I don't know that you can blame Tom Port for the elevated interest in RL copies of Zep II. From what I gather from his site, they compare dozens of copies of the same pressing to find the one that sounds best and charge accordingly. It's not like the rest of the albums on the Better Records website are going for astronomical sums on Ebay. My guess is that the record collecting world has caught on to the Ludwig master, quite probably inspired by the very discussions we have here at the Hoffman forums.
Ummm, no. The RL quality has nothing to do with phony over-priced non-collectibles. This also has nothing to do with Tom the Hot Stamper king. In fact Tom first read about the LZ II RL here in these forums in a thread I was running. He then took that info and began his search. It's not faked sound quality, it was not started (in this case by hot stampers, inc.), and plenty of records go for way more than their worth. Jimi Hendrix AYE and AXIS on UK Track record are examples of LPs that went way overboard years ago by newbies not knowing what they are doing, but wanting what they read was the best. And finally, these are not wrecked copies at all we are discussing. Sorry to be contrary.
Yeah but the Diamante CD will cost you at LEAST 5 bucks. I recently started adding up what I was spending on records and it was a little disturbing. $100 for an album I've heard too many times. Or $5 for a good sounding CD version of the same album. We all have to make that decision. My decisions recently are for the $5 cd's and financial peace. But if you have the money and that is your priority, by all means get the RL original. I have found some incredible sounding LP's for way less if I want to put something on to enjoy my system. The Eagles Long Run for $7. Teaser and Firecat for $3. Fleetwood Mac s/t Kendun/pogo pressing for $10 are 3 recent purchases that come to mind. There isn't an album in the world worth $100 to me, particularly if there is a good sounding CD for $5. There is so much other great music out there. Not to get into the CD versus vinyl debate, but given the price difference, I feel it fits in this discussion.
No, it actually is the best the LP on vinyl has ever sounded. It's just that Zeppelin have always caused mass hysteria. Those without one (RL) are not happy about it. And are often po'd at the asking prices.
Sounds like a cool new trend. A trend that - if done properly - could confuse the hell out of record collectors! Well.... for $1700 I would probably deliver mine personally!
Yeah if we're just gonna etch our own stuff into the deadwax no harm in putting the RL in yourself! Maybe I'm just being a hater but that whole auction seems a little weird to me...
I think my comment was misconstrued. I agree it's the best sounding pressing, but it seems to me that the 'legend' and hype, as well as the relative scarcity, have exaggerated how much better it might be than some other excellent versions of the record. I've owned two of them and have sold them for ridiculously more than I paid. I probably listened to each one a handful of times - it's a very unique and fun listen. I just believe the 'cool factor' of saying you have one is a motivating factor as to why people will pay what I consider silly prices for a record.
Reminds me of the time, I sold my RL and a potential bidder messaged me asking if I would take offers. I said yes but he would have to make the offer first. He offered $80 (Canadian). I told him I'd pass (I was hoping to get about $120-150 USD as that would put me in a nice break even point at the low end after fees). After another message telling me the record wasn't worth more than $80 or so Canadian and some more blah blah blah stuff, he then bid on my auction at a level much higher than his initial offer. He was outbid pretty quickly and then sent me another message saying that, on reflection, he felt that the RL in the photograph looked fake and wanted to know if anyone else had asked if it was fake. I told him no on both accounts and promptly blocked him from further bidding just in case. In the end the record went for just under $500 USD. If I hadn't been sitting on the ground when I got the eBay notice I'd have fallen off my chair. It was a true VG+ but I was nervous until the buyer left me positive feedback. You never really know until you're sure the buyer is happy but I still couldn't relax about it until the paypal 6 month thing was up. lol
Wow, I did well selling mine but nothing like that - congrats. I'm sorry, but the idea that it might be the best sounding pressing on it's own will not drive someone to spend crazy money like that. But pure hype and the cool factor of owning a Zep II RL clearly will.
It certainly helped with the cash flow as I had just bought a WLP II RL, which, IMO, will have a longer shelf life in terms of collectibility. I got that at a good price too. No one bid on it but me. Hype certainly helps. I think if I had $1,700 to spend on a Zep II I'd go for something like the WLP instead or even try and find a mint UK pressing. I think the RL, over time will probably lose some of it's attraction. Also, this auction in particular, was for a NM copy. That's actually quite rare and I think the prospect of owning a NM copy helped fuel the bidding battle between the bidders. Not sure how many other regular non WLP RL's have gone for north of $1000. But unless it's quite a lot, it's hard to say that's the normal price and not an anomaly. If I was the seller, I'd be on edge until 6 months after the payment was made, expecting the buyer to want his money back at any minute before then. lol
Nice story! I bought the Alice Cooper “Eighteen” RSD single a short time ago, and found out it was signed by all the band members. I put it on ebay hoping I would maybe double my cost. It went for $400 and I was shocked. Was able to pay off the balance of my credit card.
That recent auction has ended and I had a suggested item pop up when clicking on the link. This thing is described as NM/M and look at the photos of the vinyl. Is it me or do you see enough blemishes to make that grading bogus? Led Zeppelin II, Atlantic SD 8236, Robert Ludwig Hot Mix RL SS | eBay
There’s a CD by one of my favourite artists on Discogs that started at £UK100. It’s been reduced by £20 or so every couple of months and it’s now down to £30. I suspect the $300 seller is just trying it on.
I love photos like that because you can tell right away that it's badly graded. People who know how to take photos could easily make that look much better than it does in those photos but the lighting unmasks a lot on that record. I hope potential bidders notice the issues with that record. No where near NM. Looking at the sellers feedback it's clear they aren't necessarily a record dealer so I doubt they know how to grade a record but I'm sure the recent prices for this record helped sway both grade and price listed.
Fair question. As I recall, the seller claimed he got it still sealed, slit to verify the deadwax, never played. I cautioned a friend who is an experienced buyer- when you see "never played" in a listing, that doesn't mean the record has never been played in its life, it may mean that seller hasn't played it. Thus, a feature becomes a defense when you buy it and it's trashed.
Again, it is not the idea of it sounding maybe (might be) the best, but more like the reality that it does indeed sound the best. You seem to be downplaying it's true virtues here.
