60s Disco DJ

With all the technological advances in audio formats over the last few decades, vinyl is still going strong, record collectors and dance music enthusiasts have been keeping the sound format alive when major record labels lost interest in the late 1980’s. More recently record labels in Japan, North America and Europe are getting back into the groove by releasing special limited edition Albums and 45 records by popular demand.

Disc Jockey

Tony Blackburn

Disc Jockeys came about in the U.S. during the 1930’s, but beat matching didn’t arrive until the late 1960’s and early 1970’s through people such as Francis Grasso of the Bronx.

One of the first people to use twin turntables for continuous play was British DJ and T.V. personality Jimmy Savile. Jimmy paid a metalworker to weld two domestic record decks together, this was at the very beginning of ‘twin-deck’ DJing, this allowed two records to be played back-to-back continuously at discos.

Hip Hop DJs in New York, took vinyl record play to a new level, with scratching and beat juggling in the 1970’s, vinyl records have since become an intrinsic part of the dance music scene.

Digital Jockey

Digital DJing

Some DJs now use laptop computers or
purpose built digital modules to mix. Beat Matching software, is designed to beat-match, digital tracks with great accuracy.

The software can effectively beat-match for you, if you need it to, some working DJs now openly admit to having never bought a vinyl record in their life.

Some people embrace the new technology 100% for its ease of use, whereas others regard this style as untrue to the roots of DJing, others simply work between vinyl and digital by burning downloaded digital files to CD.

Analog

Vinyl 45 records

Downsides of vinyl include the large amounts of space they take up, the weight, scratches, specks of dust and wear to the disc which can be heard as noise or static. Records should always be placed back in their sleeves avoiding touching the vinyl surface with greasy fingers.

Cd’s that are lightly scratched become totally unplayable and are prone to jumping, whereas vinyl records that are scratched often still play, the CD is just as fragile if not more so than the vinyl record. Record collectors accept light surface noise on certain records as it allows the audio a unique history, and can indicate years of loving play. (Image courtesy of Ian Watkins)

Vinyl can be placed on the turntable in an instant, you can pin point exactly where the needle should fall accessing any part of a song immediately with no forward tracking, there is a physical response from the needle to the groove, through the turntable into the mixer and then into the amp, and then out again through the speakers, 100% analog.

Channels are grooved into the vinyl disc when an original sound’s waveform is recorded. Little audio information is lost. Record players emit sound as analog, they feed directly to the amp with no need for conversion i.e. analog to analog rather than analog to digital and then back to analog.

In an image conscious world, musicians can create detailed artwork and fit large graphics on a record’s jacket, or sleeve. Also, you can choose the colour of the vinyl rather than having to settle for a silver CD or non-tangible MP3, put simply digital formats lack the permanent aesthetic benefits of vinyl records.

Digital

Sound wave file

MP3s are easy to store on CD or on your P.C., and work for many people as their only sound format. With the development of the I-Pod, portability is digital’s forte. With format tools such as ‘Serato’, digital tracks, can be transfered to a ‘mock’ vinyl disc on a turntable, this can give the appearance and feel, of the digital sound being a traditional vinyl record.

Digital recordings don’t degrade over time, however if your computer is not backed up, any crash or virus that effects the p.c. could result in total loss of your record collection, it’s the equivalent to your house burning down in vinyl terms. Backing up your digital music collection is time consuming but can save you time and money, this will need to be done whenever you upgrade your p.c. Downloading music files can also be stressful, some files may become corrupt or damaged.

MP3s can be burned to disc but CD-Rs often have a much shorter shelf life than both vinyl and normal Cd’s, depending on quality and storage conditions. A down side of MP3 is reduced sound quality. Original sound is analog by definition, vinyl doesn’t sample sound it records it in a natural state as a vibration.

Sound waves

Digital recordings take approximate snapshots of an analog signal at a certain rate, this means that, unlike vinyl, a digital recording does not capture the complete soundwave, it makes up the bits in between so you will get a less true sound of the original source.
A stereo, computer or CD player simply converts a digital recording back into an analog signal which is then fed to the amplifier, the amp then increases the voltage of the signal to drive the speaker.

Digital sound is sometimes described as narrow, flat and compressed for these reasons, whereas vinyl is often described as sounding more analog, a deep, rich, wide sound, the qualities of the original recording are more audible on vinyl. However, some vinyl records, especially LPs, can be extremely quiet and will not match up to the ‘fuller’ more compressed sound of digital.

Hybrid record deck

The Future? 

Vinyl’s strength has always been it’s superior sound quality. Dance music DJs and record collectors have helped keep vinyl a cool format. Other music formats and electronics manufacturers, have simply chosen to work with vinyl rather than against it, ensuring the formats longevity.

Record labels are still releasing popular records on vinyl, thin plastic discs remain an appealing part of the music industry, in fact the music industry has built its reputation on them.

Vinyl records will never be as popular as they were in the 1960’s, but if used in conjunction with other modern formats, vinyl will continue to reign as a champion sound format.