Compromises for Vinyl junkies

Morning rant time…

I’m starting to get a little peeved by the compromises dealt out to purveyors of CD and downloaded music in order to pamper to the vinyl market. For example, a CD album used to be 100 mins… not now, won’t fit on a 12" vinyl so often new releases are back to the 40mins of my youth (e.g. Relaxer/Alt-J less than 40mins). Worse artificial pops and hiss added to the recording; one of the reasons I want a CD or downloaded version is to have NO pops or hiss! This is like the early days of CDs when the recordings were given artificial vinyl ‘noise’. That practice died out but it’s now creeping back :frowning:

Morning rant over… peace resumes :slight_smile:

Yes, noise is the most immediately noticeable limitation of vinyl as a format, and to add it to CDs is absolutely unacceptable. Complaints, complaints and conplaints, and returning for refund, will be the only way to stop it where it is happening.

Regarding length, freedom for longer albums was a benefit, gradually having become normal - though IIRC max on CD is something like 74 min, with typical for things not originally realeased on vinykl having become maybe around 60+. That, however is more a matter of value for money, and of course quality of music, not padding out with something below par as sometimes happens.

I’ve often thought that the quality of material was compromised for many albums to make them 60-70 mins for CD release - adding in too much filler. It’s also sometimes too much of a stretch to listen all the way through.

I’d have thought that the constraints of a 40-45 min limit would focus the mind on selecting all killer and no filler!

(Although artificially adding crackles and pops would be very annoying!)

Yes, you’re correct of course… typically an hour on a CD.

It was listening to Relaxer last night that tipped me over the edge with artificial hiss and crackles added. ISTR I initially purchased the CD and I wondered if it was just the CD but then I purchased a download and the same thing!

Return them, demanding your money back, saying not fit for purpose. Having done that to register your protest there is nothing to stop you buying again if your line of the music is greater than your dislike of the noise. Without complaints, and, far better, returns which are seen as list revenue (and indeed cost them more because of processing), there is nothing to persuade the record companies not to continue with the practice.

With albums like Relaxer I put up with it because the album is just so darn good. I’ve started to predict the time of the crackles and pops down to the second… it does remind me of my vinyl days when I knew exactly when the pop etc… was about to sound.

I agree, padding an album out just because there’s some material there, so you might as well stick it in on the basis that more = better, is not a great way to put an album together. Still, with CD as a format heading towards obsolescence, it will be interesting to see what happens when streaming is more or less universal. Will albums still be proper collections of tracks, or will we just have endless individual tracks?

Adding noise? Does this not have a relationship to the thread about hearing the recording as the artist intended? Was the noise really added to pander to vinyl junkies, or by the performer as artistic intent?

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So the artist intentionally adds crackles and background hiss because they want it to sound that way? Well maybe but my cynical side says not :wink:

If people don’t complain/return recordings of unacceptable quality, the record company will believe it is doing what customers want, and the abhorrent practice may increase, rather than decrease!

It’s a good job I heard Dusk by The The on CD before I bought my vinyl copy, otherwise I would have been back to the shop to complain about the surface noise at the start of True Happiness This Way Lies.

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