CD storage solutions

[jlaurson]

One day I will be there too, Jens! Simple shelves with no dividers. I can't wait.

My plans for life: One day I will have health insurance. I will marry. I will have a house. I will install permanent, custom 'carpented' cherry-wood shelves for all my CDs in a dedicated music room.

From that point on my dream about future life offers two alternative routes: Either divorce and a vow never to be unfaithful to Bach ever again... or extra kisses for the wife due to display of extraordinary tolerance and intrepidity under at risk of domestic harmony above and beyond the call of duty and subsequent birth of first child. Either way, it's worth dreaming about! How did we get on this topic? Oh, yes... CD storage. It's what spells "Romance" to me.

[DavidRoss]

My plans for life: One day I will have health insurance. I will marry. I will have a house. I will install permanent, custom 'carpented' cherry-wood shelves for all my CDs in a dedicated music room.

From that point on my dream about future life offers two alternative routes: Either divorce and a vow never to be unfaithful to Bach ever again... or extra kisses for the wife due to display of extraordinary tolerance and intrepidity under at risk of domestic harmony above and beyond the call of duty and subsequent birth of first child. Either way, it's worth dreaming about! How did we get on this topic? Oh, yes... CD storage. It's what spells "Romance" to me.

I thought you were European, Jens...with "free" health insurance providing an unmatched standard of quality care for all?   I had never given thought to your marital status, but have you considered that you might one day find a suitable life partner who loves Bach as much as you?  (Though it's probably asking way too much to expect that she, too, would think CD storage spells "Romance."    On the other hand, maybe your cabinet maker could also install custom shelves for shoe storage...?)

[Brünnhilde ewig]

I have posted photos of my system before, but that was a long time ago. Still the same cabinets, still my best solution. Jewel cases alphabetically in the steel cabinets, discs in the music room in six-disc cartridges in wood cabinets.

[jlaurson]

I thought you were European, Jens...with "free" health insurance providing an unmatched standard of quality care for all?   I had never given thought to your marital status, but have you considered that you might one day find a suitable life partner who loves Bach as much as you?  (Though it's probably asking way too much to expect that she, too, would think CD storage spells "Romance."    On the other hand, maybe your cabinet maker could also install custom shelves for shoe storage...?)

"Free" health insurance. Ha! Never were quotation marks more appropriate. I literally have NO idea how the myth of "free" health insurance ever came about.
Compulsory, overpriced, and underserviced insurance, more likely. And punishment, atop, for those who can't afford insurance but don't want to rely on welfare to provide it. (Admittedly, the punishment aims at reigning in 'free riders' who could easily afford it but don't want to... but it hits others just the same.)

Yes... the woman who finds romance in CD storage has yet to be assembled. But your shoe-storage idea is great. No... no... it's better than that. It is inspired. Divine.
My current squeeze doesn't actively care for classical music, but she goes to concerts with earnest interest and she's been conditioned to (voluntarily) put CDs into the player for breakfast. Her choice is strongly guided by the visuals provided from the cover art (or whatever is lying about), but the results are uncommonly sound. Like most recently when I came back from the bakery to the sounds of Szell conducting Haydn's early London Symphonies.

[Brünnhilde ewig]

One more about CD storage: Here is one of cartridge storage drawers:

[jlaurson]

One more about CD storage: Here is one of cartridge storage drawers:

It's usually called 8-Track and you probably shouldn't admit to still having any. 

[Brünnhilde ewig]

you probably shouldn't admit to still having any. 

Why? 

[jlaurson]

Why? 

It dates you, my dear. And that just now, that I've decided to imagine you as a sprightly-buxomly, Wagner-loving, twenty-something groupie of online arts critics.

There go my dreams, criminy.

[Harry]

It dates you, my dear. And that just now, that I've decided to imagine you as a sprightly-buxomly, Wagner-loving, twenty-something groupie of online arts critics.

There go my dreams, criminy.

That was the longest and the best laugh I had these last 2 weeks. Thank you very much for that.

[Brünnhilde ewig]

Why does using Pioneer 6-disc cartridges date me, Schatzerl?

[DavidRoss]

It dates you, my dear. And that just now, that I've decided to imagine you as a sprightly-buxomly, Wagner-loving, twenty-something groupie of online arts critics.

There go my dreams, criminy.

Call them back, Jens.  She's all that and more. 

[Brünnhilde ewig]

She's all that and more. 

David, catch:     

[DavidRoss]

David, catch:     

Mmmmmm!  Good kisser, too! 

[Valentino]

You lot!

[jlaurson]

I've ordered an initial 200 of those sleeves from Jazz Loft as a tryout.  $44 including shipping seems fair enough for what looks like an ideal solution for me.  I calculate that if I put the entire collection into them, I could accommodate the whole lot on existing shelves with space left over - meaning I could reclaim floor space and be able to browse the whole collection: two major advances on where I am right now.  I was expecting to have to put 3/4 of the CDs into the cellar after ripping to disk (which would take a couple of years on its own) - so a BIG Thank You for this.

Welcome. What I do is that I keep OPERA and SACDs in their original cases. That does waste a little space, but so many operas come with nice slipcases or sometimes liner notes so thick that they barely fit into the sleeves that I want to keem them as they are. SACDs I keep in the original cases so they're easier to tell apart when looking for one. And aside, the super jewel cases are met with more tolerance on my part, because they're not as crappy as the regular ones.

If you have thin paper sleeves (I also use the ones Jazz Loft sells, because I've yet not found paper sleeves WITH window but WITHOUT flaps) then you can store up to four (well, really there's nothing keeping you from maybe putting even five, possibly six into it, if the accompanying booklet isn't too thick) CDs in one sleeve. That's humongous space savings compared to a slew of double jewel cases. I'll add a picture of some of the Koopman volumes thus packed a little bit later today.

Cheers.

[George]

Just got a new phone with a camera and took this photo of my new shelves in my new apartment:



Slightly bigger photo here - http://img594.imageshack.us/f/0708101531.jpg/

[Coopmv]

Just got a new phone with a camera and took this photo of my new shelves in my new apartment:



Slightly bigger photo here - http://img594.imageshack.us/f/0708101531.jpg/

Nice.  At least you have all your CD's in one place ...

[SonicMan46]

Nice.  At least you have all your CD's in one place ...

Yep, I'm w/ Stuart, i.e. have had to move a bunch of my CDs (non-classical) into another room necessitating building some more storage! 

George - how deep are those shelves (e.g. 9-10"); if so, I'm contemplating how to use up the extra-depth for storing a container (DVD, 5 1/4"; CD, 5 1/2") that is considerably less on a standard shelf and still have ready access to see & obtain 'what' is there?  I probably should go to some of those binders w/ sleeves - so many options though -     Dave

[George]

Nice.  At least you have all your CD's in one place ...

Well, all my DVDs and Rock/Pop/Soul/Hip Hop/Opera/Vocal/Classical Box Sets CDs in one place.

The Classical is on another wall. I'll take some photos later and post them. 

[karlhenning]

Most impressive, George! I bow to your organization.  (That doesn't sound too mafia-ish, does it?)