To Sleeve, Or not To Sleeve
Before getting back to the normal business of watching rare jazz vinyl on eBay, I have a question for the community that is gnawing at my brain. It has to do with record sleeves, specifically the plastic record sleeves most of us use to protect our records. I have been using sleeves for as long as I can remember, 40 years, maybe even 50. For my 12-inch LPs I used to prefer the tight 12-5/8 sleeves I would get from Bags Unlimited, but over time I have evolved to the larger 12-sleeves. Either way, all of my records have sleeves on them and that has always been the case. As I’ve been doing the radio show, I find it’s more convenient for me to take the records out of the sleeves and keep them out for a while. And I’m liking it. At lot. For Seinfeld fans, think Kramer and the thin layer of gaberdine. I’m thinking of letting my boys roam free, with no sleeves at all, nothing between me and the covers. They look SOOOO much cooler this way. Is this insane? Will my records get damaged? Is there anyone out there with a sizable collection who has gone bareback and lived to tell about it? I know this may not be the most pressing question in the world, but inquiring minds — at least this one — want to know. BTW, my latest podcast is already available for download if you are interested. This one is focused on Bill Evans’ work as a sideman. I listened to it live last night and I kind of enjoyed it, gaffes and all.
I use clear, resealable sleeves so I don’t have to take the jacket out of the sleeve to access the record. Many of the jackets from my ’50s & ’60s records are fragile and I would prefer not to add any additional wear. Some, like Stereophile/Absolute Sound vinyl advocate Michael Fremer, might play their records on a six figure turntable but do not use any outer sleeves.
Aloha Al, like you had used sleeves from Bags Unlimited. Then started to change to the clear resealable ones for my jazz, vocals and other more special records, just me I don’t like like the bags tight over the covers, especially given their age. Now from my days of spinning/mixing 12inchers some are still not in bags. It is nice though when listening to a bunch of vinyl not having to always take them out of the sleeves. I guess that’s the price in order to protect them for now and years to come. Mahalo
Most of ’em are bagged, though a few cheapies roam free. I like the ultimate outer 2.5s but they seem to be hard to get now.
I’ve never used plastic outers. I like the easy access to the music and the ability to store more albums in the same space. Having to remove the outer sleeve just to get to the record is too much of a hassle for me. There are exceptions, when the cover has sticky tape or is falling apart, they get bagged.
I understand why so many people use bags, but lots of my records were bought used and cover condition was never a deal breaker. Sometimes the covers get worse in my care, but not often, and not by much. Those old laminated covers are tough. The newer ones maybe not so much.. I try and be careful when the record is outside the cover.
Oh yeah, they also look cooler on the shelf, especially when same companies are filed together like Trane on Impulse and Horace on Blue Note, and it’s easier to read the spines. Once in a great while I’ll take something down and it will have some extra shelf wear, so there is a bit of a trade off.
I have always used outer plastic sleeves, the size about half a centimetre bigger than the average US sleeve size. It has protected my art sleeves against accumulated dust and rubbing/ wear when pulling out an album.
I see no reason for changing my policy.
I have gotten burned by the resealable on a few occasions with the sticky part touching the cover and adhering and tearing off a bit. No doubt user error based on the fans above. I am using the 5.0s heavy duty outer plastic sleeves and the Mofi inners and migrating to taking the records out of the original covers and having them separate within the 5.0 outers.
Thanks for all of the comments. Like Rudolf, I’ve always used the outer plastic sleeves. I am starting to lean in the direction of billsf. I’m always looking for ways to enjoy the collection more, and having the records out of the sleeves has been a bit of a revelation. At this point, it’s all about my enjoyment, I think. I’m not holding on to the records for posterity, or even for their monetary value (despite what some cynics may think). My kids don’t want them, so they are mine for the duration, and when I’m gone they will probably be scattered around the world via Carolina Soul or some other dealer. My biggest issue is that I will do it, then change my mind (again) and then have to go through the process of redoing it all. Seems like that may be a project for the winter, rather than the summer, so I’m not doing anything quickly and always appreciate additional comments. I will get back to watching eBay later today.
I separate the album covers and LPs for my more valuable records. The album covers go into thick plastic sleeves which open to the top, and they’re never removed again. The LPs go into a MoFi protector, and that goes into a plain unmarked heavy duty cardstock sleeve on which I write the name of the LP, so I can have easy access without having to ever touch or stress the album cover again.
Playing Records is a manual task so protecting both Vinyl and Cover is just one more smart step in the careful process. Anyone ever see a $100 Cover with a coffee ring? Not pretty and a stain seriously affects appearance and value. How about a $1000 record? Yikes. Then there’s the occasional small mouse/silver fish etc. that somehow got into the room and they love old paper/cardboard. And how ’bout seam-splits that can happen ever so easily with 60 year old carboard? (sliding the LP in and out). There are wonderful options nowadays for quality protection and presentation. Similar to Todd, my “keepers” are protected in resealable archival mylar, jacket by itself with the record next to it in an inner sleeve and housed in 12″ cardboard stock with a hole in the middle. That way the Cover never leaves the “plastic” and the label can be seen from the back.
