Comments on: Riffing on Kind of Blue

By: david j

david j — Sat, 14 Apr 2018 19:33:21 +0000

A seller that sells a fair number of lps can’t play grade them all. For example, what I consider expensive someone else might consider inexpensive or vice versa. In this case what is the cutoff in value of an lp that gets a play grade? Also, what if the seller is selling 500 lps in a week: at 40 minutes of listening per lp that’s 20,000 minutes of listening, or 333 hours or, about 14 days. That’s just not going to happen for 40 hour work weeks. Finally, and I’ve raised this issue in the past, there are huge variations in equipment. Some buyers might think what I have in my playback system is overkill while others might think my playback system is junk. Of course, there is no accounting for how much surface noise two different people will find tolerable. When I sell I never play grade except to identify skips and other major issues. Goldmine only!

By: geoffrey wheeler

geoffrey wheeler — Sat, 14 Apr 2018 04:56:47 +0000

Thank you everyone for sharing your experience in play-grading. I’m impressed with your knowledge and discipline.

By: Joe L

Joe L — Fri, 13 Apr 2018 22:04:32 +0000

I also play-grade completely when I sell higher-end LPs.

By: jason

jason — Fri, 13 Apr 2018 20:46:42 +0000

Whenever I sell or trade a collectible LP I play grade the record. It’s only right to do so! I know that different audio set-ups make a difference so I try to note that to the buyer.

By: geoffrey wheeler

geoffrey wheeler — Fri, 13 Apr 2018 14:57:51 +0000

Thank you, Mark, I appreciate the input. I will adopt that method.

By: Shaft

Shaft — Fri, 13 Apr 2018 07:36:58 +0000

goeffrey – No I would not expect a “complete” playgrade but it sure is appreciated! I often wonder why sellers with expensive collectible LPs to sell sometimes just give a very basic visual grade for LPs in. A gamble for sure as a buyer. I mean if you expect big money back on a sale why not give it a spin?

But of course sitting by the speaker or playing an LP through with earphones listening for imperfections is very time consuming and maybe should be reserved for higher end LPs. I myself when I am in a store and checking condition I maybe generally spend about 5 minutes to check if an LP is good enough for me – it very seldom takes any longer. This is roughly what I do:
1. Check the LP visually. Soemtimes I use my iPhones flashlight since many stores have dim lights….
2. If it is deemed OK and have promise I put it on the TT and play from start each side.
3. If no problem I check between the soungs to get a feel for the background noise of an album.
4. I also play some latter part of each side to check for groove wear since it often is most prominent further in on an LP.
5. If there are any scratches or marks I try to play them through to see if they make noise.

By: Mike F

Mike F — Fri, 13 Apr 2018 01:33:25 +0000

Hello Al,
Love the column and it’s a challenge to keep up.

And, yes, winter will end. Enjoy the country life!

(Is that what you wanted, Alfred. -Miles)

By: Aaron

Aaron — Thu, 12 Apr 2018 23:13:08 +0000

I’ll play in it’s entirety any record I expect to fetch over $100. I do this to ensure there aren’t any issues not discernible by visual grading alone.

By: Mark

Mark — Thu, 12 Apr 2018 21:02:40 +0000

Whenever I sell a valuable LP I always playgrade the entire album.

By: geoffrey wheeler

geoffrey wheeler — Thu, 12 Apr 2018 20:33:19 +0000

I have a question and would appreciate feedback. Since many LPs posted here date from the 1950s, would you expect a vendor to play-grade completely through each side for you? I recently encountered this for the first time from a prospective buyer of a M-/M- first-pressing of Miles Davis’s album “Cookin’.” Thank you for any help you can provide.