Lp suggestions

[King Karajan]

It's been a few years since posting on here I think. Since then my collection has grown in leaps and bounds. I fell victim to the resurection of Lp's and have purchesed a VPI Traveler to go with my system. I have about 30 classical recordings but am looking for great recomendations. I have C Kleiber's DG symphony box set coming and am looking into Bach's Cello suites. Thinking Starker's new box release from 65. Any n all suggestions are great.

Cheers!


Jeff

[bigshot]

Classical LPs are a tremendous bargain nowadays! I am going to give you my secrets. I learned them from a professional record dealer. But my house is full of records now, so I don't need any more. You can have the rest!

The first step is to buy a pickup truck and rent a storage locker.

Then tell all your friends and family that you are collecting classical LPs. I guarantee you, someone will say, "You know when my dad passed away, he left us all these records..." and they will give them to you.

Next, scan the classified ads and look for listings for classical record collections for sale. Call them up and say, "I love classical music, but I don't have a lot of money. But I do have a pickup truck and I'd be happy to haul away any you can't sell. They will go to a good home- mine!" I guarantee you that they won't be able to sell a single one over the weekend, and they will call you Monday morning and give you the whole collection for free.

Haul the stuff back to the storage locker and sort them in the back of the truck. The ones you don't want, leave in the truck. The ones you do, put them in the storage locker. Then drive the rejects to the Goodwill and donate them.

Take 40 or 50 records home with you from the storage locker every couple of weeks. Clean them, play them, enjoy them. If they are duds... off to the Goodwill thrift shop!

Classical LP collectors are the rarest of the rare in rekkid collecting circles. Most dealers won't even take them for free. The exceptions are the absolutely pristine high end audiophile records from the 50s that get culled and shipped to "stamp collectors" in Japan. They actually care more about the condition of the covers than the recording itself. If you are in it for the music, there is absolutely no reason you should have to pay anything. People will give you all the records you can handle for free.

I know this works. I've done it. I have the ballast to prove it!

[aligreto]

My story is that I originally had a vinyl collection many years ago and ultimately sold most of it when the "New & Better" technology of the CD arrived. I kept about 60 LPs until about three years ago. Then, like you, I found my way back into the world of vinyl. Now I have approximately 2000 LPs. Most of these would have been picked up in local Charity shops for very litle money. Most of these would have been in excellent condition, merely requiring a clean. So in this way I built the bulk of my collection. The down side with this is that it takes time and a bit of effort. What I do now is I try to fill the gaps in my collection by buying specific recordings from eBay or Discogs. This has its own risks in that some dealers can exaggerate the condition of theif vinyl.

I bought the HvKarajan 1963 Beethoven symphonic cycle in this way; if you do not have it that would be my first recommendation.

[Walt Whitman]

As an adjunct to bigshot's very fine suggestions, I'll augment...

I travel to estate sales to feed my vinyl need, but being very choosy, it is a very hit and miss proposition. Read the estate sale ads in your local/neighborhood newspapers. See if they give you any info on the person who died. I went to an estate sale which listed vinyl as one of the many things you could purchase. But, this particular ad talked about the person who just passed. He was a German émigré who fought against the Allies in WWII, but had nearly 50 patents for steel making processes in the US. This told me something about the man. I got there relatively early and what a vinyl feast it was!! His collection was alphabetized, tagged and EXTREMELY well cared for. Needless to say, I walked out of the sale both arms bulging to the max with German/Austrian Classical repertoire. So much Beethoven, Brahms and Mozart  (the only genre he had more of was German Beer Drinking tunes, no kidding. Something to remind him of the old country, I guess.) but the vinyl was impeccably kept. I'm sure the woman who headed that estate sale sold more vinyl than she expected to. I made a point of finding her and telling her that the reason I came and bought much vinyl was her very descriptive ad. She appreciated it and I could tell my comments to her had an impact.

In sum, look for clues in estate sale ads that talk about the person who did the collecting. Also, when responding to an estate sale ad for vinyl, try to see what turntable the albums were subjected to. Let these tidbits be your guide for vinyl purchases at estate sales. They have served me very well, and I hope they help you, too.

As an aside, as I was walking out of that sale, there was a "picture" of two deer in front of a mountain with sky and clouds, and a stream running through the scene. Now, this was something this well-traveled man had picked up in Russia. This was not a painting, but a wooden "collage" as everything was made of wood"; the stream was made of very light wood with barely distinguishable grain, the clouds were similar with a different direction to their grain, the deer were denser grained and a different colored wood, the clouds were most gossamer and the stream a different density of grain running the way the stream would have run. If not true artistry (which it absolutely was), it could be considered a exquisite example of how to accomplish much with the media the artist was working with. At the time, I rationalized my reason not to not buy that I had purchased enough already (vinyl). I went back the next day to retrieve the art, but it was already gone. A very bittersweet result from this sale!!

Good luck!

[vandermolen]

Would recommend this:
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