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We Think We Need A Bigger Building

The archive continues to expand with the gargantuan new part-donation, part-purchase of Dr. Richard Rutgard’s lifetime collection of vinyl, 78′s, audio and shortwave radio equipment. 

Another top quality American has entered the fray, sharing the same collective vision of seeing the library find final rest well above sea level in mountainous terrain.

By will and by will alone we set our minds in motion.

Kindest Regards, The Vinyl-House Team    

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‘The General’ Went Mad At Christmas

The festive period brought with it a gargantuan collection of rare Metal, Rock and Punk LP’s (not to mention some 17,000 7″ singles).

A change in genre prompted by the desire to further extend our charitable commitments. The moment ‘The General’ heard that the executor of the collection was acting under instruction for all proceeds to feed children and save animals the money was a secondary thought.

We will be carrying forth our strict grading process into the Metal and Rock arena as if they were Classical and Jazz titles. As always we hope the record ends up with someone who genuinely appreciates and enjoys the music even if it sells for a fifth of the expected price.

Kindest regards, Vinyl-House   

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Single Greatest Donors

We would like to pay our respects to one of our single greatest donors, Mr. Michael Liebowitz. Our relationship began in early 2017 with his purchase of an original Pathe recording of Maurice Marechal playing the Brahms Cello Sonatas. It was his resilience as a buyer when faced with a few imperfections on playback and performance driven priorities that prompted us to send the Tcheque Trio box set as a gift. It is not uncommon for us to send presents to those that see beyond the veil and recognise our true intentions, a Decca cartridge now residing in Switzerland will attest to this. Since then and upon learning of our charity foundation and long-term projects; an allegiance has been formed. 

We would like to ask our readers for assistance in helping to nominate a deserving individual or group for us to donate a violin (as shown below) from our collection of musical instruments on behalf of Mr. Liebowitz.

Kindest regards, The Vinyl-House Team

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Runners & Riders

On the surface and to the wider market we may appear but a vessel for simply selling the music just like all the rest; the reality runs far deeper. It is no exaggeration to assert that we live and breathe what we do. 

With the recent acquisition of the John Holland Of EMI test pressing collection, a new game has emerged. Among a sea of unmatched matrices and vague, hand written inscriptions we have been deciphering and collating musical gems. There is something truly special about this set of test pressings, the sound is superior in every way imaginable to the commercial releases. 

As exciting as what has been listed at present is; it’s what you don’t see that would induce top-board manouvers. When titles fall into this category we call them ‘Reference’; and ‘Reference’ is what will constitute the musical ark of the covenant. The best of the best, archived and preserved for future generations as has been the intention from day one.

Peace, Love & Harmony, Vinyl-House

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Hi VH I have a rare classical record I’d like to sell how do I go about it? K

Please send us an email to [email protected] with further details.

Kindest regards

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Hello, do you know where I can get arhitectural plans of a vinyl factory? Thank you.

Hi, what are you looking for specifically and maybe we can help?

Kind regards, Vinyl-House

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Dear Mr. Mouzon, sorry for the late reply, just a quick note to say boy did you rip it up (First Frisco) peace from the Motherland

The General (whilst listening to Belgrave)

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                                   When An ED2 Is An ED1... 

The constitution of what makes a ‘first pressing’ is not always immediately obvious.

Whilst most are familiar with the conventional ordering of label releases, for example classical recordings on the Decca SXL label following the basic rule of form that ED1’s carry ‘Original Recording By’ text with a centered deep groove, ED2’s ‘Made In England By’ text with groove, ED3’s the same without the groove and ED4’s with a narrow-band. There is also a lesser know variant referred to as an ED0 / pancake press, comprising of ‘Original Recording By’ text but with the with groove running on the very outer perimeter (as shown below).

However in some cases these hallmarks can be presumptuous and misleading when it comes to ascertaining first pressings of particular titles among a labels discography. Case in point SXL 6426, Schubert’s Arpeggione Sonata played by Mstislav Rostropovich (as shown at the top). The first pressing of this release features no groove or ‘ORB’ text so is what some would describe an ED3 thus making the second pressing a narrow-band, usually cited as an ED4. This pattern is by no means confined to the SXL series with first press intricacies virtually label-wide.

Some factions of the market are adamant first press classification cannot be assigned unless these rigid hallmarks are in place; not a first by any means.

This post was born from that very sentiment, with a Far-Eastern collector adamant a first pressing of Falla’s El Amor Brujo conducted by Rafael Fruhbeck De Burgos it was not. Our offer is clear, find us an undoctored copy of SXL 6287 with ‘Original Recording By’ Text and we will gift the piece.

Kindest regards, The Vinyl-House Team

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We sat down with Linda Stagg, daughter of the iconic recording engineer Allen Stagg to hear her thoughts on a range of topics including her father’s career & legacy.

