Almighty Stones - Pressure Them Jah
b/w Version

 

                                     Label:  Total Sounds

                   Matrix Numbers:  TS 3508-A    [& B]

     Vinyl Wear Visual Grade:  NM-

                   Pressing Quality:  6.5   (slight manufacture edge warp not affecting play
                                                                        even at a very light tonearm weight of 1.5 grams)

                 Loudness of Vinyl:  Average

 

PLEASE SCROLL DOWN TO THE RED PANEL BELOW TO VIEW GRADING STANDARDS

 

                                          

        

 

SOUND SAMPLE TAKEN FROM ACTUAL RECORD AT FLAT RESPONSE

       This is an original pressing of the 1976 release "Pressure Them Jah" by the Almighty Stones, on the Total Sounds label.  It's a lyrically updated and slightly modified remake of a late 60s Studio One song, "Press Along Nyah" by Larry Marshall & Alvin Leslie of "Nanny Goat" fame.  The B-side is the usual dub mix of the song.  Mixed and probably also recorded at Channel One.
 
     This record is from my personal collection; I'm not really a buy-and-sell-or-trade type of seller. Like much of my vinyl, I bought this record when it came out, played it a few times, recorded it to cassette and then put it back in its sleeve for the next 37 years!  Visually, the vinyl shows very little sign of wear.  It's been wet cleaned by hand, then both sides recorded direct to CD for my archives and both sides graded. Guaranteed free of skips when I used a tonearm lightly weighted at 1.5 grams.
 
     PRICE:  this record, in slightly lesser condition, has brought $50.00 at auction here on Ebay; Buy It Now for $19.99.        ATTENTION BIDDERS:  Please carefully read this listing in its entirety, as I have no return policy:  my record description is intended to be absolutely honest, accurate and thorough enough in the first place, so you can decide if you want to buy it AS DESCRIBED, AS HEARD in the sound samples and AS IS.    RECORD GRADING STANDARDS

 

In grading the sound quality of a vinyl record (assuming it's been cleaned and there's no significant warpage), there are three main issues:

 

1.)  Vinyl Visual Grade made by judging the visible wear from usage.

 

2.)  Pressing quality after manufacture, which is the amount of surface noise such as pops/clicks/hisses/buzzes due to imperfections in the grooves of the record like small pits or bubbles.  This is partially determined by vinyl quality/purity, temperature control and cleanliness of the record stamping machine.  Other problems include the record being pressed off-center ("drunk") resulting in a wobbly, pitch-wavering sound.  

      

        pressing by removing the centering "dome" from the turntable spindle, slowly turning the record by hand while observing in which direction the grooves are off center, and then pushing the record slightly off-center in the opposite direction until the grooves themselves are centered.  It's an acquired skill.

 

3.)   Loudness of Vinyl (Mastering volume) and the resulting Signal-to-Noise Ratio:  how loudly ("hotly") or softly ("sleepily") the record was mastered to the stamper from the master tape of the music. With a hot pressing, the loudness of the music overpowers and masks the fainter sound of the surface noise.  With a sleepy pressing, the music is dimmer and down closer to the level of surface noise; the listener has to turn up the volume, making the surface noise more audible along with the music.  Other mastering problems include exaggerated tone settings and distortion, especially in high frequencies ("S" sounds) and upper midrange frequencies ("squawking" in the vocals or other tinny instruments).  Too much bass and the needle will hop right out of the groove!

 

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Gradings for visually detectable wear on vinyl records

 

 

MINT (M) The record itself is in brand new condition with no surface marks or deterioration in sound quality. The cover and any extra items such as the lyric sheet, booklet or poster are in perfect condition. Records advertised as Sealed or Unplayed should be Mint.  

  

 

NEAR MINT (NM+/-) As above, but only played a few times.  The cover and any extra items such as the lyric sheet, booklet or poster are in nearly perfect condition.

 

EXCELLENT (EX+/-) The record shows some signs of having been played, but there is very little lessening in sound quality. The cover and packaging might have slight wear and/or creasing.  

  

 VERY GOOD (VG+/-) The record has obviously been played many times, but displays no major deterioration in sound quality, despite noticeable surface marks and the occasional light scratch. Normal wear and tear on the cover or extra items, without any major defects, is acceptable.  

  

 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, discoloration, etc.  

  

 FAIR (F+/-)   The record is still just playable but has not been cared for properly; it may even jump. The cover and contents will be torn, stained and/or defaced.  

  

 POOR (P+/-)  The record will not play properly due to scratches, uncleanable dirt etc. The cover and contents will be badly damaged or partly missing.  

