Paul McGowan:
Vinyl personalities depend on the pressing, the number of times its been played, the environment, the particulars of the stylus plying the grooves of the record and any number of unique circumstances of play and usage.
The individual personalities of vinyl add a unique dimension to this analog medium – but the personality traits are not usually beneficial to the sound quality as the individualism results from the copy degrading. Unlike fine wine, vinyl does not get better with age.
It’s interesting to note that a vinyl collection is unique in all the world and a stored digital collection is not.
When I realized this my first reaction was a feeling of loss – I love the idea of possessing unique things – but then it occurred to me that while imperfection is unique it isn’t always desirable.
