Any Vinyphiles

Still collecting 45's or LP's?

[Syzygy]

Do you know the difference between your 78's, 45's, 33's and 16's (I hope so...), your shellac and styrene? The difference between a UK and US issue of a 45? The relevance of serial numbers on a run-out groove - and a drill hole on imported items.

Know what a turntable is and you're not a 'dj'?

If so, what's makes up your vinyl collection - or rareties?

Syzygy

[iamlost]

Turntable Speeds:

16-2/3 (not 16!) was the old slow "talking book" (yes there truly is nothing new under the sun) format that made music soouuunnnddddd stretched - like a winding down Victrola.

In 1925 came the formal 78.26rpm (not 78!) standard based upon a 3600rpm motor fitted with 46:1 gearing and acoustic recording.

At the same time (shades of VHS/betamax!) electric recording allowed equal sound at a slower speed - 33-1/3rpm. In 1948 Columbia offered the "new" LP format free to all comers (shades of IBM PC/Apple!).

RCA refused to participate and released its own 45rpm process (sounds familiar right?). Eventually both companies produced both types.

Record Materials:
78s - shellac
LPs (33-1/3) - vinyl
45s - styrene

Know what a turntable is

Yah, it's the huge turning table that railway locos get turned about on.

If so, what's makes up your vinyl collection - or rareties?

I have several thousand. My tastes are catholic: classical, jazz, blues, show tunes, blue grass, rock-n-roll ... I am that horrible person who likes what he likes on an individual tune/artist basis rather than on "category" pigeon hole. I am not a category.

And nothing beats the good fashioned (and bloody expensive) vacuum tube for sound fidelity.

[snowman]

I never gave up my records, still have a working turntable too. I can't just get rid of something just because something newer comes along.

Oh, the old 78s (1910s) are made of a material different from "newer" 78s (getting into the mid 30s).

I learned this the hard way when I tried cleaning some with alcohol. The instructions on the old Edison 78s specifies on the label that alcohol should be used to clean them.

Those instructions are not universal however and I did ruin one or two later records that way. :(

Here's a funny thing. Recently I went to see Michelle Wright, she was launching a book at Chapters and brought her guitar. She was signing autographs afterwards for book buyers.

I brought my near mint condition LP of hers "Do right by me" and a couple of CDs. She was surprised and happy to see it.

Funny though was the reaction of a few kids in the room who have never seen an LP! They had NO idea what it was! LOL!

[rocknbil]

Still have a couple hundred LP's, yep.

Going to wait to show them to my future grandchildren, and also tell them about this place we used to drive to, outside, with a huge white screen like the side of a building, just to watch movies under the stars.

[monkeythumpa]

I have a couple hundred LPs and about 400 45s from the 70's and 80's that I don't know what to do with. Could they be worth something? I mean I got "Thriller", "Saturday Night Fever", "The Wiz", and many more. Anybody know the best place to sell these off? They are just collecting dust in the basement.

[lgn1]

There was also 80 RPM and 100 RPM records. The 100 RPM records played from the inside to the outside.

They never really caught on.

During the late 1950's, the high end chrysler had a phonograph in their cars (yes Highway Hi-fi). They played at 16 2/3 RPM. I guess the groves were so deep in the 16 2/3, that nothing could bump the old neddle out of the grove.

[httpwebwitch]

I liquidated a huge portion of my vinyl collection a few years ago, they were taking up too much space for what they were worth. But I kept about 6 crates of the "good stuff" - the collectible, mint, still-in-plastic, hard-to-find, never-again-released stuff. Lots of new wave, punk, obscure recordings that may never see the light of CD or MP3.

I didn't see the point of keeping my old scratched-up copy of Ziggy Stardust. But I did keep my Tones on Tail 12" Go! single printed on transparent red plastic, and my original 45's of the Normal and Pigbag. and perhaps 250 others.

I am a bit of a vinyl snob

Ever heard of vinyl-ROM? for a while you could get CorelDraw! installation on vinyl, but it never caught on.

[httpwebwitch]

Could they be worth something?

In most cases, no.

If you have deleted Smiths singles in excellent condition, you may be able to sell it for $50US in the right market. That mint-condition copy of Time Out by the Dave Brubeck Quartet is worth something. So is anything autographed, or exceptionally rare and desirable.

But your old dusty copy of Saturday Night Fever would go straight to the "10 for a dollar" bin. (sorry to disappoint you)

your best riddance option is a garage sale, or a bulk auction on eBay (look! my collection of 100 albums, bidding starts at $5, buyer pays shipping!)

If you suspect there's anything good hiding in there, get a friend to pick through it first and separate the wheat. We all have a friend like that. I once rescued a bunch of pristine Malcolm McLaren singles from a garage sale. Score!