SOFT MACHINE Third RARER Orig UK 1970 CBS EX++ LPs

	£		62
	$		82

ONEADAYRECORDS – NO Reserves – LOW Starting Bids – Simply Delivering Quality Music to the World.

Please see my Detailed Packing Description Further Down & All Shipping Costs and Options – NOTE: I now apply the Ebay ‘4-day’ rule for non-payment.

Artist or Band: SOFT MACHINE

Album Title: Third.

Producer(s): Soft Machine.

TRACK LIST:

Side 1: Facelift.

Side 2: Slightly all the Time.

Side 3: The Moon in June.

Side 4: Out-Bloody-Rageous.

Label/Format: CBS – original deep orange format (Please see my label scan).

Label Conditions: All four very clean, fresh and attractive with only very light, few and faint spindle marks and no wear around the hole area.

Cat Number: 66246.

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 these Records: 130 / 147 grams. One average weight, the other somewhat above.

Country of Manufacture: England.

Rarity: Moderately scarce in terms of a heavy jazzy prog album.

Original Year of Release: 1970

Matrix Nos: S-66246-A1 / S-66246-B1 / S-66246-C1 / S 66246 D2

Musicians: Mike Ratledge – Hohner Pianet, Lowrey organ, piano; Hugh Hopper – bass guitar; Robert Wyatt – drums, vocals, organ, Hohner Pianet, piano, bass; Elton Dean – alto saxophone, saxello. Guests: Lyn Dobson – soprano saxophone, flute; Jimmy Hastings – flute, bass clarinet; Rab Spall – violin; Nick Evans – trombone.

Brief Info: A double masterwork and arguably their best album and truly essential. Progressive jazz-rock, complex and compelling this a true tour-de-force and remains a hugely important work from the ‘Canterbury’ scene. Uncommercial and not to everyone’s taste, but I love this album. I enjoy more challenging music and this is just that. Four sides, four tracks, three instrumentals. Electric keyboards, winds and drums, no-one sounded quite like the early ‘Softs’ - this is truly inspired stuff. This is a very early example with two hardly played records and a cover – one of rock’s most difficult to find nice – in very pleasing condition. A little muted in recording, but the earliest pressings do seem a little more open and detailed. Overall, this is a strong copy.

Cover Grade and Format: EXCELLENT: arguably better for one that rarely wears well. An unlaminated gatefold format with matt surfaces. Printed and made in England by the E. J. Day Group.

Cover Front: This is a cover that rarely, if ever escapes ringwear. Thin card and quite thick records mean this trait normally occurs. This front has only a small and quite faint arc near the bottom which in terms of this cover is almost remarkable. I have seen both sides of this in the past with full circle, penetrating ringwear and it always looks horrible. Seldom seen on a great deal better than this. Any marks or other rub traces are tiny, few and faint and this defies it’s considerable age.

Cover Back: Ringwear? – what ringwear? – this back has somehow avoided it and few ever will. What a difference this makes – any rim impression is ultra faint indeed and barely even registers. Just a faint crease near the top left corner area, again this shows little and it is the only noteworthy one on this splendid cover’s outside area.

Cover Inner Gatefold: Very clean, fresh and looking superb. A corner tip crease to the top right, any others are faint and show little.

Top Edges: A little light patchy rubbing, mostly near the ends.

Bottom Edges: Light to moderate patchy rubbing. In context for delicate storage edges, pretty light.

Right Edge(s), and Type: Clean, mostly sharp with little wear, any burring or thickening minimal, both are guaranteed untrimmed. Records entered on these edges.

Spine and Text: Solid and thick, straight with barely any compression and folded square, so the edges meet up very closely together and parallel. This has faded with exposure to light - hardly unusual for a 40-year-old+ cover that has been rack stored to do this. In terms or rubbing, barely any and all text is near perfect and unworn.

Corners: Light to moderate tip rubbing with one or two small tip creases. All retain very fine to excellent shape.

Cover Summary: A very strong all-round example of this somewhat unforgiving early 70’s cover, one that will prove very difficult to find much better. This splendid item should please many, if not most collectors.

The Inner Sleeves: The owner of this album put his records inside replacement lined heavy-duty inners and these are the only ones that come with this set.

Vinyl Condition/Visual Grading: EXCELLENT(++) to MINT(-): a superb visual pair that are super clean, shiny, intense black and very solidly/heavily pressed. A pair hardly even played on all the evidence. There is one tiny speck mark near the beginning of side one that emits half a dozen mild clicks but little else visually. I have rarely seen a better of records for this title and like most that came from this collection, this is equally impressive. Visually super records that should please most collectors again.

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 snippets 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 minuscule sound present on any record.]

