discogs marketplace?

Thought vinegar would be that last...I used it for years (only for certain used records) before reading somewhere that that was not a good idea.

"would be on that list"

Thanks but, Christ, that looks terrifying!
Xp

I always mean to buy a couple super dirty dollar bin records just to try it out once

wood glue is fine, best to try it with non-valuable records a couple times first but it comes off easy

vinegar sounds like a terrible idea

Long time ago...we used to bleed people too. (If there was ever any ill effects, I wasn't aware of them in the way of surface noise or anything.)

i do the wood glue thing a lot, once you get the technique down its not nearly as risky as it looks, the main thing is you just have to make sure you get the one specific kind of this one specific brand of glue, which for some obscure chemical reason is the only kind that works.

results-wise its a roll of the dice in my experience. sometimes it helps, sometimes it does nothing, but once in a blue moon ive had it revive a piece of noisy garbage back to sounding VG+.

IMO water alone isn’t terribly effective — surface tension keeps it from getting way into the grooves. You need a surfactant of some sort. The spin-clean fluid really does seem to work well, although I’ve heard a drop of dish detergent (followed by a distilled water rinse) will do also.

yeah I use Spin Clean w/distilled water

I might try this glue trick, I've got a 7" single which is normally quite rare and expensive but I got it for £5 on Ebay but it is *trashed*. it's probably unsalvageable, but it might be worth a go to see if I can at least make it listenable, otherwise I'm going to sell it on (probably for not much more than I bought it because it is in a bad state, the sleeve is v worn as well)

I normally use isopropyl alcohol/distilled water plus a couple of drops of washing up liquid

xp OK you gotta tell me what that is

it's the K9's - The K9 Hassle:

https://www.discogs.com/The-K9s-The-K9-Hassle/release/2233491

Be careful with 7" singles, I recall reading some are made from a different plastic than full size records, and the glue can stick to this other material.

yes, styrene, always check yr Discogs entries

70s-80s pressings only, iirc

and it is fucking garbage

Anyone ever use a ultrasonic record cleaner? I've been told they are better than even the vacuum record cleaners, but they are freaking expensive unless you rig your own.

xxp hmm, this page on differentiating between styrene and vinyl records has people saying wood glue is ok on styrene:

https://www.vinylengine.com/turntable_forum/viewtopic.php?t=62462

tbh I'm not sure abt the glue on those, I just hate styrene pressings

the guy at my record shop cleans them for a buck a pop (or 2-3 for a dollar if he likes you) so I use that as an excuse to go visit

was complaining on a different thread about a record I'd imported that was listed as VG+ but had audible surface noise throughout the entire album. took it to this guy who spun cleaned it and it actually sounds pretty good now. the surface noise is still there (particularly at the beginning of each side) but it's much less audible now. still would not call it VG+ but still, I would've given it a solid G before. anyway, give it a try if you could

by the way can I just say I hate the terminology behind record grading, where "Very Good" is in fact "okay", "Good" is actually "Bad" and "Fair" is "literally bent into a Moebius strip". must've been an unscrupulous record dealer who came up with that bullshit

Yeah, I stay away from pretty much everything on Discogs rated VG or lower.

I’ve rallied against the VG/VG+ black hole before

VG+ is def the most bullshit grade

idk not in my circles or buying experience, VG is where the disagreements seem to start

that being said, I think I've probably been lucky w/r/t Discogs purchases

xp a bit but I always have a bottle of Record Revirginizer kicking about now, it's kind like wood glue but actually designed for records

I've had records I thought were trash brought back to VG and better with this stuff, in Australia it costs about $50 a bottle - not sure how many records I get out of that, feels like more than 25 tho - I ask myself would I pay $2 at the shop for a better sounding record and the answer is yes

It was made in Aus but I've heard the dude's patent was bought out by a US company so maybe it'll start showing up more readily/cheaply in other territories now

He'll make a mint

nah they only offered a Very Good Plus

Most VG+ graded purchases I've made on Discogs from large sellers have been okay. It usually means the record sounds decent and the cover has issues, which for something cheap doesn't bother me. The bad ones tended to have surface noise despite looking clean.

hint: if it’s an older record, it’s probably not actually VG+

ime

idk I have e.g. a 1967 Doors pressing that is basically perfect aside from very light shelf wear, would def grade it VG++

I'm kind of a condition freak so I break it down like:

Mint -- opened but unplayed, record never taken out of jacket, no creases or cover issues

Near Mint -- basically perfect w/ minor signs of use

VG++ -- like NM but with aging or other noticeable wear

VG+ -- basically in great shape but maybe some hairlines or spindle wear or small cover issues etc, record should play w/o surface noise unless pressing is known to have issues (which happens a lot tbh)

VG -- some surface noise, pops, crackle, etc. Shouldn't interfere w/ the listening experience. I wouldn't buy or keep a musique concret or classical or quiet experimental record with this grade unless it was a placeholder for an upgrade

VG- -- known issues like scratches or cover damage, but not so much as to become a beater. no skips.

G -- beater copy that I file w/o an outer sleeve just to play for fun. maybe a skip or two.

F or P - pretty much worthless except for sentimental reasons

fortunately I only sell through a small internet group of mutual friends and in person at shows, so grading doesn't come up for me too much. I will say again that out of hundreds of Discogs purchases I've only had a couple of overgrading issues.

To me, those all sound at least one notch too generous. But I’m not in the collector game

for reference:

https://www.goldminemag.com/collector-resources/record-grading-101

basically any noticeable flaws should mean VG- or lower, with descriptions of said flaws

yeah I mean i should stress it’s just my experience. a few years ago I ordered 10 VG+ steely dan records from 10 different sellers and only one was actually VG+... the rest were VG at best. kind just decided to go with stores I trust + descriptive EBay listings for used stuff since.

kind “of”

well I should say VG- at best per yr grading scale, sleeve

I would have thought G means no skips (at minimum). Just by the plain-language meaning of “Good.”

Good records basically sound like garbage but shouldn’t skip

fwiu

I like discussing this stuff btw but I’m a nerd

lol same

I reserve “mint” for sealed records; if the shrink has been opened, the highest I will grade is NM, and that only if it looks perfect in every way. Any mark, even spindle marks, instantly downgrade it to VG+. Any mark that looks like it would be audible (or, if playgraded, any audible issues beyond a tiny amount of crackle at the start of a side) instantly downgrades the record to VG.

For jackets, even if sealed, I usually grade NM at best. I have one item currently for sale that looks like it just came off the factory line and was handled with care - my only M/M. I have lots of sealed records that grade M/VG+ or M/VG due to bumps, shelfwear, etc.

I try to accurately describe any flaws.

I’m sure I miss out on lots of sales because people are (rightly) wary of VG+ records actually being VG or worse, and listing 2 or 3 flaws in the description makes the records sound worse than they are, but it’s more important to me to keep my 100% seller rating than to have a couple more bucks in my pocket. YMMV.

^^ tough but fair, I shoulda mentioned that for me "sealed" is a separate thing, some new stock never comes in shrink

(would totally buy from you, feel free to plug yr store)

yeah was going to say hardcore, great post, would like to browse your store

an old friend of mine who has owned a record store for years always prices stuff very fair, def less than discogs, I asked him why and he said "a record store should be a river not a lake"

which I love the imagery but basically he wants stuff going out and stuff coming in at all times, if that means getting $10 less than three theoretical price online so be it, he wants there always to be new stuff when someone comes in