First Pass! The Downsizing Dilemma, Part 2 - The Easy Stuff

#vinyl #vinylcommunity, #downsizing #decluttering
In the introductory video, listed here:
The Downsizing Dilemma: My plan to shed 3,000 records and create a collection I'm in LOVE with! • The Downsizing Dilemma...
I discuss my wish to downsize my record collection, and eliminate 100's of LPs that have no value to me - thrift store junk, genres I've lost interest in, and stuff that I have multiple copies of. This first pass through a bunch of stuff I had in my storage, is the dreck - and I still had to think twice about some of it! I don't want it, don't need it and won't play it or bother to sell it. It's amazing the stuff you accumulate over the years that no longer serves you. I'm not sure it ever did! Follow me through this short video showing "highlights' of the first hundred, packed and ready to donate. I know, if theres no video of the donation, it didn't happen! I promise that footage in the next, deeper dive. I feel lighter already!
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Please watch: "RCA Living Stereo - Analogue Productions Resurrects A Legendary Label"
• Golden Age Classical R...
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[@gnome113]

I do a vinyl purge every 6-12 months. I use to hold on to everything but I found that it limited my ability to discover new music and really get the most out of the vinyl experience. For me it's not about how much a record is worth or could be worth but how much I am engaged with it right now in my life. Also purging your collection is a great way to meet other vinyl enthusiasts in your town/city.

[@ThePressingMatters]

Thank you for your comment! I need to keep moving forward on it. Luckily, so many great new records are coming in that it becomes more obvious what no longer serves me. I'll have a follow up on a couple of months.

[@ConcertBuddie]

Nooooo! Not the McCarthy Hearings! Classic! 🤣🤣🤣 Keep pushing and you’ll be leaner in your collection in no time. I feel we evolve in our collections and collecting habits, and this feels like one of those times for you. Keep going Scott!

[@ThePressingMatters]

Just a fun little video. It's amazing the stuff you can accumulate!

[@latheofheaven]

Noooooooo... let's be honest now and call it what it is... VINYL HOARDING!!! 😁

[@ThePressingMatters]

@@latheofheaven Ok, back in the day I loved going to thrifts and if something was in fine condition and a quarter, I bought it, just for fun. I actually like certain Johnny Mathis albums (Heavenly, Open Fire, Two Guitars) and early Streisand albums. Thrift store staples. Those I showed going out not so much. I collected lots of Stereo Demonstration records to see if there were any sonic thrills. Mostly no, but I kept a few great ones. I picked up a lot of Exotica type records that I'm keeping and percussion stuff from Command etc. It's just fun for a listen and the dreck ended up in the garage.

[@latheofheaven]

@@ThePressingMatters Heh, sorry, just giving you a hard time 😊 I can see where if you were coming across all these good deals at those prices why you might be tempted to grab a bunch of them. It's just funny when you show us by going through all the 'rejects', it's pretty darn tempting to give you a hard time! 😁

[@sharonevans6864]

Enjoyed seeing your progress. That is a good start to downsizing that enormous collection. Once you can remove them from the premises you should feel you're making some headway! Don't give up, you are definitely headed in the right direction. Take care

[@ThePressingMatters]

Thanks Sharon, it's getting easier and easier. Just have to keep the goal in mind.

[@latheofheaven]

Bro... you are doing the RIGHT thing! The only regrets you should genuinely have is that *YOU BOUGHT THOSE IN THE FIRST PLACE!!!* 😲

[@ThePressingMatters]

Lol, hey they were 4 for a buck!

