THE BEATLES Help SCARCER UK 1966 ‘2nd' PRESS EX STEREO LP, PLAYS BEAUTIFULLY.

	£		41
	$		54

ONEADAYRECORDS – Simply Delivering Quality Music to the World in Quality, Safe Packing.

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 (£3 per extra record). All boxes signed for in quality, safe packaging – I NEVER use mailing envelopes that offer virtually no protection at all, and records WILL arrive damaged in them at some time as most record buyers will already know. Here, you get what you pay for – SAFE PACKING in BOXES using 7mm DOUBLE-WALL STIFFENERS including full side protection and bubble wrap, the records removed from the covers of course. All this very safe packing means I lose money on every box I post, but safe delivery is, and will always be paramount. You WILL see the difference when my packet arrives. Also, I will pay for 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 if possible. PLEASE NOTE: I will NOT send any item, no matter what its value without a Royal Mail or courier tracking number. ALL my items must be signed and trackable to comply with Ebay delivery rules. Please do NOT ask me to make any exceptions to this rule as no country offers 100% reliable service without it.

Posting to Russia: Yes, I do post to Russia. But delivery can take longer 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.

ANY ITEM or ITEMS TO BE PAID WITHIN A MAXIMUM OF 6 DAYS or they will be cancelled – NO EXCEPTIONS.

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. Please only bid on my items if you want them.

Artist or Band: THE BEATLES

Album Title: Help!

Producer(s): George Martin

TRACK LIST:

Side 1: Help!; The Night Before; You’ve Got to Hide Your Love Away; I Need You; Another Girl; You’re Going to Lose That Girl; Ticket to Ride.

Side 2: Act Naturally; It’s Only Love; You Like Me Too Much; Tell Me What You See; I’ve Just Seen a Face; Yesterday; Dizzy Miss Lizzy.

Label/Format: Parlophone with very gently textured matt surfaces. These labels meet the criteria for a ‘second’ pressing without the ‘Sold in U.K.’ text.

Label Conditions: Both clean, still quite fresh and attractive. Spindle marks are moderate and can be seen. But have no fears, these locations marks probably have little indication of number of plays, sometimes hole location was difficult depending on what record player was used, and many stereo players were furniture types in the 1960s and obscured the spindle. Both playing surfaces are very clean and with minimal surface marks, also, this copy plays superbly as well and has suffered no traumas or accidents. It was an absolute joy to play-grade.

Catalogue Number: PCS 3071

Mode / Speed: Stereo / 33.3 rpm.

Warps or Lateral Movement: Assume all records I offer have no significant warping or lateral movement to cause sound or tracking issues. All should play fine even on budget turntables.

Weight of this Record: 147 grams.

Country of Manufacture: England

Rarity: Like all Beatles albums, this title sold in considerable numbers, that said, far more were sold in the mono mode with stereo still being the more ‘specialist’ format during the mid-1960s. Condition is always the paramount factor and this copy has a nice clean cover, inner sleeve and very clean record that plays beautifully throughout.

Original Year of Release: 1965

Matrix Nos: YEX 168-1 / YEX 169-1

Mothers / Stampers: 3 PR / 3 PL

The Beatles: John Lennon – lead, harmony and background vocals, rhythm and acoustic guitars, electric piano, organ, tambourine, snare drum; Paul McCartney – lead, harmony and background vocals, bass, acoustic and lead guitars, piano, electric piano; George Harrison – harmony and background vocals, lead, acoustic and rhythm guitars, lead vocals, guiro; Ringo Starr – drums, percussion, claves.

Brief Info: The fifth Beatles album and second from a film soundtrack. Side one’s songs are from the movie, the rest are all new tracks to fill the set. Again this sold impressively but condition is always the most difficult factor. Most fans will know the album well enough.

Cover Grade and Format: NEAR EXCELLENT: arguably better for a cover around 54 years old. A single format with front laminate, this covers all the folds and ends on three rear flipbacks. The main back panel is matt and smooth. Printed and made in England by Garrod & Lofthouse Ltd and includes the ‘Patents pending’ text as well as the original outline font word ‘stereoo’ on the front, this clearly still being used until they were reprinted. The early sepia promotional inner sleeve is also included.

