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Whittling down the collection

chasechase 767 Posts
in Record Collecting
Over a decade of thrift digging looking for samples has my life full of boxes of questionable quality records. Sure there are some gems here and there but many of them fall into the "place setter" category. 

So have you guys ever douched the collection? I need a general rule of thumb, I find myself falling into hoarder territory not wanting to give up any of them, but it just doesn't seem realistic to hold on to all of them. 

HELP!

  Comments

  • ketanketan Warmly booming riffs 3,180 Posts
    How well do you know what you have?  Can you just pluck out teh gems?  Or would you need to listen through everything to find them?
  • chasechase 767 Posts
    I know it pretty well, some of the more obscure things I discogs... But the sample hunter in me wants to re listen to all of them, I'm sure most of them I just skipped through after a long day of digging. 
  • RAJRAJ tenacious local 7,782 Posts
    I  reduced my collection from about 4,000 to 1,500.  

    It's all about keeping records that I enjoy for whatever reason... Say goodbye to records with a neat break or loopz (unless you intend to really use them).  Also ditch records that are scratchy (unless really raer).

    You probably won't miss them.
    stratasphere
  • Francois Von Pierre ParkerFrancois Von Pierre Parker 56 Posts
    A few yesrs ago I decided to get rid of records that annoy me in any way.
    Examples being:
    Bad condition
    Bad pressings
    Records that were nowhere near as good as I hoped they were going to be.
    Records that didn't have the track I hoped for.
    Bootlegs of records I should have OGs of.
    And records that were just rubbish.
    Jazz Fusion records with over the top guitar solos.
    Doubles.

    This worked quite well for me in regards to sliming down on records that I was better off without. I'm not much of a hustler and my only regret is not getting great trade price for them.

    I've still got a load of records I'll probably never at but they are boxed in the garage and I'll revisit them from time to time to see how they sound as my tastes are constantly changing.
  • kicks79kicks79 1,343 Posts
    I've been culling the hip hop section of my collection for the last twelve months. Got rid of a bunch of doubles i was sitting on as well as reissues that I kept even though i had the OG and a pile of $1 bin junk that i took chances on.
    So far I've not missed anything I've sold.
    Feels good to let go of some records as well and not be so obsessive compulsive about collecting. 
    After paying some bills, I channelled the money I made into new records that i will actually listen to.
    I feel like my collection is more fluid and fun 
    cai
  • Francois Von Pierre ParkerFrancois Von Pierre Parker 56 Posts
    Just want to say I'm defo an advocate of hoarding over culling.
    Just the heat should outweigh the never going to play shit.
  • para11axpara11ax No-style-havin' mf'er 401 Posts
    A collection of 1000-2000 records is more than enough. After that, the quality of stuff you have may be questionable.
  • CBearCBear 902 Posts
    Every record I have is listenable and enjoyable the whole way through. Since I don't DJ any more, I've gotten rid of all the one-trackers and just got the MP3 of that song. I hover at about 1000 records. I want to put records on so I can listen to them from start to finish. I enjoy listening to whole albums and records is my preferred method for doing so. My MP3s are always on random.

    On a deeper level, purging allows my tastes to evolve. By opening up shelves and earning income on the sales, I feel inclined to buy what interests me currently. Keeping records that interested me 10 years ago just tied me to who I was 10 years ago.

    I'm purging my MP3s right now which I've never done before. I listen to every song and rate it 1 star for delete or 2 stars for keep. After about 4 months I'm 26.7% through my collection. It's a lot of work, but the results are so worth it and I'm listening to music, which I love doing. I can listen to my approved playlist and every song is one I want to hear. If I miss the deleted songs at some point, I can just download them again, but that rarely happens. I'm sorting songs right now as I type this. 26.8% now.
    kicks79RAJ
  • deezleedeezlee 298 Posts
    Jazzy Jeff said he got rid of some records and regretted it. If hoarding is good enough for him it's good enough for me.
    cai
  • ketanketan Warmly booming riffs 3,180 Posts
    I found a few spaces in my house where I store records and don't let myself gather more than that.  It's arbitrary, but it keeps things in check.  A couple of times a year, I'll do a record show or drop stuff off at the local thrift.
  • caicai spacecho 362 Posts
    CBear said:
    I want to put records on so I can listen to them from start to finish.

    The older I get the more I feel like that.

