THE YARDBIRDS Roger The Engineer RARE ORIG UK 1966 EX+ MONO LP SUPER SOUND/COVER

	£		163
	$		216

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, 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: THE YARDBIRDS

Album Title: The Yardbirds (most often known as ‘Roger the Engineer’)

Producer(s): Paul Samwell-Smith & Simon Napier-Bell.

TRACK LIST:

Side 1: Lost Woman; Over Under Sideways Down; The Nazz Are Blue; I Can’t Make Your Way; Rack My Mind; Farewell.

Side 2: Hot House of Omagarashid; Jeff’s Boogie; He’s Always There; Turn into Earth; What Do You Want; Ever Since the World Began.

Label/Format: Columbia – original format as seen with matt, smooth surfaces. Side one has the embossed ‘K T’ tax codes, these fragile fine letters are both pristine with no rubbing, flattening or ink loss.

Label Conditions: Both very clean, fresh and attractive with only a tiny few very light, fine and faint spindle marks and no wear around the hole area.

Cat Number: SX 6063

Mode / Speed: Mono / 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: 145 grams. A typical very solid weight for this label at this time.

Country of Manufacture: England

Rarity: Rare: this is one that seldom shows up, especially in such lovely clean, little played condition with a clean and attractive, minimal aged cover. This fits all that criteria and this is the type of condition most collectors enjoy owning and listening to. An album over time that has almost reached legendary status as The Yardbirds importance to music has grown to immense proportion. Not only that, this is an utimate first pressed copy with the most prized 1 G / 1 G mother and stamper codes. To reiterate the fact this hardly rushed out of the shops, this copy was purchased over a year after release as will be explained further down, but matrix, mother and stamper codes never lie, this was the very first from the production lines and such mono examples will rarely be seen or heard a great deal better. The very inconsistent price guides massively under-value this very elusive album as a genuine first issue, this is hard to find like this, or even in any condition.

Original Year of Release: 1966

Matrix Nos: XAX 3126-1 / XAX 3127-1

Mothers / Stampers: 1 G / 1 G [the most prized for discerning collectors]

Musicians: Keith Relf – lead vocals, harmonica; Jeff Beck – lead guitar, lead vocals, bass guitar; Chris Dreja – rhythm guitar, backing vocals, piano; Paul Samwell-Smith – bass guitar, backing vocals; Jim McCarty – drums, backing vocals, percussion.

Brief Info: Although their album output was relatively small in the UK, the importance of The Yardbirds is massive. It lauched the careers of three of the world’s greatest ever rock guitarists in Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck and Jimmy Page. Originally giants in the British ‘Beat Boom’ of the early to mid-1960s, this album now blends in elements of psychedelia and many consider it to be their finest album with all the songs self-written. Issued with the title of ‘The Yardbirds’, it has become better known to collectors and fans as ‘Roger The Engineer’ from the cover drawing of the album’s engineer Roger Cameron. This only a semi-official title and many reference books still use the official band title. This is a superb album, and this really impressive copy that appears very little played, does is nigh-on maximum justice with fantastic sound and impressive looks and packaging. Mono albums of this genre rarely survive this era unscathed, but this record plays beautifully with barely anything unwanted at all – it was a genuine thrill to hear this on my stereo system that it was never really designed for. Also that fragile predominately white cover has also aged little and looks hugely impressive. Indeed, this could prove a major upgrade for discerning collectors, the 1 G / 1 G stamper details also for those who crave the earliest copies as well.

Cover Grade and Format: EXCELLENT(++): a single format with front laminate, this covers all the closed edges and ends atop of three rear external flipbacks. The main back panel is matt and smooth. Printed and made in England by Garrod & Lofthouse and including the ‘Patents pending’ text as seen in close-up. The original plain white inner sleeve is included, this first issue original did not have the sepia promotional inner sleeves, they came a little later.

Lamination & Front: Now one of the most famous covers of the mid-period of the 1960s, this is a lovely example. Just the merest hint of age – just the way many collectors like them – with a trace of darkening to the edges, but little else bar a rub, lightly darkened bottom right corner tip. The laminate retains excellent shine, freshness and clarity with no lifting and only a few fine, and light edge hairline type surface creases that few can hope to avoid as a bare minimum. With no creasing on the main graphic areas away from the very sides, and any faint marks very few and ultra faint – hardly any at all – this makes this classic front cover look hugely impressive – one to hold and really enjoy. Even under angled light, no scuffs or abrasions and barely any trace of dulling, even around the heavy record’s rim, any dulling is bordering on minuscule and finding one with less will go beyond difficult. Even the laminate line end on the right edge is clean and untoned, just a tiny burr near the very bottom corner. A classic beat-psych cover in really lovely condition.

