The Record Album Frame
When searching the Internet for LP frames to finally get some of your favorite covers up on the wall, chances are that, depending on your search terms, Rock Art Picture Show’s Record Album Frame will pop up right at the top of your search results, simply because it has been around for ages. I don’t really know when they started producing those, and their (abominably ugly) site doesn’t say, but they have a history. The site doesn’t hold back on the hype, either:
This is the only Record Album Frame both Graceland and The Rock ‘N Roll Hall of Fame offer in their gift shops. [...] The Smithsonian selected us for exhibit purposes. [...] We were chosen over the clip metal and wood record album frames simply because we create a better Looking display for album covers.
Although I believe that there are better LP frames to be had, one thing is true: lots of people came after Rock Art and copied their idea. And that idea was to design a frame which can easily and solidly house single or double LP covers and which is as easy to use as possible. The result is a frame into which you simply slide (as opposed to using clips on the back of the frame) an LP cover, which is then ready to be hung on the wall. Simple.
The Record Album Frame comes in various sizes and can accomodate either normal album covers, picture disks (7 or 12 inch) or picture sleeves. To add a bit of variety to your frames, you can buy additional mats in white and gray and round mats for picture discs with a protective backing for the discs.
Prices range from $12.65 for a picture sleeve frame to $19.95 for an album frame. Buying larger numbers will get you a discount. Three mats will set you back a mere $9 and if you like, you can buy prefitted frames with assorted sleeves from different eras and artists.
To be quite honest, I was a bit disappointed by these. I don’t want to say they look cheap, but for that money better frames are available today. When compared to what some people have to offer on eBay, these are not competitively priced. Still, they come highly recommended by many collectors and they are, and that is their added bonus, virtually indestructible.
Dear Mr. Hofmann;
Thank you for your write up, you’re right we are the innovator in framing Album Cover Art and it has taken eight years for us to become the recognized leader in framing vinyl art. If we seem to “blow our horn” on our accomplishments it is because we are sincerely proud to have taken something originally drawn on the back of a paper napkin to now be in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and have the other acknowledgements we have worked hard to earn.
RAPS was founded in 1998 from my interest in Album Cover Art, as a collecter I genuinely did not like the other metal or wood clip frames and after nine months of working nights, produced our first frames.
This is more than a business for us, I have founded the only non profit organization dedicated to the preservation of the cultural influences, recordings and cover art of the vinyl record, VinylRecordDay.org. Preservation of our audio history is truly important to me and I pleased our frame is the leader in encouraging people around the world to enjoy the display of a very creative unique art form.
You are entitled to your opinion of our web site, I would be open to your suggestions for it sounds as though you know something about web page design. Not to sound defensive, our goal has been to be a site that is entertaining and informative in addition to clearly depicting our frame. Truly, let me know what you would do so our site is not “abominably ugly” as you described.
I accept that others “have come after us”, the competition does not bother me, it’s flattering to be copied, though none have impinged on our patent, we are the only patented Record Album Frame.
I do appreciate your attention, there’s only one point I wish to disagree and that is with the eBay frames. Yes, they are less expensive by a few dollars but the saying one gets what they pay for applies here. Those frames are the same standard metal clip frames - they are what led to our founding. If we have surpassed that type of frame it is because of the quality of our look and the simplicity of our frame has earned us the accolades we have received from both industry and consumers.
Please understand again I appreciate your assessment and would be sincerely interested which frame, priced from $14 to $18, you think is a better frame than ours.
I hope to have a reply from you, I am interested in your thoughts.
Thank you,
Gary Freiberg
Owner
Rock Art Picture Show
Dear Gary,
if I may call you so. It is obvious that you are very passionate about your product, which is one thing that is often sorely lacking in online retailing. I hope you didn’t misread my review (and my stats show that it didn’t deter any of my readers who went over to your site checking out your framing solution).
My criticism of your site comes from an aesthetic stance that we at 9rules (I’m one of several hundred proud members of the 9rules network) adhere to as much as we possibly can. Web design has moved on considerably from the time your site was conceived and what you have is remnant of the earliest days of web design. It is table-based and, to put it as bluntly as possible, far too busy. It has too much of everything, code, fonts, colors, animated elements and a clutter of shapes and sizes that make the site very difficult to take in for someone who is accustomed to more recent and, yes, modern approaches to design. It is also far from accessible, which - in my eyes - is a must today (neither is my own site, I’m sorry to say, but I’m working on it). Still, if it serves you and your purpose well, there’s no need to worry. I could go into much more detail, but I simply have no time to do so because web design and critique, if you take both seriously, are time-consuming and quite costly. If you are interested in finding someone to update your site from Web 0.1 to Web 2.0, contact me and I’ll help you out with some contacts. Be aware though that good web design does not come cheap! Nevertheless, I think, it might put your product even more on the map than it already is if you updated your site!
Secondly, “the hype” is something I as a reader can do without on the front page. On a redesigned site I would move that from the center of the front page to the sidebar, giving more room on the front page to the actual product description. That’s just me, but if your product convinces me from the get-go AND I find recommendations from renowned institutions and individuals, I’m a customer … no doubt about it. I just like making up my own mind before being told that the world thinks it’s a great product. I’ve bought enough recommended products that turned out to be mediocre at best, so I would recommend making your product and a detailed description the center (!) of your site. Don’t make people click several times until they have assembled all the info they need to decide if they want to buy! Today, everyone’s attention span is unfortunately (!) rather limited! Your product does speak for itself, so why not let it speak?
Thirdly, I think your product is one of the few that is worth pointing people towards - that’s why I discussed it here. I had issues with it from the point of my living environment and my set of aesthetic values. It just didn’t fit into my living room, to put it as straight-forward as possible. For example, I needed either an aluminum or gold frame that wasn’t quite as broad along the edges. I was looking for a narrow frame that uses as little space as possible for the actual frame edges. It’s as simple as that. That said, your frame is a collector’s dream and it comes highly recommended, especially as it is very good value for money. Yes, I bought my frames off eBay and I’m happy with them, but the company does not exist anymore, so no need to get into that anymore here.
In a future version of my site (2007) I’ll probably update my review to reflect more accurately why I decided (for now) to opt for another solution. It had absolutely nothing to do with the quality!
Good luck with your business. I’m glad there are still people out there who are as passionate about their products as you are. Keep it up - for all us collectors, freaks and music buffs!
Best,
Volkher Hofmann
Dear Volkher:
Thank you for informing me of your reply, I appreciate it.
I also appreciate your clarification that you think we have a quality product and it was for other reasons you chose the standard clip frame.
Not to sound corny, but thank you for recognizing my work with Rock Art Picture Show and our Vinyl Galleries as a true passion for preserving the art form, we specialize in Album Cover Art and are unlike others as we do not have a huge catalog of general merchandise with an album frame being just another item.
As for your thoughts on our web site, I appreciate them and thought my bedroom is probably a lot messier than yours. I guess I like clutter.
I too congratulate you on the growing success of your web site, I sadly enjoyed your article on the demise of brick n’ mortar record stores.
Best of luck to you,
Gary Freiberg
Owner
Rock Art Picture Show