A website about turntables, audio gear, vinyl records, and more!
Turntable cartridges are not universal, but it’s easy to figure out which cartridge fits your turntable or record player.
No, the reason cartridges are not universal is because there are two main types that fit differently on turntables, P-Mount and Half-Inch.
Continue reading “How To Decide What Cartridge Fits Your Turntable or Record Player”A list of facts about the tiny part on your turntable that plays an important role in vinyl record playback.
Turntable terminology can be confusing for a beginner. It took many years for me to properly understand just what all of these moving parts are doing in order to produce sound. I often found myself calling certain parts of the turntable by the wrong name, not really understanding their purpose.
Since falling in love with vintage gear several years ago, I’ve begun to educate myself more on how everything works. I’m often asked questions by friends who are setting up new stereo systems or have run into trouble operating the ones they own.
I’ve been asked a lot lately about the role of the stylus, the “needle” and cartridges in general. There are differences in each that are worth exploring further.
For the purposes below, I am going to focus simply on the stylus itself, not the entire cartridge. I think it’s important to separate the two and explain the purpose of each. An entire article could be written on cartridges alone (something I will probably write in the near future), so I felt it necessary to stick with just facts about the stylus.
I learned even more about the stylus while writing this article and I hope you do the same.
(Also see our articles on 5 Reasons Your Turntable or Record Player Sounds Bad, Weird or Distorted and How To Repair a Record Player or Turntable That Sounds Slow for more troubleshooting.)
Continue reading “Everything To Know About The Needle or Stylus on a Record Player”
I love record stores in Cincinnati. I’ve been visiting since the late 1990’s and always find records for great prices. These are the 11 best record stores in Cincinnati.
I live in Nashville where records seem to be gobbled up as soon as they hit the floor. This means I often miss out on hard to find records. However, whenever I stop by a store in Cincinnati, I’m always surprised at the selection available. I consistently find a healthy selection of jazz and indie rock records at various stores throughout town.
I rarely just visit one store, spending an afternoon driving around to each store, and grabbing whatever I can find. It’s not unusual to have a pile of records in the trunk for the drive home after visiting with family.
When researching my favorite record stores in Cincinnati, I stumbled on a few that are new to me and I have them noted for me to visit first the next time I’m in town. Other stores I have visited so many times, I could tell you where each genre of music is filed in the store.
Below are the stores in no particular order, but you will find the stores I’ve yet to visit mostly at the bottom. I can’t wait to visit each and revisit this article with more details in the future!
Continue reading “The 11 Best Vinyl Record Stores in Cincinnati”Four easy ways to fix the annoying hum or buzz sound coming from your record player.
I love turntables, but they can be finicky at times. Having a properly dialed in turntable is key to optimal performance and playback. Record players can be a little intimidating to set up at first, but once you’ve done it a few times, it’s easy to get music playing properly right from the start.
A common question I get from people is, “What can I do to get rid of this annoying buzz or hum coming from my turntable?”. This happens when your turntable isn’t properly set up or you have interference from another component.
Let’s discuss these more thoroughly below.
Turntables often have a small wire in the rear of the unit located next to the RCA cables. Attach this ground wire to the GND screw on the rear of your receiver. Once this is connected properly, the ground loop causing the hum will be corrected and the noise will disappear.
Continue reading “How To Remove Hum or Buzz on Your Turntable”
There is a never ending debate on what sounds better, analog or digital. Digital fans love the clean sound of mp3s, lossless audio or even CDs. Analog fans love the warm sound of vinyl.
Let’s set aside that argument for a minute and try to answer the question, “Do vinyl records sound better than Spotify?”. As with anything, it’s a personal preference, but as someone who has grown up listening to all formats of music from records to cassettes to CDs to mp3s and now streaming, I do have some thoughts on the differences in sound. Below are my top three reasons why I think vinyl sounds better than Spotify.
What does “lossy” mean, exactly? Mark Harris at Lifewire, explains, “The word lossy is used in digital audio to describe a type of compression used to store sound data. The algorithm used in a lossy audio format compresses sound data in a way that discards some information. This signal loss means that the encoded audio isn’t identical to the original. The lossy audio produces a lower quality sound and has a smaller file size.”
Imagine someone served you a piece of apple pie with ice cream on top. If Spotify were serving you the pie, it might remove the bottom crust and the top layer with the ice cream, leaving you with a lot of baked apples. It’s not the worst piece of pie you’ve ever had, it’s just missing parts that make it taste great.
Audio signal compression isn’t really an issue with vinyl record playback. You are hearing what the artist intended when they recorded, mixed and mastered their album. Vinyl playback is a much better representation of the actual sound the artist recorded in the studio.
Continue reading “3 Reasons Why Vinyl Records Sound Better Than Spotify”
An (up to date) detailed list of record stores recommended by a Nashville resident of over 25 years.
There is a reason it’s called Music City, USA.
Nashville, and its surrounding cities, are packed with great record stores. I think a new one pop ups monthly.
I’ve lived in Nashville for over 25 years now and have seen the city’s growth in many areas, but none more than great record stores.
Most city guides will point you to stores within city limits, but I wanted to provide a list of stores in surrounding counties for anyone like me who doesn’t mind a 30 minute drive to stumble on some great records.
Below you will find a list of record stores in Nashville and beyond. This list isn’t in any particular order, as each store has their own unique presence. I make a point to swing by as many as possible because I never know what I’ll find in their bins.
This list doesn’t include a lot of great antique stores where sellers have booths with used records for sale. If you are visiting Nashville and see an antique store, there’s a good chance there will be a record section to flip through as well.
Also, our friends at Just Audio, produced a video series touring a handful of record stores and Nashville was one of their first stops. Where possible, we included a video clip from their tour to give you an idea of what those stores offer. Be sure to follow their YouTube page for videos on vintage gear and more.
I think this is an exhaustive list that will be continually updated as more stores open!
See a quick hit list of stores below, followed by a description of why we love each after the break!