PINK FLOYD, Wish You Were Here SPLENDID UK LP with full black wrap + postcard

	£		25
	$		33

UK VINYL LP COMPLETE WITH CARD INNER, POSTCARD, FRONT STICKER AND THE MOST COMPLETE EXAMPLE OF THE BLACK OUTER SHRINK WRAP THAT WE HAVE SEEN SINCE THIS ALBUM WAS RELEASED. THE SLEEVE LOOKS LIKE A COPY THAT HAS JUST BEEN BROUGHT HOME FROM THE SHOP (IT EVEN STILL HAS ITS ORIGINAL W.H. SMITH PRICE STICKER ON), THEN OPENED FOR THE FIRST TIME - JUST LOOK AT THE PHOTOS! HOW OFTEN DO YOU SEE THIS MUCH BLACK SHRINK WRAP THESE DAYS? THE DISC IS A DELIGHTFUL PLAYING COPY, VERY CLEAN WITH SUPERB AUDIO QUALITY SOUND - CERTAINLY FAR SUPERIOR TO THE RECENT VINYL REISSUE WHICH IS CUT FROM A HI-RESOLUTION DIGITAL MASTER, NOT THE ORIGINAL ANALOG ONE WHICH THIS LP IS MASTERED FROM. WE OFFER FOR YOUR PLEASURE A FULLY INTACT EARLY ERA PRESSING OF ONE OF FLOYD'S CLASSIC ALBUMS.

MATRIX NUMBERS IN RUN-OFF GROOVES: SIDE A: HTM SHVL 814 A-6-1-1 / SIDE B: HTM SHVL 814 B-14-1.

So, what do these matrix numbers tell us? Here we have a mastering by the great EMI cutting engineer, Harry T. Moss, from the 6th and 14th laquers cut from the master tape (not all the laquers manufactured were used for this album, some were tossed as not good enough and the next number used until an acceptable one was made, so the numbers are a little deceptive in that respect). EMI had changed their mother/stamper codes mid-run of Wish You Were Here, from a number at 9 o'clock on the run-out grooves and a letter(s) at 3 o'clock, to sequential numbers immediately after the pressing number. This particular record was therefore stamped from first generation mothers and stampers from 6th and 14th laquers (hence the 1-1 and -1), and is one of the initial 300 or so copies pressed from this mother/stamper combination. As it is so early in the pressing run from this particular stamper, we think this is why it sounds so good - we have compared it to a true first pressing and it really is hard to tell any discernable audio difference, the vinyl is slightly lighter and there are minor variations in how the sleeve and postcard are manufactured (the post card no longer has the serrated edges for instance), but the search for a quiet and enjoyable playing copy of this album in an immaculate sleeve is definately over for one of you lucky folks.

SLEEVE: EXCELLENT, THE OUTER BLACK SHRINK WRAP IS FULLY INTACT WITH JUST A VERY SMALL SPLIT ALONG ABOUT ONE INCH OF THE REAR RIGHT, ALL THAT IS MISSING IS THAT IT HAS BEEN OPENED ALONG THE SIDE AND SHRUNK BACK EVER SO SLIGHTLY FROM THE OPENING SLEEVE EDGE. THERE ARE ALSO A FEW MINOR AIR PINHOLES ON THE FRONT, BUT THESE ARE IN THE NATURE OF THE MANUFACTURE OF THE WRAP. THE FAMOUS MAN-ON-FIRE-SHAKING HANDS WHITE CARD SLEEVE CONTAINED THEREIN HAS TO BE ASSUMED TO BE IN MINT CONDITON, AS IT HAS NEVER BEEN OPENED OR SEEN THE LIGHT OF DAY - WE ARE NOT GOING TO BE THE ONES TO OPEN IT, AND PRESUMABLY NOR WILL THE NEW OWNER IF HE OR SHE HAS ANY SENSE! THIS IS THE MOST INTACT VERSION WE HAVE SEEN SINCE THE ALBUM WAS RELEASED IN 1975. THE POSTCARD IS EXCELLENT, AS IS THE CARD LYRIC INNER, EXCEPT FOR ONE SMALL MID-SEAM EDGE SPLIT ABOUT ONE INCH AND NOT VERY NOTICEABLE.

