CDs Pressed by Specialty: SRC code?

Just found this yesterday:

This disc, for me, has been something of an urban legend....something I've heard of but never actually seen!

Robert Plant - Now and Zen
Es Paranza
7 90863-2
1988

Inner mirror band matrix code: 3 90863-2 SRC-03 CAPITOL JAX 6

If you've studied these matrix codes then you probably already know why this disc is special. If you don't, then these words, printed in bold typeface at the 6 o'clock position of the disc say it all...MADE IN U.S.A. BY CAPITOL RECORDS

If your still not quite getting it, this is a WEA title pressed by Capitol Records! That's equivalent to GM asking Ford to make the engine for the Chevrolet Corvette!

I had heard about these discs, but never really believed it was true (Sorry, SecondHandNews) because I had never seen one before! I don't know how rare these things are, (For all I know, they may not be that rare at all.) but I am pretty excited about finding my first Capitol for WEA SRC pressing!

 

I found something of a unique disc today....very much like the Robert Plant - Now and Zen Capitol pressing discussed in the previous post.

The disc I found is this:

David Sanborn - A Change Of The Heart
Matrix code: 25479-2 SRC-01

At first glance, it appears to be just another 1st. Generation 1st. Glass Master SRC pressing. A rare find certainly. But it wasn't until I inspected the disc a little closer that I found what made this disc really unique. At the 6 o'clock position on the disc was this little bit of information: MADE IN THE U.S.A. BY LASER VIDEO

Coincidentally, I've been doing some research about LaserVideo, Inc. recently with regards to a number of Reference Recordings discs that I have in my collection. Reference Recordings used LaserVideo, Inc. to press many of their titles because they specialized in catering to the needs of smaller labels.

Here is some background info about LaserVideo, Inc. just in case your interested:

LaserVideo, Inc. was a venture started in 1975 by it's parent company Quixote Corp.. In 1983 LaserVideo manufactured the first audio CD in the United States. Their manufacturing facility was located in Anaheim, Ca.. They opened a second, significantly larger, CD manufacturing facility in Huntsville, Al. in 1986. In December, 1987 Quixote sold LaserVideo to Disctronics, an Australian based company looking to break into the U.S. market. Transfer of ownership took place on January 1st. 1987 and at that point LaserVideo became Disctronics. So, whenever you come across a U.S. Disctronics pressing you will know that it was pressed sometime after 1-1-87.

However, Disctronics was unable to meet their end of the deal and on May 1st. 1990 LaserVideo was reacquired by Quixote and renamed Disc Manufacturing, Inc. (DMI).

So, if you have any Disctronics pressings, you now know that they were pressed between 1-1-87 and 5-1-90.

Most of the information I found about LaserVideo was from a 10-K Annual Report for Quixote Corp from 1995. You can find that same report here:

www.getfilings.com/o0000912057-95-008088.html

Hope this helps!

 

I'm not sure if you meant in regards to WEA discs, but I can tell you for a fact that Disctronics kept pressings discs for the U.S. at least through the mid to late nineties.

 

This company renamed itself Disc Mfg after Disctronics sold it off. Disctronics had a worldwide cadre of plants then sold them off piece by piece.

 

Hi SecondHandNews,

Your right. This didn't sound exactly right to me when I was putting that post together. It would have been more accurate to say that Disctronics stopped producing discs from the LaserVideo plants once ownership transfered back to Quixote Corp..



Hi ffracer,

Just to clarify what you said a little further....

Everything I've read, from legal filings to the Annual Report from Quixote Corp., suggests that Disctronics didn't sell off their ownership of the LaserVideo plants. Rather, ownership of the two plants reverted back to Quixote Corp. when disctronics couldn't make the final payment on the note owed to Quixote Corp. from the original purchase agreement.

Once ownership reverted back to Quixote, Quixote renamed the two plants (One in Anaheim, Ca. and the other in Huntsville, Al.) Disc Manufacturing Inc., or DMI for short.

 

After I found this disc I had a couple of questions about it.

Why would WEA/SRC send the first Glass Master to LaserVideo? Why not send them SRC-02 or 03, etc. and keep SRC-01 at SRC?

