Vinyl purists of DJF, where are you?

[Sigma]

Who here considers themselves to be a vinyl purist? If you do, what does "vinyl purist" mean to you?

I love vinyl and have been collecting it for years, but I also collect tapes and CDs. I have all of my music ripped to computers and that's what I use to do all of my "for pleasure" listening. For DJing I use a mix of vinyl and a DVS. So for those reasons, I wouldn't consider myself a vinyl purist - just a lover of vinyl along with other formats and music in general.

[Andrew B]

I don't really consider myself a vinyl purist, although my DJ setup can only accommodate vinyl.

I have a ton of CDs, but most of my purchasing/listening is done on my computer these days.

[djknowledge]

I am a vinyl purist...i just don't believe in breaking my back anymore lol. Also, not all of the music released is being released on vinyl, so its getting harder to get all the awesome mixes to a track on wax, especially those rare hard to find ones. I can barely find some in mp3 format imagine finding it on vinyl...lol.

[Subprime]

So um... you aren't a vinyl purist then?


I still rock it strictly black plastic you'll be glad to know sigma

[Sigma]

Haha, I wasn't really looking for like-minded people cos I don't consider myself a vinyl purist. I was just wondering how many people here actually do consider themselves to be vinyl purists and what that actually means to them.

[Finnish_Fox]

Enthusiast, not purist.

[ben mills]

I'm a vinyl practicalist.

[Paulie65m]

I mostly buy vinyl and some cassette tapes , I haven't bought a cd or MP3 in years

I buy vinyl even if its for listening and not djing
My largest genre is probably classical

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[David Bowman]

I just acquired a copy of 2001 that is absolutely pristine, very chuffed about it. Also copped Full metal jacket, and will still buy some vinyl from time to time.

I'm a half a vinyl purist in the sense that I use all the other media (try playing a record in your car for instance). The other half not being one because I don't currently own a true audiophile record player. Now everytime I'm in some friends house who owns one (I also have serviced some of these turntables), I will put a record on and enjoy it. It may sound subjective for some, but the extra warmth in the bass area, the extra depth of field and dynamics do make the sound feel richer. Some will argue that you get all the snap crackle and pops, I always found that on a good quality record [well recorded, mixed, mastered and pressed] you can stop focussing on these and start enjoying the music like the band was playing it right in front of you.

In the same aspect, kids don't know what a metal grade tape sounds like on a nakamishi tape deck. All that said, there's the pain in the ass side of it as in tear and wear, garbage signal to noise ratio and the need to have good gear if you want to really experience it, poor quality pressings and so on. I'm still buying it though.

[JamesRoss]

Possibly a vinyl purist. I remember being a little kid telling my mom that I was gonna grow up and have a bunch of records. she was like "well what good is that gonna do you?" Little did she know... anyway, yeah so what it means to me is that I collect vinyl and listen to alot of vinyl and spin vinyl. Yes I have CDs but I if something is good I also have it on vinyl. Except for that damn Cardigans Gran Tursimo album that I love so much. I havent been able to aquire that on vinyl yet. It's pretty expensive last time I checked. But yeah, all my Bob Dylan and Mazzy Star is on vinyl. I have many unopened records and of course my techno collection is on vinyl. MP3s just get lost on my computer and I don't use Serato anymore so I don't even download MP3s anymore. I did for a while because I thought it was eaiser and cheeper. Well, it certainly was cheeper.

yes, it means paying like $300 for a "non replica" Mazzy Star record. (and then buying the $15 dollar replica just for the hell of it)

[DennisBdrmDJ 2.0]

this thread makes me sad.:( I remember when...........

[Sigma]

this thread makes me sad.:( I remember when...........
Why does it make you sad?

This thread is already veering off in a direction I wasn't intending, lol, cos it's filling up with what I would call vinyl fans and people who collect vinyl and while those are characteristics of a vinyl purist, a vinyl purist has other characteristics that people that have posted in this thread do not have.

[Finnish_Fox]

Why does it make you sad?

This thread is already veering off in a direction I wasn't intending, lol, cos it's filling up with what I would call vinyl fans and people who collect vinyl and while those are characteristics of a vinyl purist, a vinyl purist has other characteristics that people that have posted in this thread do not have.

