Who has the smallest record collection, by choice?

[gramophone-georg]

Nice!

The size of my record collection is compensation for the size of something else.
Interpret that however you want being aware that mind bleach is out of stock.

[JeffR1]

Nice!

The size of my record collection is compensation for the size of something else.
Interpret that however you want being aware that mind bleach is out of stock.

I just realized just recently what a Wanker is. I don't get out much though...

Most guys just have big 4X4's rather then big record collections.

And women with big 4X4's, I don't know what to think of them, I get curios though.

[Viva-voce]

Alright you bloody wankers let’s stick to the topic at hand…

[Roaring20s]

Let the thinning of George's collection begin!

James.

[Inigo]

I've bought many records that I've only played once or twice in ten years!

[epigramophone]

I am at heart a machine collector who likes to have good records to play on them. Playing old records on modern equipment does not interest me one little bit. For me the hobby is all about hearing them as they were originally intended to be heard. I have heard all the arguments about conserving them, but they have lasted 100 years in good condition and with continued careful treatment they will certainly outlast me.

For reasons of space, and consideration for the next generation who will inherit my collection (I will be 75 next birthday) I try to keep the total of my 78's down to about 2000 and the Blue Amberols to about 200, plus a few vertically cut Pathés etc. Many of my records have been acquired in job lots, so I have learned to be discriminating about what to keep and what to dispose of.

After over 60 years collecting I do care about what happens after my demise. My son and daughter-in-law are classically trained professional musicians who are interested in my collection. While they will not be able to keep everything, they will ensure that the rest find good homes.

[gramophone-georg]

Let the thinning of George's collection begin!

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James.

Smashing!!

[HMVDevotee]

I just started this hobby three years ago and, at 66, I decided to "collect backwards" so to speak, curbing the enthusiasm previously experienced when starting out, buying every "opportunity" in sight only to dispense with most of it later. I decided there were three machines I wanted that represented the best technology of the acoustic era, and would trade-up if the opportunity presented itself. So far, it's worked. I have two portables and one external horn machine that I use for demonstrations, and one floor-standing cabinet machine for daily listening.

Records are a matter of storage space for me, and with the system I've devised (see pic), I can store about 800 records...that's it until I come across more cabinets. Frankly, setting a limit has helped manage the process. At the outset of covid, I acquired about 3000 records from a local university that had received them as a donation thirty years ago! I've been through all of them, kept about 200, donated about 1000 to a local charity, and pitched the rest, mostly in almost unplayable condition. There were about a dozen "finds" to my liking, in excellent shape, and the balance "keepers" until they loose their storage slot to something better.

What to do with such a collection in the end? I hope to offer it on this forum so some aficionado can benefit from my efforts.

[Dischoard]

I spent many years during and after college collecting boxes and boxes of 78s with very little knowledge of what was in them. Now in my 40s I'm actually going through and methodically cataloging them, entering them into Discogs and beginning to get a handle on what I have. After cataloging my 2000th record it dawned on me that I don't need to keep every record. Yes, it's tough to get rid of records but the less space I have, the easier I find it. My credenza stores all my Victor Scroll labels, my VV 4-7 holds my Columbia black-label VivaTonals, everything else goes onto the shelves and as I run out of space there I start to re-prioritize. Black label Deccas are the first to go, Columbia red labels are second. I think Victor batwings may have to be third but only based on the chance percentage that I'll actually listen to it (organ records will probably be the first to go )

[gunnarthefeisty]

I sure do wish I could find someone like that in my area. I've got 200 or so and probably at least 70 I've yet to listen to- "oh, I'll listen to that in the summer/spring/ when I have time", and thus they start to pile up.