BEEFHEART FRYING PAN 10" METAL ACETATE POSSIBLE MASTER DISC RARE

$

200

BEEFHEART FRYING PAN 10" METAL ACETATE POSSIBLE MASTER DISC RARE

Captain Beefheart one sided 10" metal acetates of the song Frying Pan. 

Possibly an original "acetate master" or an original "mother plate" or test pressing made during the mastering process.

This item consists of one 45 rpm 10" disc.  The discs have an aluminum core with a vinyl coating.

The label has "A & M" and "Frying Pan by Captain Beefheart" typewritten on. Additionally, "65975" is written on the label in grease pencil.  (See photos.)  The disc has dual holes (see photo and description of mastering process below).

Only one side of the disc has a label or any music.  The disc plays through cleanly and has superior sound. 
However, acetates of this type are extremely malleable and successive playing will wear out the grooves quickly.  This is a collector's item in a memorabilia sense and has little audio value.

From a description of the LP mastering process written by Paul W. Brekus:

"The Acetate - The first step in the record pressing process is the creation of the master disk, or acetate, which is cut directly from the master tape of the recording. An acetate is a piece of aluminum coated with a layer of vinyl, into which grooves are cut, like a record. Unlike records, however, acetates are usually one sided, and come in pairs, one for each side of the album. They also often have two center holes; one hole is the standard center hole which acts as the axis for rotation, and the other hole is used by the guiding arm to turn the acetate while the writing stylus cuts the grooves.  One or, at most, two acetate sets are typically made for an album.

Plating - The plater coats each acetate with a thin layer of silver which is then electro-plated with nickel. When this plate is separated from the acetate, the metal that was facing the disk now has protruding ridges where the grooves were. This plate is called the father or master plate. The acetate disk usually gets destroyed in this process.

The father plate is oxidized, and plated again. The resulting plate, when separated from the father, becomes a metal duplicate of the acetate, with grooves again. This plate is called the mother plate and can be played on a turntable to check for errors in mastering or plating. Like acetates, mothers and fathers also come in one-sided pairs."

Vinyl: EX - Plays cleanly.  Good audio sound quality.  ("Scuffs" in the label photo are from the scanner and not the actual vinyl.)

(see below for grading descriptions)

The images are of the actually item put up for auction.

I do not ship to Italy, Russia, Croatia, Serbia, Indonesia, China, or South America.

If you have questions, email me before bidding.

Grading Scale:

Mint (M)   Perfect in every way.

I WILL NEVER GIVE ANY RECORD I SELL, NO MATTER HOW GOOD ITS CONDITION, A MINT RATING.

Excellent (EX)   An almost perfect record.

No obvious signs of wear should visible on the vinyl. The sleeve will have only minor defects or signs of slight handling.

Very Good Plus (VG+)   Will show some signs that it was used and handled.  Played, but well cared for by a previous owners.

Record surfaces may show some signs of wear and may have slight scuffs or very light scratches that don't affect listening.  The label may have some ring wear or discoloration. Picture sleeves and LP inner sleeves will have some slight wear, lightly turned up corners, or a slight seam split. An LP cover may have slight signs of wear also and may be marred by a cut-out hole, indentation or corner indicating it was taken out of print and sold at a discount.

Very Good (VG)   Similar defects found as in a VG+ record will be visible to a greater degree in a VG disc. Surface noise will be evident upon playing, especially in soft passages, but will not overpower the music. Groove wear will start to be noticeable, as well as light scratches.

Labels and sleeves may be marred by writing (excepting artist signatures), or have tape, stickers, or their residue. The same will be true of picture sleeves or LP covers.

Good (G), Good Plus (G+)   A record in G or G+ condition can be put onto a turntable and will play through without skipping. But it will have significant surface noise and scratches and visible groove wear.

A cover or sleeve will have seam splits, especially at the bottom or on the spine. Tape, writing, ring wear or other defects will start to overwhelm the object.

Payment:

I accept Paypal only. I will only ship parcels to the buyer's registered PayPal address.??Winning bidders will be notified within 3 days of the end of the auction and are expected to remit payment within 7 days.

Packing:

I ship all LP's in new (unused)  LP mailers. We pack records with reenforcement.  The disc is removed from the cover to prevent seam splitting in transit and stored in a "DJ" sleeve. I pack my items to arrive safely and shipping costs reflect that.

A single disc record packed for shipping is estimated to weigh 1 pound and 10 ounces and have the dimensions of 13" by 13" by 2".

Shipping:

Ebay asks it's sellers to set the shipping price before listing an item.  However, setting an accurate shipping price is impossible since the location of the winning bidder or the postal shipping service chosen has not yet been determined.  The shipping cost listed is an attempt to cover the average cost - the actual shipping charge for your item may be slightly more - or less - than the actual cost of postage.

Domestic Items (US destination): I ship by USPS Priority only.  All items will be shipped insured and with "Delivery Confirmation".  The actual cost of the insurance, plus a 50 cent handling fee to cover the packing costs will be added after the end of the auction.

International Items: I ship by United States Postal Service (USPS) only and prefer to ship international items insured for both the buyer's and my protection.  Obviously, this requires customs forms to state the actual cost of the item.

Unfortunately, the USPS will only insure the Priority and Express packages and the rates for this level of can be expensive.

If the buyer prefers, I will ship First Class International Registered.  However, the maximum indemnity is around $46.  I will handle filing any "lost claims" with the USPS, but will not be responsible for any costs beyond the value stated on the customs form or the maximum indemnity allowed, whichever is less.  The Registered service costs $11.75 on top of the First Class shipping charges.

All items are packed to withstand the rigors of traveling through the postal system (see "Packing" above).

Apparently, shipping to much of Europe can be very slow.  Please wait 60 days before filing a claim.

Shipping and handling fees are non-refundable.

By bidding on this item, you are agreeing to these conditions.