Lamination & Front: The laminate retains very fine shine, freshness and clarity with any rim impression of dulling mild. Only a few very fine small edge hairline type creases that register little on the white backdrop, the same for a few light press marks. Lifting virtually avoided and the graphics remain impressive with the white hardly aged or discoloured. Overall, a very fine looking front, and this being the first print with the outline font ‘stereo’ on the top right.

Cover Back: The main matt panel has also aged little and is still generally clean with any traces of grubbiness or creasing minimal and faint. All three flipbacks are solid and clean, any end burring little and light as well. A few fine hairlines on their laminate is almost the least to expect.

Top & Bottom Edges: Both quite straight, very smooth and unworn.

Right Edge(s), and Type: Still quite share with any thickening only light seen viewed end-ony. Record enters on this edge.

Spine and Text: A very fine spine, solid, straight with minimal compression, the ends lightly pinched in manufacture. The text is unworn under the solid and unpeeled laminate, just the odd ultra fine hairline crease that affects no type.

Corners: Any tip rubs tiny and light, excellent shape mostly retained with no knocks.

Cover Summary: A strong all-round example of this popular 1960’s cover, one that could prove difficult to find much better. This attractive item should please many collectors.

The Inner Sleeve: EXCELLENT(+): an early original sepia coloured EMI promotional inner that replaced the first white ones. These were not lined, it remains clean and still fresh and hardly creased with all edges naturally intact.

Vinyl Condition/Visual Grading: EXCELLENT: and arguably better, most will know the state many, if not most of these vintage Beatles albums are found in these days. An impressive visual copy that is very clean with equally fine shine and quite heavily pressed. The labels (possibly) indicate several plays, but if so, it has been enjoyed with due care on a quality stereo system as the playing surfaces are still very nice. Any surface marks very light, quite wispy and faint as seen critically under bright light. No penetrating stylus scratches, viewed in average room light, hardly anything even registers. Visually a super record that should please many 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 snippets or joining grooves to check for sound quality and quietness – I play from the beginning to end via clinically revealing equipment, all listed further down.]

Sound Quality and Audio Grading: This classic Beatles album plays even above it’s high visual grading with barely 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 a very clean pressing with no tracking issues* or inherent pressing noises. Of course, the stereo mode presents the classic songs in a different manner to the mono (also on offer), and I deem both modes are essential for fans. Even the crucial and challenging song ‘Yesterday’, one that so often clips, crackles and even breaks up due to the intensity of the content, also it’s situated on that critical area where the tracking angle becomes more difficult. Always the first song I play on this album to check quality before I purchase, if ‘Yesterday’ plays well, the rest of the album usually follows, and this one does exactly that. Few available copies will outperform this early ‘second’ pressing I feel sure. Both channels are clean and sharp and I fee confident it has been played less than the alignment marks on the labels may indicate, and then clearly with due care. Generally well stored and carefully handled within a non-smoking environment. Nothing spoilt my pleasure when play-grading this lovely record. The first stereo copy of this I had in some time and it could prove difficult to find significantly better and can be strongly recommended.

* 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 grams. Records are a ‘contact’ format, and few will avoid the odd minor sound blemish.

I am one of the most established sellers on Ebay, trading since 2001 and offering the finest 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 all elements of the items I offer for sale. You may notice I only submit records quite 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 story. I will try to 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 near mint condition as the real rare items. All the pictures I use for your guidance are the item being offered with no digital enhancements. Room light factors can make things vary sometimes, that is hard to control, especially in winter. I hope the item below is to your liking – any questions can be emailed and I will do my best to answer you. I am enthusiastic, and have a fair degree of knowledge about many genres and I promise quality items. Please assume all records I offer have NO jumps, sticks, major 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 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 Nessie 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 D7500 DSLR 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.

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 bid retractions. 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 only 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 2 days for communication and 7 days for payment to arrive – if not I will relist the item or offer to the runner-up.

My Guarantee: If any winning bidder is not satisfied with their purchase I will offer a complete refund if the item is returned in the same condition is was sent e.g. as per the listing pictures.

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, 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.