Does anyone else still buy records?
 

I do, anyone I like who releases and LP on Vinyl will get me to buy it. Also I still shop for used records constantly as I Travel, I got a Beatles Let it Be LP for $6 at a garage sale 4 or 5 years ago, what a find!

I found an original copy of Cooper's "Welcome to my Nightmare" this past winter. That day I bought a good 5 or 6 records at a little shop in the basement of an apartment building.

So, yes, I do buy records.

Lack of a record player, so no I don't. I can't play vinyl in my truck, it's not very portable and there's no vinyl drive on my laptop. I think it's cool that bands still put out vinyl, but I'll just stick to cd's.

I do. I love my records, i don't have too many new ones but I've got a decent stack of old ones.

I've got a ton of records. I'm even starting to get some collectables.

Due to moving to a smaller home a few years ago I had no choice but to sell my 300+ collection of vinyl. I still miss it and would love to start collecting again. 70's Floyd etc sounds so much better on vinyl to me. Problem is I have a family and a small home. I have approx 600 cd's approx 700 dvd's and a stash of books, I think my other half would finally snap due to the amount of room I take up. Who knows; when my kids leave home I may re-invest. I do miss the covers though!

Damn I'm still at around 100. I'm young yet though.

i buy, and release, lots of records :)

Same here, I've bought many more in my life though. I love giving cds as a gift. It can be very personal, and the thank yous never end when it's an album which is hard to get.

I gave away a few of my favorite albums for someones birthday, and now I can't find them anywhere. =(

I would if I had money.

records are often cheaper, if not the same price, as CDS.

I love records and buy them probably more than I buy cds. There's this used bookstore near my house that if you have the time you can search and find some real gems. Also on sundays I go to yard sales and raid peoples music collections, and you'd be surprised what some people have and how cheap they're willing to sell records for.

Chucked out all my vinyl a couple of months ago.
I don't have anything to play it on & it was just taking up space. All the stuff I like I have on CD or MP3 anyway.

I'm more sentimental about the music on it rather than having a lump of plastic I can't play.

But still require money. :P

Money is a funny thing but the good news is that if you show up to work they GIVE it to you. Strange but true

Does anybody make any real shit anymore?

...WHAT?!

1)buy a record player.
2) Music played on records is superior in quality and fidelity (at least in my opinion) than cds or especially mp3s.

1. Like I said , I don't need one. I have everything on mp3 or CD

2. When you first buy them yes.

I used to buy rare oop color vinyl records on ebay, but I haven't boughten any in over a year. Sometimes I also buy records when they have tracks by an artist that you can only get on vinyl. I just wish ripping records to your computer wasn't such a bitch.

The Vinyl Collector's Thread
 

So I'm a massive vinylholic who has to have a fix at least once a month - it would be more like once a week or even daily, but unfortunately, I have to think about cashflow like most people.

Unlike most people, I'm pretty obsessive about the stuff - but only, y'know, the discs of the stuff with music on - not like, wierd clothing and stuff.

I've got about 2,000 LPs at a guess, and a smaller quantity of singles - and I've been caught up in the recent wave of eBay selling that goes into anorak collector details, such as matrix numbers, stampers, cover printers and suchlike.

I thought it'd be kinda cool to do a "featured vinyl" post every now and again, and maybe address queries from those who have vinyls and are curious to find out their value.

I'm not an expert or a dealer - but I am obsessed with the stuff (I may have said...), so maybe I can come up with something - or maybe someone better informed than me can.


First "must-hear" vinyl is the First press of Led Zep's "II".

zep lemmon :: P6220671Medium.jpg picture by selvisssss - Photobucket

http://s297.photobucket.com/albums/m...0639Medium.jpg


It's astonishing - and a first press can fetch as much as £700, although you can pick up a perfectly decent early press for £20 - and, if you've got a record player, it's the best £20 you'll ever spend.

Write-up to follow... :D

I wouldn't really call myself a vinyl collector but I do buy. I'm trying to focus on just buying albums on vinyl over cds now unless they're ridiculously over priced. Luckily I found a nice little indie record shop where most are priced the same as cds. I'm looking to get a record player with built in speakers for my dorm room as I left my turntable set-up at home and and would take up too much space here.

UrbanOutfitters.com > Crosley Stack-O-Matic Woodgrain Turntable
UrbanOutfitters.com > Crosley Archive Portable USB Turntable

Do you have any recommendations?

I'm just now getting into Vinyl. I don't have much experience with it, but it's fun to collect music in a new (old) format.

I've got Led Zep II and I love it, don't know how early a pressing it is, it says 'Made in UK' and there's a number: K40037 printed on the sleeve, disc and disc label. Does that help?

