Vinyl – ooglykraken

Building Shelving for Vinyl Records

As my vinyl collection has grown my storage options have evolved with it. Currentyly I’m using a three-tier shelf made with half-inch MDF. What I’ve noticed is that once a shelf is full it begins to sag in the middle. Being paranoid as I am just a few degrees of flex makes me uncomfortable so the kernel to build a replacement began to grow. I had intended to do some other projects before building the shelves but still decided to do preliminary research. First I looked into existing designs that were available for purchase. This way I had a reference for what typical pricing is as well as inspiration for my own solution.

From there I started sketching out ideas and getting reference measurements from my existing storage. Vinyl albums are 12 3/4″ square and my shelving has 1/2″ of allowance and I kept that distance, giving shelves 13 1/4″ of vertical space. At a minimum the shelves would be 26 1/2″ for two tiers, plus any overlap with the top and bottom (two 3/4″ pieces). This meant a height of 28 3/4″ for me. My turntable is between 14-15 inches long so I wanted the shelves to atleast be that deep, and my current shelves are 24″ wide so I wanted at least that. So I decided at minimum it should be 14″ x 24″ x 28 3/4″ (LxWxH). Once I’d settled on a design, complete with measurements, I moved onto pricing out the materials. This is when I caved and decided to go for it as my other projects would be more expensive. To make this happen I found some affordable 3/4″ cherry plywood sheets that I could order pre-cut, saving me hours of hand sawing and heartbreak (I don’t expect to cut very straight with my current saw).

I mentioned this to my dad and sent a picture of my sketch. He suggested a Kreg pocket jig and asked how I’d handle the plywood’s exposed edge grain, I still don’t have an answer; maybe veneer tape. Some time later he actually called to confirm my plan and my measurements. This is also when he suggested I put a backboard on to help resist torsion. So I ordered my wood cut-to-size, a pocket hole jig, and a 1/4″ sheet to act as backing.

While waiting for pieces to arrive I did what research I could about assembling shelves, making/using pocket holes, really anything relevant that seemed worth my time.

Much to my relief the extra cuts from my cut-to-order were included so if I paid for a 8sqft I got 8sqft of plywood. I put the pieces together just to make sure the pieces actually fit flush, though I do admit if I were to re-design I’d go 15″ long and 30″ instead of 24″ wide. Hindight is 20/20 or atleast better than my natural eyesight. Before I did any drilling I practiced with my jig as I’d never used one (pocket hole jig) before, given I had some extra 3/4″ from my order it provided the needed material for practice. Not wanting to run the drill while the baby is sleeping I postponed assembly ’til the next day though I did continue to measure and draw in my drill spots.

With a 14″ length I decided 4″ in from each side was close enough to 1/3 to carry the burden. I ran a (too large) bead of wood glue at each joint before tightening down. Even though it put my pocket holes exterior I wanted the screws going into the “meat” of the wood. I used the 1 1/4″ coarse screws included with my jig kit.

I assembled it in halves first, then put the halves together. With the outside box finished I contemplated the dividers. Here’s where paper and real life differ: my drawing was wider than taller so the insinuated spacing for the dividers was actually much smaller in reality. Realizing this I adjusted to only a single divider for the bottom. I smeared the cut divider with a thin layer of glue before sliding it in and drilling the top in. It was then I noticed I hadn’t put in pocket holes in the bottom of the divider which now had a gap along the bottom. Miraculously I was able to put in an ad-hoc pocket hole inside the cramped shelf space without ruining all my labour.

Feeling very proud of myself I gave it some time to set while I trimmed a 1/4″ plywood sheet for a backboard. I glued the back face of the shelves and then lined up the back board on the corners. Then starting at the corners I hammered in 1 1/4″ nails to fasten it tight.

Structurally finished I called it a day and now ponder the final touches. I’ve wiped it down with a damp cloth but my next step is to sand the faces flush, wipe down again, likely stain and finally decide on how to cover the visible edge grain.

