The Beatles - Sgt Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band Nimbus Supercut - Visually EX+

	£		1,080
	$		1,431

Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band - Nimbus Supercut Pressing

The Beatles

Parlophone Label.  Cat. No. PCS 7027

Run-Off Identifiers

Side 1

YEX 637 – A1                        y3        JWK    3          MPT    V          JH        NIMBUS ENGLAND

Side 2

YEX 638 – B2                        y3        JWK    3          MPT    V          JH        NIMBUS ENGLAND

On both sides Nimbus is above England. 

NOTE: THE DESCRIPTION HAS NOW BEEN UPDATED - PLEASE SEE THE PLAY-TESTING DESCRIPTION BELOW

An exceptionally rare pressing of Sgt Peppers, even more so in this condition.  This is a Nimbus Supercut, mastered and exclusively pressed for readers of Hi-Fi Today magazine, and only available by mail order.  Only about 1,000 of these records were pressed.  It comes in a gatefold cover with the HiFi Today Nimbus Supercut sticker on the front and the usual Sgt Pepper cut-out.  It also comes in a cellophane lined audiophile standard white paper inner.  We have given the record a very light wipe with l’Art Du Son and a microfibre cloth to clear away what little dust there was and placed it in a new MFSL anti-static inner.

Nimbus records were mastered from the original master tapes through an all-valve mastering process producing a pressing of the highest quality as close as possible to the sound of the original pressing.  Additionally, they were pressed on extremely pure vinyl specially produced by ICI.  All in all, you will not get a better pressing of this record.  To quote www.yokono.co.uk, “an outstanding pressing”

You can inspect this record in person at Oxfam in Stony Stratford near Milton Keynes by prior arrangement.  Please send a message via eBay if you wish to do this as the record is not kept in the shop.

Condition - Visual

It looks unplayed and is as close to Mint as you could get.  The donor has informed us that it has only ever been played on a Thorens TD160 with SME tonearm and Shure V15 Cartridge, and then a Rega RP3 with Rega arm and cartridge.

I grade my records under a halogen lamp, which shows up every mark that needs to be seen and much more than any other light source apart from sunlight.

Side 1

One 1cm very faint sleeve withdrawal mark that is only visible under the lamp.  This mark can only be seen if the record is tilted to the ‘right ‘ angle.  No other marks, either on the playing surface, run-off and run-in.

Side 2

No marks anywhere on this side apart from one very small sleeve withdrawal mark on the run-off.

Both sides have a wonderful ‘unplayed’ gloss.

Because I can see a sleeve withdrawal hairline I have graded it as Excellent Plus.  I am certain others would grade this as Near Mint or Mint.  I do see many genuine unmarked Near Mint classical records but very, very few non-classical in this condition.

Condition - Played

I have played it on a Rega RP6 through an Arcam FMJ A19 amp and Monitor speakers.  It plays with a faint background crackle in places, but not totally throughout, that becomes more noticeable at times, particularly during quiet passages.  There are no other issues.  Based on how it plays I would grade it as Very Good.

This is totally at odds with how the record looks.  It may be that dust has got deep into the grooves and it would benefit from a deep clean.

Labels

Both labels are clean and unmarked with no spindle trails.

Cover

The cover has the beginning of a seam split at the top of the rear gatefold about 3cm long, a faint crease on the back, and the ‘g’ in Sgt Peppers on the spine has been apparently worn away along with other small parts of the title.  Otherwise, the cover is in perfect condition although, because of the aforementioned damage, it should grade no better than Good.    There is  no defacing, no marks, no edge wear, no ringwear, no other creases and the spine is otherwise crisp.

However, please note that this was a mail order record and the damage to this cover is consistent with being posted and is not uncommon.  Indeed, it is surprising it is in such fantastic condition in spite of it being exposed to the mail system.

Cut-out

Pristine.

Inner

Just light creasing.

OVERALL GRADES (record / cover - see grading guide below):

VERY GOOD+ / GOOD (see description of cover above)

Postage

The record will be properly packaged in a card mailer using stiffeners, then the whole placed in a box and surrounded by protective packing.  Postage will be signed-for and insured for the full amount wherever possible.  Postage costs as follows:

UK - Free

Europe and The Rest of the World - £50

100% of the proceeds from the sale of this record will go to Oxfam GB.

GRADING GUIDE - IMPORTANT
I visually examine all records under a strong 35w halogen lamp, which shows up ALL defects. 

I strictly grade my records according to the Rare Record Price Guide (RRPG), which, to me, means as follows:

MINT- Must be sealed 
NEAR MINT - Totally unmarked, no scratches, not even faint 'hairlines' / sleeve withdrawal marks or any other signs of having been played.
EXCELLENT - No scratches, just signs of having been played, such as the odd faint 'hairline' sleeve withdrawal mark caused by dust that is barely visible under a strong lamp, or spindle trails on the label.
VERY GOOD - The first mild scratches have begun to appear, but only very, very few.
GOOD - More scratches than Very Good and more severe, but I am confident that the record will play through without skips or sticking and will still provide a good listening experience.
FAIR - The record may not play through properly with a chance of it jumping and / or it will play with significant background noise.
POOR - It definitely won't play without skipping or sticking.

Below Near Mint I will use plus or minus with a grade to highlight fine differences.

COVER GRADES
My cover grades are EXACTLY as stated in Record Collector magazine / RRPG. Therefore, if a cover is defaced, stained or torn it CANNOT grade better than FAIR. Likewise, if any part of the contents are missing it CANNOT grade better than POOR.

About Me

I have been selling vinyl for Oxfam for nearly 9 years, during which time I have valued and sold tens of thousands of records in multiple Oxfam locations. My most successful recent item sold on eBay was ‘You’re So Young’ Promo by Shane Martin on 31st January 2019 for £804 on behalf of Oxfam, Olney and which received a review of “A++++++++++++”.

About The Seller (Oxfam):

100% of the proceeds from the sale of this item will go to Oxfam GB.  Oxfam GB is a development, relief, and campaigning organisation dedicated to finding lasting solutions to poverty and suffering around the world. There are more than 600 shops in the UK. More information at www.oxfam.org.uk.