CDs Pressed by Specialty: SRC code?

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by CardinalFang, Apr 21, 2008.

Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.
  1. CardinalFang

    CardinalFang New Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    ....
    You'll see it in the matrix code of many WEA discs from the 80s and 90s... SRC-01, SRC-02, etc. What does this code mean?
     
    905 likes this.
  2. CardinalFang

    CardinalFang New Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    ....
    Should have searched a little more vigilantly....

    http://www.stevehoffman.tv/forums/showpost.php?p=3355856&postcount=28

     
  3. George P

    George P Way Down Now

    Location:
    NYC
    So does this mean that SRC 01 is a better pressing than say SRC 07? And SRC 07 is better than SRC 11?
     
  4. mrbillswildride

    mrbillswildride Internet Asylum Escapee 2010, 2012, 2014

    wow, interesting titbit about RE in that link.. thanks...:righton:
     
  5. CardinalFang

    CardinalFang New Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    ....
    I doubt it. :shrug:
     
  6. CellPhoneFred

    CellPhoneFred New Member

    Location:
    Columbus, Ohio
    Good question! :righton:
     
  7. CT Dave

    CT Dave Senior Member

    Location:
    Connecticut
    What about the other numbers that are stamped into CDs from Specialty? For example, my copy of Hootie's "Cracked Rear View" has "SRC**01" etched into the disc, and "M2S11" machine stamped into the disc. I'm assuming that the second number is the matrix number of the stamper used?
    "M2" = Master #2, "S11" = Stamper 11?

    Some of the discs also have an "ARC" stamped into the disc before the machine stamped matrix number. Didn't WEA also operate a West Coast CD plant, Allied? Do these "ARC" discs originate from the West Coast plant?
     
  8. Spaceboy

    Spaceboy Senior Member

    Location:
    Near Edinburgh, UK
    No, but if there are any faults with certain discs they'd be able to track it down to one particular glass master.
     
  9. George P

    George P Way Down Now

    Location:
    NYC
    Last night I compared two CDs, only difference was their SRC numbers. One is a SRC 17, the other SRC 21. The SRC 17 sounds slightly better, fuller.
     
  10. juhtah

    juhtah Forum Resident

    Location:
    Turku, Finland
    What about SRC etched on CD's printed in Germany? I have a LZ I "40 Golden Greats" cd with the text "Made in Germany by Record Service Gmbh Aldsdorf" on the front of the disc, but the etching says SRC-02. Is this a US made CD alledgedly printed in Germany, or what?
     
  11. mrdiscman

    mrdiscman Disc Manufacturing Specialist

    The M stands for the mother number. A mother (how appropriate with Mother's Day coming :) ) is a metal negative impression of the glass master (pits are reversed from the glass master, land areas are reversed from the glass master). M2 would mean the 2nd mother made from a glass master. The S does indeed stand for the stamper number. A stamper is a metal negative impression of a mother (pits are reversed from the mother, land areas are reversed from the mother). S11 does indicate the 11th stamper made from a mother. In the case of your CD, the CD was made from the 11th stamper from the 2nd mother created from the 1st glass master (SRC**01) on the laser beam recorder at SRC indicated by **. The CD is a negative impression of the stamper (pits are reversed from the stamper, land areas are reversed from the stamper).

    ARC does stand for Allied Records Corporation in California. If ARC is stamped into the matrix, then the glass master most likely came from SRC. If ARC is written by the laser beam recorder, then the glass master was done at ARC. Any CDs with any form of ARC in the matrix are indeed pressed at the Allied facility on the West Coast.
     
  12. mrdiscman

    mrdiscman Disc Manufacturing Specialist

    The glass master would have been done at SRC in the USA. This glass master, and possibly mothers and stampers as well, would have been sent to Germany where CDs were made from these parts. Most likely, the Record Service plant was too busy at the time to make their own glass master for this CD.
     