Vinyl Pickups – September/October

Vinyl Pickups – August 2022

Vinyl Pickups – July 2022

Much to my chagrin I must admit I went a little overboard on vinyl acquisitions recently but nothing too dangerous.

I found most of System of a Down‘s discography for a decent price. Eventually I do plan on getting their first album. What I do have here though is all pretty great. Thinking about whether or not to buy them made me realize just how consistently good SoaD is. They have a distinct sound that drastically evolved across their releases, with each album being listenable all the through.

Pretty self-explanatory, the soundtrack for Banjo-Tooie. I have the OST (or is score the more appropriate word?) for Banjo-Kazooie already so this is a relief to have before it sells out. It actually came as a surprise, I was bored and checked Fangamer and there it was on the first page, impulse beat logic and now here it is. I may end up doing a comparison of the two games OST’s included.

Beyond Creation is a band I’ve only discovered within the past year or so but their brand of technical ambient death metal is pretty palatable. I was introduced via their most recent album Algorythm and then worked backwards. I think Algorythm is more consistent while Earthborn Evolution has better moments.

Finally some pictures for albums i’ve previously mentioned (Archspire – Bleed the Future, Black Crown Initiate‘s – Song of the Crippled Bull and Selves We Cannot Forgive). Then Temple of Void‘s Lords of Death, an absolutely crushing death metal album with some inspired lyrical themes . It can be doomy, ambient, and even speed up to a gallop with some excellently placed clean vocals on one track. I’d really like to do a more in depth review of it some time. Next would be Michael Jackson‘s Thriller. Everyone’s heard the song. It’s one of the best-selling albums of all time at over 50 million copies. Yet I’d never listened to it front to back, let alone any of his music. It’s good 80’s pop, but i’ll have to listen more to form any strong opinions. Lastly we end with A Tribe Called Quest‘s Midnight Marauders, which is a great album with solid vibes all the way through.

Vinyl Pickups – May 2022, pt. 2

About two weeks ago while looking for new sources for harder-to-find vinyl I came across IndieMerchStore. They sell licensed clothes, music, etc… for many different bands like Archspire, Black Crown Initiate, and Rings of Saturn just to name a few. Here I found a few albums that had been elusive previously. First is Shadown of Intent’s Primordial and Reclaimer their first and second albums respectively. Both are really good listens that keep you on your toes start to finish. I believe these are also my first Deathcore albums, which is fitting given how highly I’d rate them in that pantheon. Now their third album has been released but I didn’t like it anywhere near as much. It was also the album that forwent the use of Halo lore as a narrative backdrop. Next is my third acquisition of Bolt Thrower’s, Those Once Loyal. This is likely the last album I’ll get of theirs but is no less exceptional. According to the what I’ve read from interviews Bolt Thrower won’t release another album so Those Once Loyal is not only one of their best but also their last. Strangely Bolt Thrower also started out using a pre-existing Sci-Fi universe, Warhammer: 40k, as a backdrop for their early releases as well.

Vinyl Pickups – May 2022

Every once in a while I’ll make trip to a local goodwill to try and find anything useful, usually with an eye for organizational tools. Recently I made a visit and was able to pick up a large cast-iron skillet, some vinyl, and a couple other miscellaneous things. I haven’t quite gotten around to listening to any of them but I did go through my ritual of dusting, cleaning, and replacing paper sleeves with new anti-static ones. As I did this the smell of the larger collections was just like that of older books, so I did some cursory research and found that both were released around 1938. If you look on the inside of the back cover of either they list other vinyls the companies are selling with prices as high as $6.50. The Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto No. 1 also has a mild fracture in the second and third vinyl. I’ll just have to see how well they play.

