How to store old vinyl records

littlecordelera

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A friend of mine died, and I got all her stuff. Music was her life, and she worked in the industry, and so now I have 1.000's of old vinyl records and CD's and stereo equipment and music memorabilia. My real problem has to do with the vinyl albums. I have them in stacks, and someone told me (and now I see from Google searches) that doing that is a big No-no. But the problem with Google searches is that there is too much information, and a lot of it sounds really suspect. This is all original stuff, much of it signed by the artists, so I want to make sure it is stored properly. But does anyone know exactly how to store this stuff or where I might find RELIABLE information?

Thank you in advance for any advice you can provide.
 
A friend of mine died, and I got all her stuff. Music was her life, and she worked in the industry, and so now I have 1.000's of old vinyl records and CD's and stereo equipment and music memorabilia. My real problem has to do with the vinyl albums. I have them in stacks, and someone told me (and now I see from Google searches) that doing that is a big No-no. But the problem with Google searches is that there is too much information, and a lot of it sounds really suspect. This is all original stuff, much of it signed by the artists, so I want to make sure it is stored properly. But does anyone know exactly how to store this stuff or where I might find RELIABLE information?

Thank you in advance for any advice you can provide.

It's been a decade or two since I had any vinyl records to worry about. As I recall, the formula is "room temperature, dark, and vertical." Might be better to say, "Cool, out of direct sunlight, and vertical." Either version works, but a vinylphile would probably find fault with the simplicity of that advice.
 
Storage? They fit nicely into old wine cases. Must be vertical
 
As I recall, the formula is "room temperature, dark, and vertical." Might be better to say, "Cool, out of direct sunlight, and vertical."

Works for the ones I have.

Find or make racks to stand them all up.

Find someone to go through them and see if they're worth keeping though. They get very heavy in quantity and can cause problems if not properly supported.
 
Thank you all for your responses.

Some websites said each album should be placed inside a special sleeve (I think some said paper and others claimed plastic) before it is inserted into the album cover. But if I recall correctly, those websites just happened to sell the sleeves. Should the albums be in sleeves? She didn't have them in any kind of special sleeves, and she knew all about this stuff.
 
Every album I ever bought had sleeves inside the cover.
 
Agree with what has been said above. Store vertically and watch out for weight. Also check your area to see if there's a used record store still in business. I'm sure the staff there would have very good answers to any questions that come up.

Sorry about your friend. :rose:
 
Works for the ones I have.

Find or make racks to stand them all up.

Find someone to go through them and see if they're worth keeping though. They get very heavy in quantity and can cause problems if not properly supported.
Also, go through them and make sure the record in the sleeve matches the sleeve. Having the wrong record in the sleeve makes for difficult evaluations. A lot of the value is in the sleeves and the sleeves' condition. It should go without saying that a record without its original sleeve loses a lot of value.

I never had enough to fill a milk crate, but they are good storage containers. Fruit boxes are also good storage containers, but they can get very heavy if full (75-80 pounds, or so, IIRC)
 
Every album I ever bought had sleeves inside the cover.

Most of these do, some don't, but some websites were talking about "special" sleeves. I think it's just a ploy to sell a product, but I don't honestly know.
 
Agree with what has been said above. Store vertically and watch out for weight. Also check your area to see if there's a used record store still in business. I'm sure the staff there would have very good answers to any questions that come up.

Sorry about your friend. :rose:

A used record store - that's a good idea!
 
Also, go through them and make sure the record in the sleeve matches the sleeve. Having the wrong record in the sleeve makes for difficult evaluations. A lot of the value is in the sleeves and the sleeves' condition. It should go without saying that a record without its original sleeve loses a lot of value.

I never had enough to fill a milk crate, but they are good storage containers. Fruit boxes are also good storage containers, but they can get very heavy if full (75-80 pounds, or so, IIRC)

She had special shelves for them. Like a dummy, I had the shelves hauled away before we moved. I should have posted my questions a tad bit sooner.

All the sleeves match. I'm sure of that. She was insanely meticulous with this stuff.
 
The advice above is good.

But the shelves should have vertical dividers every six inches. That makes sure the discs are vertical. They should not lean. There should be just enough in each division to have the discs vertical and not too many that they cannot be slid out easily.

This cabinet shows what I mean:

8b1a6ceca692058068de397cfe6482e8.jpg
 
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No record should ever be stored without its sleave. Nor should you toss a record on top of another. As for plastic sleaves....depends....if the album is in mint condition....yes. if not, the paper that comes w them is fine.

