The Digging Advice Thread (great for beginner diggers)

  • Thread starter Thread starter Nicro
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Some of these have said before, but here are my biggest tips:

- Go for music that you enjoy. In other words don't purposely buy something because you think it might have a hot sample. Buy a record because you really want to listen to it.

- Expand your horizons - don't just stick to one genre. I used to only buy soul records when I first started digging/collecting but now I've grown to love all kinds of music, even stuff that isn't native to America. If you're digging solely for sampling, learn what kind of sound you enjoy from the correlating genre(s), and go for those.

- Learn about every resource around you. Basically, don't just go to the same record shop every time you dig. For example, I have three record shops in my city but they all have different types of collections. I find different fields of music at each place.

- Cover art. Seriously. Sometimes, really bland covers WILL have dope music but I find that unique covers usually always have unique music. This is a good way to get into different genres/artists that you don't know about.

- Become familiar with names in the credits. After a while you'll start seeing names reappear, especially with producers, etc.

And finally...

- When you get home with all your new records, take time to appreciate each one. Don't just skip through each record looking for samples and throw it away if you don't find anything. This goes back to my first point about really wanting to listen to the music. If you're a true music lover you won't simply toss a record aside after not finding any samples in it and never listen to it again. I think it's really important that you actually enjoy the music you sample and don't just use it for sampling. That's the best part of digging for me - after I hit the record shop I don't think "damn, I'm gonna have so much shit so sample," I think, "I just got some dope music."
 
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anywhere I travel, first thing Im looking up is record stores
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I'm surprised this hasn't been mentioned more. We only have one small record store where I live. There are more about an hour away, so if I'm down there for some other reason, it's wise to stop by a record store. Even if you live in NYC, hit up new stores if you ever travel to other parts of the country or especially outside the US. even local spots you haven't been to yet.
Why hasn't anyone mentioned goin to OP SHOPS!
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The **** is an OP shop?

I'm new to the vinyl hunt but I may have some helpful advice. I've been what you call e digging for years now. While it's not as rewarding, it's helped immensely in expanding my knowledge of music.
While looking for records, dig for what you want to listen to, and figure that if the record turns out to be shit you can still most likely sample it.
When I was a kid, I just listened to the rap on the radio. I knew real hip hop existed but it wasn't at the level of stimulation I was used to, so I ignored it. After I started getting into the Wu Tang Clan, I eventually completely made the switch. I started listening to reggae because of Bob Marley, classic rock because of the Beatles and Led Zeppelin, Jazz after hearing Headhunters by Herbie Hancock, and funk because I liked James Brown. As I got deeper into these genres, my tastes started to refine. When I first started hearing soul, I would avoid it because it was too slow and too cheesy. Now I can't even listen to hype shit anymore of any genre. My point is just that when digging, pick up records that you will enjoy when you're taste broadens, you'll thank yourself later.
One lesson to learn before making the mistake is to always check the physical quality of a record before buying. Every store I've been to has a turntable in the back you can use so you don't come back complaining about the quality. Make sure the music is quality but don't forget to check the records you already know are dope. Just because it's so and so doesn't mean that it will be listenable when you bring it back home. If you're at a garage sale or something, eyeball the vinyl itself under direct light to check the quality. A record can appear immaculate and really have thousands of tiny scratches all over it. Inversely, a record that's dirty as hell with goobers smeared on the grooves can still be washed to perfection if it's not scratched. I've seen some janky shit, including a small chunk actually missing at the edge of the record. If a record you want doesn't have that little paper insert, try to steal one from another one you know you're not going to buy, but never switch records or price tags or something. The inside of a cardboard sleeve is a harsh environment for a naked record. If you have any of like this in your collection, prioritize which record(s) get the insert. Also, if a record store is unorganized enough to have sleeves without records and records without sleeves, they will also have extra inserts so you can grab some if you need to.

This post is too long, but one more thing. From "e digging" my instincts and knowledge regarding records has grown a ton. I kind of expected that when I switched to vinyl, I would find a lot of exclusive stuff that hasn't been uploaded online. This is basically not true. All the soul/rock/jazz is gonna be disproportionately big name/commercial artists, because those are the records that were pressed, reissued, and sold in such great amounts. And there is little to no reggae (I own third world's first album but that's it) and literally no psych/prog rock except like the Beatles. There's surprisingly a heap of foreign music, but all of it was released in the US and doesn't seem as authentic. What intrigues me about the random dollar bin records is that they are obscure and probably haven't been sampled before. This is either because they aren't good or simply because they're weird. I recently grabbed an early childhood record that I assumed would just be some weird record with people talking that I could sample. It turned out to be some dope folk music with a guy singing about shapes and shit.
I guess my final advice would just be to use the internet to broaden and deepen your musical knowledge and appreciation so you will be well equipped while digging.
 
cratedigging advice:

records are in alot of places other then record stores....
hit up every single thrift store,goodwill,salvation army,etc... and especially antique malls...when you find a good little stck from one of these places talk to them and find out more about there suppliers or where they get there lps from....get real cool with them also, a lot of the time they have more records onsite not put out for the public and in a lot of cases i have been able to build a good relathionship with them and they let me go through there garages,storage bins...

this is where i find the best and rarest records and always cheap(like 50 cents to 1 dolar a record)


another important thing to do is learn artists..pull up ther wikipedia and learn about them...waht labels they were ,on what artists they worked with, stuff like that helped me find awesome records that i otherwise might have passed on.
 
