The bass on the German Apple Help! is not as excessive as it is on the German Apple Revolver. It's a lot more accurate. The German Apple Help has a nice midrange to it with the bass and high end pretty much right where they should be. A nice version of that album, enjoy!
I have a mint copy I picked up years ago. I have since upgraded my system, but back when I first got it I was amazed at how good it sounded on my system at the time, and how DEAD quite the vinyl was. You should be very happy with it. To my ears it sounds better than the latter UK 2 box logo pressings and is as good or better than a UK B&Y label copy. Depending on your system. I'll have to pull mine and give it a spin later today and let you know. It may not be as warm as a UK B&Y but as I said sounds every bit as good. The Germans got that one rite as well as the APPLE Revolver. Keep your eyes open for a later Odeon Rubber Soul as well. It’s the green and white label copy. Has a different matrix than the Blue Label copies I'll have to dig mine out and post matrix numbers for you.
Of the 3 German copies I have - Hor Zu SHZE 162 A-1X / B-1X Apple 072 A-2 / B-3 Odeon gold label with repro Swiss cover SMO 984008 A / B the Apple is the best sounding copy. However, my late copy UK 2 Box -4/-4 is better still; greater detail and better balance IMO.
I won a German Apple Help! last year and I ended up with a German cover and French disc (same matrix numbers as the French Odeon pressing). I was kinda dissapointed. My light-green With the Beatles (072) is killer. Narrow stereo but fantastic sound. My light-green Beatles For Sale (072) is also better than my blue label pressing (062). Also, my copy of The World's Best has Don't Bother Me instead of All My Loving.
I am getting the idea that the German lps are a very good alternative to the UKs but dont beat the best UKs. And in some cases not better but just different. Also the one thing that makes the best German copies desirable is that one has a better chance of getting an lp without the dreaded groove wear. So, nothing beats a clean top notch UK, IF one can find such a thing w/o paying a kings ransom. Would this be a fair summary?
Need to be a bit careful here. I'm no expert but there is more than one German Apple of Sgt Pepper. I have one with SHZE 401 in the deadwax and one with 1C 072-04 177 in the deadwax. (Both have the 1C number on the sleeve). The bass is powerful on the SHZE but is even more powerful on the 1C. However the 1C does not have the repeating gibberish in the run-out groove of side 2 - it plays only once or twice before the run-out and then stops. The 1C appears to be more recent than the SHZE. The ideal would be if you could get an 1C with the more powerful bass AND the repeating gibberish. I think I actually owned such a record but unbelievably I accidentally threw it away and acquired these two other German Sgt Peppers in the search for a replacement. I would be very interested to know if anyone has a German Apple Sgt Pepper with the 1C number in the matrix AND repeating gibberish.
It's funny Stan that you mention With The Beatles. A while ago, I bought a copy of what I thought to be the German With The Beatles (stereo) in order to get the high-hat version of All My Loving. Turns out, the LP was pressed in France (on the Parlophone label) and was housed in the green German Odeon cover. At the time, I was disappointed due to the fact that it didn't have the high-hat version of All My Loving. I just pulled it out recently and was pleasantly suprised at what I heard. IMO, this pressing has the best sonics of any With The Beatles LP that I own (including original UK LP and Canadian Wide Stereo). Whatever was done to this LP EQ wise, they got it right. It sounds terrific! The only drawback is that the stereo separation has been narrowed, although it's not as extreme as on the late 70's Canadian pressing of WTB. Anyway, that's a small price to pay for the sound. I did track down a blue label Odeon pressing of WTB. It sounds terrible, as it has the 062 catalogue prefix. I'm sure the 072 sounds better, but I really don't have the desire to track one down. I doubt it sounds better than the Canadian pressing. I know this is off topic, but there is a late 1970s New Zealand recut of WTB that sounds pretty nice. Almost as good as the Canadian.
Earlier this year, I picked up the German Apple Revolver (with correct matrix numbers) after reading how well regarded it was on this forum. It sounded nice with the enhanced bass, but like you, I prefer a late copy UK pressing from my Blue Box for similar reasons.
