Yep, we've all done it.
Either intentionally, or forgetfully, we've purchased duplicates.
I just did it again. I had done needledrops of a double LP set which were a reissue of a Canadian Sweethearts and Lucille Starr album. (And that set is in sad shape--too worn to be of any use to me.) But French Song? Better get that one. Don't have it. It's on the way to me via a Discogs order.
Then I went to one of my shelves, put the 2-LP set away, aaaaaand...there's French Song.
Do I really need two? I only listen to one of them maybe once a decade! I know she has appeal in some circles, but it sounds like she recorded the entire album from one of those 25-cent vibrating beds in a cheap motel. So I've had my fix for the next ten years.
And another one goes to the reject pile.
I almost caught myself doing this with a couple of other records. My recent John Klemmer cataloging had me guessing there were a couple of records I didn't yet have. They were even in my Discogs cart. But again, I found them among my collection. Even a couple of decades ago with the Finesse album, I'd mistakenly bought another when I already had one at home.
I think this will only get worse as I get older. Shuffling my collection around recently, I had many cases of "I forgot I bought this one!" as I sorted them on the shelves.
Deliberate duplicates are another story. I have a few of the A&M Something Festive LP here so I can be sure to have clean copies for a new needledrop in the near future. (Time to redo the outdated version I've had for years.) Yet three of my five copies are clean, and two were sealed. I really need to stop buying them. For Henry Mancini's big band album, Uniquely Mancini, I think I'm up to four--maybe five?--copies, again on a quest to find the best copy. My most recent (purchased sealed late last year) was a later pressing and like the copy my parents had (which was the same pressing), they sound the same, except the sealed one is clean. The others are early pressings--a bit brighter, but none of the two (or three?) copies are perfect. (And I think the distortion I'm hearing is the "pre-distortion" that the early DynagrooVe records were cursed with.)
My recent frustrations have to do with the overall condition of used records I've purchased in recent years. So much so, that I avoid used records but instead, will find sealed new old stock records. The problem? Groove burn. AKA record wear. By my last count, about 50-60% of used records I purchased went straight to the reject pile. Groove burn can't be seen with a visual inspection, and only a play grading can detect it. (And even there, I think most sellers are tone deaf to what it sounds like, since the records sound fine to them.) I remember finding visually nice pressings that ended up having too much wear. In some cases, I was buying one (or more!) additional copies to find one that was at a bare minumum acceptable. Add it up, though, and I found I paid far more in rejects than I would have paid for buying sealed new old stock copies. Just about all my recent purchases of vinyl have been sealed new old stock, and all but two were good. (One, sadly, was broken at some point--can't blame the seller since he would not know what the condition is of an unopened record. The other one was pressed off-center, and another sealed copy purchased immediately after was flawless.)
So I do have a reject pile. Many are the used record rejects, but others are otherwise fairly good duplicates that I really don't need anymore. Jury's still out on what I do with those, as I'm not fond of selling, shipping, waiting for payment, etc. I'll probably just donate the entire lot to the record store up on the corner. They're good folks who can use the money.
I've "duplicated" other things in life lately, a little too often for my own good. But nobody needs to hear about my grocery store or Harbor Freight habits this evening.
Tell us about any of your duplicates, intentional or otherwise!
Either intentionally, or forgetfully, we've purchased duplicates.
I just did it again. I had done needledrops of a double LP set which were a reissue of a Canadian Sweethearts and Lucille Starr album. (And that set is in sad shape--too worn to be of any use to me.) But French Song? Better get that one. Don't have it. It's on the way to me via a Discogs order.
Then I went to one of my shelves, put the 2-LP set away, aaaaaand...there's French Song.
Do I really need two? I only listen to one of them maybe once a decade! I know she has appeal in some circles, but it sounds like she recorded the entire album from one of those 25-cent vibrating beds in a cheap motel. So I've had my fix for the next ten years.
And another one goes to the reject pile.
I almost caught myself doing this with a couple of other records. My recent John Klemmer cataloging had me guessing there were a couple of records I didn't yet have. They were even in my Discogs cart. But again, I found them among my collection. Even a couple of decades ago with the Finesse album, I'd mistakenly bought another when I already had one at home.
I think this will only get worse as I get older. Shuffling my collection around recently, I had many cases of "I forgot I bought this one!" as I sorted them on the shelves.
Deliberate duplicates are another story. I have a few of the A&M Something Festive LP here so I can be sure to have clean copies for a new needledrop in the near future. (Time to redo the outdated version I've had for years.) Yet three of my five copies are clean, and two were sealed. I really need to stop buying them. For Henry Mancini's big band album, Uniquely Mancini, I think I'm up to four--maybe five?--copies, again on a quest to find the best copy. My most recent (purchased sealed late last year) was a later pressing and like the copy my parents had (which was the same pressing), they sound the same, except the sealed one is clean. The others are early pressings--a bit brighter, but none of the two (or three?) copies are perfect. (And I think the distortion I'm hearing is the "pre-distortion" that the early DynagrooVe records were cursed with.)
My recent frustrations have to do with the overall condition of used records I've purchased in recent years. So much so, that I avoid used records but instead, will find sealed new old stock records. The problem? Groove burn. AKA record wear. By my last count, about 50-60% of used records I purchased went straight to the reject pile. Groove burn can't be seen with a visual inspection, and only a play grading can detect it. (And even there, I think most sellers are tone deaf to what it sounds like, since the records sound fine to them.) I remember finding visually nice pressings that ended up having too much wear. In some cases, I was buying one (or more!) additional copies to find one that was at a bare minumum acceptable. Add it up, though, and I found I paid far more in rejects than I would have paid for buying sealed new old stock copies. Just about all my recent purchases of vinyl have been sealed new old stock, and all but two were good. (One, sadly, was broken at some point--can't blame the seller since he would not know what the condition is of an unopened record. The other one was pressed off-center, and another sealed copy purchased immediately after was flawless.)
So I do have a reject pile. Many are the used record rejects, but others are otherwise fairly good duplicates that I really don't need anymore. Jury's still out on what I do with those, as I'm not fond of selling, shipping, waiting for payment, etc. I'll probably just donate the entire lot to the record store up on the corner. They're good folks who can use the money.
I've "duplicated" other things in life lately, a little too often for my own good. But nobody needs to hear about my grocery store or Harbor Freight habits this evening.
Tell us about any of your duplicates, intentional or otherwise!