RARE: Five Keys "On the Town" SLP 4003

$

62

Another difficult to find record, graded conservatively.

Cover presents well and is in working order. Has had some repairs using matching acid free paper & water based adhesives. Spine intact with minor wear spots but spine text still readable. Cover has minimal ring wear and very light discoloring of white paper areas. No tape!

The vinyl is still shiny, plenty of marks but none deep enough to cause skips.

Play grade. Typical Score pressing, a bit of hiss as it plays but that seems to be normal with all the Score issues. Scattered pops & clicks but very listenable. On the FIDELITY side I would rate this a good pressing. Three stars out of five.

Now the fun---Low start of $3.89...which was about what this would have cost new. As in six--REAL silver walking liberty or Franklin half dollars, 3 silver Washington quarters, a silver Roosevelt dime, an old Jefferson nickel, and four real copper Lincoln pennies with the laurel of wheat on the back.

BUT I am willing to settle for paypal if you dont have the silver coins handy!

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I have been collecting records since 1982 and I believe that the listening and enjoyment of these collectibles is the most important factor. I love music and I believe that a clean, well pressed, and well treated vinyl disc produces the most natural "in the room" sound of any reasonably available format.

Have you ever heard a CD "break" into audio noise on the high notes? I have…..too many times to count. This is because the CD format can only handle a small amount of digital information compared to the analogue vinyl format. Throw your CDs away and start buying vinyl folks :)
My thoughts on records and my "business model":

I think that, as vintage records grow older and more valuable, it is time to think of them the way book dealers think of "first edition" books. I handle each disc and cover like the first edition it is. Even a non-mint disc is a first edition and, if it has not been abused, can be a perfect addition to your collection. In fact, a well pressed record with light "sleeve marks" will still sound better than a poorly pressed copy that sounds muted on the high notes or has a muddy base sound.

As I say, I dont limit sales to mint perfect records, so I will always describe any significant defect on the vinyl or sleeve as well as provide photos.
I always clean—but I clean lightly and will sometimes recommend a professional clean—because I believe that a lot of audiophiles and collectors prefer to clean their vinyl in a specific way.
I will never use scotch tape or any other non-archival process to repair a sleeve. When needed, I have a specific method using an organic adhesive and archival paper or matched paper salvaged from an album of the same period.
Any repairs will be noted clearly, even when not easy to spot in the photos.
In most cases I will put record into a lined sleeve but will include an original sleeve whenever possible.
I play grade 98% of the time unless it is a sealed album or a valuable record that is more of a filler than a good listening copy.* Whenever possible I will also provide listening notes as pressings vary in quality. When I do, I will rate the sound quality as a 3 / 4 / 5 (*** / **** / *****) star rating with a few thoughts about the dynamics if possible. This rating is not a guarantee, just my opinion and thoughts about the sound.
I always grade conservatively according to Goldmine standards on appearance and condition.
I will carefully pack in a proper record mailer and I will never coat the album in a cocoon of tape and plastic as it is too easy to damage the album (why, why, why, do some sellers do that?)

*I play grade my albums using a vintage Shure M62 cartridge with brand new diamond stylus, through a vintage Pioneer tube amp (44wpc) and out a set of vintage Pioneer loudspeakers. Although the tubes can add "warmth", the simplicity of the set up means there is no Dolby or other automatic equalization or other interference with the natural sound of the disc. It will be very hard for a badly pressed disc to sound good, but very easy for a good quality disc to sound the way it is supposed to.