|
|
Post by alunsevern on Nov 1, 2017 12:40:21 GMT
As Diogenes Laërtius once said, this guy has surpassed me in simplicity of life. By the way, Paul Lovens doesn't have neither mobile phone nor e-mail address. Praise indeed, although I couldn't emulate Lovens and do without email. But I do manage without a drum kit.  SaveSave |
|
|
|
Post by gregorythefish on Nov 1, 2017 16:20:32 GMT
it was funny, alun.
also, as for gst's question: yes i have thought about it, but i am not sure i really want to, honestly. i am already very bad at getting good lighting and non-blurry images, so having to do it three extra times and arrange the image is unappealing to me. but yes, i am considering it... but for now just considering.
|
|
|
|
Post by alunsevern on Nov 1, 2017 16:31:50 GMT
What I like about the forum here is that we actually do write about music. There are tons of forums (Steve Hoffman, Naim forums, to name just two) where people post endless - and often superbly done - pictures of record sleeves or CD jewel cases or (in the case of the Naim forums) pictures of what the display on their streaming device shows (!!)... But while I like to see record sleeves (who doesn't), I want to know what people think about what they listen to...and why.   Although for no better reason than that I find this even now an incredibly evocative cover, redolent of a certain period, I'll post the Third Ear Band (Elements) LP from 1970. I've written about it before. It isn't jazz but then it isn't really anything else either -- a sort of world music-cum-folk-jazz-free improv ritual music. There -- I've coined a new sub-category. Maybe you have to be a certain age for this to appeal to you. But I think we probably all have records tucked away that we keep because they are our personal time travel machines. This is one of mine. |
|
|
|
Post by gregorythefish on Nov 2, 2017 16:19:46 GMT
amen, alun. music is first.
|
|
|
|
Post by nicknick on Nov 28, 2017 8:07:34 GMT
"You're not one of those first-pressing weirdos, are you?"
"Oh no, no, not at all, " I said.
A smile returned to his face. "Good".
From Eric Spitznagel's Old Records Never Die: One Man’s Quest for His Vinyl and His Past (2016)  |
|
|
|
Post by gregorythefish on Nov 28, 2017 17:19:57 GMT
i strictly collect first pressings, but not for any reason other than that i think that's fun and i like it.
|
|
|
|
Post by nicknick on Dec 1, 2017 17:34:48 GMT
From interview with discaholic Thurston Moore: "I know a Japanese record dealer/collector, Kenji Kodama, of Time Bomb Records in Osaka, who can smell a record and tell you which country it was pressed in." |
|
|
|
Post by dottorjazz on Dec 8, 2017 9:45:02 GMT
|
|
|
|
Post by dottorjazz on Dec 8, 2017 9:46:47 GMT
the copy, sold by Jazz Record Center, has second cover, 447 instead of 446 on back, and one Bergenfield label.
no words...
|
|
|
|
Post by gregorythefish on Dec 8, 2017 15:59:13 GMT
yeah, that is weird. but JRC deserves high prices. they are great. still, the buyer must be aware that they can get a true first for less from a different seller, right?
|
|
|
|
Post by gst on Dec 8, 2017 17:19:09 GMT
There were a lot of records in that last batch from JRC that went for higher than expected amounts (or at least higher than i expected).
$829 for Tenor Madness and $633 for Tenor Conclave.
Not insane, but certainly a premium.
|
|
|
|
Post by Rich on Dec 11, 2017 9:59:32 GMT
Regarding the Monk sold by JRC, the greatest realization I have come to about this hobby, sadly, is that 95% of the collectors I'm competing with for records (on eBay) have no attention to detail and drink the "popular seller Kool-Aid" (new phrase I just made up right now).
