PINK FLOYD A Saucerful of Secrets V. RARE Orig UK MONO.

	£		271
	$		359

Hi, I am Mike, now 51. Old enough to remember the golden era of original, high quality music, bands, artists.

Also records from the 1960s and 70s bought from the shops from new, I have been a music collector and enthusiast for over 37 years now. We all wish we could turn back the clock and buy those wonderful brand new records from the 60s and 70s, but alas, this is not possible; so I always try to offer the finest and most accurately described and graded records I can find. No vinyl/music lover really would choose to buy second-hand, but this is only way now to own these valuable, prized and elusive items now. I pride myself on offering a variety of genres to keep my site as interesting as possible. I will rarely offer any record that falls below a true Excellent grading, unless its of a certain rarity which will justify offering a lesser grade. I try, to the best of my ability to describe as accurately and as honesty as I can all items I offer for sale with all the relevant information I can think of to help any potential bidder and collector. You may notice I only submit records sparingly on Ebay - on average ONEADAY, a couple more at weekends if time permits, hence the name - time rarely allows for more as I Play-Grade virtually every record I offer in their entirety, not just bits to guess a grade - visuals alone do not always tell a true or full story. I will mention any defects or flaws no matter how small that I notice to be fair as possible to any interested reader – I am very fussy and my buyers have the right to be too. Every record I offer, whether it be a common or rare item deserves the same respect as far as I am concerned and will be treated the same - just because an item is rare does not always mean its good. I get just as much pleasure offering a relatively common record in stunning near mint condition as the real rare items. All the pictures I use for your guidance are taken with a digital camera or scanned - they are NOT improved, cleaned-up or made better looking than they are with camera trickery or enhancing with digital programmes. What you see is what you get and scanned labels will give a more accurate representation of the genuine colour than flash photography where light is variable. I cannot guarantee one hundred percent is exact colour matching for covers - this depends on the lighting at the time and that is out of my control, but I feel sure most items will be very close to the actual real item. If any picture I take looks more flattering than the actual item for any reason, I will clearly state the fact in the advert and vice-versa. I hope the item below is to your liking - any questions can be emailed and I will do my very best to answer you. I am enthusiastic, and have a fair degree of knowledge about many genres and I promise quality items - bid with confidence - excellence comes as standard and so does Near Mint regularly. Please assume all records I offer have NO jumps, sticks, warps or writing on covers or labels unless clearly stated to the contrary. Thanks for your interest and Good luck – MIKE.

Deck: Linn LP12 with Ittok Mk IV arm and Ortofon Samba Moving Coil cartridge (tracks at 1.8 grams). Amps: Naim Nait 5i with Project USB phono stage and Chord interconnects. Speakers: B&W 704 Floorstanding 3-way Monitors (bi-wired). All records I offer on Ebay are cleaned on a professional Moth vacuum machine before play-grading for the cleanest and best possible sound and will include a brand new lined inner and protective cover too.

First-time, zero-rated bidders, who do not ask permission to bid, will be cancelled immediately and blocked – NO exceptions. For winning bidders who I consider excessively slow to make contact or submit payment, I will use my right to block future bids. If any bidder who wins in the final seconds is present to do so, surely they can at least email me to inform of intention and payment method? If swift or promp payment is a problem, please do not bid.

POSTING & PACKING: What You Get: I post all my UK items on FRIDAY every week, most will arrive Saturday to make signed-for delivery easier. All records are posted in professional boxes (NOT mailers) with the record(s) REMOVED from their main cover to avoid edge splits and placed within a brand new polylined inner. The record’s original inner will be included if available. The boxes are then reinforced with TWO massively thick stiffners for even extra protection and bubble wrap if deemed necessary. These stiffners are the thickest possible and custom supplied for ‘Oneadayrecords’ – these are NOT commercially available and you will not have seen thicker protection anywhere. The cover will be placed within a BRAND NEW heavy duty soft protective sleeve and the actual record will be professionally cleaned on my Moth Pro vacuum system to give ultimate clean grooves and playing surfaces and the best possible looks and ultimate sound quality. Printed address labels are used as well as ‘Fragile’ tape for that extra professional touch for the packet. You will NOT get tired, dull looking, dust infested records inside worn and foggy covers with tatty inners from this seller and that’s a promise and guarantee. Customers requests or special needs for P&P will be respected if at all possible but NOT surface mail abroad. I never make profit on posting and offer probably the cheapest and safest shipping possible. I will invoice any winning bidder as soon as possible after the auction ends, with the total costs including ‘standard’ or ‘optional extra insurance’ P&P – ALL UK and Russian packets go out non-negotiable Recorded Delivery. My ‘loss’ or ‘damage rate’ is less than 0.1 per percent based on over 3,500+ items sold in over 5 years of Ebay trading (I am now one of most established sellers via Ebay) and I consider that pretty exceptional.

