Vinyl batch identification

voodoochild

Member
Joined
Sep 3, 2008
Messages
35
Points
6
Location
Bangalore
Hello all,

to my good fortune, i recently came upon a stash of records, containing the Quadrophenia album by The Who. upon some comparison with an ad on EBay, it turns out that this particular copy may be from one of the first few batches of pressings, going by the alphanumeric codes on the inner "runout" of the record. can anyone provide a few pointers as to exact dating of a record in this way? websites, etc would be very helpful.

Some of the others in the stash include:
Beatles - Sgt Pepper's...
The Who - The Kids Are Alright
The Doors - The Soft Parade
Pink Floyd - Relics
Dire Straits - Love over Gold & Making Movies
Asia - Asia (self titled)
Police - Ghost in the Machine
Jefferson Starship - Earth
Jethro Tull - Heavy Horses & Live Bursting Out
Berliner Philharmoniker - "Beethoven Symphonie Nr.5"
Moody Blues - Octave & The Present
Supertramp - Breakfast in America & Crime of the Century
Eagles - The Long Run
Genesis - Genesis (Self titled) & Duke
Wings - London Town
Blood, Sweat & Tears (Self titled)
JJ Cale - Naturally
...and lots more. PHEW!!!! Almost all in mint condition. I'll be thanking my stars for another few decades.
cheers
Rahul
 
haha yeah, my reaction too, when i saw the stack of them for the first time at a friend's place. i didnt have the space or strength to haul everything back on my bike, so i'll make another trip sometime. lots of Emerson, Lake & Palmer etc still waiting :D

spent the whole morning cleaning the records, which led me to pay a little attention to the old stuff i'd stacked away, gluing jackets back together, sorting everything alphabetically, etc.

i used very very little Colin household cleaning solution on each record from yesterday's pile as some were pretty mouldy, wiping with a lint-free chamois cloth and leaving open till dry. does this go easy on the records, or must i use some other milder agent?

experts please advise.

cheers
rahul
 
Hi
As a vinyl collector I would suggest not to use any chemicals on records because in long run chemicals damage records. a little isopropyl alcohol (to remove dirt/grease/oil etc.) mixed with distilled water (as a medium) is ok. very few drops of detergent will help in spreading the mixture evenly on records.
Here are two websites which may answer your query about batch no. & cleaning
(1) Vinyl Records Price Guide - Vinyl Record Collector's Information Guide
(2) How-to: record cleaning devices and fluids [English]
Also I would appeal to vinyl collectors if they have record which is broken or scratched or not good don't throw away record covers as fellow members may need them. we rarely get Old record covers of beatles, elvis, doors, rolling stones in good condition, so atleast someone might have a good copy (cover+lp) of the album.
Keep collecting and enjoy the music
Hiten
 
DEAR SIR

From where do we purchase isopropyl alcohol? will it be easily available to the common man or you need a chemical user license or any sort? Kindly give more input as iam with a collection of 4000 records of vinyl and shellac.

All these days i have been using a combo of light machine oil, white vinegar and amway detergent in the ratio of 1:3:2 parts. I end up cleaning the debris collected in the stylus after every play.

Regards
Srinivas
 
ouch!

vmscbe its simple. do a google you'll get isopropyl alcohol. if you're in bangalore there are suppliers in chikpet, gandhinagar, lalbagh road etc... distilled water any petrol pump. get as pure as you can. some people add a wetting agent to make sure the concoction gets down into the grooves. personally i'm gonna try only the isopropyl and the distilled. also going to explore steam cleaning. check out the thread steam cleaning on audiogon. there's a video too on youtube by someone called sltrains.

step 1
gently rub the concoction around the lp following the grooves. length of time would depend on lp state. a minute or two should do it for average condition lps.

step 2
wipe off with microfibre cloth or vacuum. you can make your own vacuum attachment like i'm planning to do. take corner vacuum attachment, glue felt strips to the opening,leaving a little portion towards end open and you're ready to go. wipe first then vacuum unless vacuum cleaner is equipped tohandle wet stuff. the euroclean turbo i've got is not so wiping first for me.

step 3
rinse with distilled water and wipe or wipe+vacuum dry.

repeat rinse one more time to be sure all the alcohol has been removed.

dry for while on kitchen plate rack.

