PINK FLOYD Meddle RARER PRISTINE MINT CANADA LP & COVER

	£		91
	$		120

ONEADAYRECORDS – Delivering Quality Music to the World.

Artist or Band: PINK FLOYD

Album Title: Meddle.

Producer(s): Pink Floyd.

Country of Manufacture: Canada.

TRACK LIST:

Side 1: One of These Days; A Pillow of Winds; Fearless; San Tropez; Seamus.

Side 2: Echoes.

Label/Format: Harvest.

Label Conditions: Both mint as made: this Canadian pressing had never been played and is a copy time has forgotten. Stating the obvious, it has no spindle marks or handling traces. This record had probably never been removed from its unique rounded inner until my inspection and play-grade.

Cat Number: SMAS-832.

Mode / Speed: Stereo / 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: 118 grams.

Rarity and Differences: One of the most outstanding and memorable Pink Floyd records I have seen or heard. A relatively common album, but let’s be clear about any copy of Meddle. I rank this album as one of the most difficult to find on vinyl that will play really well. I clearly remember my trip to my local record shop in the early 70s, I was still at school, I bought this album and had to take it back to the shop three times in a desperate bid to find a copy that did not crackle - this was a notorious ‘variable’ pressing even from the very early days and still today, finding a clean-playing example (from whatever era of pressing) is very difficult. Many collectors and friends tell me same story and it’s often a case of damage limitation. This album has long quiet passages including the long fade-in intro to ‘Echoes’ and ‘One of These Days’ and I am convinced few vinyl copies will ever play absolutely ‘silent’. This Canadian-pressed mint condition record, unplayed until my sound-check, gives a stunning account itself and plays with quiet, enjoyable and clean sound with practically nothing unwanted. No pressings sounds or irritating crackle that ruins those delicate passages. Any surface sound present on this one is minuscule and no pops or clicks were noted, in short: an exceptional top quality pressed copy that few will ever match let alone better. I am not exactly sure the vintage of this pressing, I don’t claim to know everything, far from it and I know little about Canadian or non-UK records. Really I don’t care: what I feel is important is the music quality embedded into pristine grooves. It’s clearly obvious this is a high-quality pressing, almost certainly not mass-produced like the UK versions and better care in quality control. The sound from beginning to end is breathtaking and I truly swear, this seemed to have even more information and clarity than any other I have ever heard thus far. It’s the tiny things that make the difference to the audiophile listener. The shimmer and zing of the cymbals and that scream from the metal on the strings of Gilmour’s guitar on ‘Echoes’. The rich deep bass chord have amazing ‘twang’ with grace and power. No vintage unsympathetic equipment has been inflicted on this one. All is pin-sharp and focused as you would expect from an unplayed record. But it’s the quietness of the pressing that stands out even more.

The cover artwork is very similar to the UK version, but slightly different in design. The most striking difference is the colour. Gone is the golden brown areas, this is now a rich turquoise blue and includes the band name and title on the front. So not only a superior (to my ears anyway) and cleaner pressing (than most), but also a very different and unique cover. So one for the serious Floyd collector. Even the original inner is different too with the top opening having rounded corners. Both inner and cover are also mint as made. This is a stunning package and clearly quite rare outside where it was manufactured. Quite why Canadian copies made it here I don’t know, I think there were more than enough UK-pressed examples issued to go round. Still this was joy to hold, view and listen-to. A truly gorgeous piece and if looks and sound are paramount to any collector, well this is up there with the very best you will find and be offered.

Original Year of Release: 1971. I do not know the year of issue for this version.

