Alexander Posted December 20, 2004 Report Share Posted December 20, 2004 I came into several excellent condition rock LPs over the weekend and decided that I needed a turntable. Since my birthday is coming up, my wife decided to make it an early present. I'm really enjoying it so far (dusted off my old 45s this evening. Man, "Centerfold" was a great record!). So where can one get new vinyl? There are a couple of used places that deal in vinyl here in Albany, but I was wondering about new pressings. I know True Blue carries vinyl. Where else can I get it? Also, if all you vinyl junkies are in the mood, what jazz albums would you recommend getting on LP? I mean, what would you say is desert island quality. I have thousands of CDs, so what should I go out of my way to get that I might already own? "A Love Supreme?" "Milestones?" What's really killer on vinyl? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wolff Posted December 20, 2004 Report Share Posted December 20, 2004 Born again! Great!!! Quite a bit is really killer on vinyl, but you may have to pay for it. No BMG clubs for vinyl. Most Classic Records' jazz titles are good, as is the Speakers Corners' catalog. Go to Acousticsounds.com and Redtrumpet.com. They have great search engines for vinyl. Go to Fantasyjazz.com and load up on LP's you do not have($9 each shipped if you buy 10 titles). Try Cadence, also. Buy some Mosaic LP sets. I'd go out of my way to buy Classic Records Blue Note mono titles. Speakers Corner Ella Songbook titles. And many, many more..... Plenty of great Venus and Eighty Eights titles. Check back with specific titles you are thinking about and maybe someone can give you a first hand opinion. I think my reissue of Love Supreme is very good and it may still be available. I'm pretty sure the Speakers Corner reissue is nice, also. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrJ Posted December 20, 2004 Report Share Posted December 20, 2004 (edited) Not sure where you live Alexander, but my area (Northern California) has a lot of surprisingly good bricks and mortar haunts where you can get used vinyl in good to excellent condition, as well as brand new reissue titles, for very little. Not necessarily the best deals for "rare" stuff but good for everything else. If you live in a larger urban area, my only point is don't immediately assume you have to go on line (although the sites wolff lists are indeed good ones selection wise...Red Trumpet though I must say I find ludicrously overpriced). I've had good luck with ordering vinyl from Dusty Groove also (the Bastards!). Re: "what to get," I'd do it the other way around - try out some titles of various types of jazz and see what you think sounds great on vinyl. Personally, for example, I'm finding that it has a huge sonic advantage for older recordings that aren't considered audiophile but that I love (e.g. pre-tape stuff) - when I A/B CD reissues of that stuff (such as the Sidney Bechet Blue Notes) and compare those with well-done LPs, the LPs win hands down. It's like Mr. Bechet is right there in the room with me! No doubt the 78s would blow the LPs away but I just can't get into that on a large scale for practical reasons... Edited December 20, 2004 by DrJ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
7/4 Posted December 20, 2004 Report Share Posted December 20, 2004 Not sure where you live Alexander Albany in in NY state. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
desertblues Posted December 20, 2004 Report Share Posted December 20, 2004 And if you do find any original pressings in good shape, you're gonna love the sound quality on most any albums on the Contemporary label! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patricia Posted December 21, 2004 Report Share Posted December 21, 2004 (edited) First of all, GOOD FOR YOU!!! I beg you not to limit yourself to new pressings. It is possible to get original vinyl in good to excellent condition, if you are persnickity about quality. It's not about price, necessarily, but the love that the original collector had for his/her record collection. People like my father treated their records like collector's items, handling them properly. That seems to be a personality trait of both serious jazz and classical record aficianadoes. Of course, you'll get burned occasionally,[ I still remember the LP with what looked like a bite out of it ] but there is nothing like the rush of finding an album, enjoyed by somebody in, say, 1946, still in really good, sometimes even in like new condition. You hold in your hands something which was loved and played by a jazz addict just like you. That, to me, is a big part of my love of vinyl. Edited December 21, 2004 by patricia Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clunky Posted December 21, 2004 Report Share Posted December 21, 2004 Like Patricia said go for used vinyl. I replaced my broken turntable in Jan. of this year. It hadn't been used much over the last few years and my last purchase of vinyl was about four years ago. Since getting my nice Rega I 've bought around 200 used LPs. Covering a stylistic field far wider than I could have afforded if the stuff was bought ( and available on CD). Little has been "rare", no BNs etc but so much interesting music that really sings. I love my turntable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harold_Z Posted December 21, 2004 Report Share Posted December 21, 2004 For anybody within driving distance...the Princeton Record Exchange (Princeton, NJ) is just great. LOTS of Jazz, both new and used items and great prices. Largest selection I've scene since the days of vinyl. It's probably a little more than an hour from Manhattan, and probably about and hour and a half from Philly. It's a smorgasboard. