Vinyl hints and tips

And finally it comes, the sad audiophile vinyl blog.

Ha ha well it wont be that bad. Really just some info and advice I have collected over the years. I hope it helps you and feel free to ask any questions. 

Lets go to the start, when you buy the disks. Best place is Amazon.co.uk. Reason? a few, cheap, free postage and they are very quick to deliver. Also a handy tip is pre ordering as amazon get confused over CD and LP prices and list the LP for £9. Respect to them as they honor any pre order price. 

If buying second hand more likely on e bay, get the seller to package the disc outside of the sleeve. this will stop the disc from going through the insert. That is something that bugs me so much. Again respect to Nuclear Blast records who do this to all there records. 

Buying in store is easy, see what you want (that shiny wrapper get me every time) and buy it. But second hand shops like charity shops and boot sales can be great. And dirt cheap. Always look at the record for any scratches and well you know any damage. Also records can look in good condition but when playing it the record sounds pretty bad. A great way of getting an idea of how much it has been played is to look at the stickers around the hole of the LP. The labels pretty much are always made of paper and most people when putting on a LP will just miss the spindle. This will cause it to rub a little when going on. You can sometimes tip the LP a bit for a better look getting the light to shine on it. If there are tons of marks I would stay clear. 

Also the tip above can be used to get money off. Selling as "brand new" as I see some shops and e bay people do. "here bud this has been played" see there face as they know that you ain't a daft. 

When buying second hand ask if they have another copy, that one may be far better condition. Also buying a whole batch say 5 or more is great for asking for a discount. Shops seem happy to do that for LPs and not CDs. No idea why. 

Ok now you are home any waiting to play the LP. Not so fast, take off the wrapping and I mean not just cut down the side and think it will protect the thing. Big mistake the wrapping can damage the cover and covers next to it. Get the LP covers from a shop. They are cheap and way better. Some decent shops sell you an LP with that as well (Like Monorail Glasgow).

Everybody knows how to clean the LP, but I find people do that even when not needing to. If the LP looks dust free leave it alone. Cleaning can be done with a micro brush again cheap and easy to find on e bay. Now the best part playing the record.

Sit back and relax as the record plays and you get the superior sound of an LP. I have done a blog on why this is so. http://29xthefun.blogspot.co.uk/2011/08/hi-fi.html

I find closing the lid these days is not as important but it does keep dust at bay. also I like to leave the cover on the top. Now comes some geeky info, buy one of those click counters that bouncers use (again e bay) and click each time you play an LP or round it to say when you have played an hour. The reason is most needles last about 1000 hours and even less so on a new turntable. If the needle is over this you could be damaging the LP. And I mean real damage. A great way of telling if a needle is on its way out is records will sound a bit quieter that you remember. No that is not you getting deaf its the needle not quite getting to the whole grove. So get your needles and get many.  http://www.stylusplus.co.uk/ is as good as it gets, cheap and fast. 

Storage is easy, always store the LP on its side and as close to 90 degrees as you can. Never store flat as that can damage them. I use the packaging from the LPs in the post as a few dividers in my collection just stops any real weight hitting them. More for keeping the covers in a better condition. Talking of covers if ripped never tape them up. The tape will rot and start to make the LPs next to it look the same. 

There is a revival in buying vinyl, more to do with people now thinking it is cool to buy them. Many companies now add in the CD of the album as well. This is great for people wanting to burn the tracks for an MP3 player. If so take the CD out of the LP cover and store elsewhere as again this can get in the way when putting the LP in and out also it can damage the cover , more so leave a mark where it sits. 

Pretty much all the LPs made now will be worth money in the future, record collecting is back and I think in 20 years time it will be as good as the 70s so look after them. Just think of the kids now getting into the back cataloge of Queen and who have a big bag of money to buy the originals. I sold an Iron Maiden album (X Factor) on e bay for £130 as there has never been a reprint and may new fans want the LPs. So look after em and they will look after you. 

If you really get into collecting then you are going down a road of nerdiness you may never get back from. I have sold an LP to someone simply due to when it was printed in the factory. On many older LPs the LP will be pressed with the master. When making say 300,000 albums the master will need to be remade. Look at an old record and in the run out groves are markings like A1 B1. This tends to reflect what master you have. Not always thou but it is a good way of seeing what era LP you have. Some people say the first master is the best some like me don't care that much and some like to collect all the A1 A3s and all that. 

"A Porky Prime Cut" is also as nerdy as it gets. Look at where the grooves end. Here you can find all manor of messages to the buyer/fan. One mastering engineer and possibly regarded the best was George Peckham or Porky for short. Added his own little messages to albums. His messages could be of a political status and sometimes a personal opinion on the LP. His markings were added to people and bands could tell who mastered the LP. HE is the reason Black Sabbath albums sound so good. Some people collect his his LPs that have odd messages. 

 Something that ahoys me is when people say they don't like vinyl as it sounds all hissy and crackles. Not so if you look after them, follow what I say and an LP will sound as good in 20 years as it does now. Many of my records don't crackle and hiss. Also add in a decent turntable and HI FI and are sorted.  

I may add to this when I remember some other things.