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What's the Most You've Paid for a Vinyl Record?

Another bargain hunter here although have not purchased LPs for some years now.
That I can remember £10 for a pristine copy of BJH Live (double).
 
gavreid said:
On a slightly different note, some of the vinyl pressings from the era around 2000 are also worth quite big money now it seems. Tom Waits, Weller are probably among the richest that I own.
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Yeah, I have a couple of Oasis albums and Bellybutton by Jellyfish, all of which seem to go for around the £100 mark. Not a big fan. Maybe I should unload them?
 
Tony L said:
PS Thankfully the Bitches Brew in the huge Complete Columbia Albums box is superb, apparently a scarce Japanese mastering and the best the original mix has ever sounded on CD.
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I have the Jap 'Master sound' release from 1996 which is the best I've heard (apparently it was the last digital release of the original mix, sans digital delays).
 
The most I have paid for vinyl is about £25. I've done it twice:

Once for a copy of the Tangerine Dream 70-80 box (new) and again for for an original press of Kraftwerk's second album.
 
Tony L said:
That is the mastering session that created the Classic Records double too. It has been slightly rejigged since so modern CDs are very slightly better than the 1997, I think fixing a little clipping/overshoot rather than actually re-doing it. I do like this mastering, though the CDs are much brighter than earlier issues, and I’m not entirely convinced that is for the best. With a lot of the recent Miles Davis I get the impression they have gone for the most impact and presence on his trumpet rather than the ensemble as a whole, e.g. I prefer Bill Evans’ piano on the earlier 32dp mastering. Thankfully with Miles Davis there aren’t any really bad (official) masterings, so we are splitting hairs here. Some bands absolutely trashed their catalogue with hideous remasters, but just about all Miles sounds great.
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Dealing with KOB remasterings and reissues is always a bit of nightmare. Even going back to the early 6 Eyes there seems to be disputes as to the first pressings as the matrix numbers were not used in order? Discogs lists over 250 official reissues and about another 100 unofficial rip offs.

There seem to be a couple of Classic Records doubles issued around this time. The first was in 1995 - CS8163 and this was I think mastered (re mastered) by Mark Wilder the same as credited for the 1997 US Super Bit Map CD I have. They then did issue it again in 1997 - still CS 8163, but this time with Bernie Grundman credited as the mastering engineer and then again in 1999 , and that says remastered at Bernie Grundman mastering. Further reissues 2001, 2002 and later also credit Bernie Grundman mastering so it seems they were either not totally happy with the Mark Wilder mastering, perhaps because of the reasons you give, or they just thought sales to 'audiophiles' would be better under Bernie Grundman's name? Does your Classic Records copy credit anyone with the mastering?

Can't say I noticed any clipping on my CD version, but I usually play the Nimbus LP as it is better, but like you I have heard no really bad official versions. If they are generally good then it maybe a matter of subjective taste by both the mastering engineer and final listener? I was disappointed with the DeAgostini Jazz 33 reissue that while good value at a fiver was (subjectively) IMHO well behind the Nimbus and 1997 CD in sound quality, but that seems to be well liked in the Jazz 33 thread here.

Sorry to the OP for taking this a little off thread subject, but hopefully not too far as mastering and pressing details can make a big difference in what people are prepared to pay.
 
It is interesting that many serious record collectors of very expensive early pressings, not the ones that just keep them unplayed and often sealed as an investment - they do love the music, quite often do not play them through very revealing HiFi syestems. You would think if you are often paying $1,000+ for a record you would want to maximise its qualities? In some cases the turntable setup is probably even causing excess further wear on the LP

http://dgmono.com/category/jazz-collectors-of-ig/
 
Around 20 years ago I was browsing in Record Collector and found a clean copy of Back Door’s Activate for £10. As I was reading the sleeve and wavering I noticed another punter was watching me. Not wishing to blink first I waited until he asked, ‘are you buying that?’, so I did out of a sense of completeness (I have the rest). To be honest it’s only OK.
 
I think my wife paid getting on for £200 for a copy of George Michael 'Older' album on record.
It was a christmas prezzy a few years ago.

Quite cheap by today's prices...

on the flip side, I sold Carl Perkins - Blue Suede Shoes 7" for Headway charity and managed £85. The charity was delighted
 
Top two.

1. 17,000 yen or £113 when bought in Japan in 2017 - 1st Impulse (US) pressing of A Love Supreme (NM or Mint-) - AS-77. Not AS-77-A like you see selling online as 1st pressings.
2. 80 USD for Coltrane Live at the Village Vanguard 1st pressing, bought online from the US.
 
I have the Classic 2-disc version of KOB, can't remember what I paid, possibly £30. Other than that I doubt I ha e paid more than £20 for any vinyl. I do have quite a few original pressings of brit pop era bands (Pulp, Supergrass, Weller etc) which I understand are quite valuable now?
 
foxwelljsly said:
£40 for a mint US first press of Roland Kirk's 'We Free Kings'.
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The only Roland Kirk I have is on “ Out of the Afternoon” by the Roy Haynes Quartet. He is an exceptional musician; he plays the soprano and tenor saxophones simultaneously on the above album. Has to be heard to be believed...

