Diggin 101

What are your methods for diggin? This isn't really about tips or anything, but more of an insight to what your methods are for selecting certain records.

I've been doing ALOT of digging in the last couple of weeks, and generally when I do go out digging I buy in bulk. Other mates I know go out everyday and just grab one or two things, but when I'm in a record store.....I'm in a zone.
Usually I start in the funk/soul section and look at each record, if I already have it in my collection (which is starting to become harder to remember) il move on - unless I want a double for DJn. My knowledge of artists and labels has evolved over the years, so il check the back and scan for certain musicians/instruments/recording date.
Sometimes I've found gems from unknowns, and that's one of the greatest thing about diggin, infact I might go digging to grab stuff from artists I've never heard of.
Eventually il move onto the jazz section, again my knowledge has evolved from experience (artists/labels/dates/instruments). Jazz can be hit and miss at times, I lean more towards jazz funk, psyc jazz, contemporary, Latin or bosa nova these days.
Finally il float around random 60s/70s pop/rock.

I used to just dig for hip hop, but it was hip hop that led me to jazz/funk/soul/etc.

Anyway that's my insight into a typical diggin scenario, what are some of your methods?

There is no method. You just become an informal musicologist. Listen to everything- not just the hits. You should be able to find something in everything. Open your mind. Good musicians were aplenty in the 70's & 80's.
I think any one Rufus and Chaka Khan album is a smorgasbord of phenomenal basslines, breaks, rhythm and just quality.
Just listen to everything. The good thing is that now you can go to you tube and see what people like by looking at the views and then one song will lead you to another without having to dig in a dusty record store. Then you go to a vinyl site and buy what you like or go to the record store for that particular song.
Look up "Clouds" Chaka Khan and then go down the rabbit hole from there. Listen to the arrangements, change ups, vocal performance, and depth in lyrics in that track. Powerful.

Cheers,
Ian

PS Don't just focus on the hits either...Natalie Cole for instance had many albums that weren't big sellers but she has an excellent pitch and sustain so you can get great samples of individual words...though many of her songs were somewhat not so great to me.
PPS Ray Barreto is great if you want congas and horns...I listen to the basslines in his music too they are great. Jimi hendrix's blues albums have good guitars that are slow and emotional which is great over a 85-95 bpm.

lol...I guess my answer is Youtube then buy the vinyl record online.

Only recently started diggin', but I'm not new to music.

Since I have a small collection so far of vinyl, it was easy and quick to add my collection to discogs.com.

I also have a rateyourmusic account and that's helped --- continues to help [a lot of information on artists/bands/albums - other people's opinions, record covers]. I really like that site. You can get lost in there.

I mostly go with my gut feeling and recollection [my phone doesn't have internet and it's old, 2g]. I like to think I have a decent grasp on a variety of artists/bands/labels.

Now, once, I decide to upgrade phones. There's a pretty cool app to keep track of what you have and don't have via your discogs.com account. I think it's this app.

I do feel like digging, though, really is "going into the unknown". No internet, no alphabetical, in-order, by-genre record stores. The cheap, dirty, and dusty thrift stores and the likes of them. Ya' dig?

Artist/Band/Album/Label and condition are the main factors, I think, when I buy. I don't go in for any particular styles, but I'd be glad to find Blue Note records.

Another site to check out, if you're wanting to use the vinyl for sampling:
whosampled.com.

Cheers.

My technique is simple, not sure on the set-up in the states (or other countries for that matter) but here in the UK we got charity shops. Since nobody except us hip hop heads want vinyl, you can pick them up between 20p-£1 each which is cheap. so i just buy up everything, as Ian Canefire said 'you should be able to find something in everything' just dig, buy and listen.

I agree, you will find some CRAP, and consistently on certain labels - avoid them then? maybe not, as i have say 10 from RAK label, majority are useless but two have BANGING samples on. just hit or miss really.

i am looking to hit up mainland europe over this summer to dig, thinkin' barcelona and ludz (poland excuse the lack of accents) so will let people know of my findings.

