Complete Beethoven Bicentennial LP 17 Box Sets 85 Records Deutsche Grammophon

$

110

Reduced $35.00 4/25/13

Deutsche Grammophon Beethoven Bicentennial Collection

17 volume set, 5 LPs and an 8- to 28-page booklet in each volume, for a total of 85 LPs, plus a large 276-page hardback book (12½"x12½")

Ludwig von Beethoven Bicentennial Edition 1770-1970.

Please read the entire listing below for a very thorough description of all known flaws.

We are listing/consigning this great set for a customer who has been with us for over 10 years. Due to the heavy shipping weight of an 85 LP set, rather than sending it to us the original owner will be shipping it directly to you from Colorado. He also wrote the description below, & will be answering any questions (just send questions to us through ebay as usual, I'll forward your question to the set's owner & then send you his reply).

"I subscribed to this installment offering by Time-Life back in 1972. The series was issued in commemoration of the 200th anniversary of Ludwig von Beethoven's birth in 1770. The book came with the first volume, then 16 more volumes followed every month or so for about a year and a half. I'm the original and only owner of the set.

I had top of the line stereo equipment to play the records on, which I acquired while serving in Southeast Asia in the US Air Force. The most important components in terms of these vinyl disks was the turntable, the pickup cartridge, and the stylus. I used a Dual 1219 turntable and a Shure V-15 Type II cartridge, and regularly replaced the stylus.

The disks are recorded in a sequence designed for record changers. (I know, I know! Time-Life, and especially Deutsche Grammophon, should have known better!) So the first disk has sides 1 and 10, the second has sides 2 and 9, and so on. The exception is Volume V: Music for the Stage. The 5 disks in that box are 1/8, 2/7, 3/6, and 4/5, with the 5th disk having sides A and B. The 5th disk is in a different color sleeve so you won't accidentally play its sides out of sequence. Why? I have no idea.

But I never played them that way, anyway. Even though my 1219 had a spindle accessory, I never used it. I played Disk 1 Side 1, then Disk 2 Side 2, and so on changing disks each time a side was finished. I recorded them onto open reel tape, and later onto cassette, so I could listen to them uninterrupted. But those tapes have long since worn out. And now I have the complete works of Beethoven on CD, so it's time to free up some space in my closet where these LPs have been stored, always at room temperature, for so many years.

I took meticulous care of the LPs and the sleeves and the boxes, but over the course of 40 years, some wear has resulted. The boxes show some light edge and corner wear. The included booklets have a few dog-eared pages and some wrinkles. Some of the plastic-lined sleeves have some slight discoloration. And about a third of the disks show faint scuff marks and thin scratches. But only a few of the disks have any problems that are audible.

Disk 3 in Volume IV: Piano Sonatas has noise all through side 1(called Side 3 on the label). It came that way. I returned it and Time-Life sent me a replacement. But that disk too was noisy in the same way. I wrangled with them over it, but all they would do was offer to refund my money for the entire volume (and require me to return it), so I decided to keep it. I still grumble over that.

Disk 5 in Volume XIII: Music for Violin & Cello Part 2 has a small scratch in track 1 of side 2 (called Side 6 on the label) that is deep enough to cause 2 skips in the first 1 to 2 minutes of the track. There are a few clicks and pops around that area as well.

Other minor barely noticeable, but audible imperfections are: Volume III, Side 9 makes a "rub-rub" sound at low dynamic levels; Volume IV, Side 10 has a light "scritching" sound for the first minute; also in Volume IV, Side 4 has a tiny pit that makes one audible pop; finally, Volume IX, Side 5 has a long scratch across all tracks, but the only effects are occasional clicks and pops; plus there's smudge at the beginning of Side 6 that produces some clicks for the first 30 seconds.

But for the most part, the disks are in excellent shape. The blank spaces between tracks and at the beginning and end of the side are silent. The music is clear and crisp. The best of them sound better than my CDs… but then analog always beats digital. I just don't have enough room or money to adequately indulge my audiophile tendency. Such is life.

So here they are up for sale. Hopefully to a good home where they will be cared for and appreciated. Thanks for spending the time to read this.