[@andysmusicden]

Those cannot have been too hard to get rid of. 😊

[@ThePressingMatters]

You would have thought so! I just watched the video again myself and laughed. I was just cleaning up the garage on Sunday and those three boxes are still there! But I will get them and more out of there by the end of the month. Promise ;-)

[@dank.6942]

It's difficult and freeing at the same time to purge. Keep it up! You made the right choices as far as the records in this video. Steamroller Xmas was what I'd have kept too, (of the ones you showed) and maybe held on to your "first record ever". Not unlike a haircut, you can be sure you don't go too far by doing it gradually but if you do have a regret, reacquiring a specific record is easier than ever. And I've also personally taken good quality photos of the ones where I particularly like the artwork, so I have the reference, but can purge them after that. ✌️👍

[@David-lw4vl]

I had that exact K-Tel album! And Partridge Family :-)

[@ThePressingMatters]

That Partridge Family is in mint condition! Oh well. Thanks for watching David. Hope you had a laugh :-)

[@joseluisherreralepron9987]

I had to do this a few years back. It does 'hurt,' doesn't it? I just had too many LP's I found for a song that went in a 'I'll listen someday' pile and that a few years later that pile took over the listening room. I started collecting the Command catalog in the late 80's after finding their test LP for a dime; I couldn't believe how good the selections on the B side sounded and I was hooked. I think I have around 80 now and I still find them in the wild now and then.

[@ThePressingMatters]

That's so cool, I also collected a lot of Command records. Those i do not want to let go of. I still have yet to do anything on this project except make 6 to go boxes. Never find time to get them out!

[@xxsaruman82xx87]

2:56 If I were you I'd definitely save that Markevitch Pathetique! He was a fabulous Tchaikovsky conductor!

[@ThePressingMatters]

I'll pull it out for a spin, I don't know too much about him. I need a good Pathetique. Thanks for the tip.

[@xxsaruman82xx87]

@@ThePressingMatters Let me know what you think! Most of Markevitch’s recordings were nothing less than brilliant, especially his Beethoven 5, Tchaikovsky cycle and Rite of Spring. For the Pathetique, I also highly recommend Fricsay’s (stereo) recording on DG, which is, for me, is the reference.

[@ThePressingMatters]

@@xxsaruman82xx87 Good info, thank you for your insight.

[@xxsaruman82xx87]

@@ThePressingMatters You’re so welcome! Best of luck with downsizing

[@crispincrunch2453]

@@xxsaruman82xx87 Good call on the Fricsay DG 👌😮‍💨 Just listened and definitely reference material

[@marcoverges168]

Thanks!

[@ThePressingMatters]

Hey thank you for trying the donate feature! It helps greatly.

[@ThePressingMatters]

If anyone is wondering how to do that, swipe left on the symbol line under the video and you'll see a icon that says 'Thanks'

[@thevinylmuseum2958]

Enjoyed Part 2 of you downsizing your collection. I can relate with the stress is causes when you get down to more of your serious records. It is never easy deciding which ones to keep but you just have to think , will I ever listen to this record again. As our tastes evolve certain records that once were keepers tend to not be. Best of luck Scott.

[@ThePressingMatters]

Thank you, and I appreciate your thoughts on this. Obviously this segment was to be a bit of fun, and the next one will be an expansion on that in greater volume. Then it starts to get tricky - they'll be things I want to audition before I make a final decision, so these will probably go into a holding box while I plow through the rest. Furthest down is the great stuff that still need sorting through. That's when the real drama starts lol!

[@MarkChapeau]

That box is a no brainer, get rid!

[@ThePressingMatters]

These two are no brainer, I got to get it out tomorrow

[@nicholas6823]

Well you have made a good start. You can live without those ones I think! Just keep at it. You have way more than me and I am struggling to keep mine in order. Just the cleaning aspect, so I can then evaluate, takes so much time…and you have to be in the right frame of mind too.

[@ThePressingMatters]

The first two were easy, granted, but I'm inspired to keep going. I'm sure it will get a bit more difficult but I'm on a roll!

