JOHN MAYALL'S BLUES BREAKERS Bare Wires RARER ORIG UK UNBOXED NEAR MINT. SUPERB

	£		55
	$		73

ONEADAYRECORDS – Serving-up a Christmas & New Year Feast of Entertainment

I would like to wish all my customers, regulars and newcomers, a VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS and HAPPY NEW YEAR

Over the Holiday Period, I am offering some interesting Christmas ‘Crackers’ – lovely albums – some rare – ENJOY!

Postage: UK £4.75 (£1 per extra record). Europe (including Russia) £12.50 (£2 per extra record). Rest of World (including ALL parts of the USA) £16.50 (£2 per extra record). All boxes sent FIRST-CLASS & TRACKED in quality, safe packaging – I NEVER use mailing envelopes that offer virtually no protection. Here, you get what you pay for – SAFE PACKING in BOXES using 7mm DOUBLE-WALL STIFFENERS with extra 7mm side protection and bubblewrap.

Posting to Russia: Yes, I do post to Russia. But delivery can take up to 4 to 6 weeks from the UK. So please be patient. I will submit a tracking number to the winning bidder, and when the packet arrives there it can be followed online using the Russian post website.

ALSO: I now apply the Ebay ‘2-day’ rule for non-payment to keep things moving – cash-flow is important for any small business. I will always keep my P&P prices as low as possible, and even after yet another Royal Mail price hike from April this year, I have NOT raised my prices and will never compromise on solid, safe packing that is invariably heavier than most you will get. My P&P offers probably the best value-for-money for vinyl records available, and I even will pay for full insurance on any record that sells for over £100 at NO extra cost – that is UK and abroad. Also I aim to post the very same day after payment is received. You WILL see the difference when my packet arrives.

FINALLY: Late payers, non-payers and ‘0’ bidders will now be blocked or cancelled at my discretion. As will any bidder who cancels a bid. I do not like this practice as it is most often used to phish out the price to beat. Ebay does not approve and neither do I – so only bid on my items if you want them.

Artist/Band: JOHN MAYALL’S BLUESBREAKERS

Album Title: Bare Wires

Producer(s): Mike Vernon and John Mayall

TRACK LIST:

Side 1: Bare Wires; Where Did I Belong; Start Walking; Open a New Door; Fire; I Know You; Look in the Mirror.

Side 2: I’m a Stranger; No Reply; Hartley Quits; Killing Times; She’s Too Young; Sandy.

Label/Format: Decca – original unboxed blue stereo format with matt surfaces that have a gentle hint of texturing.

Label Conditions / Info: Both little short of immaculate, ultra clean, fresh and attractive with only a couple of faint spindle marks. This a stunning example, possibly played no more than twice (including my play-grade), the cover is equally age-defying and gorgeous as-seen.

Catalogue Number: SKL 4945

Mode / Speed: Stereo / 33.3 rpm

Warps: Assume all records I offer have no warping of any significance and all tracking is easy and effortless and should play on all turntables and even ‘budget’ decks.

Weight of this Record: 164 grams. A typical heavyweight pressing for this top quality manufacturer, this actually over 30 grams heavier than the last copy I sold and somewhat above average even for for Decca.

Country of Manufacture: England

Rarity: Scarcer in stereo, and in this stunning condition, quite rare. This is an immaculate example of this classic John Mayall Blues Breakers album.

Original Year of Release: 1968

Matrix Nos: ZAL-8340-1W / ZAL-8341-1W

Mothers / Stampers: 8E UG / 6B UA [the first pair unclear]

Musicians: John Mayall – vocals, harmonica, piano, harpsichord, organ, harmonium, assorted guitars; Chris Mercer – tenor, baritone saxes; Dick Heckstall-Smith – tenor, soprano saxes; John Hiseman – drums, percussion; Henry Lowther – cornet, violin; Mick Tyalor – guitar, Hawaiian guitar; Tony Reeves – string bass, bass guitar.

Brief Artist & Album Info: One of John Mayall’s greatest ever albums which is more experimental than previous. Electric blues with a strong blend of jazz fusion – the man rarely sounded more inspired – even non-blues fans loved this one. For me the greatest ever bluesman, his Decca catalogue is consistently brilliant with the Polydor years also impressive. Featuring a host of top musicians (listed above) including two reed players, this is a thrilling recording and this amazing stereo copy does it nigh-on maximum justice.

Cover Grade and Format: EXCELLENT(++): this being somewhat critical, the very best I have ever seen for this title. Laminated with Clarifoil front and back with the peep-hole mono/stereo indicator, so a copy issued in 1969. The inside is matt and smooth finished, the front is single thickness card. Printed and made in England by Robert Stace. The inner sleeve is also included.

Lamination – Front & Back: Fresh, clear and with almost jaw-dropping shine with barely even a trace of dulling, even under light. A mere sliver of lifting on the front spine edge – more often seen with considerable lifting and huge blistering, the lack of here makes both sides look amazing. Combine that with barely any creasing – a couple of small traces on a couple of corner tips – and you have one of the finest ‘Bare Wires’ covers you are likely to be offered.

Cover Inner Gatefold: The inside is superb with barely anything worthy of special mention – apart from quality – like the outside faces, this comes very close to reminding of as-made.

Top Edges: Any rub traces to the fold are minimal and very faint indeed. Straight and flush, even the single thickness front has remained sharp and crisp.

