Vinyl playback - lack of bass?

I always assumed the bass was not as pronounced on vinyl because of the physical limitations of a plastic disk having grooves that have to satisfy the both the high end and low end of the spectrum (isn’t that why the RIAA curve was used?).

And yes, digital recordings if they were mastered to be pure digital can get down to inaudible frequencies that you just feel.  It becomes more pronounced if you use subwoofers.   Since I have the cutover frequency of my subwoofers at 50hz, I generally don’t hear anything from them with either analog or analog digitized, unless the material has been remastered.  

@bbarten If you think of the pop/rock albums of the 70’s in particular, they were generally played in cars on either 8-track or cassette.  The speakers of the time were placed in trunks on the rear package shelf, so they emphasized the bass.

Here’s the technical reason from vintagevinylnews.

During this process, low frequencies (like bass tones) are reduced, and high frequencies (like cymbals and snares) are amplified.

This allows for narrower grooves on the record, which increases play time and reduces distortion from needle movement in lower frequency ranges.

When we play these records back on a turntable or phonograph, we need to reverse this frequency reduce high ones, and enhance low ones – so that what we hear accurately replicates the original recording.

This is precisely where an RIAA equalized preamplifier comes into play; it corrects these altered frequencies according to the standard RIAA curve.

So the gentleman above who recommended an equilizer has it exactly right.   Your phono preamp is applying reverse RIAA curve, so it’s hardly heresy to jack up the bass if it suits your mood.

@bbarten If you want an album with some good solid bass, listen to the Styx Equinox album (IMHO their best album), especially the song "Midnight Ride".  "Suite Madam Blue" is a great song as well.

And if you turn up the bass,  it's your system, it's your music, and whatever sounds good to you is the main thing.