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Grading Used Lps: What to look for?

Hey folks...my used options in my area include stores that use a fair,good, and fine grading system for Lps...however... since grading is highly subjective...there seems to be grave inconsistencies...I often find LPs with minor hair-line scratches cleaner sounding than mint Lps with some surface particles(even after cleaning)...any suggestions? For high demand used artists...stones,floyd,etc...the grading system is pretty forgiving and the price not surprisingly inflated...sometimes you really dont know how an Lp will sound still you bring it home...is this just par for the course for going used? ALso have Santana Abraxas which is warped and nicked...but is quiet as a church mouse...
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12 responses Add your response
dan_ed
2,451 posts
 
Ok. Now I understand, Tvad. I've stopped worrying about how accurately LPs are visually graded because it is too subjective. And many times it has no bearing on how the LP sounds.
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dan_ed
2,451 posts
 
Oh! Also, if you do have an Eagle's Desperado. . . ;-)
dan_ed
2,451 posts
 
Hi Tvad,

I think it might be fun to compare notes on what we each think of cleaning up some particular album. You know, like what tricks you or I may have picked up in getting an LP to sound good. If you want I'll swap LPs with you. Not to start some useless pissing contest, but to really trade notes. We may have to wade through a few LPs to find one that we can both agree actually can be improved.

Genre doesn't much matter to me for this. Then again, I'm always looking for those original Blue Notes. :-) Let me know, we can work this off line.

Piece!
ihcho's avatar
ihcho
609 posts
 
Buyers can
1. pay cheap without playing and take a chance
2. pay high from those reputed sellers who grade upon actual playing
3. buy at record stores where you can play them

For sellers can
1. only visually grade and sell cheap
2. spend time to clean, play, and then give grades, and sell high

If you buy records unseen/unplayed, however grades might they have, set your expectation not too high. For example, for bulk LPs I buy from ebay, I would consider only half of VG records are playable without hurting the cartridge (and my ears).
lloydc's avatar
lloydc
734 posts
 
All you can do is write off sellers whose grading is a disappointment and buy more from those whose grading was fair or better. I have had experiences both ways, although as you might expect, many more of the former. It is possible for a seller to "visually grade" a record as "vg+" or even "near mint" based solely on appearance - only to find that it was a bad pressing or is worn out and unlistenable. It doesn't necessarily mean the seller was dishonest or the like, but it does mean you don't want to buy from them again. IMHO.
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dan_ed
2,451 posts
 
What ever you find that you don't like, please send them on to me. I'm finding fewer and fewer that I can't clean up.

Maybe because I'm better at screening them? I don't know. Still, after several years of buying used vinyl I don't find any difference in the number of records I can recover.
grimace
624 posts
 
Best you can hope to do is visually grade them, clean the heck out of them before you play them and hope for the best. If you've got a good seller, he/she might let you play them in the store before you buy.
cerrot's avatar
cerrot
1,700 posts
 
Other than the used vinyl I have purchased here on audiogon (they rate very good and, to me, it's mint), all I have purchased (used) has been a disapointment. My (new) rule is only audiophiles know how to grade vinyl.
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