Brian
 
poco a poco said:
There seem to be a couple of Classic Records doubles issued around this time. The first was in 1995 - CS8163 and this was I think mastered (re mastered) by Mark Wilder the same as credited for the 1997 US Super Bit Map CD I have. They then did issue it again in 1997 - still CS 8163, but this time with Bernie Grundman credited as the mastering engineer and then again in 1999 , and that says remastered at Bernie Grundman mastering. Further reissues 2001, 2002 and later also credit Bernie Grundman mastering so it seems they were either not totally happy with the Mark Wilder mastering, perhaps because of the reasons you give, or they just thought sales to 'audiophiles' would be better under Bernie Grundman's name? Does your Classic Records copy credit anyone with the mastering?
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Mine is the first; the 1995 double LP in a heavy gatefold sleeve with side 1 at both speeds, side 2, and the bonus alt take of Flamenco Sketches at 45rpm. I can’t see a mastering credit. It is very nice but very warm (as are many Classic masterings) so it sounds a bit over-cooked on my fairly warm and weighty main system. The Nimbus beats it here for sure.

I’ve heard folk say the later single album Classic version sounds better, though I’ve never compared them. There is also IIRC a 1 track per side 45 rpm box set, which I assume sounds rather good, though again I’ve never seen one.

PS A pfm shop customer actually got a Nimbus KOB from me for peanuts several years back (I can’t remember who). I bought/sold it thinking it was a bog-standard ‘70s CBS repress as it didn’t have the cover sticker, but I spotted the ‘Nimbus’ matrix stamp just as I was cleaning it to send out! I didn’t mention it, though hopefully they noticed they got a bloody great sounding copy!
 
It's not odd. In fact many serious collectors aren't audiophiles; they are into the records themselves. I know people who are very serious about music or their collection but have very basic hifi systems. Many audiophiles on the other hand have serious systems but are not very knowledgeable about music or have pretty poor collections.

poco a poco said:
It is interesting that many serious record collectors of very expensive early pressings, not the ones that just keep them unplayed and often sealed as an investment - they do love the music, quite often do not play them through very revealing HiFi syestems. You would think if you are often paying $1,000+ for a record you would want to maximise its qualities? In some cases the turntable setup is probably even causing excess further wear on the LP

http://dgmono.com/category/jazz-collectors-of-ig/
Click to expand...
 
poco a poco said:
It is interesting that many serious record collectors of very expensive early pressings, not the ones that just keep them unplayed and often sealed as an investment - they do love the music, quite often do not play them through very revealing HiFi systems
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I think it shows that a lot of these folks are buying expensive original pressings not so much for the sound but as collectors items. A bit like buying first edition books.

I understand the appeal - I love nice old DG pressings with pasteback sleeves. Sadly my budget runs more to vintage Penguin paperbacks than first edition Hemingways :-D
 
hockman said:
Many audiophiles on the other hand have serious systems but are not very knowledgeable about music or have pretty poor collections.
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That is largely a myth IME. I can think of very few people with serious audio kit I’ve visited who don’t know their favoured musical genres very well and have the collections to prove it. They may be different taste-wise to mine/yours or whatever, but that doesn’t imply they are wrong (unless they don’t like Miles Davis, Bach, Coltrane etc, obviously). I’ve also met collectors who collect to my mind daft things, e.g. every #1 UK single, every foreign pressing of DSOTM or whatever. I can’t see the appeal of that at all. My collector gene has always been focused on a mint first press from country of origin of my favourite music. I’m not interested in owning multiple copies (beyond having both vinyl and digital for some titles), but I will always chase the best masterings.

The current trend for streaming has obviously shifted this for many peole making a substantial percentage of recorded music available within a few computer clicks, though I still have far too many concerns about mastering etc to go down this path. I am still the geeky record/CD/SACD collector I always have been, and I tend to buy so much I have no time for streaming!
 
I just treated myself to the original Massive (Attack) 'Blue Lines' vinyl with outer cardboard mailer sleeve. Saw it for £65 so jumped in because you rarely find it complete.

I felt guilty at first, but then I've never spent anywhere near that before, have wanted it for years, is about the price of a tank of petrol and I regularly spend a third of that on new LPs that I don't really want or need. Easy to convince myself I did the right thing.
 
Some of my Grail purchases

Sylvia striplin - Give me your love - original pressing on unomelodic records - £185 was a number years ago
James mason Rythm of life - original pressing chiaroscuro - £219 again a number of years ago
Arnold Blair - trying to get next to you - 7" original pressing - gemingo records - £165 (several years ago)
Tarika Blue - Tarika Blue chiaroscuro - picked up when i was in america, bargain I think $65 (circa 10 years ago)
Penny goodwin- portrait of a gemini - sidney records - again purchased on a trip to the US many years ago - $107

There are others but these these really stand out

G
 
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