I love collecting vinyl, you can pick up some fantastic things for less than the price of a CD. I have an utterly beautiful copy of 'Katy Lied' by Steely Dan, which is my favourite record at the moment. It cost me a fiver :yeah: . I've never really looked into what any of them are worth though. I've got a half decent copy of 'Help' and a nice copy of 'Blonde on Blonde' which are quite old looking.

THE Led Zep II to own is a UK pressing, on the "Plum and Orange" Atlantic label. If yours is a UK press, but on Green and Orange, then it won't sound nearly as good - the vinyl is a much cheaper compound, and lighter weight - and that makes a difference on any system. Also check the cover - if it's dark brown, then it's a recent cover. If it's light brown (and probably a bit battered looking), it's an early 1970s sleeve. If it's got "Livin' Lovin' Wreck" instead of "Livin' Lovin' Maid", it could be worth £100's.

The "Plum and Orange" LZII is not only a joy to hear, and significantly better than later presses, it's the ultimate test of your music system; Turn that sucker right up, and the thing comes alive in terms of dynamic range.

I'm not saying that this is my favourite album or anything that shallow - it really is a good test.

I got a copy of "Katy Lied" and hated the music. Sorry - this time I'm being shallow - I know it's a finely produced album!

The Blonde on Blonde album's a good pick, though - I'll have a look into the original and value.

I can help you with "Help", though - for starters, does the label have Parlophone written in yellow, is it Mono or stereo, and, if the cover has "flipbacks", can you see if it was printed by Garrod and Lofthouse or E. J. Day?

I like Steepletones - but then I'm a fan of retro!

They don't sound like a "proper" HiFi of course (I have a Project deck). :P

This looks like a pretty fun thread, I'm gonna like seeing your next few featured vinyls because I, too, am fellow vinyl admirer. I inherited a pretty decent classic country collection from my folks, and a few great 80's albums also, like Purple Rain. But the problem is, I have nothing to play them with. So I have had my eye on this one for a really long time, set on getting it, and am partially saved up for it.

Crosley Stack-O-Matic Traveler Turntable

I've been wanting to search out some psychedelic LPs especally those of The Electric Prunes

I think this should be interesting. I love listening to vinyl, and I'd probably consider myself a collector, though to be honest I haven't the slightest idea of what's worth what. To be honest I'd probably rather buy a reissue of an old album than hunt out a rare pressing of that album; while the quality might be different it doesn't make too big of a difference to me. However, I still think it'll be fun to learn a bit about what's famous, and I have a pretty big collection of records from my parents that I can see about. Who knows, maybe I do have a rare one.

I think collecting vinyl can be an interesting and rewarding hobby. However the thing that pisses me off is when people have massive collections of vinyl and never listens to it. For instance I recently discovered that my friend's dad, who I have never once had a conversation about music with, or heard him mention music of any sort, has a huge collection of vinyl records. But he never seems to listen to it.

I can understand if you happen to have a mint condition, deluxe edition of Thriller or something and you want to keep it pristine. But Not having mounds of LP's that you never touch except to sort, stack, and collect.

What's wrong with that? I have a bunch of vinyl and I still listen to some of the records every once in a while, but since I have all of it in .mp3 format it's much more convenient to listen that way. It's the same music, plus I get to brag about my vinyl collection.

No, he just doesn't listen to music at all. What's the point of having a great collection of music and never listening to it?

My dad is really into collecting records, and he's kind of got me into it too. It pretty much ends up him picking out the gems for me, while I just buy the records I like to listen to them. Recently he gave me a Zeppelin III album in mint condition with the heavier vinyl for my birthday. It's got the wheel on the front cover that you can spin and put the faces in view of the little holes. Not sure if that explanation suffices, lol. Just wondering how much it might be worth?

There is a very noticeable difference - to some extent, it depends on the equipment you're playing it back on, but, as in any system, the output can only ever be as good as the input.

Thick, good quality vinyl will always sound noticeably better than thin, poor quality compounds - it's a matter of physics;

In good quality vinyl, the polymer molecules are smaller, better aligned, and smoother, allowing more space for the music that's being transferred from the metal cutter. Since the sound on vinyl depends on up and down movement of the stylus (as well as side to side), thickness is also key to a more dynamic sound.

As with a decent guitar amp, you really notice when you turn the volume up.

Crank up a Marshall JCM 800, and your guitar tone will sound sweeter and sweeter.

Crank up a first press Led Zep II, and the sound really comes into its own - you start realising what the fuss is about even if you're not an audiophile.


