Budgie "Never Turn Your Back On A Friend" 1973 g/f LP

	£		21
	$		28

ARTISTE, RECORD TITLE  AND LABEL 

BUDGIE "Never Turn Your Back On A Friend"

MCA MAPS 6624 (see below for country of pressing)

An original 1973 gatefold LP with the jacket design by Roger Dean. Though the centerfold gives a UK credit, I am of the opinion that the vinyl was either pressed here or it is some sort of export copy as the matrix numbers are scratched in whilst UK ones have them machine stamped. The label is silent on this. The sonics are pretty good though.

GRADING RESULTS:

 Overall I would grade the jacket as VG++.Though there are no tears, writings or seam splits, there are some light signs of wear at the corner edges and and some light flaking spots along parts of the edges.

Visually the vinyl looks Excellent with one visible but light line on the last track  of side 1 and one on track 1 at side 2. These did not affect play or cause skips. It maintains its lustre and brilliance. Tracking at 1.7g on a LP12 mounted with an ARO arm and a Lyra Helikon SL cartridge, there are some light clicks which were not intrusive . The playing is graded as Excellent in view of this.

How I Clean and  Grade my Records

Cleaning: Cleaning is usually done on a Loricraft PRC 4 cleaning machine  using the US made Walker Audio 3 stage cleaning solution.

Playback Equipment: Playback is through a Linn LP12 turntable/Armeggedon/Naim Aro tonearm/Lyra Helikon SL cartridge and through a brace of active Naim 250s/135s into Naim DBL speakers. For 45s I use a second Linn/Lingo/Aro/Linn Troika though I change them occasionally as the arm tubes can be easily transferred from one deck to another.

I use both Goldmine and Rare Record Price Guide grading system as a guide and came up with the following:

·       Mint  I only use this for sealed items. The record is virtually unplayed and is in a brand new condition. Cover is pristine. Up till now, I have never used this grading and, chances are, never will, due to my conservative nature in matters of record grading.

·       Near Mint  Very little or negligible flaws. Faint lines or very faint creasing  on laminated covers visible under a strong light is acceptable but nothing serious. Records which show some signs of having been played such as very faint spindle marks are allowed but there should be no lessening in sound quality. .

·       Excellent   Item obviously played, though not often,and enjoyed with some slight noise. The record should be nice and shiny but may have a few light marks which should not intrude on play. Slight wear on cover is acceptable. 

·         Very Good Many more imperfections which are noticeable but not obtrusive. The record has been played several times but there should be no major deterioration in sound quality despite some noticeable surface marks and light scratches. Normal wear and tear or writings on the cover  is acceptable but there should not be any major tears.

I do not offer any records below Very Good  unless its extremely rare. 

Shipping costs

I  use brand new custom made  plastic sleeves  for both the vinyl and for the sleeve. Shipping from Singapore is always by Airmail and by registered post as it allows one to track items in case of delays. I usually post within 2 working days from date of payment. From experience, I know that it generally takes about 10 days to arrive at the destination though there might be variations of plus/minus 3 days. Shipping costs in pounds are:

UK/USA/Europe Australia Japan          10 pounds

Hongkong, Taiwan South Korea China  8.9  pounds

Each additional LP                       3GBP

Postage is via Airmail, "signed for" delivery. I prefer signed for delivery as it allows me to "chase" on my side if buyers do not get their items within 2 weeks though so far this has only happened with Italy.

 I will  inform buyers of the registration details through Email on posting.

Forms of payment that I accept include:

·       PAYPAL (preferred choice)