BEATLES Sgt Pepper UK 67 MONO + RARE FOURTH PROOF COVER

	£		256
	$		339

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Artist or Band: THE BEATLES

Album Title: Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.

Producer(s): George Martin.

A Special Note About This Copy and It’s Rarity: As I always state, most Beatles standard issue albums are not rare, far from it, but there are some exceptions. All their albums sold in vast numbers, pressing plants could hardly keep up with demand. Finding clean, lightly played copies that still play well are a different matter however. So many were played into submission, trashed even, so when a very clean copy that has clearly hardly been played comes along it’s more of an exception. This landmark issue in the history of popular music sold in colossal numbers and still does even today. It’s popularity and importance within its genre cannot be overstated. What makes this complete mono copy rarer than just about all others is the fact it has the very elusive ‘Fourth Proof’ cover. This can be classified as ‘rare’ as so few ever made it into the shops. This cover was never intended to be released and few found their way out.

So What is a ‘Fourth Proof’ Cover?: Album covers and most-all colour printed matter are made up four colour plates in manufacture. These colours are Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Black (CMYK) as known in the printing trade of which I know a fair bit about. These four basic colours are then printed atop each other in process to form all the other colours as they blend on to the printed sheet. Each colour plate has a reference and many would have seen ‘target registration marks’ that are usually hidden (or removed) when the cover is made. Here the black plate has retained process text that would normally be deleted before manufacture of the cover, hence virtually all ‘Pepper’ covers are seen without this text which in some ways can be classified as an ‘error’. When covers are designed, they go through ‘proof stages’, and this is a ‘Fourth Proof’ stage. The ‘AR’ is likely to be the reader’s initials and other characters clerical details.

Is Your Copy a ‘Fourth Proof’ Cover and How Can I Tell?: Possibly, but unlikely, very few are. These unusual early versions must be checked on the inside of the gatefold. The right face, top flipback on the right corner area has ‘Fourth Proof’ in fairly small black type which is inverted (please see close-up picture of this detail). Directly opposite on the same flipback is the text ‘AR D 1321’, possibly a fifth digit was there but trimmed off in manufacture as there is a tiny dot near the last figure (again see close-up). I have also taken a picture of the entire inside face to show the scale of this text - its fairly small but not tiny. This ‘Fourth Proof’ cover also has the rare ‘Patents pending’ on the bottom of the back next to the printer’s imprint, again see my close-up to show this detail. The vast majority of ‘Pepper’ covers have not got this ‘patents pending’ text. All other details on the cover appear the same with one important exception: Back to the inside and the flipbacks, the end-of-laminate line on this rare cover ends higher e.g. nearer the top cover edge than the standard cover, also the flipbacks themselves are fully laminated with no discernible end-line. Good news, is avoids the usual sticking together when close and grime-line formation. So there you have it, a very rare ‘Pepper’ variant and one of the earliest manufactured. Highly desirable, elusive and seldom seen or offered. One for the Beatles connoisseur and completist. Finding examples with all the original contents in very fine condition is difficult too and NOTHING has been substituted here. We all know too well the fate of so many mono ‘Peppers’, most played into the ground and now rendered unlistenable. This copy is very clean indeed and looks hardly even played, it sounds lovely and plays with little unwanted and devoid of the usual ‘mono horrors’ that vintage piledriver stylus usually inflicted, and often in a short space of time too. One more thing I noticed with direct comparison to two other standard issues I have in stock. The insert colour appears darker with a richer shade of green, clearly noticeable when put side-by-side with a standard cover version, making for another variation for the discerning collector.

TRACK LIST:

Side 1: Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band; With a Little Help From My Friends; Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds; Getting Better; Fixing a Hole; She’s Leaving Home; Being For the Benefit of Mr Kite.

Side 2: Within You Without You; When I’m Sixty-Four; Lovely Rita; Good Morning Good Morning; Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (Reprise); A Day in the Life.

Label/Format: Parlophone – Yellow and Black format. Text and detail includes: ‘Sold in UK Subject to Resale’ etc, ‘The Gramophone Co Ltd’ etc, ‘Made in Gt Britain’. Also the embossed ‘K T’ tax codes are included on this unbanded mono copy. All this criteria meets with the recognised ‘First Pressing’ format of this classic album.

