Is this the most expensive turntable ever built? If it’s not, it probably was at one time. But with all that fine, precision German-built analog attention to detail, can it really compare to the ultra-high tech wonder that was my first record player ever?

Really, no amount of $650,000 high-tech inventiveness could ever create the thrill of discovery comparable to what I had as a kid plopping down this Power Records vinyl (see below) down on the Close ‘n Play and hearing the psuedo-Morricone Italian crime soundtrack music blasting out of those crap speakers.

I realize now that the music on the following clip was the gateway drug for my now-insatiable soundtrack collecting obsession when it comes to Morricone, Stelvio Cipriani, Piero Umiliani and others. Strange that you can pin down a lifetime of music obsessions to a single, very obscure record heard as kid:

P.S. The story on the Batman: Stacked Cards vinyl is HILARIOUS. Listen all the way to the end to hear Batman ruminating that a frontal lobotomy could return The Joker back to “normal society”! Hell, yeah–let’s save time and bother and lobotomize EVERYBODY!

–Joe Wallace

This Youtube video breathlessly announces that you can, thanks to Makerbot, now create your own 3D printed vinyl records. Exciting, eh?

But it’s clear that something is not quite right at the start of this video…but one tends to suspend disbelief since vinyl junkies and home recording maniacs (Ok, ME) reaaaaalllly want this to be true.

Sadly, you watch, you come to the awful realization that this is a heartbreakingly cruel April Fool’s joke AND you get Rick-rolled in the bargain. You’ll feel violated. Amused, but violated.

Like Fox Mulder, this video hurts because I WANT TO BELIEVE! Makerbot, you wound me…(cue the sappy string music and begin swooning in disbelief here.) Yes, they got me. They got me good. You win THIS round, Makerbot…but I defy you to make this happen FOR REAL. Heh.

One recent reader question came in asking about USB turntables. As in, “Should I buy a USB turntable?”

Transparency alert–I own nothing but USB turntables except for one or two consumer models like the one you see here to the left.

My current turntable of choice based on price, purpose, and performance is the Audio Technica AT-LP-120-USB. It’s got a pre-amp for DJing (which adds to the overall weight and heft of the damn thing), switchable output, variable tone control and other things I like.

Is it the BEST turntable out there? No, but it’s the one I currently own three of and I have no complaints. But back to the question. Why a USB turntable?

Well, for no other reason than that’s the way the industry is going. Yes, you certainly could avoid going USB if you reallllly wanted to, but most people seem ready and willing to digitize at least some portion of the vinyl collection and USB is the way to go for that, unless you really want to use those RCA plugs into an analog-in interface to your Mac or PC. Some desktops do have such interfaces built into the sound card…

I’m naturally biased in favor of the USB-in because let’s face it, if you’re going to MP3 anyway there’s a certain amount of audio loss you’re going to live with and if you’re really into audio fidelity, perhaps you should stick with listening to the vinyl records themselves.

There’s a lot to be said in favor of music portability.

SHOULD you buy a USB turntable? It depends, really. Is your old gear on its last legs? Or is your current gear functioning well? Are you happy with your current setup? If so, you could simply purchase a USB interface like the ones Numark makes to run RCA cable into a converter box with a USB out. These start at about $35-$50 and would be more cost effective than buying a new USB turntable in many cases.

Here’s one such Numark product

There’s a stereo line in plus a dedicated phono line in. You can also use this as a line OUT from your computer into a mixing board to run audio into a mix.

So if you are happy with your current setup, consider adding the converter box instead–there’s no need to shell out for another turntable unless you simply want one that will plug into a laptop or desktop PC apart from your stereo setup.

That’s my preferred method of converting–if I didn’t already own six turntables I’d purchase a separate one strictly for converting vinyl to MP3.

–Joe Wallace

PS. Ask YOUR question by leaving a comment or by e-mail: editor (at) turntabling (dot) net

The Crosley, after road testing and playing with it onscreen, seems to be very handy for a low-tech streetcorner DJ concept, or perhaps a set at your local drive-in movie theater…very handy indeed! Get two, a big boom box and let your DJ skills fly.

Check out the delicious retro loveliness of these players! Some of the images are courtesy of Dark Roasted Blend, while others are from eBay, BoingBoing and other sources. The video, which is first, shows the in-car vinyl player in action…sweet.

One of the biggest gripes about doing the Turntabling cross-country record store blogging trip and vinyl buying spree has been the inability (until now) to play the vinyl while on the road.

That’s a thing of the past now, thanks to the Crosely Revolution portable USB turntable, which was purchased from Brookstone via Amazon.com and delivered just a day later.

It is, at the time of this writing, still in the box and a video demo is planned. But for now, the specs look awfully exciting. The unit is wireless–it transmits via FM to any radio within range. It’s USB powered but can also play with six AA batteries.

That means you can road trip with it, playing records all the way–as long as you have a friend to flip the record when Side A is finished. No distracted drivers, please. In the hotel, this is a no-brainer, and while the specs haven’t been explored on this notion, imagine what could happen if you had two of these units and a big effing boom box. Block-rocking beats DJ style, anyone? Those spontaneous neighborhood parties just got a lot more interesting.

We’ll have a full review of this unit in the days to come.