Bottom Edges: The fold unworn, any thickening to the front edge minimal and very light. A little more to the back card end that is a little proud of the main fold in manufacture. Being the storage edge, avoiding a little ‘weight’, or ‘storage’ thickening is near impossible.

Right Edge(s), and Type: All three edges are clean, mostly very sharp with hardly any thickening. All guaranteed untrimmed or enhanced, these in amazing condition, and reiterating the record has hardly left the sleeve. Record enters on the back edge.

Spine and Text: An stunning and hugely impressive spine. Solid, very straight with minimal trace of any compression, all text is pristine under solid unpeeled laminate that retains ultra smoothness to the touch with no cracks of scuffs. For good measure, the text is near perfectly centred on a fairly narrow depth. Many of these get dragged back or were never perfectly centred in manufacture. Lastly, this is squarely folded meaning all the edges meet up nigh-on flush and parallel, always the best news for ultimate attractiveness and neatness.

Corners: Any tip rubs tiny, few and as light as they will get. Single thickness front ends are always very vulnerable, but even these remain very sharp with better than excellent shape retained. Largely the same for the spine, any dinking minimal and light.

Cover Summary: An age-defying beauty, one rarely seen this attractive. It should please most collectors, and will almost certainly be a massive upgrade for many.

The Inner Sleeve: EXCELLENT(++): and including ‘Foreign patents pending’ text. The blue inner used to fill the rear peep-hole to denote a stereo record is inside. This is polylined with minimal creasing and all edges unsplit with no repairs. Strong colour retained with hardly any ageing or discolouration of the paper, traces on the seam adhesive areas of course is the minimum to be expected.

Vinyl Condition/Visual Grading: NEAR MINT: a truly stunning record that appears hardly used. Ultra clean with an amazing fresh shine and heavily pressed. Without any doubt, a copy hardly played or even handled. Any surface traces minuscule, hardly anything, even viewed under bright light. Rarely pressed this heavy or seen anything like this, like the cover, this truly is exceptional.

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 snippets 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: This brilliant electric blues-rock album plays up to it’s high visual grading with hardly anything to fault. Offering strong, distortion-free sound, all frequencies are sharp and clear – sound quality is very high with a wide dynamic range and very detailed sound. Any surface sounds are minimal indeed and this is an exceptional clean pressing with no tracking issues*. An album with some quiet tracks, but any unwanted blemishes are as few and light as they will ever get. Few available copies will match, let alone outperform this early pressing I feel sure. Both channels are clean and sharp, I am certain this record has been played very lightly – barely at all on all evidence – and has been very well stored and carefully handled, almost certainly in a non-smoking environment. Nothing of any note spoilt my pleasure when play-grading this wonderful record. It will prove very difficult to find better and also merits my highest recommendation.

* As played-graded on a high-end Linn LP12 Sondek turntable with Ittok Mk II arm and Ortofon Quintet Black moving coil cartridge tracking at 2.2 grams.

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 as I Play-Grade every record I offer in their entirety – also on higher-end equipment – 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 it’s 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 programs. Room light factors can make things vary sometimes, that is hard to control, especially in winter. 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/Hercules/Cirkus with Ittok Mk II arm and Ortofon Quintet Black moving coil cartridge (tracks at 2.2 grams). Amps: Naim Supernait 2 with Project USB phono stage and Tellerium Black interconnects. Speakers: B&W 805 Nautilus (bi-wired with Tellurium Black terminated cable) with REL subwoofer. All records I offer on Ebay are cleaned on a professional VPI-17 vacuum machine before play-grading for the cleanest and best possible sound and will include a brand new lined inner and protective cover too. Pictures taken with a Nikon D5000 SLR Digital Camera.

PACKING - THIS IS WHAT YOU GET.

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 soft protective sleeve and the actual record will be professionally cleaned on my new VPI-17 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 boxes (NOT Mailers, these do not offer any real protection). The record(s) are 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 at least TWO, 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. When larger boxes are used, 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. I do not profit on posting, better quality packaging costs, I offer probably the best-value and safest shipping possible for ultimate confidence. The boxes and ultra thick double-wall stiffeners 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 minuscule in over 14­ 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. Oneadayrecords is a MAILER-FREE ZONE – they offer next-to-no-protection, and should be banned, no ‘professional’ should consider using them in my opinion. I discount of course for multiple purchases with a maximum of FIVE records per box (one double can sometimes be included subject to total weight). All postage costs are below and at the top of the listing.

NOTE: First Time Bidders: Please ask me first.

PLEASE NOTE: I now exercise my right to open a dispute after the Ebay rule of TWO days if no payment is received. I will then cancel the dispute to end the bid, again after the mandatory FOUR days and then offer the item to the runner-up or relist. The non-payer will also be blocked from my Ebay site as will any suspicious bids or bid withdrawals. Small businesses need prompt payment to trade and these strict rules WILL be applied.

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] = £4.75

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

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

1 LP (Small Packet ‘Signed For’ with Standard Royal Mail Insurance [£50 maximum]) = £12.50 (enhanced Royal Mail insurance is an optional extra £3). Add £2 per extra LP.

Posting & Packing: ALL OVERSEAS (non-European) e.g. USA (ANY PART OF); South America; New Zealand; 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 [£50 maximum]) = £16.50 (£17.50 for double sets). Add £3 per extra LP. (enhanced Royal Mail insurance is an 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: I will cancel any bids I feel are time-wasters. 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 necessarily 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’.