Comments FAQ

How do I comment on an article, review or essay?

You are required to register and login.

ALERT: ONCE YOU HAVE REGISTERED (see details below), YOU SHOULD RECEIVE AN EMAIL FROM WORDPRESS TO VALIDATE YOUR REGISTRATION AND CHANGE YOUR PASSWORD. CHECK YOUR JUNK/SPAM — THE WORDPRESS VALIDATION EMAIL MAY BE LODGED THERE.

If you are already subscribed to TheVinylPress.com (by having entered an email address in the box at the bottom of the page to get email updates of new content), you are subscribed to receive emails alerts when new articles are posted to TheVinylPress. Being subscribed does not enable you to comment. To comment, you must register, like so:

Update: As of 2018 we have eliminated the “subscribe” feature and the “letterbox” slot shown above (which appeared at the bottom of the page). To get regular updates (and to comment), you must now register. “Legacy subscribers,” (i.e., those who subscribed before we eliminated that feature), should still receive updates, but cannot comment without registration, as described in this FAQ.

Why two different ways to subscribe or register with TheVinylPress?

We only recently decided to add the “comments” feature. When launched, we only offered the ability to receive email alerts of new articles through subscription, a feature that we have now eliminated. We have now simplified the subscription/registration procedure to a single method–registration. See Update above.

What happens once I register?

Once you register, you will receive a confirmatory email to set your password. Please check your “spam” box if you don’t receive the email in your inbox. The email will provide a link to enable you to validate your registration and set a password. Once you have done so, you will have the ability to comment. You also will receive email updates of new articles when they appear on TheVinylPress. You also can enable the settings to receive email updates to a comments section in which you have commented. More about these settings, below.

What are the rules/parameters of commenting?

The “rules” generally are set forth in the Terms of Use (“TOU”). Their spirit (apart from complying with the law and other niceties), is to:

Foster the exchange of information while keeping things civil;
Remain “on topic”;
Prevent irrelevant comments or those that “thread crap” (e.g., “CD is better than vinyl”);
Not inflame each other.

Discussion of politics is prohibited, though there may be some limited instances where it is directly relevant to music history.

Are there other rules for comments?

Your first post as a commenter will have to be approved by TheVinylPress, just to make sure you are “real.” After that, you should be able to post without waiting for moderator approval subject to your continued compliance with the TOU.

Use of hyperlinks will put the comment into a moderation queue to minimize spam.

What about User Settings for Comments? Do I Get an Email Notification Every Time Someone Else Comments?

You can receive email notifications of new comments posted by other users once you have commented on an article. If you do not want to receive such alerts, you have the option to change email notification settings for comments as a registered user. You do this in the comments section of a particular article, see below example, where it gives you the option to check a box for notifications of new comments.

comment-notifications2

Note: If you were already a subscriber and now register as well, you may receive two email alerts for any new article. To prevent that, you can disable the email alerts for new articles as follows: First, click on “The Vinyl Press” at the top left of your screen. That will give you access to the Dashboard. Click on Subscribe2 on the left menu. By default, you will be subscribed to all categories. Click the box that reads “Select/Unselect All” under Subscribed Categories so that your Dashboard looks like the one below.

Is there a way to report an inappropriate comment?

Yes, there is a feature that enables you to flag a comment by another user that you believe is inappropriate, amounts to spam or violates the TOU. Community moderation is very helpful, but don’t use it to thwart comments critical of your position. Users can reduce the likelihood of being flagged by avoiding personal attacks in comments.

Will comments be open indefinitely for an article?

No. There is a limited time window from the date of first publication of a piece within which to comment on it. After that, the comments for that piece will be closed. (This may vary, from 14 to 30 days after first publication of the piece in question). If there is an older piece that you wish to comment on, or one for which you’d like to re-open comments, contact us. Note also: not all articles, essays and reviews will have a comments box, but if you wish to comment on such a piece, you can request that we activate the comments function. To make any such request, contact us at: admin@TheVinylPress.com

Airtight Supreme v Monster Alpha Genesis 1000 (WuT?) Or the Path to Older Phono Cartridges….

