THE BEATLES For Sale - ORIG UK 1964 '1st PRESS' MONO EX LP. A VERY FINE EXAMPLE.

	£		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 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: The Beatles For Sale.

Producer(s): George Martin.

TRACK LIST:

Side 1: No Reply; I’m a Loser; Baby’s in Black; Rock and Roll Music; I’ll Follow the Sun; Mr. Moonlight; Kansas City/Hey-Hey-Hey-Hey!

Side 2: Eight Days a Week; Words of Love; Honey Don’t; Every Little Thing; I Don’t Want to Spoil the Party; What You’re Doing; Everybody’s Trying to Be My Baby.

Label/Format: Parlophone – with matt smooth surfaces. All the details seen meet the criteria for a ‘first’ pressing.

Label Conditions: Both clean, fresh and attractive with only light, fine, very few and faint spindle marks and no wear around the hole area. In Beatles terms, tiny in number and size, as most will know, their albums were usually played to near destruction often on the basic of heavy tracking mono record players. A gentle trace of dulling on side two at the 3 o’clock position, quite likely there from new.

Cat Number: PMC 1240.

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: 153 grams. A typical heavy pressing from the era of quality.

Country of Manufacture: England.

Rarity: Again I state, few, indeed if any standard issue Beatles albums are rare in the true sense of the word, most all sold in vast numbers. But condition is paramount, and are certainly far less easy to find in better or lesser-played conditions. When is comes to the more common albums especially, I will only offer them in very fine to near top conditions. They will not always be ‘pristine’ or ‘immaculate’, popular vintage mono albums seldom are. If I waited for those all the time, I would realistically never offer any Beatles album at all. But they will always be of a high standard with sound to match. Such copies are becoming increasingly harder to find for sure, and I also remind, I play all my records on a Linn LP12 Sondek with major upgrades through Naim amplification. I can be argued, it is hardly even fair to play mono records around 50-year-old on such a revealing stereo turntable. They were never really designed or made to be played on such equipment, so any blemishes have little chance to hide. But when found clean, especially in lovely neat little worn covers, they are a thing of immense beauty. This example on offer easily meets my criteria, but is not ‘pristine’.

Original Year of Release: 1964

Matrix Nos: XEX 503-4N / XEX 504-4N

Mothers / Stampers:

Run-Out Groove Etchings: 4 ARH / 1 AMM

Musicians: John Lennon – lead, harmony and backing vocals, rhythm and acoustic guitars, piano, harmonica, tambourine, handclaps; 12-string lead guitar; Paul McCartney – lead, harmony and backing vocals, bass guitar, acoustic guitar, piano, Hammond organ, handclaps; George Harrison – harmony and backing vocals, lead vocals, lead, acoustic and 12-string guitars, African drum, handclaps; Ringo Starr – drums, tambourine, maracas, timpani, cowbell, packing case, bongos, lead vocals. George Martin played piano.

Brief Info: The fourth UK Beatles album, and the only one with no UK singles included, it was also their first to include a gatefold cover. Some consider it to be their least satisfying album – not really sure why myself – but if did not stop it selling in vast numbers. Anyway, most will know all about this anyway, I will concentrate on the conditions.

Cover Grade and Format: Very critically graded EXCELLENT(+). Given to how delicate this one is, I can even argue an extra (+). A gatefold format with the front and back laminated, it has the first outline style ‘mono’ on the top front right. The inside is matt and smooth with two angle-cut external flipbacks on the top and bottom of the right side. The front is only single thickness card, and as the record is stored via the centre fold inside, this makes this very delicate. Especially so with thick heavyweight records being insert and removed, often on many occasions. With a fairly thick spine being thin and certainly understrength, this area is highly prone to splits and damage. It even has pinched spine ends in manufacture, making them near impossible to keep in shape on any cover that received regular handling and usage. Printed and made in England, uncredited, presume Garrod & Lofthouse. Includes fragile tracing paper type lined inner sleeve.

Lamination – Front & Back: Apart from the somewhat ill-conceived Let it Be box, this is probably the most fragile of The Beatles covers as outlined above. Most are seen tatty, badly creased with damages and splits, this one is very impressive indeed with not a great deal to fault. The laminate both sides retains superb shine, freshness and clarity with no lifting and nothing more than a tiny super-fine edge hairlines that hardly show. Finding the front especially so flat and neat with barely any laminate issues or major creases is always a challenge. Very gentle traces of dulling on the back is only seen with scrutiny under angled light, that is some achievement with a 150+ gram record inside for around 50 years. There is hardly even any rim impression. All will know just how fragile the corners are on this cover, but these have little wear either, only small tip rubs or creases and still neat compared to most found. The pictures both sides are fantastic with deep unfaded or aged colour and freshness. Also the edges of that single thickness front card are crisp with minimal to no traces of burring or thickening. So both sides can be held and viewed with strong admiration, that is so often not the case these days on the very early-made example.