|
|
berro
New Member
Posts: 2
|
Post by berro on Dec 30, 2019 9:32:10 GMT
Joining the crazyness. due to my "old age"(late fifties ;-D ) i started to collect Lps early on, when vinyl was still the main ingredient. but I didn't know any better. back then i thought the best Miles Davis albums were the japanese pressings that asked for ridiculous money and had no knowledge of mono or stereo eyes or deep groove. Blue Notes albums you found were blue labels with dark note and the cute blue note wallpaper inner sleeve and that was the way to go. Music prevailed over vintage pressings anyway. Storage companies near me phone company G&J Moving. As i used to be some kind of hifi freak too, it happened i chose to sell some records/or gear to finance new toys - and sometimes just to make ends meet, too. at the end of the day, it helped me find some wisdom about both passions and accept compromise as fair game. actually i didn't let go jazz Lp rarities because i didn't have any to start with. then my tastes broadened, i did some d-jing for years which expanded the collection to latin,soul, funk, hip-hop, house and electronica. when we moved in our current house near the new millenium, i had over 5000 Lps and 12"s and my friends hated me on that day. anyway, a few years ago, i decided to slim the Lp collection to essentials of better vintage instead of full discographies. then i got rid of most of the stuff i hadn't listened to in 10 years - except for classics (Bjork albums and remixes are part of it ;-D now i'm probably down to half of it but still need to take care of the 12"s section. i suppose i could be happy with a 500 Lps collection. great idea! |
|
djpari
New Member
Yeah, baby!
Posts: 16
|
Post by djpari on Jan 14, 2020 15:21:21 GMT
After years of lurking, I finally caved and signed up. Arrrgh, that rabbit hole is deep.
Interesting topic, old, as it looks, some of y'all may have changed your perspective since this thread went up and those chanting "quality over quantity" may have added a few hundred records to your collection. Anyway, here's my take.
What do you think constitutes a 'large' collection?
Obviously any response to this question would be highly subjective, and that's where the quality over quantity argument comes into play. As someone who comes from the vinyl DJ perspective, you'd think that one can never have enough to keep your playlist fresh, and I did in fact used to think that way. Emphasis on used. But since this is a site dedicated to collecting jazz vinyl, I'll stay on topic. Considering the price tag on vintage jazz vinyl these days, I think anything over 1,000 records constitutes as a fairly large collection in my book. That is, if you do collect a mix of rare and more affordable vinyl. Unless you are very wealthy and with unlimited access to rare titles, it'll take a lot of time and money to amass a collection larger than that.
Is there a number that is 'too many'?
That entirely depends on your listening habits. If your job and family obligations prevent you from listening to more than five or six albums per week, which probably is most of us, maybe a collection of 1,000 is enough for you. If you're retired and you don't have any hobbies other than listening to your records, maybe 1,000 aren't enough to keep you entertained. But to be honest, I find the premise of this question lacks a meaningful purpose. It's like asking "At what point do you own too much money?" I don't think anyone would say, "I'll stop at $1 million."
Would you ever dispose of records simply because you had run out of space?
Yes, and I have done that. It used to be a big no-no in my book, but I have changed my view on this in recent years. I keep all my vinyl in my listening room, which I like to keep neat. A few years ago I did reach a point where I started to run out of space to keep my records properly filed and easy to locate (mind you, I own about 3,000 12-inch albums and about 3,000 45s). So I started going through my collection and began to sell stuff that I wasn't listening to anymore, and I am still working on that as I keep adding records to my collection. In my view, this strategy has significantly upgraded and increased my collection's value and quality, without having to find more space to store my vinyl. So while a lack of space wasn't the sole reason for me to start selling some of my vinyl, it definitely was an important motivator. I also found that while it's been hard to let certain records go, you get used to it after a while.
Do you have ever utterly unbreakable rules in your collecting, such as no reissues under any circumstances?
I don't have rules, but I have preferences. I prefer to not buy re-issues, and I own maybe a dozen of them. But since it is highly unlikely that I will find a clean play copy of 1568, True Blue or Quiet Kenny within my budget, audiophile reissues are the next best option, because I do enjoy the music. And if I do come across an affordable original title one day, I take comfort in the fact that these high quality reissues are easy to sell. I should add here that I do not have a CD player, so I do not listen to music in any digital format at home (but I do use Spotify in my car or when I travel). So a vinyl reissue is the only alternative for me. Also, my standards for quality have increased significantly since taking a deep dive into jazz collecting. I don't enjoy listening to records in just "tolerable" condition, so I prefer my vinyl VG+ or better. But it depends on the individual titles, I do have some records that are visually VG- or VG but still play pretty well, so I keep them until an upgrade comes along.
Do you have a price limit?
