The humble disc record is not often properly
recognized for the impact its development had on the modern world. On the face of it, these records are just
consumer products that allow music to be sold to the masses, a concept that itself only
reached the mass market about 100 years ago. The truth is the impact of this technology
goes way beyond consumption of pop music. In some way, the record’s closest comparison
is the printing press. The printing press is often considered one
of the most important inventions in history due to its ability to quickly and accurately
reproduce ideas in written word; which in turn, greatly accelerated the transfer and
exchange of knowledge. The ability to press audio to record so that
it can be reproduced in scale did the exact same thing for audio. It functioned as a vector for cultural exchange
and the revolution in recording technology ushered in by electronic and audio engineers
that developed the technology is the foundation upon which modern communication systems stand
upon. Of course, these days most of the music we
consume is digital. The internet has changed not only the way
we consume music, but also the amount of music [1] and the music itself [2]. Curiously while this is happening vinyl is
seeing a year on year increase in sales [3,4]. Even more curious is the fact that half of
the people who buy an album on vinyl stream it first [4] It remains a point of contention
whether analog formats, such as vinyl, are actually superior to their modern day digital
counterparts. Is vinyl’s resurgence just consumers seeing
yesteryear’s technology through rose tinted glasses, a yearning for a physical connection
to their music or does the music really sound better on vinyl? To understand the differences between these
two we need to first understand the commonalities. No matter which format is used, analog or
digital, both require audio data to be created by a recording device. The simplest of these would be the microphone
which turns air pressure (sound) into a either a digital or analog signal, which can then
be replayed as an electrical analog signal. This process was first put into use in 1877
by Thomas Edison. While working on the telephone, Edison decided
that it may also be worth investigating if sound could be recorded for later reproduction. Edison designed a rotatable cylinder disc
wrapped in thin foil which was turned by a hand crank. Attached to the disc was a needle, which in
turn was attached to a mouthpiece which adjusted the pressure of needle on the disc. Edison talked into mouthpiece while turning
the hand crank at a constant rate and as predicted, the pressure of the soundwaves imprinted a
proportional indentation which was analogous to the sound his voice created. When he finished recording, he returned the
needle to the start. The indentations which were caused by his
voice could now be played back by rotating the cylinder. Playback of audio while showing phonograph
working…. This invention, the phonograph, was the first
example of playable recorded sound and for all intents and purposes the vinyl record
is essentially an iteration of this technology. The first vinyl recorded was pressed in 1948
by Columbia - specifically, it was this recording on 12 inch: - Record plays -
Mendelssohn's Concerto in E Minor by Nathan Milstein on the violin with the New York Philharmonic Vinyl records work on the same basic principle
as Edison’s phonograph. A 3d representation of a soundwave is physically
pressed on to a vinyl record. An impression is first created by a cutting
head. The cutting head creates an impression that
is a direct analog of the soundwave. This process creates a master that will go
to create a stamper that moulds each record. When a record is played the frequency of the
wave that you will hear will depend on how stretched out the wave is on the media and
the volume will depend on the size or amplitude of the wave. This audio information will be pressed on
to vinyl in one of 3 fashions: via horizontal modulation
Vertical modulation OR via a compromise modulation of 45 degrees
Horizontal modulation is always preferable over vertical modulation. This is because vertical modulation leads
to more distortion and allows for less amplitude due to an inability for the stylus to track
the groove and also a propensity for the needle to bound off the wave if the amplitude is
too high. But if we run with only horizontal modulation
we can only play audio in mono and we don’t have stereo separation of sound. Accordingly, we use a compromise modulation
of 45 degree in order to allow for separation of audio from mono to stereo. As the stylus follows the groove, it moves
a magnet wrapped in a small coil of copper wire, this causes an electric current that
corresponds to the groove on the vinyl, which in turn corresponds to the physical sound
waves that were originally recorded. The electric current can now cause a physical
movement of the speakers which will reproduce that sound pretty faithfully. Some vinyl enthusiasts argue that this smooth
continuous reproduction of sound from analog to analog is more faithful than digital music
Part of this argument stems from the difference in how digital music is reproduced - high
quality digital audio data is typically sampled 44,100 times per second and this data is recorded
in binary format. Close inspection of the wave function produced
from binary code shows that rather than the audio data being smooth and constant like
real life, the audio data is jagged and technically non-continuous. Because there is an infinite amount of data