Label Conditions: Two highly impressive labels that will take an awful lot of beating. Beautiful clean and highly attractive examples that show just the lightest of spindle marks. About four on side one and just a mere couple or three tiny ones on side two, try finding one with less. No wear around the hole area and this record remains a very snug fit on my LP12 spindle with no ‘movement at all’. The ‘K T’ embossed tax codes on side one are pristine perfect also with all ink fully intact and no flattening. These are so perfect in fact, even seeing them is not so easy, when worn these will show all the more of course as they thicken and lose their ink. These two fine letters are delicate and invariably wear badly, so another indicator of a copy hardly played which is reinforced by generally clean sound. Both clean and fresh looking and clearly little handled with no traces of fingermarks or stains which will show up all too easily and near impossible to remove once applied. These two early Parlophone labels will be very difficult to find better on a mono copy of this landmark Beatles album.

Cat Number: PMC 7027.

Mode / Speed: Mono / 33.3 rpm.

Weight of this Record: 132 grams.

Country of Manufacture: England.

Original Year of Release: 1967

Matrix Nos: XEX 637-1 / XEX 638-1

Stamper Codes: 3 R T / 2 M M.

Brief Artist & Album Info: Carrying on the rarer Beatles and Beatles-related items I am currently offering: any music lover, collector and Beatles fan will know most all there is to know already and almost certainly will know more than me anyway regarding fine details of this album. What I think is far more important is to make clear what is actually here on offer and the visual and playing conditions, because simply I do not offer albums of this magnitude lightly. A copy of ‘Pepper’ has to be a minimum of excellent for me to offer. Very Good and lesser grading copies are very easy to find and if any says they are ‘rare’, laugh in their face. I have already outlined above what this copy is all about and it’s rarity, I do not wish to repeat myself (too often anyway), but this is a rarer example in lovely visual and playing conditions. Whenever I manage to get a copy of Sgt Pepper the first ‘Test’ track I play is ‘She’s Leaving Home’, only very rarely will this song play anything like well with distortion and clipping being almost the norm. As I have stated many times before, Beatles albums always have at least one ‘critical track’ that nearly always gives problems. On Rubber Soul it’s ‘Michelle’, on Revolver it’s ‘In My Life’ and ‘Got to Get You Into My Life’, on Help! it’s ‘Yesterday’, on For Sale its ‘Mr Moonlight’ on With the Beatles it’s ‘Money’ - on this album it’s ‘She’s Leaving Home’ and sometimes the final song, ‘A Day in the Life’ . I can only assume the groove patterns on these tracks were such they damaged more easily along with the fact they are tracks nearer the centre which were more critical to the tracking angle. Let’s be honest, how many people using Dansettes or similar mono record players, actually took the time to check and align the stylus? This copy plays the near impossible ‘She’s Leaving Home’ with excellent sound with minimal traces of crackle and no inherent distortion – not quite totally silent but it sure gives it a real good go. I can hardly reiterate enough this is an exception rather than the rule, if you don’t believe me, try listening to your own copy, is it totally noise-free, distortion-free, devoid of pops or clicks and all high frequencies sharp and clear? If it is, treasure it because few will be. Visually stunning, with any visual blemishes very few and faint, clearly little played at all. This splendid copy sets a high standard and many Beatles fans and collectors will be more than happy to own it, especially with the rare and highly sort-after ‘Fourth proof’ cover that is in fabulous condition.

Cover Grade and Format: A highly attractive EX, a gatefold format, laminated all over (including the centrefold). Two flipbacks on the top of the inner that include the definitive text to prove it’s the rare ‘Fourth Proof’ variant. This has the PMC 7027 Mono cover number. Printed and made by Garrod & Lofthouse Ltd and with the also elusive and prized ‘Patents pending’ text. Also includes the flipback laminate ends variation as described above.

Cover Front and Laminate: This retains lovely freshness and clarity with a nice shine with few marks at all. All fully adhered with no lifting or blisters. Creasing is almost conspicuous by its absence with just one small half moon that hardly even shows with normal viewing. Even under light, it has minimal traces of friction rubs or dulling and any surface marks few and ultra fine. This most famous of front covers will seldom be seen much better. Although this is the rare ‘Fourth proof’ cover, I can see no disnernible differences in the main artwork on any face other than what’s described above.

Cover Back and Laminate: The back is very similar in most respects and retains a superb intense deep red colour with high attractiveness. Faint dulling is just visible under light around the record’s rim shape near the top, almost as light as it gets. Same goes for any creasing with just two or three ultra faint surface ones visible – a tiny few faint spine edge hairlines only just evident too. Emphasise again, this one has the prized ‘Patents pending’ text which is never easy to find on this sleeve.

