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Old 2013.08.12, 07:05 AM   #781
deadgrandma
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Ouch, you'll be pissed to know that I got my MM vinyl from Amazon about 2 years ago for 45 US dollars or so- with postage (If I remember correctly, they had it at the same price they had the CD listed). I was worried that they would just send the CD version but whatdya know, I had truly gotten lucky.

As for getting hold of MM nowadays, you're looking around 12,000 yen minimum- I know this cause I recently hunted down a copy for a friend and it was one of the most expensive of the lot. Weird though, that it is ultimately the worst produced one too- they coulda/shoulda made it heavyweight 2 LP like SS and KZK, but nope. If 12,000 yen (plus whatever fees) sounds reasonable to you, it's pretty often listed on Y!A though you will have to use a deputy service to get it. I like Noppin personally. Otherwise, its gonna be the waiting game till someone lists it at a reasonable price- or some EMF member decides they don't want their copy anymore.

If I've learned ANYTHING from buying LPs from Japan (particularly Ringo related)... is to ORDER THAT SHIT straight away to avoid disappointment/financial burden. Even if its something you think 'hmm... I dunno if I want it THAT bad', you know it will most likely sell out. I mean, for example, even the lesser desired LPs like Hesei Fuzoku or Saturday Night Gossip are damn pricey nowadays. If I were you and serious about collecting I'd grab the Towa Tei/Lucky LP right now too before it disappears from easy access. But then again, it's still 70 bucks you gotta scrounge from somewhere. But that's 70 bucks now, what's it gonna be when it does become an Out of Print item?
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Old 2013.08.12, 07:37 AM   #782
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Originally Posted by FadedSun View Post
I was wondering if someone could give me info about the sheet music books for Shouso Strip and Muzai Moratorium. I'm thinking of purchasing them, but as a bass player I'm only interested in knowing if they have the bass tablature inside. Does anyone know if they do?

The links to each just in case people don't know what I'm referring to:

http://japan-discoveries.com/index.p...oducts_id=2899

http://www.japan-discoveries.com/ind...roducts_id=435

I'm also interested in knowing where I can find any Ringo vinyl these days. I saw the vinyl for Muzai Moratorium selling on Amazon for exorbitant prices. Something like $500 with the highest at over $1000. Crazy.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listi...&condition=new
I own the scorebooks for both SS and Adult and, yes, they do have the bass tablature (as well as everything else). Pretty accurate too (though I still get a kick out of the score for Kesshou Naoshi where it instructs you to downtune your bass three full steps in the span of one measure, haha). Just make sure you're purchasing the "band score" as opposed to anything else.

Also, here. This is where I got them. Prices have gone up a bit over the years, but it'll still save you a couple bucks.
http://otaku.com/search?q=ringo+score

They actually have a few older limited editions/first presses in stock, too. Huh.


EDIT: Looks like CDJapan actually has it cheaper. Shouso Strip at least.
http://www.cdjapan.co.jp/detailview....Y=NEOBK-349317

Last edited by karateexplosion : 2013.08.12 at 07:44 AM. Reason: Stuff.
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Old 2013.08.12, 09:10 AM   #783
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Originally Posted by FadedSun View Post
I was wondering if someone could give me info about the sheet music books for Shouso Strip and Muzai Moratorium. I'm thinking of purchasing them, but as a bass player I'm only interested in knowing if they have the bass tablature inside. Does anyone know if they do?

The links to each just in case people don't know what I'm referring to:

http://japan-discoveries.com/index.p...oducts_id=2899

http://www.japan-discoveries.com/ind...roducts_id=435
While your question has been answered (yes to bass tabs), I felt the need to post a picture of just how detailed some of the tabs can be. The Tsumiki Asobi section diagrams how to do the dance along with the vocals. Complete with stick figures illustrated by Ringo herself. The quality of the pic is bad, but I think you guys will get the point. I'm trying to shrink the pic as much as I can while still being legible.

Also, my condolences on being hosed on the price of the MM band score. List price is only 2000JPY and it's not out of print. : /
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Old 2013.08.12, 11:18 AM   #784
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Thanks for the answers to everyone above me.

That's fantastic. I love the stick figure annotations. It's okay, I don't mind paying a couple dollars more for the score. It's better than being gouged for vinyls, that's for sure; even if they are out of print.