I can't figure out how to edit a post, but one more thing would be to let a record go if you think you might see it again cheaper/in better condition. I bought a gnarly ass copy of Shaft that came in a different Isaac Hayes jacket with water stains and red marker drawn on it for a buck, which I kinda regretted even as I purchased it. Today I saw a mint condition of Shaft in the proper sleeve, and it turns out it's also a double LP, but I also passed up a scratched copy of Heatwave without a paper insert, assuming that I'll see it later for cheaper. If it's not a rare record, don't settle for a bad copy or a bad price because you'll regret it if you do find a better deal.
 
Another thing...do not buy the record just for one sample or you will end up with crates of wack shit thats worthless..buy dope records that are sample friendly...trust me u will find them..

hit up record festivals also great way to find harder to find stuff..better condition and network.
 
Ever since I was ten and noticed producers like Melly Mel were taking loops from older songs (I didn't know I was "digging"), but I was, I just didn't have a sampler. I would play the loop and record it to tape and then stop the tape and try to catch it again at the end of the loop, lol, it was hard as hell but sometimes I got it. The first time I started digging elsewhere and anything for that matter is when I heard a sample from DJ Premier, and it was the oddest of all records, and guess what, he made "NY State of Mind" with it. Ever since then, I would grab anything and go through it, but what hurt me in my early years was not listening to the whole song, I've missed some dope samples that would've gave me a name if I would've just listened to the entire record. So newbies LISTEN TO THE WHOLE RECORD, I DON'T CARE IF YOU DON'T FEEL ANYTHING FROM THE RECORD, IF YOU HAVE IT IN FRONT OF YOU, GIVE IT A LISTEN, IN ITS ENETIRETY, IT MIGHT CHANGE YOUR LIFE!!!!!!
 
YOMO617 said:
Ever since I was ten and noticed producers like Melly Mel were taking loops from older songs (I didn't know I was "digging"), but I was, I just didn't have a sampler. I would play the loop and record it to tape and then stop the tape and try to catch it again at the end of the loop, lol, it was hard as hell but sometimes I got it. The first time I started digging elsewhere and anything for that matter is when I heard a sample from DJ Premier, and it was the oddest of all records, and guess what, he made "NY State of Mind" with it. Ever since then, I would grab anything and go through it, but what hurt me in my early years was not listening to the whole song, I've missed some dope samples that would've gave me a name if I would've just listened to the entire record. So newbies LISTEN TO THE WHOLE RECORD, I DON'T CARE IF YOU DON'T FEEL ANYTHING FROM THE RECORD, IF YOU HAVE IT IN FRONT OF YOU, GIVE IT A LISTEN, IN ITS ENETIRETY, IT MIGHT CHANGE YOUR LIFE!!!!!!
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I think thats one thing that I still need to get over. I often feel like if I dont like the mood of the beginning, then its got nothing, but the other day, i let something play where I'd sampled the intro and chopped it. I ended up hearing a doper loop that came at about 15 seconds when the beat changed. Quality over Quantity.
 
ahhhh im liking this,

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good idea
 
Yeah this is one aspect that i would like to improve on. I listen to a variety of different music new and old all the time through pandora, friends, radio, old records/cds, etc. and i have started keeping notes in my phone of cool samples and sections that i like. A sample really has to inspire me for me to consider using it though. A good source that i thought to check would be a used book store. They usually have a decent selection of music ranging from records to cds in all genres. I havent ventured there yet but i want to in the near future.
 
im just getting into this vinyl game, and im hooked. ive been hearing about these record meetings and trading expos. i live about 20 minuets out of NYC. with NYC being NYC i feel inclined to say there should be one there. now my main question is how the hell do i find out more about these types of things? is there some type of website that has them listed or something? i cant seem to find anything like that online.


BTW this is an awesome thread.
 
I think if you personally like something it will come out. Even if it doesn't work the way you want at first, it will eventually. I look through all genres of all times for fun and I do stuff go back and make completely different beats with the same samples with different tweaks. Just have fun with it.

---------- Post added at 11:04 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:10 AM ----------

I usually go with old soul music though
 
Personally, I think you should find a style or genre that no one has really tapped into. I like to flip classical samples all day.
 
Hey. I'm not sure if you guys are already talking about this. It's kind of a long thread. But if so.. Sorry.
What do you guys think about YouTube sampling? I just recently discovered this and think it is a great way to find pieces that you may never hear otherwise and helps the creative process in turn. I'd love to hear responses to this?
 
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