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin Bresnahan Posted December 21, 2004 Report Share Posted December 21, 2004 Albany's not too far from Northampton, MA. In the basement of Thorn's Market of downtown Northampton is Dynamite Records. Decent vinyl selection but a bit overpriced. A bit further south in Hartford is Integrity 'N Music. Should be about 40 minutes from Dynamite. Make a day of it. Integrity is better than Dynamite. BTW, I'll apologize in advance if Dynamite has shrunk their Jazz section again. The place has been going down hill since Dave Hart left. Good luck. Oh yeah, and if you feel like taking a long trip, Stereo Jack's in Boston is worth the trip and the Jazz Record Center in NYC is too. Bring a thick wallet to the JRC, they're too expensive for my wallet. Later, Kevin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brownie Posted December 21, 2004 Report Share Posted December 21, 2004 Fully agree with Harold Z about the Princeton store, but just be warned... There is so much good vinyl there and some of the prices are so tempting that any visit to the place can be very expensive. I've paid my dues there... and much more... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
7/4 Posted December 21, 2004 Report Share Posted December 21, 2004 For anybody within driving distance...the Princeton Record Exchange (Princeton, NJ) is just great. LOTS of Jazz, both new and used items and great prices. Largest selection I've scene since the days of vinyl. It's probably a little more than an hour from Manhattan, and probably about and hour and a half from Philly. It's a smorgasboard. More like an 1 1/2 hrs. from NYC, but it's an amazing place. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patricia Posted December 21, 2004 Report Share Posted December 21, 2004 (edited) Speaking of turntables, I am amazed at how many really good ones are out there. Sometimes, as has happened TWICE for me in the last few years, people will just give them away. If you happen to be in the right place at the right time, you can get really lucky. I went vinyl, having spent a couple of years looking for records for a friend and sending them to him. I fell in love with records again. My first turntable, after my epiphany, was given to me at a second hand store, just because there was no price marked on it. I was buying shelves and stuff and they just threw it in. Not a high-end, fancy one, but it does have '78 as well as '33 and '45 and is compatable with my existing sound system. Excellent condition. I was happy with it, but then a friend came into possession of a very nice two-speed, ['33 and '45] high end turntable. I took it home and it is amazingly good. Both units attach to my sound sysem. but, when I moved, I had no room for both. So, reluctantly, I had to choose and went with the two-speed, keeping the other unit in a safe place. So, you don't have to spend big bucks necessarily. It's not surprising though that new ones are being manufactured, with the resurgence of interest in vinyl. Check out the second-hand stores and classifieds first though. Avoid as you do in other expenditures, flinging your money around in the manner of the proverbial drunken sailor. You don't have to do that. Edited December 22, 2004 by patricia Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alexander Posted December 21, 2004 Author Report Share Posted December 21, 2004 Thanks for the enthusiastic replies, Patricia! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sidewinder Posted December 21, 2004 Report Share Posted December 21, 2004 Alexander - prepare to be drawn in and made to be 'involved' with the music with vinyl. This is something that I find the CD medium just doesn't deliver, that sense of 'intimacy'. Sometimes I will put up with LPs with background noise and the odd bump just to get this, in preference to a CD. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patricia Posted December 21, 2004 Report Share Posted December 21, 2004 (edited) Thanks for the enthusiastic replies, Patricia! You're welcome. Much like the convert to Catholicism, I am probably even more enthusiastic than usual, having started with vinyl and been lured away, first by reel to reel, then 8-track, then audio-tapes and finally CD's. There are two things that CD's have over vinyl. They are small, so more can be stored in the same space. They also have more room for content. However, the inescapable fact is, to my mind, that LP's are warmer and more real to listen to, not to mention having more room on the cover for art and text. Add that to what I've said previously about vinyl and you can understand, I hope, my passion for vinyl. Edited December 21, 2004 by patricia Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alexander Posted December 22, 2004 Author Report Share Posted December 22, 2004 Well, I visited Last Vestige Vinyl on Quail St. in Albany yesterday and blew fifty bucks. I got good quality vinyl copies of the following: Blue Train & My Favorite Things- John Coltrane Kind of Blue - You Know Who The Golden Flute - Yusef Lateef Wynton Marsalis (First Columbia Album) - Wynton McCoy Tyner - 13th House Born Under A Bad Sign - Albert King Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patricia Posted December 22, 2004 Report Share Posted December 22, 2004 Seeing your mention of "Kind Of Blue" reminded me of the mint copy of "Porgy and Bess" by you know who that I picked up a few weeks ago. It actually does sound warmer than the identical CD that I also have. Maybe it's my imagination. