Owning multiple copies?

[jcam_44]

I don’t generally own multiples of an album but started thinking about this due to a recently acquiring multiple copies of Bill Withers - Live at Carnegie Hall as well as the recent discussion about the Lee Morgan complete Lighthouse what to do with the 3CD version. I know some collectors own multiple color variants of records, but that seems to be something new vinyl collectors do. I’ve also seen some collectors want every variant, for example Japanese releases of a specific album. I’ve accidentally bought something I forgot I owned but will usually give that away. In the case of Bill Withers I had an old original copy that is in rough shape so I purchased the Music On Vinyl release when I found it on vacation. Then ended up getting the Mofi release because it was a good price. This album holds nostalgia for me because it was on repeat in the car as a kid.  Not sure what I’ll do but am curious how others approach their music collection. Does anyone get multiples or buy stuff on multiple formats?

[felser]

I do a little bit.  For what I consider the core Columbia Miles Davis releases, I have single CD's as well as the metal spine box sets, and for some other favorites, I will keep a single CD of something I also have in a box set.    Also, some rock releases have had multiple expanded versions released with differing bonus cuts, and in a few cases I have kept both expanded versions to have all the bonus cuts.

[jazzbo]

I'm guilty of owning multiple copies of a number of works I really like. And multiple cycles of Beethoven's string quartets and sonatas etc. I am not ashamed.

[Teasing the Korean]

I have kept two copies of an LP if I need one side from each to get a full clean LP.

I own many titles on both LP and CD.  

And if I get a box set, I may or may not get rid of any single titles that I have.  When I got the Star Trek original series soundtrack box set, I could not bring myself to unload the individual titles that had been released on GNP Crescendo.  I had them for too long, and they were a part of me.

[medjuck]

Own 5 different versions of KOB.  Also several versions of Portrait of Pee Wee on cd. But I do try to stick to one only. 

[HutchFan]

It all depends.  

Usually, I don't buy multiple versions of the same thing -- because I'd rather spend the money on stuff that isn't already in my collection.

But with favorite artists or records, I sometimes make exceptions.  

OTOH, I often buy LPs or CDs to "upgrade" from MP3s.  To me, that's a different thing, a different calculation.  

 

[Chuck Nessa]

I have hundreds of my favorite recordings in my basement.

[HutchFan]

9 minutes ago, Chuck Nessa said:

I have hundreds of my favorite recordings in my basement.

Yeah, but that's different -- because those are FOR SALE.   

 

[David Ayers]

4 hours ago, medjuck said:

Own 5 different versions of KOB.  Also several versions of Portrait of Pee Wee on cd. But I do try to stick to one only. 

KOB is like an infection. I own multiple copies and I don’t even care for it. I’ve got quite a lot of duplicate Miles even though I’ve generally never been that interested in him - apart from one track (!). 

 

Also, I don’t sell vinyl of things I ‘replace’ on CD. That’s not real duplication. 

Also, CD box sets usually break up individual albums so I don’t see that as duplication - whichever you buy first. 

 

I think I’ve got just one identical duplicate - for some reason I’ve got two copies of the original Three for Shepp. 

I wonder why that last one never saw much CD release?

[The Magnificent Goldberg]

I've got loads of multiple copies. K7 and LP issues I haven't sold when I've upgraded to CD for decades. And lately I've been getting downloads of lots of material I've already got on K7 and LP to save me the trouble of ripping them. Ripping CDs is no trouble, of course.

93.8% of my collection is on my hard drive now. I only listen to physical copies when I'm ripping them. My laptop's tinny sound is the best I've ever heard for music.

MG

[soulpope]

Do own multiple copies of some favorite vinyl .... just in case one gets damaged .... which most like never will happen ....

[mjazzg]

I have a good number of CD/LP duplication.

 

I also duplicate favourite LPs of which I have original pressings, when good reissues appear e.g. 'Astral Weeks', Marc Levin's 'Songs Dances and Prayers' and soon Jeanne Lee's 'Conspiracy'

 

I have three different LP versions of 'Unity' and a CD. Same with 'Black Fire'. This is just upgrading and not selling on.

 

Which goes some way to explain why I have someone coming to quote for building more shelving...

[porcy62]

I don't like multiples, but it happened. Usually I have duplicates when the original pressing is really noisy or the cd reissue has some alts or outtakes I really like. And of course with Mosaic box sets: I have some originals that are on Mosaic too or when the Mosaic is a cd only set.