Cover Inner Gatefold: The inside gatefold is where the important ‘Fourth Proof’ text can be found on the top right flipback, all explained above. This vital text from the black plate in production should have been removed but clearly a few sneaked through the system. There is nothing to fault inside, all is practically as made, yes even the central fold hinge that retains immaculate shape with no compression. Even the laminate is unbroken on the raised part of the central fold area which is totally unflattened. So perfect, I could not open this out fully, thus my gatefold pictures shows the edges slightly raised, I did not wish to risk cracking the immculate laminate on this most delicate of areas. Both the vulnerable flipbacks are as new as is the vital text as seen in close-up. Clearly this inside area and detail is the vital part of this rare cover variant and it will never be found better than this – and that is guaranteed.

Top & Bottom Edges: Unworn practically up to the corner tips, full laminate intact and strong. Both pairs very straight too.

Right Edge(s), and Type: Clean with both opening sharp with barely any traces of wear and no feathering (or trimming). Record enters on either edge as both are open which is totally correct.

Spine and Text: The spine on this cover always seems to bear the brunt of any wear or less than perfect storage time has to offer, and let’s face it, this one has been around since 1967. It has the standard spine, NOT the wide spine. I feel sure the ‘Fourth Proof’ cover never had the wide spine, if it did, I have never seen one. This has some minor wear and blemishing, it’s one that goes out-of-shape all too easily and this one has lightly compressed, chipped and rubbed in places. Unusually, it retains most its laminate with any peeling just on a couple of small scuffed areas. All the text is present with any wear almost minuscule. The text is inverted on this one too. Given the fragile disposition of this traditional spine, this is certainly one of the better ones I have seen.

Corners: All a quite exceptional and are rarely seen this neat and square. Minor rubs to the spine ones, but again few will better them significantly.

Cover Summary: A very impressive all round example of this classic 1967 cover, in terms of the this rare variant, one that will prove very difficult to match or ever find better. Only one in many thousands will ever prove to be the ‘Fourth Proof’ variation and the chances of finding an available one this fine will be slim. Although this has light traces of wear, there is no damage and overall attractiveness remains very high. I truly wonder how many ‘Fourth Proofs’ will actually still exist better than this, one that sets a very high standard and I feel most collectors will treasure it.

The Inner: EX, a real nice one again and way above the ‘average’ found. Made with very thin and unforgiving paper, most of these are split on all seam edges, creased, torn, rubbed or missing altogether – some even have substantial ringwear. This is a lovely clean example that is totally unsplit. It has NO repairs. It has record impression but any rubbing is ultra tiny and very faint. A couple of corner semi-creases only and any toning or ageing is modestly light. The recessed top opening is generally neat with no tears and any creasing or burring minor. The includes the ‘Made in Great Britain’ and ‘Patents Aplied For’ text.

The Insert: Practically Mint: clean, attractive with no creasing or burring, all edges crisp and sharp. This one is slightly darker than others I have from standard covers.

Vinyl Condition/Visual Grading: EX++, and Mint(-) would not be unreasonable, I am wondering to myself if I have ever seen an unbanded mono copy of this record looking better. Very solidly pressed and a near supreme visual copy. Ultra clean with a fine shine, intense black with deep and wide grooves, this record still looks pretty amazing and I have few doubts it has been played very little. Few mono ‘Peppers’ will look this clean and fresh these days and have fewer visual blemishes. Looking closely at the ultra clean grooves reveals the jagged information that lies embedded within them – this is a breathtaking recording and this one retains super sound. Collectors will know what most copies of this, and similar aged Beatles items will look like these days. Often seen more grey and dulled with a maze of fingermarks and deep sounding scratches (or worse). One slip or jolt or drop from an unforgiving heavy vintage arm could have put a ‘terminal’ furrow or crater on this record – we have all seen them at sometime. As stated, this copy has avoided any abuse or accidents and is an unusual early pressing with few plays on the clock - barely run-in in ‘Pepper’ terms. This copy is beautiful and I would think has been played very little at all, a view reinforced by the super-clean labels and the wonderful audio quality my play-grade revealed. Visually a super record that should please most-all collectors.

Album Played For Grading: Yes. [I play ALL records I offer before submitting to Ebay, also the record is played in its entirety unless clearly stated otherwise. I do NOT play snippetts or joining grooves to check for sound quality and quietness – I play from the beginning to end via clinically revealing B&W speakers that include the legendary tweeter from their awesome Nautilus range that reveals every blemish or miniscule sound present on any record.]

