Records You've Upgraded Recently

drewnice

Hey Fam,I have a some questions for you about records in weak condition:- How many of you buy VG or lower conditon records? - Are you still satisfied with your copies considering they have flaws? - How much does condition matter to you in the first place?- What records have you upgraded recently? (Willingness to purchase something again is a testament to its quality)- Do you hold on to records in bad condition for sentimental reasons?- What records would you like to upgrade?[/i]Here are some of my recently purchased replacements:Next up to bat:

hammertime

i generally won't buy anything that doesn't look like it will play through, with a few exceptions (like the Otis- Soul Album I bought last night for $1). If I can listen to it without it skipping that's usually good enough for me, although I often make a mental note to upgrade if the situation presents itself.


The only thing I can think of that I've recently upgraded is Curtis. Maggot Brain would probably be at the top of my list for what I'd like to upgrade.

Mike_Bell

How many of you buy VG or lower conditon records?

I do.

Are you still satisfied with your copies considering they have flaws?

Depends on the circumstances in which I have got the record (i.e., rarity of record, price, etc,.).

How much does condition matter to you in the first place?

IMO, if the record is a funk record, then it could be G or M. I'll be happy either way.
If it's a soul jammy though, I want that copy to be VG+ or better.

Oh and um, thanks for that Gloria Scott!

-M

SoulOnIce

I usually only upgrade if I find the cleaner copy
for real cheap. I do have a few really good albums but
trashed copies that I would pay good money to upgrade,
though. I upgraded my copy of Odessey & Oracle from
eBay recently, took a chance on a brand-new buy-it-now
listing of the OG Date cover, total non-dealer "I don't know
how to grade but I'll call it VG not beat at all" style -
$12 later I had a NM-/NM- upgrade and gave my other copy
(which had clean vinyl but a split cover) to a friend.

If we're talking flea market/thrift store cheap, I'll buy
beat copies of good albums I already have and give them to
people sometimes.

I also have a few records that I found trashed $1 copies of
and passed on, only to regret it later on ... Ollie Nightingale
LP on Pride comes to mind...

Mike_Bell

Oh, I just remembered that I NEED to upgrade my copy of THIS!

waxjunky

As a record collector, you can't get too mad at some surface noise as long as the price is right. Analog will be analog. Skips, of course, are unacceptable. If you're paying a non-bargain price for the record, though, it should play pretty clean.

I paid a fair market sum for "Texas Twister" on eBay several years back, and felt the surface noise was definitely too much for a NM- grading. I returned it, minus my shipping cost, and never bothered to replace it. I felt it was mostly a one-tracker anyhow, considering its price, but I would've kept it if it was clean. I did rip the whole thing to MP3 first, however, to justify eating the shipping costs. But still, the only track I care to listen to is "Ain't No Woman."

My most recent upgrade was "Slow Traffic to the Right," which I found for $5, thus replacing a VG copy I found a couple years earlier for the same price. I had considered replacing it with an eBay purchase several times before that, but at $35-$40, it just wasn't worth it.

Being a record collector can be expensive enough. If you're going to be an audiophile perfectionist to boot, you better be willing to pay.

HAZBEEN

I'll seldom by anything less than m/nm unless its very raer. I have a couple private press records & promo only releases that are VG +. The way I see it is, most records are out there, either in shops or on ebay. You don't have to settle for crap anymore. If I find the price crazy, I'll hit up soulseek & get the mp3. If I have to listen to a record in subpar condition, I may as well get the Mp3 for free & wait till I have the $$$ to buy a good copy. I used to buy lots of sealed older records, but I found that records sealed for 30 + years were often warped. If I get a sealed record now, its usually just trade bait.

Mike_Bell

If I get a sealed record now, its usually just trade bait.

I avoid sealed records like the plague.

HAZBEEN

If I get a sealed record now, its usually just trade bait.

I avoid sealed records like the plague.

