2. analog
  3. 1132191502

The end of LP collecting????

I don't know about most of you but I am a joe six pack fince kind of guy and it bums me out that I keep seeing prices of equipment becaome more and more rediculous.That's why, say with amplification I ike a companies like Quicksilver,Rogue,VTL etc where just getting a set up that sound sbetter than mid-fi (and of course there budget companies for source compenet and spoeakers) where buying their products does not insult your inteliigence,But being a guy whao over tha past 6 years ghhas amazzes a pretty decent collection of LP's off EBAY the party seesms to be over.Yes we all wish we bought items before we di (Micorsoft in '83) or a split window Corvette jst to store away the wholeLP thing at least one ebay (which dtermines prices at shows and shops) the prices over the past 12 or pwerhaps 18 months has just gotten totally out of hand.Lp's that could get over the couple of years say $60 in mint conditon (like a Prestige Miles) not regularly go for $100..Bassically prices have doubled or trippled in one year.I know supply /demand but the supply has been static but I find it weird that everyone and his cousin finally disocvered Ebay even though it's been a forum for years.Blue Notesin particular have eneded up primarily Japan for quite some time but now the prices have just gobne nuts.Yes a goofd copy of a lowproduction item like Tina Brooks (made propular by the Mosaic set wheu\ic revived (or in fact started his fame-read his bio it was sad a talented guy who recorded as a dideman for a few Blue Note guys like McLean,Hubbard, or Burrell) but he himself recoded 4 LP's for Lyon and Wollf.But sales were so poor with the first titled "True Blue" that the other 3 staid in the can until Cuscuna brought them out on Mosaic.all of a suden copies would reguarlly go for $1500 when 10 yeas before they were bought for $5 in some cut out bin.But now a regular Mobley 1500 series LP will go for $2K.Barney Wilen excellent (Buy it for $8 on CD on Vogue) goes for $2500.And jusyt last week I sawa Sihab Shihab "With The Dabish Radio Orchestra ": go for $1800 pounds.You do the conversion.Iam satisfied with my $25 CD re-issue.But it's all taken the fun out of it for me siunce the priceing ( three or four players WILL get an LP they want no matter what.I guess if I was woth a few million I woulkd be that guy.I am only glad that since 1995 or so with 2 bit K2 [processing CD's are finally soundiong acceptable not terribel like they did for the fisrt fifteen years of "the ultimate media".And some red book CD's sound as good as SACD's.Still there is nothing more depressing than wanmting a say Prestige LP and only having the CD otion (foget the OJC LP's.Re-melt wax combine with re-melt something that has made LP's in general suck sinc the late 60's).Thank goodness for comapines like Clasic Records which have made soemre-0issue using original tapes,stampers etc and in some cases sound as f\good as the oru\iginal LP>And then there are comanies like Mapple shade which use no board for EQ,compression, etc-no board at all just mike to tape.Then there is the Japanese comany Venus whose "24 Bit Hyper Magnum Sound" is incredible either on CD or LP.Take the terrrfic Archie Shepp Ballad LP's like "True Blue","Tru Romance' etc (four in all I think)The Lp's have a great tactile sound and warmth that only Lp's cab provide but of course you lose some of the fdynamic range you get with CD's.And all of this from digital tape so nobody can tell me that LP'scan only sound good with analogue tape-these LP's are great.I stopped running the jazz section of CD stereo equipment store 4 years ago and just before i left did CVD's start to sound "right".SACD's,DVD Audio,BlueLight or other digital formats maybe the salvation for a guy like me.But there some of my jazz Lp's that maybe got pressed in a few hundred companies and I am doubtfull all of them will make it to market.So maybe I should just borrow my freinds trumpet and play taps for my beloved hobby.The groove factor of the cover srt and it's size,finding a clean flat edge preesing with adep grove with "Rudy Van Gelder" and the little "ear mark(swirl) that indicated a fuisrt press well it's a pleasure that isn't going to vcome down the pipe that ofetn and while I like the fact that mire and mre folks seem to be digging the "New Thing" that is now 40 or 50 years old great the recent spike of LP's is just plain depressing.
Chazzbo
chazzbo
audioguy85's avatar
audioguy85
2,018 posts
 
No problem here finding great vinyl lp’s...I buy vintage or original pressings or very close to it. Recently paid $30 for a genuine original sealed pressing of The Cars first album. I think that is a great price!!
I also just paid $299 for an original still sealed Colgem Casino Royale lp! You need to be willing to pay a price for something you really want, and I really wanted that Casino Royale lp, some consider a holy grail lp.
Here is what I learned....if you see it, buy it! If you procrastinate, it is usually bought up by someone else in short order.
Nm & sealed Original pressings are becoming scarce, so I grab them when I see them. Last year I grabbed both Who’s Next and Tommy original pressings, both of which were sealed (still are), but paid a premium price...say $150 to $175. To me, worth it!
Recent acquisition was a Mint copy of The Doors first Lp with gold "big E" Elektra label, $40 bucks! Also just picked up a sealed copy of classic records Bob & Ray’s Stereo Spectacular, $80.
If you think the above prices are crazy, you have a rude awakening coming if & when you check out the Better Records site!!
ihcho's avatar
ihcho
612 posts
 
Treasure hunting may be over.
Some of used LPs I bought at around $10 over 10 years ago now sell at around $100. I wish I had bought many more back then.
I also sold some of them at 2~3 times more a few years ago, but many of them now sell at 4~5 times more. I wish I did not sell them.
However, most used LPs that are not highly sought after are sold from Discogs at very reasonable price. So, there is no lament there if you are not a treasure hunter but a music lover who doesn't care about the price hikes of those very few sought after albums.
lewm
13,104 posts
 
This thread is now 16 years old, and I alone have purchased several hundred mint condition used LPs during the past 16 years, to add to my now 3000 LP collection . I haven’t paid more than $12-$15 for any of them. Well, maybe I paid as much as $20 for a very few of them. And I paid less than $10 for most. The original post mentions buying LPs off eBay. In my experience, that is the worst possible way to go about enhancing ones collection.So the lament of the thread was exaggerated in 2005, and time will probably show it is exaggerated for now and the future. You can still find excellent condition used LPs containing wonderful music of your choice without spending a fortune. You just have to know where to look, and it’s not on eBay. By the way the popularity of vinyl is very liable to wane eventually, just as it has waxed over the last 20 years. You could wait for the inevitable price drop, if you’re young enough.
More to discover