Today I received my (purchased) copy of a new Quadraphonic Record and Tape Price Guide, written by Tasmin Darke (real name? QQ Member?), which was referenced in a recent Goldmine article about quadraphonic records of the '70s. It's not very expensive ($11) so I ordered one to check it out. It's published by Lulu Press, which is a print-on-demand publisher, and it arrived quickly and well packed. It's got a glossy full color front and back and looks and feels like a store bought softcover book. Very nice!
The book begins with a brief overview/introduction and clearly states that it's not intended to be a discography of all quadraphonic releases, but more of a focused list of popular rock/pop/soul/R&B and Jazz titles that are in demand in the collectors market.
At one time, price guides were all the rage, as collectors of everything from Pez dispensers to spoons needed some sort of reference to not only find out what their items were worth, but what items exactly were out there, made and sold but not well known. This was before the internet, of course, where today everything is available to anyone on their phone, laptop, or voice controlled device. Still, since I am from that time, I have a soft place in my heart for price guides, so I read through this with interest.
First off, as the author states, it's far from a complete listing, but the major stuff is in there. As for the pricing, well, it's very hard to nail down a price on a recording these days. Almost every quad title has been digitized by fans and shared around the community in one way or another, so the pressing need to buy a title for the material on the disc is no longer as important as it was in the '80s and '90s. Of course, there are still collectors looking for the physical product, and that's who this book is intended to target.
So, if the book lists a title as being worth $100, it's best to use that as a comparison marker to a different title. For example, the author lists Jackson Browne Late for the Sky at $125 for the CD-4 LP in Mint/Near Mint condition. And of course, there are people who might pay that for a sealed or mint copy. But this album can be found on eBay for $30 at times, so it's all relative, as it is with all price guides. But if you use that $125 number and compare it to another title that is valued at $75, the collector who is not savvy in this kind of thing will know that the Late For the Sky is rarer and in more demand than the $75 listed title. Like I said, Price Guides are GUIDES, not bibles.
Scattered throughout the price listings are label scans of selected quad albums and Q8's, as when there is no Quad LP version of an in demand title (like the Moody Blues albums), the values for the Q8's are listed. There are also notations if an import (to the USA) exists on LP, as in the case of the Moodies "Seventh Sojourn" CD-4 from Japan. Another nice touch is that if a listed title has been recently released on SACD by Audio Fidelity or Dutton-Vocalion, that information is given as well.
You can nit-pick this guide if you like. There are releases you might wonder why were excluded, and others you might wonder why they were included, but as a first ever quad price guide, this is a pretty nice little softcover book. If you are a master quad collector who knows every catalog number of every label and have memorized Mark Anderson's Surround Pages and Larry Cliftons Quad Incorporated, than this book is not for you.
If you are new to '70s quad and want a quick reference that you don't have to boot up or log into at a moments notice, then this is a very nice place to go to check and see if a title exists and how relatively rare it might be.
So, I think it's pretty cool. If any of you go ahead and get this, post in the thread and let us know what you think. And if the author is a member here, or a lurker, post a hello in this thread. No need for hiding!
http://www.lulu.com/shop/tamsin-dar...cord-and-tape/paperback/product-24084241.html
The book begins with a brief overview/introduction and clearly states that it's not intended to be a discography of all quadraphonic releases, but more of a focused list of popular rock/pop/soul/R&B and Jazz titles that are in demand in the collectors market.
At one time, price guides were all the rage, as collectors of everything from Pez dispensers to spoons needed some sort of reference to not only find out what their items were worth, but what items exactly were out there, made and sold but not well known. This was before the internet, of course, where today everything is available to anyone on their phone, laptop, or voice controlled device. Still, since I am from that time, I have a soft place in my heart for price guides, so I read through this with interest.
First off, as the author states, it's far from a complete listing, but the major stuff is in there. As for the pricing, well, it's very hard to nail down a price on a recording these days. Almost every quad title has been digitized by fans and shared around the community in one way or another, so the pressing need to buy a title for the material on the disc is no longer as important as it was in the '80s and '90s. Of course, there are still collectors looking for the physical product, and that's who this book is intended to target.
So, if the book lists a title as being worth $100, it's best to use that as a comparison marker to a different title. For example, the author lists Jackson Browne Late for the Sky at $125 for the CD-4 LP in Mint/Near Mint condition. And of course, there are people who might pay that for a sealed or mint copy. But this album can be found on eBay for $30 at times, so it's all relative, as it is with all price guides. But if you use that $125 number and compare it to another title that is valued at $75, the collector who is not savvy in this kind of thing will know that the Late For the Sky is rarer and in more demand than the $75 listed title. Like I said, Price Guides are GUIDES, not bibles.
Scattered throughout the price listings are label scans of selected quad albums and Q8's, as when there is no Quad LP version of an in demand title (like the Moody Blues albums), the values for the Q8's are listed. There are also notations if an import (to the USA) exists on LP, as in the case of the Moodies "Seventh Sojourn" CD-4 from Japan. Another nice touch is that if a listed title has been recently released on SACD by Audio Fidelity or Dutton-Vocalion, that information is given as well.
You can nit-pick this guide if you like. There are releases you might wonder why were excluded, and others you might wonder why they were included, but as a first ever quad price guide, this is a pretty nice little softcover book. If you are a master quad collector who knows every catalog number of every label and have memorized Mark Anderson's Surround Pages and Larry Cliftons Quad Incorporated, than this book is not for you.
If you are new to '70s quad and want a quick reference that you don't have to boot up or log into at a moments notice, then this is a very nice place to go to check and see if a title exists and how relatively rare it might be.
So, I think it's pretty cool. If any of you go ahead and get this, post in the thread and let us know what you think. And if the author is a member here, or a lurker, post a hello in this thread. No need for hiding!
http://www.lulu.com/shop/tamsin-dar...cord-and-tape/paperback/product-24084241.html
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? I read a whole book today. I have, on a side note, also bought some Vocallion releases for both personal pleasure and to help further the legitimate cause of getting these quad titles out to the more general public. I need to be on this site more often - it is always refreshing and always a blessing. Now I need to play some albums - I have been lately more apt to put in a Q8. Thanks again for sharing!