Does crate digging define purism? Only reason I didn't consider myself a purist is because I also own CDJs and do use digital files to play music. There is a fairly large sliver of house music that is not distributed on vinyl. With that said,I still get my hands dirty in some crates and I much prefer mixing with vinyl.

[bumpyjonas]

Just a purist for music still have a limited collection of some of my favorite vinyl, cassettes, and cd's. I scrounge garage sales, and the many sidewalk vendors in NYC looking for music.

[Sigma]

I guess it's open to interpretation, but when I think of a "vinyl purist" I think of someone that sees vinyl as the only way to DJ. Someone who may own and listen to music on other formats, but who sees them all as inferior.

Crate digging, at a base level, is really just the act of going to a record store without having every record you want already on a list, and digging through record racks, boxes and crates looking for interesting records. I think pretty much anyone who owns records has done that, but that alone wouldn't make them a purist.

[Finnish_Fox]

I guess it's open to interpretation, but when I think of a "vinyl purist" I think of someone that sees vinyl as the only way to DJ. Someone who may own and listen to music on other formats, but who sees them all as inferior.

I fit that description.


Crate digging, at a base level, is really just the act of going to a record store without having every record you want already on a list, and digging through record racks, boxes and crates looking for interesting records. I think pretty much anyone who owns records has done that, but that alone wouldn't make them a purist.

Definitely hear what you are saying, but I've always thought there were two types of record shoppers. The guys that would go in a look at the limited number of new releases that are at the front of the bin week after week (non-digger) vs the guys that would go to the store and spend hours going through new releases, additions to the used sections, dig through the dollar bin... ya know, really digging. I know I've come up with some gems that way. :shrug:

[thehadgi]

I like my vinyl as much as I like it on my womenz

... uh, I mean... :uhoh:

[Windows 95]

For DJing I use a mix of vinyl and a DVS.ditto

For me it's easier to select songs from records, but I have DVS there for requests & songs I think of but didn't bring.

[dlove]

I play strictly vinyl; don't have itunes, don't download mp3's to play out. I have a bookcase full of cds I've not looked through for years. I consider vinyl superior for me; it works for me to play it out because 1st and foremost, I'm a record hunter. I believe I get the gigs because I've got the records. It's an old-fashioned way of doing things that might be on it's way out, but so far, so good. I'm actually surprised I've lasted so long - when DVS came out, I thought 'that's me fkd, now anybody can play anything', but it hasn't been the case.

Incidentally, my son's interested in DJ'ing, he's coming up for 17, and knows a lot about music. He also knows a lot about computers, and I said perhaps it would be better for you to use serato or something, as you have such a big digital library, but he's collecting, and practicing being a vinyl only DJ as he loves Northern Soul and Ska.

[edit/perhaps some would say 'vinyl is the only way to DJ' with certain genres?]

[dlove]

this thread makes me sad.:( I remember when...........

I listened to a David Rodigan interview, and he was showing his precious dubplate of his first visit to King Tubby. He played it, and said 'this is the first and last time it's left my house'. A lot of DJ's put their vinyl on to other formats because it's just too precious to risk playing out.

[Paulie65m]

@dlove that is the beauty of playing vinyl , its the hunt for "that record"
Example Ricardo villalobos -microhouse techno DJ would pull out shit on vinyl you won't find on beat port top 100 for like the past 5 years and make it work in his sets .

With vinyl being expensive your force to buy only quality tracks that you like and fits to your style that separates you from many DJs who just buys off beat port and iTunes top charts

I now carefully chose what tracks to buy what fits me

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[dlove]

@dlove that is the beauty of playing vinyl , its the hunt for "that record"




Yeah!

vrKeNulIF-I

even getting the stuff you want from online stores can be a Saturday Morning Rush, too - some things are sold out within the hour!

[Paulie65m]

Yeah!

vrKeNulIF-I

even getting the stuff you want from online stores can be a Saturday Morning Rush, too - some things are sold out within the hour!

Yeah definitely, I try not to do so much shopping online , I like to support local shops

Great song by the way

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[andypandy]

Only buy and play music on vinyl, don't feel CDJS and Laptops are really DJ'ing to be honest. Sure, you can rock a party with anything but it just doesn't feel right to me personally.

[DJ Elroy]

I'm not a purist by any means but I still collect old house records. A lot of the stuff I like never came out digitally. Plus it's tangible, I can take it off my shelf and hold it and hear it and feel it and know that it's been places and seen things I never will.
I think a lot of DJs got lazy when they switched from vinyl to digital.

