I'll break it down to a few main points:
1.Covers (psychedelic ones, straight oldschool b/w joints,.. anything that looks interesting, extremely wack looking ones somtimes turn out to be true gems!)
2.Lables (subsidary lables of lables you know and like, lables that fill a certain genre)
3.Artists (same as above, check the session players, sometimes if you really dig a record you can find information about who was involved on the net which is often not written in the liniers, the usual,...)
4.Instruments (as everything this can turn out good or bad, but I often check unknown stuff and take a closer look at what instruments they play - you can often tell how good the keyboarder is by reviewing his taste of synths and old keys he uses (often, not always
), combination of certain instruments - you can imagine which style its close to by the presence or absence of certain instruments)
5.Experience/Spidey sense (This is my fav for sure. Recently I've been pretty blessed after doing a tour of most stores in town for 1-2 weeks, sometimes a feeling guides you to just go back to the rock section a 3rd time and you pull that one joint that makes the day, you'll have a feeling for if a store is good, prices are ok, prices are perhaps way outta proportion but they have THAT JOINT you want - nah mean?, rather pulling one more record and listening for a few mins longer than missing on that gem right?, don't get snobby and only check the "new in" and "rare" section, you're a producer right??? you want to make some interesting music, so try checking other genres you normally don't, don't be too much of a recordsnob to check the Dollarbin! Got myself a vg copy of a 60$ for 2$ the other week..., don't be fooled by shady sellers/store owners trying to get you to buy his expensive gems that prob. everyone is looking for and will be heard on like 5 beats in the next couple of months, know the scene, you'll find out about digging trends...)
6.Contacts (This is often forgotten with diggers that produce. I know collectors are often geniuses at this (some times too much
). Make contact with your stores owner or employee. Ask if they have special days when the wax comes in, do they know any good conventions in your area, talk about what you have and what you like (be carefull on this one if your storeowner is an (old) prick whos just after money or basicly just a b!tch). I've made good experiences with this eventhough most owners dont like young cats digging for their wax - obviously they think we won't be able to understand the music..
. I've ended up being sent down to the storage basement, getting calls for when certain records you're looking for come in, all in all if you're a good costumer they will help you out)
7.Bargaining (Don't be afraid to ask getting cheaper prices, show em the scratches on the record, tell em its noisy, tell em the price is not justified eventhough its a rare LP sicne the jacket is wacked or it has been collecting dust in someones attic or even got the wack basement store sound from wet storage, keep (6.) in mind and don't make em furious or something, again if you buy often they will respect your comments, if you buy worth lets say 40 bucks try getting one of the cheaper ones for free or getting the lot cheaper, tell em you'll send people round - this only works if you get a convo going like "ah yea I've been collecting for a while, I got some friends that are into it aswell, I'll bring em with me next time" or whatever)
8.Research (Don't fear the net! Do some research, try google, check ebay! If you don't like buying off ebay you can always find out about records you want to check out and write em down looking for em somewhere else! Watch documentaries about artists on TV when they are on, perhaps check the bookstore for some words on your favorite player and you'll have dozens of new ppl to check for when you goto the store next time, talk to people! its very important. Be slick but friendly. You don't want to let the world up on your greatest new find you want to sample, right? On the other side, if dude you'Re talking too is cool and you feel aight, share some knowledge you normally wouldnt let go, cuz he might have something for you in exchange when he notices you just gave him a good hint.)
Last things: Don't get too tangled up with this if you're new to it. It takes time and experience and these points will feel like simple rules for riding your bike. The most important thing after all is having fun. So don't try to get too pro about everything. Everyone goes home emptyhanded sometime, so don't think Everything will be like it is in your main store. Digging is a new experience and feeling everytime, and thats why I love it.
Damn it! Writing this made me wanna go diggin on monday. Oh yea thinkin of it now, don't get too addicted. Learn when you can NOT afford going digging. This is the hardest one of em all, atleast for me
ok enough of this, hope this helps some people
.toon
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