Airtight Supreme v Monster Alpha Genesis 1000 (WuT?) Or the Path to Older Phono Cartridges…. I know, this seems like a stupid comparison, but bear with me. My Airtight Supreme phono cartridge is aging and I'm looking to replace it. The price of the top tier cartridges, like Airgtight’s Opus, their current flagship, is just prohibitive when you consider that it is a consumable. Much as I’ve winced at cartridge pricing in the past, I’ve just bitten the bullet—when I upgraded from my original Airtight PC-1 to the Supreme some years ago, the improvement was considerable. And, like NOS tubes, and early sought- after pressings of some LPs, that’s the market for high end phono cartridges these days. (I’m not going to engage in class warfare here, or suggest that the mark up is hideous, though I know in the case of phono cartridges from Japan, they must pass through a few hands … [Read More...]

The Analog Relax Record Brush

The Analog Relax Record Brush I have had an unhappy relationship with “dry” record brushes over the many years I used them. Such brushes don’t seem to do an effective job of removing surface detritus and despite the “anti-static” moniker applied to some, I have found that dry brushing can generate, rather than mitigate, a static charge. Some also shed fibers. As explained below, I eventually abandoned dry brushing altogether, instead using an “air puffer” to address any surface lint that was introduced after the records had been thoroughly cleaned using a combination of wet cleaning, vacuum and ultrasonic record cleaning. Background I cannot remember my first brush, but over the years, I’ve used the Decca (which has been copied many times with less success) and its clones, the Hunt (which consists of a plush pad between two brushes) and various other … [Read More...]

Good Things Come in Big Packages- Sammy Miller and the Congregation

Good Things Come in Big Packages- Sammy Miller and the Congregation Big band style jazz probably reached its peak in popularity before WWII.[1]Sammy Miller and the Congregation aim to bring it back, with a few surprises, a laugh and an impressive, tuneful display of musicianship. If Sammy & Company prove anything, it’s that what we think of as “big band” music is an archetype and does not represent the music itself: vibrant, full of soul, life, blues and joy, with lots of space between the different instruments, offering an interplay of sounds that are immensely satisfying. I used to catch myself sitting in Broadway shows in New York back in the day (my wife worked for a number of noted producers on Broadway), hearing all those seasoned players in the pit, just wishing they could let go and rock, rather than stick to the often schmaltzy “show tune” music to which they were … [Read More...]

A History of Ultrasonic Record Cleaning

A History of Ultrasonic Record Cleaning Despite the attention paid to ultrasonic record cleaning in the last few years, including the various DIY efforts that have broadened its appeal due to lower cost (as well as providing a more flexible feature set than some of the commercial entries), little has been said about the history of ultrasonic cleaning for records. Mike Bodell changes that with a paper entitled “The Curious Case Of Record Cleaning In The Quest For Sonic Perfection” which is being published here for the first time. Mike, who has both a science and business background, came to the subject with an open mind, a curiosity borne out of strong interest (including self-interest: he wanted clean records) and a technical background that caused him to dig deep. “The Curious Case…” is a fascinating read on several fronts: first, we learn that there were early efforts to … [Read More...]

Comus: First Utterance- Part II: Interview with Members of Comus About the Album

Comus: First Utterance- Part II: Interview with Members of Comus About the Album Following the publication here last week of Comus- First Utterance (consisting of an overview of the LP, its reissue and legacy), An Interview with Members of Comus has now been published. It is integrated into the first article as Part II and can be accessed directly (if you already read Part I and want to go directly to the interview(s)) by clicking on the hyperlinked text in the preceding sentence. The interview is really a series of viewpoints from different band members and, like the album itself, offers some starkly different perspectives that ultimately cohere into a larger narrative; about the band, the making of the record and the creators’ individual views of its importance, then and now. This is a fascinating look behind a recording that stands as a milestone in the recorded … [Read More...]