Sound Quality and Audio Grading: Any collector needing an early pressed mono copy of this record will want one that not only looks good but sounds good too – this copy has sound bordering on stunning, practically the ultimate, definitive overall sound with practically nothing to fault. This exceptional record plays up to, and most all above it high visual grading. Powerful, detailed and distortion-free sound, all frequencies are sharp and clear - sound quality is astonishing with a massive dynamic range and very detailed sound, another George Martin masterpiece of production. This mono version has barely any unwanted sounds and I am one who thinks vinyl can rarely ever play ‘dead silent’ in its entirity, and any mono records that come anywhere close are truly exceptional. Especially the ultra popular classics like this that were usually played into submission, this has to be taken into account. Few monos will ever look like this and few will match or better this I feel sure. Both channels are clean and sharp and remain fully focused with breathtaking sound. The detail and sounds locked into these vintage, wear-free grooves is astonishing. This is still one of the most important mono issues ever and sounds very different to the stereo version. Many regard it as the most important, even the best-ever made and many still prefer the single channel mode – it has incredible dynamics and sonic presentation of the music. An album of amazing depth with complex sounds that still astound even today. The impossibly critical ‘She’s Leaving Home’ plays superbly with barely any of the crackle that so often blights this song, this being probably as close to ‘perfect’ as it realistically gets without finding an unplayed copy. This being my benchmark song on the album. I usually find if this critical and unforgiving track plays well, the entire album usually does too which was mostly the case here. Those critical strings sound fully focused and crystal clear without that annoying clipping that ruins so many (if not most). Any stresses to those critical high frequencies being minuscule, this has a genuine hi-fi sound. Believe me, I have heard ‘She’s Leaving Home’ that will make most listeners cringe, with echo, noise and break up on the vocals all so common. This, where present, so often blamed on ‘static’, well it seems strange why static only would affect one track while the rest plays okay. If any record is so impregnated with static, it’s best avoided or at least treated with an anti-static pistol or better still, invest in a quality carbon brush arm that tracks on any turntable. I never find static causes crackle or sound degrading anyway, but produces a spike discharge down through the speakers if sufficiently present. After fitting the carbon brush arm, I have had no problems with static whatsoever and strongly recommend one. What causes the unwanted sounds is either groovewear or inground debris. Nothing can be done about groovewear of course, but dust and grime can be removed by a professional quality record cleaner such as my Moth. I will rarely touch any Beatles album that I cannot hear before I buy, it’s just too risky. We all know what these mono records were usually played on and the horrible results. Ultra faint surface sound is just about acceptable – but copies with more I simply refuse to offer – if they don’t please me why would they please others? Nothing spoilt my pleasure when play-grading this vintage mono classic. A copy that will again prove immensely difficult to find significantly better for quality sound or looks. Any tiny sound blemishes, of which there are hardly any throughout, are simply brushed aside by the massive majority playing with truly breathtaking clean sound and on a highly revealing clinical turntable that this mono record was never really designed to be played on. The lack of pops and clicks is a huge bonus on any mono record, no needle drops or jolts have affected this one. An overall much rarer copy worthy of high consideration and I can strongly recommend it with only tiny reservations for the most highly critical collectors. If you have doubts, simple – do not bid.

End Piece: To sum up: ‘Sgt Pepper’ is not even remotely rare in mono or stereo, it sold millions – fact. Clean, lightly played examples are harder to find however, especially in mono. This early cut with the ‘Fourth Proof’ cover is quite rare, make no mistake about that. This is simply telling the truth. Clearly a piece for the discerning collector, it will not be seen too often and possibly less so in better overall condition. The cover is clean and highly attractive with any blemishes minor, most present on the spine which will still better most. Any marks on the record are ultra few, tiny and faint and have near immaculate labels. Sound is strong and most-all very clean, any minor surface sounds very few, brief and gentle - few monos will have less these days and that’s the honest truth. Both the insert and inner are in very fine conditions and are guaranteed original. You the collector now decide.

