Kris Holmes

Dude, the amount of VG- records that get flogged off as EX is ridiculous, if you don't do that then fine, you must be one of the good guys who actually can still grade a record. If you are denying that it happens then you are being naive. I agree that EX should mean almost new but today's reality is that's just not the case. British sellers have always used Ex & most of the blame for the degradation of EX must fall there. VG++ is & has always been a common sense US alternative which has held up much better as the stepping stone from VG+ to NM/M- or whatever people use for their top grade.

All you need is a grade between VG+ & NM to narrow the gap, VG++ provides this, no need for the dreaded European "Ex" grade. Better to do away with it because people have downgraded "Ex" so much that it is now taken to mean VG- or VG in most situations & it is no longer an accurate representation of the grade between VG+ & NM. In my opinion "Ex" has been misused so much that it has lost meaning & at this point it's futile trying to drag the grade back to where it should be. VG++ still has some integrity attached to it & is a far more accurate representation of the VG+ to NM spectrum. I think the grading guidelines offered above by Rod are sound.

and so it begins........

special Dobie Gray, Howard Tate & Otis Redding salutes this week https://www.ustream.tv/recorded/19066007

Love Thee Midniters here, great group.

it is the weekend though.....

they don't have the nickname "British Bootlegging Enterprises" in some circles for nothing............. but yeah, just keep trying to contact them directly.

now i'm even more confused

this thread is weird, I can't tell if the original reply was sarcastic or not...... if not it seems like a weird stance to take

The CD sounds like something cool, will definitely have to keep an eye out for that.

RIP to an important artist in the soul scene.

https://soundcloud.com/kris-holmes/tight-situation-clips Limited to 300 Hand Numbered copies $10US each Postage is from NZ & is $8US (+$1 each additional copy) to most places. PM for paypal details. 169 copies sold already.

I saw this last year & although there were a couple of cool bits I thought it was pretty corny overall.

More sad news, not many of his generation left. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2OweEOTY4B4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ex3nc0Km77g&feature=related https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uzKiP4wiozM&feature=related etc

Sad news, RIP to a great talent. It was awesome to see him get back on his feet again the last few years.

2 hours of soul 45s, emphasis on uptempo dancers https://www.ustream.tv/recorded/18912911

The project is called "Playing For Change" you can search for that on youtube & come up with the other songs they've done. You can also buy the CD & DVD from Amazon. Some of it's a bit corny, but some of it is very cool too.

got this yesterday, superb people need to grab this

so many variables & ways for things to go so terribly wrong

yeah, some people will continue to grade "optimistically" regardless of what the scale is unfortunately. People would also refuse to use the scale & continue to go by what they've been using because they've been selling records since whenever & they know best & no one on a internet message board is going to dictate to them how to grade a 45. This is what we are facing

I think you are agreeing with what I meant, but maybe what I jotted out above isn't making it clear what I meant. So yeah, um, I agree. M- can't be M- if it is visually M- but plays noisy. In that case you would have to say something like looks M- but plays with surface noise or sounds VG but looks M-. Grading just visually is a minefield.

I didn't take it as having a go at the quality, I just wanted to share a positive experience with such a grading system.

P/F -> G -> VG- -> VG -> VG+/Ex -> VG++/Ex+ -> NM-/NM/Ex++/M- -> M With anything VG+/Ex upwards being fileable unless extreme rarity would cause you to buy lower grades. Ex is equal to VG+ because I really think it would be a struggle to raise it back & generate buyer confidence in that grade although in a perfect situation it should equal VG++. In line with what I've come to expect in today's marketplace, it could break down like so: M = perfect NM-/NM/Ex++/M- = sounds perfect maybe has a mark to affect the look ever so slightly. VG++/Ex+ = sounds almost perfect maybe a few marks affecting the look VG+/Ex = plays with slight noise which doesn't overpower the music & may have visible marks VG = plays with noise & has visible marks, not ideal to file. VG- = plays with more noise & has more visible marks, not a fileable copy unless it's uber-rare. G/P/F = don't go near unless it's mythically rare.

Because the UK can't live without "Ex".