The Lush Life Vinyl Glossary
Buying jazz on vinyl comes with its own language. Some of it is technical, some of it is collector shorthand, and a fair bit of it turns up in the small print of a Discogs listing right when you are trying to work out whether the copy in front of you is worth the money. This is our plain guide to the terms you will meet most often, with a lean toward the ones that matter when you are chasing original jazz pressings.
If a term you are after is missing, tell us and we will add it.
Sizes and speeds
7-inch The single. A small record, almost always played at 45 RPM, holding a track or two per side. In jazz it shows up mostly on early singles and jukebox issues rather than albums.
10-inch The original album format. Through the early 1950s, before the 12-inch took over, labels like Blue Note and Prestige issued their LPs as 10-inch discs. Early jazz on a 10-inch is often a genuinely early pressing, and worth a closer look.
12-inch The standard LP size, playing at 33⅓ RPM. This is what most jazz albums come on and what the shelves in the shop are built around.
180g / 200g Heavyweight vinyl, measured by the gram. Modern audiophile reissues are usually pressed on 180g stock, sometimes 200g. It feels reassuring in the hand and sits more stably on the platter, but weight alone is not a promise of good sound. The mastering matters far more.
RPM Revolutions per minute: the speed the record turns. LPs run at 33⅓, singles at 45, and the old shellac era at 78. A few audiophile reissues spread an album across two 45 RPM discs for wider grooves and, in theory, better fidelity.
A
Adapter A small insert that lets a large-hole 7-inch sit on a standard turntable spindle. Sometimes called a 45 adapter or spider.
Alternate sleeve A different cover to the original, usually made for a reissue, a regional release or a special edition.
Acetate / lacquer The soft disc a mastering engineer cuts the audio into first, before the metal parts and the final vinyl are made from it. Original acetates are one-off reference cuts and rarely leave the studio, which makes surviving examples genuine curios.
Audiophile pressing A record made with sound quality as the first priority: careful mastering, better vinyl, tighter quality control. The term gets used loosely, so judge the mastering credits and the source, not the sticker.
B
Bonus track / hidden track A song added to a release that was not on the original album. On jazz reissues this is often an alternate take or a session outtake.
Box set Several records packaged together, usually in a box, often with a booklet, photos or extra session material. The Mosaic sets are the reference point here: complete, annotated, and built for people who want the whole story.
C
Catalogue number The unique code a label gives each release. It is the single most useful thing on a record when you are trying to work out exactly which edition you are holding. Learn to read it and you can date most pressings.
Coloured vinyl / colourway Vinyl pressed in anything other than standard black: transparent, marbled, splatter, colour-in-colour and the rest. Common on limited editions. Purists will tell you black sounds best, and sometimes they are even right.
Company sleeve A plain inner or outer sleeve carrying the label's own branding rather than artwork specific to the record.
D
Dead wax The smooth band between the last groove and the label. It is where the interesting information lives: matrix numbers, mastering marks, and on some pressings the stamps that tell you who cut and pressed the record. See Matrix number and Van Gelder stamp. Also called the runout.
Deep groove A visible ring pressed into the label area, left by older pressing equipment. On Blue Note it is a useful dating clue, since it appears on early pressings and fades out through the early 1960s. It is a piece of the puzzle rather than proof on its own. Our guide to reading a Blue Note label goes into the detail.
Deleted Out of production and no longer supplied by the label. See also OOP.
Die-cut sleeve A sleeve with a shaped cut-out that reveals part of the inner sleeve or record beneath.
Double LP A release spread across two 12-inch records, written as 2LP. Common for live albums, long sessions and expanded reissues.
Download code A code, often on a separate card, giving you a digital copy of the album alongside the vinyl.
E
EP Extended play: more than a single, less than an album. Somewhere between three and six tracks, usually.
Etched side / etching A record side with artwork cut into the vinyl instead of music. You will see it on one side of some limited editions.
F
First pressing The initial run of a release. On sought-after jazz titles the first pressing is the one collectors chase, and prices reflect it. Worth knowing that first pressing and original pressing are not always the same thing. See Original pressing.