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                       Archiving The Legacy Of Allen Stagg

Vinyl-House is honoured to have archived the Allen Stagg collection of records, master tapes, photographs and documents to ensure their long term historical preservation. Over the course of his illustrious career Allen worked as a recording engineer for Radio Luxembourg, managing director of I.B.C Studios, general manager of Abbey Road Studios, head of sound at M.G.M studios and recording studio coordinator for Deutsche Grammophon. He worked with a plethora of world renowned artists and orchestras including Sir John Barbirolli, Herbert Von Karajan, Otto Klemperer, Janet Baker, David Oistrakh, Jacqueline Du Pre, the Berlin Philharmonic, London Symphony & Royal Philharmonic. The industry icon was noted for his fine technical skill, particularly in the field of balancing and refusal to use equalisation, limiters or compressors on classical recordings.

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Great Minds Think Alike

Bruce Latham, Walter Legge & ‘The General’ all agree, mono sounds better than stereo. We sat down with Bruce to hear his thoughts on a range of topics among the world of early classical recordings.

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                               Restoration Out Of Respect

Our extensive restoration and cleaning efforts are driven out of respect for the performing artists. We take great satisfaction in removing decades worth of dirt to bring covers up to standard. It never ceases to amaze just how much filth an album cover will amass and retain, although perhaps not surprising when dealing with pieces over fifty years old. On a typical cover cleaning day we will spend 12-14 hours putting them through a meticulous process. Some certainly present a greater challenge than others, tapes and stickers often require several applications to fully break down the residual imprint they leave behind and to protect against tears or loss of laminate during their removal.

Above is a screenshot of a question sent to us regarding the condition of an original early 1960′s Columbia SAX LP. We certainly took no offence, in fact thought it quite the homage to the process itself and our fastidious approach.   

This system has taken great time and detail to perfect and uses entirely non abrasive or corrosive materials. Once the cover is as clean as we can possibly make it, the two-step cleaning process of the record itself begins... 

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Vinyl-House Top Ten Album Lists

A selection from some of our team members ‘Top Ten’ albums in no particular order.

‘The General’ - nicknamed for his order barking demeanour, a former golden-era DJ and walking encyclopedia of musical knowledge. Overseer of the archive, emissary of the institute.

Gene Harris: How Insensitive

Grant Green: Live At The Lighthouse

Donald Byrd: Live At The Half Note

Sibelius: Violin Concerto - Jascha Heifetz

Steve Parks: Movin In The Right Direction

Schubert: Arpeggione - Janos Starker

All Beethoven Conducted By Furtwangler (doesn’t care if this counts as more than one)

Dee Dee Bridgewater: Afro Blue 

All Charlie Parker (doesn’t care if this counts as more than one)

Terry Callier: First Light

….all Iron & Wine, all John Fahey, most Violent Femmes, most Erica Morini, most Nathan Milstein and last but not least an inability to count to ten.

‘Spanners’ - collection hunter and all round Trojan, just don’t ask him to do anything involving DIY.

Terry Callier: Time Peace

Fela Kuti & Roy Ayers: Music Of Many Colours

Grant Green: Live At The Lighthouse

Horace Silver Quintet: Song For My Father

Andy Bey: Experience & Judgement

Tool: 10,000 Days

Bach: Sonatas & Partitas For Solo Violin - Jascha Heifetz

Tchaikovsky: Violin Concerto - Alfredo Campoli / Argenta

Jungle Brothers: Raw Deluxe

Edouard Lalo: Symphonie Espagnole - Jascha Heifetz

Rosco Peco Train - aka ‘The Wheel Man’ - there is no journey too far for Peco, whatever size or wherever the collection may be he is ready to get behind the wheel of a transit van or 7.5 tonne truck and hit the road. His record stands at 940 miles covered in a single day, all in the name of collecting vinyl.

Nick Drake: 5 Leaves left

Nick Drake: Bryter Later

Rush: Moving Pictures

Rush: 2112

Leonard Cohen: 10 New Songs

Narada Michael Walden: Garden of Love Light

Steely Dan: Pretzel Logic

Pink Floyd: Dark Side of the Moon

Pink Floyd: Wish You Were Here

Yello: Touch

Bruce ‘Moony’ Latham - Bruce was in charge of operational support services for Radio 3 music and responsible for the staffing of all promenade concerts and operas within the London area for the BBC. We are honoured to have this marvelous human being as part of the Vinyl-House collective.

Verdi: MacBeth - Warren / Rysanek / Erich Leinsdorf 

Verdi: La Traviata - Los Angeles / Del Monte / Tullio Serafin

Donizetti: Lucia di Lammermoor - Sutherland / John Pritchard

Donizetti: La Favorita - Barbieri / G.Raimondi / Angelo Questa

J.Strauss: Die Fledermaus - Schwarzkopf / Gedda / Von Karajan 

Ponchielli: La Gioconda - Milanov / di Stefano / Fernando Previtali

Massenet: Manon - Los Angeles / Legay / Pierre Monteux

Donizetti: Don Pasquale - Luise / Aymaro / Oncina / Argeo Quadri

Offenbach: La Perichole - Lafaye / Amade / Igor Markevitch

Puccini: Tosca - Callas / di Stefano / Gobbi / Victor de Sabata

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                                 Archive Quality Condition

In some cases we will buy 100 copies of the same album in search of the final one worthy of a place in our archive. We are fearless on this level of pursuement. Three examples of what constitutes our time capsule condition criteria are shown above, these are amongst the finest copies left in existence and will never be surpassed. Once we find our archival copy we never play it. This is how serious we are in our preservation of the greatest pressings of the greatest music, by the greatest artists.

