Tracking modern pop recordings with very loud bass
Good to see specific recommendations including table/cart combo. That with tonearm is likely the key based on my experience which is mostly with a bunch of tables from many years ago. I will keep that in mind for when time comes to replace my old but still beautifully functioning Linn Axis. It’s never failed me on any record I own and I own hundreds, some even (gasp) somewhat warped which is tracking's biggest bane in practice, but all older releases mostly from the golden age of vinyl, no new vinyl releases. I had a less expensive Rega Planar table of some sort briefly before the Linn back in the 80s and did not care for the sound, but I never really spent any time to try and get it set up well and that was a long time ago. Warped records were always the biggest problem for me in particular prior to the Linn which never has a problem. You know of course most older records even new were never perfectly flat. I suspect never ones are not either. I suppose one could use a weight or other supplemental gear if needed to address warped records but just neve been an issue with the Linn like prior. |
Thanks Atmasphere. That is the kind of relevant response I was hoping for. I guess I have no doubt its possible. 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? Just wondering. Most all my vinyl is old releases, 1980s and older so I don’t have much to go on. I think I still have the old Telarc Firebird vinyl release from teh early days of digital vinyl mastering with the big dynamics that took a very well thought out rig to track. Most standard issue Japanese tables of the days with the S shaped tonearms and popular cartridges of the day could not handle that one. So what is it that makes similar very dynamic digital recordings more digestible to the masses on vinyl these days? Or also say merely loud ones with lots of loud electronic synth bass? Thinking Eminem, etc. Can the average Joe buy a record like that and be successful? Or should they just stick to streaming/digital where tracking a good quality challenging record well is not an issue and leave those records to the audiophiles to tackle? Or do the record makers these days tone it down to make it less problematic for the average Joe? Seems to me the newer one’s taste in music, the less it makes sense to invest in vinyl because most all tend to be much louder in general these days and that includes the bass. At least that’s the case with digital/streaming format. Are newer records mastered to not be as loud? louder means more modulation...more modulation means harder to track. Am I off base there? Off course the nice thing about vinyl is always the nice packaging with a product that you can still own but that has nothing to do with the sound. |
Here’s an example: The Dreamer - Brad Mehldau Mark Guiliana (Mehliana) - Bing video I have this ripped to music server at CD resolution. IS it even available on vinyl? Sound meter shows flat extended bass pulses at around 30 hz or so. I have old vinyl recordings with pipe organ doing similar things but this really sets the rafters to a shakin. Apparently it is available on vinyl: Acoustic Sounds |
