Platinum Records

Kippy and his crew over there do it right! Best prices in town and top service… and they still carry vinyl… Impressive! Keep up the great work guys… 5 stars all around!

A month ago, I took on the responsibility of being the DJ for a good friends wedding. I am NOT a DJ by trade and had really no clue on what exactly I needed to perform this duty. All I knew was that I wanted the Bass to to Boom. Byron was full of knowledge and set me up with everything that I needed for the task. He gave me a hands on tutorial on how to wire everything which made set up at the Wedding a breeze. He was also very helpful in giving me a hand with loading the gear. The System had more than enough Boom and everybody had a great time!
Thank you Byron!

We happened to walk by this place and popped in to take a look. What a cool place, in a funky neighborhood! I know some music lovers that could spend hours here. They have albums from all genres plus DJ equipment. They even let you listen to albums on their turntable. Nice touch.

This is the spot if you’re looking for good House/​Techno Vinyl.

Stopped in today on a whim and asked about a cheap phono pre-​amp. They had one for $ 30 and offered to take it back if I wasn’t happy. Works great, happy customer! Very friendly staff and super helpful.

I bought a defective headphone adapter here, which they did allow me to return, however I will never go back to Platinum because the process was shady.
We noticed the headphone adapter was defective because while trying to record vocals, there was a static sound in any headphones plugged into it… and without the adapter there was no static. However, the dude would only test it with music that covered up the problem. There would be no way for the dude to hear the low-​level static while cranking up the volume on dance music with lots of distorted guitars (which is what he was listening to and tested the headphone jack with.) It seemed like he just wanted to get me out of the store so he could continue jamming to death metal dance music.
That same dude was friendly the prior day when I made the purchase, and he did give me my money back, so things worked out OK and I’m sure it’s possible to have a 100% good experience here. However, an employee basically telling me I was either lying or stupid for bringing back a defective product is poor taste and bad customer service.

Great place with great employees. How do you know? Well, when you go in and ask a question you will always get an informed answer. Sure the employee might have a bias but they have what you need and are willing to earn your business no matter what. Big thumbs up!

Granted I’m not dj and I don’t rent equipment, I’ve frequented this store for awhile. They have some underground and local electronic music cds and it is a great place to go if you want to know where the parties are. Of course you can typically buy tickets for events from here as well.
My experience with the staff has always been fine. It begs the question if you are not getting treated with respect is whether or not you are being a dick. I have noticed that attitude gets attitude there. Perhaps I’m just sick of whiner crybabies on Unilocal.The reality is that the customer is NOT always right and if you are being a butthole you are going to get treated like one.
One thing the store could stand to buy is newer cd listening stations with better headphones. Cds are expensive and it would be nice to actually be able to hear the bass. Its almost like they purposely went out and got Sony Walkman headphones from 1985. Maybe this has changed since the last time I was in there. If so, I’ll update my review.

I come here for my Serato and equipment needs. I recently got my Mackie srm450 serviced here by Mark and I must say he did do a great job, he knows what he’s doing. The price was reasonable and I can’t complain. I will probably get my MK5 serviced here soon as well. I also come here for replacement needles and serato vinyl. I also recently purchased the Odyssey LED technic cases from here as well, couldn’t be happier with them.

The record selection is just alright. When I went in, the employees were standing around talking about how rare their taste in music is. No one ever asked me if I needed help or acknowledged my presence in any way. I couldn’t find what I was looking for and had to go somewhere else. High Fidelity is just a movie, so how about some customer service. The worst attitude I’ve seen in a Seattle store, and I shop at Wall of Sound.

I’m not sure how this place is still open; who buys records these days? Overpriced rental equipment. I used to come here whenever I had free time to dig for records. These days I have no reason to come here.

Peeps out here have always been helpful. Called them on Sunday to inquire on their online pricing for some road cases for my 1200’s. Seems they had it for a cheaper price for me to get them in store. Stop by and picked them up after work, and Trent was of great help as well. Been coming out here since I was in high school, and now I’m 28 =x. That just shows their high degree of customer satisfaction. Keep it up!!!

I have been shopping here for almost 5 years and am of a dying breed of vinyl DJs. Platinum records is doing what they can to deliver to us despite a lot of challenges with online music.
Their staff are helpful and knowledgable!

Why I stopped shopping at Platinum
I used to shop here all the time and really think it was a cool place. I will give the guys credit, at first they knew nothing about R&B music at all and then they started to actually learn something about it, however when they did they ended up mostly just talking trash about R&B music and since that’s a lot of the kind of music I like now I mostly don’t go there much anymore.
However I have to admit they didn’t overprice an m-​audio multi-​track II unit I got there which was really cool because that place seems like it might over price things sometimes. The staff were usually nice sometimes one of the guys that works there would get into neat conversations with me about stuff, but I have trouble telling why because my overall impression was that they didn’t like me much but I donno.
I think the store though has changed quite a bit in the sense that not a lot of people are there as much buying records so its not as fun to hang out in, but there is a good selection of stuff and sometimes you find really rare records. I guess not much has come out in terms of music that I really have to have more recently also but I I think I aim for other shops now than Platinum even though I really used to think it was a kool shop. Nothing to special ever happened to me there but one time they were trying to get rid of an eminem sp? poster and offered it to me but I’m not all that bigup on him.
I think the only thing that really annoyed me was that they talked trash a lot about R&B, I know not everyone likes that kind of music but I do and so even though your a music store if you primarily sell that kind of music a lot it seems odd to customers when yo do that stuff. Also there prices went up some on the 12“s and CDs so I don’t go as much now to buy.