between each second of audio, we have to sample the audio in regular intervals to minimise
the size of our digital file. Comparing this to the smooth continuous waveform
that is imprinted in vinyl you would think this might cause some loss in information. Whether there is loss of information or not
depends on whether the 44,000 sample rate is high enough to be functionally the same. An answer to this was proposed in 1928 in
a pivotal paper published by Swedish American
electronic engineer Harry Nyquist [5], and was subsequently proven by Claude Shannon
in 1949 [6]. They simply found that to recreate a frequency
we only need to sample each individual wave at least twice. If not, the frequency will be digitized with
a lower frequency. The maximum perceivable frequency a human
ear can detect is 20,000 Hz, and so digital recordings with a sampling rate of 44,000
Hz can capture even the highest frequency possible, thus the sound produced by a speaker
using digital audio is effectively the same sound as analog recordings. In this case, the argument that analog recordings
are more “faithful” does not meet the scrutiny of science and in theory digital
and analog music recordings should sound functionally the same if played on the same equipment. The argument does not end here though, there
are some constraints to how sound can be recorded on vinyl. Interestingly, these constraints largely explain
both vinyl enthusiasts preference for the media and also why some might argue that digital
recordings are a superior format for storing audio. The major constraint that impacts vinyl is
simply its limit in data storage. This is simple to understand - A 12 inch record
can only hold so much information in the format we’ve described. Each rotation of the record takes 1.8 seconds. The next question is how many times each 12
inch can record rotate. Two things affect this, the frequencies found
in bass notes require the groove of the record to swing out wider, just as the speaker also
thumbs out wider when it plays base. Waves of higher amplitude that produce louder
sound also require wider grooves. This means that both low frequency sounds
and loud sounds both eat up valuable vinyl real estate. This in turn means that if you’re record
has bass or is loud, like most contemporary music, there’s not going to be a whole lot
of space on the record for your songs. The net impact of this is that there is a
volume and time constraint on vinyl record that does not apply to digital music, which
has huge ramifications for how we listen to music, and how music is created and mastered. Vinyl’s limitations do not end here. If the frequency is low and the amplitude
too high (loud), the stylus can become prone to bounding off of the wave due to path the
stylus has to take up the wave at speed. This can cause the record to bounce around
and skip if not accounted for. Accordingly, bass needs to be center panned
in the mix and a specific mix has to applied to music recorded to vinyl to stop this from
happening. High frequency sounds also need to be taking
into consideration while cutting a vinyl record. The issue is commonly referred to as the “Sibilance
Issue”. Sibilance is that unpleasant hissing sound
associated with s sounds and other high frequencies, that anyone who has watched my older videos
will be painfully aware of. High frequency waves cause two fundamental
problems in vinyl. High frequency sounds mean the waves are very
tight together, the stylus has to surf these waves and turn extremely tight corners. When the curvature of the groove becomes tighter
than the tip radius of the stylus, the stylus will begin to plow through the groove and
you will end up with distortion. On top of this, extremely high frequency waves
can lead to the cutting head that cuts the record to overheat. This is simply a matter of the cutting head
having to take a longer path and having to do more work to cut these waves. The overheating can lead to inaccuracy in
the cutting process and in turn to noise and distortion on the final record. To counteract the negative effects that extreme
low end and high end frequencies have on vinyl, a group of American engineers developed what
became to be known as the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) curve in the
40s and 50s [7]. The RIAA is a equalization scheme that is
applied to the sound before the master lacquer is cut. In essence, this curve reduces bass content
and boosts treble in the record. Without this curve, low frequencies take up
so much space that each 12 inch LP would only allow for 5 minutes of music. In addition, boosting the treble hugely lowers
the surface noise that vinyl can produce due to the path the stylus takes. This is also why a turntable requires a special
phono preamp – in addition to amplifying the tiny voltage created by the turntable’s
cartridge, the preamp applies the inverse of the RIAA curve, perfectly restoring the
music’s natural balance and minimizing the size constraints that are intrinsically linked
to the nature of the media. So we’ve painted a complicated and grim
picture for vinyl as a storage media. The actual truth here is that there is no
functional difference in audio quality between digital and analog formats...and studies show
that the human ear and brain is not sufficiently equipped to distinguish the difference between
sound produced from analog signals when compared to a digital counterpart [8]. At the very least, this is enough to debunk
the notion that digital music formats are a lesser quality format than analog formats. An important question to ask here is why are
