HAPPY NEW YEAR!
A big thank you to all our customers for making 2011 so successful. We hope to bring you lots of great new record collections for 2012! We will be closed from midday Thursday 28th and open again on Monday 2nd January. We wish good health in 2012 to every one out there in vinyl land.
New Clearaudio Concept Installed At Vinyl HQ
I’ve just installed the new Clearaudio Concept turntable in our office system after spending a weekend of listening and comparisons at home and pitting it against the Basis Gold Debut which I have owned for several years. I have to say that this is one amazing turntable / arm/ cartridge that has to be one of the great bargains in vinyl playback (or shellac for that matter, as this puppy spins 78s as well as LPs and 45s at the turn of a knob). Not only does it have a gorgeous midrange, but it plumbs the depths as capably as the Basis / Graham / Cardas Heart combo (I hasten to add that my Cardas Heart is a little long in the tooth)besides having slightly more punch to the bass. Soundstage width and depth is also outstanding as are the high frequencies – all in a package that is the height of clean design. Picture One features the Concept on the new $20,000 Roman pillar stand (just kidding). Shot two shows the tracking force being checked with the very last stylus tracking force gauge that good friend John Michell made for me. A very elegant and simple design that is fun to use. John made just a few of these by hand, but was much better known for his Gyrodec turntable as well as the Transcriptors Hydraulic Reference that was seen in Stanley Kubrick’s “A Clockwork Orange.” John was one of the true gentlemen of the British Hi-Fi fraternity.
Not One, Not Two, But Three Hot Collections For July
I have been very busy these last few weeks traveling to view record collections from the boiling hot and smog-bound Hemet to beautiful mile high Idylwild and so on to fog-bound and chilly Pacifica just south of San Francisco with a trip to Los Angeles thrown in for good measure. The results are a severely aching back and three excellent, mid-sized collections totaling some four thousand superb condition LPs.
It’s very gratifying to see that some collectors really take care of their records by treating each as a little treasure by sleeving, shelving, playing and storing them correctly. (It’s great not to encounter those insidious LAST stickers and the cloudy vinyl that accompanies them for a change) So what are some of the highlights you might ask? Well we already have over a thousand up on the site and are working diligently to upload as many as possible. Here are just a few: The original Black Sabbath UK Master Of Reality in the flip-back, box style jacket, the deadly rare Robert Sheckley’s “In A Land Of Clear Colors” box and book, Shirley And Dolly Collins “Anthems In Eden,” tons of Who, Jimi Hendrix, Eno, Roxy Music, Style Council, The Hampton Grease Band “Music To Eat,” Geordie’s “Hope You Like It,” rare LPs by May Blitz, Year 2000, Manfred Mann, Juicy Lucy, John Mayall, King Crimson, Gun, Traffic, Groundhogs And many others. There are also a lot of original English Track and Vertigo LPs and lots of classic U.S. rock from the late 1960’s to the mid 1970’s. Virtually every LP we have examined so far looks like it has never been on a turntable (factory fresh in fact) and many of the U.S. pressings belonged to a collector who left the shrink wrap intact with custom hype stickers in place.
Brooks Berdan
It is with great sadness that I have to report that friend and fellow record nut (collector extraordinaire might be more accurate), Brooks Berdan, proprietor of Brooks Berdan Ltd in Monrovia, California passed away on July 8th. I have fond memories of digging through crate after crate of records at the Pasadena swap meet (back in the early ‘80s) at 2 a.m. on a Sunday morning side by side with Brooks, then showing off our finds to each other. Brooks brightened thousands of lives with the gift of music for sure. Rest In Peace, Brooks.
Damn These Torpedos
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OK, so it’s not quite a torpedo and it’s nowhere near as heavy as it looks, but this big ‘ole thing turned up at Freakbeat Records in Sherman Oaks recently and via the bush telegraph, Tom Petty found out they had it in stock and bought it for his own collection of memorabilia. Pictured here is owner of Freakbeat, Bob Say, about to load the sucker into the back of Tom Petty’s secretary’s SUV. Only in L.A………
Rolling Stones You Get What You Need CD Box Exclusive
We believe we are the only location on the planet that has this fantastic and very limited Stones CD box. Designed and manufactured exclusively for a U.S. retailer and limited to only 3,000 numbered copies that sold out almost overnight, we have managed to locate several sets and it is truly spectacular weighing in at 12 lbs. The hand made outer box is covered in a cloth-bound and stitched Union Jack both front and which is sealed by a thick paper obi style sash. Inside there are 8 CDs covering the Stones 70s output each housed in a digpak card sleeve. These are enclosed in a cloth-bound gatefold book. Additionally there is an embossed 356 page hard cover, lavishly illustrated book “According To The Rolling Stones.” We feel that set is so desirable that it will soon escalate in price. Miss this and weep. $500 plus shipping.
Amazing New Turntable Spotted On Fairfax In LA
I recently spotted this high end beauty while window shopping in Los Angeles……..
Jimi Hendrix Light Box for sale
We have a brand new and long out of print Jimi Hendrix Light Box featuring the cover art from Axis: Bold As Love. Manufactured by Rabbit Tanaka in the early ’80s we believe (measuring approximately 18 x 14 x 4 inches). It comes with the original outer box and has been opened to take photos only. Perfect working condition. Runs on U.S. voltage with an on/off switch. $200 plus shipping (to be determined).
Gearbox Records – 180gm Great British Jazz – Exclusive!
We have just received our first shipment of LPs from Gearbox records in London. Started by Darrel Sheinman of Sheinman Exploration fame, Gearbox produces limited, 500 copy runs of high quality vinyl releases. They currently have five titles available by Tubby Hayes, Joe Harriott (2), Michael Garrick And Don Rendell. We managed to acquire the last few copies of “The Tubby Hayes Band” which is now out of print and we have good stocks on the other titles which also are over half sold out as of this blog date. Each of the gearbox titles has never previously been issued on vinyl or CD and each features great British jazzmen. Alto sax wizard Joe Harriott is featured on two releases: BBC Jazz for Moderns 180 gram 45 rpm EP – The first ever commercial release of this 1962 Maida Vale session. Joe plays with Shake Keane on trumpet, Coleridge Goode bass, Pat Smythe piano and Bobby Orr drums. The second release is: “Partying with Joe” 33 rpm 180 gram LP – The first ever commercial release of the 1956 house party recording with Phil Seaman on drums, Johnny Weed on piano and Major Holley on bass.
Outstanding Vibist Michael Garrick is featured with his quartet on – Silhouette. Never released before, this is a mono 1958 recording of pianist Garrick’s first ever band, including Josephine Stahl vocals, Peter Shade vibes, Brian Barnes drums and Paul Hemmings bass. Another great British jazzman, Don Rendell is featured on a 3 track 10 inch 45rpm EP entitled Manumission-BBC jazz for moderns. All these titles have been mastered using Manley valve equipment directly from the master tapes and cut with a Neuman VMS 80 cutting tool.
Weird Nitty Gritty Record
Here’s a little brain teaser….buried in the midst of a load of LPs I recently bought was a clear virgin vinyl LP in a plain white jacket. The odd thing about it is there are grooves cut both sides with nothing on them. The dead wax on side one has inscribed NITTY GRITTY and BP 360 LP1 along with NW RTI 19724. Side two dead wax has 13875 and BP 000. Any ideas what this is and what it was for….we’d be interested to find out.
