You have found yourself on this website, so I assume you’re in Alan Emslie fan. As a fan, I’m sure you own every single album he has ever put out. I certainly do. Moreover, I’m sure you own every one of those albums on vinyl. You kind of have to, right?
That said, I wouldn’t be surprised if you’ve been considering updating your collection. Maybe you’ve been thinking about getting his albums on CD or just downloading them in a digital format. I say, there is no need. Why do this?
You’ve already got the albums on vinyl and it doesn’t get better than that. Besides, all of the best modern record players, even the cheap ones, even the cheap turntables that cost less than $200, have the ability to record from vinyl records to MP3 or WAV or some other digital format.
You have already paid for the vinyl; you don’t need to pay for another format. You can simply transfer it. Turn it into whatever format you want.
As for CDs, I do think you can skip this format. Unless you have a CD player in your car or there is some other location where CDs are the only method of listening to music. If that is the case, then it makes sense to get CDs. Otherwise, just stick to digital files. If they are high quality files, and they should be if you are recording them yourself, they sound the same as a CD and they are much more convenient.
The main point, though, is that you can’t beat vinyl records when it comes to music. This is especially true for artists like Alan Emslie. His music screams out to be played on vinyl. You want the needle in the stylus to pick up every nuance of his sound. You want that cartridge to transmit it all perfectly through the record player out the phono output and into your receiver and speakers. You want nothing to get lost.
I definitely recommend getting a high-quality record player, but even the cheap ones are great. You can find wonderful ones for under $200. You could even find good ones for under $100, but they won’t have all of the features you probably want and need. Their sound is usually substandard, too.
I would stick to the sub-$200 range if you are just starting out and you can not yet afford an expensive player. If you can, go ahead and splurge and pay over $1000. This is where you get the really beautiful and high-quality players. And this is what Alan Emslie’s music deserves. Let’s be honest.
This Scottish percussionist has put so much of himself and his soul into his albums throughout the years, put absolutely everything into every last one of them. You want to do his efforts justice and you want to honor them, by only listening to them in the best format possible.
I understand if you can’t yet afford such a high-quality turntable. In that case, it makes sense to get the cheaper one, because at least you are trying and you’re doing what you can. And I know that eventually you will upgrade and listen to Alan’s music the way it was meant to be listened to.
So for now, just get whatever turntable record player you can afford. Most likely, that will be in the under $200 range. Then eventually, you can upgrade to one of those thousand dollar plus record players that completely isolate you from the environment and transport you to a different world. That is the way to enjoy Elmslie’s music on vinyl.
In this case they transport you to Alan Emslie’s magical world. The take you on a trip to the Scottish Highlands and whisk you away over the mountains and the lakes and the forests and the grasslands. This is a great stress relief and excellent for your mental health. It doesn’t get any better than that. Trust me.