ASD 2436 Jacqueline Du Pre & Barenboim - Brahms : The Two Sonatas ED1 semi

	£		38
	$		50

Brahms: The Two Sonatas for Cello and Piano

Jacqueline Du Pré, cello & Daniel Barenboim, piano, 1968

HMV ASD 2436 33rpm Stereo LP with the ED1 semi label.


The disc with sleeve is in an overall Very Good plus-plus (VG++) condition with light signs of disc play and minimal signs of outer sleeve handling.  I would rate the vinyl as being VG+/VG+, and the sleeve as excellent (EX) - of course grade designations is not a universally adhered to standard, so please see my definitions for these below. 

Both sides of the disc have a clear, glossy surface with modest signs of play from clues such as a number of isolated fine surface marks as well as a few ultra-fine hairline marks from sleeve retrieval and insertion - there are no feelable scratches marks that I can see or find. Sound quality is clear with no distortion whatsoever and hardly any discernable background noise.  However the disc is not without a few flaws.  On side 1 over the 1st movement there are a few light 'ticks' - some are isolated and far apart while others sound from a series of two and another in a series of five.  These do not distract at all and may be caused by either finely-trapped dust, tiny pressing defects, or possibly from some of the fine yet non-feelable marks mentioned earlier - it's very difficult to tell. On side 2 in the 1st movement there is a series of five more audibly obtrusive 'pops', which on close inspection reveal to be a probable and more obvious pressing defect as being the cause [a very common occurance, even on discs from premium manufacturers of this period including EMI who of these had not the best in consistency of quality]; and in the 3rd movement on this side is as a series two lighter ticks, which also appear to be pressing defects as the 1st tick sounds from one channel only, and the following tick sounds from the other channel only. Otherwise in general, the whole disc plays very well indeed. However please bear in mind that this record has probably not been played for decades, so a deep clean with the appropriate means is recommended.


Matrix stampings

Side 1: 2YEA 3622-1G [6 o'clock position], 1 [9 o'clock position; A [3 o'clock position]

Side 2: 2YEA 3623-1G [6 o'clock position], 1 [9 o'clock position; G [3 o'clock position]


Labels

Labels on both sides of the disc are bright and clear with a small number of light spindle trails - please see photos as I have tried to show these by tilting the label to the light.


Laminated outer sleeve EX: bright, clear glossy laminated front with a lot of sheen and a 4-5cm isolated laminate crease near the opening edge [see photo]; clear back with some light age-toning towards edges and a couple of small surface blemishes towards spine [see photo]; sharp, bump-free corners, neat edges; and a near-crisp opening edge with minimal signs of disc retrieval and re-insertion.

Inner sleeve original poly-lined sleeve is in clean, near-crisp yet mildly creased condition.


*****

AUCTION WINNERS PLEASE NOTE  Please wait for the invoice - a selection of delivery costs with the appropriate insurance is offered to cover a range of possible final sale prices - please wait for the invoice that will show the delivery cost with the appropriate insurance cover instead of immediately proceeding to pay straight after the sale. Should the buyer beat me to it and choose a delivery option with inadequate insurance cover, I will issue a further invoice to cover the additional delivery cost as necessary - this is within Ebay rules, I have checked.
Inspection of records & grading  For any record I list I always perform a test-play beforehand, and for all visual inspections I use a truth-revealing point source light, ie. sunlight, to expose any likely-looking audible flaws.

If I find any such flaws as above, and provided they are not too visually numerous, are not too audibly obtrusive, and will not cause stylus damage, then a description of these is provided along with the grade of either VG, VG+, or VG++ is awarded for that side, depending on the degree of noise including background noise.

If an audio inspection reveal no such flaws as above, and provided that the side is very clear, glossy, and showing either very few or no signs of play, then I will grade that side as either EX or NM (along with any + variants), depending on the level of the most minuscule of surface marks and unobtrusive background noise (if any).  However with such grades, please bear in mind that there may still be a few noticeable isolated 'ticks' or 'pops' here and there, and/or occasional mild surface noise - records in such condition yet not been played for decades can still accumulate noise, although a deep-groove clean with the appropriate means should make things silent once again.  Please note that I will never list a record that would attract a visual grade with or without any of the fine-tune variants of G (good), F (Fair), or P (Poor).

While any record I list will appear clean, I would advise the purchaser to give their purchases a thorouh deep clean with the appropriate means [although records I list usually do have a careful and basic clean before any test-play].  And for test-playing, a Pioneer PL-L1000 tangential turntable fitted with a Denon DL-160 cartridge is used.
Descriptions I always try my best to be fair and accurate in providing item descriptions, and always give special attention to pointing out any visual and audible flaws or areas of damage. My descriptions are detailed and thorough, so there should not be any unpleasant surprises. Please ask if further information or extra photos are required.
Packaging  Records are wrapped and sent within thick, sturdy double-walled card arranged at cross-grain to one another for maximum rigidity - I will never use flimsy mailers made out of thin card. Corners of the package will also be made further rigid and well clear of the corners of the record's outer sleeve.
I will also remove the disc from the outer sleeve before packing in order to prevent ring impression and splits to the outer sleeve.

Delivery & insurance  Delivery is either via Royal Mail, Parcelforce, or any other suitable courier to any world-wide destination including the UK should Royal Mail prove too expensive for heavy items.  Delivery is alsways sent with the appropriate insurance to cover the final sale price, and a tracking number - whether for tracked delivery, signed delivery, or both - is always provided. I will also combine and reduce postage costs for multiple purchases. Please let me know if you have a delivery preference other than those shown. 

PLEASE NOTE: I am not in the practice of profiting from delivery costs, I only add an extra 50p on top of Royal Mail delivery costs to cover the cost of high quality packaging materials. The delivery rates shown for destinations are realistic and close to what I actually pay.
Delivery cost

If final sale price is less than £20.00 the shipping cost will be:

UK

Europe

Royal Mail World Zone 1

Royal Mail World Zone 2

£4.05

£8.45

£12.15

£12.90

If final sale price is more than £20.00, then shipping with tracking & insurance cover up to £50.00 will cost:

UK

Europe

Royal Mail World Zone 1

Royal Mail World Zone 2

£5.05

£12.55

£16.30

£17.00

If final sale price is greater than £50.00, then the cost of enhanced insurance cover will be added to invoice, which will be approximately £2.50 - £8.00, depending on final sale price above £50.