I just learned something from the Monty Python "Almost the Truth" documentary on Netflix. Their "Matching Tie and Handkerchief" album was not the first to use concentric grooves. The technique was used to produce records with horse races, where the outcome of the race would depend on which groove the needle happened to select.
Vinyl LP's are making a comeback, no doubt due to their popularity with DJ's. I've bought a few recently and they are very high quality, even compared to the usual LP's back in the day. The sound from one seems warmer and less edgy somehow than CD's or MP3's, but it's very subtle. You need a decent turntable, and more importantly, a decent phono cartridge. I still have my collection of about 300 albums, going back to the mid 60's. In 1964 I purchased "Meet The Beatles" and played it constantly- for about a few months. I loaned it to a "friend" and never saw it again. You have to treat them with kid gloves or they get pops and scratches in the playback.
You know, CDs have a lot of advantages over LPs... They're smaller, less prone to warping, scratches, and skipping, you don't have to flip them over to hear the other side, and all but the analog/tube zealots agree that they produce better sound.
But there are some things recording artists could do with an LP that just can't be accomplished with a CD. Two examples I can think of:
- The "runout groove" at the end of a record was usually silent, but could be used to produce an endless loop of sound, as on the original British version of The Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, which ends with a loop of laughter/gibberish.
- On The Monty Python Matching Tie and Handkerchief LP from 1973, one side had two concentric grooves, each with different material. So what you'd hear depended on where you happened to put the stylus down. To further confuse things, both sides were labeled "Side 2". Try that with a CD!
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But there are some things recording artists could do with an LP that just can't be accomplished with a CD. Two examples I can think of:
- The "runout groove" at the end of a record was usually silent, but could be used to produce an endless loop of sound, as on the original British version of The Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, which ends with a loop of laughter/gibberish.
- On The Monty Python Matching Tie and Handkerchief LP from 1973, one side had two concentric grooves, each with different material. So what you'd hear depended on where you happened to put the stylus down. To further confuse things, both sides were labeled "Side 2". Try that with a CD!
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