Cover Inner Gatefold: The inside is equally impressive with little to fault. That crucial area at the top and bottom of the spine ends shows minimal weakening or softening, and there are NO splits or repairs. Even the opening edge itself is ultra crisp and sharp. It could never be a good idea to pinch the spine ends on a cover like this, but it was done anyway. So this makes these ends ever more prone to damage and misshaping. I consider these areas exceptional and few seem to show up like it now. Both flipbacks are strong and unlifted, clean and sharp. The matt dark surfaces of the card also have barely any hints of fingermarks or handling, that is another plus on such a popular cover of this immense age.

Top Edges: The folded laminated back edge is superb: very straight, smooth and unworn up to the right tip that has a tiny rub. Even the front has not thickened or burred and is as crisp, neat and uncurled as you could wish to see.

Bottom Edges: The folded back is as per above – superb. The front has minor thickening, being the storage edge, will any not have traces as a bare minimum?

Right Edge(s), and Type: The back folded edge again is superb, unscuffed, straight and solid. The freont again crisp with barely any hint of thickening or burring. This is almost practically flush to the right as well, allowing for tiny slant to the spine (and I do mean TINY). This proves this edge has not been trimmed, just the very tips have minute creases (being critical).

Spine and Text: This, along with the same area inside, are the most fragile, wear and damage-prone areas of this cover. So to find one like this is some achievement – I am not saying ‘perfect’, but this will take some beating. Solid, straight with minimal compression and not crushed or flattened. Only single thinnish card, and understrength for the purpose really, this has to support the cover’s weight and that heavy record. Folded square, so the edges meet up perfectly together and parallel, any slant is minimal indeed, and I can guarantee, this has NOT been rammed back into position. It is naturally erect and quite robust for such a flimsy design. Even the ends are pinched making shape retention all the more challenging, almost to the point of near impossibility if used (as nigh-on all were). Just the bottom end has a minor scuff trace, that apart, all the laminate is solid with no noteworthy cracks or flaking. All text is perfect and unworn under the solid and clear laminate, the card beneath still being a fine shade or white – not yellowed or toned.

Corners: There is some tiny tip rubbing with equally small and fine tip creasing here and there. Fine and mostly very fine (arguably better) shape retained. Finding these better will also prove very difficult – none have any enhancements whatsoever.

Cover Summary: A very strong all-round example of this immensely unforgiving and fragile 1960’s cover, one that will prove very difficult to find much better. This beautiful item should please many, if not most collectors. The absolute perfectionts can carry on looking – and good luck, they do exist for those with the deepest pockets.

The Inner Sleeve: EXCELLENT: these initially had a tracing paper style lined inner, these are also fragile. But both window circles and the lining are both superb and totally undamaged. One corner crease and some natural crinkle is the least to be expected with a little gentle darkening from age. All edges are unsplit with no repairs, the top recessed entrance crisp and neat with minimal thickening. All strong indicators the record has received light usage.

Vinyl Condition/Visual Grading: EXCELLENT: again, arguably better for such a piece for all the obvious reasons. A very fine visual copy that is very clean with equally fine shine and heavily pressed. A copy with minimal plays on all the evidence with any surface marks being ultra fine and faint as seen critically under bright angled light. There are no penetrating stylus scratches. These whispy super-fine traces hardly even register in normal room light, I am sure these are the result of dry cloth ‘cleaning’ and totally superficial and non-sounding. It was the recommended method of ‘cleaning’ at the time, but no matter how soft the cloth was, spreading the dust or debris on the surface will cause these ultra-fine marks. I also use the term ‘cleaning’ loosely as well, all it really did was to push the surface dust into the grooves making matters worse, actually increasing static and surface noise. That is why I invested years ago in a VPI professional cleaning machine that actually removes dust and grime, not spread it about, improving sound massively and adding considerably to stylus life by reducing wear by inground debris. A stylus is made to contact and track very clean grooves, not act as a chisel to hack out inground dust. Apart from my actual audio equipment, it is the best investment I have made for my small business. Anyway, visually a very fine record, but not for the ultimate visual purist, but this will please many, and possibly the majority of 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 vintage album plays up to, and most even above it’s high visual grading with little to fault. Sound quality is very high with a wide dynamic range and very detailed sound. Any surface sounds are minimal indeed and no pops or clicks were heard, but very gentle traces noted on the last couple of tracks on side one – I am talking really low level with any loss of clarity minimal. I have explained already what I play my records on, my LP12 is ruthlessly revealing and little escapes its clinical reproduction. Most songs are crisp, sharp with ultimate mono detail and delivery. Very well pressed with no tracking issues*, not absolutely pristine, but then again, for such an early issue, this is still very impressive and will please most bar the absolute audiophile purists. Even being so scrutinised on equipment it was not really designed for, little of any real note spoilt my listening pleasure. There are challenging tracks on this album, the most difficult being ‘Mr. Moonlight’, finding an early mono that will play it with crystal clarity is beyond difficult. Any clipping or surface sound on this one minimal and gentle. A copy that could prove difficult to find significantly better and unless perfection is mandatory, merits high recommendation. Overall, an impressive all-round copy with blemishes, but very nice indeed nonetheless.

* 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’.