PINK FLOYD Piper at the Gates of Dawn SUPERB NEAR MINT UK 1978 LP, SUPERB SOUND.

	£		82
	$		109

ONEADAYRECORDS – Simply Delivering Quality Music to the World in Quality, Safe Packing.

Postage: UK £4.75 (£1 per extra record). Europe (including Russia) £12.50 (£2 per extra record). Rest of World (including ALL parts of the USA) £16.50 (£3 per extra record). All boxes signed for in quality, safe packaging – I NEVER use mailing envelopes that offer virtually no protection at all, and records WILL arrive damaged in them at some time as most record buyers will already know. Here, you get what you pay for – SAFE PACKING in BOXES using 7mm DOUBLE-WALL STIFFENERS including full side protection and bubble wrap, the records removed from the covers of course. All this very safe packing means I lose money on every box I post, but safe delivery is, and will always be paramount. You WILL see the difference when my packet arrives. Also, I will pay for insurance on any record that sells for over £100 at NO extra cost – that is UK and abroad. Also I aim to post the very same day after payment is received if possible.

Posting to Russia: Yes, I do post to Russia. But delivery can take up to 4 to 6 weeks from the UK. So please be patient. I will submit a tracking number to the winning bidder, and when the packet arrives there it can be followed online using the Russian post website.

ALSO: I now apply the Ebay ‘2-day’ rule for non-payment to keep things moving – cash-flow is important for any small business.

FINALLY: Late payers, non-payers and ‘0’ bidders will now be blocked or cancelled at my discretion. As will any bidder who cancels a bid. I do not like this practice as it is most often used to phish out the price to beat. Ebay does not approve and neither do I – so only bid on my items if you want them.

Artist or Band: PINK FLOYD

Album Title: The Piper at the Gates of Dawn

Producer(s): Norman Smith

TRACK LIST:

Side 1: Astronomy Dominé; Lucifer Sam; Matilda Mother; Flaming; Pow R. Toc H. Take Up Thy Stethoscope and Walk.

Side 2: Intersellar Overdrive; The Gnome; Chapter 24; The Scarecrow; Bike.

Label/Format: Columbia – double box repress format with matt, smooth surfaces.

Label Conditions: Both practically mint as-made with barely a spindle trace to be seen.

Country of Manufacture: England

Catalogue Number: SCX 6157

Mode / Speed: Stereo / 33.3 rpm.

Warps: Assume all records I offer have no warping of any significance and all tracking is easy and effortless and should play on all turntables and even ‘budget’ decks.

Weight of this Record: 132 grams.

Original Year of Release: 1967. This was pressed in 1978, but still includes the laminated cover.

Matrix Nos: YAX 3419-2 / YAX 3420-2 [All punched exactly the same as the originals]

Mother & Stamper Codes: 4 PA / 4 GOA

Musicians: Syd Barrett – lead guitar, vocals; Roger Waters – bass guitar, vocals; Rick Wright – organ, piano; Nicky Mason – drums.

Brief Artist & Album Info: ‘The Piper at the Gates of Dawn’ was recorded during the spring of 1967, while The Beatles were at Abbey Road finishing Sgt Pepper, Pink Floyd were upstairs recording an album that would have a similarly immeasurable effect on the development of psychedelic rock. The name taken from the famous children’s books The Wind in the Willows (one of Syd Barrett’s favourites). An album-length trip on the effects of LSD on a troubled mind. One of the first ‘head’ albums, it was rumoured that the tracks contained sounds – conversations, even – that one could only hear while tripping. Rumours of subliminal messages hidden in the songs. All very likely, this legendary album is as important now as it always was. The ultimate psychedelic space-ride to the stars and beyond from the incredible mind of a troubled man – a flawed genius that was Syd Barrett. This man gave the early Pink Floyd that wonderful unique sound and eerie spaciness. The era when Richard Wright’s wonderful keyboard skills were fully utilised and blended with Mason’s powerful percussion. The sheer chaos and drama of ‘Interstellar Overdrive’ has to be heard on a quality vinyl record to be fully appreciated with it’s hidden depths and details. Those eerie voices that open the album, still remain mysterious and creepy. Each individual instrumental is clearly heard and not just a swathe of mixed sound – it’s an incredibly complex piece of work. Right from the opening sounds of those voices on ‘Astronomy Domine’, the tone is set as the ‘ship’ passes distant planets and their moons. Although this is a later issue from 1978, the record is in immaculate near mint condition and plays with supreme sound. These later runs would have been limited, certainly not mass-produced like the early ones. This plays with no inherent pressing issues or unwanted sounds, it was simply a stunning, even sublime play-grade.

Cover Grade and Format: EXCELLENT(+): arguably better. A single format with a laminated front. The laminate wraps around the folds and ends on the back via the spine. The main back panel is matt and smooth. Includes the EMI 1978 coded inner sleeve.

