RL Cut Led Zeppelin II

I just got an original RL (Robert Ludwig) pressing of Led Zeppelin II, it's beat up a bit but wow! Now I know why these are the holy grail pressings for this album, it smokes my 180g Classic re-issue in terms of bass, harmonic texture and sheer rock! Now the trick is to find one some teenager didn't love to death when it came out. If you've got it, you know what I mean and if you don't and love this album, you've got to hear it. On my copy the dead wax on side 2 is the same size as side 1 (not the super narrow deadwax version) and I can also confirm on this version that side one does sound better than side 2.

 

Agreed. Just received mine from forum member Daveman yesterday and am very happy with it. The record never sounded better. Despite the almost constant surface noise, it has become my preferred copy. Assuming a good price, anyone who finds this pressing should pick it up no matter how bad the condition just to hear it.

 

I am on a constant lookout for the Side Two narrow deadwax pressing of this album, but I never run across it.

The SD 8236 1841 Broadway pressing that I do have sounds pretty good in its own right - I'd love to hear the RL version.

 

I found a very clean RL copy on my second try. The first one I found was rather noisy, but the power of the sound came through loud and clear just the same ... Previously, I had preferred a particular '80s repressing (the Classic was a distant second), but the RL beats it easily, being much more powerful with amazing clarity, dynamics and impact.

Congrats on your find!

 

I got very lucky a few months ago when I found an RL with the narrow dead wax side 2 in VG+ condition at a used record store for $3.99. Great sound! If not for this forum I wouldn't have known it when I saw it. Thank you forum!

 

Congrats on your find Blackie! Dont forget that the Classic is also hideously bright, something that the RL version is not. I didnt realize that there were "different deadwax versions" of this. My copy has extremely small deadwax on both sides, and it is not noisy. The condition is VG++ overall IMO. The opening 30 seconds or so is a little noisy on both sides then settles down to quiet. This LP is the crown jewel of my collection, but Im a Zep head!

 

Hi,

This is a superb pressing when found in decent shape. There is also a mastering by George Piros of Mercury Living Presence fame. This has the markings of Atlantic Studios GP on it and also sounds superlative. I like it's warmth in the mids and highs, killer bass, and slam.

 

That's the one I have.

 

i just got a copy with "rl" on both sides. i have one with it only on side one. this one is kinda beat up too, but man, what power. the kind that you can play real low(family man here) and it still comes through, note for note. im gonna look for as many as i can find.

 

Is the RL version considered even better than the original UK pressing?

 

I found one new and sealed for $2.79 IIRC. But that was in 1969. I still have it, but I put the subsequent heavy wear on it myself.

 

What exactly is this "RL" pressing??.. what should I be on the lookout for??. I have a guy out here that sells tons of old Zep albums and will paw through them as soon as I find out what it is.

Who knows.. maybe he has one

side note: this guys old records store was called "Blue Gravy". I always thought that was just the coolest name for a record store

 

I have both and I must say that you have not really heard this record until you have heard the RL cut.

 

It is a pressing that was cut by Bob Ludwig. Look in the dead wax for the initials 'RL'.

-Aaron

 

Thanks Aaron!.. looks like my record selling guy will be having a weekday visit... mawaaaahhahhahhah!

 

One other question on this "RL" copy. Are there just certain years that this "RL" appeared on this LP?

 

Yes, a certain "year" and that was 1969. I read that the RL cut did not track well on enough of the kids cheap phonos on the day, and that by lowering the dynamic punch some, they had less risk of returns. That is why there are two early cuts, and the reason the RL smokes in all areas.

I found a mint one in the used bins for 3.99 two years ago (badly split cover). It had one of those paper gummed address labels on the LP label. But when I deep cleaned the record under a pure H20 rinse, that gummed address label washed right off. Lucky me.

Nice to hear that is kicks the UK originals a**.

 

Thanks Jeff... eeee.. I would think this thing is near impossible to find . Or at least VERY difficult.

 

a dirty one that cleans to NM for $4 with a trashed cover. i live for those kinds of finds. cover schmover!

 

I take it, also, that this was prior to Mr. Ludwig's then-employer, Sterling Sound, first putting a stamped, microscopically-sized "STERLING" on the dead wax (up to late '69, I.I.N.M., they had an interlocking hand-etched "SS").

 

Johnny... if you find two copies, let me know.

 

I found a version of LZ II yesterday that has a hand etched "SS" (not quite interlocking) on each side. One side has "RL" next the "SS", the other has "HL".

My question to those with RL's is, do yours have the stamped "Sterling" or hand etched "SS"?

And, does anyone know who "HL" is?

 

You can always pull the old switcheroo!

I gotta find one of these for myself....goodness knows how many I have already passed by.


Evan

 

In answer to your first question: Neither. My copy is a Columbia pressing, with both sides cut by Columbia (with their brand of machine-stamped matrix numbers and everything). And to your second question: Could "HL" be a reverse-initial for Sterling owner Lee Hulko?

 

Mine has a hand etched SS after the RL on each side.