I did find Muzai Moratorium at Yahoo Japan Auctions, but it was for $220. Still not willing to drop that much for a vinyl. I would pay $100 at most for an out of print vinyl.

The Mora collection is out of print as well, I imagine? Is it very difficult to find that nowadays? I'm unfortunately very late to collecting Ringo's music physically. I wish I discovered her a lot earlier than I did.
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Old 2013.08.12, 07:06 PM   #785
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^
I have to agree with deadgrandma on several points:
1.) The pricing of MM is indeed ridiculous. It was a single-vinyl LP released 5 years ago, it wasn't super-limited, and today it sells at a minimum of 10's of thousands of yen (which roughly translates to hundreds of USD). No sane person would pay that, when you can have SS (as a double-vinyl LP) for somewhat less, or when you can have KSK (another double-vinyl) for a lot less. It would have to be your favorite album of them all, and you'd have to be overflowing with money.

2.) Japanese auctions are definitely the way to go. They're more expensive than we might like, but they're usually cheaper than 3rd-party Amazon sellers. The Amazon aftermarket almost always demands somewhere around 75% to 200% more than what a Japanese auction would close for.

3.) You shouldn't hesitate to place orders on recently-released or soon-to-be-released LPs. Once the primary market runs out of copies to sell, it doesn't take much time beyond that before opened copies are selling for at least as much as sealed copies would retail for, and still-sealed copies start selling for multiples of their original price. MM and SS really were around $50 (after shipping) when they first came out, which any vinyl aficionado would have paid.

MoRA did have a ridiculous price spike when it first came out (because the pre-orders were sold-out), but it has calmed down since then, and is (last I checked) cheaper than Hard Disk. Make sure you go for the DVD Box, and not the CD Box. The visual content is nothing remarkable - it's all about the uncompressed 96kHz/24bit stereo, which has a bitrate of 4608kbps (before you squeeze it into the lossless format of your choice).

MoRA just might alleviate your urge to pursue some of the vinyls, but not all of them. MoRA doesn't include HF (which had a separately-released and disappointing DVD), or anything from Sanmon Gossip (which has no 96kHz/24bit releases at all).

It should also be noted that Hard Disk is merely a bunch of CDs (44.1kHz/16bit), so that doesn't take away incentive to buy Tokyo Jihen vinyls. The good news is, I don't believe you would really have to pay more than $100 (if you're patient) for any of the Tokyo Jihen vinyls in particular, and there's only 3 of them. The (potentially) bad news is, none of them are full albums, so you might decide they're not worth $80 or whatever the sellers are demanding these days. However, depending on your taste, maybe it would preferable to you that the TJ vinyls are essentially double-singles instead of albums, if you like the B-Sides more than the albums. There aren't a lot of solo-career B-Sides available on vinyl, since the solo-career vinyls tend to be more album-oriented.
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Old 2013.08.13, 06:17 PM   #786
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Well, after listening to all the versions of the FULL ALBUMS countless times, my personal favorite picks (not a definitive guide, just my two cents) and reasons:

Muzai Moratorium- CD/MoRA/Vinyl: I choose MoRA because its by far the cleanest version. I think the vinyl is a bit of a disappointment because it suffers from being pressed too hot (especially on the inner grooves) and isn't heavyweight. I dare say they took the exact same master from MoRA on the LP too, which is a shame because the other LPs sound different from all the other versions.

Shouso Strip- CD/MoRA/LP- I got without questioning this for a second. The LP pressing is infinitely roomier, the massive amounts of distortion sound truly focused & intentional/almost 'shoegaze' inspired (rather than sounding like a 'brickwalled' mess and being very tiring like the original CD- it's 55 minute runtime just flies by when listening to the vinyl master). The sound effects are layered better, instruments are 'spaced' further apart and all vocal tracks are cleaner. Generally, a much more pleasant listen and I consider it the reference version to go to. It's a heavyweight 2LP so it's manufactured like a boss and it looks fucking grand sitting on your shelf.

KZK- CD/MoRA/Vinyl- a very tough decision. MoRA I have had a few (again, totally personal opinion here) issues with for quite a while- it seems to focus on making the 'effects' the forefront above the music- really shoving the 'ooh I bet you didn't notice THIS!!!' elements to the point of being an unpleasant distraction rather than a welcome addition. The CD I have become the most accustomed to, no bonus tracks means it plays out the way it was intended - 44:44 and that massive cut-off on Souretsu. It's nerve shattering every time.