  13. CT Dave

    CT Dave Senior Member

    Location:
    Connecticut
    Thank you, mrdiscman, for sorting out the Alphabet soup on the WEA CDs.:)
     
  14. monewe

    monewe Forum Resident

    Location:
    SCOTLAND
    This is one of the reasons why I love this forum. Ask a question someone gives you an answer and increases your knowledge base.
     
  15. George P

    George P Way Down Now

    Location:
    NYC
    Indeed. This thread could be compiled into a very useful faq.
     
  16. mrdiscman

    mrdiscman Disc Manufacturing Specialist

    I did leave out one step of the process in hastily writing this up. The mother is actually a negative impression of the "father," which is a negative impression of the glass master. Five steps (glass master, father, mother, stamper, disc) are necessary to allow the disc to have the same topology polarity as the glass master. So, I will revise my previous post (#12) as follows:

    The M stands for the mother number. A mother (how appropriate with Mother's Day here :) ) is a metal negative impression of the father (pits are reversed from the father, land areas are reversed from the father). A "father" is a negative impression of a glass master with no generation information about the father specified on a finished disc. M2 would mean the 2nd mother made from a father from some glass master. The S does indeed stand for the stamper number. A stamper is a metal negative impression of a mother (pits are reversed from the mother, land areas are reversed from the mother). S11 does indicate the 11th stamper made from a mother. In the case of your CD, the CD was made from the 11th stamper from the 2nd mother created from a father from the 1st glass master (SRC**01) on the laser beam recorder at SRC indicated by **. The generation of the father is unknown. The CD is a negative impression of the stamper (pits are reversed from the stamper, land areas are reversed from the stamper).

    ARC does stand for Allied Records Corporation in California. If ARC is stamped into the matrix, then the glass master most likely came from SRC. If ARC is written by the laser beam recorder, then the glass master was done at ARC. Any CDs with any form of ARC in the matrix are indeed pressed at the Allied facility on the West Coast.
     
  17. mrdiscman

    mrdiscman Disc Manufacturing Specialist

    Perhaps a gort could accommodate this. I would be glad to contribute!

    :edthumbs:
     
  18. CT Dave

    CT Dave Senior Member

    Location:
    Connecticut
    I just came across an odd Specialy matrix variance. My copy of "The Best Of Sammy Davis Jr. On Reprise" has the disc catalog number followed by "OLY##01". Would the "OLY" stand for Olyphant, where the plant was located?
     
  19. mrdiscman

    mrdiscman Disc Manufacturing Specialist

    Yes - this happened when the Specialty and Allied names were history and both plants received the WEA Manufacturing name in 1996. SRC was replaced by OLY (for Olyphant, PA), and ARC was replaced by COM (for Commerce, CA). All of the previous discussions still apply with these changes to SRC and ARC.

    Shortly after these changes came about, the WEA Mfg logo was etched by the laser beam recorder, replacing both the OLY and COM. In this case, the words "Olyphant" or "Commerce" were etched just under the WEA Mfg logo. This is very hard to see with the naked eye - you may need some magnification to see this.

    This variation existed until Cinram purchased the WEA Mfg factories.
     
  20. George P

    George P Way Down Now

    Location:
    NYC
    I just got a Stevie Wonder CD - Talking Book and it's a second copy. The only difference in their matrix numbers is the very last letter:

    The one I got today - 37463 0319-2 01! D
    The one that I had - 37463 0319-2 01! S

    Can anyone say what the D and S represent?

    I should also say that the one i got today has a silver hub (no markings except for the matrix number), while the other has a clear plastic hub (marked "MADE IN THE USA BY PMDC" and "IFPI 0345").
     
  21. This was a post that I entered into the "Long and Winding Threads" section a couple of days ago. I felt it would be appropriate to put it here as well.

    This is the post in it's entirety:



    As of late, I've been very interested in collecting early Specialty Records Corp. or SRC pressings. Over the past two weeks I have sorted through thousands of cd's in the bins of my local used cd shops searching specifically for these discs. Along the way, I've learned a few things about identifying different SRC pressings and used this information to help me narrow down my search to specific matrix codes of interest.