[JSngry]

Official them music for this thrad:

[Dan Gould]

I can't imagine intentional purchasing of the same music, now, or years ago when all I could think of was what I hadn't heard yet. Money is finite and I am not obsessed with sound reproduction.

[jlhoots]

53 minutes ago, Dan Gould said:

I can't imagine intentional purchasing of the same music, now, or years ago when all I could think of was what I hadn't heard yet. Money is finite and I am not obsessed with sound reproduction.

I agree with all of that!

[HutchFan]

2 hours ago, JSngry said:

Official them music for this thrad:

I have the JoeHen Milestone box, but if I ever came across a reasonably-priced, clean vinyl version of Multiple, I'd snatch it up in a heartbeat.  

Multiple Multiple.

 

[Ken Dryden]

i have some scattered mutliple copies of CDs, here are reasons for keeping more than one copy.

A CD reissue may not have all of the tracks heard on the original albums. One of the bigget misfires was wihen they compiled Jaki Byards' albums Solo Piano and With Strings. They co-mingled the tracks from the two LPs and omitted one solo track ("Hello Young Lovers). If if they had reissued all of the music, I liked the original LP sequencing much more.

The earlier CD or LP is autographed or has some special artwork, liner notes, etc. that is missing from the reissue.

Sometimes I simply haven't cross-checked and pulled an earlier LP or CD with the same music. Using Discogs has helped me find duplicate recordings in my collection.

Generally I sell or trade duplicates to free shelf space, though I haven't run out of it so far in this house. Ask HutchFan, he's seen the room in person.

Edited September 23, 2021 by Ken Dryden

[Larry Kart]

For certain classical works where interpretations vary (e.g. Mahler symphonies) I happily have multiple copies -- three Mahler Ninths, three Mahler Sevenths, three Mahler Fifths, two Fourths.

[felser]

I have LPS of things I later bought on CD. but not by choice.  Have wanted to sell them off for years, actively working on that as I have more bandwidth and no income following my layoff!

[sgcim]

I have multiple copies of four artists- Bernard Herrmann, Johnny Smith, Eddie Costa and Tal Farlow.

With Costa, I have House of Blue Lights on LP. Then a friend of mine (and Eddie's) gave me a burnt copy of it. Then I bought the complete EC CD set

Same with JS- I spent 40 years buying everything he did on vinyl. Then I bought the Mosaic set.

Same with Tal- I paid $40 for a Tal LP in '72, the I spent another $20 when it first came out on CD. Then I spent another $20 on a special pressing of it that had some extra cuts on it.

With Herrmann's Symphony, I bought it twice on vinyl, because the first copy was worn out. Then I bought the CD- all Unicorn, with him conducting.

[Bluesnik]

9 hours ago, Dan Gould said:

I can't imagine intentional purchasing of the same music, now, or years ago when all I could think of was what I hadn't heard yet. Money is finite and I am not obsessed with sound reproduction.

Same here.

[Larry Kart]

As a matter of fact I have six recordings of the Mahler Ninth -- Horenstein (Vox) 1953, Klemperer, Maderna, Giulini, Boulez, Zander.

[HutchFan]

6 hours ago, Ken Dryden said:

Generally I sell or trade duplicates to free shelf space, though I haven't run out of it so far in this house. Ask HutchFan, he's seen the room in person.

I can attest: It's a big room, and there are LOTS of recordings in it!   

 

 

[HutchFan]

7 hours ago, Larry Kart said:

For certain classical works where interpretations vary (e.g. Mahler symphonies) I happily have multiple copies -- three Mahler Ninths, three Mahler Sevenths, three Mahler Fifths, two Fourths.

Oh yeah, I'm the same.  Among my favorites -- composers like Ives, Mahler, Beethoven, Berlioz, Sibelius, Brahms -- I usually have several different recordings of their key works.  Ideally, each conductor and performer brings something unique to the work, so the most compelling recordings of the same composition often sound very different.  Furtwängler's way with Beethoven is a world apart from Jochum's, just like Boulez's interpretive approach to Mahler is different than Kubelik's (or Klemperer's or Walter's). 

So perhaps these different performances of a single work aren't "multiple" in the sense that the OP was talking about -- re-buying the exact same music several times in different formats, for sound improvement reasons, bonus tracks, etc.

That said, I do have some EXACT duplicates of classical recordings, just like my jazz stuff.  For example, I kept several of Kubelik's Mahler recordings on vinyl, even though I later bought the CD box set containing the exact same performances.  In that case, the LPs are special to me -- and I dig the cover art.  

  

 

Edited September 23, 2021 by HutchFan