You found warpage to be a problem, too?

parsec

Just upgraded this. And in the past few months I upgraded The Temprees "lovemen" and Laura Allan "reflections" and kicked down my old copies to the Pittsburgh brethren. Oh and upgraded a Linda Rich record and gave my old copy to Crink. I can't think of much more I wanna upgrade at this point, I usually never buy VG records to begin with in the first place unless its in the dollar bin.

Fatback

i always mint up. today i minted up a masekela home is where the music is and ELO new world record.

phatmoneysack

If I can listen to it without it skipping that's usually good enough for me, although I often make a mental note to upgrade if the situation presents itself.

karlophone

- How many of you buy VG or lower conditon records?

i do if ive never found one before and the price is right, or if i have a trashed copy and vg could be an upgrade! (and the price is right)

- Are you still satisfied with your copies considering they have flaws?

over time, ive gotten pickier. (and when a skip or a jump crops up, i get very unsatisfied!)

- How much does condition matter to you in the first place?

its weird, im like the ultimate cherry picker. if the records are all trashed, ill happily buy the "best ones" (like vg- and shit) (that i need). and if theyre all clean, i get pickier and pickier, and the whole scale slides upwards. its like that for rarity, tradability too. i think thats the collectro illness - gotta take something home no matter what. im sloooowly learning willpower and accepting that stuff crops up again and again, so be patient...

- What records have you upgraded recently? (Willingness to purchase something again is a testament to its quality)

actually ive been working on minting/1st pressing up my rock staples - kinks, stones, who, beatles, zeppelin!

but ill upgrade just about anything if im sure its nicer than the one i have and the price is right.

- Do you hold on to records in bad condition for sentimental reasons?

sometimes yes (some childhood charlie brown stuff ive since minted up but cant toss my own early copies of, some vg rock shit that my older brothers had that have the weed residue and 70s party graffiti inside the gatefolds).

in general, if i really like it, i dont mind having a few backup copies. but around 3+ copies its like "what am i doing? get rid of the whupped ones!"

- What records would you like to upgrade?[/i]

well i just found out my OG mono Revolver is barely a vg, so it looks like im going beatles shopping soon.

Mike_Bell

if the records are all trashed, ill happily buy the "best ones" (like vg- and shit) (that i need). and if theyre all clean, i get pickier and pickier, and the whole scale slides upwards.

I'm guilty of doing this as well.

m_dejean

i always mint up.

Me too. Rare or not, if I see it for a price that's cheap/reasonable, I buy it. Today I upgraded a handful of electric-era Miles Davis (In A Silent Way, Live-Evil, Bitches Brew, Get Up With It, On The Corner, Live At Fillmore, In Concert). Found them all together for the equivalent of a buck a piece. It wasn't that my previous copies were in bad condition, these were all just real minty US copies. Over here you'll most often find the UK or NL CBS pressings, so I thought I might as well get them when they were practically jumping into my bag.

hcrink

I am in a constant state of upgrading.

parsec

just upgraded this

batmon

Do you hold on to records in bad condition for sentimental reasons?

Yes, but I'll mint up, and even cop a cd version if available/possible. Only a small percentage gets that treatment.

edpowers

- How many of you buy VG or lower conditon records?

- Are you still satisfied with your copies considering they have flaws?

some yes...some no

- How much does condition matter to you in the first place?

not as much as it does to others

- What records have you upgraded recently?

Charles Williams...Stickball

today

- Do you hold on to records in bad condition for sentimental reasons?

B.T Express ..Do It........

this record is a mess...plays like shit...looks like shit...but it's special to me and i'll never upgrade this

- What records would you like to upgrade?

Father's Children

bought a upgrade yesterday (SEALED) and the shit was warped

Supergood

Some LPs I've upgraded:

Carl Anderson - Absence Without Love / On and On
Louisiana Purchase - S/T (Sealed LP that was warped, but thankfully played fine)
Shadow - S/T / Shadow In The Street
Kitty and the Haywoods - Excuse Me, I've Got A Life To Catch
Gemini - Rising
Dunn and Bruce Street - Official Business

SG

high_c

- How many of you buy VG or lower conditon records?