PLEASE NOTE: I will now only send packets to Russia with Recorded Delivery at a cost of £7 per single LP. If this is unacceptable to Russian collectors, please do not bid. I only want my records to arrive safely and this gives packets a better chance to do so. Also ALL UK packets will be sent with either Recorded or Special Delivery as standard (both have to be signed for). All shipping costs and rules can be found after my description. If they are not acceptable, please do not bid.

Album Title: A Saucerful of Secrets.

Producer(s): Norman Smith.

TRACK LIST:

Side 1: Let There Be More Light; Remember a Day; Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun; Corporal Clegg.

Side 2: A Saucerful of Secrets; See-Saw; Jugband Blues.

Label/Format: Columbia – original black, turquoise and silver format with ‘Gramophone’ text on rims and ‘Sold in UK’ above the hole. Side one has the more unsual three embossed tax code letters ‘K J T’ surrouding the hole rime. All three in superb unworn conditions and retaining all ink with NO touch-ins. No flattening to the delicate characters that remain sharp and very neat. (Please see my label scans).

Label Conditions: Both very clean and highly attractive with a faintly textured surface with close examination. Spindle marks are relatively light and those present are very fine and faint and there is no chipping or inkloss. Given the mode and age of this record, these labels will prove very difficult to find much better these days.

Cat Number: SX 6258.

Mode / Speed: Mono / 33.3 rpm.

Warps: Assume all records I offer have no warping of any significance and all tracking is easy and effortless and should play on all turntables and even ‘budget’ decks.

Weight of this Record: 138 grams. [These days, many modern Audiophile reissues are pressed on super-heavyweight 180 gram vinyl. Only a small percentage of ‘vintage vinyl’ was ever pressed this heavy. Records pressed in the 1960s averaged around 135 to 145 grams. Records pressed in the 1970s were usually lighter and averaged more around 115 – 125 grams. Some records pressed around 1973 were very thin and light due an oil crisis and shortage around this time. Some records were even issued on recycled vinyl from this period and sounded poor with crackle and surface noise evident from the very first play. If any record I buy is deemed ‘recycled’, I will never offer it, I have a very simple test to detect these records if I suspect this to be the case other than audible imperfection. Some records from this period were even pressed on other materials the most notable was ‘Dynaflex’, used by RCA around this time. Although inferior to vinyl, this at least mostly sounded reasonably acceptable but pressings on this material were wafer thin and flimsy. Beyond the 70s, many records often became thinner and lighter still but most played fine but were never quite the quality as from the ‘Golden Era’]. (This was based on ‘average’ weights for 50 records from these eras.

Country of Manufacture: England.

Rarity and Special Note: Very rare especially in clean and attractive condition. A special mention must be made about this and any mono classic. This single channel format was never really designed to be played on modern stereo equipment and finding examples that still give a fine account of themselves on such these days is a tough ask. The early Floyd albums were rarely purchased by hi-fi connoisseurs, the majority probaby by curious students and younger, trendy listeners, most all were played into submission on vintage record players that usually tracked at massive weights. Few ever bothered to change badly worn or chipped inferior sapphire stylus, and most will know (now) only one play damaged the delicate groove walls making the sound poor. Many examples are not only covered in heavy scratches and grimy fingermarks, often with inground grit and dust, groovewear is the invisible damage inflicted on records, more so from the mono era. The more the record was played with damaged pickups, the worse the sound and many even clean copies are rendered unlistenable when played on more revealing modern equipment. Even with a non-damanged stylus, the tracking weights were so heavy, it was not too long before sound degrading set-in with high frequency clipping, crackle and vast amounts of unwanted surface noise. Rarely do the major classics as this get seen or offered with modest evidence of playing and still being able to play with generally clean sound – even the most clinical and revealing high-end front-ends. This vintage pressing has super-clean playing surfaces and a lovely cover – the evidence suggests a careful owner and modest use. Although overall this record plays very well, there are light traces, in places, of minor sound degrading which emphasises the points made above even more. I emphasise quickly any groovewear is minor and light and the overall sound reproduction will depend on what you choose to play this mono record on in the future. My Linn-Naim-B&W system is very revealing and I still found this record to play with enjoyable sound and not to much to degrade from this. The lack of pops and clicks is a huge bonus and I remember none at all. Just slight surface sound/minor clipping was noted in a few areas of the most critical passages e.g. the end of the title track. Less revealing equipment will make than even less apparent. The sheer joy of owning a first pressed ‘Saucerful’ is a rare privilege these days and I feel few will better this significantly but still, its not quite perfect (how many ever will be being totally honest?) Such a clean example is rare, make no mistake. Further down I will go through, track-by-track what each plays like to help. The rarity and importance of such a record dictates that a little extra time and effort to help the more serious collector, and with Pink Floyd being one of the biggest and most collectable bands ever, I am sure this will attractive interest.