DISC: EXCELLENT MINUS. VERY CLEAN VINYL WITH NO MARKS OR SCRATCHES AND NO NOTICEABLE SPINDLE WEAR, THERE IS ONE LIGHT HAIRLINE TOWARDS THE END OF SIDE TWO WHICH HAS BEEN PLAY-CHECKED AND DOES NOT SOUND - IT IS CLEARLY A LITTLE-PLAYED COPY, THAT THE PREVIOUS OWNER HAD THE WISDOM TO HOUSE IN A POLY-LINED SLEEVE AND NOT LET REMAIN IN THE CARD ONE, WHICH MEANS TEHRE IS THE LEAST AMOUNT OF HAIRLINES FROM THE CARD INNER SLEEVE THAT WE HAVE SEEN ON A DISC OF THIS AGE. IT PLAYS GREAT FROM START TO FINISH WITH NO SKIPS OR JUMPS. LIKE EVERY 'WISH YOU WERE HERE' WE HAVE HEARD (WE HAVE HEARD HUNDREDS OF THEM) THERE IS ALWAYS THE ODD POP OR CRACKLE IN THE QUIETEST PASSAGES - WE HAVE FOUND THAT SCRUPILOUS CLEANING OF FLOYD DISCS PRIOR TO PLAY USING A VPI OR SIMILAR, RECORD RESEARCH OR DISC DOCTOR FLUIDS AND A CARBON FIBRE BRUSH BEFORE AND AFTER EACH SIDE IS PLAYED, CONISDERABLY REDUCES STATIC AND DUST TYPE CRACKLES.
THERE ARE NO COMPLETELY SILENT PRESSINGS OF 'WISH YOU WERE HERE', AT LEAST THAT WE HAVE HEARD, EVEN A BRAND NEW RECENTLY ISSUED PRESSING WAS NOT COMPLETELY SILENT. WE ARE BEING HONEST HERE, AND HAVE HAD NUMEROUS COPIES OF 'WYWH' SINCE THE DAY IT WAS RELEASED, ALWAYS IN SEARCH OF THE 'DEFINITIVE ONE' - MOST OF THEM HAVE BEEN TOSSED IN THE BARGAIN BIN IN DISAPPOINTMENT, BUT OCCASSIONALLY, AS HERE, WE CAN OFFER ONE IN THE KNOWLEDGE THAT IT IS ABOUT AS GOOD AS YOU ARE LIKELY TO FIND 40 YEARS AFTER THE EVENT - EMI PRESSED THIS ALBUM IN MASSIVE QUNATITIES AFTER THE SUCCESS OF 'DARK SIDE', AND EACH EARLY 'HTM' MASTERED PRESSING RUN WAS SUPERBLY DETAILED, BUT THE ACTUAL VINYLS THAT LEFT THE FACTORY WERE DEFINATELY SOMEWHAT HIT AND MISS. OUR SUSPICION, AFTER HEARING A FAIR AMOUNT OF THEM DOWN THE YEARS, IS THAT 'WYWH' WAS OVER-PRESSED ON EACH SUCCESSIVE STAMPER, AND SO THERE ARE A LOT OF END-OF-STAMPER-LIFE SOMEWHAT DUFF COPIES OUT THERE - AND THE ONLY WAY TO TELL THE DIFFERENCE IS TO PLAY THEM AND, TO SOME EXTENT, IGNORE THE MATRIX NUMBERS SO LONG AS THEY ARE 'HTM' MASTERS. WE HAVE HEARD GREAT A-1/B-3 PRESSINGS AND WE HAVE HEARD LOUSY ONES, THE SAME GOES FOR LATER STAMPERS - THE TRICK IS FINDING LESSER PLAYED COPIES, GIVING THEM SERIOUS CLEANING SESSIONS IF NECESSARY AND ACCEPTING THERE IS THE ODD POP AND CRACKLE OR STATIC IN PLACES, EITHER THAT OR LISTEN TO THE COMPRESSED CD (YUK) OR BUY THE NEW REMASTERED ISSUE THAT IS CLEARLY NOT FROM ANALOG SOURCES AS IT SOUNDS LIKE A CD MASTERED FOR VINYL. IN CLOSING, THE COPY WE ARE OFFERING, IS WORTHY OF ALL BUT A PERFECTIONIST, AND UNUSUALLY CONTAINS ALL THE 'ELEMENTS' OF THE ORIGINAL RELEASE, RIGHT DOWN TO THE STICKER ON THE FRONT. LOOKED AFTER, IT SHOULD PROVIDE LISTENING PLEASURE FOR MANY YEARS TO COME.

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