[dlove]

Yeah definitely, I try not to do so much shopping online , I like to support local shops



So would I if I was around NYC *swoon* Before the internet, I used to get the train down to London every couple of months, specifically to go record shopping. It's how I got properly into reggae, standing at the counter Dub Vendor for hours at a time.

edit/ that face to face communication, you can't beat it. I learned so much from record shacks.

[dlove]

Only buy and play music on vinyl, don't feel CDJS and Laptops are really DJ'ing to be honest. Sure, you can rock a party with anything but it just doesn't feel right to me personally.

how'ja feel about reel to reel? :P

[Liam]

For me i'm not a purist but it's my medium of choice.

I have CD's i collect that i cannot get on vinyl, I only use them in the car. Just a collection i have. I don't download MP3's for personal use, my MP3 collection is for my residency i play every weekend, they never get used outside that club.

When i'm at home, i have CDJ's but find myself 99% of the time flicking through my vinyl instead of switching on CDJ's. 90% of my music i buy is vinyl. Other 10% is for the club.

Not a purist as i said, but definitely a lover.

[Paulie65m]

So would I if I was around NYC *swoon* Before the internet, I used to get the train down to London every couple of months, specifically to go record shopping. It's how I got properly into reggae, standing at the counter Dub Vendor for hours at a time.

edit/ that face to face communication, you can't beat it. I learned so much from record shacks.

I learn a lot from people in shops and always find old tracks that are amazing instead of the usual new releases that everyone has.


how'ja feel about reel to reel? :P

I really want one !


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[Badger]

Sigma, I'm not seeing many exclusive "purists" posting, and unfortunately, as much as I love vinyl, I can't call myself a proper "purist" because I do play tracks on CD when I feel that I have to do so. But, I feel like it would be okay for me to throw in my two cents.

I feel a lot of sadness when I see the way that the industry has moved towards MP3 usage. After being in this industry for such a long time, I feel like I've seen things and felt things insofar as proper "digging" is concerned that the newbies will sadly never understand. The idea of physically flipping through record crates in a music shop or flea market might seem difficult or even tedious to some, but I always found a great deal of enjoyment from it.

The digital world brings a great deal of convenience for modern-day DJs... but it also cheats them out of the thrill of the hunt and the flourish of "victory" that DJs used to feel when we finally got our hands on a track we'd wanted for weeks... or months... or even years.

I wrote an essay on DJF1.0 about this, and luckily I later copied it and posted a modified version of the essay on my website before DJF1.0 went kaput.

The Tragedy of the Digital DJ. (http://www.djbadger.com/badgerjournal136.htm)


Here's an excerpt, though hopefully some of you will find the whole essay worth reading:


These days, more and more "DJs" don't even know how to operate a real turntable. Some of them still do great work with the tools they have, but they don't know what it's like to go out and spend significant effort tracking down something beautiful. It is sad to think of a young DJ, just starting out, who has already acquired a collection of 300-400 decent tracks without ever having to leave his/her bedroom. He/she will most likely never know what it's like to take a trip to Vintage Vinyl in St. Louis' University City or Bill's Records down in Dallas and really scour through boxes upon boxes of vinyl to find that near-perfect "gem" for the collection... then move on to hunting down another one.

Click, click, click, download. Click, click, click, download. Take bite of pizza. Click, click, click, download. There can be no real "history" of how such a DJ finds his/her music; there will never be stories told about how hard it was or how long it took to finally snag a particularly tough-to-find remix. There will never be any fond recollections about exactly how such a DJ's heart surged when he/she pulled a near-mint 12" of some classic old-school jam out of a flea market crate.

I'm not a purist, but I love being a primarily-vinyl DJ and helping to keep that old-school tradition alive for at least a little while longer.

Thanks,

:badger:

[Sigma]

^^I'm with you on that mate. It makes me think of that Will Self video I posted in OT once where he's talking about how e-commerce has replaced rich, personal interactions with anonymous, sterile experiences. People can't miss what they've never had though, so those who have never experienced hanging out in a good record shop will never know what we're talking about.

[dlove]

^^ I think hanging out at the counters of good record shops is a great pre-cursor for being comfortable guesting at clubs.