My vinyl collection is growing and I have a mixture of new and second hand stuff. Some of the older stuff plays well but crackles with dust so I searched for a safe way to clean them and picked up this ION Vinyl Alive on Amazon.
Inside is a cleaning liquid and a brush made of a soft micro fibre cloth.
Now I can make my old vinyl all shiny again!
I started heavily collecting vinyl last year when I invested in a new record player. Records tend to take up a lot of room and the top two square shelves I was using started to fill up so I looked for other solutions that wouldn’t take up too much space in my small apartment.
At my local record store, they sold these stackable shelves. I only have one for now but if I need more I can put them on top of the other in an all awesome tower of records. These also serve as a good way to move records (which is of some concern when I find a new place).
How do you store your records?
This month’s Vinyl Me Please pressing celebrates the 20th anniversary of The Fugees’ The Score. It is printed on beautiful orange and black vinyl and includes a bonus gold 7″ with tracks that were never on vinyl. They used all the original masters which means there’s some crackling from the original recordings. There’s also a poster and art by Kenyatta A.C. Hinkle.
There were a few extras thrown in like a mysterious 7″ with no description, that was later revealed to be a new Tourist song. I think it’s awesome and kind of romantic to tease new tracks this way. I had no idea what to expect when I put it on the player. Also added was a $35 gift certificated to Hello Fresh, which I sadly cannot use because they haven’t launched in Canada yet.
This month was also the first time I ordered from Vinyl Me Please’s exclusive member store. They did a limited run of Suun’s upcoming Hold/Still (it isn’t released until tomorrow) in white.
I’m slowly outgrowing my little bachelor apartment as vinyl starts to take up more and more space.
Lately, one of my favourite ways to relax on my free time is to spin a record. To curate a record at a time has a romantic aspect to it. It’s like picking a storybook from a shelf, only you can listen to someone else tell it.
I wanted to make use of my new record player so last month I signed up for Vinyl Me Please, an online record club. Note: This doesn’t count in my 30 Day Challenge as it is something that I previously subscribed to for 3 months.
My December package arrived in an adorably labeled package, in hopes that the mail carriers would handle with care (which thankfully they did).
I was surprised with Nils Frahm’s Spaces, the 36th record in the series so far.
Inside the package were record notes, original art prints as well as recipes for a drink that the record could be paired with. The record sounded beautifully warm in my player. It wasn’t something I would have consciously decided to go buy but am super proud to have on my shelf. I’m looking forward to what record I’ll be surprised with in January.
Subscribing to the club also gives you access to a store full of exclusives. If you want to sign up for Vinyl Me Please, use this link for $10 off!
I’ve wanted a better record player for ages. I had one of those 3-in-one box things that were a CD player, radio and vinyl player at the same time. The problem was that it often didn’t work well for new records because the needle weight couldn’t be adjusted. I usually would mend the problem by putting dimes and nickels on the needle but I came to the realization that it would not be healthy for my records as my collection started to grow. I headed to Planet of Sound for some help.
They were super helpful and was able to find a perfect player for my needs and price range. They’re super honest about quality (price doesn’t always mean it’s better etc). I ended up choosing the TEAC TN 300 which has a built in pre-amp and also the ability to connect to the computer via USB if I wish. Not to mention it’s beautiful.
Planet of Sound helped me set my needle weight, as well as put the belt on properly at no extra charge. I was afraid I’d break it if I did it myself.
I also bought a Harmon Kardon Aura speaker. It has both Bluetooth and Airplay wireless capabilities. I can also plug it into my new record player. It is perfect for me because I don’t live in a big apartment so this is super simple and the sound fills the entire room.
I am now prepared for the best of both worlds, analog and digital. I can’t wait to annoy my neighbours blasting Carly Rae Jepsen or Arcade Fire. Investing in systems to play all my music is so worth it.
Tiana Feng 