Cover Front: One or rock’s most famous covers, this one does it superb justice. The laminate retains excellent shine, freshness and clarity, no lifting and minimal traces of dulling. A tiny few fine edge laminate creases that hardly register. The right edge has a wide strip where the laminat ends short of full width, the top and bottom edges are similar. Only gentle traces of rubbing on the bottom exposed edge. The artwork itself looks truly stunning under laminate this fresh and clear.

Cover Back: The back is superb and still very clean – the one previous owner stored inside a protective sleeve – the difference is immediately apparent. Blemishes?, well hardly any really, the odd tiny tip rub (bottom left) and a tiny super-fine hairline surface crack near the centre of the bottom edge (no split). That apart, nigh-on immaculate as-seen.

Top Edge: Straight, totally smooth, unchipped or worn.

Bottom Edge: Almost the same with just that hairline surface blemish mentioned above, it’s hardly anything being honest.

Right Edge(s), and Type: Generally clean and quite sharp with little wear. A little thickening very light seen viewed end-on. Record enters on this edge that is guaranteed untrimmed or enhanced.

Spine and Text: A very impressive spine with hardly anything to fault. Solid and straight with hardly any compression. All text is perfect under smooth, clear and smooth laminate.

Corners: Any tip rubs tiny and light, better than excellent shape mostly retained with no knocks.

Cover Summary: One to hold, view and enjoy, it may not be a first format example, but few of those will look much more impressive than this. It will please many, if not most collectors.

The Inner Sleeve: PRACTICALLY MINT: the EMI unlined white inner is immculate, almost as issued. The paper clean, fresh and unaged or creased. All edges unsplit with no repairs. This is date-coded 1078 (October 1978), so it celebrates its forty years of age this month.

Vinyl Condition/Visual Grading: PRACTICALLY MINT: an immaculate record I am actually wondering if the previous one owner actually played. Two gleaming barely marked surfaces and pressed to the highest of standards with sound to match. Put into perspective: a first issue copy in this condition would go off-the-scale in value – that is if you could even find one – and this beauty offers tremendous fault-free sound. For those more interested in audio quality and not the first issue manufacture details, this is a joy, it should please all collectors.

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: Being honest, these era Pink Floyd pressings are harder to find than originals, but of course originals in this condition are immensely rare indeed. This plays up to its immaculate visual grading with nothing to fault – I heard nothing at all unwanted. It offers trong, distortion-free sound, all frequencies are sharp and clear with no loss of clarity of focus at all. Sound quality is fantastic with a wide dynamic range and very detailed sound. Top quality sound, this record simply brings out all those hidden details to an astonishing degree with no pressing or tracking issues*, or inherent pressing noises. A wonderful record that almost takes you into the studio itself. Slightly later made, but still with all that wonderful mind-bending sound the analogue fans crave. Even after all these years, this groundbreaking British space-psych album never fails to impress and those eerie hidden messages at the very start still baffle and bend the mind. A highly complex album that was skillfully produced by Norman Smith. Even those wonderfully bizarre sounds on ‘Bike’ were pin-sharp with no break-up or clipping and the repetitive laughing at the end is magnificent. Few available copies, from any era, will match or outperform this still scarce repress I feel sure. Both channels are clean and sharp and devoid of clipping or noise. Nothing spoilt my pleasure when play-grading this wonderful record. If a first-issue or very early copy is out-of-reach, this is way better than a compromise. If sound is paramount, do not lose this one – unreservedly recommended and a perfect example to match the beautiful ‘Saucerful of Secrets’ I am also offering.

* As played-graded on a high-end Linn LP12 Sondek turntable with Ittok Mk II arm and Ortofon Quintet Black moving coil cartridge tracking at 2.2 grams. Records are a ‘contact’ format, and few will avoid the odd minor sound blemish.

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 as I Play-Grade every record I offer in their entirety – also on higher-end equipment – 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 it’s 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 the item being offered with no digital enhancements. Room light factors can make things vary sometimes, that is hard to control, especially in winter. 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. 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 Quintet Black moving coil cartridge (tracks at 2.2 grams). Amps: Naim Supernait 2 with Project USB phono stage and Tellerium Black interconnects. Speakers: B&W 805 Nautilus (bi-wired with Tellurium Black terminated cable) with REL subwoofer. 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, better quality packaging costs, I offer probably the best-value and safest shipping possible for ultimate confidence. The boxes and ultra thick double-wall stiffeners 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 minuscule in over 17­ 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. 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). All postage costs are below and at the top of the listing.

NOTE: First Time Bidders: Please ask me first.

PLEASE NOTE: I now exercise my right to open a dispute after the Ebay rule of TWO days if no payment is received. I will then cancel the dispute to end the bid, 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 as will any suspicious bids or bid withdrawals. 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] = £4.75

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

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

1 LP (Small Packet ‘Signed For’ with Standard Royal Mail Insurance [£50 maximum]) = £12.50 (enhanced Royal Mail insurance is an optional extra £3). Add £2 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 [£50 maximum]) = £16.50 (£17.50 for double sets). Add £3 per extra LP. (enhanced 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’.