Vinyl LP Described as "Red Wax"

I recently purchased a Buck Owens LP that was described as "red wax." Forgive me for being such a noob, but what does that mean? Google was no help and the only mention of "red wax" was in reference to colored vinyl. This LP is definitely the standard black color. Please help!

 

Hold it up to a light source, some vinyl appears black until held to a light where it is actually a translucent color. No idea what else it could mean.

 

Where was it described as "red wax ",
does it have a sticker saving so?

And which album is it?

 

Blackie is probably right. There are many LPs that often get described as 'red' or 'translucent red' whereas they appear black unless held up to a strong light (Elton John, Joy Division, Kiss to name but a few). It means nothing at all in my opinion. It's just that some LPs were manufactured that way. They are not limited coloured vinyl or anything of the sort....

 

Blackie is correct.

They are Japanese pressings that have a little red mixed into the black vinyl. Hold them up to some light and you will see the Red.

 

Sometimes Japanese, sometimes not.

 

Red wax to me would normally be just red vinyl ... if the LP is black then maybe it was either wrongly described or the wrong pressing shipped?

... or it is translucent as described above.

 

Most records pressed in the UK by Pye in the 1970s are made of a "secret red" vinyl that looks black until held up to a strong light. I only discovered the phenomenon recently with a Kinks comp, but since then have been spotting them all over the place, including many in my collection! It doesn't add to their value though.

 

There's one more possibility that I can think of. The source master for a given recording is often referred to as a "Redbook". It could mean that "Red Wax" is a vinyl pressing taken directly off of the original master recording.

 

Someone I worked with in a charity shop was saying he'd heard that it did, because they were very few and far between. I told him that I didn't think that is the case and asked him to grab some of the 70s DJM Elton John albums we had (because this is where I made the discovery, decades ago.) They were the same, as I was sure they would be. He was quite taken aback, telling me he couldn't believe he'd not spotted it himself before. And he had been a collector in his younger days, probably from the late 60s onward. Singles on the same label likely had it as well but I remember having Pye ones that have this red thing going on. As you say, it must be most because my copy of The Real Thing's You To Me Are Everything doesn't.

Among other things I have or have had is the circa 1979 reissue of The Police's first 45 Fall Out/Nothing Achieving on the Illegal Records label. Never had the original so I can't speak for that but I'd say it's almost a given. Also I have it on Casablanca - both US and UK and Buddah UK, which physically also look like they are Pye pressings.

Having had a flip through some singles I am assuming this pretty much just spanned the 70s because I'm seeing this on no 60s or late 50s Pye singles I own. If it did go pre and post, I'd be surprised if it were much more than a year or so.

 

But....

This is what happened when I searched for it and clicked on Google Images - more than one copy came up, with different pictures.

Maybe the seller (or Discogs or whoever listed it) made a mistake if there are two versions with the same catalogue number. Just typing in Red Wax to to the brower keeps coming up with red vinyl records, on Images.

I've read and heard that wax is simply what people would have called vinyl (I just say LPs, singles etc anyway) way back when.

 

I did not know this!

 

Thanks, everyone, for the replies. The record in question is Buck Owens' "I've Got A Tiger By The Tail" and I bought it off eBay yesterday. It hasn't shipped and, likewise, I don't have it in my hands just yet. But, here's the product image included with the listing.
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I can't tell if it is, indeed, red vinyl, but it doesn't look like it. I'll be sure to chime back in when I'm able to inspect the record in person.

 

I may be 'off base' here I recall reading somewhere that EMI Toshiba in Japan issued many of their vinyl LPs on Red Wax in the 60s and maybe early 70s? If you ever check out Japan LP listings on Ebay, you'll find many Beatles LP offerings on Red Wax. Come to think of it, I think I have seen some early Elton John albums on Japan LPs pressed on Red Wax too. I have also seen Buck Owens' Japan LPs on Red Wax. I think it was claimed that the vinyl formulation was better than standard black? It would be interesting to hear from somebody who knows the full lowdown on Red Wax.

 

Satrus is correct. Early Toshiba/EMI (Capitol included) LP pressings were on Red Wax (aka Red Vinyl). This is what you are looking at most likely. And pressed from USA Capitol stampers. Therefore a superb quality Japanese pressing with the original sonics.