entsurgeon
Active Member
- Joined
- Apr 28, 2010
- Messages
- 591
- Points
- 43
I found myself suggesting vinyl hunters on how to dig old out of production lp titles. Gave me the idea that this deserves a thread of it own and if its any good, mods may consider making it a sticky here or in wanted section.
First up- why we need this topic to be discussed:
We all know old indian gems on vinyl are out of production since past 15+ years. Even raddiwalas stocks have dried up.
Well I wish to stop losing this treasure. Belueve me, fm radio has covered a huge part of india including adjacent towns and villages, superceding vividh bharti so much that youngster from even the villages are now grooving to newer numbers . Now a days theres a whole generation of teens who think 70s music is old is gold. On fm channels you rarely find a pre '75 song and songs from before '70 are non existent. (nearly). Makes me wonder how long until we have a newer breed which doesn t knows who latajii is.
Situation is sad. Least we can do is at least preserve what we can before most of remaining lps are trashed.
As most of us would be aware, most cities dont have dedicated used lps shops, here is a comprehensive advise on how to dig the old stocks:
1. Propogate: everywhere you go, everyone you meet, find excuses to discuss your hobby.( but dont b a bore plz.) Most of ppl around you should b aware of your passion and if they ever come across any lp stocks they ahould know who to call.
A display of your lps in your drawingroom/office/bumper sticker may help.
2. Music shops- until y2k, we had a thronging market of sound recording in whole india. Until the anti piracy brigade hunted em down, every town had a huge number of cassette recording shops who would dub your chosen songs on blank audio cassettes. For a basic collection, all newbies should try locating such shops . Heres how-
2a.- music shops at malls isn t your cup of tea. They are all post y2k ventures. Go to older alleys.
2b- many of those shops with good stock were passion driven and are still into music/mp3 even dj/public adressing sound systems. Hunt them.
2c- older and more famous shops always had a reason to be famous. Their owners were keenly into music and in touch with music buffs. Talk to them if you get a chance. They may not have old stocks. But they would know the regular clients who purchased lps regularly. They will tell you about few individuals and many recording shops.
They will at least tell you a few hot contacts.
Since most of these people were into pro-job, their stocks were mostly the popular demands only. So, to dig mehdi hassan, beghum akhtar or even ghulam ali you d need to find out the most famous , most well stocked shops. In most cases this famous ppl wud still be in sound business and well connected. Easier to find them but getting their treasure intact today - keep fingers crossed! Sigh of relief- the huge stocks weren t scrapped. Mostly you were beaten by some other buff who got hold of the stocks before you.
Fret not. Get those ppl s number. Befriend them. You might already be knowing some of them. They might donate you the titles they dont listen to or have extra copies of. Even if they dont, they would b your seniors in this hobby- good people to talk to.
However as I mentioned, you ll get popular titles there. Forget ustad bade ghulam ali khan saab or amir khan saab.
3. Kabadi/antique/flae markets:
Not a very consistent source. Even quality of lps from here would be a bit worse usually. But where it scores above the rest is the variety.
These guys get stocks from old attics and are your bet for finding rarest titles that the recording guys never got coz it didn t make business sense for them.
Bismillah khan saab/pannalal ghosh/bhimsen joshi titles- if its your lucky day.
4- ..... Contd-
First up- why we need this topic to be discussed:
We all know old indian gems on vinyl are out of production since past 15+ years. Even raddiwalas stocks have dried up.
Well I wish to stop losing this treasure. Belueve me, fm radio has covered a huge part of india including adjacent towns and villages, superceding vividh bharti so much that youngster from even the villages are now grooving to newer numbers . Now a days theres a whole generation of teens who think 70s music is old is gold. On fm channels you rarely find a pre '75 song and songs from before '70 are non existent. (nearly). Makes me wonder how long until we have a newer breed which doesn t knows who latajii is.
Situation is sad. Least we can do is at least preserve what we can before most of remaining lps are trashed.
As most of us would be aware, most cities dont have dedicated used lps shops, here is a comprehensive advise on how to dig the old stocks:
1. Propogate: everywhere you go, everyone you meet, find excuses to discuss your hobby.( but dont b a bore plz.) Most of ppl around you should b aware of your passion and if they ever come across any lp stocks they ahould know who to call.
A display of your lps in your drawingroom/office/bumper sticker may help.
2. Music shops- until y2k, we had a thronging market of sound recording in whole india. Until the anti piracy brigade hunted em down, every town had a huge number of cassette recording shops who would dub your chosen songs on blank audio cassettes. For a basic collection, all newbies should try locating such shops . Heres how-
2a.- music shops at malls isn t your cup of tea. They are all post y2k ventures. Go to older alleys.
2b- many of those shops with good stock were passion driven and are still into music/mp3 even dj/public adressing sound systems. Hunt them.
2c- older and more famous shops always had a reason to be famous. Their owners were keenly into music and in touch with music buffs. Talk to them if you get a chance. They may not have old stocks. But they would know the regular clients who purchased lps regularly. They will tell you about few individuals and many recording shops.
They will at least tell you a few hot contacts.
Since most of these people were into pro-job, their stocks were mostly the popular demands only. So, to dig mehdi hassan, beghum akhtar or even ghulam ali you d need to find out the most famous , most well stocked shops. In most cases this famous ppl wud still be in sound business and well connected. Easier to find them but getting their treasure intact today - keep fingers crossed! Sigh of relief- the huge stocks weren t scrapped. Mostly you were beaten by some other buff who got hold of the stocks before you.
Fret not. Get those ppl s number. Befriend them. You might already be knowing some of them. They might donate you the titles they dont listen to or have extra copies of. Even if they dont, they would b your seniors in this hobby- good people to talk to.
However as I mentioned, you ll get popular titles there. Forget ustad bade ghulam ali khan saab or amir khan saab.
3. Kabadi/antique/flae markets:
Not a very consistent source. Even quality of lps from here would be a bit worse usually. But where it scores above the rest is the variety.
These guys get stocks from old attics and are your bet for finding rarest titles that the recording guys never got coz it didn t make business sense for them.
Bismillah khan saab/pannalal ghosh/bhimsen joshi titles- if its your lucky day.
4- ..... Contd-