Bharat Sheth
How long have you been collecting records for? Active Since 5 years but have been listening and collecting Vinyl since last 50 years. I used to listen to music at my grandfather’s house since I was maybe 12 years old. I listen mainly to Jagjit & Chitra Singh, Ustad Shujaat Khan (Sufi -Vocals), The Shadows & The Ventures.
How Large is your vinyl collection?
Almost 5000+ records which, include about 2500 LPs, 2500 EP, 100 – 10” Vinyls & 100 – 10" Shellac. I am big fan of Jagjit & Chitra Singh, trying to collect as much as possible of their albums. Do have some of their rare LP albums like Jagjit Singh & Chitra Singh - Live in Trinidad Vol 1 & Vol 2, Live in Pakistan 1979, Live in Canada Vol 1, Black Magic Ghazals, Souvinir of Jagjit & Chitra’s Visit 1979, Sajda, Mirza Ghalib etc. I also have some earlier released EP of Jagjit Singh like Suresh Rajvanshi/Jagjit Singh (7EPE 1288) Ghazalen (7EPE 4029), Ghazals (7EPE 1458) and EP of Chitra Singh like Ghazlen (7EPE 4069) & Ghazals – Chitra Dutta (7EPE 1454
Which is the most valuable record in your collection?
The rare albums of Jagjit & Chitra Singh are the most valuable. But the most valuable record is a 10” Shellac (N. 63153) of Jagjit Singh, his first film song sung in a Gujarati Film called Bahuroopi. One album close to my heart is – The Shadow’s Greatest Hits (I have both the versions – Mono & Stereo).
Tell us about your turntable setup.
BASICS: Turntable: REGA - RP6 / REGA - ELEX-R – Integrated Amplifier / REGA – APOLLO-R – CD Player / TRIANGLE FLOOR STANDING SPEAKERS – Series ZERIUS 902 ADDITIONALS: REGA FONO MM Phono Pre-amplifier / OKKI NOKKI – Record Cleaning Machine.
Any advice to people that are about to start their collection?
Take good care of your records, it is a valuable possession. Have a dedicated storage unit. Clean all the records before you play. For used records change the inner sleeves, if possible anti-static ones and also change outer sleeves.
What genres of music do you like?
Ghazals, Sufi, Instrumental, Pop, Country etc.