Teaching · For Teachers

Same cover. Different record.

One album can exist in a dozen pressings that share a cover and a catalog number but sound, and sell, very differently. The matrix number etched in the run-out groove is what tells them apart. Add each copy with its matrix and grades. The organizer groups copies of the same title, flags originals you cannot prove and the storage habits that warp and scuff vinyl.

Add a recordWhat you get
$12one-time · every device you sign in on
Buy · $12

Included with Caveat Classroom and Whole-school licenses. Or get it in the For Teachers toolkit, $79 for 72 items.

Your records

The worked example is made up, artist and label included: an original 1974 pressing, a 1979 repress mistaken for an original and a 2023 colored-vinyl reissue. Values are examples, not quotes. Saved on this device only.

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What you get

Teaching · For Teachers$12

What you finish with
A record per copy: artist, title, label, catalog number, country, year, original or repress or reissue, matrix numbers for both sides, format, color and weight, record and sleeve grades, inner sleeve, cost, estimated value and its source and five care checks. Works out the grade gap between record and sleeve; groups copies by title and counts those with no matrix noted; flags originals with no matrix, paper or missing inner sleeves, flat storage, low grades on valuable copies and unsourced values.
Who it is for
Record collectors of any age, families sorting an inherited collection and teachers using records in music or media history.
Format
Browser organizer with a saved record per copy. Prints one copy, the collection in a table or a blank sheet; downloads a spreadsheet (.csv); exports and imports a file.
Access
$12 one-time, yours on every device you sign in on; the tool opens once you are signed in with it. Included with Caveat Classroom and Whole-school licenses. Also in the For Teachers toolkit ($79) and the Teaching Suite pass ($199), and 1 more bundle. Everything you type stays in this browser; nothing is sent to Caveat.
Where it lives
The For Teachers space in Caveat Teaching.
Support
Questions about access, an order or a correction: team@caveatacademic.com.

How to use it

  1. Pull one album’s copies at a time.
  2. Tilt each record under a lamp and read the run-out matrix.
  3. Grade the record and sleeve separately.
  4. Compare copies of the same title in the side panel.
  5. Move anything in plain paper into a poly-lined sleeve.

Add a record

Grades

The Goldmine grading scale, in shortGradeRecordSleeveMNever played, perfectPerfect, often still sealedNMNearly perfect, no marksNo creases or wearVG+Light marks, plays cleanlySlight wear, maybe a cutVGLight surface noiseRing wear, small seam splitG and G+Plays through, noisyHeavy wear, writing, splitsThe Goldmine grading scale, in shortMRecord: Never played, perfectSleeve: Perfect, often still sealedNMRecord: Nearly perfect, no marksSleeve: No creases or wearVG+Record: Light marks, plays cleanlySleeve: Slight wear, maybe a cutVGRecord: Light surface noiseSleeve: Ring wear, small seam splitG and G+Record: Plays through, noisySleeve: Heavy wear, writing, splits
Collectors grade the record and the sleeve separately. Most sales quote both, record first.

Reading the run-out

The matrix number is cut or stamped into the smooth band between the last song and the label. It usually repeats the catalog number with a side letter and a cut number, and may carry the initials of the engineer who cut the lacquer and a mark for the pressing plant. A higher cut number or a different plant mark means a different pressing.

For a music or history class

A shelf of records shows how music moved: 78s in shellac until the 1950s, then the 33⅓ LP and the 45 single in vinyl. Students can sort a collection by format and year and see when each one arrived.

Sources

  1. Goldmine magazine. Goldmine grading guide for records and sleeves (goldminemag.com).
  2. Library of Congress, National Recording Preservation Board. Care and handling of recorded sound materials (loc.gov).
  3. Association for Recorded Sound Collections. Guides to identifying and caring for sound recordings (arsc-audio.org).
  4. Neumann, M. and Simmons, D. Pressing and mastering terminology, as summarized in the ARSC Guide to Audio Preservation (2015). CLIR.

The worked example is made up, including the artist, album and label, and the values are examples, not appraisals. Nothing you type is sent to Caveat. Support: team@caveatacademic.com.