Traffic "John Barleycorn Must Die"German Pink Island LP

	£		32
	$		42

ARTISTE, RECORD TITLE  AND LABEL 

TRAFFIC "John Barleycorn Must Die"

Island 6339 016 (pressed in Germany)

An original German pink Island issue housed in with the laminated and reverse covers. It differs from the UK issue in that not only is that it is housed in a single jacket but the artwork is different. The last time I put up one of these, it fetched in excess of 20GBP.

GRADING RESULTS:

 The jacket is generally VG++. The front is free of major flaws barring some light smudges at the top and bottom edges at the spine area. The reverse has a crease at the top right hand corner. There is a stubborn plastic strip bearing a name at the bottom right hand side. It does not seem to respond to any solvents. I did manage to slice off a circle on it and poured applied solvent hoping it might reach from the inside but was not successful.

Visually the vinyl has no lines or spindle marks.  It maintains it lustre and brilliance.  Side 1 of the label has the same plastic sticker. Tracking at 1.7g on a LP12 mounted with an ARO arm and a Lyra Helikon SL cartridge, there was some light extraneous surface noise in the beginning of side 1 but it was not too intrusive and declined. I would rate the playing 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  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)