  

 BAD (+/-) The record is unplayable or might even be broken, and is only of use as a collection-filler.

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RATINGS FOR PRESSING QUALITY ON A SCALE OF 10 DOWN TO 1

 

10:  No audible surface noise (nearly impossible to achieve).  Example:  Classical or audiophile music pressings on "virgin" high-quality vinyl and manufactured under "laboratory" conditions, often of European or Japanese origin.  Most really good pressings will only rate a 9 anyway.

 

 9:   Very few barely audible clicks. No pops at all.

 

 8:   Frequent softly audible clicks and no pops.

 

 7:   More frequent audible clicks and occasional pops.

 

 6:   Frequent audible clicks and pops.

 

 5:   Frequent noticable clicks and pops.

 

 4:   Very frequent noticable clicks and loud pops.

 

 3:   Extremely frequent loud clicks and loud pops, possibly with occasional hisses/buzzes.

 

 2.   Constant loud clicks and loud pops, with frequent hisses/buzzes

 

 1:   Virtually unlistenable, might as well've been pressed on peanut-brittle!

       Go buy the re-issue of the song on CD made directly from the master
 tapes.

 

 

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STANDARDS FOR RATING MASTERING VOLUME

 

             

              HOT (+/-)

 

             AVERAGE (+/-)

 

             SLEEPY (+/-) 

 

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HOW I GRADE RECORDS FOR SALE:

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For records with a visual wear rating between VG and NM++ , additional ratings for pressing quality and signal-to-noise ratio are included.  It's entirely possible for an M or barely played NM record to sound pretty bad because it was poorly pressed in the first place.

 

For records with a visual wear rating below VG , it is often too difficult to tell the difference between surface noises due to wear and those due to pressing quality, so only a single condition grading is offered.

 

About grading integrity :  it is my strict policy to grade these records as carefully and truthfully as possible.  It's a common complaint that many record sellers tend to overgrade their stock: more than once, I've purchased a few "VG+" or "EX" records on Ebay, and eagerly put one on the turntable only to find it's a nearly unlistenable mess.  Yuck! This is why I have no return policy:  my record description is intended to be honest and thorough enough in the first place, so you can decide if you want to buy it AS DESCRIBED and AS IS.

 

ABOUT JAMAICAN PRESSINGS

 

     With due respect, Jamaican pressings are not generally known for their high quality, although over the last 35 years I have encountered the occasional superbly hot, clear and quiet pressing. New York, UK and Canadian pressings of reggae music are often better than Jamaican pressings, but not always.  In my opinion, Jamaican pressings generally fall somewhere between 4 and 7 on the 1-to-10 rating scale (see below). Some manufacturers are consistently better or worse than others, but not always. Labels are often mangled, illegible, incorrect or applied off-center.  One or both sides of a record are often pressed slightly or wildly off-center (see below).

 

     It is essential to remember that the birth (and amazing development) of Jamaican popular music and its recording industry was a living miracle which flourished, and continues to do so against incredible odds.  A history of colonial exploitation with its racist slavery, together with a lack of marketable resources in today's globalized world market --- all this has not been kind to the beautiful island of Jamaica and its resilient people.  Life in Jamaica continues to be a contradiction: physically primitive conditions with massive poverty alongside culturally rich complexity, innovative genius and sophistication.

 

     So working conditions in the pressing plants are often less than ideal:  it can be hot, smoky, crowded and noisy, but at least it's a job.  Access to good materials, equipment and maintenance is often difficult or unaffordable. When the economic oil crises of the 70's hit, fresh vinyl was scarce and expensive, so they started melting down old tunes and defective pressings, sometimes including bits of the paper labels.  I remember seeing these rusty oil barrels full of 45's out in back of the pressing plants.  They'd leave them out in the yard, filling up with rainwater and mosquito eggs, to soak off the labels!  It's too bad --- a great many musical treasures were destroyed in those barrels, but business was business, and I guess it still is. 

 

            MAY GOD BLESS.....        

                                     

  About Shipping/Handling Fees & Seller Ratings      

IMPORTANT NOTICE TO CUSTOMERS OUTSIDE  THE U.S.

 

As of January 27, 2013 the United States Postal Service (USPS) raised their postal rates once again, but most drastically and outrageously on their International Mail prices, which have doubled or nearly doubled!  When I looked at the new figures, I was genuinely shocked and dismayed, as are many others.  There is a good deal of justifiable uproar and anger on the Ebay forums about this issue.  USPS First Class International Mail remains the cheapest shipping option available to me.