Or, perhaps, they sent them SRC-01 after they finished pressing copies of it at SRC....but that doesn't make much sense. If you needed additional copies pressed of a particular title, it seems it would have been easier to just send them a different Glass Master.

Well, as luck would have it, I got the answer (Or, at least, a partial answer.) to these questions yesterday while I was digging around in the bins of one of my local haunts.
I found this:

David Sanborn - A Change Of The Heart
Matrix code: 25479-2 SRC-01

Pressed by....drum roll, please....SRC!

There it is. Printed at the 9 o'clock position on the disc, "Mfg. by WEA Manufacturing."



So, we now know that both LaserVideo and SRC used the first Glass Master to produce this title.

Now, however, there are some new questions to come from this disc which, I'm afraid, may never be answered. For example:

Who pressed from this Glass Master first?

Why send SRC-01 instead of SRC-02,-03, etc. to LaserVideo?

Since SRC didn't list the Mother and Stamper numbers on the First Generation pressings, did SRC send LaserVideo the Glass Master or one of the Mothers or Stampers made from it?


I suspect that this last scenario is probably the most likely case. If WEA needed additional copies of this disc and SRC didn't have the capacity to produce the quanitity needed at the time, it would have been much quicker to get the product to market if both plants were producing this title at the same time from different stampers.

But I guess we'll never know....

 

I just came across a disc in the used bins that I think will help redefine the end-date for the 4th. Generation and the start-date of the 5th. Generation for SRC pressings.

As I mentioned in the post above, I didn't have any SRC pressings from 1992. Therefor, I didn't know if the change from the 4th. to 5th. Generations occured during 1992 or 1993. Although I don't have an exact release date for the disc I just found, I feel quite certain saying that it was pressed and released in 1992....most likely in the early summer. Here is the disc and it's matrix code:

Lollapalooza '92
PRO-CD-5500
Matrix code: ***************** 1 PRO CD 5500-2 SRC*01 *************** M1S3
Promotional Copy. Not For Sale. is printed on both the rear tray card and the cd.

Even though this isn't an M1S1 pressing, I'm pretty confident that this probably would have been pressed right around the same time as an M1S1 pressing would have been since it was distributed to promote the summer concert event.

So, I think it's safe to say that 4th. Generation pressings would have ended, and 5th. Generation pressings would have began, some time around the summer of 1992.

 

Although we're focusing on M1S1 discs, I think it's a bit interesting to note that very high stamper numbers can appear on CDs that had millions of units pressed and sold in a relatively short period of time.

The copy I have of Alanis Morissette's Jagged Little Pill has a matrix of "1 45901-2 RE-1 SRC##02 M5S37."

Meanwhile, my copy of Third Eye Blind's first album (dating to after when the "SRC" designations were eliminated) has a matrix number of "2 62012-2 02 M1S72!" Interestingly, I also have an advance promotional copy of this title on hand and it was made from the same "02" glass master (albeit with "M1S1" etched at the end), suggesting that for some titles they skipped over the "01" or "SRC-01" master entirely...

 

Not really ... this isn't the first time Capitol has done pressings for WEA. Capitol was pressing LPs and singles for Warner Bros. during the 1970s.

 

While this is true, I was refering to the unusual habit of a corporation pressing discs for one of it's competitors. You just don't see this very often with cd's.

 

I have two copies of Led Zeppelin's Presence, both apparently second generation:

2 59402 SRC-01
Made in Germany
Cat. no. 7567-90329-2

2 59402 SRC-01
Made in Germany by Record Service Gmbh, Alsdorf
Cat. no. 259 402/SS 8416-2

 

I found a new disc yesterday that helps to establish a new end date for 5th. Generation pressings and a new start date for 6th. generation pressings.

Here it is:

6th. Generation:
George Benson - Love Remembers
Warner Bros.
Matrix code: 1 26685-2 SRC**01 M1S1
Release date: June 22, 1993

So, we now know that 5th. Generation pressings would have ended and 6th. Generation pressings would have started by June 22, 1993.