[@sidesup8286]

A lot of people have never heard stuff so many grades above the norm, that they don't know what happens with the sound. What happens spatiialy is very interesting. You start to get such image height that the vocalist is literally on the ceiling. Make further improvements and the rest of the musicians are on the ceiling. Make more improvements and the sound starts creeping back toward you but from the ceiling.. In a very big enormous room with 12 foot high ceilings I don't know if this would happen. But that's what happens in a medium size room with medium height ceilings. The room just isn't big enough to handle all that air volume, so the sound goes upward. It behaves the same way as smoke. I don't know how many people in the world routinely experience this. The sound above you and slightly in front of you, makes you want to crane your head upward, like sitting in the first row of a movie theatre and looking uncomfortably up at the screen, but you eventually realize that. It is not necessary. You can listen with your head facing forward. Your eyes don't have to meet with the sound above you.

[@ergloo6660]

You could make alphabetic record dividers out of them (lots) 🤣😂

[@bryanmorgan758]

Man, I'd love to dig through all that! Cheers!

[@ThePressingMatters]

Well you'll get to see it all through the videos. If you see a must have, let me know!

[@sidesup8286]

I'd keep the Al Hirt on AF. Its a great album musically and sonically. Smart taking the Mannheim Christmas albums out too. They are extraordinary for both creativity in arrangements and sound. As for the rest, unless you bought them as part of a package deal, there was actually a time that you thought it was a smart thing to take money out of your wallet and buy them. Sometime you just have a real hole in your pocket and need to spend. Don't throw out any Neil Larsen albums; if you have any. He is the other Jazz Fusion keyboardist that I said I'd talk about, but forgot. My first listen to him and his group Full Moon was when I picked up a copy of Jungle Fever. It is a true 1970s underground classic. A lot of people have never heard of thsse guys. They are from Florida, but are actually bigger in Japan. You can hear his High Gear album in its entirety on free KZbin. Very good album, but not quite his best. Neil is so melodically intriguing and inventive, that I think he deserves mention in the same company as Joe Zawinul of Weather Report, who also played on some Miles Davis Records. Neil Larsen is an arresting keyboardist and all their albums, whether under the name Neil Larsen, Full Moon, or Larsen/Feiten Band are excellent. Buzz Feiten is his guitarist extraordinaire. They also have an amazing rhythm section of bass guitar player and drummer and once in a while use horns in some of their arrangements, and there are often a few vocal tracks amongst their mostly instrumental music. A few of their albums would come up in my mind, if I had to live on a desert island and could only bring so much music. They're that good. A few of their later albums might only be available on CD. Last time I looked, if you want CD instead of vinyl, most of their albums are available on Japanese cds, even though they are an American group. A lot of my still sealed blues lps on Yazoo and other old labels, which were a recent find have sold in the recent past for big money on Discogs. What a find. Better than I thought. Last time out I found a few cds of the Jazz group The Rippingtons. Think I'll give those a spin soon. Have heard great things about this vintage Jazz Fusion group. There is a rare Sheffield lp/CD which has a pop vocalist as the artist, but for some reason, (maybe lack of enough material) they interpose a few great Jazz Fusion tracks of a totally different style in with the rest of the record, which is all vocal tracks. If I had to pick out one Sheffield LP that had the best music. Which you don't pull out mostly for the sound; this record would be undoubtedly it. The Jazz Fusion tracks on it out of nowhere is the clue. Any guess as to what album I'm talking about?

[@ThePressingMatters]

I will give the Al Hirt another spin. My dad liked him a lot.

[@crispincrunch2453]

Good call on that Neil Larsen 😮‍💨 sampling ‘Jungle Fever’ it’s a perfect 70’s easy vibe and just the right sprinkling of Eddy Louiss-like keys 🎹

[@tyleranderson1168]

Great start!! I can't wait to see your premium keeper shelf. Is that still the plan?

[@ThePressingMatters]

Yes! In the next one I'll show my first box of keepers and more outgoing stuff. This was just a fun start and look at the junk accumulated. Don't get me wrong, I do have a few Mathis albums that are keepers, Garland too. Just not those. I hope this was a little bit funny at least.

