Steely Dan Pretzel Logic Original First Press 1974 ABC Records ABCD-808 NM Play

$

24

• Steely Dan.
• Pretzel Logic.
• Gatefold Jacket.
• First 1974 Pressing (see note below on pressing sequence).

Item Details
Manufactured in: USA
Recorded: October 1973-January 1974
Recorded At: The Village Recorder, Los Angeles, CA
Recorded By: Roger Nichols
Mixed At: Cherokee Recoding Studios, Los Angeles, CA
Lacquer Cut By: Alan Zentz (initials in matrix)
Pressing By: Columbia Records Pressing Plant, Santa Maria, CA (capital S and Ƨ in matrix)
Original Issue: February 20, 1974
This Issue: 1974 Original First Pressing (based on label design and matrix codes)
Label: ABC Recordfs ABCD-808
Runout Deadwax Matrix Numbers:
Side 1: S 1 ABCD808-A RE2 Az 1A A9
Side 2: Ƨ ABCD808-B RE2 Az 1A A2

There are two different labels that both came out the same first year of release in sequence. The very first pressing came out with black labels and all tracks (including credits) have two lines of text (excluding B5 which has three). All later pressings also had similar black labels but all the track listings on the labels for both sides have three lines of text, such as the Columbia Terre Haute pressings with "T" in their matrix. Anyone looking for a true first pressing may need to know this.
Was bought new by this seller many years ago and now offered from his private collection (you have absolutely known provenance). Has had just a few plays only on an expertly setup high-end audiophile turntable, arm, and cartridge. Has never been exposed to heat or tobacco smoke and always stored vertically in a specially designed record cabinet (Rackit brand) to prevent warpage.
All vinyl sides are cleaned on a VPI HW-16.5 record cleaner. I use the Audio Intelligent "One-Step" formula that requires no rinsing and leaves no residue. It is alcohol free and uses enzyme agents to remove pressing mold-release compounds, fungi & bacteria, finger oils, and many other environmental contaminants. Made with laboratory-grade pure water(50X purer than distilled water). I neutralize residual static charge from both vinyl and new inner sleeve with a Milty Zerostat. I wear nitrile surgical gloves while cleaning and play testing to avoid any chance of transferring finger oils to the vinyl.

Very sensitive play testing was performed straight off my Ayre P-5xe fully balanced phono preamp over Sennheiser HD 600 headphones using a Schiit Audio Valhalla 2 tube headphone amp fitted with NOS Soviet Voskhod matched tubes (see last photo).

Track list
For track listings, please see my attached record label photographs.

I take close-ups under photo lamps so you can see nearly everything I describe in the jacket grading. After cleaning I use very bright light and close visual inspection on each side to assign "visual-only" grades. However, I always perform play testing with thorough coverage on high resolution equipment to assign play grades.
Grading Details
Note: Grading LPs by text characters is subjective and at best are only a guide as no two used records are of exactly the same quality. I do not use "EX" grades as my VG+ is right below "NM-." I never sell a "G" play grade and very rarely ever sell a "VG" play grade. Please, refer to both my photo evidence and detailed descriptions to judge by YOUR OWN grading standards. Questions are always welcome. Play quality is personally most important to me so vinyl visual qualities are separately graded and described in detail for your complete assessment.

Outer Jacket Inspection/grading:
(Front Face/Left Inside/Right Inside/Rear Face)
VG+/NM/NM/VG++
The jacket front is in pretty good shape. At first glance it is hard to find weaknesses. However, looking closely they are: 1) The start of a dulling to the satin finish in a non-continuous ring shape starting at the top center and ending in the lower right corner. 2) While looking at tilted reflections I found a line of dried glue I didn't see before starting from the opening edge and ending at the bottom middle rim of the basket. Have no memory of how that got there but it might be removable with the right solvent. 3) Some visible rub wear at the lower left spine corner. The rear face is in better shape with smooth semi-gloss surfaces all over and it's only note-worthy flaw is a 1.5" light crease in the upper right corner. Very close to NM-. Both inside faces look like original new.

Vinyl Visual Inspection/Grading:
(Side 1/Side 2)
NM/NM
Side 1 looked perfect, so did Side 2.

Play Testing/Grading:
(Side 1/Side 2)
NM/NM
Play testing is always performed after visual inspection and written notes get taken. I spot check each track by taking a few needle drops in each one. On wider tracks I take more play samples to get better coverage. I also listen to the lead-in, lead-out and some transition grooves to get a feel for the overall pressing quality. Anything that I find during visual grading that might cause serious noise always gets special attention. If I digitize my favorites to 96k/24-bit WAV files for archiving I listen to the entire track while recording giving 100% coverage. Below are play testing rundowns of each side.

Side 1 Play
First, I observed that the record sat pretty flat on my TT (I do use a record clamp, but even mild warps always show if present). The lead-in grooves were pretty quiet. T1 had a very low volume music intro. This allowed me to faintly hear a few tiny LF ticks well within an NM vinyl noise floor pressing background. The remainder of my play samples had zero audible vinyl noise. The track had impressive clarity and great production values. T2 had zero vinyl noise on all play samples. I thought the trans grooves between T2 and T3 were not super quiet but fairly decent. I recorded T3 as it was originally one of my favorites and wanted a last chance to safe it. Very quiet vinyl from stat to finish. Had great depth of image and realism on the electric keyboards. Had overall superb clarity. T4 had zero vinyl noise on all my samples, as did T5 which is an instrumental. It was a superb recording and mixing job by all. Samples of the transition grooves did reveal the limitations of 1974 mass production vinyl pressing quality but the robust music levels easily masked any residual vinyl pressing noise floor. My impression was that this side was a pretty solid NM play grade.

Side 2 Play
All play samples on all 6 tracks had no audible vinyl noise below the music. T1 had very hot cutting levels. I was impressed with the audio fidelity on this side and its cleanliness. My impression was of a strong side that deserved an NM for play quality.

If some one wants to acquire a nice clean first pressing of this classic album maybe this one can fit the bill.

Packaging

• Records are placed outside the jacket to protect against seam splitting.
• Original inner sleeves (if still present) are included separately.
• All records will be placed into new MFSL-style "rice paper" plastic sleeves. Any original sleeves may be holding onto some dust and if paper lined could even be abrasive. This will keep vinyl surfaces clean and well protected during shipping and ultimately during buyer usage.
• Outer jacket is contained in a new clear polyethylene protective sleeve.
• Sent in high quality record mailer with cardboard stiffeners and all corners double-taped.

Shipping

• Shipping will be via USPS Media Mail for a flat charge of $5.00 per single album sale. eBay keeps raising the rates for Media Mail but I still don't pass all of that or any costs for shipping materials on to the buyer. I do try to reduce additional costs for my customers.
• A combined shipping discount is available on multiple sales completed on the same day ($5.00 plus $0.50 for each additional LP).
• If you do buy more than one LP on the same daydo not pay immediately but wait for my all-combined invoice with the discount applied to your total.eBay does give you the option to "Request an invoice from the buyer," but this option is not available on the eBay mobile app. A discount for the combined items will show on that invoice. Then, once payment is received, the items will ship.