Vinyl Record Cafe's


The other day I was in the SF Bay Area (Vallejo CA) and walked into a Cafe there called Nathan's and they have a public turntable for people to bring in their own records while sipping coffee or tea.

It was a big hit and everyone loved it.

I got into a discussion with a younger patron who didn't know why it sounded good. What do you tell people who are interested in analog.. why it's better etc?
astralography
"03-11-15: Czarivey
I prefer to play my records home in my equipment I trust.
I'd rather go live concert than going to cafe and listen to some punk rock on vinyl.
Czarivey (System | Threads | Answers | This Thread)"

Well its a good thing he's not using your records.
Check out the TT and cart they're using and bring your back-up vinyl. (clean the pops out of them or you'll really have some splaining to do).

"what are those noises? my ipod doesn't do that"
It's a really small beatnik kind of place.. couches, but interesting patrons. I met a trombone player who has played Carnegie Hall, and an documentary film maker who is in her late 20's. It's a hip place and they love the idea.

It will just be one spin on the deck. Can't imagine it destroying my records. Technics and I think some kind of Shure cartridge.

Culturally it's very mixed, so I'll do my best to keep the music ethnically diverse.

The next week I am thinking Miles Davis "Bitches Brew" then Santana's first. Follow that with Dylan's Highway Revisited, and then end the night with something more modern like The Smiths "Meat is Murder".

I'll need to play some soul, Aretha, Marvin, and then play some more progressive stuff like Tales from Topographic Oceans.

There is just so much stuff to play it's almost mind boggling.

I don't really listen to much modern music. It sounds too processed and I don't like the digital sound that much. It sounds clean but sterile.

The other reason is that I am still trying to get caught up on all the great music that happened between 1955 and 1980.

Until I have heard all of it, I can't see investing in new music that probably isn't as innovative.

I have zero interest in anything electronica... I have to sense some human interplay between musicians or I lose interest.
It sounds like the crowd at this cafe has the same listening preferences as you... human-made music. Great idea, and kudos for sharing your passion.

That said, a single spin with a damaged or incorrectly set up cartridge CAN ruin a vinyl record. A few precautions:
- bring a sliver of Magic Eraser + stylus brush and clean the stylus before each side; it only takes a second, will probably improve the sound and will definitely be safer for your records
- make SURE the VTF is set in the upper half of the range recommended for the cartridge; don't trust the dial on the tonearm, bring a VTF scale; more records have been ruined by too-low VTF than all other causes combined.

Enjoy!