A Vinyl LP Frenzy Brings Record-Pressing Machines Back to Life – The New York Times.

The few dozen plants around the world that make vinyl records are straining to keep up with exploding demand. Last year, more than 13 million vinyl records were sold in the U.S., the highest count in 25 years. One reason? The fuller, warmer sound from vinyl’s analog grooves.

Read more.





A black box arrives in the mail. It’s a Cupcade, from Adafruit and you’ve been anxiously waiting for it. You rush to your workbench, switch on your soldering iron, and take out your kit. But there’s something missing.

It’s not a component. Or a tool. Or a broken link in one of our tutorials. There’s no soundtrack.







No problem, you stroll over to the record player at the far side of the room. The case you’re looking for is on display, sitting on a shelf next to family portraits and 3D-printed gizmos. You take the case down, pull out the bright pink 150 gram 12″ vinyl disc, and place it on the player. Slowly, the whir of a spinning record joins your Hakko’s low hum as you flip your stereo’s switch. A fuzz fills the room. The tone builds to near climax as you raise the needle and place it on the record’s first ridge.

Anticipation yields. Ethereal beats fill the air. “It is not soldering,” you think, “without Bartlebeats.”



Frequency by Bartlebeats is the soundtrack to your soldering. It’s the first vinyl record from Adafruit that collects the music that drives our YouTube channel like a V8 engine on a Mustang. All of it’s collected into one unique, limited edition, old school package. The record itself is a lovely pink and has a case with cover art designed by artist Bruce Yan. It’s a perfect way to rep your DIY pride and Adafruit spirit.







But that’s really just a bonus to the music you’re getting. We’re providing a free digital download through the Bartlebeats bandcamp page. It’s all music you’ve heard just by watching our videos but you’ve never been able to own it until now.

Below is the tracklist and here’s our YouTube page where all the songs are featured just in case you can’t wait for the record and want to relive past DIY adventures. And remember that we can’t guarantee that Bartlebeats will make you a better maker – but we can guarantee it’ll make your project even more epic and fun.

Side A

Idea3

Carpeter

Neat Please

Smart Forever

Mad Bugs Test

Daisy

Part 6

Side B

University

Discovered

Shooter

2011 Lookalike

6_6_12

Small Selective

Tall Bird

Clay Guys





Bartlebeats is the multi-talented Tom White – our very own Director of Receiving and Office Manager – who is ½ of the rock band Frog and also a bassist in the band Little Anchor. Album art by Bruce Yan. Produced by Ladyada, pt & the Adafruit team.

In stock and shipping now!

