Put the needle on the record

Picture / Paul Estcourt

Records were meant to be dead. But even in a world of digital downloads and MP3s it seems that, like U2, records are always going to be around.

Normal people - not just thousands of DJs and wannabe DJs - are buying record players again, or digging out their old turntables and rediscovering their long-lost record collections.

DJs have a lot to be thanked for. They kept the vinyl dream alive when the world turned to CDs following the release of Billy Joel's 52nd Street - the first commercial album released on CD - in 1982.

The increased popularity of CDs resulted in EMI eventually closing New Zealand's only record-pressing plant, in Wellington, in 1987.

Around that time, Gabriel Forrester was a young music fan buying U2's Rattle And Hum album on vinyl. Three months ago the 31-year-old Aucklander bought a turntable again and listened to that record for the first time in more than 12 years.

In the early 90s he moved out of home, bought a midi system, started buying CDs and gave his records to his mum to look after. Now he has his records back, along with some original seven-inch singles - among them, the Beatles' Double A-side Strawberry Fields/ Penny Lane from 1967 and David Bowie's Space Odyssey from 1969 - that used to belong to his mum's ex-boyfriend.

Along with DJs, punters such as Forrester are keeping vinyl alive, even in the times of downloading and iPods.

"I think it's the authenticity that you get from vinyl," he says. "It's not so much a sound quality thing for me, it's just the feel of vinyl and even the imperfections of it. Plus you can get some really good deals on vinyl too and you can scavenge the second-hand shops for them."

Matt Bostwick recently bought an 80s amplifier and turntable for a couple of hundred dollars.

Since then he's bought records at places such as the Grey Lynn Festival and Real Groovy and borrowed them from friends, workmates and his mum and dad.

"I was watching all my mates find gems of records in second-hand stores and garage sales and was jealous that I couldn't join the fun because I didn't have a turntable."

Around the same time as getting his turntable he also bought an iPod for its portability - something a turntable obviously doesn't have.

As Bostwick says: "You can take all your music to the bach."

And never fear, with a little bit of wizardry you can transfer records on to iPod by plugging your turntable into your PC, recording the records to MP3 format, and then transferring those to your magic little music box.

John Vivian, owner of Shore Hi Fi, says people have thousands of dollars worth of records sitting in the basement and they can't play them. But that's starting to change. He says up until recently he would sell one turntable every six months, but now he sells up to four a month. It doesn't sound like a lot but it is a big increase. And bear in mind, these turntables cost between $800 and $6500.

Also on the increase, according to Vivian, are sales of cartridges and needles because people are getting their old turntables up and running.

"People are revisiting vinyl now because CDs and MP3s are a passive thing and there's no real emotion attached to the music. You get a decent record player and it will take you to a place a CD won't," he gushes sentimentally.

Which brings up the great debate over vinyl versus CD. There is no doubt, vinyl gives a warmer, more authentic sound because the needle tracks one long continuous groove in the record. But often that comes with the scratchy imperfections you don't get on CDs.

However digital sound, such as that found on CDs, is created by converting, or chopping, a continuous sound wave into thousands of bits. The result, say experts, is that CDs cannot pick up the subtleties in music that records have. New formats, such as DVD-A and SACD, do increase sound quality but as Wired magazine says, "vinylheads claim that chopping audio into pieces, no matter how small, corrupts the music".

Grant McAllum could be described as a vinylhead. The music buyer at Auckland's Real Groovy says the shop has never given up on records.

"With vinyl there's a romance that certainly isn't there with CDs and a lot of people wait and ask if the album is coming out on vinyl then buy it. The scale of it, the, 12x12 human size of it, is hugely important." 

VINYL REVIVAL

SECOND-HAND

If you do buy a second-hand model then make sure you can get a replacement needle. To buy, try mum and dad's garage, a friend, or trademe.co.nz.

LOW RANGE

* Sony turntable PSJ20S ($198)

Not exactly state-of-the-art but easily connected to your midi system. Aficionados will say it'll hurt your records, but it's a good place to start. Available at Dick Smiths.

MID RANGE

* Pro-Ject ($500)

This "entry level" Pro-Ject 1.2 Comfort model is a stylish looking, and affordable manual turntable with automatic turn-off.

* Rega P2 ($800)

If you're serious about enjoying your records but have a budget then the lower end of the Rega range is ideal. Rega's trademark is simplicity, not to mention stylish minimalism. This player is the least expensive of the Rega stable but maintains an excellent sound quality.

TOP END

* Rega P9 ($6500)

Like all Rega turntables, this is state-of-the-art simplicity. The platter is pure ceramic, the hardest material known to man apart from diamond. Rega says: "You will be astonished at how much information this turntable retrieves from your LP collection". We say, at that price you would want to be.