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Do You Tape Seam Splits?


Kevin Bresnahan

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40 minutes ago, JSngry said:

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!

I saw that lean and tried to stuff some of those new Tone Poet LPs in that slot but no go. Too tight. Most of these Tone Poet LPs are gatefold, which is why my rack is getting so stuffed. I might order a new rack from Timber Nation, but they're big bucks.

Good catch on the afghan. My mother-in-law made a bunch of them and like you, my wife can't get rid of them either. They are laying all over the house for whenever my wife gets "a chill".

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2 hours ago, HutchFan said:

No tape for me.

I use outer poly LP covers to keep everything together and dust-free.

Since these clear outer poly sleeves keep coming up, a general question to those who are all for these outer sleeves to protect your LPs from further deterioration (including as an alternative to taping seams that are already split):

How do you keep your LPs from slipping and sliding in and out inside your sleeves, which makes handling and storing awkward (and makes deciphering the fine print on the spine almost impossible so you dont easily see which is which), e.g. when placing (and pushing, if the rack is fairly full ;)) the LP back into its rack? Don't you often end up with the sleeve not wanting to go in and the LP starting to slide out of the sleeve again as you push the LP back into place between its neighbors? LP cover sizes aren't all exactly alike (even US pressings these days, I'd guess), and older UK pressings, in particular, often have comparatively undersized covers, enough to make them a very loose fit in the usual sleeves. So the LPs slip and slide very, very easily out of their sleeves. At least if you line up the open side of the outer sleeve with the open side of the cover where the vinyl is removed and replaced. 
At any rate I've found it very hard or next to impossible to find "undersized" poly outer sleeves where most European LPs would be a very tight fit inside. What you usually can buy is a fairly generously sized standard affair.

 

16 minutes ago, Dmitry said:

I see the solution to your problem: add a little more storage. No need to thank me.

eket-storage-combination-with-legs-white

 

You mean Bresna is not supposed to use the door next to his vinyl rack anymore? ;)

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7 minutes ago, Big Beat Steve said:

Since these clear outer poly sleeves keep coming up, a general question to those who are all for these outer sleeves to protect your LPs from further deterioration (including as an alternative to taping seams that are already split):

How do you keep your LPs from slipping and sliding in and out inside your sleeves, which makes handling and storing awkward (and makes deciphering the fine print on the spine almost impossible so you don't easily see which is which), e.g. when placing (and pushing, if the rack is fairly full ;)) the LP back into its rack? Don't you often end up with the sleeve not wanting to go in and the LP starting to slide out of the sleeve again as you push the LP back into place between its neighbors? LP cover sizes aren't all exactly alike (even US pressings these days, I'd guess), and older UK pressings, in particular, often have comparatively undersized covers, enough to make them a very loose fit in the usual sleeves. So the LPs slip and slide very, very easily out of their sleeves. At least if you line up the open side of the outer sleeve with the open side of the cover where the vinyl is removed and replaced. 
At any rate I've found it very hard or next to impossible to find "undersized" poly outer sleeves where most European LPs would be a very tight fit inside. What you usually can buy is a fairly generously sized standard affair.

When I use a sleeve, I always push the record into the sleeve with the opening in first. This prevents the LP from falling out as you pull the sleeve off the shelf later. If you push the LP all the way in, it also allows you to see the spines when you look inside the sleeve... as long as it's not worn off, which seems to happen on a lot of older Jazz records.

7 minutes ago, Big Beat Steve said:

You mean (Kevin) Bresnahan is not supposed to use the door next to his vinyl rack anymore? ;)

Ha ha ha... exactly! The Timber Nation shelf I was looking at was custom designed to fit into that space. I may just "bite the bullet" (what an odd term) and order it anyway. I am pretty much out of room if I don't. I suppose I could just stop buying records... not a bad idea.

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27 minutes ago, bresna said:

When I use a sleeve, I always push the record into the sleeve with the opening in first. This prevents the LP from falling out as you pull the sleeve off the shelf later. If you push the LP all the way in, it also allows you to see the spines when you look inside the sleeve... as long as it's not worn off, which seems to happen on a lot of older Jazz records.

Of course when you push the record in with the opening first you have to remove the cover too each time you want to spin the vinyl. So this is not the ideal solution for those who want to protect the cover against further deterioration by placing it inside such a clear poly outer sleeve (and leaving it there when they remove the record).
In fact I use a variant of your method for storage. I try to put all my originals or older (roughly pre-mid-60s) pressings inside such clear sleeves (to prevent further wear to the covers, e.g. ring wear) but I put them in with the opening of the poly sleeve facing UP. Of course you have to remove the entire LP for listening ot the vinyl (as in your case) but this prevents sliding of the LP inside the sleeve and the spine usually remains legible (unless the poly outer sleeve is waaay oversized, so I am trying to match undersize covers to those relatively few somewhat undersized poly sleeves I have.

As for worn spines - very common ... including seam splits to these often ridiculously thin papers used on older US covers, and on many laminated but relatively thin European covers (paritcularly German and UK ones) that did not stand up to frequent handling (over time the LP itself often seems to have burst through the inner sleeve first and then through the spine and bottom of the cover - wonder how so many owners managed to achieve that ...). That kind of spine damage is what first got me to trying to repair them with clear self-adhesive sheeting cut to size, particularly to protect the spines against further deterioration.

