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.
Pink Floyd
Dark Side Of The Moon
UK Second Pressing - 1973
Label - Harvest
Cat No. SHVL 804
This is the sort after A3, B3 pressing from 1973-74 that is commonly recognized as the best sounding pressing available, second only to the A2, B2 pressing.
Condition: -
The cover is in Very Good Plus condition. Very clean and mostly damage free but does have a pronounced visible imprint of the vinyl disc shape on the cover.
The white inner sleeve is in Very Good Plus condition. It has discoloured slightly but no seam splits.
The labels are in Excellent condition. There are a few spindle marks.
No stickers or posters.
Vinyl weight - 139g
Vinyl visual - The vinyl is in Excellent condition. Under normal daylight cloudy both surfaces look faultless. Only under angled bright light could I detect some wispy hairlines. This record has obviously not been played much.
Vinyl audio - Excellent Plus. Superb sound from this record. Relatively quiet background with crystal clear and distortion free audio. This record sounds so good it gave me the goosebumps.
Quiet lead in to the heartbeat at the beginning, super clear chimes on Time , great version of The Great Gig and an outstanding rendering of Money .
I have had quite a few copies of this pressing and track B2 can be quite crackly, especially at the beginning. This one has very mild background noise but nothing intrusive.
Overall, a great sounding early analogue pressing.
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.
As this is an expensive item it will be double boxed for extra protection.
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.