people, that understand these concepts, still drawn to vinyl? There’s a number of simple answers to this
question: Part of it is the nostalgia factor - people
have positive personal associations with the vinyl format from their youth and these associations
invoke an emotional state that induces a sense of comfort [9]; and although there are no
discernible differences in theoretical audio quality, vinyl does have a specific sound
that is imparted due to the mastering process. Mastering is the process by which the final
song is mixed for the final device it will be stored on. Over the past 36 years, due to the removal
of the physical limitations of vinyl media and the spread of digitized music, songs have
become increasingly louder and increasingly more compressed [10]. In essence, this means that the sound wave
becomes compressed, forcing the quieter parts of a song to become relatively louder and
the louder parts relatively quieter, the net effect being a louder, noisier song. As a result of this trend a vast majority
of commercial music releases have been subject to a somewhat arbitrary loudness war that
has forced them to increase loudness to keep pace. It has also resulted in increased use of compression
of the music which some would argue has result in a loss of detail and nuance in the final
sound. This development has been criticized by a
number of prominent audio engineers [11] and is part of the attraction towards vinyl. Some people prefer vinyl for this reason,
music properly mastered for the medium is to a certain degree immune to the effects
of the music loudness wars and in some cases, this can mean that the more nuanced parts
of the song are easier to pick out for a trained ear. Really though, given that this same information
can be recorded on a digital format and replayed exactly the same, the answer to this question
is that digital and analog formats are functionally the same in the quality of sound produced
and any preference for one media or the other, is really just that, a preference. The longevity and iconic status of the vinyl
record as a music format cannot be ignored though. Despite the shortcomings we’ve described,
it is an incredibly durable and elegantly simple medium. This is probably best exemplified in the golden
plated record sent on the Voyager 1 In September of 1977. It’s hard to believe but 12 billion miles
away from here this record is floating through space. It’s cover contains simple instructions
for playback based on certain universal constants and the record itself contains a high resolution
snapshot of 200,000 years of human culture. Unless the Voyager 1 suffers a direct impact
or encounter heat that may melt the record, this record in theory, should out survive
even our species. Just as the technology for storing music has
advanced the technology mixing and mastering music has, it has never been easier to get
into music production, thanks to programs like FL Studio and Ableton which give you
a virtual production room with all the tools you need to create a song of your own. There has never been more information available
to learn how to use them either. With introductory classes like this on Skillshare
for FL Studio and Ableton, and many more classes to teach you the nitty gritty of music production
like this one from Grammy nominated DJ Young Guru. These days you can teach yourself pretty much
any skill online and Skillshare is a fantastic place to do it. With professional and understandable classes,
that follow a clear learning curve, you can dive in and start learning how to do the work
you love. A Premium Membership begins around $10 a month
for unlimited access to all courses, but the first 1000 people to sign up with this link
will get their first 2 months for free. As usual thanks for watching and thank you
to all my Patreon supporters. If you would like to see more from me, the
links to my twitter, facebook, discord server, subreddit and instagram pages are below.
Watched it. The conclusion is that the quality is the same, it all comes down to preference.
FINALLY I CAN BE RESCUED FROM MY WORLD OF LIES
Vinyl dj = passionate collector.
Nothing to see here out of ordinary. Move along.
I curbed my vinyl collecting a few years back and switched to a tablet. I mix vinyl at home cause its easy to access all my tunes. I use my tablet at gigs for the same reason.
I came up before CDJ were remotely a thing and could remember knowing instantly when I hit a club that was using them. They sounded way cleaner (too clean for me the time) then vinyl. My friends that weren’t DJs never could here it. Vinyl gets worn every time you play it so I’d argue that a DJ copy would sound different simply from use. Also, vinyl DJs master there own sets via the eq to compensate for this so that gives it a different sound as well.
Tbh I don't really see a point in vinyl unless you are a battle/scratch DJ. According to audiophiles, Vinyl is better quality sounding, but when you're scratching, you are kind of screwing up the record anyways according to audiophiles. So yeah it is just preference.
Lol at the diagram of the magnet inside the tonearm weight which is how sounds apparently makes it from the record to the amp
“But digital samples things so it can get all the frequencies we can hear so let’s pretend harmonics aren’t a thing” yeah I stopped there.
Ill watch that later.
78 rpm acetate all the way baby!
I had to stop watching 2:00 in when he said a microphone can turn air pressure in to electrical or digital signal. A microphone is an analog transducer. The A/D converters are what make it digital. Great video, that just irked me because I'm neurotic.