I used to own lots of half speed mastered disks. They were cd quality. In fact....i still think they were better...deeper bass. But i played my albums and of course wear and tear took their toll. Now i have none. Think they were left in a storage unit in victorville california. Probably got bought by the storage unit guys....
 
I used to own lots of half speed mastered disks. They were cd quality. In fact....i still think they were better...deeper bass. ...

When CDs came out, I wondered if they would be able to duplicate the LP experience. They didn't. There is no physical contact between needle and groove like an LP. To me, that is what helped that deep base sound ... REAL vibration was involved. If you had (have) decent equipment, you could (can) *** feel *** the music in a way not possible with digital recordings.
 
I'd talk to a librarian, perhaps at the largest school/college in town, looking for the name of an institution that preserves vinyl collections. Work that chain of connections until you find a curator who understands what your friend collected.

The key here is that your friend was in the industry, so what she has is somewhat unique because of the artists (like signatures) and content (unpublished recordings).

The curator can confirm you're storing them reasonably well, and give you a general idea of who/where may be be interest in what you have. It could be there is an institutional collector that might be interested, and you could share your friend's legacy with the community.
 
The advice above is good.

But the shelves should have vertical dividers every six inches. That makes sure the discs are vertical. They should not lean. There should be just enough in each division to have the discs vertical and not too many that they cannot be slid out easily.

This cabinet shows what I mean:

8b1a6ceca692058068de397cfe6482e8.jpg


Oh great. Now I need to create another How-To to find out how to find someone to build custom shelves without my husband finding out. Because if he finds out, he'll want to build them himself. And if he builds them, they'll turn out to be some sort of massive, over-designed, album-storing, temperature-controlling, gas-burning, flame-belching contraptions, with blinking lights, automated doors, and a fur-lined sink.
 
Oh great. Now I need to create another How-To to find out how to find someone to build custom shelves without my husband finding out. Because if he finds out, he'll want to build them himself. And if he builds them, they'll turn out to be some sort of massive, over-designed, album-storing, temperature-controlling, gas-burning, flame-belching contraptions, with blinking lights, automated doors, and a fur-lined sink.

... and this is a bad thing? I mean, I'd replace the sink with a cocktail cabinet, but then I think you're pretty much good to go.
 
I'd talk to a librarian, perhaps at the largest school/college in town, looking for the name of an institution that preserves vinyl collections. Work that chain of connections until you find a curator who understands what your friend collected.

The key here is that your friend was in the industry, so what she has is somewhat unique because of the artists (like signatures) and content (unpublished recordings).

The curator can confirm you're storing them reasonably well, and give you a general idea of who/where may be be interest in what you have. It could be there is an institutional collector that might be interested, and you could share your friend's legacy with the community.

That's a great idea! And you are correct. She knew what she was doing, and she used to talk about not just the album itself, but the artwork that went into the various album covers. I guess some of it is valuable these days.

I also have a whole lot of other unique memorabilia, including two electric guitars, guitar picks, drumsticks, T-shirts, pictures, pictures, and more pictures, and all sorts of stuff. Everything has a story and some famous musician behind it.
 
Oh great. Now I need to create another How-To to find out how to find someone to build custom shelves without my husband finding out. Because if he finds out, he'll want to build them himself. And if he builds them, they'll turn out to be some sort of massive, over-designed, album-storing, temperature-controlling, gas-burning, flame-belching contraptions, with blinking lights, automated doors, and a fur-lined sink.

So, the Tim Taylor version? (Arghh, Arghh, Arghh, MORE POWER!!!)
 
The guitars could be something special as well. Simple google will give you an idea if you need to be more careful there as well.
 
When CDs came out, I wondered if they would be able to duplicate the LP experience. They didn't. There is no physical contact between needle and groove like an LP. To me, that is what helped that deep base sound ... REAL vibration was involved. If you had (have) decent equipment, you could (can) *** feel *** the music in a way not possible with digital recordings.

I had top end pioneer turntable, marantz (?) receiver and eq, and fucking jbl's baby...they shook the neighborhood. Now i have a phone and headphones....how humbling
 
That's a great idea! And you are correct. She knew what she was doing, and she used to talk about not just the album itself, but the artwork that went into the various album covers. I guess some of it is valuable these days.

I also have a whole lot of other unique memorabilia, including two electric guitars, guitar picks, drumsticks, T-shirts, pictures, pictures, and more pictures, and all sorts of stuff. Everything has a story and some famous musician behind it.

Probably would not hurt if you started some sort of notebook where you could make notes about the stories she told you about pieces in the collection.


Heck, it might even evolve into a book!
 
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