Matrix Nos: SMAS-832 A2 / SMAS-2-832

Brief Artist & Album Info: Most interested Floyd, Harvest and prog collectors will know all about this classic album already, suffice to say, its a delicately beautiful record in all departments. Very quiet intros to both sides, very quiet passages in the sublime ‘Echoes’, this record takes no prisoners in hiding blemishes and defects, so a clean pressed album is one to treasure – but they are very hard to find. This is a far less commercial pre-’Dark Side of the Moon’ Pink Floyd, the era I personally prefer, but this band made few unworthy albums. A haunting and mesmerising prog classic that has not dated and still sounds as captivating as it did back in the early 70s. This Canadian Harvest example plays beautifully with any surface barely even registering. This has fantastic sound of audiophile quality, this too on an LP12 that hides nothing, it takes you almost into the recording studio itself with gorgeous hidden-details now fully exposed. My play-grade was a pleasure and a genuine thrill, so few will deliver the desired pressing standards wanted. The detail and clarity from this less mass-produced example is unbeatable, and when a really clean, unspoilt copy surfaces these days, it’s something to treasure, they are immensely difficult to find and few of this quality are made available now. Also for good measure it has a heavier, but still soft feeling cover with very different coloured artwork with very slight texturing. Far less obvious than the UK ones but still lightly present. The inside is similar but the here the band members have their names next to them and the text matter varies and in a different area. Clearly this Canadian variant will appeal to Floyd collectors and certainly to those who want classic albums in Mint condition with supreme sound.

Cover Grade and Format: Mint, the word used correctly, this is like brand new and it’s probably not seen light of day since being manufactured. An unlaminated, gatefold format with a fine grain on all surfaces. Although a more robust cover than the UK version, the card is still quite soft and fragile. The spine is very wide and highly impressive. It was printed and made in Canada.

Cover Front: The artwork is very similar but not the same. The obvious differences are the colour, the brown is now a rich turquoise. Also the album title and band is now present near the top edge. This is pristine Mint with absolutely nothing to fault at all. I cannot see even a hairline crease or faint rub trace or surface mark – simply incredible.

Cover Back: The back is similar again, maybe just the faintest of faint hairline surface trace mark if scrutinised under light – nit-picking for the sake of it – this looks stunning as well.

Cover Inner Gatefold: Pristine mint, nothing less, nothing to fault.

Top Edges: Both totally unworn and dead straight.

Bottom Edges: Same again.

Right Edge(s), and Type: Clean, sharp with no wear at all, entrance edge on back razor sharp and guaranteed untrimmed.

Spine and Text: Very thick and impressive: solid and straight with no compression and folded dead square. The right edges meet up perfectly together and parallel too. All text is present with no wear to the characters or artwork that again is factory-fresh and new.

Corners: All look immaculate: a microscopic tip rub to the spine top if being crazy-critical, almost certainly as per manufacture. All retain super-pointed shape with no dinks or creases.

Cover Summary: A immensely solid and good looking all round example of this delicate classic cover variant. I am almost pinching myself to believe this stunning item, this is what the term ‘Mint’ means, a cover with nothing to fault whatsoever, one that looks just made. This incredible cover will please all collectors and perfectionists.

The Inner: Practically Mint again. A plain white, unlined inner with rounded corners on the top opening. Clean, fresh, no creasing of note and all edges unsplit – in other words – immaculate.

Vinyl Condition/Visual Grading: I rarely consider grading any record Mint, but this really does merit it. It looks the same as when manufactured, and why not? It had not been played. A superb visual copy that’s super clean, shiny, intense black and solidly pressed. Critically viewed, an ultra faint hairline was just noticed and a couple of tiny pressing bubbles that have no effect on sound. A near ‘virgin’ copy of ‘Meddle’, and few of those around these days, this is a beautiful Harvest record, it should please any interested collector.

