LED ZEPPELIN III 1970 UK Atlantic Plum, Wheel Cover LP

	£		94
	$		125

ONEADAYRECORDS – Delivering Quality Music to the World

Please see my Detailed Packing Description Further Down & All Shipping Costs and Options – NOTE: I now apply the Ebay ‘4-day’ rule for non-payment.

Artist or Band: LED ZEPPELIN

Album Title: Led Zeppelin III

Producer(s): Jimmy Page [Executive Producer: Peter Grant].

TRACK LIST:

Side 1: Immigrant Song; Friends; Celebration; Since I’ve Been Loving You; Out on the Tiles.

Side 2: Gallows Pole; Tangerine; That’s the Way; Bron-y-aur Stomp; Hats Off to (Roy) Harper .

Label/Format: Atlantic – Red and Maroon (‘Plum’) format.

Label Condition: Richly coloured, fresh and highly attractive. Spindle marks are light, few and faint. This fantastic record from the high quality collection of hardly played records recently purchased. This one possibly played a few more times than the once or twice most were from this lot, but this copy offers simply supreme sound from beginning to end. The one-owner-from-new was immensely careful with his records and is one of the cleanest sounding LZ III’s I have yet heard.

Cat Number: 2401002.

Mode / Speed: Stereo / 33.3 rpm.

Weight of this Record: 135 grams. A very good average for this album.

Country of Manufacture: England for both LP and Cover (some Plum copies included a German made sleeve, but this one is E. J. Day).

Rarity: Moderately scarce in this format. Like all their albums, this sold well. Playing conditions are paramount however and many were played to destruction. This truly offers sound of audiophile quality with barely any traces of annoying crackle that seems to blight this album so often.

Original Year of Release: 1970

Matrix Nos: 2401002 A-5 1 4 2 [GHC] / 2401002 B 7 1 2 8 [GHC]

Run-Out Groove Etched Messages: ‘Do what thou wilt’ / ‘So mote it be’.

Musicians: Jimmy Page – Robert Plant – John Bonham – John Paul Jones.

Brief Info: A masterful third release - and sometimes, a little underrated - it’s always overshadowed by I, II and IV. A more varied album with more use of acoustic instruments than previously. A wonderful set with it’s beautiful moving wheel packaging that was designed by ‘Zacron’ (Visual Creations). A graphic artist of the London scene of the 1960s. His logo is seen on the inside bottom right corner area. Again peaking at No. 1 in the UK and US, this band could do little wrong at this time. The record superbly looked after, played sparingly and only top quality equipment from new – it offers fantastic sound that was a genuine pleasure from beginning to end. It includes (of course) the rotating wheel cover, and a UK made one too, this in strong too. The only blemishing of any real note, the very usual laminate creases from application in manufacture. These mainly on the back lower area which I have tried to show in close-up to be clear. This has nothing to do with wear, purely an issue of adhesion from the process of application all those years ago, this is a common sight on this famous sleeve. The date-coded inner sleeve is also included. For those who buy records to play and enjoy the timeless music – this record will blow you away.

Cover’s Potential for Wear & Damage: Moderately high. The moving wheel and windows often get damaged and the top and bottom edges often fall apart from use. Even though this cover is fully laminated, it often yellows badly particularly around the edges and is only scarcely found with none. Regularly seen also with manufacture creases on the laminate where adhesion clearly was an issue, probably due to the circular cut-out windows on the front.

Cover Condition and Details: NEAR EXCELLENT: a gatefold with the moving wheel with die cut windows on front, laminated front, back and inside. Printed and made in England by the E. J. Day Group.

Cover Lamination and Front: Even though this cover is fully laminated, if often ages badly. All 11 circle windows are pristine with no burring or damage. The wheel rotates easily and freely too and has a crisp circle and recess on the right edge. The laminate itself is clean with a lovely shine and hardly any marks or dulling. Any creasing, including manufacture adherance crease lines are very small, few and faint. Still a lovely shade of white with any edge toning very light and faint. Overall, a very attractive front that sets a fine standard.

Cover Lamination and Back: The back has several manufacture surface crease lines which are explained above, they are very common on this cover and are seldom avoided totally. A little light friction rubs and dulling but still which a fine sheen and shine. Again some light toning around the very edges with any non-manufacture creasing very light, few and fine. I show two close-ups here to try to show these manufacture creases and to hopefully show how clean the cover really is.