Now one of the most established sellers on Ebay and still offering the finest and most accurately described and graded records I can find. I pride myself on offering a variety of genres to keep my site as interesting as possible. I will rarely offer any record that falls below a true Excellent grading, unless its of a certain rarity which will justify offering a lesser grade. I try, to the best of my ability to describe as accurately and as honesty as I can all items I offer for sale with all the relevant information I can think of to help any potential bidder and collector. You may notice I only submit records sparingly on Ebay - on average ONEADAY, a couple more at weekends if time permits, hence the name - time rarely allows for more as I Play-Grade virtually every record I offer in their entirety, not just bits to guess a grade - visuals alone do not always tell a true or full story. I will mention any defects or flaws no matter how small that I notice to be fair as possible to any interested collector – I am very fussy and my buyers have the right to be too. Every record I offer, whether it be a common or rare item deserves the same respect as far as I am concerned and will be treated the same - just because an item is rare does not always mean its good. I get just as much pleasure offering a relatively common record in stunning near mint condition as the real rare items. All the pictures I use for your guidance are taken with a digital camera or scanned - they are NOT improved, cleaned-up or made better looking than they are with camera trickery or enhancing with digital programmes. What you see is what you get and scanned labels will give a more accurate representation of the genuine colour than flash photography where light is variable. I cannot guarantee total accuracy for colours however but most will be very close. If any picture I take looks more flattering than the actual item for any reason, I will clearly state the fact in the advert and vice-versa. I hope the item below is to your liking - any questions can be emailed and I will do my very best to answer you. I am enthusiastic, and have a fair degree of knowledge about many genres and I promise quality items - bid with confidence - excellence comes as standard and so does Near Mint regularly. Please assume all records I offer have NO jumps, sticks, warps or writing on covers or labels unless clearly stated to the contrary. Thanks for your interest and Good luck – MIKE.

Deck: Linn LP12 with Ittok Mk IV arm and Ortofon 2M moving magnet cartridge (tracks at 1.8 grams). Amps: Naim Nait 5i with Project USB phono stage and Chord interconnects. Speakers: B&W 704 Floorstanding 3-way Monitors (bi-wired). All records I offer on Ebay are cleaned on a professional Moth vacuum machine before play-grading for the cleanest and best possible sound and will include a brand new lined inner and protective cover too.

First-time, zero-rated bidders, who do not ask permission to bid, will be cancelled immediately and blocked – NO exceptions. For winning bidders who I consider excessively slow to make contact or submit payment, I will use my right to block future bids. If any bidder who wins in the final seconds is present to do so, surely they can at least email me to inform of intention and payment method? If swift or promp payment is a problem, please do not bid.

PACKING - THIS IS WHAT YOU GET - PLEASE SEE MY TYPICAL PACKING BOX PICTURE.

What You Get: To confirm to the strict Ebay rules on shipping, I must now send ALL my packets ‘Signed-For’ with NO exceptions. Both buyers and sellers want their packets to have a safer journey and this is not a bad thing.

I now offer the fastest possible posting, often the very next day after payment is received or within two to three days maximum (unless on holiday). I only use FIRST-CLASS Mail. The record’s cover will be placed within a BRAND NEW heavy duty soft protective sleeve and the actual record will be professionally cleaned on my Moth Pro vacuum system to give ultimate clean grooves and playing surfaces and the best possible looks and ultimate sound quality. You will NOT get tired, dull looking, dust infested records inside worn and foggy covers with tatty inners from this seller and that’s a promise and guarantee. All records are posted in professional thick boxes (NOT Mailers or Cruciforms, these do not offer maximum protection). The record(s) REMOVED from their main cover to avoid edge splits and placed within a brand new polylined inner. The record’s original inner will be included if available. The boxes are then reinforced with THREE or EVEN FOUR ULTRA THICK stiffeners for maximum extra protection – these are FOUR TIMES thicker than commercial stiffeners and are custom-made for oneadayrecords. Really rare and expensive albums will even be Double Boxed if deemed necessary and possible. The thick record and stiffener ‘sandwich’ is then thickly embedded into bubble-wrap to bulk out the record inside the box to centre the item inside to reduce the risk of damage still further. Printed address labels are used for clarity as well as a sender label. Customers requests or special needs for P&P will be respected if at all possible but ‘Signed-For’ posting is NOT an option anymore. Please see my picture of a typical finished box packet that will now be used on ALL transactions as from now. I do not profit on posting and the cost of this lavish packing is NOT even charged for, I offer probably the best-value and safest shipping possible for ultimate confidence. These boxes and ultra thick double-wall stiffners and bubble wrap make a near impregnable fortress for safe shipping and this is used inland and overseas for ALL my records, not just the rare and expensive. I will invoice any winning bidder as soon as possible after the auction ends. My ‘loss’ or ‘damage rate’ is less than one in two thousand based on over 6,000+ items sold in over 8 years of Ebay trading and I consider that pretty exceptional. The only damage rate acceptable for this seller is ZERO and I think my packets will offer just that. It would take a vicious postman or postal service to damage these for sure. Even one of these stiffners cannot be bent by hand, so what chance 3 or 4 inside a box? Oneadayrecords is a MAILER-FREE ZONE. I discount of course for multiple purchases with a maximum of FOUR records per box (one double can sometimes be included subject to total weight). I will not respond to questions on shipping costs as all the details are included here and on ALL of my adverts. Details below:

NOTE: First Time Bidders: I will cancel ALL first-time bidders with no feedbacks or excessive negatives who do not ask me if its OK to bid first – NO EXCEPTIONS.

