Decca SXL 6263 George Solti: Romantic Russia - 1st issue label WBG

	£		37
	$		49

Romantic Russia : Borodin, Glinka, Mussorgsky - George Solti conducting the London Symphony Orchestra and Chorus, & John Alldis - Chorus master

Decca SXL 6263 33rpm Stereo LP with the 1st issue label (wide band grooved) with this release.


Overall, despite some not too obtrusive audible flaws to the beginning of one side, this is a wonderful sounding disc with just a few ultra-minuscule signs of play.  These clues mostly show as a very small number of light marks [see below] and a single spindle trail to the label of side 2.  And given that the audio reproduction is as fresh sounding with no discernable distortion, at least to my ears from what my turntable can reproduce [a perfectly balanced Pioneer PL-L1000 turntable fitted with- a Denon DL-160 cartridge], it is quite possible that the disc has only been played no more than a couple or a very few times. And while side 1 is almost perfect with just a couple of isolated quiet ticks [probable static], it is Side 2 that has the above mentioned flaws that are more noticeable [see below].  However, I find that the overall listening experience is not diminished in any way, as the sound quality of the recording itself is as superb and highly immersive as a very rich listening experience as one can expect from Decca SXL recordings of this period. But please bear in mind that while this record appears very clean, it is highly probable that it has not been played for decades, so a deep clean with the appropriate means is recommended.


Matrix stampings A Ted Burkett pressing [1G/4G]

Side 1: ZAL-7401-1G [6 o'clock position], 1 [3 o'clock position] KT [12 o'clock position] inverted 'ii'? or 'll'? [12 o'clock position]

Side 2: ZAL-7402-4G [6 o'clock position], 1 [3 o'clock position] KT [12 o'clock position] inverted 'v' [12 o'clock position]


Vinyl

Side 1: EX. Bright, glossy surface with miniscule signs of play - just a very small number of very-very fine surface hairline marks from sleeve retrieval and insertion, a light and non-feelable 1.5 cm surface mark, and a much finer hairline mark. The background is deeply quiet, and there are no 'pops','ticks', or any noticeable background noise or crackle that I can tell. Also the label has no marks or signs of use whatsoever - to sum up, this side is simply superb.

Side2: VG+. A bright and glossy surface with the recording itself being exceptionally superb and high quality with much depth and clarity against a deeply quiet background.  But there is an acidic paper surface contact blemish covering a small area towards the edge of the disc. This blemish appears to have come from the part of the inner sleeve that does not have the poly lining [see photo], which does result in a series of feint-to-light to a little more pronounced crackle that is strongly reminiscent of static crackle for 7 and then 18 revolutions at the beginning of Prince Igor.  And despite this, the affected beginning is no way diminished as an impressively smooth and awesomely super-fluid like quality piece of orchestral music as the crackle is, at least to my ears, not too distracting at all. The blemish probably resulted from decades of the disc remaining in the same position inside the sleave, which has a partial circular cut-out opening to the top to facillitate ease of insertion - thus also allowing prolonged contact to the outer sleeve [see photo], which is essentially acidic. Apart from this, the only other blemish I can find on this side is a tiny hard to see non-feelable scratch that does result in a series of 8 quiet ticks in Polvotsian Dances - these are much quieter and most definitly do not distract in any way.  Yet despite these audible flaws on this side, the overall listening experience remains a magnificent pleasure.  


Labels

Side 1: NM, uniformly fresh and clear with no hint of degree spindle trial or any other kind of mark or blemish.

Side 2: EX+, uniformly fresh and clear with a feint hint of a 1.5cm spindle mark - please see photo as I have tried to show this by tilting the label in the light.


Laminated outer sleeve EX: clean, glossy front and slightly age-toned to front and rear; neat edges and square yet gently bumped opening edge corner tips; a mild front crease towards lower third of spine; and almost non-existent ring impression.


Inner sleeve original poly-lined sleeve is in neat and clean condition with modest creasing.


*****
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 turntable fitted with- a Denon DL-160 cartridge.
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.