Cover Gatefold Inner: Practically nothing to fault inside, any edge toning very light indeed. I reitterate this has the E. J. Day printing credits not the commonly seen German version that has the artwork transposed.

Top Edges: Generally very neat overall, slight thickening and burr traces to the back front edge, this being a little critical, few avoid it. Still straight and avoiding the bowing so many have.

Bottom Edges: These are exceptionally crisp and unworn. Often seen falling apart or opened and very tatty. This very carefully looked after example avoiding these common traumas.

Right Edge(s), and Type: The front edge is still very sharp, the back again slightly thickened near the top on the back. This only seen with end-on viewing and being very light and minor indeed. Both in very fine condition given how fragile this ‘working’ area is, and the record entering on the back.

Spine and Text: Little short of perfect with just a mild tile to the left (again being critical). Very solid and straight with no wear and still very black. Text is perfect and unworn under very solid and uncracked laminate. There is no central crease formation and all the laminate is present, solid and unpeeled.

Corners: All corners are in incredibly crisp and neat condition with barely any wear with no dinks or creasing. Few survive quite this attractive.

Cover Summary: Overall, a very attractive all-round example of this famous UK made sleeve. Some consider amongst the finest album covers ever made and this one does it fine justice. Not pristine on the back with a few clues to it’s considerable age, but very few available ones ever will be. I emphasise for the last time, the fine creases, mainly on the back are natural traits of manufacture. Clearly the application had issues and few early LZ III covers escape these surface crease lines. This one should please many, if not most collectors.

The Inner Sleeve: NEAR EXCELLENT: the Polydor-style lined inner has mildly aged with some light discolouration and glue darkening on the seams that all remain unsplit. Barely any creasing of note with two very neat window circle, the lining very clear and hardly even wrinkled. This one is date coded 0870 as seen on my close-up picture.

Vinyl Condition/Visual Grading: EXCELLENT(++): with mainly just ultra fine and faint surface trace hairlines under light, this without any doubt, this has received only light use. With so many of the early Plum copies played into submission, often badly marked or scratched, with terrible sound resulting, this is an outstanding copy. Very clean with a lovely shine, intense black and solidly pressed, this is one most collectors will enjoy.

Album Played For Grading: Yes. [I play ALL records I offer before submitting to Ebay, also the record is played in its entirety unless clearly stated otherwise. I do NOT play snippets or joining grooves to check for sound quality and quietness – I play from the beginning to end via clinically revealing B&W speakers that include the legendary tweeter from their awesome Nautilus range that reveals every blemish or minuscule sound present on any record.]

Sound Quality and Audio Grading: An album that has a fair number of quieter passages compared to some LZ albums, but this plays impeccably with barely anything unwanted and finding the Plum copies much better will never prove at all easy. I noted no pops or clicks and this is a very clean pressing with barely any surface sounds at all. The sound quality is superb: very clean and detailed and not even a hint of any distortion or groove wear. Both channels are incredibly clear and the sound is simply magnificent. The furious acoustic guitars on ‘Gallows Pole’ (and others) are dynamic and could have almost been in the room and Plants vocals are astonishing. The details and sheer volume and power embedded into an early plum copy of III is without equal. This is a copy you can play and enjoy with no clipping or high frequency stresses and practically devoid of any of that often heard crackle that ruins this evergreen classic. No old inferior or unworthy record players have inflicted any damage or degrading to this one, and clearly the pressing standard was top draw. One of my most enjoyable play-grades for this legendary third album ever, this merits my highest possible recommendation.

