Is Vinyl Making a comeback?

  I am a big fan of the English band "Mumford and Sons".

They take traditional instruments like Mandolin, Banjo, Dobro and Upright Bass to produce an alternative rock/folk  style of music that is proving popular. In fact, The single, "Little Lion man" from their 2009 album "Sigh No More" was voted Number one in the 2009 Triple J Hottest 100. Mumford and Sons also won an ARIA Award in November 2010 for Most Popular International Artist.

  Needless to say, I was exited when I learned this week that their new album "Babel" will be available on Vinyl. Yes, those large black plastic, double sided discs one plays on a phonograph. 

  Only Three months ago, I discovered that "Foo Fighters" album "Wasted Light" had been released on Vinyl.

  I can remember when CDs, or Compact Disc as they are officially known as, were released unto the masses in 1982. CDs have proved immensely popular. They were significantly more compact than Vinyl LPs and less scratch prone. It was generally considered that CDs also sounded better, though many serious music listeners, or Audiophiles as they are often referred to as, would argue that point. More on that later.

  CDs were going to replace all other formats. Vinyl records and cassettes were a thing of the past we were told. According to Wikipedia, by 2007, over  200 Billion discs had been sold worldwide but sales have dropped nearly 50% from their peak in the year 2000. This slow down is attributed to newer ways of storing and distributing Digital files such as Downloads, Flash Drives and MP3 Players.

  Unfortunately, advances in Digital Audio technology revolves around convenience more than quality of sound. MP3 is a file format that is now popular due to its smaller file size. Therefore more songs can be crammed onto a given player. Unfortunately It does this by sacrificing Bits of information in the music that are  deemed less necessary for your enjoyment. This is not a new concept. Over 30 years ago when developers turned their attention to the Compact Disc, it was decided that sound frequencies above 20,000 Hz and those below 20Hz would be sacrificed so that an entire Album would fit onto a CD. These frequencies are considered beyond the scope of human hearing or at least insignificant enough for humans to not notice their absence.

  Unfortunately, this is not entirely true. The way our hearing interprets those sounds is incredibly complex. Included in the frequencies above and below this assumed limit in our hearing are sounds and  harmonics of frequencies that add fullness and nuances to the music. A good example is Deep bass. Not just the Doof Doof you hear emanating from the brightly painted Skyline sitting next to you at a set of lights but the deep bass that is produced by a Kettle Drum in an Orchestra, or the large, stand up Base played by Mumford and Sons. When you hear these instruments live, you feel them as much as hear them. This is because they produce frequencies well bellow the 20Hz cutoff of Digital music. Played back on CD or your Ipod these frequencies are lost.

  Not so on Vinyl. Vinyl is analog, therefore when originally recorded and pressed, all is retained. every note and sound that entered the microphone is kept for prosperity and your listening enjoyment. There is no compression or interpretation.

  I mentioned earlier that many people found that CDs sounded better than vinyl. Unfortunately many of these people had been listening to old scratched and dirty records on cheap, poorly maintained players with worn needles, or styluses as they are correctly known as. 

  

  When a new (clean) LP is played on a quality player with a serviceable Stylus, there is none of the pops and crackle you will remember when Dad played Frank or Dean all those years ago.

   I have recently rediscovered Vinyl. I bought a reasonable quality Turn Table from Ebay and The above mentioned "Foo Fighters" Album along with some old Records in good nick that I found in Opp shops. 

When played through my home built Valve Amplifier the sound is amazing. There is not only the broader harmonic range but a larger dynamic range. 

  Go on, dust off the old Phonograph, buy a new stylus and start actually listening to music again.

  

  

  

Berretto converted to Shimagnolo

Or Shimergo if you prefer

Vintage Berretto

  Several months ago I added another vintage bike to my stable (skipped my meds that day). I saw it on ebay, advertised as "Mens racing bike". No brand or information about age or components. The pic was pretty ordinary as well. I could just make out the name "Berretto" on the downtube. 

