Record Shopping Question

A

austinerary

New member
Hey Guys,
I want to know what tips you guys have for choosing random records to sample while digging at the shop? When I go record shopping (for records I want to sample), what are some things I should look for in grabbing random records? I usually cant look at the backs of EVERY SINGLE RECORD (I go digging after school and have limited time). So what are some PRIMARY INDICATORS that I should look into the record closer (the back and such)? Thanks. -Austin
 
the cover always catches my eye first, i love having records with great cover art even if they dont got good samples but usually they do. look for certain genres you want to sample and i always check the year on the back. and most records credit who played what instruments so you can at least get an idea of what types of instruments will be on it.
 
Rekordhead said:
the cover always catches my eye first, i love having records with great cover art even if they dont got good samples but usually they do. look for certain genres you want to sample and i always check the year on the back. and most records credit who played what instruments so you can at least get an idea of what types of instruments will be on it.
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What he said.
Also if you have time get a look at the condition.Nothing like finding a diamond but if it's too
scratched up or dirty as hell you'll just be throwing money away.

Peace
 
yea exactly what these guys said, it sounds like youre a little time limited but definetly look into a portable turntable, i use that so i know what im buying
 
AlecFerguson1 said:
yea exactly what these guys said, it sounds like youre a little time limited but definetly look into a portable turntable, i use that so i know what im buying
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Using a turntable would add to your time. It also will make you spot listen. You'll miss a lot of stuff that way.
 
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austinerary said:
Hey Guys,
I want to know what tips you guys have for choosing random records to sample while digging at the shop? When I go record shopping (for records I want to sample), what are some things I should look for in grabbing random records? I usually cant look at the backs of EVERY SINGLE RECORD (I go digging after school and have limited time). So what are some PRIMARY INDICATORS that I should look into the record closer (the back and such)? Thanks. -Austin
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Since everyone has a tendency to judge the album covers, you can be different. It's still a gamble no matter how you slice it. Peep what Adrian Younge has to say:

Adrian Younge's Vinyl Collection - Crate Diggers - YouTube
 
It goes without saying - look for instrumentals on Albums or on B-sides, randomly choosing a record (unless its in the bargain bucket) could be expensive and do the rewards justify the means? read the artist notes on stuff you like, who plays what on where, and which performers colab on which projects, knowledge of music history will definitely open up new avenues to investigate. Choose an instrument find out the virtuoso/considered greats, on that instrument, any genre from Rock to Soul, Jazz to Punk, etc: are Hip Hop and Classical music really so far removed from each other you cannot enjoy and appreciate both art forms, equally: more importantly, don't let your immediate environment and your peer circles dictate or define your tastes, music that will take you out of those comfort zones can only enrich you.
 
I shop for records primarily through Discogs. Usually what I do is find sellers with thousands of records for sale and go straight to the "under $5" section, filter by year (usually up to 1980), and go through each record for sale searching for sound clips on youtube/ect to see if the artist fits my style. So far its served me well and taken a lot of the guesswork out of sample digging.
 
jjbing3 definitely good shit, once i read that post i listened to a few records front to back (which i think i should have been doing the whole time) and found some dope shit i might of just skipped over real quick so thats forsure something to keep in mind when listening to music. You never know when some crazy shit is gunna come outta left field and make your gaddam day... so theres a lot to be said a bout really listening to what u wanna sample. at worst u might not find anything "useable" but you might get taken back in time if u think about it hahaah
 
Usually I look at covers, if the cover gives me no information I look at album title and track titles. I'm personally real interested in Funk records and quite a lot of Funk track titles got a similar kind of slang. Same could count for country, Punk etcetera. Try to notice similarities (does not work for every record ofcourse)

The procedure how i dig is first i dig for records with interesting covers, then pick em up and read the album/track list and the year it was published if all that sounds interesting enough but i'm still doubting I take the time to read the names of musicians in the band. Most of the time the things will add up and i end up copping a dope gem!

Hope this helps,

Grand Uhuru
 
if it's two dollars or less i'll buy anything remotely interesting, to spend more money it either has to have a real dope cover, musicians i know, or be from a label i like.
 
When I was digging for records I did a few different things. 1st I looked at the genre. For modern sampled hip hop keep it jazz and soul. maybe funk and if you really want to be different you can do rock but again I would really keep it soul. Mostly 60s and 70s. You can do some 80s and 90s stuff but for the most part keep it pretty much mid 70s soul and you will find all kinds of stuff. Once you get bored with those genres broaden your horizons to world music. There is some great stuff out there.
 
Drummers to look for-- Steve Gadd, Harvey Mason, Billy Cobbham, Mike Clarke, Tony Williams, Alex Acuna, Steve Jordan, Zigaboo Modeliste, Jeff Porcaro, John Bonham, Fred White, Lenny White, John Guerin, Craig Krampf, David Crigger...

GJ
 
Bernard Purdie is a glaring omission. I wasn't doing primarily jazz guys, but I suppose you could find a good Krupa loop.

Anyway, just a starter list; what else you got, BC?

GJ
 
Simon Phillips, Keith Moon, Max Roach

and now let's look at Zappa's Drummers

John Bergamo, Jimmy Carl Black, Andreas Böttger, Terry Bozzio, Vinnie Colaiuta, Frankie Capp, Aynsley Dunbar, Chuck Glave, Jim Gordon, John Guerin, Paul Humphrey, Ralph Humphrey, David Logeman, Shelly Manne, Billy Mundi, Les Papp, Ron Selico, Chester Thompson, Arthur Dyer Tripp III, Chad Wackerman, Frank Zappa
 
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