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wolff Posted December 23, 2004 Report Share Posted December 23, 2004 ...Red Trumpet though I must say I find ludicrously overpriced). Example, please. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wolff Posted December 23, 2004 Report Share Posted December 23, 2004 Well, I visited Last Vestige Vinyl on Quail St. in Albany yesterday and blew fifty bucks. I got good quality vinyl copies of the following: Blue Train & My Favorite Things- John Coltrane Kind of Blue - You Know Who The Golden Flute - Yusef Lateef Wynton Marsalis (First Columbia Album) - Wynton McCoy Tyner - 13th House Born Under A Bad Sign - Albert King How do you like them? You may want to get Classic Records KOB and Blue Train at some point if the copies you bought do not do the trick. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alexander Posted December 23, 2004 Author Report Share Posted December 23, 2004 Well, I visited Last Vestige Vinyl on Quail St. in Albany yesterday and blew fifty bucks. I got good quality vinyl copies of the following... How do you like them? You may want to get Classic Records KOB and Blue Train at some point if the copies you bought do not do the trick. Well, so far everything sounds great. The version of "Blue Train" appears to be some sort of audiophile pressing (at least that's what the label on the cover says) and it does sound great. The version of KOB sounds good too. So far the one that's knocked me out of my socks is "The Golden Flute," which I did not own in any form previously. First of all, it's a kick-ass album. I'm guessing that this copy is actually vintage (its on the ABC-Paramount owned Impulse, not the GRP or Universal owned Impulse). It sounds spectacular, even at low volume (I was listening to it at four in the morning). The Wynton album (which, again, I didn't own previously although I have all of his other early Columbia dates) also sounds very good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alexander Posted December 23, 2004 Author Report Share Posted December 23, 2004 Seeing your mention of "Kind Of Blue" reminded me of the mint copy of "Porgy and Bess" by you know who that I picked up a few weeks ago. It actually does sound warmer than the identical CD that I also have. Maybe it's my imagination. I'm wondering the same thing. The LPs do have a warmer sound to my ears, but then I have a pitifully bad nine-year-old tabletop stereo, so it could well be my imagination... In any case, I'm madly in love with my turntable at the moment! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrJ Posted December 24, 2004 Report Share Posted December 24, 2004 wolff, review most of the catalog at Red Trumpet, it all seems overpriced to me. A classic example was the Master Jazz Piano used Mosaic set that I asked people's opinions about on the board a few weeks back...they wanted $300 for it!!! Clearly a gouge attempt, and not appreciated. Their sales aren't bad but I won't buy from them just on general principle since their baseline prices are so high. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wolff Posted December 24, 2004 Report Share Posted December 24, 2004 wolff, review most of the catalog at Red Trumpet, it all seems overpriced to me. A classic example was the Master Jazz Piano used Mosaic set that I asked people's opinions about on the board a few weeks back...they wanted $300 for it!!! Clearly a gouge attempt, and not appreciated. Their sales aren't bad but I won't buy from them just on general principle since their baseline prices are so high. Well, that is an example. They all gouge on the OOP stuff nowadays. Acoustic Sounds has been doing it for years. Look at some of their OOP 45rpm Classic Records prices. Anyway, RT is okay by me, OOP Mosaics aside. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AmirBagachelles Posted December 27, 2004 Report Share Posted December 27, 2004 (edited) For great deals and opportunities to buy 5-6 excellent condition LPs for maybe $10-15 each, I recommend Groove Yard in Oakland and Academy LPs in NYC. (For an hour of browsing every 6 weeks, that's what I seem to come up with...) Amoeba in SF and Berkeley are also great, but they tend to overprice by about 15-25%, or more. On the other hand, they ain't makin' this stuff anymore, so when you see IT, you generally have to buy IT, because it may be 3-4 years til IT comes around again. I won't bother with a rant against the new vinyl reissues, but I haven't heard the magic yet. (A Mosaic set is another story, you should definitely get the Miles Columbia 60s quintet on vinyl from Mosaic, its my reference standard anyway.) Japanese vinyl up to the mid-80s is satisfying, but expensive and requires patience. I would also recommend just one splurge for something vintage, maybe a Contemporary title (Art Pepper or Sonny Rollins?), just so you'll know how wonderful this all can sound. I see you are upstate, I have wanted to visit the Bop Shop in Rochester, they are really nice on the phone. Burlington must have some good stores too. Anybody from Vermont on the board? Edited December 27, 2004 by AmirBagachelles Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alexander Posted December 28, 2004 Author Report Share Posted December 28, 2004 I have wanted to visit the Bop Shop in Rochester, they are really nice on the phone. Burlington must have some good stores too. I used to live in Rochester, and visited the Bop Shop often. It was in the same mall as my favorite comic book shop (Comics Etc.). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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