I???m the king of buying and loving beat-ass records! Especially with 45s. Some 45s can look like death and still play great.

- Are you still satisfied with your copies considering they have flaws?

Definitely. Noise adds character. But, as VG- tolerant as I am, there is definitely a threshold: Constant loud clicks and skips get no love.

- How much does condition matter to you in the first place?

I???m the opposite of a mint freak. I got tons of beat records that I still get enjoyment out of.

- What records have you upgraded recently? (Willingness to purchase something again is a testament to its quality)

Can Ege Bam
Nard (every copy of nard I see is always beat. Minty nard = raer)
Travel Agency

Recently downgraded on a copy of Ike Turner Black Man???s Soul (see next question)

- Do you hold on to records in bad condition for sentimental reasons?

Yeah. I???ve been known to trade the cleaner copy if I???m trading with someone who I know gets all OCD about condition.

- What records would you like to upgrade?[/i]

Trinikas!
Willie Willis ??? Willie???s Funk!
13th floor elevators - Easter Island!

TREW

lol

i know about 10 dudes that need to upgrade their 'eastern sounds'!! are there any clean copies of that LP??

i'll buy vg- all day long, it's a matter of having the music 1st, having non-popping, noisy music 2nd.

recently though, i upgraded my vg- copy of charles kynard 'professor soul' to vg copy. ohweee!!!!

drewnice

Who will speak for the condition freaks to give us ya'll's perspective? Oh, I know who a few of you are. Come out and play.

TREW

Who will speak for the condition freaks to give us ya'll's perspective? Oh, I know who a few of you are. Come out and play.

unnamed strutter: "sorry i don't buy less than EX"

drewnice

Who will speak for the condition freaks to give us ya'll's perspective? Oh, I know who a few of you are. Come out and play.

unnamed strutter: "sorry i don't buy less than EX"

Ooohh, SEE!

BRING 'EM OUT!

BRING' EM OUT!

Mike_Bell

Yeah. I???ve been known to trade the cleaner copy if I???m trading with someone who I know gets all OCD about condition.

I'm guilty of this as well.

hcrink

I've become less picky the more I get into collecting private records and certain labels that are pressed badly in the first place. Mint records don't always play mint. That said, I don't undertsand dudes who will pay like $50 for a beat ass copy of a $100 record. If I buy something in nasty condition it's going to be like $1-5. period.

dCastillo

I am in a constant state of upgrading.

Always. If it's a record I thoroughly enjoy, I will keep buying it to get the cleanest vinyl, cover, earliest pressing, etc.

I will 'mint up' on records that I already have mint or damn close to mint. Let's say I have a mint seed of memory, and I see a sealed one for $10. I'll probably get the sealed one. I bought Fleetwood Mac's "Then Play On" again even though my copy at home is flawless, because this copy was in OG shrink.

Problematic, maybe. But I can always sell the dupes and most likely get what I paid for them.

I only tend to buy VG or less if it's in one of the following categories:

1)research
2)has something to sample
3)dumb stoopid rare
4)i can clean it up on the computer and make it sound mint
5)only bought to play out, and hey, it sounds alright on blast

I don't like crackle and surface noise in the least, and time makes me more and more picky with that stuff.

hcrink

I am in a constant state of upgrading.

Always. If it's a record I thoroughly enjoy, I will keep buying it to get the cleanest vinyl, cover, earliest pressing, etc.

I will 'mint up' on records that I already have mint or damn close to mint. Let's say I have a mint seed of memory, and I see a sealed one for $10. I'll probably get the sealed one. I bought Fleetwood Mac's "Then Play On" again even though my copy at home is flawless, because this copy was in OG shrink.

This is what I'm talking 'bout! HOW MINT CAN YOU GET?!?!?

Reynaldo

I am in a constant state of upgrading.

Always. If it's a record I thoroughly enjoy, I will keep buying it to get the cleanest vinyl, cover, earliest pressing, etc.

Anything less would be uncivilized.