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Do You Tape Seam Splits?


Kevin Bresnahan

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When I went to pull the LP out of my old Prestige issue of Teddy Edwards' "Nothin' But The Truth", I noticed a rather large seam split along the bottom. The LP nearly fell out of the bottom of the sleeve.

As I was taping this up, I wondered if I'm in the minority... do others tape seam splits or do they leave them alone to maintain the original state of the sleeve?

For myself, I will admit that I really don't care a whole lot about the future value on the secondary market since I will likely be dead when that happens, so maybe that puts me in the minority. :)

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3 minutes ago, Dan Gould said:

I've never taped seam splits whether purchased that way or created while in my possession.

I do make a poly outer bag available and make sure I store the vinyl outside the jacket going forward though.

Same here. I've been storing albums in poly sleeves for decades, record outside the jacket, in inner sleeve. 

Speaking of the outer poly sleeves - these are excellent value. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003NG2WIG/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Inners - https://www.amazon.com/Sleeves-Vinyl-Provide-Collection-Protection/dp/B07CYKRVRW/ref=pd_bxgy_img_3/132-6046237-0480110?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B07CYKRVRW&pd_rd_r=7a2ab0db-bd1f-454d-845e-50535476c235&pd_rd_w=sQZpu&pd_rd_wg=8Bz1E&pf_rd_p=f325d01c-4658-4593-be83-3e12ca663f0e&pf_rd_r=Z758G89CCB9DJNP31TF6&psc=1&refRID=Z758G89CCB9DJNP31TF6

 

 

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11 minutes ago, Dan Gould said:

I've never taped seam splits whether purchased that way or created while in my possession.

I do make a poly outer bag available and make sure I store the vinyl outside the jacket going forward though.

I've actually moved away from poly sleeves. I used to sleeve every record but I've since discovered that I can fit a whole lot more LPs into the shelf if I drop the sleeves. I mean a LOT more. It amazed how many more LPs I could fit onto that shelf. And again, if this causes some ring wear on the covers, oh well, my wife will have to explain that to whoever she finds to buy them all. She ain't keeping them, I'll tell you that! :)

Edited by bresna
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1 minute ago, bresna said:

I've actually moved away from poly sleeves. I used to sleeve every record but I've since discovered that I can fit a whole lot more LPs into the shelf if I drop the sleeves. I mean a LOT more. It amazed how many more LPs I could fit onto that shelf. And again, if this causes some ring wear on the covers, oh well, my wife will have to explain that to whoever she finds to buy them all. She ain't keeping, I'll tell you that! :)

I guess I'm in the middle, I don't buy them to have them on hand but appreciate sellers who send them that way, or when I used to shop brick & mortar, finding them that way in the crates. Probably 50/50 on poly bag vs not, and sometimes I prioritize a new acquisition and an older LP loses the poly bag face-off. But I don't just think entirely about ring wear, its also about rub wear and maybe some corner dinging too. 

OTOH I am running out of room so I may be thinking about your approach too. Maybe reorganize based on poly/no poly and get some space going that way. But I don't know if I'd have even thought about it without your comment.

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I do keep a stack of sleeves in case I do sell a record and have to ship it but in general, I've moved away from them. I do tend to keep rarities in a sleeve just because I seems like the right thing to do. But I'm still running out of space and I really don't want to buy another storage rack so I may pull those off too... or stop buying LPs.

Maybe I should have started a thread "Do You Put Your Records In Sleeves Or Not"? :)

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1 hour ago, sidewinder said:

When this happens I put the LP cover in one of those PVC sleeves and store the LP and inner outside the cover and inside the sleeve at the back (if that makes sense).

That's how I normally like to ship LPs. I usually ask the buyer if they are OK with this. It prevents seam splits in transit.

But why don't you just tape the seam split? Seems easier and takes less space on your shelf.

Truth be told, I've visited several used record shops where they tape seam splits themselves. It makes sense as a retailer that you don't want a customer picking up a record and have it slide onto the floor. :)

Edited by bresna
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From an archival perspective, I've heard that PVC is not recommended. Wouldn't be able to say for sure, but have actually replaced all my old outers with polypropylene sleeves. I like the "archive" look of having everything in the same type of sleeves.

I still have room for 50 more LPs or so in my present shelves, so space might evetually be a problem, but I am trying to unload albums I don't really listen to. Only this afternoon I agreed with a neighbor to sell him my Toshiba pressing of Bobby Hutcherson's 'Total Eclipse'. (I still got a Liberty and a King pressing :))

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I am with Bresna with regard to outer sleeves and excessive worries (or not) about ring wear.

I do tape seam splits on all the covers that show some wear anyway and have only hesitated on really close to mint covers of orignal or early-pressing albums (in these latter cases I try to preserve the covers as they are, taking care not to increase seam splits when removing the record or storing the record outside the sleeve in a clear outer sleeve - which I only use on originals or older pressings up to, say, the very early 60s, anyway).

