LPs, anyone?

[jducoeur]

One of our projects for this weekend was going through the record collection and breaking it down into four roughly equal piles: Get Rid Of It, Think About It, Replace It and Over My Dead Body. Having put the latter away, it's time to start figuring out how we're going to dispose of the rest.

So, a few questions. First, is anybody here actually still keeping / acquiring old LPs? They're an extremely mixed bag: besides the usual 70s and 80s pop and rock, there's a bunch of classical (and a little period), a modest amount of folk, and assorted eclectica ranging from Firesign Theater to Wendy Carlos to the Berrymans. Most of what we're getting rid of can at least theoretically be obtained on CD -- we're tending to keep the albums that are genuinely irreplaceable, but we're not spending a lot of effort trying to figure out whether particular classical/early recordings exist on CD. I can produce an index if anybody's seriously interested, but probably won't bother otherwise.

Second, any recommendations of what to do with these? I'm assuming that a few of them are worth a bit of money, but most aren't terribly rare. My initial guess is to try Freecycle, but if anybody knows any good stores that are still interested in record collections that aren't entirely trite, we might check them out...

Comments

[aishabintjamil.livejournal.com]

If you come across anyplace that takes them, I'd be interested in hearing about it. I have a largish selection of older classical and 50's pop stuff on vinyl from my mother that I'd like to do something with. I don't care if I get money for it, but I'd like it to either end up with someone who'll be happy to have them, or somewhere that will benefit a good cause. These folks (www.gotbooks.com) used to say they took vinyl, but I don't see it on their web site any more, so they may have stopped.

[goldsquare.livejournal.com]

The cost of LP-to-MP3 conversion tools has gone way down, and the quality has gone way up. You may want to wait for the after-Christmas sales, and score such a tool - and rip as many of them as you MIGHT care about.

I know there is a used record store in Cambridge on Mass Ave, but I am not recalling its name.

Robin and I have a large collection of "wish we could play them" LPs, and we are seriously considering getting such a toy, when our financial situation justifies it.

[cellio]

We're going through this now. We bought this for $70, despite the hype-filled web site, and it really does deliver. (You do need your own turntable, which I infer you don't have, but you might be able to borrow one for the duration.)

I was surprised to learn that some of my LPs are apparently worth non-trivial money, but I haven't decided what to do about that yet. Mostly I think it's interesting but not worth the costs of setting up as a seller somewhere and then dealing with packaging and shipping individual LPs. (They're worth money but not enough money...) I, too, will eventually be looking for non-wasteful ways to relocate our LPs, so I'll be reading comments here to see what non-Boston-specific ideas I can harvest. :-)

[jducoeur]

Ah, interesting. My homebrew system is similar, but with a less-fancy preamp. (A little better than the dreadful example they describe, but probably not as good as the one advertised.)

I'll actually have to chew on that -- while I have all the necessary pieces set up already, this does sound like a better system in a few respects...

[jducoeur]

Oh, and note that they will also sell you the turntable, but it's not cheap -- it adds another $150 to the price. (Which is reasonable for a decent turntable, but does force one to think about it more...)

[jducoeur]

Actually, we've had a homebrew but decent setup for this (and cassette, which is arguably even more important) for several years now. It's a bit clumsy (it uses MS tools, so getting it to spit out MP3 is a rigamarole), but I've already transcribed a few of our especially rare LPs and cassettes already. (Eg, a Clams tape or two, Don's album, the Android Sisters, etc.) So that's explicitly part of the plan for things that simply *cannot* be had on CD.

I know there is a used record store in Cambridge on Mass Ave, but I am not recalling its name.

Ah, I think I know the one you mean -- down near Bowl and Board. I'll look into that -- thanks!

[goldsquare.livejournal.com]

Closer to Chang-sho, actually, in North Cambridge. (One must specify with Bowl and Board - old defunct location, or new...)

[jducoeur]

Interesting -- not the one I thought. I'll have to investigate this...

[dreda.livejournal.com]

We've got a USB turntable that ran us less than $150. You do a fair bit of post-rip twiddling, but not a terrible amount, and the sound is quite good. Can snag the make and model if you want to know.

[msmemory.livejournal.com]

Looks like one good option for resale is In Your Ear, in Harvard Square.
http://www.iye.com/html_index.cfm?page=home

[aneirin-awenyd.livejournal.com]

There is a used LP shop in Brattleboro (not far from us - about 2 hours from you). I was skeptical when they opened, but they have remained in business for about 2 years now.

[jducoeur]

Useful to know -- msmemory occasionally passes vaguely that way on her way to her northern office. Thanks!

[aneirin-awenyd.livejournal.com]

http://www.inthemomentrecords.com/

Nothing on their website (at first glance) specifically about their buying LPs, but worth a call.

And...who doesn't love Brattleboro?! {grin}

[eclecticmagpie.livejournal.com]

I'd be interested in some of the esoteric ones -- Firesign, for example.

There's a really nice used record store up on the North Shore somewhere, I'm having trouble remembering which town it's in, but I think it might be Gloucester or Marblehead or maybe Beverley. Sounds like the Harvard Square suggestion you've already gotten is more useful.

[jducoeur]

Hmm. We'll look into it -- thanks...

[serakit.livejournal.com]

What's an LP?

[jducoeur]

You've asked this one before. (In my journal.) "Long-Playing" records, aka vinyl, aka what we listened to before CDs...