Do you prefer new LP releases or collecting vintage LPs?

As a new vinyl record collector, I am still not sure to purchase first releases or reissues. The price on original/first pressing are still too high and it make more sense to go for reissues.

I also believe that the sound quality is often better on reissues, and of course the condition is mint.

What are your thoughts about this?

I love the new music on vinyl, it is fantastic.

 

Welcome to collecting records Kai!
I personally prefer vintage records. There's something magical about listening to the music in a "time capsule" from the time it was created... The thing with some new reissues is that they have been cut from digital files. In the case of music that has been recorded all analogue, it feels sometimes like something is missing... Some people like those digital cut vinyls. You'll develop a taste for what you like and what you don't. A nice exercise is to compare different pressing from the same album. You can learn a lot with it. Enjoy the music! Cheers.

 

Yes....

 

Welcome to the Forum!!!

Unfortunately, there's not one easy, convenient answer to your questions.

As many threads on this forum can attest:
It's a case by case situation...

....and many factors are subjective to the buyer's personal preferences:
Your budget - spend the bank on one copy, or spread the $$$ on several records

Your tolerance to wait to find the "perfect original vintage copy" while digging through crates of overpriced dusty dingy dirty used LPs

Your perseverance to order a new vinyl reissue of a classic album,
- to either relish it's new pristine clean pressing -
OR
- curse that even due to modern factory Quality Control, the vinyl surface still has scuffs and fingerprints and is pressed off center...

Your concern for mastering: All Analog or is from Digital OK?

Please Note: new Reissues are not always what you think... there have been numerous complaints, once you start reading some threads here.
BUT - you'll realize this can be a tough but fair crowd .

YMMV

So, one size does not fit all.

 

I would prefer to buy all, or mostly new, as there is no shortage of great music being released, but it’s much easier and cheaper to buy vintage.

 

When searching out specific titles, I have always gone with new records. I don’t like spending a ton of money on older pressings or buying used records online, and a lot of my most desired titles have good pressings in print. I also make regular trips to used record stores to browse and see what I can find. That has helped round out and expand my collection a lot. I’ve picked up a lot of used records cheap that I never would have bothered to buy new by going to record stores.

 

Both. why limit yourself on finding and acquiring good music?

 

Vintage, which I have a lot more of than new pressings.

Not adverse or allergic to newer copies (I've bought several of the recent Pink Floyd reissues), but I prefer an older pressing if its in good shape, good-sounding and affordable.

 

Hi there, I prefer to buy new records, because in my country used vinyl isn't much cheaper than new...and condition and pressing isn't usually much better than the new one...I guess 80% of my collection is new, but like some more experienced guys said: there is something magical about used records keep going

 

I actually enjoy collecting new vinyl. Dont get me wrong...I have 1000’s of original / vintage presses...and i wont pass up a clean OG. But I love curating new, limited/ colored presses. Nothing quite like cracking a seal, inspecting the package, knowing I am the first person to listen, knowing I will take care of the product and imagining someone decades from now appreciating my good taste, foresight, and impeccable storage tendancies!

 

I buy heavy to new because not too interested in playing vintage/used records on the cart in my avatar.....Ain't worth it!! That being said I do buy used and inspect records pretty closely. The store I frequent the owner is very good at keeping mainly VG+/VG++/Mint, plus he sells new.

I have a RCM so my vinyl is very clean......I'm a freak about that. From a sound quality point that is totally subjective, I know people that only play vintage originals cause they want that original sound, well sometimes that sounds krappy. Reissues done right are very amazing, once you get some years under your belt of collecting it will become evident to you which you prefer......

Have fun

 

If I could only have vintage, NM vinyl of all the albums I love at prices that fit my budget, there'd be no doubt... but the world isn't like that, so it's a bit of both (though I do rather enjoy cracking the cellophane on new records, which is a thrill we didn't even get back in pre-CD days here in the UK!)

 

When I got involved in vinyl, really only older pressings were available, so I stuck with that for years. However during the past decade I've preferred getting good new pressings. My collection now is roughly 85% new 15% old.

 

Vintage whenever possible.

 

I prefer vintage but I do buy some new records.

 

Original Lps and 45s from the 50s and 60s.

 

Depending on: cost, item sought, availability and condition....I opt for either new or vintage, on a case by case basis.

 

I prefer the sound of 100% Spars AAA Analogue vinyl. Very few things compare to the trifecta of a clean vintage LP you love, vintage tube amplification and horn-loaded speakers.

For better or for worse (very rarely) with vintage LPs you get the original Mastering. No after market digital mucking that up!

 

Yes, I know both original pressing and reissues can sound bad. Here is an example:

The original pressing of Bon Jovi "Keep The Faith" sounds worse than the reissue. So I think it depends on how well the mastering was done. Again, sometimes the reissues sucks.

 

And that is why we collect.......Find the best sounding versions out there. Honestly IDC which one is best sounding, that's my choice......

I have no reason to buy a new/reissue of Supertramp~Crimes as my original copy is magical, that also goes for Steely Dan~Aja......

 

I've only been collecting for a few months, but I find collecting vintage records much more fun!

Of course, if I can't find something I really, really want, I go reissue. But I've been pleasantly surprised how well I've been able to fill out my collection with buying 90% vintage. Happy hunting!

 

Prefer originals, but don't mind a reissue if it's (a) cheaper or (b) easier to find or (c) sonically superior (or some combination thereof).

 

Both, Kai! It depends. Sometimes a reissue is lovingly done, sometimes the original can be hard to improve. Make sure you do your research.

It keeps it interesting!

 

I have some originals that sound great, and I've also bought some that sounds terrible and can't clean them enough to make them sound better. In those cases (highway 61 revisited, harvest, rumours, Nebraska, etc....) reissues are just fine

 

I buy vintage any opportunity I can get. But there are some cases in which a certain album on vinyl would be too expensive for my budget at the moment or that there is no vinyl reissue yet, so I'll be aiming to get the vintage LP's. I always turn away from the reissued albums, but if an album is just released on vinyl either for the first time or it's a reissue of a an expensive first initial run, then I'll be buying the new vinyl of that album.