Can You Grade This Record?

[Carlos]

How do you grade records? I try to follow the Record Collector grading system, but I find that it can be very subjective. How do you interpret the descriptions?

EXCELLENT: very little lessening in sound quality.
VERY GOOD: no major deterioration in sound quality
GOOD: the sound quality has noticeably deteriorated
FAIR: displays considerable surface noise
POOR: The record will not play properly

I thought we could carry an experiment to see how similar or different our gradings are. I have uploaded this old song from an old record (http://www.divshare.com/download/17405726-deb) and I would like to invite you to grade it following the "official" grading system.

MINT: The record itself is in brand new condition with no surface marks or deterioration in sound quality. The cover and any extra items such as the lyric sheet, booklet or poster are in perfect condition. Records advertised as Sealed or Unplayed should be Mint.

EXCELLENT: The record shows some signs of having been played, but there is very little lessening in sound quality. The cover and packaging might have slight wear and/or creasing.

VERY GOOD: The record has obviously been played many times, but displays no major deterioration in sound quality, despite noticeable surface marks and the occasional light scratch. Normal wear and tear on the cover or extra items, without any major defects, is acceptable.

GOOD: The record has been played so much that the sound quality has noticeably deteriorated, perhaps with some distortion and mild scratches. The cover and contents suffer from folding, scuffing of edges, spine splits, discoloration, etc.

FAIR: The record is still just playable but has not been cared for properly and displays considerable surface noise; it may even jump.
The cover and contents will be torn, stained and/or defaced.

POOR: The record will not play properly due to scratches, bad surface noise, etc. The cover and contents will be badly damaged or partly missing.

BAD: The record is unplayable or might even be broken, and is only of use as a collection-filler.

[Col Wolfe]

nice poll Carlos (and well done on being the first to produce a poll!)

I'm very picky when it comes to grading and take the RC grades as gospel (and it's the only RC-related pointer I take as gospel)

I would say it falls between:
VERY GOOD: no major deterioration in sound quality
GOOD: the sound quality has noticeably deteriorated

but what is the differnece between G+ and VG- :confused:

[Carlos]

but what is the differnece between G+ and VG- :confused:

Exactly! I graded it as G+, maybe because I see the bottle half empty at this time of the evening :rolleyes: For me, the problem with that record are the pops and clicks (what's the difference :confused:) caused by the scratches. Are they... VERY GOOD: occasional light scratch or GOOD: mild scratches. What's the difference between a light scratch and a mild one :confused: I suppose the way to measure them will be if you find the record enjoyable or you feel the scratches are ruining the pleasure. If I tell you that the record is almost 54 years old, are you going to be more benevolent with it? Do the scratches will give it character?


http://undergroundvelvet.files.wordpress.com/2010/01/confused.jpg

[Col Wolfe]

many a reggae collector would deem it MINT :D

[Carlos]

many a reggae collector would deem it MINT :D

http://www.snwmf.com/zerothree/images/big_youth_1_00.jpg

[ceemillar]

i went for G+ because it sounded like the record was pretty much scuffed all over with only the odd pop and tick showing where more serious scratches are. Good choice of song with surface noise for debate and it is something everyone fusses and worries over but its very subjective.

[Ian Townsend]

VERY GOOD: no major deterioration in sound quality
VERY GOOD: The record has obviously been played many times, but displays no major deterioration in sound quality, despite noticeable surface marks and the occasional light scratch. Normal wear and tear on the cover or extra items, without any major defects, is acceptable..

OK: As I'm not selling this record I'm the arse who's gone with Very Good because to my ears it does sound like a record that's been played many times, there's no major deterioration in sound quality and yes there's the odd pop from scratches. BUT... where is the line between VG and VG-? (or VG- and G+ as Col pointed out)?

Also... leaving aside fussing over plusses and minuses for the time being, what about:

VERY GOOD = no major deterioration in sound quality
GOOD = the sound quality has noticeably deteriorated

Who can slice between something that hasn't majorly deteriorated but has noticeably deteriorated??? Both phrases are relevant to this record!

Bonkers.


If I were selling this though I'd be uncomfortable with VG and probably call it good

[Carlos]

Those are my thoughts also. The grading system is too subjective and the differentiation between grades can have many interpretations. Someone that only listens to cds and is used to music that never suffer from scratches, could grade it as POOR: The record will not play properly due to scratches, bad surface noise, etc.

[eruditio]

Good thread. The seller in me says VG-, the buyer in me says G+. ;)

[effi_deep]

i'd sell it as vg- or good. depends how the rest of the record is really.
in any case i would add a short individual description to the grade.

but my scale basically is

nm
ex
vg+
vg
vg-
good
fair

http://www.freesmileys.org/smileys/smiley-confused009.gif

[effi_deep]

G+ and G- ???

totally useless homebrewed grades.

http://www.freesmileys.org/smileys/smiley-forum/stirthepot.gif

[Carlos]

The seller in me says VG-, the buyer in me says G+. ;)

The problem is that, as a buyer, having been burned so many times with dodgy gradings, I wouldn't touch a record graded G+ but I wouldn't mind a VG-. I see VG as an enjoyable record with some defects but I see G as a record with considerable noise, more (+) or less (-) difficult to enjoy.

[Jon T]

I mainly buy old 60s soul singles and would say most I have purchased at VG+ grade are about the same as this clip, so I have opted for VG+!

[Sean_Beat]

Thats a straight VG for me!

Sean

[moogaloo]

I don't have anything better than the current grading system, but the other thing to consider is that we play records with different record players and cartridges I have bought records advertised as EX, they look like EX but sound like a fire with the amount of pops and distortion, on another record player they might play fine. As long as sellers are reasonable and accept returns generally it is not a problem.

I even had a brand new record that would jump in a certain place, I took it back to the record shop, it played fine on their deck, he gave me a replacement anyway, got it home and it got stuck in the same place again!

[dracpac]

It is a contradiction in terms but I say VERY GOOD MINUS

(And hello btw)

[jackgeech]

It is a contradiction in terms but I say VERY GOOD MINUS

(And hello btw)
VG- possibly but I wouldn't buy anything off the person who graded this VG+. No way is this a VG+ record.