The Pros and Cons of Hitch Hiking

By Roger Waters

Harvest Label - 1C 064 2401051

Solo album by The Pink Floyd member, released on the Harvest label in 1984 and 'Made in the EEC'.  Made using DMM - Direct Metal Mastering, the record is in absolutely superb condition with barely any evidence of the album having been played.  It comes in a gatefold cover and inside a plain white paper poly-lined inner.

Matrix Numbers (stamped into the dead wax)

Side 1: 2401051 - A3 + D

Side 2: 2401051 - B3 + D

Visual Inspection (please see the grading guide below) - I conduct all of my visual inspections under a 35w halogen lamp.  This shows up ALL defects that need to be seen in a way that no other lamps do.  I include all of these defects in my description.

There is just a couple of the faintest 'hairlines' on each side.  Both sides look virtually unplayed with a fantastic gloss.

Both labels are clean and unmarked and no spindle trails.

The cover just has some light creasing in places and a little bit of wear on the edges.  There is some very slight wear on the spine with some very light creasing.

Overall Grading (Record / Cover - Please refer to the Grading Guide below)

Excellent / Very Good

Grading Guide - Important!

 I visually examine all records under a strong 35w halogen lamp, which shows up ALL defects, and I grade my records according to the Rare Record Price Guide (with the addition of the Near Mint grade), which to me means, briefly, as follows:



Mint - Must be sealed or I must have evidence that it has never been played.

Near Mint - Totally unmarked, no scratches, not even faint 'hairlines' / sleeve withdrawal marks.


Excellent - No scratches, just the odd faint 'hairline' or sleeve withdrawal mark that is barely visible under my lamp.

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 with no problems and will still provide a good listening experience.

Fair - It may not play through properly with a chance of the record jumping, or it will play with significant background noise.

Poor - It definitely won't play without skipping or sticking.

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



I also sometimes play-grade records and the final grade is a combination of how it plays and looks.

Cover Grading

A NOTE ABOUT COVER GRADES!  Please do look at a seller's photos of covers and compare with the grade they have given the cover.  Poor grading of covers are often indicative of poor grading of the vinyl.  Furthermore, if someone states they are grading according to the RRPG and the spine is split, it cannot grade better than Good.  Similarly, if the cover is torn or has been written on (ie. 'defaced') then it cannot grade better than Fair.  This is quite clear in the RC/RRPG descriptions.  Please beware of this because I have lost count of the number of sellers grading covers with writing on as 'Excellent', and if the cover grade is way off how can you trust the vinyl grade?

My cover grades are exactly as stated in the Record Collector magazine / Rare Record Price Guide as follows:

Mint: The cover and any extra items are in perfect condition

Excellent: The cover and packaging might have slight wear and/or creasing

Very Good: Normal wear and tear on the cover is acceptable

Good: The cover and contents suffer from folding, scuffing of edges, spine splits, discolouration etc.

Fair: The cover and contents will be torn, stained and/or defaced.

 

All vinyl is dispatched using stiffeners and card mailers.

For overseas buyers please wait for the invoice as I do not want to overcharge you on postage. 

100% of the proceeds from the sale of this record will go to the Huntington's Disease Association.