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"TRACKS ON WAX"
Rob & Judi Anderson - Anderson's Restorations
Groovy! Cool! Vinyl tracks! Spinning a disc! I have a confession to make, I love records. Albums to be exact. 33
1/3 , cool covers, inserts, double albums, lost tracks. I get weak in the knees! 1 will confess to having 1000 LPs and 200
45s and 100 78s and I always look through every box of records I see!
Record collecting is a very popular part of this collecting game but sort of one of those "underground" collectables. You
like records or you don't. Records come in a few basic areas. 78s, 33 1/3, the famous 45 and 16 rpm. The 16-rpm never did
reach the popularity they predicted so we will let that area rest.
. The 3 most important thing about these are condition, condition and most important, condition. This is most important
with 78s because they were not that great to start with. Collectors look for "Mint"or "Still Sealed"records; Near mint or
Very Good is the next best. The ease of finding good records depends on the area of collecting. I collect Rock from the 60s-
70s Most of these were played to death with the covers written on and all those pictures from the inside cut out and pasted
on some teenage girls bedroom wall. {you all know who you are and we have your names!]Yes, the covers are also graded and
very collectable. People collect 45 picture sleeves. They can be worth MORE then the record. Also the more valuable the record,
the bad condition becomes more acceptable.
The care and feeding of these treasures doesn't take much. LPs and 45s can be washed with a damp cloth and dish soap. Wipe
in a circular motion with the groves being careful not to soak the label. 78s should just be wiped with a lint free cloth
and NO water. Store them standing up if possible. If you must stack flat, do not over stack or the weight will break the bottom
ones. Wipe out any covers or jackets and use the inner plastic cover on the record if you still have it. If you really want
to start collecting, you can buy inner plastic sleeves and blank covers to replace any missing ones. Try not to touch the
record itself, hold it touching the rim only.
There are several price guides available as well as Web Sites for record collecting.lt's a fun area of collecting and open
to almost any type of music. Rock, Country, Motown, Movie Sound Tracks and others or just collect certain artists. The Tony
Bennett is easier to find in NM condition then the Beatles. Classical records are in better condition then Iron Butterfly
ones. You want the best condition records you can find and sometimes you have to settle for a G or VG condition till something
better comes along and you still need one more thing, Something To Play Them On!! That will be next issue along with more
about LPs. 45s and 78s will follow in the future.
Till next time,
cRob & Judi Anderson/Anderson's Restorations. May not be reprinted without written permission.
COLLECTING RECORDS; PART 2-LPs
by Rob & Judi Anderson
We spoke last month about records in general. This time we would like to concentrate on LPs. This is the standard 33 l/3rpm,
12" diameter record we remember and probably have some in the garage in a box! What you may not know is Lps also came in a
10"version. Some refer to these as "Little LPs". Whatever the size, they are grouped by the speed, 33 1/3.
As we touched on in the last issue, condition is the main factor when dealing with records. When you get into LPs, you
also add things such as picture books, special stickers, word sheets and other offers. These also help to gauge an albums
price. The best example would be a picture or pictures inside an album or on the paper sleeve the record is in. You will often
find these missing because they ended up on the wall. When you have a complete album with all its"extras", you can make up
for maybe a less then perfect record.
We also need to touch on two other areas to look for. Colored vinyl records and picture sleeves. Colored pressings of records
usually indicate special pressings and are very desirable to have. They may be in the same jacket as the standard black record
or may have slightly different jacket or one completely different! Be warned that the 1977 Elvis LP of Moody Blue was released
in blue vinyl as the standard. If you find a copy that's black, you have the rare issue! See there are no sure things in life
or collecting. You may also run across odd shaped records, such as shaped like a guitar. These are very collectable also.
The picture sleeves we refer to are also odd shaped like the records and sometimes are a special 'Limited" part of an album
release.
Lets touch on a couple of other things you can find. Promo Issue. These were usually pressed for distribution to radio
stations and such. Many came with a "Promo Pack" with pictures and even interview tapes. These can be interesting to find.
Some of these records may be only one song on one side! Foreign Releases are also out there. A record released in another
country can have a different cover, different record company and even different songs.
The areas open for collecting are wide open. Country, Rock-early, late, Classical, Show or Movie Tunes, R&B, Blues,
Jazz, Folk, it's a long list. Pick an area you like and research before you jump in. There are books available for most of
the areas mentioned and also the general price guides. Elvis and the Beatles each have a book devoted to just their records.
Here are a few personal tips.
If you find an album that has a great cover/inner sleeve but the record is just so-so AND the price is right, pick it up.
You stand a better chance of finding a good record with bad jacket. Just like you have all those records stored in the shed
for the dampness to ruin the covers don't you. You can tell me, it's OK.
Mon~ and Stereo. These are the two types of records available. Just remember, in the early 60s,Stereo was the new kid on
the block. Most are Mono at this point but as time goes by, Stereo becomes the standard and Mono becomes the rare one. {This
is where you need that book we discussed}
Records with no jackets. If it's a good one in very good shape, you can look for a jacket with a bad record or buy new
blank jackets.
If the price is good, don't pass up a desirable record cause you think you'll find a better one. There are 2 reasons for
this. One- you can always sell or trade this on if you do find a better one and two-if you don't get this one, you will NEVER
find another one. If you buy it, you will find another right away! {Robs Law}
Till Next Time
c2002-2006 Rob & Judi Anderson/Anderson's Restorations. May not be reprinted.
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