New Japanese Box Set Being Released?

[williambailey01]

I saw this ebay auction and wondered what the hell it was since I had never seen or heard of it before.

http://cgi.ebay.ca/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewIt...E:X:RTQ:CA:1123

I asked the guy for pics and his response was:

Hi,thankyou for email.

I'm sorry

This BOX is not released yet.

So, I do not have a picture.

Thanks,Yuji.

Judging by the vague description it appears to be a boxset containing all the SHM CD's. I'm not sure what the description means where it says "Mini LP's", I presume it's just something getting lost in translation and it's just the SHM CD's that have already been released. But packaged together in a box - wooooooo.

Gee it's nice of them to package the already released CD's and put them into a "promo box" with NOTHING ELSE EXTRA!!!

[Rose Cooper]

A mini LP is a CD version of something that was originally released as a 12" (12 inch) vinyl LP.

They are also known as LP replicas as they tend to exactly replicate the original packaging of the first vinyl release.

In many cases the packaging is superior to, or at least more elaborate than the majority of vinyl releases. The reason being that many follow-up vinyl releases were inferior to the first vinyl release (or at least lacked some of the extras found in the first release - such as postcards, posters, lyric sheets etc).

They are often refered to as "cardboard sleeves" and "paper sleeves" being made exlusively from paper or cardboard (other than the CD of course). Other names and abbreviations include: "jpn lp sleeve cd" and "kami-jacket". (The last of these I guess is an indication that they are held in high esteem by many who collect them.)

LPs (short for Long Play) are still made today. They are made from vinyl (acetate, whatever) and are placed flat on a device known as a turntable. This rotates the disc at about 33 and 1/3 revolutions per minute. A needle (or stylus) is placed on the "vinyl" and the vibrations detected by this are translated into an electronic "pulse" which in turn is converted and amplified into sound waves.

[troccoli]

Here's what a trusted source in Japan has told me about this:

Hi Tim,

Thanks for your message.

I have heard about the upcoming card sleeve releases, but don’t have any extra details (release date etc). It does sound like it’s happening though.

The ‘promo’ box is not actually a promo item, it’s a freebie given away by a chain of Japanese stores when you buy the full set of CDs – they give the box to customers, to get them to buy from their store rather than Tower, HMV etc. There is a pretty competetive market for these box sets on eBay, lots of dealers specialising in the new releases and prices are pretty much the same as if you bought them directly here in Tokyo.

For promos, it’s likely they will make promos of all titles but the quantity will be very small – limited editions, and re-issues, both mean fewer promos. In addition Universal are making fewer promos anyway so if I see the promos I will buy them but I am not certain I’ll get the chance.

The promo issue CDs won’t include the box though –that is nothing to do with the record company. It’s only given away at the point of sale, by the CD store, and hence isn’t included with any promos.