I’m with Clifford here; 90% of my records have plastic outer sleeves and I’ve done this since the early 90s. A few years prior I did not put sleeves on my records but by the early 90s I was onboard. The approx 10% that do not are mostly cheapies that I don’t sweat about. Or it’s partly laziness in buying more bags to put those in as well.
I’m with Clifford on the crystal clear, mylar-like Ultimate Outer available from Sleeve City. The thick cloudy plastic bags make records looks unattractive and to my eye, dirty. Why put a cloudy, cheap looking bag on a work of art? Whenever I buy used stuff I ditch those bags immediately. I have some of the resealable Japanese mylar sleeves, but I find them to be a bit of a pain, especially on a heavy pressing, or double LP where they do not always fit .
As a general practice, I keep the record and inner sleeve behind the jacket (a trick learned in Japan), and on rare records, or things I particularly value, add the die cut cardboard inner Robert mentioned above. This makes them easy to remove for playing without the risk of scuffing or split seams. I remember as a kid being taught to store the inner sleeve facing up within the jacket to prevent dust build-up, but I have been storing the inner sleeve facing up outside the jacket for years now and haven’t noticed any more dust or dirt.
I also have a number of bagless records, mostly reissues or things I do not value so much.
It seems to me that Jazz Collector is always focused on condition. So a sleeve is just “insurance “. Us older guys don’t have a lot of room on our shelves and as we acquire more records they get pretty tight sometimes, and therefore cardboard rubbing against cardboard is not an issue if sleeves are used.
Inners and outers. At the cheap end of the pond, so many sleeves already have splits. Those that don’t shouldn’t be challenged further by the tasks of insertion and removal.
Aloha Todd, I also separate my vinyl from the covers, especially the older ones. By doing so it allows for easier access to the record for listening but still protect both record and cover. My issue is trying to get more-better shelving so I can house them with a little more room. Wife says I need to make some space, lol! Mahalo!
Aloha billsf, speaking about records, storage, protecting them. I remember Berigan had a customer, I think they referred to him as the doctor, that would buy amazing amounts of vinyl but didn’t have the storage, so Taylor and his old partner dba Brown up the street would house records for him, til he made, created space-shelving in his place. I had never heard of that, 100’s of records, many very rare not in his own home. BTW many of my records from Berigan’s in sleeves include his hand written receipts! Mahalo!
I ALWAYS use clean outer and inner sleeves! I realize that there is more futzing with the records/covers when using outer selves, but I have found two things: 1) if I don’t use the outer sleeves then the covers end up with much more wear and 2) records are worth too much these days to accept anything that lessens the value of the records.
With David J here. Any record that comes into my house is cleaned before it hits a turntable, and immediately after cleaning it’s placed in a new inner (generally mo-fi anti-static) and the jacket is placed in a new poly outer. The record in its new inner is then placed behind the jacket in the outer, turned 90 degrees so the opening of the inner isn’t aligned with the opening of the outer. This gives great protection for both record and jacket (and any inserts, which are kept in the jacket) and the vinyl is easily accessible.
Box sets are the real hassle!
After going back and forth over the years, I have finally settled on open-topped, fairly heavyweight polythene outers — my wife also uses them in paper-crafting so we share an order periodically.
However, I only use them on (a) new records which have sleeves that are very light or white in colour and uncovered would be prone to soiling; (b) vintage records which by my standards were expensive; and (c) records which have sleeves that are already damaged or deteriorating.
So in a nutshell, I use protective outers on actually very few records and mainly to stop sleeves deteriorating further.
Generally, I prefer the look and convenience of ‘naked’…
I abandoned outer sleeves 10-15 year ago. For all the reasons described. And will never go back.
If this comment repeats, please excuse — I have had some difficulties in posting it. I don’t know why.
In the 60s and 70s *every* LP I bought went inside one of those stiff plastic sleeves. Doubles went inside one of the custom-made double-LP sleeves. On at least one occasion this did save almost my entire record collection from a catastrophic beer spill…
But over the years those old plastic sleeves become brittle. They are hard on the finger-ends too. I now only use fairly heavyweight PVC sleeves that open at the top and I only put these on new records that have very pale, easily soiled sleeves and on vintage records with sleeves that are either already damaged or deteriorating or would become so if left unprotected. Only around 10%-15% of my records have PVC sleeves…
And I no longer drink beer or have beer drinking friends!
…All one has to do is gaze longingly at that image of those unsleeved beauties displayed in all their glory on the cover of Ashley Kahn’s book ‘The House That Trane Built: The Story of Impulse Records’ to instantly consider doing the unthinkable. As much as I concur with the majority of opinion here in the Jazz collective and keep my LP’s protected at all times, it is essentially just to protect them from myself ! As a collector by nature, I like to keep my acquisitions in pristine condition if only to keep my OCD in check for self-preservation. That being said, I buy original first pressings for my own enjoyment these days and less so for any future investment potential. I think this transition happened about the time I began investing in high-end hifi components over the last decade. Maintaining the integrity of each LP in my collection focused on the preservation of sonic enjoyment and less on future resale value. Who knows what tomorrow may bring, so why not enjoy them while we can and throw caution to the wind… (*Just keep them out of direct sunlight, as the spines will fade, and don’t even get me started about potential fire or flood damage 🙂