  I had heard the name but was not familiar with it.
A quick Google revealed to me that they were made right here in Brisbane, Australia during the 80's by frame builder and bicycle store owner Brett Richardson. The Store was  located in the suburb of Chermside and still exists under new management. Brett is now teaching his skills at TAFE College. I just had to have that bike.

 It is a beautifully made steel frame with hand shaped and cutout lugs. It is fairly light and weighs just over 9kg ready to ride. by dating the components, which consisted of a mix of Suntour Superbe and Dura Ace, I estimate that it was built in 1984.  Being this vintage, it had downtube friction shifters. I like downtube shiftters, they look classic and are very reliable but as this was going to be my main ride I wanted to bring it up to date.  Ergonomically at least.

Dura ace downtube shifters

 In researching the options, I stumbled across  http://beta.ctc.org.uk/cyclists-library/components/transmission-gears/derailleur-gears/shimergo  and several other sites that explain the possibility of using Campagnolo Ergo brifters with Shimano cassettes. You cannot just mix and match any combination but it just so happens that the cable pull of the Campy 10 speed ergo shifter is close enough to the sprocket spacing of a Shimano 8 speed cassette to work synchronously. In fact with a simple re-route of the cable terminal at                                the rear derailleur, a Shimano 9 speed cassette can be used

    "Worth a try" I thought. The Beretto had it's 

Campagnolo Veloce  brake/shifters fitted to original Cosmos bars

original Mavic wheels with Shimano 6 speed UniGlide freewheel and I found that, combined with the 52 and 42 tooth chain rings on the front, the 12-23 on the back was geared a bit high for the hills  where I live. So I thought I would kill two birds with one stone and get some new wheels with a modern Shimano HyperGlide hub.

  Now I could fit a new 12-25 tooth, 8 speed cassette and a NOS Dura Ace crank with 52-39 chain rings and nail those hills, as well as fit some up to date Ergo 10-speed brifters.

  And the verdict? 

Wow,  it works.... not only that, it works splendidly. Precise, rapid and quiet shifts. 

  Using genuine Campy cables it took me less than an hour to fit the brakes and shifters and then 15 minutes to tension the cables. 

  I have read that a Shimano (not Dura Ace) rear derailleur is recommended but I am using my Suntour Superbe RD with no issues. Should my creation therefore be called Sunergo or perhaps Supergo.   

  I feel that perhaps the tension of spring in The Dura Ace front deraileur is a little strong for the campy shifters. I will try an older campy fd and see how that goes.

Suntour Superbe rear derailleur 

Campy cable stop adjusters replace original downtube shifters

  

My Mechanical Affairs.

  I was tempted to call this blog My Analog Affairs or perhaps, Life in  pre Digital World as just about all my interests are of a pre digital nature. I will touch on this briefly now but hopefully as this blog grows I will elaborate and investigate this love affair that I have with the myriad of mechanical technologies of the Twentieth Century.
  Among the many interests I have, there is Photography, Automobiles (four and two wheels), Electronic (especially pre Solid State) Tube or Valve Amplifiers, Bicycles, Steel fabrication and Chronology (especially mechanical watches)
  I believe that what attracts me to many of these amazing mechanical devises is the sense of Human achievement that I feel when I come to understand how they work and especially how they came into being.
  Perhaps some people would point to my limited intelligence to explain my lack of interest in digital technologies but I just don't feel the romance for them that I feel for Pre digital technologies. Don't get me wrong,   I appreciate the digital age. I am using a laptop computer to write this and the photos I will display in this blog will be shot on digital cameras. These things are useful and efficient tools, they just don't get my pulse racing like the Old School stuff that I love.
  I mentioned romance in the previous paragraph. I must admit that it sounds a little queer when discribing mechanical devices but it is the closest I can come to describing my love affair with them. Hopefully this rant will go some-ways to explaining the name of my blog.