Though I haven’t listened to my Goodwill vinyl, I ordered some off the internet. First from iam8bit was Johto Legends, an orchestral scoring of the music from Pokemon Gold and Silver. I’ve listened through all four sides a few times already. The album progresses with the childish and adventure themes giving way to more japanese-folk inspired music and finally becoming more dramatic overtures. Second was the soundtrack from Final Fantasy X from the Materia Collective. First off the packaging is really weird and I was concerned it was a knockoff at first, and this is my first album with picture disc. It gave me weird vibes, but after a few listens I didn’t mind either way. The music is a little ecclectic as it jumps between the different themes but it does give this sense of moving through different locales. The standouts here being all of the village/town themes, as traditionally in JRPG’s village music is the best.

Finally as I was about to post this I remember I also picked up the vinyl for Polyphia’s New Levels New Devils. A good addition to my growing set of albums fit for general consumption.

Edit: After a thorough cleaning the older albums all still pop with some frequency. I intend to hit them with some cleaning solution and a microfiber cloth and see if that alleviates some of it. Also the Tchaikovsky Symphony no. 6 is only the sleeve, it actually holds The Irish Rovers’ Tales to Warm Your Mind.

Metal Vinyl – March 2022

Usually I put the music pictures first but one of the albums present has graphic imagery so I want people to be aware of that in advance.

There’s a well-known UK record label that helped popularize extreme music coming out in the late 80’s called Earache Records, and it’s online store is a great source of metal vinyl. Earlier this year I ordered some vinyl from them that are on my must-own list and they came in about two weeks ago, I just haven’t gotten around to writing about it ’til now. Included is an album any burgeoning fan of metal should check out: Iron Maiden’s Powerslave. Iron Maiden is the kind of metal I can still play around my wife without her complaining, which is a sentiment that extends to nothing else here. Next is the second of the three Bolt Thrower albums I wish to own, this one being …For Victory. Their albums IVth Crusade, Those Once Loyal, and the aforementioned are just phenomenal Death Metal. After this is the graphic-warning album Abysmal by The Black Dahlia Murder, who are one of the first Death Metal bands I really got hooked onto. This Abysmal album is in my opinion the last of their great albums but they’re still releasing new material. Last and most certainly not least, a band I will prop up as long as my memory functions: Opeth. My first true Death Metal band, Opeth is a great mix of heavy and soft atmospherics, harsh screams and serene clean singing. I was able to get a copy of Watershed, Ghost Reveries, and Blackwater Park. Watershed was their last album before they switched to psychadelic prog-rock. Ghost Reveries and Blackwater Park are where the band peaked and I believe some of the best albums of any genre. Only partially shown is Bloodbath’s Unblessing the Purity. This 10″ of pure evil is four tracks of exceptional DM though I prefer the dingier sound of their first two releases.

Castlevania Vinyl

Castlevania, Castlvania II: Simon’s Quest, Castlevania III: Dracula’s Curse

I was introduced to the Castlevania games at when I was younger and watched my cousins play games. One cousin was playing Symphony of the Night and everything about it’s aesthetic resonated with my younger self. I eventually worked up the courage to ask to borrow it, and next I knew I was at home in front of my family’s Playstation 2 about to experience one of my favorite games of all time, for the first time. Since then I’ve probably had a dozen or so playthroughs, but I wouldn’t play the other Castlevania games ’til I was in High School or College. Any fan of the series would be one of the first to extol the excellence of their soundtracks, hence my desire to own them on vinyl. If you’re a fan, it’s worth it.

Vinyl Pickups – March 2022

My wife and I made a trip out to Berkely to walk around and enjoy not being stuck in-home. I took the opportunity to make some nice vinyl picks at the local Amoeba Vinyl store. While there were some other albums I was interested in, my selections were already a bit of overkill. Metallica and classic Jazz are always on my radar but I had a lot of fun picking through the $2-$3 classical albums hoping they’ll be enjoyable. The most interesting standout is the Classical Flute Concertos. After we walked 15-20 minutes for lunch at a Thai restaurant, though I wasn’t too hungry.