I do, but that has increased over the years as well. A little background: I've collected vinyl since the early 1990s, jazz, soul and funk. In those days, I was pretty ignorant when it came to original pressings, so I would pick up anything, originals or Liberty and UA pressings (in the case of Blue Note). If the Liberty was cheaper than the original, I'd buy the Liberty. I just wanted to own the record. It wasn't until about five years ago that I began focusing on jazz only, and I began educating myself and slowly started replacing/upgrading all my vintage reissues with originals. At first, it was unthinkable to me to ever spend more than $100 on a jazz record, so I rarely did. About three years ago, I began selling jazz vinyl on the side and this has since evolved into a profitable little side business that feeds my habit, so I have been fortunate to purchase many original pressings without having to tap into my paycheck or use my credit card. I have not spent a single dollar from my "main" income on jazz vinyl in almost two years (a very important factor in keeping the peace at home). But of course that doesn't mean I have unlimited resources ... it just gives me a little advantage, and pricy purchases don't hurt as much because these funds never leave my PayPal account anyway. So in the last year or two, my house limit has increased to $500 for a jazz vinyl purchase. I may have went over that once or twice, but I don't recall doing it so maybe I didn't. It's not a rule per se, but paying more than $500 for a record makes me feel uncomfortable and guilty, even if I have more funds available. This is already a fairly large number, I know, but it still rules out grails like True Blue unless I find them locally and moderately priced (and I do find many expensive records for cheap, because I go digging pretty much every day).
Do you only collect jazz?
These days, yes, it's only jazz for me. I still have a fairly sized collection of rare soul and funk 45s and albums, but I rarely play them, which has a lot to do with the superior audio quality of most jazz records. Most funk and soul 45s were pressed on cheap vinyl by small indie labels, they are badly recorded, and even major labels in the 1970s pressed cheap vinyl to cut cost.
Can you foresee a time when you won't collect?
Possibly. If you asked me 10 years ago would I ever stop collecting soul and funk 45s, I would have called you crazy. But here I am. People change, tastes change, interests change. I have no intention to stop at this point, but I can see how all the drama that comes with collecting and hunting down rare vinyl can get tired at some point. While I don't see myself selling my collection at one point, I can see myself slowing down one day and just enjoy what I have at that point. That won't change by love for the music, of course. For now, because I sell vinyl on the side which adds to my income, it would be hard to stop, so I keep digging, I do house calls, I got to yard sales, etc. It's a jones that needs to be fed, and although I mostly enjoy the hunt, sometimes it feels like it has become an obligation.
Anyway, all these points may be moot by now because this thread is old as dirt, but it felt like it was the right opportunity to jump in.
|
|
|
|
Post by Doom Girl on Jan 14, 2020 19:15:04 GMT
After years of lurking, I finally caved and signed up. Arrrgh, that rabbit hole is deep. Interesting topic, old, as it looks, some of y'all may have changed your perspective since this thread went up and those chanting "quality over quantity" may have added a few hundred records to your collection. Anyway, here's my take........ I recently read an article in the news that reported that a small liberal arts college in the state of Oregon hired a new President and that she and her partner own “70,000 albums and CDs.” That is a “large” collection. Is there a number that is 'too many'? 70,001 albums and CDs. Would you ever dispose of records simply because you had run out of space? Many, many years ago I purchased an album called “In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida.” Preferring the more sophisticated sounds of the The Quicksilver Messenger Service and The Blues Magoos, I was (inexplicably) deeply offended by “In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida” and gave the album away to a friend with less discriminating taste. Over the years I noticed every mention of “In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida” on its inexorable march towards becoming a classic of its genre and era and deeply regretted having cavalierly tossed it aside. I vowed never again to be so rash and my record collection grew apace. A few years ago, I was boxing up my records for yet another move. As the crates accumulated, I panicked. Was it really worth the time and effort to ship hundreds of pounds of records I rarely listened to hundreds and hundreds of miles across the globe? And where would I put them when I got there? And so the purge began. In the last minute rush, I foolishly sold off many records for whatever was offered by stores that purchased used records and to anyone who showed up at my garage with a few extra quid in her purse. Now, over and over again, I go to the shelves to pull out a record that has been mentioned somewhere or just comes to mind, and find that, sadly, it is gone. Never again. Do you have utterly unbreakable rules in your collecting, such as no reissues under any circumstances? No. Do you have a price limit? Whatever the budget dictates that day.
Do you only collect jazz? Presently, the only vinyl recordings I collect are jazz. I’m satisfied with downloads or CDs for other genres, such as rap, hip hop and K-pop. Can you foresee a time when you won't collect? Yes. Probably I will stop when my death seems imminent - hardly worth the time and effort at that point, and must make do with what I have. |
|
SaveSave