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: This super looking record plays beautifully with practically nothing to fault. Silence for all is a near impossibility, but truly this one plays with barely anything unwanted at all. The format is against it and UK examples were not always the best of pressings – let’s simply say it was ‘variable’. This is an outstanding copy, right from the outset, it plays supremely quiet, even those near impossible intros sound super minus those irritating surface sounds. Any traces are minuscule and as light and few as I have ever heard and such pressings are rare – fact. A copy I really enjoyed listening to it without having to cringe at a loud pop or click or annoying regular crackle – these are more the norm and they irritate. It would take a brave individual or a fool to say any copy of Meddle on vinyl will play to CD silence levels for its entirety, it’s a near impossibility unless it had been pressed on Decca or similar high quality vinyl labels – Harvest records were generally good, but never quite that good. This record is so very quiet in so many places, the odd fragment that hits the stylus has nowhere to hide with long passages of quietness or near silence. I am sure most vinyl lovers will understand what I am talking about and trying to explain. But this copy really does buck the trend and sounds beautifully clean and quiet. What is immensely important also, it has strong, distortion-free sound, all frequencies are sharp and clear - sound quality is very high with a very wide dynamic range and very detailed and intense sound and bags of details hidden in these (totally) unworn grooves. For an immense change, nothing spoilt my pleasure when play-grading this wonderful vintage Floyd classic – certainly up there with their very best ever. I have almost come to expect some gentle surface blemishes from this title and this gave very few. The original dynamics and flawless production of the master tapes can here be enjoyed, the vinyl format is the only way it will still give it to you. This rarer Canadian-pressed example will prove near impossible to find significantly better, this is an outstanding record and one I can strongly recommend – You want Mint, you got it.

Now one of the most established sellers on Ebay and still offering the finest and most accurately described and graded records I can find. 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 collector – 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 total accuracy for colours however but most will be very close. 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: To confirm to the strict Ebay rules on shipping, I must now send ALL my packets ‘Signed-For’ with NO exceptions. Both buyers and sellers want their packets to have a safer journey and this is not a bad thing.

I now offer the fastest possible posting, mostly the very next day after payment is received or within three days maximum (unless on holiday). 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 VERY THICK stiffners for even extra protection – these are FOUR TIMES thicker than commercial stiffners and are custom-made for oneadayrecords. Really rare and expensive albums will even be Double Boxed. 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 for clarity as well as a sender label. 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 ‘Signed-For’ posting is NOT an option anymore. I do not profit on posting and offer probably the best-value and safest shipping possible. I will invoice any winning bidder as soon as possible after the auction ends. My ‘loss’ or ‘damage rate’ is less than 0.1 per percent based on over 5,000+ items sold in over 8 years of Ebay trading and I consider that pretty exceptional. I discount of course for multiple purchases with a maximum of FOUR records per packet. I will not respond to questions on shipping costs as all the details are included in the advert.

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 & CONDITIONS – THESE comply with EBAY’S RULES - PLEASE READ CAREFULLY:

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

1 LP (SECOND Class Recorded Delivery with Standard Royal Mail Insurance) [Signed For] = FREE. This is the new Ebay rule. HOWEVER I STRONGLY URGE UK WINNERS TO PAY THE £3 FOR THE FIRST-CLASS SERVICE AS THE PACKETS WILL ARRIVE MUCH FASTER AND SAFER.

1 LP (FIRST-CLASS Recorded Delivery with Standard Royal Mail Insurance) [Signed For] = £3.

1 LP (Special Delivery with Standard £500 Maximum Insurance) [Signed For, Next Day] = £7.50. (this includes insurance of £500).

Posting & Packing: EUROPE & SCANDINAVIA. (Airmail Only):

1 LP (Small Packet ‘Signed For’ with Standard Royal Mail Insurance [£39 maximum]) = £8. (insurance optional extra £3).

NOTE: I NO LONGER SEND TO THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION. ANY BIDS WILL BE IGNORED.

Posting & Packing: ALL OVERSEAS (non-European) e.g. USA (any part); Australia; Canada; Japan and other Far East; (Airmail Only: I NEVER use Surface Mail):

1 LP (Small Packet ‘Signed For’ with Standard Royal Mail Insurance [£39 maximum]) = £12. (insurance optional extra £3)

Payment Conditions:

I prefer PayPal or cheque from UK winning bidders. I can accept PayPal from overseas bidders or direct payment into my bank account.

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’.