    And the more I hate 2LP pressings of albums that don't have to be (eg. hip hop represses). I'm a lazy bastard who doesn't want to flip the record every 10min.

    The latest Stark Reality repress really got my goat. 3LP and the songs in the wrong order!!

    [insert get off my lawn emoticon]

    kicks79
  • kicks79kicks79 1,343 Posts
    I let go of a bunch of those early 2000's UK double LP represses of classic hip hop albums because of that.
    The mastering is from the original release as well so the sound quality isn't any louder or clearer even though its a double LP.

    Also massive co-sign on being able to listen to albums all the way through. I feel my collection was always originally DJ oriented and is now more to do with home listening. 

  • Francois Von Pierre ParkerFrancois Von Pierre Parker 56 Posts
    i  wish I could magic all my hip hop double albums onto single albums.
    I remember when Derelicts Of Dialect came out, that was the first rap double that I came across and I hated the listening experience of the album being set over 4 side.
    Then I started DJ out a lot and wish everything was on double vinyl for obvious reasons.
    Now I dont DJ Hip Hop out and prefer  single vinyl albums again.
  • Big_StacksBig_Stacks "I don't worry about hittin' power, cause I don't give 'em nuttin' to hit." 4,670 Posts
    Hey,

    I continue to hoard as I have traded stuff that I later regretted.  So, as long as I have space, I'll keep gripping more vinyl.  I have somewhere over 10,000 LPs and the stacks grow bigger.  I'm a hopeless record collecting addict.

    Peace,

    Big Stacks from Kakalak
    LaserWolfstrataspherekicks79RAJ
  • asstroasstro 1,754 Posts
    I'd really like to trim some of the fat in my collection, especially the random/double 12" singles that I know will never get played since I'm another who no longer plays out. But the last time I took a batch of singles to a shop they offered me so little (literally 5 bucks for 20 decent but not great singles from the 90's) that I couldn't take the offer. Has anyone had any luck moving random 90's hip-hop stuff on Discogs?
  • kicks79kicks79 1,343 Posts
    I've had better luck on discogs for sure. Price them competitively and add the make an offer button.
    I find at fairs and even trading with stores no one is really after the singles. They only want albums.

  • ostost Montreal 1,375 Posts
    I go through my collection several times a year and purge. I always have to be able to blindly pick winners from the shelves. Killer, no filler. Also, the purges remind you why you kept certain records. Your tastes usually change and certain things become more interesting or not. I have a standby section where I put records for a few months to a year before getting rid of them if I'm not entirely sure. Anything that cannot easily be replaced, I keep. Everything else goes away. I'm at about 3,750 LP's and 12"s and about 1,250 45's. The rest is in standby or for sale/trade. A good collection should have some focus. As much as I love some pop records, I don't need to have them on vinyl. That's what Serato or Traktor are for if need be.
    kicks79
  • volumenvolumen 2,532 Posts
    Just do it. It feels good to let go. If your an active DJ and beat maker then hoarding might make sense because you'll never know what you may use. If your just a collector then keeping the gems and losing the baggage is the way to go. I was over 5k and now I'm down to around 2k and don't miss a thing. Most of the 1 trackers were burnt to high quality MP3 so I still have the music just not the record. I have serato and a terabyte of storage on a nice Mac so it might be easy for me to say. I ditched a lot of doubles and scratch stuff because I'd rather do that with the serato records since I'm just going to cue burn the originals anyhow. Now I just get new serato control records every year and the music always sounds good. Same with all the records I had just for sampling. Burn and turn. now I just have NM/Mint original records I really like and can listen to most if not all the way through. 
    kicks79
  • buttonbutton 1,475 Posts
    simplest criterea for what to keep: Grails you like, mid-pricers you really like, cheapies/commons you love
  • LoopDreamsLoopDreams 1,195 Posts
    I find you always gotta have a discard pile one the go... some for ebay/discogs and most to the local store. I keep very few one trackers, most go once they get ripped or put onna mix.  And my OCD complecionist  streak seems to have melowed with age. Though I did just buy a Meters album from the local dig  I didn't own................ oof.
  • pcmrpcmr 5,591 Posts
    in the midst of a few cycles of these and it feels good
    just got to be disciplined
    regret is not really present most of the time
    there is always a cratefull that you wouldnt notice if someone stole or would alvage out of a fire
    and imma make a beat one day doesnt hold up forever
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