Master Reel of Beatles’ ‘Sgt. Pepper’ Sells for $2,800 on eBay
A master reel-to-reel tape of the Beatles' 1967 album 'Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band' has sold for $2,800 on eBay.
Few details are given by the Mexican-based seller, but inspection of the pictures of the technical papers included with the tape reveal the Capitol Records logo, as well as a sheet from "Discos Capitol de Mexico, S.A." Therefore, this is most likely the tape provided by Capitol Records to their Mexican branch for them to press vinyl copies of the record.
Adding to the value of the tape is the fact that this is the mono mix of the album. Many Beatles experts consider the mono version to be superior to the more familiar stereo version.
The technical papers contain the instructions from Capitol on where to put the "Spirals" to denote the breaks between songs. Those times are reprinted by hand on the page that is in Spanish.
The seller claims this item is in excellent condition. However, even if it wasn't playable, paying $2,800 for a master tape of an album as famous as 'Sgt. Pepper' is still quite a bargain.