Actually, I was at a few "Saturday Morning Physics" lectures a
few years ago at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. For three
weeks in a row, the physics of music was discussed. A lot of
material was covered and all of it was extremely interesting ... and
all easilly understandable for anyone who knows the slightest
about music.
Anyways, believe it or not, the third and final lecture was
devoted to the vinyl - vs - digital argument. Everything technical
was covered, but basically thrown out towards the end of the
lecture. I can't remember the name of the guy that gave these
lectures, but he has been studying the subject consistently for
years and has a phd in physics. Basically, what it all came down
to in the end, is that vinyl sounds better, because it has a sense of
dimension that no digital recording can have.
Most people understand how a record player works, basically.
The same people have no clue how a CD player or MP3 player
works. They know, "I push this button and this happens." What
they don't know is how 0100101010101 turns in to a groove. A
good question is whether or not this affects a person's feelings for
the music. It appears that it does. Most people are willing to say
that a vinyl recording has a sense of depth that a digital one does
not. Why?
This physics guy proposed that, even when a recording is
digitally mastered and then put on vinyl, it will sound better than
the straight digital recording ... for a few reasons. The main reason
is that vinyl isn't perfect. You have factors such as dust, needle
hiss, small wobbles, and such.
Think about going to a concert or something. Your senses take
in a lot more than just the music. You hear the crowd, people
talking, the air conditioning system in the building, cough drop
wrappers ... whatever. These variables aren't consistent, and
neither are the impurities in a vinyl recording. A "good" digital
recording is usually an attempt to remove anything besides the
music.
This guy actually proposed that digital music players such as
CD players and such could put this "depth" back in to the music.
He suggested that digital companies start putting a dial on their
machines that says "warmth" and injects needle hiss when turned.
I definitely like vinyl a lot more than digital. But, this is
overshadowed by the fact that I'm a student and vinyl in Sweden in
pretty expensive. I have three KMS records, and one from Sean
Deason. I have a ton of CD's. You just have to work with what is
available and have fun with it. Believe it or not, shifting through all
the junk on free music mp3 sites can turn up some good stuff. I've
found a few tracks on mp3.com and some house sites that I'm
absolutely in love with right now. It can be hard to find though.
Getting more vinyl is definitely something I look forward to..
Later
- Jason Hill - Sidehop Curator
- http://www.sidehop.com
- ICQ: 3133747