I also came across this disc:

2nd. Generation:
Ted Nugent - If You Can't Lick 'Em...Lick 'Em
Atlantic
Matrix code: 3 81812-2 SRC-01
Release date: unknown

 

Here's an updated list of start and end dates for each of the 6 Generations of SRC pressings:

1st. Generation:
In production from the opening of the SRC plant in 1987 (Sorry, I don't know the exact date.) until at least July of 1987.

2nd. Generation:
Most likely began production sometime around July of 1987 and ended sometime in 1988.

3rd. Generation:
Production began sometime in 1988 and would have ended by September of 1990, if not sooner.

4th. Generation:
These pressings would have began as late as September 1990, if not sooner and would have ended by the Summer of 1992, if not sooner.

5th. Generation:
These pressings began by the Summer of 1992, if not sooner and would have ended by June 22nd. 1993, if not sooner.

6th. Generation:
These pressings began by June 22nd. 1993, if not sooner and would have ended when SRC stopped pressing under the SRC label. (I have a disc as late as May 14th. 1996.)

 

Have we established (as fact) that the first pressing is identified by SRC 01?

 

If the first pressing didn't come from the 1st. Glass Master, what would it have come from?

 

I found another title pressed by Capitol Records for WEA from an SRC glass master today! Here it is:

Dokken - Back For The Attack
Matrix code: 2 60735-2 SRC-01 CAPITOL JAX 5
MADE IN U.S.A. BY CAPITOL RECORDS is printed at the 6 o'clock position of the outer perimeter of the disc.

I'm curious to know how many different titles were pressed by Capitol for WEA...

 

I just noticed some typos in the above post so I want to fix them here:

In December, 1987 Quixote sold LaserVideo to Disctronics, an Australian based company looking to break into the U.S. market. Transfer of ownership took place on January 1st. 1987 and at that point LaserVideo became Disctronics. So, whenever you come across a U.S. Disctronics pressing you will know that it was pressed sometime after 1-1-87.

This should read:
In December, 1987 Quixote sold LaserVideo to Disctronics, an Australian based company looking to break into the U.S. market. Transfer of ownership took place on January 1st. 1988 and at that point LaserVideo became Disctronics. So, whenever you come across a U.S. Disctronics pressing you will know that it was pressed sometime after 1-1-88.


Also,

So, if you have any Disctronics pressings, you now know that they were pressed between 1-1-87 and 5-1-90.

This should read:
So, if you have any Disctronics pressings, you now know that they were pressed between 1-1-88 and 5-1-90.

 

When it rains, it pours! I found another title pressed by Capitol Records for WEA from an SRC Glass Master today! Here it is:

INXS - Kick
Atlantic
7 81796-2
1987

Matrix code: 3 81796-2 SRC-04 CAPITOL JAX 2
MADE IN U.S.A. BY CAPITOL RECORDS is printed at the 6 o'clock position of the outer perimeter of the disc.



I also came across something I never knew existed as I have never seen, or heard, of such a thing....a title pressed by Digital Audio Disc Corp.(DADC) from an SRC Glass Master:

Steve Winwood - Chronicles
Island
9 25660-2
1987

Matrix code: 1 25660-2 SRC-04 DIDM 2544 31A4
Made in USA - Digital Audio Disc Corp. is embossed in the clear plastic center of the disc. Mfg. by DADC is printed at the 9 o'clock position of the disc.

 

Found a disc in the bins today that will help determine the production dates for 1st. and 2nd. Generation pressings!

2nd. Generation:
George Benson/Earl Klugh - Collaboration
Warner Bros.
9 25580-2
Inner mirror band matrix code: 1 25580-2 SRC-01

Amazon.com has an original release date listed for this disc of July 7, 1987.




So, here's the updated list of start and end dates for the 6 Generations of SRC pressings:

1st. Generation:
Production began from the opening of the SRC plant in 1987 (Sorry, I don't know the exact date.) and ended before July 7, 1987, if not sooner.

2nd. Generation:
Production began as soon as July 7, 1987, if not sooner, and ended sometime in 1988.

3rd. Generation:
Production began sometime in 1988 and would have ended by September of 1990, if not sooner.

4th. Generation:
Production began as late as September 1990, if not sooner, and would have ended by the Summer of 1992, if not sooner.

5th. Generation:
Production began by the Summer of 1992, if not sooner, and would have ended by June 22nd. 1993, if not sooner.