As with II, III should be on the UK Plum and Orange label - just about every sleeve has the wheel on it. The earliest (and best-sounding) presses have the legend "Do What Thou Wilt, So Mote It Be" etched into the runoff in the actual vinyl - but this text alone does not make them worth much more than about £20 for a really nice copy. They're not rare!

There are three versions which are worth serious money to collectors, the top one of which is a MONO promo with a red sticker on the sleeve proclaiming "promotional dj copy monaural not for resale". These can fetch up to $1000.

Sealed American presses with the original black sticker can fetch top dollar too, and these have the serial number SD-7201, rather than the later 5-digit number.

The UK press to find has 2 identifying features - the first is, of course, the serial number, which should be 2401002. Later presses added a dash - ie 2401-002. The second feature is the production credit given to Jimmy Page appears at the top of the label, with Executive Producer: Peter Grant appearing beneath. On later labels, Jimmy is relegated to the bottom of the label, and Peter's credit is removed altogether!

Just wondering if anyone knows if The Who's Live at Leeds come with any extras? I recently found one on a job and it had a poster some glossies and some questionable sigs. If anyone has heard of this please let me know

I use to collect vinyl about five years ago, it was fun to find and listen to, but it's incredibly impractical. I actually ended up selling all my records when I moved to Wales, and by that time I had already gotten over the novelty of it in favor of storing music on hard drives, makes it a lot easier to share.

It comes with 12 inserts in total. A first edition has black print on the front, not blue or red. The poster should be semi glossy, not fully - if this sounds like yours, I can describe the other inserts :D

Thanks for the info! It has the serial number SD 7201, but it isn't sealed. Either way it's my favorite Zeppelin album and a fantastic gift, so worth a lot of money, or not, I still love it.

Excellent!

Of course, as with antiques or any form of collecting, the main point of collecting vinyl is to enjoy it - that's why I say you can pick up ANY Red/Plum Zep album and it will sound amazing, if it's not scratched to death.

There are certain presses that sound better than others though - and there are rumours I've heard about some early pressings being mastered in such a way that cheaper record players simply couldn't handle them, and many "scratched" copies of mind-blowing vinyl were returned to stores - so a really early press may not suit your system if you're on a tight budget.

For example, some US audiophile collectors swear by a particular US pressing of LZ II with the initials RL in the dead wax - apparently copies can still be found in secondhand shops for less than $10. The sound on this pressing (RL was the mastering engineer) is supposed to render the music breathtakingly lifelike (and is the one I heard the above rumour about) - but I couldn't verify that, as US presses hardly ever turn up in the UK.

Like "Antiques Roadshow" (UK TV show), there's always interest in what it's worth - that's another part of the fun of collecting - but I mainly want to find the finest possible sounding recordings of the music I really dig.

LZ III is a superb album. I just double checked mine, which I got from a local shop for £10, and yes, it's definitely the earliest press possible, and Near Mint - which is nice.

Now I need another that I can actually play without worrying about decreasing its value... :D

Oh, I also have a live Dark Side of the Moon album, but instead of going by Pink Floyd they go by The Screaming Abdabs, and instead of calling it DSotM they call it Brain Damage. I've never seen anything like it since so I'm curious if you know anything about it.

I'd never heard of it until now - although I know that "The Screaming Abdabs" was one of many names (including The Meggadeaths and Sigma 6) that was used by Syd Barrett's groups prior to Pink Floyd.

I Googled "Screaming Abdabs" and "Dark Side of The Moon", and from the various bits and pieces that popped up, it seems that this would be a bootleg - possibly one of a large number of mixing desk recordings that were distributed in the 1970s, particularly of Floyd.

Some record plants were only too happy to get the work to press extra vinyl (and be paid for it!), hence the different names used, so that execs wouldn't trouble themselves with investigating why there were so many Floyd albums being released...

Whatever, most Floyd bootlegs I've heard from that time sound great - and I've even read one report of a recording matching your description as sounding better than the studio release. There seems to be some dispute over the date on the sleeve (1972), but it's possible, as Floyd did gig the album some 6 months or so prior to its release.

Disclaimer: I don't condone the purchase of illegal material, but I know how easy it is to buy one accidentally and then be delighted with it :D

In my early collecting days, I found one called "Forgotten Songs" by Marillion and didn't even realise it was a boot because it contains loads of stuff I hadn't previously heard by them, like a recording of Genesis' "I Know What I Like" - and the packaging style looked like it could have been created by a band just starting out and on a tight budget - like the Chemical Alice EP (Mark Kelly's band prior to Marillion).

Forgotten Songs sounds quite bad - and the Chemical Alice EP isn't amazing sounding (although the music is great!);

http://www.spacewardstudios.ukf.net/curious.jpg