[@VagueRANT100]

Michael 45 RPM is on the look-out for Minty OGs Scott.....if you need more urgent help contact Audiophiles Anon....Funny video Scott!!!

[@ThePressingMatters]

David, I'm glad someone found it amusing, as that was intended. The first few will be like this, then we have to make the hard decisions! Appreciate your comments always.

[@sidesup8286]

Scott, have you ever tried Tekna Sonic? They are now longer made but sometimes you can find them on the used market. They are hand size resonance absorbers with fins on the side which somehow lessen resonance. Some people use them on their speakers. I use them on just about everything including transformers, under and on top of electronics etc. One time I removed all of them and I couldn't even stand listening without them. I think using enough of them in the right places and they could take a class C+ system up to Class A. Like the degree of improvement when you switched to the Hana cartridge. Some people even stick them on their wall. Your room adds more resonating sounds than you know. Another product people miss, and I miss too, is something that a cable company made, called TP.R. wipes. You'd open the package and there was a little folded up moist towelette. You'd wipe some on your input and output terminals, and sound improvements across the board. XLO was the cable company that made them.

[@ThePressingMatters]

Hi, no i have never tried those. Sounds interesting. I'll do a search for them and see if I can find some. I like hearing the improvements these type of tweaks can bring. I've done a few more upgrades to the phono stage including new resistors and tubes. Now I'm doing a burn in of the phono stage with the Hagerman unit. It speeds up and optimized that process. May help a bit and get it ready for the upcoming review of the Nighthawk phono stage, and the Hana. Once this phono stage evaluation is done , I can focus on choosing new speakers. Then cable upgrade. Then room treatment. Then...

[@sidesup8286]

@@ThePressingMatters When improving my sound I choose cheapest alternative first. You might be able to find Tekna Sonic vibration absorbers for $35 each or even less. They might make a lot more improvement than changing resistors. Anyway that's the order I do it; cheapest first. Unless I just know that something a bit more expensive will improve the sound more. You can make a 40% improvement with 8 of those used in just the right way. 40% is a grade and a half improvement. Not many upgrades will give your anything near that. 10% is subtle but clearly audible. Just imagine 10x4.

[@ThePressingMatters]

@@sidesup8286 Honestly the resistors were a bargain for what they've done for the sound - Vishay metal film resistors for the phono was under $50. So I agree, least expensive upgrade first (that was a necessity anyway) and work from there. The tubes were basically given to me so that was a free upgrade! This burn in is free too, with help from the Hagerman unit, which is on loan from Let There Be Sound. Trying to do everything to maximize what I have before investing more in components. It's paying off. Getting wonderful results now with the Hana due to all this tweaking. And learning a lot too!

[@sidesup8286]

@@ThePressingMatters That's the smart way to do it. Of course with my modifying equipment for myself, my improvements are mostly just costly in terms of my time. I just know I've near tripled the sound quality of certain pieces of equipment I have. I harbor no idea how my modified equipment would stack up to the very best. If I ever get to hear the very best in well set up circumstances, either I'll be laughing at what that equipment sounds like and how expensive it is, or I'd be laughing at what my equipment sounds like. Unless its a tie.

[@ThePressingMatters]

@@sidesup8286 i was surprised how my equipment held up to some expensive systems when I had that visit to SOUNDLUX Audio. Naturally the stuff they had was fantastic, but my equipment wasn't embarrassed once the Hana was in.

[@BilboFromTG]

Keep going! Inspiring to us who needs to do the same…😎👍

[@ThePressingMatters]

Thank you for the encouragement!

[@dutchcanuck7550]

KEEP GOING!! P.S. my wife has all the Sonny & Cher ( or Chér as she put it back then) so I don't have to worry about it. Anyway, good progress. That's what, about 150 records a day? 750 records over a 5-day week (save the weekends for listening, not purging). So that's 4 weeks to pick'n'purge 3000 records. Easy-peasy, you could do it standing on your head. Good luck!

