bitflipper
You're dating yourself, Ron! I, too, remember when McDonald's signs read "10 Million Served".
I do think the vinyl resurgence is a temporary fad, though. I see young people buying turntables, but not the high-end playback systems that would do them justice. Or, for that matter, even listening to speakers. The rest of the market consists of old farts like us, who buy primarily for nostalgic reasons.
It's not about fidelity. For the younger generation, I think it comes down to bass. They've become accustomed to extreme bass levels that vinyl just isn't capable of capturing in any natural way.
I think the same....a fad due to it actually being kinda cool if you didn't have the chance to grow up with it like we did.
As for the younger generation and bass, I most definitely agree. Heck, just have a listen on the song forum where there are still a few old farts like us....and compare the quality some are getting to vinyl or even a digital mix of vinyl. Bass is hotter in just about everyone's music these days regardless of age really. That guy Mark that covered that epic Loggins/Messina tune made it thicker and better to my ears when compared to the original. The only thing the original had better was the real feel of some of the instruments that were played for real. Even there, Mark got things so close when he had to use samples or synths, it really didn't lose much. But the first thing I noticed in that tune (Mark if you're reading, I hope you don't mind me using you and the song in this example...it's honestly intended to praise you, not single you out) was the bass was so much richer and fuller.
He didn't overdo it, it just had enough of the right stuff going on. The bass in THIS scenario was welcomed in my opinion. The real version, though great of course, was sort of missing that element of "fullness" and bass punch. So to me, this sort of "bass" is totally acceptable as long as it's not that muddy crap that doesn't even sound musical. :) And, it also sort of shows us that low end is being pushed a bit by everyone. We just have to hope that the majority will learn how to use it in moderation. :)
For me, would you believe it's the opposite? I always mixed in too much bass due to bad reference monitors. I had no sub, no low end push at all from my NS-10's and it forced me to mix bass heavy because I could never hear bass. So for me, removing this mud was a gift...but I also had to retrain myself a bit to add a bit more bass in because then you sort of get a complex and don't want to ever go back to where you were before. :)
-Danny