Now one of the most established sellers on Ebay and still offering the finest and most accurately described and graded records I can find. I pride myself on offering a variety of genres to keep my site as interesting as possible. I will rarely offer any record that falls below a true Excellent grading, unless its of a certain rarity which will justify offering a lesser grade. I try, to the best of my ability to describe as accurately and as honesty as I can all items I offer for sale with all the relevant information I can think of to help any potential bidder and collector. You may notice I only submit records sparingly on Ebay - on average ONEADAY, a couple more at weekends if time permits, hence the name - time rarely allows for more as I Play-Grade virtually every record I offer in their entirety, not just bits to guess a grade - visuals alone do not always tell a true or full story. I will mention any defects or flaws no matter how small that I notice to be fair as possible to any interested collector – I am very fussy and my buyers have the right to be too. Every record I offer, whether it be a common or rare item deserves the same respect as far as I am concerned and will be treated the same - just because an item is rare does not always mean its good. I get just as much pleasure offering a relatively common record in stunning near mint condition as the real rare items. All the pictures I use for your guidance are taken with a digital camera or scanned - they are NOT improved, cleaned-up or made better looking than they are with camera trickery or enhancing with digital programmes. What you see is what you get and scanned labels will give a more accurate representation of the genuine colour than flash photography where light is variable. I cannot guarantee total accuracy for colours however but most will be very close. If any picture I take looks more flattering than the actual item for any reason, I will clearly state the fact in the advert and vice-versa. I hope the item below is to your liking - any questions can be emailed and I will do my very best to answer you. I am enthusiastic, and have a fair degree of knowledge about many genres and I promise quality items - bid with confidence - excellence comes as standard and so does Near Mint regularly. Please assume all records I offer have NO jumps, sticks, warps or writing on covers or labels unless clearly stated to the contrary. Thanks for your interest and Good luck – MIKE.

Deck: Linn LP12/Hercules/Cirkus with Ittok Mk II arm and Ortofon Rondo Red moving coil cartridge (tracks at 2 grams). Amps: Naim Nait 5i with Project USB phono stage and Chord interconnects. Speakers: B&W 704 Floorstanding 3-way Monitors (bi-wired with QED Silver terminated cable). All records I offer on Ebay are cleaned on a professional VPI-17 vacuum machine before play-grading for the cleanest and best possible sound and will include a brand new lined inner and protective cover too. Pictures taken with a Nikon D5000 SLR Digital Camera.

PACKING - THIS IS WHAT YOU GET.

What You Get: To confirm to the strict Ebay rules on shipping, I must now send ALL my packets ‘Signed-For’ with NO exceptions. Both buyers and sellers want their packets to have a safer journey and this is not a bad thing.

I now offer the fastest possible posting, often the very next day after payment is received or within two to three days maximum (unless on holiday). I only use FIRST-CLASS Mail. The record’s cover will be placed within a BRAND NEW soft protective sleeve and the actual record will be professionally cleaned on my new VPI-17 Pro vacuum system to give ultimate clean grooves and playing surfaces and the best possible looks and ultimate sound quality. You will NOT get tired, dull looking, dust infested records inside worn and foggy covers with tatty inners from this seller and that’s a promise and guarantee. All records are posted in professional boxes (NOT Mailers, these do not offer any real protection). The record(s) are REMOVED from their main cover to avoid edge splits and placed within a brand new polylined inner. The record’s original inner will be included if available. The boxes are then reinforced with at least TWO, ULTRA THICK stiffeners for maximum extra protection – these are FOUR TIMES thicker than commercial stiffeners and are custom-made for oneadayrecords. Really rare and expensive albums will even be Double Boxed if deemed necessary and possible. When larger boxes are used, the thick record and stiffener ‘sandwich’ is then thickly embedded into bubble-wrap to bulk out the record inside the box to centre the item inside to reduce the risk of damage still further. Printed address labels are used for clarity as well as a sender label. Customers requests or special needs for P&P will be respected if at all possible but ‘Signed-For’ posting is NOT an option anymore. I do not profit on posting and the cost of this lavish packing is NOT even charged for, I offer probably the best-value and safest shipping possible for ultimate confidence. The boxes and ultra thick double-wall stiffeners and bubble wrap make a near impregnable fortress for safe shipping and this is used inland and overseas for ALL my records, not just the rare and expensive. I will invoice any winning bidder as soon as possible after the auction ends. My ‘loss’ or ‘damage rate’ is less than one in two thousand based on over 7,000+ items sold in nearly 10 years of Ebay trading and I consider that pretty exceptional. The only damage rate acceptable for this seller is ZERO and I think my packets will offer just that. It would take a vicious postman or postal service to damage these for sure. Even one of these stiffeners cannot be bent by hand, so what chance 3 or 4 inside a box? Oneadayrecords is a MAILER-FREE ZONE. I discount of course for multiple purchases with a maximum of FIVE records per box (one double can sometimes be included subject to total weight). I will not respond to questions on shipping costs as all the details are included here and on ALL of my adverts. Details below:

NOTE: First Time Bidders: Please as me first.