Along the lines of the French pressings in the German covers. Now this is from memory. I have two Apple Revolvers. One is let's call it a true German pressing and the bass will knock your socks off. The other has the same cover and is an Apple pressing as well, but has the French type matrix as well as the German and doesn't sound as good. Since I'm off work today i guess I have some Beatles LP's to play and report back here. It also intrigues me about the 1C German Pepper as I was lucky to get one cheap a couple of years ago and was disappointed in the sonic s. But after upgrading my Pre amp I've also discovered that a lot of Lp's are system dependent. Case in point the Dutch Yellow vinyl pepper. When i first got it I wasn't to impressed with it. BUT I played it the other day with the new pre and new cartridge and was very pleased as to how it sounds.
I had put a Blue Odgen Rock and Roll Music up for sale in the Classifieds Sunday when no one picked it up, I decided to play it last night. Excellent sound on it and some of the quietest vinyl. Glad nobody bought it definitely a keeper, gotta play it against my original UK, .....eventually.
I have another question. How about the Beatles Beat LP? Is it worth picking up? From what I have read thus far, some of the tracks on the LP contain the Dexterized mixes from the Beatles 2nd Album. How about the remiander? Is it mastered well? Also, how are the 062 pressings? I have a few 062 pressings that sound dreadful (With The Beatles and Something New).
Unless you can get a Beatles Beat Cheap AVOID it. I bought a green and white label and it's not to good. Then a friend of mine in the UK sent me a yellow label dutch pressing that sounded just as bad, it had the same info in the deadwax only difference was the Yellow label.
I agree that the sound of the Blue Odeon Rock and Roll Music pressing (and of course the vinyl quality) is great (is yours -1 on all four sides?)... so good I've never considered trying to track down a UK copy. I have an extra copy (also -1 on all four sides), so maybe it will make an appearance in the Classifieds soon. Another interesting German Beatles title is "Beatles Greatest" -- it has the rare hi-hat mix of "All My Loving" I would also caution people about dissing all of the 062 pressings -- as I was informed by a German member here a couple of years ago, the 062 / 072 designations were merely pricing codes, and they often (but not always) pressed the later era (072) LPs with the exact same stampers as the 062's. .
Thanks Nad, I will! I just received my copy of the German Apple Help! LP in the mail. It's really nice sounding, with a lot punch. For good measure, I also bought an 072 Something New. What a big improvement over the 062 cutting! It sounds as if a veil was lifted off of my speakers. And I Love Her sounds much better on this pressing than the US Rarities LP as well. Some of these German pressings are actually pretty good. I guess you just have to know in advance what you are looking for. I've learned so much from this forum!
I found the german pressing, but there is a Dutch one with the same code:1C 072-04 219 and the same matrix numbers. Do you think this can be a "Die Beatles" clone too?
It also sounds as if Odeon compiled their version of Something New using tapes supplied by Abbey Road and not Capitol.
I have these three you see below . . . the 'Help' has surface noise but the music under it is tonally pleasant. The 'Rubber Soul' and 'Revolver' both emphasize the mids - a lot - and it depends on which track is playing as to whether you miss the 8khz and above stuff they rolled off. Both these sound vastly better than the green cover 'With The Beatles' I have, which is quite muddy sounding.
I certainly think this is the case. I have a Holland pressing and I'm very proud of it. Would not part with it for anything, really.
Is your With The Beatles an 062 pressing? I own an 062 pressing, in which I overpaid for, and it sounds pretty bad. Muddy is good description. I'm wondering if the 072 pressing is an improvement.
I have this "Rubber Soul" 1969 press ( YEX 168-2 ; YEX 169-1) and can't say that it sounds that bad. Of course the other one I have (British One-box EMI logo) sounds way better, still I can't call this German press terrible. It has nice tonality (IMO).
It's been a while since I listened to the French pressing of WTB but I remember the vinyl is crap. The mastering is narrower than my UK copy but a lot of surface noise and groove distortion make for an unpleasant listening experience. I wouldn't recommend it to anyone.