put in fresh inner sleeve.

grin and enjoy! :)

the oil you've been using has probably made a good ole gloop on your lps, hence the debris you collect after each play. i hope they aren't damaged too much cos you've been using vinegar too :(
 
Hi All
In old days Isopropyl Alcohol (IPA) used to be sold as Cassette Head Cleaner. I am not sure if same is available nowaday. You can check in Medical Stores also, ask specifically for IPA. It already may come in diluted form. Put a few drops on hand if completely evoparates it is pure if some water remains it is diluted. Also It is very volatile. Sorry to hear about things you are using any way I hope lps are not damaged.
you have mentioned shellacs. For Shellacs ABSOLUTELY DONT USE ALCOHOL just use plain distilled water
Hiten
 
ok, so general idea is to use equal parts of distilled water and isopropyl alcohol or denatured spirit. will get to it ASAP. could someone respond to the first part of my post regarding identification of year/batch of pressing? it'd be pretty helpful to many of us i'm sure.

Thanks
rahul
 
voodoochild,

isopropyl 20% distilled water 80% or isopropyl 40% distilled water 60% depending on state of lp.

re your first question google identifying lps. lots of info online. the guide that hiten has posted as a link has the info you requested.

i've read dating lps by the runout numbers code but do not remember the exact site it ought to show up on google though...

regards
 
Last edited:
Hi everyone
Searched the net here are more links to batch no. identification. Also they have terms used for vinyl albums. hope this is helpful.
Guidelines - 4. Label / Catalog / Discogs Help
Clutch Vinyl Discography
Vinyl Records and Music Memorabilia
And Specifically for "The who" album" I think you will have to look for record company who pressed the records and there guidelines of pressing batch nos. on vinyl. Also search at what different times the album was out. You can also contact record Cos. most of foreign co. are very cooperative and helpful.
I have my grandfathers 28 years old Pioneer deck system (still working with original belts and pulleys) and I was in need of circuit diagrams. I contacted Pioneer through website there response was quick and helpful. (Though they said it was co. policy to not to share circuit diagrams with public) but still getting answers to your query for their product after 28 years is just great.
regards
 
wow, those sites are extremely interesting! thank you sir!. will get in touch with Track Records Ltd. with the exact numbers on the record runout. hoping for something positive, after seeing about ur good luck with Pioneer :D.

cheers
rahul
 
Congrats! The Sgt.Pepper, Doors, Who & Tull Lps are the cream of the lot.
The earlier the pressing, the heavier the vinyl, the better the sound quality is the general principle. (There are exceptions, though). Instead of checking the numbers in the run-out groove, you'd first need to figure out whether the label is the earliest incarnation or not. Then move on to other details. For example, Sgt.Pepper was originally released on the Yellow/Black Parlophone label in the UK, and on the Capitol rainbow label in the US. The latter is not highly valued by collectors. Later UK releases were on silver/black Parlophone with many variations. Since millions of copies were pressed, these later versions are plentiful (as also their US counterparts) and not costly on the used record market. If your copy is yellow/black, check whether the word 'Mono' is inscribed on the back of the jacket. The mono mix is considered superior to the stereo mix for that LP, and is more highly sought after these days.
Cheers!
Eddie
 
hey,
thanks eddie, pretty informative. yeah, the records were absolute bliss for me, collectible or otherwise! the Sgt. Pepper's jacket contains two copies of the same album, one from Parlophone, and one from Apple Inc.

Capitol Labels during the Beatle Period

from the above page, i found that the Apple record is a reissue from around 1973, from the "Mastered by Capitol" stamped on the inner runout.

Beatles Vinyl-Holland

from that link, i found that the Parlophone copy is from the 80's, made in Holland. yeah, probably nothing collectible at all about both records, except the music itself, but its still collectible to me, as its the music i grew up with at home :D

cheers,
rahul
 
Yes, the music (which I grew up with, too) is much more important than the collectibility factor. In India, also, we're less likely to stumble upon those rare copies that have value in the collector market, for whatever pecuniary advantage, if that is what floats one's boat. Still, thanks to the 'net and ebay, there's now a lot of information about all of this, and it's fascinating in its own way.
Cheers!
 
Check out our special offers on Stereo Package & Bundles for all budget types.
Back
Top