient, you will end up having a piece of equipment that doesn’t play your music like it should.
Because these units don’t allow you to control the counterbalance, or the amount of weight that you are putting on the record, they can produce almost a “skipping” sound, like you would hear on a scratched CD.
“We have customers coming back with brand new records saying that they skip. Then we will take that record and put it on our record player and the record plays absolutely fine.”
If customers have this problem, they will have to do something that Schaer said his parents likely had to do in the ’50s, which is tape a penny to the stylus to keep it down so that it won’t skip on the record.
While this works most of the time, it won’t do any favors to your records and will likely damage your records and lose control of the sound produced. The needle on the record player should come down, but not too forcefully.
These all-in-one units also contain poor quality speakers, which are almost the equivalent of those in an iPod dock.
While this may work for digital music, which is already compressed, it will not produce the sound you want to hear from vinyl. Building a collection of vinyl is a waste of money if your machine doesn’t play the sound quality that you are spending money to hear.
For maintenance purposes, you should try to find a turntable that has a detachable headshell. While the feature is an investment, this will save you money when you need to replace your needle. Putting more money into a record player that will last you say, 15 years versus 2 years, is worth it.
“The main piece of advice that I would give to people that are just getting into vinyl is: Don’t spend $100 on one of those (all-in-one units), spend $250 on a normal, stand alone record player with proper speakers and a proper receiver,” Schaer said.
If you’re looking to save money, you can get a player that has a built-in preamp, which buys time on purchasing a receiver. This feature serves the purpose of a receiver until you can afford or decide to add this feature in.
Hear Again regularly carries Music Hall players for $250 that includes all of these features. Schaer suggests that if you are looking to spend less than that, you should keep your eyes open at your local thrift stores for pieces you can refurbish.
When it comes to storing records, Schaer said that you should never stack records on top of records. Keep your records in their sleeves. Schaer stores his records vertically in the actual sleeve to keep dust off of the record. When you play your records, keep the dust cover down. Anyone with a cat knows that, though.
Schaer said that you should feel comfortable buying records from stores. If you are playing the music on a good player, you should expect good sound quality. If you notice that a record is especially dirty, feel free to ask the shop to clean it for you.
Keep your records in a cool area, so not the garage or the attic. Especially in Florida, the moisture in the air can ruin your records.
“If really love what you’re listening to and you really want to hear it right and you really want to hear it well, get into the records,” Schaer said, “Right now, there is not a better way to listen to (music).”
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