Flexidisc A thin, bendable record, historically given away with magazines or as a promo. Fragile, cheap to make, and now oddly collectable.
G
Gatefold sleeve A sleeve that opens out like a book. Used for double albums and for single LPs that want the extra space for photos, liner notes or a striking spread.
H
Half-speed mastering A cutting technique where the lacquer is cut at half the normal speed, giving the cutting head more time to track detail. Done well it can lift high-frequency clarity. It appears often on modern reissues and remasters.
I
Import A record pressed overseas. For jazz this usually means a US original or a Japanese pressing, both of which collectors seek out for sound, pressing quality or a cover variant not sold locally.
Indie exclusive A version made available only through independent record shops, often with a colour variant or bonus material.
Inner sleeve The sleeve that holds the record inside the jacket, protecting it from dust and scuffs. Also called a dust sleeve. A printed inner carries artwork, credits or lyrics.
Insert / inlay Extra printed material tucked into the sleeve: a poster, a booklet, a lyric sheet, a photo.
J
Jacket The outer cover, usually card, carrying the artwork and information. American term, widely used.
Japanese pressing Records pressed in Japan, prized among jazz collectors. Through the 1970s and 1980s Japanese labels licensed original master tapes and pressed them to a very high standard, often on quiet, flat vinyl. Many carry an OBI strip. See OBI.
L
Label The printed centre of the record carrying the artist, title, tracks and catalogue number. Label design changed over the years at most companies, which makes it another tool for dating a pressing.
Laminated sleeve A sleeve finished with a thin glossy coating for durability and shine. Common on older UK and European jackets.
Lathe cut A record cut one at a time on a lathe rather than pressed from a stamper. Slow, hands-on and produced in tiny numbers, so lathe cuts tend to be genuinely limited.
Liner notes The writing on the back of the sleeve or in an accompanying booklet: context, personnel, an essay, sometimes a poem. On classic jazz LPs the liner notes are part of the pleasure.
LP Long player: the album format, usually a 12-inch playing at 33⅓ RPM.
M
Mastering The stage where a mix is prepared and cut for vinyl. It shapes how the record actually sounds, which is why the name of the mastering engineer, someone like Rudy Van Gelder or Kevin Gray, carries weight with collectors.
Matrix number A code etched or stamped into the dead wax identifying the specific lacquer and stamper used. Reading the matrix is how collectors separate an original from a later repress that shares the same catalogue number. See Dead wax.
Mispressing A record with a pressing fault: an off-centre label, the wrong B-side, a misprint. Usually a defect, occasionally a collectable one.
Mono Single-channel sound. Much classic jazz was recorded and mixed for mono first, and plenty of listeners prefer the original mono cut to the stereo version, arguing it is closer to how the session was meant to be heard. We will leave that debate where it belongs: unsettled.
N
Numbered / hand-numbered A record given an individual number within a limited run, either stamped or written by hand. A low number does no harm to the resale value.
O
OBI (obi strip) The paper band wrapped around a sleeve on many Japanese releases, carrying the title, price and other detail in Japanese. Collectors love them, both as a mark of a genuine Japanese pressing and for the design in their own right. A record with its OBI intact is worth more than one without.
OOP / out of print No longer manufactured or supplied. Out of print titles tend to climb in value over time. Not always, and not the dull ones.
Original pressing The record as it was first issued, from the original era of release. It overlaps with first pressing but is not identical: a title can have an original label and jacket while the vinyl inside was pressed a little later. For Blue Note in particular, the pressing plant marks in the dead wax settle the question. See Plastylite ear and our Blue Note label guide.
P
Picture disc A record with an image printed into the playing surface. Good to look at, though sound quality often takes a hit, so they tend to be bought for the eyes rather than the ears.
Plastylite ear A small hand-etched mark in the dead wax, shaped like a cursive letter P, left by the Plastylite plant that pressed Blue Note until the Liberty takeover in 1966. Its presence is a near-certain sign of a pre-1966 Blue Note original, and its absence is just as telling. One of the most reliable tells in jazz collecting.