PLEASE NOTE: I now exercise my right to open a dispute after the Ebay rule of FOUR days if no payment is received. I will then cancel the dispute to end the, again after the mandatory FOUR days and then offer the item to the runner-up or relist. The non-payer will also be blocked from my Ebay site and they take the Ebay consequences (a strike or removal from the system). Small businesses need prompt payment to trade and these strict rules WILL be applied.

SHIPPING COSTS & CONDITIONS – THESE comply with EBAY’S RULES - PLEASE READ CAREFULLY:

Posting & Packing: UK & CHANNEL ISLANDS all now sent via Recorded Delivery:

1 LP (FIRST-CLASS Recorded Delivery with Standard Royal Mail Insurance) [Signed For] = £4.

1 LP (Special Delivery with Standard £500 Maximum Insurance) [Signed For, Next Day] = £7.50. (this includes insurance of £500). Add £2 per extra LP.

Posting & Packing: EUROPE & SCANDINAVIA. (Airmail Only):

1 LP (Small Packet ‘Signed For’ with Standard Royal Mail Insurance [£46 maximum]) = £10. (Royal Mail insurance is an optional extra £3). Add £3 per extra LP.

Posting & Packing: ALL OVERSEAS (non-European) e.g. USA (ANY PART OF); South America; New Zealand; Australia; Canada; Japan and other Far East; (Airmail Only: I NEVER use Surface Mail):

1 LP (Small Packet ‘Signed For’ with Standard Royal Mail Insurance [£46 maximum]) = £14. Add £4 per extra LP. (Royal Mail insurance is an optional extra £3)

Payment Conditions:

I prefer PayPal or cheque from UK winning bidders. I can accept PayPal from overseas bidders or direct payment into my bank account.

Potential Bidders: I will cancel any bids I feel are time-wasters. A maximum 3 days for communication and 7 days for payment to arrive - if not I will relist the item or offer to the runner-up. Fast deals get great feedback from me. Any questions - please ask and thanks for looking.

My Guarantee: If any winning bidder is not satisfied with their purchase I will offer a complete refund. I will not refund if any defect detail is clearly stated on the advert and missed by the buyer, so read the item description carefully. If any overseas collector does not understand anything in my listing, please email and ask me to help. Thank You.

SOME GENERAL GUIDES TO WEAR AND CONDITIONS TO HELP YOU DECIDE

My Use of Description Terminology: Surface Marks = Superficial, usually light marks, hairlines or light scuffs that rarely sound. Scratch = a needle mark that goes below the record’s surface, some will sound, some will not, my play-grade will inform. Original = a record that has been pressed with the first label design which does NOT necessarily mean a very first pressed record. First Pressing = A record that I believe or know to be a genuine very first pressed record. I do not claim to always know for sure, and that’s why I state the stamper and matrix numbers if at all possible, for those who claim to know what they all mean, the information is there for the collector to decide. I prefer to use terms like ‘Early Copy’ rather than ‘First Pressing’ if I am not totally sure. Surface Sound = Mild, light sound, usually light crackle or similar. Distortion = Break up of the actual sound caused by groove wear or damage from a chipped stylus – the most undesirable form of unwanted sound, vintage mono records were the most prone to this happening but not exclusively so. The symptoms of distortion are high frequency clipping, moderate constant crackle or an echo type sound quality. Violin, piano and vocals are most prone to groove-wear distortion. Feathering = Fraying or softening of the entry edge of a cover. Covers with feathered entrance edges are more likely to have had the actual record inserted and removed more than a non-feathered, sharp-edged cover which are always far more attractive. Set Off, actually a printer’s term for dark ink leaving mild residue on pale or white ink when rested upon. e.g. when a gatefold cover has black ink closed against white, this can leave some black residue on the pale area – this is mostly unavoidable or course.

The Argument for Vinyl Original sound and mix (mono mixes are rarely available on CD), high quality sound on clean copies (played on a hi-end dedicated analogue system – breathtaking sound!), beautiful, large format covers, artwork, inserts and even full size posters etc; huge investment potential, and the pleasure of owning ‘the real thing’.