    While I can in no way guarantee the accuracy of this information, I think it is very close to being accurate and can only hope that someone will correct any errors that exist.

    Here is what I discovered about the matrix codes:

    1989 - 1990: Discs pressed from this time should have the standard matrix code in the inner mirror band as well as the Mother and Stamper information. However, they will not have the ISBN bar code. (I'm not exactly sure when the ISBN bar code became part of the inner mirror band but I think it was in 1991.) An example of a typical matrix code of this type would look like this: 3 55555-2 SRC-02 M1S2

    The first number that appears in the above example is the Label identifier. Since SRC pressed for WEA (though not exclusively as we'll see later) there are 3 identifier codes:
    1 - Warner Bros.
    2 - Electra
    3 - Atlantic
    So, in our example above, that disc would have been pressed for Atlantic. The SRC-02 identifies that the 2nd. Glass master was used to produce this disc. Finally, the M1S2 tells us that the 2nd. Stamper from the 1st. Mother was used for the pressing of this cd.

    1987 - 1988: Discs pressed during this time would have inner mirror band matrix codes similar to the 1989 -1990 discs except for the absence of the Mother and Stamper information. An example of a typical matrix code of this type would look like this: 3 55555-2 SRC-04

    1986: Discs pressed in 1986 will not have the label identifier at the beginning of the matrix code. An example of a typical matrix code of this type would look like this: 55555-2 SRC-05

    _________________________________

    With this knowledge, I looked only for these specific pressings:
    1986: anything from this period
    1987-1988: Only discs with an SRC-01 glass master
    1989-1990: Only discs with an SRC-01 glass master and 1st. Mother and 1st. Stamper

    So, after searching through thousands of cd's over the past two weeks, here is what I found:

    1986

    These discs are very difficult to find no matter what Glass Master number they come with. I honestly believe they are as hard to find as Target pressings. If your only willing to accept SRC-01 pressings then you truly are searching for a needle in a haystack! However, every once in a while, you get lucky!:

    Led Zeppelin - Houses of the Holy
    Matrix code: 19130-2 SRC-01
    Jewel case: Ribbed sides with short bar booklet stops

    I couldn't believe it when I opened this disc up! I was stunned! When I set out on this venture, this was the very first disc in the very first store that I looked at. It was sitting in the "Blow-Out" bin right by the front entrance to the store. It was on top of a stack of discs and I thought it was just another remaster. Boy, was I wrong!

    After finding this disc right at the very beginning of my search, I thought that finding these discs was going to be easy. Boy, was I wrong again!

    One more did turn up though:

    Dwight Yokam - Hillbilly Deluxe
    Matix code: 25567-2 SRC-01
    Jewel case: ribbed sides with short bar booklet stops

    Another SRC-01 pressing.....What can I say, when your lucky, your lucky!
    I found this in a friends collection who has owned it since Day 1.


    Additional 1986 pressings:
    Genesis - Genesis
    Matrix code: 80116-2 SRC-07
    Jewel case: ribbed sides with round dimple bookletstops

    Genesis - Invisible Touch
    Matrix code: 81641-2 SRC-04
    Jewel case: smooth sided with long bar booklet stops

    Both of these Genesis discs came from the same collection as the Dwight Yoakam disc. He was buying discs new in the mid and late '80's so I figured his collection would be a good place to look. Unfortunately, I didn't find as many discs in his possesion as I thought I would.


    Van Halen - Diver Down
    Matrix code: 2-03677 SRC 03
    Jewel case: Ribbed sides with round dimple booklet stops

    This one is unusual in that the 2 usually comes after the 03677, not before it. Also, there is usually a - between the SRC and the 03. This is the only disc like this that I've seen.
    This disc came from my brother. Actually, I gave it to him over 15 years ago. It's nice to have it back now!



