The Pop And Hiss Add Warmth To Your Listening Pleasure
Ashley Schultz inventories some of the latest vinyl records to come into G Strings Guitars and More.
Oskaloosa, Iowa – Inside the music shop G-Strings Guitars and More, located in the back, are boxes of vinyl records.
It’s an almost automatic thought to wonder why anyone would be selling such relics of years gone by when the crystal clear sound of digital audio is available.
Vinyl has a core audience that appreciates what is often described as a warmth in the music. A younger audience is also coming to appreciate the sound and charm of spinning records on a turntable.
Ashley Schultz, at G-Strings Guitars and More, works for her grandfather Pat Flaherty at the store. She’s found a ready audience for vinyl records and has been adding inventory for those looking to fill out their collections.
The interest for Ashley started when she found some albums her grandpa had in his garage. “And they were the old country. He had a couple of old rock, and I had one or two crates in the back of the store.”
That’s when people started to notice, including a person from out of town who has been selling vinyl for some time. “He gave me some pointers.”
Family members continued to supply some of the records to get things started. Schultz began to post some of the vinyl records for sale to social media, and it began to get some attention, and customers began to find their way into the store to search for a gem.
Ashley began to reach out to customers who came in, asking if they had vinyl or had family members who would like to get rid of their old albums. Many of them knew of family members who had records and were willing to part with them. “So it just started building overnight.”
“People were bringing in loads. I have about 200 to go through yet,” added Schultz as she was sorting a couple of piles of records on her desk.
“That’s the best part,” Schultz says of finding some long-forgotten gems in the piles of records. “I’ve come across some Beatles ones. Which you either love the Beatles or you don’t. Rolling Stones, the same thing. Led Zeppelin, I can’t keep in stock. Queen, it’s gone the next day.”
Customer favorites are rock from the ’60s, ’70s, and ’80s says Schultz.
Schultz says that people are “coming out of the woodwork. I mean any age. I have high school, college, 20’s, 30’s, 40’s, 50’s, I mean just everybody loves vinyl. They love the way it sounds.”
There is also a collectability to the albums. Large and colorful artwork on the albums add a dimension that many of today’s digital customers are not as used to. “When you get a used vinyl that came from the ’70s, people want that, and they are in great shape because people take care of them.”
Schultz says that she’s a customer of digital music downloads, “The biggest difference is the experience you go through flipping through vinyl, even at your own home. Going through the vinyl, taking it out of the sleeve putting it on your turntable, putting the needle on it, and then hearing the music. Even if you didn’t grow up in that era, it takes you back to that time.”
“My kids think it’s amazing,” added Schultz. “My daughter who’s 12. How does this needle play that? She’s used to touching her phone, and it plays any song you want.”
When it comes to that slight hiss and pop when you are playing an album, Schultz says that she appreciates it.
Today, some of those popular albums from years gone by are now bringing handsome prices on the secondary market. An original press of Abbey Road from the Beatles could be resold at retail for more than $100.
“With collectors, the cover is just as important as the record,” added Schultz, who said that for buyers the whole package is important.
The vinyl resurgence isn’t new, and vinyl sales grew by double digits this past year. Nearly 10 million copies were sold in 2018, which is a 12% increase from 2017. This makes the 12th year in a row that vinyl sales have experienced growth.
For CD’s, the format that initially took records off the shelf, their sales have declined by 41% nationwide.
Jon Hoffmann got started on vinyl records when he was in 8th grade, in the early 2000s, “and vinyl was not selling as well as CD’s were at the time. A lot of people were transitioning over to CD’s, so I’d find boxes or friends and family would have boxes that were just gathering dust, so that’s when I first started flipping through and picking out some of the rock and roll ones that I like, and leave all the country and Christmas music behind.’
When it comes to finding vinyl records today, Hoffmann is happy to see people enjoying records once again, but is a little torn because the prices for those albums continue to rise.
“There is definitely character to a vinyl record,” says Hoffmann of the sound a record provides.
“I just think it’s fun,” added Hoffmann on collecting and listening to records.
Hoffmann has also traveled around central Iowa, spinning vinyl records at local establishments, bringing the sound to even more people. “Some of the older folks are surprised that the younger generation is getting interested in it again after they’ve probably went from vinyl to cassette, to CD and now what seems to be recycling back to records now. So some of the older folks are pretty interested. I think mainly a lot of people like to just go and flip through the records. So sometimes it’s more the artwork than actually listening to the record.”
Digital music is easy to pack up and move around, but when you are talking about vinyl records, you have to plan a little bit. Hoffmann tries to have a feel for the crowd he will be playing for, so he can pack his playlist accordingly.
Hoffmann certainly misses the early days of the vinyl resurgence because of the bargains he could find then. Since prices have continued to climb, he’s seeing more people become interested in singles, and he prefers the long plays for their warmth and feel.