Sound Quality and Audio Grading: These two records play mostly up to their high visual grading with little to fault. For the vast majority, they play even above with just the half dozen noteworthy clicks near the beginning of side one. Strong, distortion-free sound, all frequencies are sharp and clear - sound quality is as good as it gets from a very early cut, but the album has a slightly muted production that is well known. Any surface sounds are minimal indeed, but a little was heard on the impossibly quite beginning of side four purely within the pressing. This opening has very fine and compacted grooves and will always be a difficult part of this album. I remind, I do play all my records on very revealing equipment and few more clinical than the world-renowed Linn LP12. With passages of quietness, the odd other sporadic pop and click will in most cases be present, but only few on this hardly played copy. Few copies will outperform this early pressing significantly I feel sure. I am certain both records have been played very lightly and have been clearly well stored and carefully handled within a non-smoking environment. Little of any real note spoilt my pleasure when play-grading these fine records and without any doubt, finding them a great deal better will prove very difficult. Unless absolute silence is mandatory – which is a huge and difficult ask on this complex and challenging album – this is one I am happy to highly recommend.

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/Hercules/Cirkus with Ittok Mk II arm and Ortofon Rondo Red moving coil cartridge (tracks at 2 grams). Amps: Naim Nait 5i with Project USB phono stage and Chord interconnects. Speakers: B&W 704 Floorstanding 3-way Monitors (bi-wired with QED Silver terminated cable). All records I offer on Ebay are cleaned on a professional VPI-17 vacuum machine before play-grading for the cleanest and best possible sound and will include a brand new lined inner and protective cover too. Pictures taken with a Nikon D5000 SLR Digital Camera.

PACKING - THIS IS WHAT YOU GET.

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, often the very next day after payment is received or within two to three days maximum (unless on holiday). I only use FIRST-CLASS Mail. The record’s cover will be placed within a BRAND NEW soft protective sleeve and the actual record will be professionally cleaned on my new VPI-17 Pro vacuum system to give ultimate clean grooves and playing surfaces and the best possible looks and ultimate sound quality. 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. All records are posted in professional boxes (NOT Mailers, these do not offer any real protection). The record(s) are 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 at least TWO, ULTRA THICK stiffeners for maximum extra protection – these are FOUR TIMES thicker than commercial stiffeners and are custom-made for oneadayrecords. Really rare and expensive albums will even be Double Boxed if deemed necessary and possible. When larger boxes are used, the thick record and stiffener ‘sandwich’ is then thickly embedded into bubble-wrap to bulk out the record inside the box to centre the item inside to reduce the risk of damage still further. Printed address labels are used for clarity as well as a sender label. 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 the cost of this lavish packing is NOT even charged for, I offer probably the best-value and safest shipping possible for ultimate confidence. The boxes and ultra thick double-wall stiffeners and bubble wrap make a near impregnable fortress for safe shipping and this is used inland and overseas for ALL my records, not just the rare and expensive. I will invoice any winning bidder as soon as possible after the auction ends. My ‘loss’ or ‘damage rate’ is less than one in two thousand based on over 7,000+ items sold in nearly 10 years of Ebay trading and I consider that pretty exceptional. The only damage rate acceptable for this seller is ZERO and I think my packets will offer just that. It would take a vicious postman or postal service to damage these for sure. Even one of these stiffeners cannot be bent by hand, so what chance 3 or 4 inside a box? Oneadayrecords is a MAILER-FREE ZONE. I discount of course for multiple purchases with a maximum of FIVE records per box (one double can sometimes be included subject to total weight). I will not respond to questions on shipping costs as all the details are included here and on ALL of my adverts. Details below:

NOTE: First Time Bidders: Please as me first.

PLEASE NOTE: I now exercise my right to open a dispute after the Ebay rule of FOUR days if no payment is received. I will then cancel the dispute to end the, again after the mandatory FOUR days and then offer the item to the runner-up or relist. The non-payer will also be blocked from my Ebay site and they take the Ebay consequences (a strike or removal from the system). Small businesses need prompt payment to trade and these strict rules WILL be applied.

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 (FIRST-CLASS Recorded Delivery with Standard Royal Mail Insurance) [Signed For] = £4.

1 LP (Special Delivery with Standard £500 Maximum Insurance) [Signed For, Next Day] = £7.50. (this includes insurance of £500). Add £2 per extra LP.

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

1 LP (Small Packet ‘Signed For’ with Standard Royal Mail Insurance [£46 maximum]) = £10. (Royal Mail insurance is an optional extra £3). Add £3 per extra LP.

Posting & Packing: ALL OVERSEAS (non-European) e.g. USA (ANY PART OF); South America; New Zealand; 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 [£46 maximum]) = £14. Add £4 per extra LP. (Royal Mail insurance is an 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: I will cancel any bids I feel are time-wasters. 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. I will not refund if any defect detail is clearly stated on the advert and missed by the buyer, so read the item description carefully. If any overseas collector does not understand anything in my listing, please email and ask me to help. Thank You.

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 necessarily 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’.