As the Tables Turn

If MP3 is the future of recorded music, how does one explain the continuing fascination with a technology whose time has clearly passed?

Sales of “vinyl records have skyrocketed over the past three years,” says Alan Ostroff, owner of Go Boy Records in Redondo Beach. “My used-vinyl sales have tripled.”

Not that vinyl ever disappeared; serious collectors have been stockpiling records since the advent of compact discs. But what’s driving the current boom are customers buying music to listen to, not fill out, a collection, Ostroff says. The typical new-generation vinyl customers are between 14 and 25 years old, and are discovering music that was big before they were born.

“There’s a bit of nostalgia for another time, but it’s more than that,” says Ostroff. “A record in good shape will sound better than a CD. There’s a warmer, more authentic, more lively sound.”

Economics is a factor as well. “You can buy Fleetwood Mac’s ‘Rumours’ LP in good condition for $2.99,” he says. “The CD will cost you $18.”

Plus, with the rise of DJ culture, vinyl has achieved a new level of hipness. “DJs are glamour figures,” says Jon Liu of Aron’s Records in Hollywood. “They’ve supplanted rock stars as pop icons. The turntable is beginning to be regarded as a musical instrument, not an appliance.”

A dead language revived

Translations of vinyl-record terminology as chronicled at www.houseofmusic.com/

faqvinl3.htm.

Dead Wax: The area between the end of the recording and the label. Also known as the trail-off groove, the run-off area or the lead-out area.

EP: Extended Play. Usually a 7-inch, 45-rpm record with two or three cuts per side.

E.P.: Shorthand for Elvis Presley.

Gatefold: An album cover, EP cover or picture sleeve that opens up like a gate. Sometimes has records that fit in both open ends.

Lead-In Groove: The silent area at the beginning of a record.

LP: Long Play. Usually used for

10-inch and 12-inch 33 1/3 rpm record albums.

Lunched: A record so beat up that it has no redeeming value, so trashed that somebody apparently tried eating it for lunch.

SCR: A scratch on the record.

SCU: A scuff on the record. Scuffs are usually cosmetic and don’t cause noise.

SLT/WRP: A slight warp that doesn’t affect record play but is noticeable when the record is spinning.

What Goes Around ...

Until three years ago, Mr. G’s Stereo & Video Service in San Juan Capistrano often went six months without servicing a turntable. Now, two or three turntables arrive at the shop daily to be refurbished. For $69.95, plus parts, an old Dual or Pioneer turntable can be as good as new again.

“After 26 years in business,” says owner Rich Hughes, “I’m one of the few people around who still remembers how to repair them.”