The Beatles : Rubber Soul 1/1 Loud Cut First Pressing

This very early 'Loud Cut' first pressing needs no introduction.  Any audiophile will understand the rarity and collectable nature of this vinyl and I am delighted to say it plays with very impressive audio.  This very first mono pressing plays with fantastic clarity and comes complete with the original 'Patents Pending' G & L laminated cover and Emitex inner.

'The Gramophone Co. Ltd' etc printed around the perimeter edge with 'Sold in U.K. subject' text also.  This is the first label variation with the San-serif font and a space between the song title and the * indicator.

The KT tax stamp is on the S1 label.

PMC 1267 // XEX 579 - 1 / XEX 580 - 1 // OD 1 / HA 3

The audio on S1 is Near Mint (Mint- in many sections / track 7 Ex to Ex+)

The audio on S2 is Near Mint (track 2 Ex+)

The cover is VG+

The original Emitex sleeve is Ex+

The labels are Ex

 Visual grading

  For such a rare and collectable album the vinyl is in lovely condition and retains a very healthy and glossy sheen.  It has not been overplayed as there is not a great deal of spindle wear and the quality of the audio confirms that.  I have looked at the vinyl under various lights and whilst there are some hairlines there are no scratches.  S1 has 3/4 hairlines that are a little more obvious but they have no affect on the superb audio.  S2 is stunning!  With only a very small number of faint hairlines it looks very impressive indeed.  This is without doubt one of the cleanest 'Loud Cut' pressings you will find.

Play grading

'Drive My Car' plays with superb clarity from the first note and has only the slightest hint of barely audible static in the background.  Perhaps not even worthy of mention you may not even hear it.  This track easily grades as Near Mint and even the fade out plays perfectly.  There are no clicks or pops, basically no intrusive interference at all.  'Norwegian Wood' then plays with great depth despite the bass sound being muddy ! and again the audio is so clear.  The clarity of the sitar on the intro is stunning and that also applies to the entire track!  With only a couple of dust ticks on the fade out this is Mint- in my opinion!  Simply mind-blowing playback!  'You Won't See Me' continues this fine standard with no obvious 'background'.  There is just nothing that intrudes on the stunning quality of the listen!  The audio is incredibly impressive and thus far I cannot fault this 'Loud Cut' album.  'Nowhere Man' plays to near perfection and again I am confident in a Near Mint grading if not better!  The 'muddy' bass is more prevalent but that's what makes it so collectable I guess!  'Think For Yourself' has a couple of barely audible static 'ticks' on the intro and the remainder has wonderfully clear audio when you consider it is one of the more up tempo tracks.  The definition of the 'sound' is so impressive and still no clicks, pops or crackle!  'The Word' plays in a similar way and with hardly any distortion.  As any Beatles audiophile fan knows the final two or three tracks on any Mono album will often play with distortion due to how it was recorded and when played through a Stereo system.  It is kept to an absolute minimum here and the clarity is just so impressive, a superb version.  'Michelle' ends the side with a little more static but that is often the case I find.  For the majority it is in background and not high in the mix but is perhaps more worthy of an Ex / Ex+ grading.  The audio still plays very clearly and, as per the rest of the side, not a single click or pop!

'What Goes On' is stunning from start to finish.  This may be getting repetitive now but there is just no intrusive interference at all.  No obvious static and certainly no crackle, clicks or pops.  The clarity is quite simply incredible!  Just a couple of light 'ticks' on the fade out.  This track plays more clearly than many records pressed today!  'Girl' has a mega quiet static 'swish' on the intro and one faint click near the end (the first on the album!) but aside from that it plays with great clarity and no other 'background' apart from minimal static on the fade out.  'I'm Looking Through You' has no issues and again impresses with no interference of any kind.  There isn't even any distortion on the top end of the Hammond Organ!  'In My Life' has a minor amount of very light background static here and there but is not intrusive in any way.  I only mention it to be complete in my grading and any listener would still be very impressed with this track.  It is almost hidden in the background!  'Wait' does not disappoint and plays with near flawless audio.  There is just a modicum of distortion on the top end of the vocal every now and then but it does not detract from the clarity of the audio.  'If I Needed Someone' plays in much the same way with wonderfully clear audio and no clicks or pops etc!  'Run For Your Life' ends the album with superb clarity and depth.  Yes a minimal hint of distortion on the top end but for final track to play this clearly on a genuine first pressing is a real rarity.  This may well the 'cleanest' version of this track I have ever heard on a 'Loud Cut' album.

In summary this very collectable album plays with stunning audio from beginning to end.  Visually it also very impressive with only a small number of hairline marks and this just exemplifies how robust this 'heavier' vinyl is.  It would be difficult to find a 'Loud Cut' playing more clearly than this and whilst there is a little static and 3/4 clicks in the dead wax between tracks the overall clarity and depth of the audio is stunning.  Having listened to every second of the album (as I always do) I can safely say there was only one faint click during the entire playback!  I have mentioned distortion a few times but again that is only to be thorough in my grading and believe me it is only very very minor.  It is worth repeating that the main cause of this may be that a Mono record is being played through a Stereo set up.  A stunning album that will not disappoint.

The Cover

The G & L 'Patents Pending' laminated cover is in excellent condition overall but with a little shelf wear.  The edges are very clean with only a small number of faint 'rubs' and the thin pinched spine is in superb condition with no wear at all.  The corners of the spine have hardly any wear and the right hand corners just have a little more.  The opening edge is in excellent shape with only a small amount handling wear and that is a rarity.  The front cover has no laminate splits and only a 3/4 faint creases, it really is in superb condition.  The back cover does have some light marking/staining here and there but there are no tears or splits and is better than many you see.  The flipbacks are actually very clean with very little marking.  So it isn't a perfect cover but is very acceptable nonetheless.

Inner sleeve

The original poly-lined Emitex sleeve is in great condition and has no splits or tears and, just light creasing and a little fading around the edges.

The labels

They are in excellent condition with no marking or writing although some faint lines are visible when held at a certain angle, as if they have been cleaned with water.  As stated there is not very much spindle wear and it patently obvious the vinyl has not been played too much.  The KT tax stamp is on the S1 label.

Play tested on my Pro-Ject Essential III Turntable / B&W 684 Speakers

I grade according to "Record Collector" guidelines.

Any questions please feel free to ask

Please pay within 4 days of auction end

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Postage & Packaging

I SHIP WORLDWIDE BUT WHEN SHIPPING ITEMS TO ITALY, RUSSIA AND SOUTH AMERICA I WILL ONLY SEND THEM "TRACKED/SIGNED FOR" AND THIS COSTS AN ADDITIONAL £5.00. PLEASE WAIT FOR THE INVOICE. WHEN ITEMS EXCEED A SALE PRICE OF £50.00 AND ARE TO BE SENT INTERNATIONALLY TRACKED SHIPPING IS AGAIN NECESSARY PLUS INSURANCE AND THIS COSTS AN EXTRA £7.50 IN TOTAL.  PLEASE ONLY BID IF YOU AGREE WITH THESE TERMS AND CONDITIONS AND PLEASE WAIT FOR THE INVOICE, MANY THANKS.

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