Volume Box Booklet Disk 1 Disk 2 Disk 3 Disk 4 Disk 5 I: Symphonies & Overtures Part 1 very slight edge wear front 8 pp - some soiling front 1/10 - no visible defects or marks 2/9 - no visible defects or marks 3/8 - smudges (was stuck to plastic liner): no audible effect 4/7 - no visible defects or marks 5/6 - no visible defects or marks II: Symphonies & Overtures Part 2 extremely slight edge wear front 8 pp - no wear or soiling 1/10 - no visible defects or marks 2/9 - tiny smudge track 1 side 9: no audible effect 3/8 - no visible defects or marks 4/7 - small scuff end of track 1 side 4: no audible effect; tiny pit (?) beg of track 2 side 7: no audible effect 5/6 - no visible defects or marks III: Concertos scuff marks bottom edge 8 pp - no wear or soiling 1/10 - no visible defects or marks 2/9 - thin scratch track 2 side 9: makes a "rub-rub" sound at low dynamics; mark on label by spindle hole: no consequence 3/8 - no visible defects or marks 4/7 - no visible defects or marks 5/6 - no visible defects or marks IV: Piano Sonatas extremely slight edge wear front, scuff marks bottom edge 8 pp - small tear (½") front top edge 1/10 - scuff track 1 side 10: light "scritching" sound for the first minute 2/9 - no visible defects or marks 3/8 - smudges (was stuck to plastic liner), scratchy side 3*; audible scuff end of track 1 beg of track 2 side 8 4/7 - tiny pit (?) track 5 side 4: one audible pop 5/6 - no visible defects or marks V: Music for the Stage no visible marks or wear 28 pp - no wear or soiling 1/8 - no visible defects or marks 2/7 - smudges (was stuck to plastic liner): no audible effect 3/6 - no visible defects or marks 4/5 - no visible defects or marks A/B - no visible defects or marks VI: Choral Music no visible marks or wear 12 pp - compression wrinkles top edge 1/10 - no visible defects or marks 2/9 - no visible defects or marks 3/8 - no visible defects or marks 4/7 - no visible defects or marks 5/6 - tiny pit (?) before track 1 side 5: no audible effect VII: String Quartets Part 1 extremely slight edge wear front 8 pp - no wear or soiling 1/10 - smudge after last track side 10: no audible effect; sleeve discolored 2/9 - scratch across all tracks side 2: no audible effect 3/8 - small scratches tracks 1 & 3 side 3: no audible effect 4/7 - no visible defects or marks 5/6 - scratch tracks 1 & 2 side 6: no audible effect VIII: Music for Piano Part 1 very slight edge wear front 8 pp - no wear or soiling 1/10 - no visible defects or marks 2/9 - no visible defects or marks 3/8 - scratch track 2 side 3: no audible effect 4/7 - no visible defects or marks 5/6 - 2 long scratches side 6: no audible effect IX: Chamber Music extremely slight edge wear front 8 pp - compression wrinkles top edge 1/10 - no visible defects or marks 2/9 - scratch track 1 side 9: no audible effect 3/8 - no visible defects or marks 4/7 - no visible defects or marks 5/6 - long scratch all tracks side 5: occasional clicks and pops; smudge track 1 side 6: clicks for first 30 secs X: Music for Violin & Cello Part 1 extremely slight edge wear front 8 pp - no wear or soiling 1/10 - scuffs side 10: no audible effect 2/9 - no visible defects or marks 3/8 - no visible defects or marks 4/7 - no visible defects or marks 5/6 - no visible defects or marks, sleeve discolored XI: String Quartets Part 2 slight edge wear front 8 pp - surface smudges 1/10 - no visible defects or marks 2/9 - no visible defects or marks 3/8 - long scuff side 3: no audible effect; nick track 1 side 8: no audible effect 4/7 scuff track 1 side 4: no audible effect; scratch track 2, side 4: no audible effect 5/6 - no visible defects or marks XII: Piano & String Trios no visible marks or wear 8 pp - very slight rub top edge 1/10 - faint scuffs side 1: no audible effect 2/9 - no visible defects or marks 3/8 - long scuff tracks 3 & 4 side 8: no audible effect 4/7 - no visible defects or marks 5/6 - scuff track 2 side 5, scuff tracks 1 & 2 side 6 XIII: Music for Violin & Cello Part 2 barely visible wear edges 8 pp - extremely slight compression wrinkles top edge 1/10 - no visible defects or marks 2/9 - tiny pit (?) before track 1 side 9: no audible effect 3/8 - no visible defects or marks 4/7 - thin scratch track 1 side 7: no audible effect; thin scratch after last track side 7: no audible effect 5/6 - small scratch track 1 side 6: 2 skips 1-2 minutes in, clicks and pops XIV: Music for Piano Part 2 slight edge wear front 8 pp - no wear or soiling 1/10 - no visible defects or marks 2/9 - no visible defects or marks 3/8 - faint scuffs side 8: no audible effect 4/7 - scratch side 7: no audible effect 5/6 - smudges sides 5 & 6: no audible effect XV: Lieder & Dance Music extremely slight edge wear front 12 pp - no wear or soiling 1/10 - smudges side 1: no audible effect; scuff track 3 side 10: no audible effect 2/9 - very faint smudges sides 2 & 9: no audible effect 3/8 - extremely faint smudges sides 3 & 8: no audible effect 4/7 - extremely faint smudges sides 4 & 7: no audible effect 5/6 - no visible defects or marks XVI: Piano Quartets and Wind Music slight edge wear front 8 pp - surface smudges 1/10 - no visible defects or marks 2/9 - smudges side 2: no audible effect; scratch tracks 1 & 2, smudges side 9: no audible effect 3/8 - no visible defects or marks 4/7 - no visible defects or marks 5/6 - no visible defects or marks XVII: Folk Songs & Arias very slight edge wear front 16 pp - slight compression wrinkles top edge 1/10 - no visible defects or marks 2/ 9 - no visible defects or marks 3/8 - no visible defects or marks 4/7 - no visible defects or marks 5/6 - no visible defects or marks
Ludwig van Beethoven Bicentennial Edition 1770-1970 n/a
no visible marks or wear, some sagging of spine due to upright stowage n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a
General condition of set
NOTE: faint, occasional clicks and pops throughout, mostly inaudible except at very low dynamic levels


NOTE: Vol IV Disk 3: I actually returned this disk because it was so noisy, and the replacement was just as noisy!

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