How To Get Into Vinyl

 As those of you who know me personally will know, I’m an avid collector of vinyl records. In fact, they are one of the main ways that I engage with music. Personally, I’d say the feeling of putting a record on and sitting back to listen to it is one of the best around, and that satisfying crackle of slightly older vinyl makes me smile every time.  However, it’s true that can be an expensive hobby and difficult to get into. 

Step One: Get an entry-level setup. 

If you can afford to spend thousands on a record player and sound system as your first setup then good for you, but most people can’t. With that in mind, if you’re on a budget there’s nothing wrong with a portable player with built-in speakers. Sure, the quality isn’t going to be what you’d expect of a setup with a player, amplifier and speakers, but for those of us who enjoy vinyl for the experience and not necessarily brilliant sound quality a cheaper setup is absolutely fine as your first one. 

Step Two: Buy some records! 

Have your favourite band released any music lately? If so, buy it on vinyl! If you can find any special editions at around the same price as the standard black it’s worth getting these instead, because even though you might not be really into limited edition records yet it’s likely that you will be in a year or so and will be thankful you have a limited version of that album and don’t have to buy one at scalper prices. Another, more budget friendly option is to head down to your local charity shop or anywhere that sells second hand records and see what they have on offer.  Once you have your records, you’re almost ready to play them. 

Step Three: Vinyl Care 

People’s views on this topic can differ, but I would say that it’s important to clean your records before you play them. Obviously, second hand records could be very dirty, but brand new records can often have small pieces of factory dust and debris, and I have at least one record which has been damaged by this factory dust making its way into a groove. For this, I would recommend buying a vinyl care kit. Mine includes a record brush, needle brush, microfibre cloth, cleaning spray and cleaning wipes. It’s really important that you get specialist kit for this as you don’t want to damage your records. For a wet clean, I would usually brush debris off first and then use wipes or a microfibre cloth with cleaning solution in a clockwise motion, making sure I cover the whole record without getting it overly wet. 

Step Four: Play your records! 

Now, you’re ready to play your records. Record players can differ in their controls, but there will generally be an on switch, a lever to lower the needle and a switch to change the speed at which the record is playing. If the player has built in speakers there will also be a volume control. Start by ensuring the needle is as high as possible to avoid scratching the record, and then adjust the speed. Full length albums generally play at 33rpm and 7 inch singles or EPs (sometimes 12 inch EPs too) at 45rpm. Now place your record onto the turntable and turn the player on, your record should start to spin. If not, don’t worry, your player may have a mechanism that means the spin only starts once you start to adjust the needle. Adjusting the needle is an exact science, you should move it over to the very edge of your record where the grooves are further apart and then lower it slowly until the hear the  muffled sound of it hitting the record followed by the crackle. Then, just leave it! Your record will start to play in a few seconds.