Grover Washington Jr. Winelight Nautilus NR39 SuperDisc 1/2 Speed Master LP

$

21

Grover Washington, Jr.
Winelight
Nautilus NR 39
Half Speed Mastered "SuperDisc"
Including a printed photo/original production notes insert
Pressed on Teldec Virgin Vinyl For Low Noise

  Item Details
Manufactured in: USA
Recorded: At Rosebud Recording Studio, June - July 1980
Lacquer Cut By: Bruce Leek and Richard Donaldson at IAM Cutting Center
Pressing: By KM Records
Original Label: Elektra Records 6E-305 (1980)
This Label: Nautilus NR39
This Issue: 1980
Runout Deadwax Matrix Numbers:
Side 1: (etch:) NR39-A6 &#x263A KM1309-A6 + (stamp:) KM (etch:) +
Side 2: (etch:) NR39-B6 &#x263A KM1309-B6 + (stamp:) KM (etch:) +
Half speed mastering allows the cutting head twice as much time to render the groove.  This means more fine detail on playback (especially in the highs) and less waver on long  sustained notes. 
Was bought new by this seller many years ago and now offered from his private collection (you have absolutely known provenance). Has had low # of plays only on an expertly setup high-end audiophile turntable, arm, and cartridge. Has never been exposed to heat or tobacco smoke and always stored vertically in a specially designed record cabinet (Rackit) to prevent warpage.
Was cleaned on a VPI HW 16 with Audio Intelligent solutions and ultra-pure water rinse (50X purer than distilled water) before my pre-sale sound check. I wear nitrile surgical gloves while cleaning and play testing to avoid any chance of transferring finger oils to the vinyl.
Very sensitive play testing was performed straight off my Ayre P-5xe fully balanced phono preamp over Sennheiser HD 600 headphones using a Schiit Audio Valhalla 2 tube headphone amp fitted with Voskhod Soviet matched tubes (see last photo).
Track list
1: Winelight, Let It Flow (For Dr. J), In The Name Of Love.

2: Take Me There, Just The Two Of Us, Make Me A Memory (Sad Samba).

I never take "distant" photos nor the so-prevalent type with the LP sticking halfway out of the jacket. I take close-ups under photo lamps so you can see nearly everything I describe in the jacket grading. It is virtually impossible to know the true vinyl condition from any photograph. That takes very bright and close visual inspection PLUS play testing with thorough coverage on high resolution equipment.
Grading Details
Note: Record grading by text characters is subjective and does not fully describe quality levels. Please see photos and my detailed descriptions below.

Outer Jacket Inspection:
NM-
Minus is for small light crease on front lower left and rear lower right corner. There is a small "bump" mainly visible on the front lower right corner. The rest of all surfaces are free of any rubbing wear and are glossy and smooth (like new).

Vinyl visual inspection:
After cleaning, surface visuals were inspected under high intensity halogen light. I rotated and tilted the record in multiple angles with my eyes a few inches away from the vinyl. Both sides are indistinguishable from a brand new record out of the jacket. The Side 2 label has a LAST vinyl wear preventative sticker. I usually treated all my records with the LAST preservative before their first play.

Play Testing:
NM/NM
Extensive play testing was performed after visual inspection. I listened to the beginning, middle, and end of each track for a few minutes on each needle drop. Some tracks were played all the way thru when digitizing my favorites to 192k/24-bit WAV files.

My listening notes for Side 1 said: "clear, clean, perfect tonal balance against a dead quiet background." The Xylophone on track 1 really shows off the advantages of 1/2 speed mastering as the leading edge of the hammer taps are captured perfectly. Transition grooves were very quiet and during the music there was rarely a tick to be heard. Side 2 was very much the same as Side 1. The only exceptions were some low level crackle heard in the outer grooves leading into Track 1 but then silence once that track started. The transition grooves on Side 2 had some individual low level ticks I could pick up on my headphones. The only track that was not near dead silent on side 1 was track 2. If I cranked up the volume on my amp I could hear some occasional low level random ticks. I'm certain they are just artifacts of the original pressing and not a result of any wear or handling on my part. In total, my assessment was NM play quality for both sides.

Packaging

• Record will be placed outside the jacket to protect against seam splitting.
• Original inner sleeve is included separately.
• Record has been placed into a new "rice paper" sleeve, as the original, even if plastic lined, may be holding onto some dust. This will keep vinyl surfaces clean during shipping and ultimate buyer usage.
• Outer jacket is contained in a new clear polyethylene protective sleeve.
• Sent in good quality record mailer with cardboard stiffeners.

• Shipping will be via USPS Media Mail for a flat charge of $3.98 per single album sale.
• A combined shipping discount is available on multiple sales completed within 5 business days($3.98 plus $0.50 for each additional LP).
• If you intend to buy more than one LP do not pay immediately but wait for my all-combined invoice. A discount for the combined items will show on that invoice. Then, once payment is received, the items will ship.