Description: For sale is the vinyl record by The Carpenters titled "Now & Then", originally released in 1973 by A&M Records with a unique tri-folded gate-fold cover. According to the liner notes, this record was mastered by Bernie Grundman at A&M Studios, located in Hollywood, California. In the dead wax between the labels and the last tracks is etched an upper case "T1", followed by the matrix numbers T-2/T-1, indicating that early stampers were used to make this first edition at Columbia Records' pressing plant, located in Terre Haute, Indiana. These are hallmarks of state-of-the-art engineering, sought after by collectors and music lovers for their superior sound quality. I bought this record used, professionally cleaned it on my VPI HW-17 machine and immediately put it into a MFSL archival inner sleeve. This preserves the integrity of the vinyl and any original inner sleeve(s) or insert(s) that may have come with the release. The inner sleeve is graded as Near Mint. The cover is graded as Excellent because of corner blunts and edge rubs. The spine has damage at the corners, resulting in color loss, along with paper loss at one of the corners and along its edges is a line of color loss from those rubs . The vinyl is visually graded as Very Good Plus because of superficial sleeve marks and hairlines, none of which can be felt with a fingertip. I'm play grading it between Very Good Plus and Excellent because of occasional super low levels of surface noise, none of which over-powers the music, most noticeable during the quietest sections of playback and between tracks. It plays all the way through without any pops, skips or lock-ups from start to finish. This is still one of the best copies of this album that I have ever seen or heard and you would be hard pressed to find a copy of this record because it has become so scarce, especially a Terre Haute pressing. I have more Pop albums, as well as records of all genres, listed in my Ebay store. Please take a look. They're predominately Near Mint. Thank you for viewing my listing. I've been collecting records for about 50 years now and have always cleaned them and put them away carefully in plastic inner sleeves. Over the years I've used Dust Bugs, Disc Washers and have finally invested in a professional VPI record cleaning machine. Now that I'm retiring, I'm selling my very esoteric collection. I'm not a professional grader of records, but will use record guides, as well as my personal experiences as a basis of my grading all records. Since grading is subjective, I will be conservative. I offer discounts for multiple sales. Photos are of the actual item for sale, not a stock photo. Please review all descriptions and photos because I do not accept returns. Thank you for looking!
Price: 6 USD
Location: Columbus, Ohio
End Time: 2025-01-18T22:30:55.000Z
Shipping Cost: 5.38 USD
Product Images
Item Specifics
All returns accepted: ReturnsNotAccepted
Features: Original Inner Sleeve Included, Original Tri-Folded Gate-Fold Cover, Mastered by Bernie Grundman, 1st Edition, Mastered @ A&M Studios, Hollywood, CA, Pressing Matrix Nos. T-2/T-1, Pressed @ Columbia's Terre Haute, IN Plant
Custom Bundle: No
Format: Record
Record Size: 12"
Modified Item: No
Country/Region of Manufacture: United States
Material: Vinyl
Speed: 33RPM
Edition: First Edition, First Pressing
Record Label: A&M
Case Type: Cardboard Sleeve
Language: English
Release Title: Now and Then
Sleeve Grading: Excellent (EX)
Artist: Carpenters
Record Grading: Very Good Plus (VG+)
Release Year: 1973
Style: Easy Listening, 1970s, Pop Rock, Singer-Songwriter, Soft Rock, Traditional/Vocal
Color: Black
Genre: Pop
Inlay Condition: Near Mint (NM or M-)
Type: LP
