Do you increasingly feel a bit ripped off by all these remasters, box sets, novelty colours etc?
Missed out on the Sade 6 LP ‘This Far’ released last year but it’s back on Amazon (£130), 2021 release, supposedly from Canada.
So I ordered it, what do I do if 1-2 LPs are warped/noisy and the others are ok? Traditionally I’d have put up with it for a single album if minimal quality issues but this is over £100.
I’m sure most of us who enjoy our turntables would be happy to pay over the odds for good pressings with little noise, but such examples seem to be minority purchases for me and often at odds with visible surface blemishes.
Next onto shrink wrap packaging - seems a logical cause of some vinyl warping during storage. Until a few days ago however I’d always kept shrink wrap on to protect the album cover - I’m starting to wonder if this is a very daft idea. Also tricky when you may have some stickers on the shrink wrap relating to album provenance, but ultimately surely the shrink wrap is bad?
I’m probably repeating myself, but £130 for six albums when I really inly enjoy 3-4 of them …
Not just vinyl! It happens with files for download as well, though not with the added gimmick of colour. I just ignore them if I have a version I am happy with, only interested if the original was sub-par. But then I’m not a collector needing all releases by an artist.
I guess it’s because I keep going back to my ancient worn vinyl, and yes I can tell things are worn and had not originally played on anything but cheap turntables (yes I was a kid/teen), it’s just that with a few exceptions most vinyl I buy these days has high surface noise/pops/clicks, and simply does not seem to justify £20+ per album. Gosh I must be miserable today, but I’m morereluctant than ever to buy LPs these days.
Hi I ordered the Sade box set for my wife’s birthday last year. The records arrived in terrible scratched condition due to the cheap cardboard sleeves they used. I sent it back straight away and my record dealer sent me back a brand new one with all the records checked and in Mofi sleeves. I always buy locally if I can when buying box sets or expensive records. Just ordered MK new box set and The the Come back special. I have sent records back to Amazon but have noticed if its from Amazon overseas, it takes ages to get a refund as it is not refunded until its sent back to its original location. I only buy locally from Amazon
I do the same. In the case of shrink-wrapped LPs, remove shrink and replace with a resealable Blake style outer sleeve. I also either peel off the hype sticker and transfer to the Blake sleeve or else just cut it out and slip it inside the new sleeve.
Some vinyl LPs already come in resealable Blake sleeves, which is nice - Music on Vinyl being one such, Impex being another.
There was some threads on that, like “vinyl quality 2020”, “ flat vinyl where is it”.
As I buy >95% of my records as original from the 70’s, or good audiophile remasters as MOFI or Analogue Productions, I don’t have this problem.
Yup, I like “Blake” sleeves with a sealed flap. They usually come in at least two sizes - slightly larger to accommodate double albums - and are available from various sellers online for around £20 per 100.
Here’s one from a seller called Vinyl Destination - you can see that I have peeled the hype sticker off the shrink and replaced it onto the outer Blake sleeve;
Yes, they’re thin and crystal clear. Having used all the other types over the years, these are my favourites by far. These ones have the adhesive edge on the actual sleeve rather than the flap. Avoid any that have it on the flap as it tends to then try to stick to the inner when you slide it out. You can also buy them without any flap, but I like to seal up the entire LP when not taking the inner out our putting it back in.
I think I’ve had a few albums with adhesive on the flap too - tricky to get album out without it sticking to the cover so adhesive on the sleeve seems to be a must.
I wasn’t aware you could buy these thin sleeves, only the old thick PVC (I assume) types which often seemed to ‘stick’ to the LP cover. These thin types seem fairly cost effective too.
Can’t find that specific supplier but I sem to have inadvertently changed by search engine.
Why use outer sleeves? I removed all of old ones and store my LPs in shelves just in their cardboard sleeves. It’s much tidier and makes them easier to open and look at them etc.
I used to hate it when stores put stickers with the price on LP covers directly, especially for sales - it was always a gamble if you could peel it off without damaging the cover or leaving a discoloured circle.
The ‘official’ stickers I used to leave on, have always wondered what to do with the stickers on shrink wrap.
