VAN DER GRAAF GENERATOR H to HE… SUPERB UK PINK HATTER EX++ LP with SUPERB SOUND

	£		26
	$		34

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: VAN DER GRAAF GENERATOR

Album Title: H to He, Who am the Only One

Producer(s): John Anthony

TRACK LIST:

Side 1: Killer; House With No Door; The Emperor in His War-Room: Part 1 - The Emperor; Part 2 - The Room.

Side 2: Lost: Part 1 - The Dance of the Sand and Sea; Part 2 - The Dance in Frost; The Pioneers Over C.

Label/Format: Charisma – pink Mad Hatter format with matt, smooth surfaces.

Label Conditions: Both very clean, fresh and highly attractive. Just a couple of three spindle traces that hardly show and this record plays superbly.

Cat Number: CAS 1027

Mode / Speed: Stereo / 33.3 rpm.

Weight of this Record: 120 grams. A good average weight.

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.

Country of Manufacture: England

Rarity: Mid-1970s repressings are easier to find, but this band were never big sellers and finding top-pressed copies is immensely difficult. This hardly played example plays beautifully throughout with no pressing issues.

Original Year of Release: 1970. This copy from around the mid-1970s.

Matrix Nos: CAS 1027 1Y//2 420 05 1 1 3 & CAS 1027 2Y//2 420 05 1 1 1 0

Brief Artist & Album Info: ‘H to He’ was the third album and another progressive classic. Fronted by the fairly eccentric and intense vocalist Peter Hammill, VDGG made some of the most complex and inspired sounds of the early to mid-70s. David Jackson, the saxophonist often played two simultaneously creating an incredible sound. His electric reeds were heavily treated and made the dual saxes sound more like eight! Musically complex using constantly changing time structures and like fellow progsters, King Crimson their albums have great highs and lows in volume. This album preceded the legendary Pawn Hearts, that still for me ranks as one of the greatest true progressive rock albums ever. A marvellous original band that were under-appreciated at the time, but adored by the few (myself included) – Hammill remains one of rock’s great exponents of originality and mild extreme. This record on offer is not a first issue, but IS a beauty – and something of a change – it plays superbly with hardly anything unwanted. Always delighted (when possible) to be able to state this. The problems I have heard and encountered with early Charisma records, especially the textured label pressings, make them a lottery. Even mint, barely played examples can hide the most horrendous pressing noises and distortion – simply pressing flaws that cannot be seen but certainly can be heard. So it is always with a certain trepidation I play any copy of this band’s albums. Well this one failed to disappoint – this now being pressed by Philips – it has no pressing noises or crackle, simply top quality audio sound and powerful dynamics that all remain focused and precise. The highly challenging wear-prone sleeve is in very fine order as well with minimal traces of wear, it being practically the same as the first issue. So one to play and enjoy without the potential high cost of a first pressing of which few will match this for clean and reliable sound.

Cover Grade and Format: EXCELLENT(+): an unlaminated gatefold format with matt smooth surfaces. Printed and made in England by Howards, first ones were by the E. J. Day Group. It includes the Philips/Polydor style soft lined inner sleeve.

Cover Front: The imprint and publishing credits aside, this cover is pretty much the same as the first issue, and also just as prone to all forms of wear. This front is very nice indeed and one of the best I have seen to date. Hardly any rubbing (small tip rubs apart), clean and fresh with any of the few creases or marks, mostly light and faint. One that will prove hard to find much better.

Cover Back: Very unusual to state, the back is even better, instantly noticeable is the lack of ringwear, again this is rarely avoided. Hardly any creasing and any rubbing to the main surface minuscule, again a little on the corner tips. There is a vintage ‘Downtown Records’ sticker near the top right, this will probably remove, but I left it alone. These retailer stickers were put on covers to promote the shops, and they really do stick.

Cover Inner Gatefold: The inside is superb and has barely anything of note to fault.

Top Edges: Both straight, flat and near flush with minimal wear, a gentle rub to the front just right of centre.

Bottom Edges: At least as fine with just a rub to the right back corner tip.

Right Edge(s), and Type: The front has a real tucked and folded end that is very straight and unworn. The back entrances edges are clean, crisp and sharp with minimal traces of thickening, even seen viewed end-on. No trimming or enhancements guaranteed.

Spine and Text: A fantastic spine: solid, quite thick, straight with hardly any compression. This folded near square, so the edges meeting up quite closely and just a fraction off parallel. Barely any surface or fold rubbing with all text unworn – an ultra fine central line from opening being totally natural of course.

Corners: Light to moderate corner tip rubs – no great surprise on a dark cover – very fine to excellent shape retained with no knocks or dinks.

Cover Summary: A cover seldom seen this clean, finding one with a great deal less wear will never prove easy. Only the imprint gives away it is not a first printing, and in no way is this inferior. A really lovely example to please many, if not most collectors.

The Inner Sleeve: AROUND EXCELLENT: and arguably better, only marked down for the usual gentle age darkening mainly near the seam adhesive. The early plain white inners now replaced with better soft lined Polydor style inners. It has two crisp undamaged window circles, hardly any creasing and all edges unsplit with no repairs.

Vinyl Condition/Visual Grading: EXCELLENT(++): very clean with excellent shine and solidly pressed. This looks hardly played with just a couple of super-fine hairlines on side two as seen critically under bright angled light. There are no penetrating scratches and sound quality is superb and clean throughout. Pressed on pure and little used vinyl, audio quality seldom gets heard better for a very challenging recording.

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 magnificent progressive rock classic plays even above it’s high visual grading with very little to fault - a bold statement I know, but true. Offering strong, totally distortion-free sound, all frequencies are sharp and clear. Sound quality is very high with a wide dynamic range and very detailed sound with no tracking issues*. Complex sounds on a challenging album, these intricate grooves are so easily damaged by less than worthy record players, few earlier copies will play this focused and sharp throughout. Any surface sounds are minimal – the odd gentle tick or crackle trace on a very quiet passage nigh-on impossible to avoid – remember the highs and lows in VDGG’s music. Charisma records did vary in pressing quality and such is the vast range of quiet to loud, silence throughout is near impossible on vinyl but this gives of it’s very best. The Philips/Polydor pressings always more reliable as well. Both channels are clean and sharp with superb sonic delivery of the music and vocals. This one was a real thrill to hear this clean and the inbuilt power and dynamics within these vintage grooves was a joy from start to finish – this still being a record around 40 years old. It will prove very difficult to find better and merits strong 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’.