[@ThePressingMatters]

Good idea, I should get back out there tonight and do a few more! Thanks for watching!

[@robsantry9772]

Ah yes, Cher was my guilty pleasure! I did purge all my Cher and Sonny and Cher records this year. It was a little traumatic, but it is over with and I can always Spotify her. Pretty sure I won't spin those records, so, adios mi amore`

[@ThePressingMatters]

@@robsantry9772 That's the spirit! I can stream stuff like that. All those opera sets and stuff like that. I'm still moving along but not at the pace I had hoped. I have a friend who may be interested in buying a bunch of the classical out there for cheap so I am arranging that. Probably a garage sale in a few weeks and I'll be done with it. Really looking forward to that weight off my shoulders! Will have an update soon.

[@crispincrunch2453]

🤤🤤 would take between 6-12 of those LPs. Especially that Talya Ferro album 🥹😭 yer loss, my gain 😆😂 the kids like to say “if you know, you know” but this would be a case of if you don’t know…

[@ThePressingMatters]

Now you have me curious to play the Talya Ferro album. I just sampled some of it and it was very interesting!

[@crispincrunch2453]

@@ThePressingMatters Right?! 🫣 Not helping cull the collection 😆😂 but hopefully saved one out of the chaff

[@ThePressingMatters]

@@crispincrunch2453 That's ok! I appreciate your input.

[@brianlewis5042]

Have no regrets Scott. So far it looks like all of those record are winners. 😂😂😂. A little at a time but if you are on the fence about a particular album, put them in a separate box. Great start

[@ThePressingMatters]

I'm going to play that international sensation, with the weird name. I have to hear it!

[@ThePressingMatters]

Hey that Katyna Ranieri Show Stoppers album turned out to be a fun listen! She was hot for a moment in the late 50's and made quite a splash at the Persian Room of the Plaza Hotel. It's pretty cool listen but I still will pass it on. Glad to have finally heard it.

[@ThePressingMatters]

You know it was all the more fun because I wasn't listening critically to sound quality. It had some clicks and pops but I didn't even care. I need to learn how to relax and listen for pleasure again.

[@brianlewis5042]

Awesome my brother

[@crispincrunch2453]

@@ThePressingMatters ‘Show Stoppers’ doesn’t seem to be available for streaming but listening to other albums now 🥹 moody goodness

[@leon9021]

Good start, too bad your feet are to the fire now, makes it harder for you to record digital versions in a timely manner if you felt that could help. Not the easy stuff like the opera or humor records you dont even like, but maybe when you get to the harder stuff and still want downsizing I think its worth a shot.

[@ThePressingMatters]

Hi Leon, I'm setting an initial goal of 500, about 10 boxes, and those are things I probably wouldn't want to keep in any form. If I can do another 10, I'll be in good shape and have not touched the 'good stuff' After that it's a bit more complicated, perhaps doing last minute comparisons before parting with lesser copies of classics. I feel at that point I might start a digital back up before letting go.

[@-elijahriggs-]

Where do you get those white boxes?

[@ThePressingMatters]

Those are called Ultrabox from Bags Unlimited. They are great. Corrugated plastic fold together, super strong, acid free and can stack three high without damage. Best investment I ever mage for my collection. Several moves and storage units and not one damaged record. They're good for a lifetime.

[@rufus_the_cat]

I think the Al Hirt and around the world in 80 days are great

[@ThePressingMatters]

See I knew someone would like some of these. And I'm sure they might be great. I just got to keep to my goal and for me I don't need them in a more consistent collection. I love the artifacts but I have to strict.