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Parker’s Children

In terms of both playing and composition, ‘No Room For Squares’ was clearly Mobley’s Masterpiece. By this time jazz had begun to permeate the mainstream end of palatable and understandable bop driven lines. Jazz is often referred to as the American classical music, I do not hold this opinion. Instead I would describe it as the black classical music and at the time was seen as nothing more than the competitive nature of ostentatious soloists; the true subtleties of the genius were missed by the vast majority of listeners. The Caucasians with best efforts to emulate are possibly the only ones who truly knew as their efforts were found wanting.

My first exposure to jazz was at least a thousand titles prior to ‘Kind Of Blue’. Considering Miles before Clarke was so far removed it took me ten years to even dream of listening to the entire album. With this in mind I must state that Charlie Parker will always remain my benchmark. Coltrane undeniable, Rollins undeniable, Henderson undeniable, but Parker fathered and paved the way for them all. Complex time signatures aside, the bodies of work produced by some of these giants will never be surpassed, mainly because they were forged in a time of racial hardship and national disembodiment. Peer criticism of the harshest nature i.e. taking five, gave rise to the golden era.

I’ve read many reviews on Mobley’s 1568 and very few glimpse at the true genius of ‘Mighty Moe And Joe’ and the foundation of that genius being the inimitable Curtis Porter. Had he not returned to Mingus and had he not been politicised at a crucial age he may have stood head and shoulders above the pack, as we all know Mingus ruled with an iron fist and this policy may have stifled Porters growth.

So when asked why such an ‘average’ album could command such a massive price my response is that outside the pedants that prize collectability above performance remain the truly enlightened. John Fahey gets this, Eric Clapton does not.

The General

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Market Skewers

The message below is from a bidder in Hong Kong who won six pieces from our latest offering of classical vinyl. He proceeded to only pay for the cheapest three items. When asked about this and if he planned to complete checkout for the remaining three, we received the following response.  

“Dear Vinyl-house, Thanks and so sorry to the other three records I've given a unreasonable offer to you, is much much higher than the market price according to Popsike and RareRecordPriceGuide. I'm approisized for this issue and please also cancel them. And I promise I will not do it again!”

We do not support individuals who bid to win and then to re-negotiate. It is not fair, especially not to our biggest and regular customers. Paying when you like is one thing, but skewing the market for everyone is not right.

The “market price” is irrelevant and always fluctuating, ultimately dependent on what the bidders behind the screens across the world are prepared to pay at any given point. We do not use Popsike or Price Guides, ‘The General’ is a walking encyclopedia of musical knowledge.

If you are looking for the best copies of the best pieces of music in history, that is what we archive and preserve. This particular copy of the Bach / Vivaldi Violin Concertos (one of the three items the individual deemed he had over-payed for) is so good, that we would put it up against any other in the world. In light of this we ask the question, who or what guide is to determine the “market price” for a crystal clear 1967 recording of Milstein’s masterful rendition.  

We would rather it achieved half the price that it did, just so long as it had gone to someone who genuinely appreciated and cherished the music.

Kindest Regards, The Vinyl-House Team

***UPDATE*** - Our biggest UK buyer has just got in contact after reading the post and purchased, further proving that when it comes to quality there is no price. It is not uncommon for bidders to send a message after the close of an auction to see if a sale has gone through or not, seemingly aware there are lunatics and chancers aplenty.  

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We've had at least ten pieces sent back to us on the basis that they sounded poor and distorted. So of course on return we played them, and to our surprise they sounded perfect. Now when we say perfect, we mean perfect, whereas when we say surprised, that is some what tongue in cheek. As strong advocates of parallel tracking we decided possibly that the only fair test would be for us to use a more traditional i.e. gimbal or unipivot fixed position arms, so we used four turntables, four arms and four different cartridges, all MC.

The results were clear, quantifiable and audibly demonstrable. As we know very few of you personally it is unlikely that we will be able to adjust your TT setups ourselves. At this juncture we can only recommend the usual suspects for tracking alignment, measurement and guidance. Given the opportunity ‘The General’ would wax lyrical about dynamic compliance versus resonant frequency for at least an hour before any kind of TT assembly could take place.

For those of you that are expert in this field we apologise if this post is preaching to the choir. For the rest that have yet to master the art of turntable setup, be aware that playing your vinyl is damaging your vinyl; repeat, damaging your vinyl.