This store is slipping a bit (a trip to Portland’s Platinum Records reminded me of what this store used to be) but still one of the better places to buy EDM in town. Decent selection. Lots of stuff to look through. I really like that I don’t have to ask for a needle at the listening station. I got to meet Peanut Butter Wolf here once which was pretty cool. But for the music I play (techno, tech house), I don’t get the impression that there’s really a lot going on. Some records have been on the new releases for 6+ months last time I went. It’s really more of a sign of the record industry dipping than anything else. It’s a shame that the switch to digital for a lot of DJs might ruin some physical stores.

My rating for Whacknum: Meh.
Sure, it’s got the best selection of strictly DJ-​related gear (bags, crates, mixers, etc.) and new (even used) vinyl in Seattle for the clubs, but prices are not much less than full retail… ouch. Even Guitard Centro has better prices on electronics.
If it’s Electronica or Drum n’ Bass wax you’re after, this is probably your best (and only) bet in the Seattle area. The Hip Hop selection is decent, but nothing special. So I guess that’s why I’m not too juiced on this spot since I’m a Hip Hop/​Breaks kinda guy. I might be in love with it if I liked to drop $ 12 a piece on the brand new DnB cuts.
I’ve only gone there to browse, listen to tracks on their listening stations (one of the few things this store has going for it IMO), buy a breaks record that might be hard to find anywhere else, or check out the upcoming shows on the flyer table, but that’s it. Do your shopping online and save yourself about 30%, even with shipping. No joke.
Customer service is hit or miss, depending on who’s working at the time and if they think you’re worth the effort. I’ve experienced everything from very friendly and conversational to the cold shoulder (dude was on the phone the whole time I was in there).
Hopefully they’ve made some strides to make it a more friendly and «go-​to» place for vinyl since my last visit on 8/​08, but my guess is not much.

I love this place ive been going here since i was 16 i am now 21 it has not been that long but even since i was a teenager the people here have always been super nice to me. maybe it was the 100’s of dollars i was spending a week at first when i was trying to get my records up so i could DJ birthday parties for my friends
but even now this is the only place i go for needles and records. they are cheap and they have a huge selection of used and super old records
i got my purple rain vinyl here.

I was 18 or 19. I just received two Numark direct drive turntables i ordered from the Source Magazine. My friends already had other equipment. (to let you all know i dont dj anymore… i was more of your in the bedroom mixtape dj… i stopped around age 22)
but to make this story short… i came here for all my music. It was actually at this joint that i got the Big Pun record. they werent even playing his sht on the radio yet. anyways if i ever start up again i hope i kind of will find a spot like this place here in austin. big ups to the staff for helping me out every weekend i would stroll in. and for getting me into Drum n Bass music and tribal. and house. awww the memories.

In my experience the staff are generally really helpful and knowledgable about records and gear. So maybe there’s a little attitude here, but sadly that’s the standard in most record shops…
I used to be a regular here when I was actively spinning vinyl, and I have to say the selection was always good– particularly for tech house /​electro and breaks. And the white labels! The biggest selection I had found to date– I still mourn the loss of my cherished tech house remix of All I Need that I got here…
Currently I shop at Platinum for gear– I’m revamping my set up towards more of a vocal recording /​music production studio and what I love about Platinum is that they really do know their stuff, mainly because they or their friends actually use it… So for DJs & Producers– they are a great resource. That’s what you can’t really get online in the same way as hearing someone say– «That feels cheap but it has good EQ on the line inputs» — or «People say that one is too cumbersome for live use.» AND you get to touch and feel the demo items as well which really really helps. Plus, they will beat most local prices and they come very close to online prices — without shipping. They’ll even order some things for you.
So all told, I prefer shopping for gear here over American Music, or god forbid Guitar Center where DJ/​Producers get short shrift because they’re not mussy haired Fender wielding white males. Hmpfff.

Platinum records is awesome!
Being a veteran of the Florida Breaks scene but fairly new into other genres of EDM, I was admittedly a little lost. The selection at Platinum records was extremely good, and the staff were very friendly. I wanted to pick up some smoothed out D&B, and one of the guys there had a bunch of good advice. Their prices are more expensive than what I’m used to in Florida, but I guess that’s normal — I think I averaged $ 12 a record. They have *plenty* of listening stations, so I didn’t wait for a turntable on a Saturday afternoon.
They have a great selection of equipment — I watched a bunch of people come in to buy cables and get advice for many different types of gigs… and it seemed like the staff were very helpful. They had a stack of new-​in-​box Technics 1200’s, Rane mixers on display, lighting and effects, etc. I was seriously blown away. I asked about turntable calibration, since my decks are in dire need of it, and they said they’d happily do it with a $ 50 bench fee. I’ll be taking mine in this week!
All in all, Platinum records is a great non-​pretentious place to go shopping for EDM.