Collecting Wax

vinyl Research
Identifying white labels, limited pressings, promo only....

vinyl Specials
Picture Discs, Coloured Vinyl, Shaped Discs, Box Sets....

vinyl Buying Sources
Auctions, Record Fairs, Bargain Bins, Car Boots....

vinyl Bootlegs
Illegal Remixes, Cut and Paste, Original thinking or blatant rip offs....

vinyl Images
Extensive images of rare and collectible vinyl from all the major genres....

vinyl Record Care
Cleaning, Storing, Protection, Handling and more....

vinyl Valuing
Where to find valuations for your vinyl, researching price variations....

vinyl Grading
The industry standard for grading your vinyl....

vinyl Glossary
Terms and descriptions used by collectors, shops and producers....

vinyl Insurance
In case of emergency Break Here....

vinyl Links & Resources
Guide to the best related sites, discographies etc....

 

Top Spot for picking up Vinyl :

Ebay UK

Acetate / Dub plate
Disc of aluminum covered with real wax (not vinyl). Manufactured in a small number for quality  testing (before the 'test pressings' on regular vinyl). Used to demonstrate how the finished vinyl record would sound. Very easily damaged, can be played only a few times. Also used greatly for DJs and Producers to create One-off records to test on the public.

b/w
backed with (b-side)

Bootleg
Illegally released record, either copying a complete record or using large parts from other record to create a new bootleg version.

Coloured Vinyl
Vinyl is actually clear in colour but a black dye is mixed in at the manufacturing process, sometimes special/limited edition pressings are made with different colour dyes.

Die-cut sleeve
Record sleeve with a big hole in the centre (so that you can read the label) usually a company sleeve.

Flexi-disc
Very thin flexible single that used to come free on magazine covers, not seen much these days

Gatefold sleeve
Sleeve for two 12"s or LPs which can be folded out or opened up 

Insert / Press Release
Printed piece of paper with additional information about the record and the artist or sometimes only with artwork. Often with promotional copies for DJs / radio stations or intended for public relation (for the press). An intact press release often increases the value of a record

LP
Long-play record = an album or a compilation

Picture Disc
Clear transparent vinyl record which has a picture of the same size welded inside the vinyl. Often with lower sound quality.

Promo / Promotional Copy / DJ Copy
Advance releases for DJ / Radio / Promotional use, usually very limited and often contain a reaction sheet.

Promos !

Run Out Groove
Area on the vinyl where the track finishes playing. Usually contains etched or stamped catalogue numbers, cutting house tags and occasionally shout outs.

Catalogue No. in the run-out groove

Shaped Disc
Special edition of a 12" picture single with a cut-out around the edge of the picture to the shape of a 7" single. Uncut test pressings are very collectable.

Test Pressing / Advance Only Pressing
After manufacturing an acetate a small number of vinyl test pressings are produced to check sound quality. They usually bear only plain white labels, sometimes handwritten labels or prints like ‘advance only’. Usually they have no catalog numbers and can be identified only by the matrix no.

White Label
Originally white labels were just test pressings, but these days many independent record labels and producers release small quantities (500-2000) of white labels for sale to test the demand before A full release.

Withdrawn
If an artist or a record company decides not to issue a certain record and orders all copies to be withdrawn and destroyed.  Some copies always survive and are very collectable.

 


click to purchase from amazon.co.uk

The 2004 Rare Record Price Guide   Last Night A DJ Saved My Life
The Rough Guide To House   The Rough Guide To Hip Hop
The Rough Guide To Drum & Bass   The Rough Guide To Techno

Energy Flash

Pump Up The Volume

Adventures On The Wheels Of Steel


All images copyright of their respectful owners, All textual content except the Records Grading System copyright Steve Optix 2003/2004,
All design copyright Optix Web Design 2003/2004. Website Design, Build and Compilation by Optix Web Design. Email Webmaster

Best in 1024x768 but can be viewed in all resolutions 1600 x 1200  800 x 600  640 x 480