Please Note: I will now offer any item to the runner-up after the mandatory Ebay 3 days if no contact is made by the winning bidder unless prior notice of any delay is given beforehand. The same applies if no payment is received within the mandatory 7 days so any bidder who has just lost out can still email me to reserve the item as priority second chance – it’s always worth asking.

SHIPPING COSTS & CONDITIONS – THESE comply with EBAY’S RULES - PLEASE READ CAREFULLY:

Posting & Packing: UK & CHANNEL ISLANDS all now sent via Recorded Delivery:

1 LP (FIRST-CLASS Recorded Delivery with Standard Royal Mail Insurance) [Signed For] = £4.

1 LP (Special Delivery with Standard £500 Maximum Insurance) [Signed For, Next Day] = £7.50. (this includes insurance of £500). Add £2 per extra LP.

Posting & Packing: EUROPE & SCANDINAVIA. (Airmail Only):

1 LP (Small Packet ‘Signed For’ with Standard Royal Mail Insurance [£40 maximum]) = £9. (insurance optional extra £3). Add £2.50 per extra LP.

Posting & Packing: ALL OVERSEAS (non-European) e.g. USA (ANY PART OF); Australia; Canada; Japan and other Far East; (Airmail Only: I NEVER use Surface Mail):

1 LP (Small Packet ‘Signed For’ with Standard Royal Mail Insurance [£39 maximum]) = £13. Add £4 per extra LP. (insurance optional extra £3)

Payment Conditions:

I prefer PayPal or cheque from UK winning bidders. I can accept PayPal from overseas bidders or direct payment into my bank account.

Potential Bidders: Please do not bid if you have negative feedback unless checking first, I will cancel any bids I feel are timewasters. A maximum 3 days for communication and 7 days for payment to arrive - if not I will relist the item or offer to the runner-up. Fast deals get great feedback from me. Any questions - please ask and thanks for looking.

My Guarantee: If any winning bidder is not satisfied with their purchase I will offer a complete refund. I will not refund if any defect detail is clearly stated on the advert and missed by the buyer, so read the item description carefully. If any overseas collector does not understand anything in my listing, please email and ask me to help. Thank You.

SOME GENERAL GUIDES TO WEAR AND CONDITIONS TO HELP YOU DECIDE

My Use of Description Terminology: Surface Marks = Superficial, usually light marks, hairlines or light scuffs that rarely sound. Scratch = a needle mark that goes below the record’s surface, some will sound, some will not, my play-grade will inform. Original = a record that has been pressed with the first label design which does NOT neccessarily mean a very first pressed record. First Pressing = A record that I believe or know to be a genuine very first pressed record. I do not claim to always know for sure, and that’s why I state the stamper and matrix numbers if at all possible, for those who claim to know what they all mean, the information is there for the collector to decide. I prefer to use terms like ‘Early Copy’ rather than ‘First Pressing’ if I am not totally sure. Surface Sound = Mild, light sound, usually light crackle or similar. Distortion = Break up of the actual sound caused by groove wear or damage from a chipped stylus – the most undesirable form of unwanted sound, vintage mono records were the most prone to this happening but not exclusively so. The symptoms of distortion are high frequency clipping, moderate constant crackle or an echo type sound quality. Violin, piano and vocals are most prone to groove-wear distortion. Feathering = Fraying or softening of the entry edge of a cover. Covers with feathered entrance edges are more likely to have had the actual record inserted and removed more than a non-feathered, sharp-edged cover which are always far more attractive. Set Off, actually a printer’s term for dark ink leaving mild residue on pale or white ink when rested upon. e.g. when a gatefold cover has black ink closed against white, this can leave some black residue on the pale area – this is mostly unavoidable or course.

The Argument for Vinyl Original sound and mix (mono mixes are rarely available on CD), high quality sound on clean copies (played on a hi-end dedicated analogue system – breathtaking sound!), beautiful, large format covers, artwork, inserts and even full size posters etc; huge investment potential, and the pleasure of owning ‘the real thing’.