    1987-1988

    Finding SRC-01 pressings from this time period isn't as hard as finding discs from 1986, but, those 1st. glass masters can be elusive. Here is what I came up with:

    Doobie Brothers - Takin' it to the Streets
    Matrix code: 1 2899-2 SRC-01
    Jewel case: Ribbed sides with short bar booklet stops
    Manufactured by Columbia House under license.

    This was a surprise because every Columbia House disc pressed by SRC that I turned up had very high Glass Master numbers....usually in the double digits. This was the only one I found with an SRC-01.


    These next two discs are very interesting. They were pressed by SRC for Columbia not WEA!

    Beatles - With the Beatles
    Matrix code: CDP 7 46436 2 SRC-01
    A second matrix code appears on the other side of the mirror band: 3-2 CAPITOL JAX 12
    Jewel case: Ribbed sides with long bar booklet stops

    This disc also came from my friends collection.


    Sawyer Brown - Somewhere in the Night
    Matrix code: CCT-46923 SRC-05
    A second matrix appears on the other side of the mirror band: CAPITOL JAX 1
    Jewel case: Ribbed sides with long bar booklet stops



    1989

    Dokken - Two for Tuesday
    Matrix code: 2 PR 8042-2 SRC+01 M1S1
    Jewel case: Ribbed sides with round dimple booklet stops

    The rear tray card states: LICENSED FOR PROMOTIONAL USE ONLY SALE IS PROHIBITED
    The cd also has this same statement on it.
    The disc contains two songs:
    1.) Walk Away (LP Version)
    2.) Alone Again (Live Version)




    So, looking at the discs that I was able to find, you might get the impression that finding SRC pressings from 1986 isn't so hard after all. However, once you combine these discs with the cd's that I already have, it becomes immediately apparent that they aren't very plentiful! Set aside the discs that I acquired from my friends collection, and the number of discs I have that were pressed in 1986 drops off fast!


    Sorry this is so long winded but I've been looking for information about these pressings for quite a while now with little success. I just hope that this helps anyone else that may be interested in these early U.S. pressings.


    Oh, before I forget.....
    I compared my SRC-01 Houses of the Holy with my W. German Target pressing of it.....Now I know why Barry Diament said he prefered the SRC's for his own collection!
     
    princesskiki likes this.
  22. Dave C

    Dave C Forum Resident

    Location:
    Western NY, USA
    Wow - lots of good info here. Thanks for the post! I'll have to bookmark for later :thumbsup:
     
  23. My pleasure! Glad I could help!:cheers:
     
  24. George P

    George P Way Down Now

    Location:
    NYC
    Yes, thanks so much for that!!! :)

    I'm going to make it a Word Document and update it if changes are needed. :righton:
     
  25. CT Dave

    CT Dave Senior Member

    Location:
    Connecticut
    These next two discs are very interesting. They were pressed by SRC for Columbia not WEA!

    Beatles - With the Beatles
    Matrix code: CDP 7 46436 2 SRC-01
    A second matrix code appears on the other side of the mirror band: 3-2 CAPITOL JAX 12
    Jewel case: Ribbed sides with long bar booklet stops

    Sawyer Brown - Somewhere in the Night
    Matrix code: CCT-46923 SRC-05
    A second matrix appears on the other side of the mirror band: CAPITOL JAX 1
    Jewel case: Ribbed sides with long bar booklet stops

    These two CDs had the glass masters cut at Specialty, but the discs themselves were pressed by Capitol/EMI. That is what the "Capitol JAX" portion of the matrix code indicates. Capitol/EMI did not do any glass CD mastering at their plant until the early 90s, so they relied on outside plants for their glass masters. In addition to Specialty, Sanyo, Sony/DADC, JVC, Discovery Systems, and EMI/Swindon provided glass masters for Capitol/EMI's Jacksonville CD facility.
     
    jvmjr and princesskiki like this.
Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.

Share This Page

molar-endocrine