Original Year of Release: June 1968

Matrix Nos: XAX 3633-1 / XAX 3634-1

Stamper Codes: 1 M / 1 A

Principal Musicians: Roger Waters – bass guitar, lead vocals; David Gilmour – lead guitar, lead vocals, kazoo; Richard Wright – piano, organ, mellotron, vibraphone, lead vocals; Nick Mason – drums, percussion; Syd Barrett – rhythm guitar, vocals.

Brief Info: Pink Floyds second classic album that followed the groundbreaking debut ‘Piper at the Gates of Dawn’. It was the last to feature founding member Syd Barrett as his mental state was now in sad decline. This album has a more ‘progressive’ sound and continues the space-rock and psychedelic themes with more lengthy tracks. There is just one Barrett song, the final track ‘Jugband Blues’. ‘Saucerful’ remains a somewhat uncommercial album and was still a little too weird for many at the time but is now regarded almost the equal of the legendary debut. It of course introduced Dave Gilmour, who is misspelt on the album cover (Gilmore). Two brilliant songs really stand out: the hauntingly eerie and beautiful ‘Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun’ and the manic title song that displays the brilliance of the early Pink Floyd sound. Both can be seen and heard to stunning effect on the ‘Live at Pompeii’ DVD that is highly recommended. These early Floyd albums are incredibly special and owning them as originals on vinyl are priceless – just holding them give pleasure. This is a very fine example with a fantastic cover and very clean record and inner. Overall sound is also very clean with only mild traces of any groovewear apparent in minimal brief places. Falling just below audiophile and sound purist level but most collectors will love it I feel sure. Realistically you have to judge a record like this for all the reasons outlined above in my ‘Rarity’ paragraph. It will take a hugely impressive, barely played example to better this one significantly I feel sure. My Moth cleaning machine has removed any minor impregnated dust and improved the sound to an even higher level than it was originally and it was really good even from initial purchase anyway. The mono edition of this record is still unique to vinyl and it sounds very different to the stereo pressing. Mono still being the connoisseur’s choice, this beautiful overall copy I feel sure will please the majority of collectors needing this legendary album.

This Cover’s Potential for Wear: High: [Unlaminated covers are always the most vulnerable for rubbing, fading, sticker tears and ringwear, gatefolds are more prone still and the darker they are, the more this type of wear occurs and shows. Some sleeves have a textured finish or die-cut shaped edges or ‘windows’. These are even more delicate and the hardest to find in top condition. Fully laminated covers are more resistent to wear but often the laminate ages with dulling, creases and blistering. Many 60s covers have outer flipback construction, these are very vulnerable to damage]. (US covers are the most fragile of all, very rarely laminated and made with thick brittle card that rubs and ringwears badly. Seams and edges split more easily). Please see format below to access this cover’s potential for wear and damage.

Cover Grade and Format: Little short of Mint(-), I will grade this beauty as EX++ and more than worthy of. A really beautiful example that is a pleasure to hold and view. A single format with front laminate that wraps around the edges on to three large rear external flipbacks. Printed and made in England by Garrod & Lofthouse and including the ‘Patents pending’ text. This is the correct dedicated Mono SX 6258 original cover and I have yet to find a better looking example.

Lamination & Front: The front looks fantastic with ultra clear, clean and fresh laminate that is fully adhered with no lifting or blitering. Retaining a supreme shine that is devoid of friction rubbing or dulling this will prove very difficult to find much better. There are some fine creases on the edges, mostly on the spine (as per usual) and a light thumb-crease near the right entrance edge but this and most others have little visibility. Under angled light there are just ultra fine and faint surface traces but no indentations or pressmarks and the thick record itself has left little impression at all. The stunning psych artwork looks amazing and has to be seen for real to be fully appreciated.