 

Edited by Big Beat Steve
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Big Beat Steve,

I use loose-fitting LP poly sleeves with the opening UPWARD.  That way, when I push or pull the record from the shelf, the LP can't slip out of the outer sleeve. 

And it doesn't matter what size the LP jacket is -- double-gatefold thick & large or relatively small & Euro-thin -- I use the same size outer sleeves.  They're 12.75" squares.  I even have some 10" LPs in these large sleeves. Works fine for me.

The only downside of loose-fitting sleeves? It makes reading the spines sorta difficult when the LPs are on the shelf.  

 

Edited by HutchFan
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2 minutes ago, JSngry said:

Someday music will be available in such a way that we don't have to worry about all these sleeves and their directionality stuff.

LOL !!!

All this minutiae is where the FUN is, Jim!  :P 

And we haven't even touched on so many other record collectors' foibles.  Speaking for myself...

Old stickers on the cover?  If they're removable, they gotta come off!

Broken or cracked CD jewel cases?  Gotta be replaced!

CD cases with sticker residue?  Time to get out the Goo Gone!  

 

My kids giggle when the see me doing all this stuff.  I suppose there's no rational reason!

It's just fun.  :g  

 

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Fun? I find it a necessary chore to tidy up the items somewhat (cleaning CD cases or replacing broken ones). ;)
Compared to that, taping and repairing covers definitely is more fun. (Though I'd understand any onlookers wondering what I am doing ... though not my son ... at age 20 he has become a vinyl junkie himself :D).

As for removing stickers, this is the main reason I've borrowed the hair dryer of my better half ever so often through the years ... Though I tend to leave really old stickers from long-gone record shops (that sold the item when new) in place. They're part of the history of the record and in some cases (with local finds) part of the history of local commerce.

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12 minutes ago, Big Beat Steve said:

As for removing stickers, this is the main reason I've borrowed the hair dryer of my better half ever so often through the years ... Though I tend to leave really old stickers from long-gone record shops (that sold the item when new) in place. They're part of the history of the record and in some cases (with local finds) part of the history of local commerce.

I was just playing a Donald Byrd LP ("Byrd In Flight") and it has a "J$4.99" price sticker from Plastic Fantastic with a phone number of (215) 525-ROCK. I'll leave that one on. :)

43 minutes ago, Big Beat Steve said:

 I try to put all my originals or older (roughly pre-mid-60s) pressings inside such clear sleeves (to prevent further wear to the covers, e.g. ring wear) but I put them in with the opening of the poly sleeve facing UP. Of course you have to remove the entire LP for listening ot the vinyl (as in your case) but this prevents sliding of the LP inside the sleeve and the spine usually remains legible (unless the poly outer sleeve is waaay oversized, so I am trying to match undersize covers to those relatively few somewhat undersized poly sleeves I have.

The problem with having the opening point up is that the edge you'll be looking through to see the spine will have the melted seam of the poly sleeve in the way. I have a tough enough time viewing these worn spines without having a plastic rib in the way. :)

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7 minutes ago, bresna said:

The problem with having the opening point up is that the edge you'll be looking through to see the spine will have the melted seam of the poly sleeve in the way. I have a tough enough time viewing these worn spines without having a plastic rib in the way. :)

That's true, but somehow I've found this to be less of a nuisance (or obstacle) than having the LP slide away from the edge of the outer sleeve oncle it's shelved. That makes things even more unreadable. :)

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Somebody liked my idea for this thread and started a sister thread over on the Hoffman forums. It somehow veered into how they repair *inner* sleeves. Repair inner sleeves? WTF? I have never, ever considered repairing an inner sleeve. It's called trash. Recycle? Sure. Repair? No. I bought a couple of packs of MoFi inner sleeves years ago and I will swap those in for a real bad inner but that's the most I'll do.

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9 minutes ago, bresna said:

Somebody liked my idea for this thread and started a sister thread over on the Hoffman forums. It somehow veered into how they repair *inner* sleeves. Repair inner sleeves? WTF? I have never, ever considered repairing an inner sleeve. It's called trash. Recycle? Sure. Repair? No. I bought a couple of packs of MoFi inner sleeves years ago and I will swap those in for a real bad inner but that's the most I'll do.

WTF indeed :lol:

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Actually I've repaired (taped along the seams) PERIOD inner sleeves here and there that feature ads for other records from that period. (This sort of sleeve just adds that final period touch to an original IMO.) Provided, of course, the inside of the sleeves hasn't become all abrasive with age. Though in some cases I've then inserted one of these plastic inner sleeves rounded at the bottom.

There must be a reason (or a bonus) why people hang on to these original sleeves, or else where wouldn't be so many eBay sales descriptions where they drool about the presence of the "original inner rice paper sleeve" (even if it's one that has NOTHING printed on it). ;)

 

 

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OMG, leave the stickers and stuff on. At least keep the jacked-up trashy innersleeve if it's the OG and has copy on it. That's the record's native land.

I am into collecting these records, not colonizing them. The native tongue of covers and such is the soul of the object. If it's not "clean", so be it. For that, there's digital and packaging thereof. And as things age, let them age, Aging is natural, it does a spirit good to be loved as it ages, without faul being found or repair sought/imposed.

Far from erasing the past lives of these things, I say keep them there to keep the continuity of spirit.

and yes, I am a bit of an animist about this, not logically, of course, just to keep myself in a place where I feel right about where all things are. I ain't the boss of you, I ain't the boss of me, and I for damn sure ain't the boss of records. Nor are they the boss of me. We take care of each other.

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