CRM114

My usual store IS a goldmine. The dude that runs it gets thousands of records a week and his inventory is continuously turned over. He buys large collections almost constantly.

But I bought the Dolls album and the other good stuff at the pop-up record store at the Solid Sound festival. I bought the signed Robyn Hitchcock stuff at another record store about 30 minutes away. And I bought the Kinks "Village Green" album in some crusty flea market bin locally.

Supermallet

Ah, gotcha. I forget, are you a SoCal guy?

CRM114

No, I live about 70 miles west of NYC in Pennsylvania.

If anyone is ever near Allentown, PA (not sure why you would be but you never know), this place is awesome. Rarely overpriced and often underpriced.

Lone Wolf

Someone posted this on another board and I thought I'd share. Target has a small selection of vinyl in their electronics department near the Crosley turntables. They've put them on clearance at half off, so they should be around $10-11. I checked my local Target, but they haven't marked them down yet, so your mileage may vary.

At my store there was mostly Beatles, Pink Floyd's Wish You Were Here, and U2's Joshua Tree.

islandclaws

So, I've been buying a lot of used records lately and it occurred to me that I should probably be cleaning them.

Is there a good kit that anyone recommends? Or maybe a home method that works great? Lay your ideas upon me.

TheDuke

Get a discwasher. One of the older ones if you can, because I think they changed the cleaning solution and the actual "brush" (although it isn't exactly a brush) and apparently it isn't as good as the old ones. I also have a anti-static audioquest brush that I use to clean my records. Both work quite well.

MBoyd

I'd go straight to a Spin Clean. Also a good carbon fiber brush for dry cleaning. http://www.sleevecityusa.com/ has a double bristle that's excellent. After cleaning consider new sleeves for the records so you don't just put garbage back on them.

I have a VPI 16.5 and have been happy with the results most of the time. Some used records are just beyond saving. I even clean new records.

For the daring do some research on using wood glue. Have not tried that yet.

CRM114

I get stuff from the record store. A spray bottle of magic stuff and a microfiber cloth. Works great.

Other than that, I have a vintage Disc Washer that doesn't really work that well.

Mikael79

My cleaning ritual (and it's lengthy):

Spin-Clean for all new and used albums
New sleeve after cleaning
Anti-static microfiber brush before playing each side
Pick up the line of dust/debris with an In The Groove
I use Zerodust stylus cleaner every few albums

I'm thinking about getting a Milty Zerostat gun, but $100 is a little rich for my blood.

islandclaws

Well, this is annoying.

Bought a "new" (only opened so the faithful eBay seller could verify if it was the pink variant that he'd be able to charge more for) copy of the Drive soundtrack released by Mondo. It arrived today and I see the top right corner was bashed to shit, which also meant the inner sleeve was, too. Now begins the fun and laborious process of getting it sent back and obtaining a refund while also finding a new, actually mint copy to buy.

I really need to jump on this shit quicker in the future.

Mikael79

Stone Temple Pilot's Purple - the just re-released version. Limited edition number: 499.

Obey The D

I hate this thread. When I see stuff like this it just makes me go online and spend money.

CRM114

Tell me about it.

Rocketdog2000

Do you have a copy of the original to compare to sound wise? Be interested to know if it's an improvement or not. Of course the Purple colored vinyl is sold out, but I'd still be willing to spring for the cheaper Black vinyl if it's better.

Oh, and if you hadn't heard, Core is now in the works from Music On Vinyl, too. The first limited edition prsessings will be on Clear vinyl.

Mikael79

I don't have the original. I had placed many, many bids for it on eBay, but always lost, and now I'm glad for that. I can tell you that I listened to this re-release last night with headphones, and it's mostly dead-quiet.

I did hear that Core is in the works, via the MOV website. That's another one that I'll be buying, with my fingers crossed for an eventual release of Tiny Music and 4.

EDIT: It also seems that the Purple version is back on sale at SoundStageDirect, for a higher price now. If the purple wax is important to you, it may be worth it.

Rocketdog2000

Good to know. Thanks!

I've got an original press, but it's mastered very low, even lower than the CD by comparison. You really have to crank up volume on it to meet a more normal level. That one is also very dark, translucent purple, where you practically have to hold it up t the light to realize it isn't black, it's so dark.

I hope they eventually put out Tiny Music, 4 and even Shangri-La Dee Da. Then I can have all of them on vinyl.

Geofferson

Juno Records online also has a few copies left of the STP Purple -- it's a few bucks cheaper than ordering from SoundStage. I'll be picking up Core as well when it's available.

Why So Blu?

Was not able to snag a review copy of the Smashing Pumpkins boxset - they only gave me digital files, which I will pass on. What's the point?

Noticed that Amazon has the Maniac Mondo LP set up for pre-order - snagged one.

Lone Wolf

Beware. I ordered this from amazon and I didn't get the purple vinyl, even though that was in the product description. It is on its way back, and I have a copy ordered from soundstagedirect. I didn't think the black vinyl was available yet.

Mikael79

For those with a Half Price Books close, they're having a coupon special this week. Today and tomorrow, it's 40% off one title, and then it drops to 30% for a day or two.

Yesterday, it was 50% off, and I picked up the Neil Young and Crazy Horse 3LP set (sealed) of Psychedelic Pill for $37. They do have some sealed titles, and my location has a lock box (cue Al Gore) for the pricey stuff.

Lone Wolf

Soundstagedirect has The Big Lebowski soundtrack if anyone is interested.

It says extremely limited and only available at soundstagedirect.

CRM114

Thanks to an earlier post, I picked up a clearanced Pink Floyd Wish You Were Here LP at Target for $20 and change. The Target I went to only had the aforementioned Floyd album, Steve Miller's Greatest Hits, Beatles Let it Be, and U2 Joshua Tree on clearance.

Also, thanks to an earlier post (this thread is costing me money), I picked up a Spin Clean system. I cracked the very first record I cleaned during the drying process. (And FUCK if it wasn't King Crimson's Larks Tongues in Aspic that I just bought!) So if anyone gets one, do a couple test LPs before you start in on your good stuff. The machine works quite well. You need tons more drying cloths than supplied, BTW.

BearFan

Picked up a few records

ZZ Top -- Live From Texas
Christopher Lee -- Charlemagne -- Omens of Death (yeah I know .. shoot me)

and while I was in Germany, I wanted to pick up one German vinyl (by a German band) ... so I got

Einstürzende Neubauten -- Halber Mensch ... looked like the best of the bunch.

Mikael79

I've probably cleaned around 300 albums with my Spin Clean, and never broken a single one. I'm the size of King Kong, so I'd really hate to see what kind of monster you are, with those steel hands of yours!

CRM114

I took it out wet, held it vertically to let it drip in my left hand, thumb on one side, fingers on the other. Then I started wiping with the cloth. I guess it was old and brittle. Now I do a cursory drying and then lay it down on a flat surface on a microfiber cloth and dry them like that.