Cover Back: Near impossible to find devoid of rubbing and ringwear on the unprotected back panel, this is just that. Still very dark with the artwork immaculate, devoid of marks, creasing, rubbing and record impressions. The flipbacks are also attractive with the critical ends still being quite neat with minimal chipping or burring. All fully stuck down with no damage and any surface creasing modest and light. Minor fading to the exposed strips where the laminate ends short and any grime-line formation is modest and of course more inconspicuous on such a dark cover. All the important text is under the laminate and all is perfect. An outstanding back that rarely wears or gets seen this fine these days.

Top Edge: Unworn.

Bottom Edge: Unworn up to right corner - no chipping to either.

Right Edge(s), and Type: Clean, quite sharp with little wear and no feathering. Record enters on this vulnerable edge.

Spine and Text: The spine has aged little and in superb condition. Solid, straight, uncompressed and all text is perfect and unworn under the solid and uncracked laminate. This has not peeled and still retains a fine shine and rich clarity

Corners: Tiny tip rubs/chips only and all retain very fine shape and definition.

Cover Summary: A truly beautiful all round example of this very elusive 60’s mono cover, one that will prove very difficult to find much better. This beautiful item should please most collectors.

The Inner: EX++ and again the original with the ‘Patents applied for’ text. This is the black and white EMI promotional inner that was never lined. Clean, fresh with few marks and all edges intact with no splits or repairs. A small mark near the top of one side but no creasing or writing, this inner is perfectly matched to the rest of the rest of the set.

Vinyl Condition/Visual Grading: EX++, A superb visual copy that is super clean, shiny, intense black and quite heavily pressed. A copy only lightly played on all the evidence with any marks ultra fine, faint few. Merely surface blemishes or fine hairlines that only really show when observed under angled light, they have no effect on sound. Visually a super record that should please most collectors again, vintage mono albums of this type and era are rarely found much better.

Album Played For Grading: Yes. [I play ALL records I offer before submitting to Ebay, also the record is played in its entirety unless clearly stated otherwise. I do NOT play snippetts or joining grooves to check for sound quality and quietness – I play from the beginning to end via clinically revealing B&W speakers that include the legendary tweeter from their awesome Nautilus range that reveals every blemish or miniscule sound present on any record.]

Sound Quality and Audio Grading: As stated above, the seven tracks are mentioned for flaws individually:

Let There Be More Light: Superb, from the very first notes of the punchy dynamic bass guitar, you will know you have something very special. The basslines on the intro will raise the hairs on the neck. Clean, focused with barely nothing unwanted.

Remember the Day: Again superb, pretty much as above.

Set the Controls…: Light surface sound traces in a few places, still exceptional for a very difficult track.

Corporal Clegg: Incredible sound overall, even the kazoo remains sharp and this is incredibly difficult to track. I can imagine this will fall apart and break up on many copies. Any clipping or surface sounds are minimal and light. Overall side one plays with exceptional sound and has NO noteworthy pops or clicks at all, I enjoyed it immensely.

A Saucerful of Secrets: The most difficult song on the album: it plays very well indeed with only minor clipping or mild surface sounded really noted at the very end of the song when the vocals come in over the keyboards. It will take an amazing mono copy to better it significantly I feel.

See-Saw: Again challenging song, plays generally very well with minor clipping only noted on the loud vocal parts two or three times. For those familiar, they will know the parts I mean. Most all plays great.

Jugband Blues: Any uwanted sounds are ultra brief and minor indeed and this sounds fine too. Again no pops or clicks were noted on this side and although not quite as clean as side one, it still sets a very high standard.

Clearly a carefully preserved record and cover, it has been played a few times but groovewear is modest with minimal unwanted sounds and any light high frequency clipping modest and infrequent. ‘Perfect’ mono originals will be very rare indeed and such examples will command huge prices. If ‘perfect’ is wanted, well this will fall a little short but sets the bar high for others to match or beat. If you have doubts, please do not bid. It’s a record I play-graded twice and enjoyed immensely, if the impossible is not expected, this should please most collectors if not the audiophile sound purist. For those the near impossible will have to wait. This copy will prove very difficult to find significantly better and can be strongly recommended. These mono classics are very special and excellent examples are extra special.

NOTE: First Time Bidders: I will cancel ALL first-time bidders with no feedbacks or excessive negatives who do not ask me if its OK to bid first – NO EXCEPTIONS.

Please Note: I will now offer any item to the runner-up after the mandatory Ebay 3 days if no contact is made by the winning bidder unless prior notice of any delay is given beforehand. The same applies if no payment is received within the mandatory 7 days so any bidder who has just lost out can still email me to reserve the item as priority second chance – it’s always worth asking.

