I do not guess at the sound quality by visual grading only.

I play grade all of the records that are offered in my listings on a Townshend Elite Rock Turntable, Origin Live Onyx Tonearm and Dynavector Karat 17DX Cartridge. I find that this setup gives me a good insight into the quality of the record that is being presented.

Firstly I clean the vinyl thoroughly on my record vacuum machine, treat both sides with an anti-static gun, then play the whole album from beginning to end. While listening, I take notes of anything that may be a problem and if significant I will mention it in my listing. My aim in doing this is to assure you that the record you receive will be as described.

I try to take good quality photos while insuring that I include the whole album cover, not cutting off the edges that I see in so many listings, so that you can examine the item closely to get a full and accurate picture of what is on offer.

I do not sell records that skip or jump.

Queen

A Night At The Opera

UK Vinyl First Pressing - 1975

Label - EMI

Cat No. EMTC 103

Matrix No's  
Side 1 - YAX 5063-2 BLAIR'S AAA

Side 2 - YAX 5064-2 BLAIR'S RPA

Condition: -

The embossed Garrod and Lofthouse cover is in Very Good Plus condition. There is some minor discolouration and foxing. Text is clear on the spine and no seam splits.

The original inner picture sleeve with the three cut corners (only the original first pressings had these) is in Very Good Plus condition. There is the obligatory seam split at the bottom.

 The labels are in Excellent condition. I can just make out some faint spindle marks.

Vinyl weight - 124g

Vinyl visual - The vinyl is in Very Good condition. There is one mark on track A1 (see photo) that looked worrying but it is a surface scuff and does not sound. Other marks are just hairlines.

Vinyl audio - Very Good. The first side plays to an excellent standard with distortion free audio and with just a tiny amount of background noise. The second side is not as good and displays a clicky background, especially noticeable in the quiet sections. The sound itself is excellent, but if you are irritated by a noisy background, maybe you should avoid this.

Vinyl has been cleaned on my Project VCS record cleaning machine using L'Art du Sol cleaning fluid and is housed in a Nagaoka anti-static style sleeve to prevent withdrawal marks to the records surface. Record will be housed in a clear poly bag for protection.

 

Grading Guide

Mint (M) – Absolutely perfect in every way. Never been played and usually sealed.

Near Mint (NM) – The record has been on a shelf between other records. The vinyl looks glossy and clearly has only been played a few times. There are no marks on the vinyl and the whole package is complete.

Excellent (E) – A grade just below NM where light marks can be tolerated, where the vinyl has been in and out of the inner sleeve a few times, or tiny signs of use generally.

Very Good Plus (VG+) – A few further faults are acceptable, but nothing that really compromises the record visually or audibly. A little rub, light inaudible marks, a little background crackle.

Very Good (VG) – It’s seen a bit of life, but is still usable. Light pops and clicks, an edge split, light visible scratches. You can still listen to it and enjoy looking at it, but it is visually and audibly used.

Good (G) – The record has been played so much that the sound quality has noticeably deteriorated, perhaps with some distortion and mild scratches. The cover and contents suffer from folding, scuffing of edges, spine splits, discolouration, etc

Poor (P), Fair (F) Attempting to listen will be a disturbing experience. Expect major noise issues, skipping or repeating. The record itself is cracked, badly warped and has deep scratches. The cover is also approaching death.

 

Any questions, please ask.

 

Record will be well packed. I use Musicmax Strong Locktab Cardboard Record Mailers for good protection. I always remove the record from the outer sleeve when posting.

PayPal only please.

For international postage I use eBay's Global Shipping Program and eBay set the postal rates. Please note that under GSP I am not able to combine postage costs. 

For the UK I use Royal Mail and can combine two or three albums in the same package for the same cost as a single album, as long as the overall weight is below 2kg.

 

Please leave positive feedback once you have received the item and are happy with your purchase, and I will do the same for you.

 

Happy bidding.

 

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