Vinyl Junkies …

I miss those fairs, always really great places to pick up 45s... Does the rock'n'roll record fair at International Student House still happen? Small but perfectly formed, mostly 45s straight from the USA... Used to see Keb Darge, Gaz Mayall and other fellow 45 perverts there all the time...

Not sure about that one but I'll keep an eye out for it. Should be a nice but pricey day out on Saturday. I've been going a bit mad over the last few weeks, sat here with a dozen new double albums in a box that arrived yesterday :)

Heads up.

This has had it's first repress:

https://www.discogs.com/Makers-Dont-Challenge-Me/release/4824556

I have no idea how many but it's available from a few people.

https://www.discogs.com/Makers-Dont-Challenge-Me-Youre-Shy-/release/12424857

Missed that one in August but I'm having to rein in my buying. Got 25 records arriving tomorrow.

Speakers Corner are just releasing Dr. John - Gris-gris. If it's as good as their recent output it'll be worth picking up a copy.

Mr. Bongo has repressed Skull Snaps too. MRBLP184. Not sure of the quality as it's in the delivery.

Isn't Gris-Gris easy to pick up? I think mine was only five bucks, may have been twenty years ago but...

I think a decent Gris-Gris is about £50 now, unless you're lucky and find one in the wild.

A quick look at Discogs tells me they are a bit more than $5 these days! A lot of the Speakers Corner releases are 2nd tier collectables that they can licence and the tapes are in available.

It's not that easy to find mint early pressings anyway and SC analogue master them from the original tapes. The wholesale price in the UK is pretty decent. I might not want to pay the retail price outside of Europe but for a well pressed, mint version with a high quality tip on reproduction cover it's a decent proposition.

4 other releases in the last year have been brilliant :-

Albert King - Born Under A Bad Sign
Carla Thomas - The Queen Alone
Charlie Byrd - More Brazilian Byrd
LaVern Baker Sings Bessie Smith

I think they are better value than Mofi / Analogue Productions but that's mostly due to the tax/shipping on the US audiophile stuff. Another good repro label in the same vein is Jazz Dispensary, great pressings of The Three Pieces - Vibes Of Truth, Charles Kynard - Aphrodisiac.

I've got a list of stuff you can sell me for $5 a piece though :)

Just to send you into a proper Victor Meldrew, have you seen the price of the Marvin Gaye - What's Going On due later this year from MOFI? The dealer price is pushing £100 without VAT. Their one step version of Santana - Abraxas (which you really can buy some versions of for £10) ended up OOP on release and sells for £450 upwards.

Incredible... And I thought the price of vinyl had only gone nuts in Oz...

That said, the last two LPs I got were given to me but they were both selling for AU$25 on their respective merch tables... Pretty cheap...

I bought a couple of copies of the same single recently and they were AU$38n inc P&P... Then I saw the same single selling for US$7 at Goner in Memphis... I felt like a schmuck, could've bought them there and got them mailed here for not much more... And got a t-shirt, stickers and a few other bits I've been after but have put off because of ridiculous shipping charges...

It's gone nuts everywhere.

The record fair was a good time. Picked up a few decent copies of stuff way down my list of wants. Nothing from the top of my list, not available at any price. Saw a few completely battered copies of records I wanted in battered sleeves for £20. Ended up spending £300 fairly wisely, would have cost a lot more with separate delivery added.

Got the new Blood Orange LP - Negro Swan arriving today, should be interesting to see if there's much between it and the Tidal version. I don't go in much for the new releases but occasionally I like an album enough.

Bandcamp is doing good business in the merch table style. A lot of bands selling small runs of vinyl to fans direct.

Mr Scruff ditched a load of vinyl in a local charity shop yesterday, all £2 a pop.

Got myself 2 x Mo Wax promo 12" today as a result. First vinyl bought in ages.

/ncsb

Sorry to spam, but I’ve chucked a few LPs up in classifieds just now. Will add more similar stuff when I get a chance.

Dear fellow vinyl fans.
I’ve been searching for a certain album for a couple of years when one came for sale. I bought it for a very high price compared to sale history and have been happy.
Then recently another copy went up on ebay for a much more sane price and I bought that too. My rationale was that the average price of my two records are now much lower than before.
Is that normal?
It’s Sleep With the Lights On by Wanton Bishops by the way. Rare, but not very sought after either. I love it to bits though.

What do you need to hear mate, you're on the vinyl junkie thread so no one's judging here. Of course it's completely insane, you seem saner than me though so crack on. :)

I've been on a massive buying binge for nearly 2 years now, I'd like to slow it down but the brakes don't work.

WoooooHoooo - just got all mine up and runing again after about 12 years - like meeting old friends again.
Dual deck on it's last legs I fear - a evening of cleaning albums ahead.

Anyone going for something special on this years record store day?
I haven’t been really into it yet as it seems to me mostly like a way to hype and cash in on new coloured versions of old stuff.
I’d be eager to know if there was anything genuinely interesting coming up.

I’d be eager to know if there was anything genuinely interesting coming up.

The Bill Evans and Wes Montgomery records look interesting, if jazz is your thing...

Thank you. Not into jazz though, unfortunately.

There's a 63 page discussion here :-

https://forums.stevehoffman.tv/threads/record-store-day-rsd-2019.799662/page-62

I don't pay much attention to it these days. Too many other worthwhile releases all year round.

Where do folks look for stylus spares? I'm after Ortofon Pro-S which look to be about 20 notes but is there a go to reliable webshop for stuff like this these days? It must be over 10yrs since I last bought owt like this.

Juno are pretty good at quick delivery and the prices are keen. Auction sites are not terrible for this kind of thing but don't ask yourself too many questions about authenticity. My experience of low end stylus is that qc is barely a thing it's just a lottery.

I spent many happy years with £20 carts but these days the price performance ratio has made me spend more, about £150 has been a happy place for me. Lots of really good stylus in that price bracket.

Just been to a record fair in Wimbledon, St. Marks church hall. Small but a reasonable alternative to a record shop and cheaper than the west end.

Cheers, I remember juno from bitd now you mention them.

Technical Q now, it doesn't need to be the OS stylus so long as it'd fit the os cartridge I have I guess? How can I tell what's compatible, if anything?

I'm not too sure on compatibility outside of the carts I own. Ortofon seem to have a selection of quality of stylus that fit on a basic cart so you might start looking at their range. Jico Stylus is an interesting stylus website if you are looking for exotic alternative styli.

Ok, ta, I will contact Ortofon directly too I think.