Private press A record made in small numbers, usually self-released by the artist or a tiny label. Spiritual jazz threw up a lot of these, and the good ones are now among the most hunted records in the field.
Promo / promotional copy A record sent to radio, press or retail ahead of release rather than sold. Often marked as such on the label. See also White label and Test pressing.
Q
Quadraphonic A four-channel format from the 1970s, aiming for surround sound before the equipment to enjoy it was in many homes. A handful of jazz and jazz-funk titles were issued in quad and are curiosities today.
R
Reissue A later release of a title that was previously available, sometimes remastered, sometimes expanded, sometimes just back in print.
Remaster A fresh mastering of an existing recording, done to improve the sound or to suit a new format. Quality varies wildly, so the engineer and source matter.
Repress A further run of a record from existing parts, usually the same as the pressing before it.
Reverse board sleeve A sleeve printed on the uncoated side of the card, giving a matte, slightly textured finish. A quiet mark of a considered reissue.
Record Store Day (RSD) The annual event when labels put out limited editions exclusively through independent shops, alongside in-store events and live music. We are, of course, entirely impartial about how good a day it is.
RSD — see Record Store Day.
S
Sampler A record collecting selected tracks from an album, a label or a group of artists, usually made to promote them. Label samplers are a cheap way into a catalogue and a genre.
Sealed Still in its original unopened wrapping. Desirable, though on vintage records a sealed copy is also a gamble, since nobody has heard it.
Shellac The brittle material used for 78s, before vinyl arrived. It breaks if you so much as look at it wrong.
Shrink wrap The plastic film sealing a new record's sleeve. On older records, an intact shrink can add value, though it can also trap and warp the sleeve over time.
Slipmat The mat on the turntable platter the record sits on. Born from DJ culture, where a slippery mat let the platter keep spinning while the record was held or cued.
Spine The narrow edge of the sleeve, usually printed with the artist, title and catalogue number. The first thing you read when a record is shelved.
Stereo Two-channel sound, giving a sense of space across the soundstage. Standard from the 1960s on, though see Mono for why the older format still has its defenders.
T
Test pressing An early copy run off to check the cut before the main pressing goes ahead. Made in tiny numbers, often with plain labels, and prized by collectors as the closest thing to the master.
Tip-on sleeve A sturdy jacket made by wrapping printed paper around a heavier card base, the way sleeves were built in the 1950s and 60s. Quality reissue lines still use tip-on construction, and you can feel the ridge where the paper folds over the edge.
Tone Poet Blue Note's audiophile reissue series, launched in 2019 and produced by Joe Harley, cut from the original tapes and pressed on 180g vinyl in heavyweight tip-on jackets. A dependable way to hear classic Blue Note titles without chasing a four-figure original.
U
Unissued A recording prepared for release that was never officially put out. When one surfaces on a reissue, it is often the reason to buy.
V
Van Gelder stamp The initials RVG or the name VAN GELDER etched or stamped in the dead wax, marking a record cut by Rudy Van Gelder, the engineer behind a huge share of the classic Blue Note, Prestige and Impulse catalogue. The style of the mark changed over the years, which helps date a pressing. To many ears his name in the runout is a quality guarantee.
Vinyl The material itself, short for polyvinyl chloride, and by extension the records made from it. The reason you are reading this.
Virgin vinyl Vinyl made from new, unrecycled material, generally quieter and cleaner-sounding than recycled stock.
W
Warp A bend or ripple in the record, usually from heat or bad storage. A mild warp may play fine; a bad one will have the needle riding a wave.
White label A record with a blank white label, used for promos, test pressings and DJ copies. On a jazz original it usually signals a promotional issue rather than the stock release.
Z
Zoetrope A record printed with a repeating image that appears to move as it spins under the right light. More novelty than necessity, but a lovely one.
Know the language and you buy with confidence: you can read a runout, spot a genuine original and tell a careful reissue from a lazy one. Everything defined here turns up in the racks at Lush Life Records, from first pressings and Japanese imports to the best of the modern audiophile reissues. Shop at Lush Life Records.