ARTISTE, RECORD TITLE  AND LABEL 

MENDELSSOHN

A Midsummer Night's Dream"

SXL 2060 ( pressed in England)

ARTISTE, RECORD TITLE  AND LABEL 

MARY HOPKIN "Those Were The Days"

Apple EPEA 1006 ( pressed in Singapore)

An original Singapore only EP with the thick and glossy laminated sleeves characteristic of such Singapore pressings of the late 60s/early 70s. Both the  jacket and vinyl are in an excellent condition (see results of my grading below). 

 I have been rather inactive this last couple of years on Ebay as I opened a shop here in Singapore which had kept me rather busy but the upshot of the shop is that I picked up some more collectible items which will be listed together with this item as well as over the coming weeks. 

An original Italian pressing on the black label with silver print and housed in a thick stock

 

GRADING RESULTS:

 

 The jacket is in a generally Near Mint condition with only some very lightwear on the laminated cover.

 

Both sides of the vinyl look free of lines. The vinyl maintains its lustre and is mirror like.Tracking at 1.7g on a Naim ARO/Lyra Helikon SL cartridge on a Linn LP12, there were some light extraneous surface noise which were not too intrusive and was generally beneath the music. It was mainly audible in the silent grooves.The playing could generally be graded as VG++. 

 

How I Clean and  Grade my Records 

Cleaning: I used a 3 step cleaning process on 2 machines i.e. a Loricraft PRC 4D and a Clearaudio Double Matrix Professional model with the first wash using a record cleaning detergent followed by 2 more washes with pure distilled water. Playback Equipment: Playback is through an almost full blown  Linn LP12 turntable i.e. with Keel, Radikal and Urika phono stage but with a Naim Aro tonearm/Lyra Helikon SL cartridge and through a brace of 6 active Naim 135s into Linn Keltik speakers. 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 NOTE ON SHIPPING:  With effect from 27th January 2009, EBay UK has introduced a new policy whereby UK sellers have to offer a basic UK inland postage amount which is limited to £4. I am not based in the UK but in Singapore and whilst the amount would not even cover 7"/EPs, I could bear the difference for 45s but not in the case of LPs.  £4 may be barely sufficient for surface mail which will take 8 to 12 weeks and without registration. I have indicated the shipping costs below for registered air mail, but if UK buyers insist that I stick to that basic amount, then I suppose I will send by surface mail though I strongly advise against that mode . I use brand new custom made  plastic sleeves  for both the vinyl and for the sleeve. Shipping is always by Airmail and by registered post as it allows one to track items in case of delays.  Shipping costs in pounds are:  UK/USA/Europe                          5.5 pounds Hongkong, Taiwan South Korea 4  pounds Australia China Japan                 5.5 pounds 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 :       PAYPAL

MATRIX NUM

PP BERS:
ZAL 3559-2K/3560 1E

Considered by some to be one of the finest in the SXL 2xxx series, this is a first pressing on the Wide Band grooved Decca label with the "Original Recording By" wordings and on the blue bordered back. I sold one in the early part of 2008 for 227GBP and as this seems visually and sonically better, if my memory serves me right, then starting it at 125 GBP with no reserve seems fair enough. It has its original inner sleeve intact.

 

Buyers please note that I am based in Singapore and that the postage rate indicated is for domestic UK shipping(It is part of the UK system and I cannot change it ...please read my shipping section below). 

 

GRADING RESULTS:

 

 The cover generally looks Excellent. There are some light creaseson the laminated covers as well as some wear spots along the entry side towards the bottom. Other than some light browning spots on the reverse, there are no major flaws. The glue on the flipback is still strong and intact.

 

The vinyl looks Near Mint with no visual surface scratches though it has 2 very light Decca "mounts" on each side. These "mounts" which afflict early Decca pressings especially in this part of the world were relatively smaller than the ones in my previous listing and did not affect play too badly. The vinyl maintains its lustre and is mirror like.Tracking at 1.7g on a Naim ARO/Lyra Helikon SL cartridge on a Linn LP12, there were a series of light light clicks about 5 minutes into play but they did not persist and were not intrusive. The playing could generally be graded as generally between Excellent to Near Mint. 

 

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 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 NOTE ON SHIPPING:  With effect from 27th January 2009, EBay UK has introduced a new policy whereby UK sellers have to offer a basic UK inland postage amount which is limited to £4. I am not based in the UK but in Singapore and whilst the amount would not even cover 7"/EPs, I could bear the difference for 45s but not in the case of LPs.  £4 may be barely sufficient for surface mail which will take 8 to 12 weeks and without registration. I have indicated the shipping costs below for registered air mail, but if UK buyers insist that I stick to that basic amount, then I suppose I will send by surface mail though I strongly advise against that mode . I use brand new custom made  plastic sleeves  for both the vinyl and for the sleeve. Shipping is always by Airmail and by registered post as it allows one to track items in case of delays.  Shipping costs in pounds are:  UK/USA/Europe                          10 pounds Hongkong, Taiwan South Korea  8.3  pounds Australia China Japan                 8.9 pounds 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: