AC/DC – Powerage

Original 1978 Australian First Issue 12" LP Vinyl Record. Blue Albert Productions labels.
In magnificent original condition.
The sleeve  -  is Excellent (see pics) The labels  -  are Excellent (see pics) The vinyl    -  is Excellent. (in superb condition, with just a small amount of non sounding faint lines, visible under direct light) The audio   -  is Near Mint. (quiet deadwax and background, with faultless crisp and dynamic audio)
Superb Maxicut audio

• Matrix / Runout (Runout side A, stamped): MAXICUT BY EMI AUSTRALIA APLP 030 A
• Matrix / Runout (Runout side B, stamped): MAXICUT BY EMI AUSTRALIA APLP 030 B

With superb "MAXICUT" audio, unique to these Australian issues. Maxicut was a revolutionary cutting technique, developed in Australia, specifically for Hard Rock. The regular cutting technique was originally developed for Classical music, and did not sit as well for Rock when mastering these records

These are the words from the man that developed the Maxicut technique. Don Bartley.
"As most mastering engineers at the time knew the Neumann cutting system was designed around stereo classical music and it's natural phase / level relationship, in other words as the stereo orchestra played loader there was an equal increase in the ambient out of phase information.

The Neumann lathe would see this increase in level and phase (particularly the bottom end) and adjust the depth and pitch of the groove to accommodate the modulation of the signal, avoiding "light" grooves and "groove jumping" on playback. However the Neumann system was not user friendly to loud rock / pop music etc. whose bottom end signal was practically mono, resulting in the lathe maintaining a constant depth groove no matter the level of the signal. This resulted in what was classified by the pressing plants as a "dangerous" cut that would "groove jump" on cheaper playback systems. So most engineers did something to overcome this problem.

Prior to my days at EMI I was mastering records for RCA Sydney and developed a system where by a phase shift was introduced to the bottom end of the lathe control signal resulting in a level to depth relationship resulting in a "safer cut". The clever people at EMI decided to re-design the control circuitry of the Neumann lathe and replace one the PC boards with their own "Maxicut" board. This created a sensation and engineers around the world were peering into their microscopes to see what was going on.

By the time I joined EMI in 1980, "Maxicut 2" had been introduced, a more refined version and the one we used throughout the eighties and into the nineties. "Maxicut" was definitely the best and most transparent solution to what was an annoying problem with the Neumann cutting system and I believe there was a patent on the design however I'm not sure if "Maxicut" was adopted by any other users."
Label: Albert Productions – APLP.030, Albert Productions – APLP-030 Format: Vinyl, LP, Album, Stereo Country: Australia Released: Jun 19, 1978 Genre: Rock Style: Hard Rock, Blues Rock A1
Rock 'N' Roll Damnation 3:35 A2
Down Payment Blues 6:20 A3
Gimme A Bullet 3:00 A4
Riff Raff 5:14 B1
Sin City 4:40 B2
Next To The Moon 3:15 B3
Gone Shootin' 4:05 B4
Up To My Neck In You 4:58 B5
Kicked In The Teeth 3:45

• Distributed By – EMI (Australia) Limited
• Manufactured By – EMI (Australia) Limited
• Phonographic Copyright ℗ – Albert Productions
• Copyright © – J. Albert & Son Pty. Ltd.
• Made By – EMI (Australia) Limited
• Made By – Albert Productions
• Published By – Albert
• Published By – Albert Productions
• Published By – J. Albert & Son Pty. Ltd.
• Recorded At – Albert Studios

• Art Direction – Bob Defrin
• Bass – Cliff Williams
• Drums – Phil Rudd
• Engineer – Mark Opitz
• Guitar – Angus Young, Malcolm Young
• Management – Michael A. Browning*
• Photography By – Jim Houghton
• Producer – Vanda & Young
• Vocals – Bon Scott
• Written-By – Angus Young, Bon Scott, Malcolm Young

First pressing with dark blue center labels.

Recorded at Albert Studios, Sydney, Australia, February/March 1978.

Tracks A2, A3 and B2 to B5 of the Australian and New Zealand version are different to the rest of the world.

Back sleeve:
®Albert Productions
©1978 J. Albert & Son Pty. Ltd.
Manufactured and Distributed by EMI (Australia) Limited

Center label:
First published ℗1978 Albert Productions in Australia
©1978 J. Albert & Son Pty. Ltd.
Made by E.M.I. (Australia) Limited, Sydney, N.S.W.

• Barcode: none
• Matrix / Runout (Runout side A, stamped): MAXI CUT BY EMI AUSTRALIA APLP 030 A
• Matrix / Runout (Runout side B, stamped): MAXI CUT BY EMI AUSTRALIA APLP 030 B
• Matrix / Runout (Printed on label side A): APLP-030A
• Matrix / Runout (Printed on label side B): APLP-030B

A few words about condition.

Grade & 
score out of 100
                                           GRADING
Mint is a Rigid Band - The next Four Grades are all Narrow Bands, that slightly widen as the condition gradually deteriorates - Good is still Good, but there is a rapid widening of the Grade Bands, as the condition deteriorates over the last Four grades.

MINT
100
The record itself is in brand new condition with no surface marks or deterioration in sound quality.
The cover and any extra items such as the lyric sheet, booklet or poster are in perfect condition.
Only graded on records that are sealed or clearly unplayed.
 
NEAR MINT
97 to 99        

EXCELLENT
90 to 96
The record shows virtually no signs of having been played,  there is no lessening in sound quality.
The cover and  packaging might have the slightest of tiny defects.
 
The record shows some slight signs of having been played, but there is very little, (if any) lessening in sound quality.
The cover and  packaging might have very slight wear. 
 
VERY GOOD PLUS
80 to 89

VERY GOOD
69 to 79
The record shows signs of having been played, but there is very little lessening in sound quality.
The cover and  packaging might have slight wear, light creasing.

The record has obviously been played many times, but displays no major deterioration in sound quality, despite noticeable surface marks and the occasional light scratch.
Normal wear and tear on the cover or extra items, without any major defects.
This is an above average used record, that has been well looked after.




GOOD
56 to 68
The record has been played so much that the sound quality has deteriorated, but the record will still play through, and it will not be a completely unpleasant listening experience, even at the bottom of this grade (56).
The cover and contents may suffer from folding, scuffing of edges, spine splits, discolouration, etc. 




FAIR
41 to 55
The record is still playable but has not been cared for properly and displays considerable surface noise; it may even stick, skip or jump.. This is starting to be an unpleasant listening experience at the top of the grade (55) and will not be a pleasant listening experience at all by the end of it (41).
The cover and contents will be torn, stained and/or defaced. 
 
POOR
25 to 40
The record will not play properly due to scratches, bad surface noise, etc.
The cover and contents will be badly damaged or partly missing. 
 
BAD
0 - 24
The record is unplayable or might even be broken, and is only of use as a collection-filler.
The Sleeve is non existent (0) or what is left, is only just recognisable.

A few words about postage.

Within Australia, the best value for multiple purchases is a 5KG satchel, where as many as 15 to 20 LPs can be posted for $22.00 registered post. (well packed in a box, inside the satchel)

My Policies on postage are simple.

I post at cost.
The user pays.
I package well.