Sold Date: July 30, 2023
Start Date: July 20, 2023
Final Price: $14.00 (USD)
Bid Count: 1
Seller Feedback: 281
Buyer Feedback: 44

Bert Bacharach With Dusty Springfield. Casino Royale. Still In Shrink Wrap. 3S/3S Vinyl Mastering (agreed by collectors to be the best sounding pressings). Awarded "BEST OF THE BUNCH: Popular" By The Absolute Sound audiophile magazine (TAS). Pressed at RCA Indianapolis Plant (regarded as their best).
Item Details
Manufactured in: USA
Recorded: By Jack Clegg
Pressing By: RCA Records Pressing Plant, Indianapolis, IN (their best plant)
Original Issue: 1967
This Issue: Believed to be 1967 (based on matrix, label design, jacket)
Label: Colgems Records CSO-5005
Runout Deadwax Matrix Numbers:
Side 1: (stamp:) UZRS-4046--3S I B1 (3rd Lacquer, 2nd Mother, 1st Stamper)
Side 2: (stamp:) UZRS-4047--3S I V A3 (3rd Lacquer, 1st Mother, 3rd Stamper)
eBay sellers commonly misidentify the RCA "Stamper" numbers found in the vinyl dead wax matrix codes. For example, "1S" is NOT the first Stamper number, it is the first cut LACQUER number. The true Stamper number (1 thru 5) follows the Mother number (A thru D). So RCA allowed 4 mothers to be plated from each Lacquer"s "father" and a maximum of 5 stampers to be plated from each Mother. The very first "complete" Stamper number would then be "1S A1." Jonathon Valin documented this coding in his "RCA Bible" book having interviewed original RCA engineering employees.
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) to prevent warpage.
I have recently updated my VPI HW-16.0 record cleaner to a 16.5 and it now has much more positive suction (can remove all fluid in less than 3 rotations). I have also changed my choice of cleaning fluid to 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 never take "distant" photos nor the so-prevalent type with the LP sticking halfway out of the jacket. I take close-ups under photo lamps so you can see nearly everything I describe in the jacket grading. It is virtually impossible to know the true vinyl condition from any photograph. That takes very bright and close visual inspection PLUS play testing with thorough coverage on high resolution equipment.
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. eBay no longer allows me to enter separate grades for each side of the sleeve or record so you may not see any in the box above but are listed below. Play quality is personally most important to me so vinyl visual qualities are graded and described in detail separately for your complete assessment.

Outer Jacket Inspection/grading:
NM/NM
The original shrink wrap has protected this jacket well over many decades. The only small artifacts of age I could find were a slight blunting of the lower right front corner and tiny bits of "curling" at the top right corner front edge. The jacket rear is very well preserved.

Vinyl visual inspection/grading:
VG+/VG to VG+
Side 1 has a noticeable number of micro-thin slightly reflective "swirls" from sleeve rubbing wear. There is also one continuous line with higher visibility starting at the label and running almost through all bands. Looks to be only affecting the top vinyl surface but will listen closely for any affects on the audio quality. Overall assessment is that Side 1 lies a little closer to VG+ than VG but is somewhere between. Side 2 is very similar to Side 1 but does have one trace going though the surface of T6 that I need to check during play test. This side is also somewhere between VG and VG+ but I think closer to VG.

Play Testing:
VG+/VG
Extensive play testing was performed after visual inspection (continuous written notes were taken). I listened to the beginning, middle, and end of each track for a few minutes on each needle drop. When the track width was noticeably greater I took more play samples to get good coverage. I also listened to all lead-in, lead-out and transition grooves between each track. Some tracks were played all the way thru when digitizing my favorites to 96k/24-bit WAV files. This allowed 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
T1 had a few "clunk" repeats at it's startup but then that disappears. Also had a few non-distracting small ticks near the end. T2 is the signature audiophile track that all the reviews note for excellence so I did a 100% play. Pretty quiet vinyl with only a few barely audible HF random ticks. This track was especially clean during the long instrumental completion following the end of Dusty's vocal. T3 was cut very hot with explosive transients and only minor non-distracting vinyl noise in spots. T4 was also a hot cut and very clean on my samples. T5 does have some repeating ticks that fade out after about 1/8" of grooves. I did not hear much vinyl noise on T6 until the lead-out grooves. I thought the side was definitely closer to VG+ than VG but not quite in NM territory overall.

Side 2 Play
Side 2 had some audible crackle during the lead-in grooves that extended a little bit into T1, diminishing at about 1/3rd of the way into that track. The transition grooves had some tiny HF ticks but during music they were effectively masked by hot cutting levels. T2 and T3 were both pretty clean overall. T4 had some strong repeating ticks that were definitely distracting and T5 was similar. T6 was a vocal that had a few repeating ticks at halfway point. T7 is an instrumental with repetition of the main musical theme. It was clean. clear, and free of noise at its start and mostly remained that way until the end. Because of the repeating ticks in T4,T5,and T6, even though offset by the much cleaner T2, T3, and T7, I would place the grade between VG++ and VG but closer to VG for my single grade.

On play test I was able to see why the 3S/3S is recognized as a "hot stamper" in audiophile circles. I was able to get very clean digital recordings of my favorite tracks with only the gentlest declicking presets in my audio workstation. Even though neither side grades out to NM, the signature track seems clean enough to demonstrate the capabilities of an audiophile system. With it's highly preserved shrink-wrapped sleeve it could become an archival copy. I'm setting my auction start bid below the current Discogs median.

Packaging Record will be placed outside the jacket to protect against seam splitting. Original inner sleeve is included separately. Record has been placed into a new MFSL-style "rice paper" plastic sleeve, as the original, even though plastic lined, may be holding onto some dust. This will keep vinyl surfaces clean and well protected during shipping and ultimate 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 $3.98 per single album sale. A combined shipping discount is available on multiple sales completed on the same day($3.98 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 invoice.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.