Weavers Reunion Carnegie 1986 Analog Productions APF 005 TAS List NM Play Test

$

28

• The Weavers.
• Reunion At Carnegie Hall 1963.
• Limited Edition, Numbered (#4655), Audiophile Reissue, HQ-180 Gram Pressing.
• Awarded BEST OF THE BUNCH (highest level): Popular By The Absolute Sound Audiophile Magazine.
• Mastered From Original Tapes Through Custom All-tube Electronics Including Cutting Amps.

Item Details
Manufactured in: USA
Recorded: May 2&3, 1963 At Carnegie Hall, New York, NY
Lacquer Cut By: The Mastering Lab, Ojai, CA
Pressing By: Record Technology Incorporated Camarillo, CA
Original Vanguard Records Issue: 1963
This Is An Analog Productions Reissue: 1986
Label: Analog Productions APF 005
Runout Deadwax Matrix Numbers:
Side 1: (etch:) APF-005-A-2 (stamp:) TML-X
Side 2: (etch:) APF-005-B-2 (stamp:) TML-X

Was bought new by this seller many years ago and now offered from his private collection (you have absolutely known provenance). Has had just a few 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 brand) to prevent warpage.
All vinyl sides are cleaned on a VPI HW-16.5 record cleaner. I use the Audio Intelligent "One-Step" formula that requires no rinsing and leaves no residue. It is alcohol free and uses enzyme agents to remove pressing mold-release compounds, fungi & bacteria, finger oils, and many other environmental contaminants. Made with laboratory-grade pure water(50X purer than distilled water). I neutralize residual static charge from both vinyl and new inner sleeve with a Milty Zerostat. 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 NOS Soviet Voskhod matched tubes (see last photo).

Track list
For track listings, please see my attached record label photographs.

I take close-ups under photo lamps so you can see nearly everything I describe in the jacket grading. After cleaning I use very bright light and close visual inspection on each side to assign "visual-only" grades. However, I always perform play testing with thorough coverage on high resolution equipment to assign play grades.
Grading Details
Note: Grading LPs by text characters is subjective and at best are only a guide as no two used records are of exactly the same quality. I do not use "EX" grades as my VG+ is right below "NM-." I never sell a "G" play grade and very rarely ever sell a "VG" play grade. Please, refer to both my photo evidence and detailed descriptions to judge by YOUR OWN grading standards. Questions are always welcome. Play quality is personally most important to me so vinyl visual qualities are separately graded and described in detail for your complete assessment.

Outer Jacket Inspection/grading:
(Front Face/Rear Face)
NM-/NM
The only thing to quibble about on the front face are tiny bits of rub wear on all 4 corners, and a slight crease at the spine just below the blue "R." The crease does not break color except right at the edge with a tiny white dot. Otherwise the front face is very NM. The rear face is visually near perfect.

Vinyl Visual Inspection/Grading:
(Side 1/Side 2)
NM/NM
Both sides looked perfect.

Play Testing/Grading:
(Side 1/Side 2)
NM+/NM+
Extensive play testing was performed after visual inspection (continuous written notes were taken). I listen to the beginning, middle, and end of each track for a few minutes on each needle drop. When the track width is noticeably greater I take more play samples to get good coverage. I also listen to all lead-in, lead-out and transition grooves between each track. Some tracks get played all the way through if I digitize my favorites to 96k/24-bit WAV files for archiving. That allows me to go back and re-check some of my notes on digital playback in ProTools. Here is rundown of each side from those notes.

Side 1 Play
This side was graded NM with an added plus because it is in that rare handful of albums I have play tested being both near-perfect pressings and indistinguishable from a virgin first play out of the sleeve. 5 of the 7 tracks had zero vinyl noise on all play samples. There are no silent trans-grooves as they contain audience applause going into the next track. Only T4 and T6 had a single HF "micro tick" (at threshold of audibility in my headphones) in the first few seconds of play. Gave it a NM+ because it is so close to the limits of vinyl mastering and pressing perfection.

Side 2 Play
This side was just as mint sounding as S1. 5 of the 7 tracks had zero noise on all play samples. T4 is the quietest recording consisting of only a soft male vocal and gently-played acoustic guitar. I detected only a few isolated and totally non-distracting LF "micro ticks." This is the track that convinced me the pressing quality at release was at the highest levels of vinyl manufacturing quality control. T6 had only a single LF micro-tick. Same overall reasoning as T1 to add a plus to the easy NM grade.

In addition to the pressing quality, this copy earns its highest level of TAS praise. It has extraordinary clarity, imaging precision, depth, and natural percussion transient accuracy. Whoever wins the auction will be impressed.

Packaging

• Records are placed outside the jacket to protect against seam splitting.
• Original inner sleeves (if still present) are included separately.
• All records will be placed into new MFSL-style "rice paper" plastic sleeves. Any original sleeves may be holding onto some dust and if paper lined could even be abrasive. This will keep vinyl surfaces clean and well protected during shipping and ultimately during buyer usage.
• Outer jacket is contained in a new clear polyethylene protective sleeve.
• Sent in high quality record mailer with cardboard stiffeners and all corners double-taped.

Shipping

• Shipping will be via USPS Media Mail for a flat charge of $4.75 per single album sale. eBay keeps raising the rates for Media Mail but I still don't pass all of that or any costs for shipping materials on to the buyer. I do try to reduce additional costs for my customers.
• A combined shipping discount is available on multiple sales completed on the same day ($4.75 plus $0.50 for each additional LP).
• If you do buy more than one LP on the same daydo not pay immediately but wait for my all-combined with the discount applied to your total.eBay does give you the option to "Request an invoice from the buyer," but this option is not available on the eBay mobile app. A discount for the combined items will show on that invoice. Then, once payment is received, the items will ship.