6th. Generation:
Production began by June 22nd. 1993, if not sooner, and would have ended when SRC stopped pressing under the SRC label. (I have a disc as late as May 14th. 1996.)

 

Found another disc in the bins today that helps to redefine the production dates for the 5th. and 6th. Generations.

Bob James & Earl Klugh - One On One
Warner Bros.
9 45141-2
Inner mirror band matrix code is: 1 45141-2 SRC**01 M1S1

Amazon.com has an original release date listed for this disc of June 15,1993.



So, here's the newly updated list of start and end dates for the 6 Generations of SRC pressings:

1st. Generation:
Production began from the opening of the SRC plant in 1987 (Sorry, I don't know the exact date.) and ended before July 7, 1987, if not sooner.

2nd. Generation:
Production began as soon as July 7, 1987, if not sooner, and ended sometime in 1988.

3rd. Generation:
Production began sometime in 1988 and would have ended by September of 1990, if not sooner.

4th. Generation:
Production began as late as September 1990, if not sooner, and would have ended by the Summer of 1992, if not sooner.

5th. Generation:
Production began by the Summer of 1992, if not sooner, and would have ended by June 15th. 1993, if not sooner.

6th. Generation:
Production began by June 15th. 1993, if not sooner, and would have ended when SRC stopped pressing under the SRC label. (I have a disc as late as May 14th. 1996.)

 

Don't know if anybody is really following this thread anymore, but, just in case, I thought I'd comment about a disc I found in the bins today.

Usually, when I'm searching for older pressings in the bins like the early Japanese, West German or early U.S. pressings, some of the clues I look for are smooth sided jewel cases. I also look for older looking rib sided jewel cases with either round dimple or long bar booklet stops. Most of the used music stores in my area keep their discs in those plastic J-card protectors so its impossible to see what the discs look like unless you have one of the store employees open it up for you. Needless to say, that can get very old, very fast. Therefor, I usually don't bother to look inside jewel cases with the short bar booklet stops. Generally, these jewel cases hold much more modern pressings in them.

Today, I was at one of my usual stops digging through the bins looking for something interesting. I hadn't been there for a while, and luckily, one of the employees working there today is someone I've gotten to know quite well. He knows that I collect early pressings and doesn't mind at all opening up the plastic j-cards so I can see if the discs are early pressings.

While digging through the bins, I came across a copy of Van Halen - Women and Children First. Even though the jewel case had short bar booklet stops, I had a strange feeling come over myself that there might be something special inside that jewel case. I took it up to the counter with several other discs that I wanted to take a look at. Wouldn't you know it....inside that jewel case was a 1st. Generation SRC-01 pressing....in absolutely beautiful condition!

I have 1 or 2 other 1st. Generation 1st. Glass Master pressings also with short bar booklet stops, but the majority of these pressings in my collection either have smooth sided jewel cases or rib sided cases with either round dimple or long bar booklet stops. So, I just wanted to give you a "heads up" if your collecting these pressings....check those short bar booklet stop jewel cases too! You just never know what might be hiding inside there!

 

I have only found the following four SRC 1st Gen 1st glass master:

AC/DC Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap
Foreigner Head Games
Lou Gramm Ready or Not
Led Zeppelin Physical Graffiti

None the first 3 listed came in a smooth side and the LZ is a fatboy. Fortunately, the CD stores I frequent have a large inventory and allow you to explore each case to examine the CDs on your own. So I can move thru each store fairly efficiently. These 1st gen 1st glass masters don't pop up too often....that's for sure!

 

Hi jh901,

Thanks for listing the first Generation SRC-01 pressings that you have and the types of jewel cases you found them in. Now I know to check those titles even if they don't have smooth sided jewel cases. Could you tell me if they have either short bar, long bar or round dimple booklet stops?


Here's a list of the 1st. Generation SRC discs that I have and the types of jewel cases they came in. Hopefully, this will give you a better idea of what to look for too!