USPS, which has had financial management problems for a long time, is a rigid, by-the-book organization.  Unless political pressure is brought to bear on them with the argument that these new high prices hurt small retailers doing international business and that it will do significant overall harm to U.S. trade overseas, then these USPS rate hikes are unlikely to change.

There will probably be a period of slow adjustment while sellers and overseas buyers digest this bad news, probably followed by eventual acceptance of the fact.  As one person on the Ebay forum put it:  plenty of other goods & services have increased, like gas & tobacco, but people still drive and smoke. 

As a result of this unfortunate development, I will no longer even offer the USPS Priority International Mail option, since it has always been expensive (even more so now) and very few of my buyers ever request it. 

All I can say is that my international customers can remain assured that the records I sell have been well cared for (in many cases barely even played) and that I strive for accurate, honest and thorough grading.  Since this is not always the case when purchasing used records on Ebay, I can only hope that my valued and loyal overseas customers will therefore still find it worthwhile purchasing vinyl from me, despite the increased cost of the shipping.

     

    Shipping Fees   I have selected the cheapest possible shipping rates available to me for customers.  Please be aware that the United States Post Office sets these prices, NOT me! Unfortunately, Ebay combines both the shipping & handling charges on the invoices that sellers send to buyers, giving the impression that the shipping rate is even higher.  Please keep this in mind when receiving my invoices.    With 45's sent within the United States, it's actually a bit cheaper by weight to send one 45 by First Class than by Media Mail.  Media Mail works better for multiple items sent in the same package and I'm very happy to combine shipping for both domestic & overseas customers.  Unlike the bigger, high-volume sellers on Ebay who are rewarded substantial discounts on their fees from shippers and from Ebay, I am only a collector gradually selling off my records and thus not in a position to offer free or discounted shipping.   High bidders within the U.S. may want to consider insuring their purchases, since even the best packed records do occasionally arrive broken, and you can only get all your money back if you fully insure your purchase.

Within the continental US:

SINGLES are shipped by USPS Priority Mail (partial insurance included, full insurance optional) or First Class Mail (cheaper, insurance optional).

ALBUMS are shipped by Media Mail (cheaper, insurance optional) or USPS Priority Mail (partial insurance included, full insurance optional).  To preview a USPS Mail option for shipments to your area, please use the Shipping Calculator provided by Ebay.

International purchases:

To maximize the safety of records Records are shipped only by the cheapest option available to me:  USPS International First Class Mail (no insurance available).  To preview a USPS International Mail option for shipments to your country, please use the Shipping Calculator provided by Ebay.

Handling fees: 

To maximize the safety of records, I cut & fold custom-made mailers from clean, recycled corrugated cardboard for each shipment (see photo below) --- fairly time-consuming work!  LP's are placed inside clean recycled plastic shopping bags.    For shipments within the U.S., there is a flat $3.00 handling fee, and $0.90 of this goes to USPS Delivery Confirmation with a tracking number which lets me know the buyer has received the shipment.    For foreign shipments, there is a flat $3.50 handling fee, and customs forms have to be filled out which provides the buyer and me with a form number useful in tracing the package if it gets hung up in customs.    

Weights:       One 45 in cardboard mailer = approx. 6 oz. 
                          Each additional 45 = approx. 1.2 oz. 
                         

                          LP in cardboard mailer = approx. 1 lb. 3 oz.
                          Each additional LP = approx. 8 oz.

 

Payment Terms:    Right now I ONLY accept PAYPAL methods of payment.   If you wish to make a PayPal Instant Payment, make sure your bank account is correctly linked to your PayPal account, so your payment will be virtually IMMEDIATE.

 

To pay a seller using your checking account (INSTANT PAY OPTION), please follow these steps:

a)   Log in to your PayPal account at the link below:

             

b)   Click on the "Send Money" tab
c)   Enter the required information
d)   Click "Continue"
e)   Click the "Funding Options" link under the Source of Funds heading
f)    Click the "Add Bank" link next to "Instant Transfer"
g)   Enter the information on the following page. (You will need to know
      your bank account number and routing number. You can find these at the
      bottom of one of your checks.)
h)   Click "Add Bank Account"
i)    Next, select the radio button next to "Instant Transfer" and click
      "Continue"
j)    Review the information on the Payment Details page and click "Send
      Money" to complete your transaction 

     

 

                 Miss Bibby say...

 

Dem give yu basket fi carry water.

 

Sometimes the help someone offers you is more

trouble than it's worth, or has a hidden agenda.