Comments on: To Sleeve, Or not To Sleeve

By: don-lucky

don-lucky — Thu, 03 Aug 2023 19:22:16 +0000

…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 🙂

By: Alun Severn

Alun Severn — Mon, 31 Jul 2023 12:21:13 +0000

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!

By: Kristian Kristiansen

Kristian Kristiansen — Sat, 29 Jul 2023 14:17:46 +0000

I abandoned outer sleeves 10-15 year ago. For all the reasons described. And will never go back.

By: Alun Severn

Alun Severn — Wed, 26 Jul 2023 12:19:01 +0000

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’…

By: jwr

jwr — Sun, 23 Jul 2023 01:13:06 +0000

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!

By: David J

David J — Thu, 20 Jul 2023 18:14:57 +0000

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.

By: kyle

kyle — Thu, 20 Jul 2023 15:37:59 +0000

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!

By: kyle

kyle — Thu, 20 Jul 2023 15:30:13 +0000

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!

By: austingonzo

austingonzo — Wed, 19 Jul 2023 23:46:32 +0000

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.

By: Art Klempner

Art Klempner — Wed, 19 Jul 2023 16:23:41 +0000

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.