1st. Generation
SRC-01 pressings:

Jackson Brown - The Pretender................................Smooth sided with long bar booklet stops
Ray Charles- The Great Ray Charles..........................Rib sided with round dimple booklet stops
The Doobie Brothers - Best of the Doobie Brothers.......Rib sided with short bar booklet stops
Peter Gabriel - So..................................................Rib sided with short bar booklet stops
Grace Jones - Warm Leatherette..............................Rib sided with round dimple booklet stops
Grace Jones - Nightclubbing....................................Rib sided with round dimple booklet stops
Led Zeppelin - Houses of the Holy............................Rib sided with short bar booklet stops
Pretenders - Pretenders.........................................Rib sided with short bar booklet stops
Talking Heads - True Stories...................................Smooth sided with long bar booklet stops
Van Halen - Women and Children First......................Rib sided with short bar booklet stops
Van Halen - Fair Warning.......................................Rib sided with short bar booklet stops
David Sanborn - Hideaway.....................................Rib sided with short bar booklet stops
David Sanborn - A Change of Heart.........................Rib sided with short bar booklet stops
Violent Femmes - The Blind Leading the Naked..........Rib sided with long bar booklet stops
Dwight Yoakam - Hillbilly Deluxe..............................Rib sided with short bar booklet stops

Deep Purple - Machine Head..................................Rib sided with short bar booklet stops
mfd. for BMG Direct Marketing, Inc. printed on both the rear tray card and the cd.

Led Zeppelin - Houses of the Holy..........................Rib sided with round dimple booklet stops
mfd. for RCA Direct Marketing, Inc. printed on both the rear tray card and the cd.


Other 1st. Generation pressings:
The Cult - Love....................SRC-02.....................Smooth sided with long bar booklet stops
Fleetwood Mac - Rumours......SRC-05......................Smooth sided with long bar booklet stops
Genesis - Genesis.................SRC-07......................Rib sided with round dimple booklet stops
Genesis - Invisible Touch.......SRC-04......................Smooth sided with long bar booklet stops
INXS - Listen Like Theives......SRC-02......................Rib sided with short bar booklet stops
Led Zeppelin - III..................SRC-02......................Rib sided with long bar booklet stops
I have 2 identical copies of this disc and they both have wider spacing between the long bar booklet stops when compared to all the other SRC pressings with long bar booklet stops.
Van Halen - Diver Down..........SRC-03.....................Rib sided with round dimple booklet stops
Wang Chung - Mosaic............SRC-06.....................Smooth sided with long bar booklet stops

 

This list will require a little work, but I quickly put together the 1st generation SRC-01 pressings identified so far:


AC/DC Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap
Bad Company Fame and Fortune
Chris Isaak S/T
Crosby, Stills & Nash S/T
David Sanborn Hideaway
David Sanborn A Change of Heart
Doobie Brothers, The Best of the Doobie Brothers
Dwight Yoakam Hillbilly Deluxe
Foreigner Head Games
Grace Jones Warm Leatherette
Grace Jones Nightclubbing
Gramm, Lou Ready Or Not
Jackson Brown The Pretender
Jimi Hendrix Kiss The Sky
Led Zeppelin Physical Graffiti
Led Zeppelin Houses of the Holy
Led Zeppelin Presence
Led Zeppelin Houses of the Holy
Led Zeppelin Houses of the Holy (Mfg by Record Service-Germany)
Led Zeppelin Physical Graffiti
Madhouse 8
Pete Townshend White City
Peter Gabriel So
Pretenders S/T
Prince Sign 'O' The Times
Ray Charles The Great Ray Charles
Talking Heads True Stories
Time, The S/T
Van Halen Women and Children First
Van Halen Fair Warning
Vanderberg Best of...
Violent Femmes The Blind Leading the Naked
Williams, Andy Close Enough for Love
XTC Skylarking


I only have a few of these to this point and it seems to me that a collector of early pressings might choose to hunt down these initial SRC pressings. They are tough to find in my limited experience. Again, these are the pressings with a matrix code having no label identifier and 'SRC-01'.

 

I can add:

Propaganda: A Secret Wish (Island 7 90288-2) [] 90288-2 SRC-01 []

and possibly

The Time: What Time Is It? (Warner Bros. 9 23701-2) [] 23701-2 SR
(this appears to have been truncated in error -- no idea if it's an -01 but it seems likely that there was one)