Tracking modern pop recordings with very loud bass

@mapman  The one I like to use is made by Oracle. I think its about $300.00. To really use it effectively, you install it permanently.


I'm not a fan of the Rega arms as the ones I've seen don't have a VTA adjustment, but that might be because they expect you to also use their cartridge.

But can can any good quality vinyl rig track those well? How hard is it and what does it take? Does it take an audiophile vinyl setup to track modern pop recordings like these well? Cost?

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For the most part, 'any good quality' vinyl rig will do the job, depending on what is meant by 'good quality'. 


I run a Triplanar and I've yet to find anything it can't track effortlessly. People often ask if I'm playing CDs because there simply isn't any distortion (although it is smoother than CDs usually are) and since my preamp is designed with good high frequency overload margins (which isn't hard BTW), my playback tends to be free of ticks and pops.


I run an an LP mastering operation; we use an old Technics SL1200 I got on craigslist for $400.00, for testing to see if our cuts will be playable by a non-audiophile setup. I Installed a Grado Gold in it, and it works really quite well. Of course there are a bunch of things you can do to a machine like that- KAB has lots of cool aftermarket parts for it. So if you are on a budget you can make it happen if you are careful.


The role of the platter pad should not be overlooked! If it is too soft it will affect the bass, if its too hard the highs will be emphasized. The platter pad should be able to absorb vibration from the LP so that the playback is more neutral. So felt and the like really don't work although they are great for DJs.

Are there any new vinyl releases like this? Can people’s Record players track it? Or do the producers tone it down when mastering for vinyl.

**Of course** it can be tracked on LP! And mastering houses don’t need to hold back. Back in the old days (the 1990s) we had the ’Atma-Sphere Bass of the Year’ listing of recordings, most of which are LP:

Vangelis- Conquest of Paradise ST (original vinyl import)
Mike Oldfield - Songs of Distant Earth (original vinyl import)
Global Communications - Remotion (original vinyl import)

Mystical Experiences (vinyl import)
Symbiosis- Numinous EP (domestic vinyl)
Fields of Nephilim - Zoon (import vinyl)
Massive Attack - 100th Window (original import 3LP set 45rpm edition)
King Crimson - Islands (original domestic white label)
Steven Roach - Early Man (CD only)
Infinity Project- Mystical Experiences (original vinyl import)

BTW you may have noticed something here- a good number of these recordings are imports. The US labels were actively suppressing vinyl during most of the 1990s so the import was often the only alternative. I imported several titles for resale in this manner- if you have original vinyl of Songs of Distant Earth or the Dances With Wolves soundtrack both from the early 1990s, its likely because I imported it for resale.


In the 1990s I first heard Sarah Mclachlan and so imported her Solace LP but it sold out immediately. This was a cause of frustration (it has killer bass on it) and I mentioned this to Michael Hobson of Classic Records at a Stereophile party at CES back about 1995. Only a year later he was putting Sarah McLachlan’s music out on LP. I never thought his version of Solace had the same bass as the original though. He also produced several Peter Gabriel LPs on my suggestion. Peter Gabriel was always good about getting bass in his recordings :)


The bottom line is getting good bass on LP is no worries at all! Because for so many years digital sounded bright and because the human ear reacts to tonal balance in a particular way (brightness makes bass sound weak; too much bass makes the highs sound rolled off) If you really wanted to hear what the bass was about you had to get the LP. These days that’s not so much of a problem as digital has improved so much.