Hey there folks today i want to discuss the art of music collection, because it can be a very tricky business.
Lesson 1
Modern remasters
If a early edition of a disc is available get it, remaster does not necessarily mean what you think it means. In the world of music remastered just means, with very few exceptions; such as Steve Hoffman, and a much lesser extent Bernie Grundman, means very loud. So loud in fact that it will almost always result in the destruction of the music artists true vision. Why would music artists allow this to happen? To be blunt, they don’t. A lot of this stuff just happens over time once the music leaves the artists hands and is the hands of the music producer or label. They will take it and alter it however they see fit based on the idea that louder more “punchy” music will sell more, which is very much a childish and silly way of thinking. Very few artist have enough power and influence to be able to have input during the remastering process.
Lesson 2
Mint and Grading
When collecting NEVER accept anything below near mint! What does that mean? Well this discogs help page on how to grade items explains grading far better and far more eloquently then I.
Lesson 3
Scams
Never buy CDs from Russian sellers as they are most likely scams or if you do get somthing it will most certinaly be a CDR copy. This applys to any seller really if somthing does not feel right or to good to be ture then it is!!! always trust your gut!
Never buy a item sight unseen. Always ask for item pictures before payment. If none are given the most likely reason is its a scam. Hey, ya know, all this talk about scams and caution leads me to my next lesson.
Lesson 4
Payment
Always use pay-pal! Pay-pal has buyer protection. Keep invoices, receipts, and tracking numbers. Valid or not Pay-pal will use this information to help with the claim investigation. If you’re honest and upfront about as much as possible, your case can sometimes be closed in a single day.
Lesson 5
Japan
Early Japanese CDs are much higher quilty then any other CDs. Why? Because “Compact disc”, (CD), is a digital optical disc data storage format released in 1982, co-developed by Philips, and Sony, meaning that in the early days only Japan and a few manufacturing plants through Holland had the proper equipment and quality control standards to manufacture cds without defects or CD rot(which i will explain in another post at a later date). In fact in the early days many discs were made in japan for north american markets.
Aside from that in some cases some cds produced locally for the Japanese Market have rare and unique versions of songs (Often Superior to its North American counterpart)
My last Lesson for today is
Lesson 6
Don’t overpay!
I once saw a single Beatles CD being sold for 300 USD. No one, and i mean no one, should spend 300 USD for one peice of music. So my rule is no more then 80 CAD for a single record, and no more then 130 for a set of records rated near mint to mint!
Now with all that said if anyone wants to know where i get some of my rare finds? Its from this wonderful little shop by my dear friend Alec’s shop, Surface Records, based in Tokyo.
I hope todays post was helpful! And to all you music lovers out there, stay safe and happy collecting!
EDITED AND RECOMPILED BY Donald Boudreau