To tape the seam splits I cut strips from sheets of clear and fairly thin (but strong) self-adhesive foil of the type also commonly used by bookbinders. This clear foil does not turn yellow or brown over time, contrary to typical adhesive tape. On typical US cardboard covers of the 50s where you can see the outline of the paper used to hold the front and rear cardboards together and to make up the spine I usually cut the strips wide enough so their outline more or less closely matches the outlines of these paper strips (hope you know what I mean). That way your repair strips overlap about 1/4in with the front and rear cover papers so the clear tape covers all the vulnerable areas. Looks fairly neat if done carefully.

On European pressings with more or less advanced seam splits (some British and German labels are particularly vulnerable as their covers are fairly thin) I often use strips cut from older paper that matches the age and tint of the inside of these covers, food these strips along their length, glue the strips and carefully move them inside the cover so the strips can be pushed against the inside of the split area. To do this you have to the the cover open so you have room to move the glued-up strip inside. Works well and is almost invisible (unless you peer into the inside) on these European covers but is out of the question on US cardboard covers. With their flimsy paper folded around the edges to hold the front and back cardboard layers together these stiff covers would burst apart if you'd try to do that there.
I realize many diehard first-pressings-only-stored-in-Fort-Knox-type collectors will sneer at this kind of repairs (but like others said - it will be up to my heirs to worry about that) and considering how (otherwise desirable) original records had had their covers manhandled in the past with all sorts of impossible materials to "repair" them (browned clear tape is a comparatively harmless offender - often I have also seen strips of brown packaging paper or of insulating tape or (medical) sticking plaster being used which all do a "fine" job to the spines!!) this kind of repair remains relatively unobtrusive and neat.

 

Edited by Big Beat Steve
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1 hour ago, Big Beat Steve said:

considering how (otherwise desirable) original records had had their covers manhandled in the past with all sorts of impossible materials to "repair" them (browned clear tape is a comparatively harmless offender - often I have also seen strips of brown packaging paper or of insulating tape or (medical) sticking plaster being used which all do a "fine" job to the spines!!) this kind of repair remains relatively unobtrusive and neat.

I once found an original mono of Johnny Coles' "Little Johnny C" with 3 inch wide gray duct tape around the entire outside of the cover. Top, bottom & spine. It looked terrible. I bought it anyway because the record was in great shape and the price was right. When the Music Matters 33 RPM LP came out, I gave it away. I couldn't bring myself to sell that monstrosity. :)

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1 hour ago, bresna said:

I once found an original mono of Johnny Coles' "Little Johnny C" with 3 inch wide gray duct tape around the entire outside of the cover. Top, bottom & spine. It looked terrible. 

My mouth hung open as I read this, and then I suddenly remembered: I bought a Muddy Waters comp of "rare and unreleased" (I think) that had the same thing, only it was heavy brown (or maybe green?) tape along all three sides. If I dig it out maybe I'll take a picture and upload.

Anyway Bresna I admire you for purchasing based on the vinyl condition. That's all I care about - I need to finally set discogs to NOT warn me when a cover is VG or worse.  I got my reasons ...

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5 minutes ago, Dmitry said:

I agree with Chekhov - "Everything should be perfect about a person: face, clothing, soul, thoughts."

If he were into records, he'd surely say, "Everything should be perfect about an album: the vinyl, the jacket, the spindle hole, the inner grooves." 

 

The music? 

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9 hours ago, bresna said:

As I was taping this up, I wondered if I'm in the minority... do others tape seam splits or do they leave them alone to maintain the original state of the sleeve?

i have used bookbinding glue for many years & have repaired/restored hundreds of records over the years - spines, tops & bottoms, foldover flaps (for those Australian, NZ, SA, UK, euro 60s LPs) and even tears.

I normally source the glue from a local bookbinder - there are still quite a few of them around (well that is in Australia)

The great thing about this glue is that it dries clear & remains pliable/soft (but not sticky)

I never use tape - it ruins the covers long term - if you have to then try Scotch Magic tape or something similar

Edited by romualdo
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8 hours ago, romualdo said:

I never use tape - it ruins the covers long term - if you have to then try Scotch Magic tape or something similar

Like I said - better to make up your tape strips by cutting them from sheets/rolls of clear sheet as used for binding books/reinforcing covers, e.g. by libraries where the covers do get a lot of abuse. The better brands of these clear sheets are fairly thin and adhere well. And I have yet to see any of these "tapes" turn yellow or brown - the only case where I have seen a bit of darkening (within a couple of years) was on 50s pulp paper pocket magazines where the paper seems to have darkened under the tape. But I have some books and LP covers taped in that manner way back in the late 70s and the repaired LP cover seams and book covers still look very tidy and neat, and no discoloration. 

 

Edited by Big Beat Steve
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I've seen older LPs with repairs that seem to use that bookbinder material and most of them looked yellowed to me. I used to be a library hound and I've seen a lot of older books with yellowed tape around the binding. I wonder if the stuff they sell in Germany is different?

I always use Scotch Magic tape. Although it isn't completely transparent and it adds a haze, it never yellows.

Edited by bresna
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I see some leanings. That is not tight. LOL!

Nice Afghan, though. Is it handmade? My mom used to do those, almost obsessively. When she died, we had a buttload from her over the years and couldn't bear to part with them. So now we have a buttload full of homemade Afghans all over the house. There's worse problems to have!

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