PINK FLOYD The Piper at the Gates of Dawn SCARCE 1970 UK COLUMBIA EX GREAT SOUND

	£		37
	$		49

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 – in fact I think these things should be banned as records WILL arrive damaged in them at some time. Here, you get what you pay for – SAFE PACKING in BOXES using 7mm DOUBLE-WALL STIFFENERS. Full details nearer the end of the listing.

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. I will always keep my P&P prices as low as possible, and even after yet another Royal Mail price hike from April this year, I have NOT raised my prices and will never compromise on solid, safe packing that is invariably heavier than most you will get. My P&P offers probably the best value-for-money for vinyl records available, and I even will pay for full 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. You WILL see the difference when my packet arrives.

FINALLY: Late payers will now be blocked 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 1970-71 repress with matt, smooth surfaces.

Label Conditions: Both very clean, fresh and attractive with any spindle traces tiny, few and very faint.

Country of Manufacture: England.

Cat 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: 116 grams. Quite light, but very well pressed on pure vinyl.

Original Year of Release: 1967. This was pressed in late 1970 into the early part of that decade. After the initial turquoise and black originals, this was very briefly pressed on the scarce single EMI box label, this followed that.

Matrix Nos: YAX 3419-1 / YAX 3420-1 [All punched exactly the same as the originals]

Mother & Stamper Codes: 1 GT / 1 GA [these still very early stampers]

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 creepy 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. “Jupiter and Saturn, Oberon Miranda and Titania, Neptune Titan, Stars can frighten… youuuuuuuuu”. Incredible stereo imagery and delivery and here, practically perfect and fully focused. This really will get the senses reeling – take up thy stethoscope and walk… and experience the ultimate space trip from what appears to be a hardly played, and still early pressed record.

Cover Grade and Format: NEAR EXCELLENT: a single format with a laminated front. The laminate wraps around the closed edges on to three large rear flipbacks. The main back panel is matt and smooth. It has the correct SCX 6157 Stereo Cat No and it was printed and made in England by Garrod & Lofthouse. Includes the EMI promotional inner sleeve.

Cover Front: One or rock’s most famous covers, this one does it very fine justice. The laminate retains excellent shine, freshness and clarity, no lifting and only mild dulling seen around the rim shape, mostly near the top under light. A few laminate creases, none heavy and with normal full-on viewing, they show little. The famous early band pictures retain superb colour and this front looks impressive overall. The right edge has a fairly wide strip where the laminate (correctly) ends short of full width. The exposed strip has minimal wear or grubbiness.

Cover Back: The back is clearly more vulnerable than the front and has gently aged with a little toning and mild grubbiness mainly near the left (handling area) edge. Faint rim impression, hardly any creasing at all. No names, no rubbing, just enough to gently remind of age, although not an original, this is still a vintage cover. The three flipbacks are all very solid and clean, just a little mild burring to the bottom ones edge and a few fine hairline surface laminate creases. The lack of grubbiness and damage is always good news on covers like this.

Top Edge: Quite straight, totally smooth, unchipped or worn.

Bottom Edge: Even better if anything.

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

Spine and Text: A super and impressive spine. Solid and straight with hardly any compression. The ends are tapered in manufacture. All text is perfect and well centred under smooth, undarkened and crack-free laminate.

Corners: Light to moderate tip rubbing with fine to very fine shape retained.

Cover Summary: Even though a third press label format, little had changed to the cover. An attractive example but just enough to politely remind of age. It will please many collectors.

The Inner Sleeve: EXCELLENT(++): the EMI unlined promotional inner is in super shape with little to fault bar a very small neat bottom edge repair by myself. This I will do if feasible to stop the risk of it widening in the future. This has aged little with hardly any noteworthy creases and minimal darkening. .

Vinyl Condition/Visual Grading: EXCELLENT: this being a little critical. With very close scrutiny under a bright angled light, very fine whispy surface marks are seen. There are no penetrating scratches and this record plays very well. Few available 1960s pressings will survive this clean I feel sure – and then – at what cost? A very fine visual copy that is very clean with equally fine shine and quite solidly pressed. Modest usage and suffering no heavy tracking stylus abuse. As stated above, this is quite an intolerant, hugely complex record, but this has survived well and offers impressive clean sound throughout with little unwanted. Even these early 1970s pressings are becoming elusive and a fine copy to please many fans and 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 miniscule sound present on any record.]

Sound Quality and Audio Grading: This scare Pink Floyd rarity plays even above it’s quite impressive visual grading with very little to fault. Strong, distortion-free sound, all frequencies are sharp and clear with no loss of clarity of focus at all. Sound quality is astonishing 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 hidden pressing noises. A wonderful record that almost takes you into the studio with the band with superb stereo separation and dynamics, imagery and details – this has to be heard. Slightly later made, but still with all that wonderful mind-bending sound the analogue fans crave. All the psych guitar sounds and effects are fully focused and sharp with barely any hint of unwanted sound. Stating the obvious, this stereo copy presents the music very differently to the mono version – and for most fans, both are essential. 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. Any surface sounds register little and overall, an exceptional clean pressing for a highly complex album that was skillfully produced by Norman Smith. Even those wonderfully bizarre sounds on the incredibly complex ‘Bike’ were pin-sharp with no break-up or clipping and the bizarre laughing at the end is beyond words. I have seen clean looking original copies before but fail to impress when played. Groovewear – distortions cannot be seen – only heard – and this record often suffers needle abuse badly. Just one play with a chipped or worn one and the damage is done. Few available copies will match or outperform this still scarce double box repress significantly 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 – one of the most important debut albums ever made. If a first-issue copy is out-of-reach, this is way better than a compromise. If sound is paramount, this will take a lot of beating. Although not visually perfect, this still merits strong recommendation – Barrett himself would have surely approved.

* As played-graded on a high-end Linn LP12 Sondek turntable with Ittok Mk II arm and Ortofon Quintet Blue moving coil cartridge tracking at 2.2 grams.

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 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. 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 - 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 Quintet Blue moving coil cartridge (tracks at 2.2 grams). Amps: Naim Supernait 2 with Project USB phono stage and Tellerium Black interconnects. Speakers: B&W 704 Floorstanding 3-way Monitors (bi-wired with Tellurium Black 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, 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 14 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 – they offer next-to-no-protection, and should be banned, no ‘professional’ should consider using them in my opinion. 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’.