SHIPPING COSTS & OPTIONS:

Posting & Packing: UK & CHANNEL ISLANDS all now sent Recorded Delivery:

1 LP (First Class Recorded Delivery with Standard Royal Mail Insurance) [Signed For] = £4 (OPTIONAL).

1 LP (Special Delivery with Standard £500 Maximum Insurance) [Signed For, Next Day] = £7 (OPTIONAL).

Posting & Packing: EUROPE & SCANDINAVIA (NOT RUSSIA, see below) (Airmail Only):

1 LP (Small Packet Standard with Standard Royal Mail Insurance) = £5.

1 LP (Small Packet ‘Signed For’ with included Insurance to Item’s ‘Sold’ Value, £500* Maximum) = £9 (OPTIONAL).

Posting & Packing: RUSSIA (Recorded Only, if this is unacceptable, please do not bid):

1 LP (Small Packet ‘Signed For’ only £7) = £9 (OPTIONAL extra insurance as above).

Posting & Packing: OVERSEAS (non-European) e.g. US; Australia; Far East; (Airmail Only: I NEVER use Surface Mail):

1 LP (Small Packet Standard with Standard Royal Mail Insurance) = £8.

1 LP (Small Packet ‘Signed For’ with included Insurance to Item’s ‘Sold’ Value, £500* Maximum) = £13 (OPTIONAL).

* If Rules allow for that country.

PLEASE NOTE: I always get a Royal Mail ‘Proof-of-Posting’ receipt for ALL packets that are sent out and I am happy to prove this to any customer who wishes to see it via email.

Payment Conditions:

I prefer PayPal or cheque from UK winning bidders. I can accept PayPal from overseas bidders.

The customer can choose their method of shipping with the exception of second class or surface mail overseas – these I will NOT use. The winner bidder chooses his/her posting method and if uninsured is chosen, its their decision and they have to stick with it, I can accept no responsibility if an item is lost in the post. I can only try to claim at standard levels if no enhancement is chosen (£35).

Potential Bidders: Please do not bid if you have negative feedback unless checking first, I will cancel any bids I feel are timewasters. A maximum 3 days for communication and 7 days for payment to arrive - if not I will relist the item or offer to the runner-up. Fast deals get great feedback from me. Any questions - please ask and thanks for looking.

My Guarantee: If any winning bidder is not satisfied with their purchase I will offer a complete refund minus the Posting and All Ebay costs as long as the item detail has been read and understood. I will not refund if any defect detail is clearly stated on the advert and missed by the buyer. If any overseas collector does not understand anything in my listing, please email and ask me to help.

SOME GENERAL GUIDES TO WEAR AND CONDITIONS TO HELP YOU DECIDE

My Use of Description Terminology: Surface Marks = Superficial, usually light marks, hairlines or light scuffs that rarely sound. Scratch = a needle mark that goes below the record’s surface, some will sound, some will not, my play-grade will inform. Original = a record that has been pressed with the first label design which does NOT neccessarily mean a very first pressed record. First Pressing = A record that I believe or know to be a genuine very first pressed record. I do not claim to always know for sure, and that’s why I state the stamper and matrix numbers if at all possible, for those who claim to know what they all mean, the information is there for the collector to decide. I prefer to use terms like ‘Early Copy’ rather than ‘First Pressing’ if I am not totally sure. Surface Sound = Mild, light sound, usually light crackle or similar. Distortion = Break up of the actual sound caused by groove wear or damage from a chipped stylus – the most undesirable form of unwanted sound, vintage mono records were the most prone to this happening but not exclusively so. The symptoms of distortion are high frequency clipping, moderate constant crackle or an echo type sound quality. Violin, piano and vocals are most prone to groove-wear distortion. Feathering = Fraying or softening of the entry edge of a cover. Covers with feathered entrance edges are more likely to have had the actual record inserted and removed more than a non-feathered, sharp-edged cover which are always far more attractive. Set Off, actually a printer’s term for dark ink leaving mild residue on pale or white ink when rested upon. e.g. when a gatefold cover has black ink closed against white, this can leave some black residue on the pale area – this is mostly unavoidable or course.

The Argument for Vinyl Original sound and mix (mono mixes are rarely available on CD), high quality sound on clean copies (played on a hi-end dedicated analogue system – breathtaking sound!), beautiful, large format covers, artwork, inserts and even full size posters etc; huge investment potential, and the pleasure of owning ‘the real thing’.