That said... The vinyl I love just as much, it's drum track is incredible. The vinyl/Casshern version of Stem is lovely and I believe the addition of Ichijuku no Hana is quite effective, even if it does ruin the symmetry. I believe KZK is the essential vinyl to own if you're really going to get one for sounding different to the CD.

Hesei Fuzoku- CD/DVD/LP- Now, THIS is really a personal choice. The LP is pressed wonderfully throughout, give or take a few parts that could just be my actual copy/setup. Stem on here is the best I've ever heard it anywhere, even better here than it has been live IMO. The nuances you get with vinyl.. little clicks, pops etc... add a real depth to this recording and it ultimately sounds much more organic than the CD version (even if it was recorded digitally to begin with :-p). Again, that is a personal thing, some people may be turned off by that. Oh and the packaging... IMO the most beautiful looking Shiina Ringo item I own. Well worth grabbing if you like the album, though it's becoming damn expensive nowadays.
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Old 2013.08.13, 06:51 PM   #787
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Heisei Fuuzoku is the one LP that I would be most interested in, if I were to own just a single Ringo vinyl. Unfortunately, it'll probably be a good, long while until I get around to purchasing a record player.
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Old 2013.08.15, 09:26 AM   #788
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I want the vinyl of Shouso Strip so bad!!! I hope I can find it someday.

A friend of mine is going to purchase the CD versions of KZK and Muzai Moratorium for me and send them over. She sent me the CD of Shouso Strip a couple years ago. I would ask her to hunt for records, but I think that's a task that's a bit more difficult.

Okay guys, I need some help. I managed to find a copy of Shouso Strip on Yahoo Auctions. I set up a Japan Shopping Mall account, but the whole process seems overly complicated. I just want to buy this album. Is there any easy way to do that? I feel like this website doesn't make it easy for me to do that. I made a $10 deposit to set up my account, do I need to deposit more so I can actually purchase this?

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Old 2013.08.15, 01:06 PM   #789
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Originally Posted by FadedSun View Post
Okay guys, I need some help. I managed to find a copy of Shouso Strip on Yahoo Auctions. I set up a Japan Shopping Mall account, but the whole process seems overly complicated. I just want to buy this album. Is there any easy way to do that? I feel like this website doesn't make it easy for me to do that. I made a $10 deposit to set up my account, do I need to deposit more so I can actually purchase this?
You could estimate that the necessary PayPal deposit is 22% of whatever you want to buy, if you're thinking of Yen as equivalent to pennies (100 per USD).

So hypothetically, if you were willing to Buy It Now a Shouso Strip LP for 22000yen, you would first need around $48 in deposits ($220 * 0.22).

You should also expect that your 'deposit' itself isn't far off from what you'll have to pay beyond the oversimplified§ auction price. So the final pre-shipping cost would actually be close to $268 ($220 + $48).

The shipping itself usually isn't so bad, especially if what you want isn't very heavy (next-to-nothing to move an LP within Japan, another $5 to move it internationally, and next-to-nothing for the last leg of the shipping from SMJ's US warehouse to you). It's when you're buying arcade machines or stacks of magazines, that the shipping costs become significant.

§: The main caveat when trying to estimate how much something would cost you from Yahoo! Japan Auctions, is that you're not actually paying 1 USD per 100 Yen - it's more like 92 Yen (because SMJ slants the standard exchange rate another 5 Yen in their favor - and the standard rate happens to be 97 Yen per USD right now). So 22000 Yen shouldn't be thought of as $220 to begin with - it's already $239.13 from the exchange rate, plus there's a $24 commission, a $3 wire fee, and there's shipping. That's where the "deposit-like" total of additional/hidden costs comes from.
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Old 2013.08.18, 10:52 AM   #790
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I bought the Shouso Strip LP. Screw it! I wanted it for a long time. Also, two LPs of KZK just popped up and I'm going to bid on one of those. I also found a more user-friendly website called Buyee.jp that I used instead. You just link your paypal or debitcard to your account. Much easier to handle and you don't have to send deposits through paypal. The services fees were about the same, so I didn't see a reason to use Shopping Mall Japan over them. I read a reviews beforehand and people had positive experiences with using the service.

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