Anyone else done some foreign diggin'?

http://soundcloud.com/elemes/stealin-the-night

Charity shops are quickly becoming the only place you can pick up records on the high street. At that price you don't have to be to precious about listening first either, I never have a chance to listen before buying.
Im looking at the artist, label, year, producer, engineers, musicians and instrumentation.... sometimes the artwork.
Have a quick glance over to make sure it's not warped or scratched and hand over your money over to a good cause.

get home, pot of tea, spliff, drop the needle and ....

Coz wrote:I'm from the Harry Ethics school of digging. Buy a bunch of cheap shit records and keep my fingers crossed there's something good on there. It's amazing how often some of those cheesy old records throw up a great sample.

Harry Ethics you know the score bro.

where in england you reside? i'm a bristol boy

avoid the internet.
it aint diggin when you type it in a search engine and have it hand delivered to you.
let the universe guide you.
'you are not the only one with something to say'
- karl blau

By now, I can go to a record bin and know whats in what without even knowing the record. I know when I see a pretty blonde smiling and the cover says so-so's orchestra, I know its late '50 to early '60 instrumentals and I check what instruments were used. If it contains guitars, organ and harpichord then its a sure shot, but if its just strings then it'll be some coked-out broad sleeping on the stairs type music, I avoid those. Also mean mugs with afros sitting on a stoop or porch on the cover is always a sure shot. Covers with funky art is kinda tricky but you can decipher the good from the imitations by looking at the lettering. Sure the art is bugged and freaky, but look at the letters in the title and band name. If it was drawn into the artwork, its a keeper, but if it was a cut-out of letters then pasted on, its shitsville. But if it was black printed letters on top of the art, then thats gold too. Records in typed black print are always the gems.

Hope that helped.

DJElemes wrote:Harry Ethics you know the score bro.

where in england you reside? i'm a bristol boy

safe man, i used to live in Bristol. live in Bath now so only a stones throw away.

beat in my sig actually features Lowdose who's Bristol crew. got some more stuff in the pipline with him and some others,

keep me linked on your stuff fam

sickness. such a small world. i study at bath spa uni - CMT

did you produce the beat for living my life?

also do you perform much? be good to come catch ya

good stuff. big up the Bath Spa

yea i did that track,

most of the MCs are out gigging every week .

i'm trying to hone a live set rather than just DJing , i'll keep you posted on anything that's going on mate.

I had been through all phases, all genres and all types of vinyl from mass produced to private press.

Over the years I have realised the best thing to do is cop it if it's cheap, especially if you havnt seen it before as it can open up whole new worlds. I dig in the Uk and 2nd hand shops or junk shops are my favourite as they often have stashes of wax.

I do need to beef up my soundtrack collection though as there is great stuff on most soundtracks especially if quincy, hugo montenegro, or henry mancini (&0's only for me) Are involved. Plus people used to buy them and not really listen to them so they are always in pretty good shape.

The reason i realised i need to step up my soundtrack game is because of this; http://www.egotripland.com/crate-digger ... sse-video/

I always keep a look out for foreign stuff

DJElemes wrote:My technique is simple, not sure on the set-up in the states (or other countries for that matter) but here in the UK we got charity shops. Since nobody except us hip hop heads want vinyl, you can pick them up between 20p-£1 each which is cheap. so i just buy up everything, as Ian Canefire said 'you should be able to find something in everything' just dig, buy and listen.

Only in some charity shops these days....about 7 or 8 years ago, some of the bigger charity shops (eg Oxfam), at least in their bigger stores started to have pricers price their vinyl according to rarity and demand before it went out on the shop floor. The smaller shops generally still cool though. Definitely still the best place for bargain banger material if you look hard enough

I don't think there should be a technique to searching for new music. In a way, that kind of limits you from what great record you could've stumbled upon. My problem, however, is that when I find something I like that I want to sample, I sit and listen to the entire record, and then end up having too much appreciation for that album to sample from it. Because every time I'd hear my track, I'd hear the song I sampled in it every time, and that ruins it for me. I'm always listening to music, so I don't know. I don't really ever find the music. It kind of finds me (as pretentious as that sounds).