[@rufus_the_cat]

@@ThePressingMatters yea I take mine to the records store and what they don’t want goes to goodwill

[@ThePressingMatters]

@@rufus_the_cat I may do that once the quality goes up a bit. They'd probably turn me around and show me the door with these couple of boxes

[@rufus_the_cat]

@@ThePressingMatters you might consider doing a whatnot auction

[@ThePressingMatters]

You're not the only one who mentioned Al Hirt. I guess I'll pull it out to listen once again. It's been years. Thanks!

[@gdavian]

Not to hurt your feelings but, if I saw any of those at a garage sale for a dollar ... I would pass.

[@ThePressingMatters]

Lol it doesn't hurt my feelings. This stuff was back when stuff was a quarter - if it was in excellent shape I'd sometimes pick up stuff like this just for fun, one time listen. Now I'm stuck with a bunch, hence the purge. More difficult stuff will come further into the process. This was the easy stuff and I chose it for a few laughs so no offense taken.

[@robertmorgan9205]

How’s this going 😄?

[@ThePressingMatters]

Hi Robert! Well......I've set aside five boxes that can go to the thrift, but..there are still here lol. Truly I haven't had much time to do it. On the other hand, I have been working on the other end of things, cleaning and resleeving the best stuff that I'm keeping permanently and setting those on new shelving so I've done about 6 boxes in that direction! It's a struggle. I'm planning to do an update very soon.

[@robertmorgan9205]

@@ThePressingMatters That's great you are making progress and I look forward to seeing the video update. I'm not in the same position as you but my collecting of records could easily get out of control, funds allowing it most definitely would do. I've mostly had rock music in my collection but fairly recently decided to start one of classical music, even though I'd had a passing interest in it back in the '70s. I'm trying very hard to restrict it to decent recordings but keep getting side-tracked by things I see at bargain prices :). The other day I was in a charity shop and picked up 18 LPs that were all for sale at £1 each, mostly from the same collection it would seem as they almost all had a small sticker on showing the owners catalogue number. They were mainly early Decca mono (LXT), Decca narrow band, (Decca) Ace of Diamonds and also a handful of ones on the Turnabout label. The latter seem to have some connection to Decca according to the labels and I do already have a few of these. I find them to be surprisingly good (at least on my fairly modest system) so now I'm tending to scoop them up whenever I see them in charity shops or second hand record shops. All good so far but I'll still buy, for example, Beethoven symphonies on the Classics For Pleasure label just because I've already got 4 of them and feel a need to complete the set. Once I do collect all 9 I'll no doubt store them away never to be played again, favouring the better recordings of them that I already have. Pretty sad really haha

[@ThePressingMatters]

@@robertmorgan9205 I wish we had classical like that around here. Those days seem over, or I'm just not out there enough. But I'm focusing on a stratification plan and trying to buy only the best records I can. I would rather have less, but well curated.

[@robertmorgan9205]

@@ThePressingMatters well picking up 18 from one place, at such a price, is a rarity for me … nice when it happens though.

[@marcoverges168]

That’s a lot of boxes!

[@ThePressingMatters]

Yeah, like 1500 records at least. They go two deep and that's not all of them! At least I made a bit of progress!

[@bubby372]

Just have to learn to be more selective. I only buy audiophile records that appeal to me. Now with the Mofi lie exposed I have completely eliminated their stuff. Anything else I can just stream at 24/192.

[@ThePressingMatters]

I only buy new audiophile records these days. I love clean, new, great sounding records in nice jackets. Analog mastered of course. This downsize should be very easy, for the next ten boxes at least lol.

[@davidkipperman5218]

Throwing out something of interest?? Why do you even have this stuff to start with?? Take the write off and run, don't walk away!

[@ThePressingMatters]

Lol! I used to buy collections and sometimes had to take everything. So that's how a lot of this stuff found it's way into my garage. Thanks for watching!

[@ThePressingMatters]

Sometimes I'd find one of these outcasts in nm condition for pennies. So I'd get it and this is the unfortunate result lol.