Cover Back: I hardly need to state such a white unprotected back is highly unlikely not to age a little, but this has hardly done so again. Any discolouration or grubbiness is minimal, gentle and faint, and unless one is kept locked away in a darkened vault somewhere, finding one a great deal better will again prove incredibly difficult. What I actually like about this one is two pieces of fine writing in very neat pencil. I rarely advocate any writing on covers, but when so small and neat that actually adds true history to an album, I actually admire it. Near the top right corner is the original pre-decimal price – 16/6 – that being a mere 82.5 pence in current money. Also near the bottom right is ‘ROMFORD Aug ’67’ which dates the record’s purchase by the buyer perfectly. Also proving even first issue records did not fly out of the shops. Of course, I could have easily erased this pencil writing easily enough, but I think this add sufficient history to any record to actually make is more appealing – but that can be the choice of any future owner. As for blemishes, well few: A little gentle surface creasing near the left corner shows little and a minuscule nick on the left edge (but look hard to even see it). Apart from the merest hint of age – and even this is being very critical – there is little else to fault. It complements the impressive front perfectly. The perilous flipbacks are all superb with no end burring, lifting, only a few light laminate creases and no laminate end grubbiness. That makes a massive difference for attractiveness and these are seldom seen better either. A hint of darkening of the white card under the flipback laminate is again almost the least that can be expected. Hopefully my close-up pictures reiterate just how fine this back is as well.

Top Edge: Very straight, ultra smooth with no scuffs, chips or rubbing to the perfect laminated surface.

Bottom Edge: Largely the same up to the right tip that has a tiny rub.

Right Edge(s), and Type: Clean, mostly sharp with little wear. Any thickening or burring minimal and light as seen viewed end-on. Record enters on this edge that is guaranteed untrimmed or enhanced.

Spine and Text: Solid, straight with no compression, the ends are slightly tapered in manufacture. All text is perfect and unworn under the solid and uncracked laminate. A faint hint of darkening being somewhat critical, but absolutely no peeling or cracking at all.

Corners: Just a rub and possible tiny dink hint on the bottom right, these leading corner tips seldom avoid minor ‘contact’ issues as they generally lead the way into storage racks and cases. When I state this is the ‘biggest issue’ on this superb cover, I hope it reiterates just how fine the rest is. All retain fine to very fine shape. Any other corner wear is minimal and light and excellent shape being retained by most.

Cover Summary: A delicate cover fast approaching half-a-century, even with some laminate protection, white covers rarely age well – just look at the majority of Beatles White albums for example. With only gentle hints of it’s true vintage, this one is very impressive indeed and it should please many, if not most collectors.

The Inner Sleeve: EXCELLENT: a plain white unlined inner as used by Columbia at this time. Minimally aged with any creasing gentle near the corners. All edges unsplit with no repairs.

Vinyl Condition/Visual Grading: EXCELLENT(+): arguably better. A very fine visual copy that is very clean with equally fine shine and quite heavily pressed. A copy that has survived the ‘mono’ era impressively well with minimal plays on all the evidence. Any surface trace marks few, very light and faint as mostly seen critically under bright angled light. There are NO penetrating stylus marks at all, any minor hairlines or super-fine paper scuffs (that hardly even show) purely superficial with no audio affect whatsoever. In fact this mono-mode classic plays beautifully throughout. I for one would be delighted to find all mono albums of this vintage in this super condition. Viewed in normal daylight, both surfaces look fantastic and like the cover, it will take something very special to better it. This has suffered no abuse by worn or chipped mono stylus, and has been treated with due care and in way, way above average condition. All collectors will know the state the majority of such era mono records will be found in – this one on the other side of the vinyl spectrum. Visually a super record that should please most 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: This magnificent 1G/1G ultimate first press album plays even above it’s high visual grading with barely anything to fault. Offering strong, distortion-free sound, all frequencies are sharp and clear - sound quality is immense with a wide dynamic range and very detailed sound. Any surface sounds barely even registered and this is an exceptional clean pressing with no tracking issues*. The music and vocals being fully focused, sharp and clear with no audio deterioration at all noted. This being played on a Linn LP12 stereo turntable through ultra revealing components for which such records were never really designed. Few available copies will match, let alone outperform this rarely seen copy I feel sure. Both channels are clean and sharp with no single-channel noises or crackle, I am certain this record has been played very lightly and has been generally well stored and carefully handled, almost certainly in a non-smoking environment. Nothing spoilt my pleasure when play-grading this wonderful record. It will prove very difficult to find significantly better and merits my highest possible recommendation.

* 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.

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 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 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’.