Back in the days of analog recording, the master tape from the studio was sent to the manufacturing house where plates were cut from the analog recording. It was strictly an analog to analog transfer. Now, for anyone wanting to produce a record, a digital to analog copy. What makes it more interesting is that there is no exact recommendation for how the recording needs to be done. Many professional recordings are done at 24bit even though CDs maximum sample rate is 16bit. So, what should the ratio be when producing a new vinyl record?

In doing some reading, there was a comparison made of viewing a photo in 16 bit on an analog monitor and the same photo in 24 bit. If things go well in the presentation, you might see all sixteen. But if there is anything lost, the photo is no longer at 16, but more like a lower number. Thus, this number may be too low. On the other hand, 24 bit has room to spare if degradation occurs.

So how does the previous relate? With the change to digital music media in the 1980s, 16 bit was the standard adopted for CDs. On the other hand, a vinyl record if compared equally, would be able to play better at 24 since it is able to reproduce a wider range of frequencies than digital can.

If there is a choice (and there is), to choose between 16 and 24 bit when recording for the intended release on vinyl, I would choose going 24 bit and allow music to have as much glory as it can get.

There is a definite different sound which comes from a record in comparison to the sound of a CD or digital file. The comparison is like being hit with a set of intense high beams on the highway compared to traditional headlights which have that warm glow to them. That is the sound that is being discovered once again and being sought after by a new generation of music lovers.

Secondly, old records are being scrapped and turned into art memoabilia. If you search the Internet one can find coasters, bowls, clocks and other items made from 33rpm LPs. I, myself, have a couple coasters that were once the center labels of albums from Chicago and Supertramp. There’re neat to have around both as remembrances as well as items of discussion.

Maybe at one point we’ll be pressing ole vinyl records again while we resurrect old ones as dissussion topics.

What is it about records that people would want this medium back over the clean sound of CD? Well, one has to look back at the way that music was recording when records were being produced. Unlike today where just about every new track and album is recorded digitally to computer, up until the mid 1990s all recording was done to analog tape. Even though we did not have the capabilities with tape that now can be done digitally, there was something with analog recording and that was the amount of sound that could be recorded. Sampling and thresholds were able to be pushed to allow for a more warmer sound; nothing in the recording was “lost”. Everything that was heard by the microphones was transferred to tape.

Once a master tape was made, it was sent off to the record plant for pressing. At the record plant, the master tape was played to a machine that would cut the acetate that would be used to create the “master”. What was and still is different is that everything gets transferred to the record as grooves. The deeper the grooves the more bass sound and the shallower the groove, the higher the pitch. Because of this concept, the amount of time had to be calculated into the mixing so that everything wanted could be fit onto the record. From the master plates, all the copies would be made.

So…Now that we’ve looked at the making of a record quickly, one can now look at the differences between CD and vinyl. Because of the fullness of the sound quality on records (Let’s forget about the pops, hiss, and other little characteristics that were part of records.), people have been picking up their records again and reliving what has been lost over two decades now. But not only did sound get compromised when we went to CD; we lost the great artwork that was part of the anticipation of going to the record store to buy the new album.

Since the CD came out, other developments have occurred as well. Digital music players have come into the market which has certainly made life easier. However, with digital music players even more is lost. We have lost more sound quality as frequencies are dropped in ripping, but we have also lost the artwork that was part of producing a CD. To a good musician and collector, the album art and insert information was very important.

So, digital was supposed to be the best thing since sliced bread or the record. What is ironic about this whole vinyl record rebirth is that the youth of America has taken to this format. Their parents were happy to see it go, but the new generation has found gold in basements and garages. They have found a sound that they are not used to and actually like, the fullness of the sound that they were deprived of due to their years of growing up.

Right now, there are only a handful of presses left in the United States. There are many more around the world, but in the US there are only a handful left in business and their business has gone up in the last few years. Some artists are actually, once again, releasing their new works on vinyl record and CD. Once artist, is actually putting bonus tracks on the vinyl version in order to boost the sales of the record. Are we in a rebound? We shall see.