Rediscovering 7” 45 RPM Singles

I have always considered myself a hoarder,rather than a collector of 45s.I have several thousand.Lots of commons,but lots of obscure garage,soul and R&B,as well as hundreds and hundreds of picture sleeve 45s,and EPs from all over the world,which may be the most impressive area of my collection.Lots of very collectible stuff from early R&B to 60s and 70s rock to 90s indie in this area.Heavy on both 60s and 70s-80s punk and post punk.I always seemed to have a knack for stumbling across things like unusual non US Elvis releases,or little stashes of very collectible garage and Northern Soul.A few Beatles worth in the mid to high hundreds here and there.Although I was always disappointed I found so little calypso,ska,and reggae,I used to think I had a pretty good 45 collection.Then I joined a couple of Facebook groups,one for general 45s,and one for just 50s R&B,and I realized just how piddling things like my exhaustive Kinks 45/EP collection,or my couple of dozen $500+ soul 45s were.

I have bought very few new 45s in the last year or two.My sources outside the web,have pretty much dried up.So much of what I want either is not turning up anymore or when it is,there are too many bidders on ebay for a currently dwindling pool of better 45s.The only exception has been seeking out some of the Vanda and Young records I have learned of on this board.

I do think there are too few new 45s being pressed today,and unlike new LPs,most new 45s are too expensive.There is no reason a new 45 should cost more than $5 or $6.

 

One thing about "commons" is that most of them are great songs!

 

I agree! I didn't mean to use the term "commons" in a demeaning way. I love finding 45s by artists I never heard of and then hearing songs I like.

 

I am finding the pool of available 45 singles dwindling of better items, but occasionally my faith gets restored with a good find.

 

Hard to beat an evening of 45 spinning for musical heaven.
Next stop: 78s!

 

Agreed for sure!

 

And - Life is good when you have "Multi-Play"!!

 

Nice setup. We have a 1229 as a second 'table for just that purpose (though without the auto-play spindle). Duals are perfect for mono/45/78 enjoyment.

 

I have never seen a setup like that.I have a 1219,and I almost did not recognize it as a Dual at first.

 

I regret not picking up more 45s at PDQ in Tucson. They had thousands of records. A real goldmine.

I had a pleasant dream about digging for 45 in a used record store this morning.

 

Aw man! I could never put a turntable on the bottom of anything. I would worry that the top shelf would collapse and crust it.

 

"Fear is the path to the Dark Side!"
Believe me, that shelf is oak veneer over solid plywood. It ain't goin anywhere. I had the 727 on the bottom at first, but I like the receiver up closer to eye level with a straight-on display. This setup also gave me more room for turntable adjustments, etc..

 

One of my favorite things about collecting and playing records is to have 45-only night every so often.

 

My wife & I were thinking about that. Last year for New Years Eve, we had a "Bring your favorite album" party. This year we may add 45's into the mix!

 

So much for "weeding out." I recently purchased over 1,000 45s from the 50s - 90s. Have just now started sorting.
Nothing like going through boxes of 45s, just hoping to find some really good ones. Not in terms of collectors' items so much, but ones that bring back memories, have cool b-sides, neat labels, etc.

 

Lost two auctions on 45s today.I was outbid on a 45 copy of Relative Distance by The Fumin' Humins,that went for $204 and change,and Daniel Barenboim's first record as a pianist that went for $55.This is a 1957 French Philips 45 EP.These are the sort of records I am looking for.Because of the damned vinyl revival,I have pretty much lost every auction I have bid in the last year.Which is why I like Discogs a lot better than ebay now.

 

For the complete package get a vintage jukebox to play them on. I recently acquired a restored 1955 Rock-Ola 1452. It has a 25W 6L6 powered tube amp driving the original 15' Jensen with a separate compression horn. Mono 45s sound ridiculously good on it. Stereos not so much because of the ceramic cartridge with a conical stylus that is required for this type of jukebox. In my case I wouldn't load it with high value 45s. But even trashed looking singles can sound amazing on this. This has rekindled my interest in collecting 45s. (And just what I needed, another way to spend more $$ on records.)