THE BEATLES - Abbey Road - SUPERB, HARDLY PLAYED UK 1969 LP, SUPERB SOUND/COVER.

	£		72
	$		95

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: THE BEATLES

Album Title: Abbey Road.

Producer(s): George Martin.

TRACK LIST:

Side 1: Come Together; Something; Maxwell’s Silver Hammer; Oh! Darling; Octopus’s Garden; I Want You (She’s So Heavy).

Side 2: Here Comes the Sun; Because; You Never Give Me Your Money; Sun King; Mean Mr Mustard; Polythene Pam; She Came in Through the Bathroom Window; Golden Slumbers; Carry That Weight; The End; Her Majesty.

Label/Format: Apple – with matt, smooth surfaces and very dark artwork, this one omits the song title ‘Her Majesty’ as can be seen on my picture.

Label Conditions: Both very clean, fresh and attractive. Only under angled light do a tiny few light, fine and faint spindle traces show. Hardly the rarest record I have ever offered, but one of the finest, this copy appears hardly played, that for this incredibly popular album, is quite Something.

Cat Number: PCS 7088.

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: 140 grams. This can be regarded as quite heavy for this album.

Country of Manufacture: England.

Rarity: Moderate: a huge seller of course. Conditions are always the prime factor, and this one is heavily pressed with very dark labels, omits ‘Her Majesty’ on the label, and most importantly, has been little played with a fantastic cover that has barely aged at all. Even the soft paper black inner is impressive and UNSPLIT (with NO repairs).

Original Year of Release: 1969.

Matrix Nos: YEX 749-2 / YEX 750-1

Mother/Stamper Codes: 2 M / 2 GR [in the scale of numbers pressed, these are quite low andn early]

Musicians: John Lennon – lead, harmony and background vocals; lead and rhythm guitars; acoustic and electric pianos, Hammond organ and Moog synthesiser; white noise generator and sound effects; percussion; Paul McCartney – lead, harmony and background vocals; lead, rhythm and bass guitars; acoustic and electric pianos, Hammond organ and Moog synthesiser; sound effects; handclaps and percussion; George Harrison – harmony and background vocals; lead, rhythm and bass guitars; Hammond organ, harmonium and Moog synthesizer; handclaps and percussion; lead vocals; Ringo Starr – drums and percussion; background vocals; lead vocals. With: George Martin – piano, harpsichord, organ and harmonium; percussion; Billy Preston – Hammond organ; Mal Evans – anvil.

Brief Info: The penulimate eleventh Beatles album and a masterpeice that most-all will know more than well. I do not intend wasting too time with details and will concentrate more on the conditions.

Cover Grade and Format: EXCELLENT(++): a single fully laminated format. No ‘Her Majesty’ listed. This has the standard aligned Apple logo. Printed and made in England by Garrod & Lofthouse International Ltd. This very copy includes the black one window hole, soft paper black inner sleeve.

Lamination – Front & Back: One of the most famous covers in the history of popular music, and this is a superb example that can be enjoyed almost to the maximum. Even though fully laminated, these often fail to wear well and so many seen are tired and aged, often badly dulled, creased with major laminate issues. Well this one is simply superb with little to fault. The issues so often arise from the card being so thin which is the route of the laminate problems. This has just a couple of very small lifts on the spine edge, and in terms of adhesion, this one is very fine and few are ever ‘perfect’. There is a little ‘dotting’ seen under light, but adhesion is near complete on this one and with normal full-on viewing, this is a truly beautiful example. In the past when offering one of these, I have been asked ‘what is the colour of the graphics like’? Well I know exactly why people ask this. Some versions of this cover, most being slightly or much later examples, have the artwork less vibrant and pale. Well this one is fantastic with rich deep hue, this in that respect, one of the best deep coloured ones I have seen for some time. Combine that with a gorgeous shine, freshness and clarity and hardly any creasing, you have an Abbey Road front and back to really admire. There is minimal pressing from the thick record, and any dulling very gentle and faint as well, this again only seen with scrutiny under direct angled light. Indeed, this has high upgrade potential as well, these slightly more flimsy, very thin card early printings are just a little ‘different’ for spectacular looks and feel than later ones, and this one really does cut-the-Mustard.

Top & Bottom Edges: Barely any wear to either, very thin as these early ones are, smooth with no chipping or scuffs. Also mainly straight without the bowing so many are seen with.

Right Edge(s), and Type: Clean, mostly very sharp with any thickening or burring tiny and minimal, hardly anything really, this as viewed end-on. Also viewing like that, is when the thinness of card is made clear: to keep this popular, and usually well-handled cover in this type of condition over such a long period, takes ultimate care and dedication in storage. Record enters on this edge that is guaranteed untrimmed or enhanced in any way. The fine unprotected laminate end-lines show barely any wear at all.

Spine and Text: Little short of immaculate: very solid, but again, incredibly thin as seen on my spine pictures. Still smooth, unworn or scuffed, also very straight without the usual bowing. All text is pristine perfect and unworn under the solid and uncracked laminate. For good measure, perfectly centred too on such a narrow depth. This appears to avoided any noteworthy compression, this spine was simply made thin, as per all the edge folds.

Corners: Clearly these are very fragile, so having barely any rubbing, no dinks and with excellent or better shape means, they are pretty exceptional.

Cover Summary: One to hold and admire – as stated, hardly the rarest cover in the world – but few available ones with the deepest colour, thinnest card and barely any wear are much harder to find. A superb all-round example of this most famous cover with its’s iconic artwork. The subject of much debate and a favourite for pub quizzers for which I have used many times. A tip for any quizzer to remember the order – HMS Lennon – easy. A no frills standard early-made example with high upgrade potential, this beauty should please most collectors.

The Inner Sleeve: EXCELLENT: arguably better as this is hard to to find with all edges unsplit or repaired. This being the somewhat specialised typical Apple black unlined inner made with soft paper that tears, creases and even goes woolly on the edges if rubbed even lightly. This has a little creasing but barely any wooliness, the one open window circle also little short of pristine. This album came from the same collection as the mono ‘Yellow Submarine’ I am currently offering that also includes this 1969 style black inner. Clearly the owner bought all his Beatles albums early. Not a perfect inner, but still a very nice one and rarely fully intact.

Vinyl Condition/Visual Grading: EXCELLENT(++): very clean with excellent shine, intense black and quite heavily pressed. Any surfaces traces tiny, very few and ultra fine and faint as seen very critically under bright angled light. Few early Abbey Roads are seen a great deal better than this, I am certain this has hardly even been played, and then with utmost care on a quality record player. Also these are harder to find pressed to this thickness and weight. Like the cover, this sets a very highs standard and will not be easy to find much better. Visually, it should again please most.

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: This evergreen Beatles classic plays up to, and most-all even above it’s visual grading with very little to fault. Strong, distortion-free sound, all frequencies are sharp and clear - sound quality is very high with a wide dynamic range and very detailed sound, also, as you will expect, beautifully produced. Any surface sounds are minimal indeed – the odd sporadic tick nigh-on impossible to avoid, especially when played on such clinical and revealing equipment, and there are no tracking issues*. The production, detail and sonic delivery of the music never fails to impress on really clean examples and nothing beats a heavy-pressed early-made copy that’s for sure. These offer just that little more extra I feel – that tiny X-Factor the purists really appreciate. And that is why, like myself, the audiophile listeners spend vast sums on quality hi-fi, to glean every detail, not matter how tiny for maximum audio pleasure. This copy could prove difficult to find significantly better and can be strongly recommended – such clean copies are considerably harder to find than you may think. And very special albums deserve the finest copies that can be found.

* 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’.