Beatles German Pressings - Need Help!

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by Tommyboy, Dec 29, 2007.

  1. Tommyboy

    Tommyboy Senior Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    New York
    Not really. Maybe on your LP but not on mine. The vinyl on mine is dead quiet and is not crap. No distortion whatsoever. Even with the narrower stereo picture, I would still recommend this pressing. It was pressed in 1977 and sounds great. I also own all sorts of pressings of this LP ranging from a Y&B -2/-2 to the wide stereo Canadian pressing.

    I'm not talking about those pressings from 1973 or so that were farmed out to Pathe Marconi during the energy crisis.
     
  2. I have to echo the assertion about 'Beatles Greatest' sound quality- it's excellent,
    whether from Germany, Holland or Sweden. The hi-hat intro to AML is an added plus.
    Oddly, I think the echoed "I Feel Fine" is on there too, it's at least not in stereo.

    The Swedish pressing was slightly brighter than the other two.
    My Swedish 'Help' sounds a lot like the UK solid state cut, but brighter again (?!).

    I have a Swedish cassette as well of 'Beatles Greatest', and IT sounds excellent too!

    I don't have the German lps in front of me today - I took a day off from the store -
    but I can check the runout grooves tomorrow. The top end of 'Rubber Soul' is definitely
    rolled off, but it works. Maybe the cutting engineers were put off by the trebley mix on "Nowhere Man" (laughing)
     
    john lennonist likes this.
  3. Stan94

    Stan94 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Paris, France
    Those sound fine and were pressed from UK metal parts.
    Your WTB Pathe Marconi was cut from a fresh copy of the master tape because it had been deleted from the Beatles catalog by Pathe-Marconi in 1966. It was pressed in mono on Odeon in 1963 (OSX 222) and imported from Germany from 1969 onwards (the same is true of Beatles for Sale).
     
  4. Gerbaby

    Gerbaby Forum Resident

    Location:
    San Francisco
    In respect to German Beatles albums,the first pressing ZTOX are the go to albums. The most expensive German album is the BEATLES SECOND ALBUM which has the cover of the American SOMETHING NEW ALBUM. The LOW END price is $1000. for a NM pressing. I got this and a HDN from Peter Clerides. BOTH NM. I gave the SECOND ALBUM to a friend in need of money. Has never been played. This is an EXPORT ALBUM.ZTOX-5558...SMO ... 50-053-1 and 50-054-1 matrices.
    The HDN is also a ZTOX label. If you look at the rim prints of these albums they begin with "ALLE RECHTE DES PLATTENHERS" That is the giveaway for a rare pressing.
    The Germans only pressed two albums in mono I believe,I may be wrong. Please Please Me and With The Beatles released in MONO. All others stereo only from the get go.
    Fidelity of the above mentioned I cannot attest to as neither album has been played.
    That said,I have a Rubber Soul ZTOX.SMO-84-066 which has the red/gold labels. The reocrd sounds great,BUT the fidelity is much lower than the UK counter part and I am not thinking of the loud cut,just the standard UK first pressing.
    The Hor Zu labels are hit and miss. I have a HELP HOR ZU and the RUBBER SOUL listed for sale on the forum. German albums are hard to sell for any decent money and some like this reissued HELP sound great.
    Sgt Pepper is also hit and miss. I thinbk they did do a mono Sgt Pepper now that I think of it. I know they did an ODEON MONO in France which usually closely allies to the Geramn albums. The blue label German with the C prefixes can sound very good,again hit and miss.
    I say that then when you think of the UK first pressings they ALL are very much hit and miss in respect to fidelity. Some look NM and have tons of surface noise while others that look terrible with lots os hairlines and light scrathces sound perfect with little to no noise. Go figure.
    The sleeper of European albums are the Italians. Those are some of the best Carish Parlophon labels with the twisted gramophone logo. They are great. I have a first pressing Italian White albums that actually has the date when pressed stamped in the deadwax. Heavy vinyl,flawless playback.
     
  5. Gerbaby

    Gerbaby Forum Resident

    Location:
    San Francisco
    German Rubber Soul

    By the by/ The HDN album is called YEAH YEAH YEAH... Here are some pix of the first Rubber soul.( German z tox )
     
  6. Nad 214

    Nad 214 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Ohio
    I had one that a seller sent me by mistake and i played it once and sent it back as it sounded no better than the 062 one i have.
     
  7. Nad 214

    Nad 214 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Ohio
    No your wrong as to only two mono pressing. Germany also pressed HDN in the mono green label as well as Beatles Beat.
    I like the HDN never heard Beatles Beat in mono though.
     
  8. Here's all my German lp info from WTB thru Revolver:

    With The Beatles - YEX1110-1 (1C062-024-181-A-1) (side 1)
    YEX1117-1 (1C062-024-181-B-1) (side 2)
    Muddy sound but no boosted mids, German cover with green bar, blue Horzu label

    Yeah Yeah Yeah – 1C062-04-145-A1 (other info is x-ed/scratched out) (Side 1)
    1C062-04-145-B1 (other info is x-ed/scratched out) (Side 2)
    Midrangey/muddy sound, German cover with red/purple, blue Odeon label

    Beatles For Sale (1A 062-04200 on cover, thin brown line up left side back cover)
    This record is made in the EEC but is it Holland or Sweden? Parlophone label.
    Label info LC 0299 / YEX 142 and the copyright info looks to be German.
    Runout is machine stamped 062-04200-A//450003-1Y (elsewhere stamped either 1 or 2)
    and some handwritten stuff that’s unreadable (Side 1 AND 2)

    Help – (side 1 says A-1) (side 2 says B-2) machine stamped, no handwriting
    German alternate type cover , red Horzu label
    “Die Originaltitel aus dem Beatles-Film der United Artists “Hi-Hi-Hilfe”
    Nice tonality but there is obtrusive hi-frequency surface noise.

    Rubber Soul - Blue label Odeon 1C 062-04 115,
    Machine stamped on deadwax very close to the label -1 (side 1) and -4 (side 2)
    Midrangey sound, top end slightly rolled off, a pleasant listen

    Revolver - Blue label Odeon / Horzu SHZE 186
    Machine stamped very small as far away from the label as possible in the deadwax
    A-1 (side 1) and B-1 (side 2)
    Midrangey sound, top end slightly rolled off, a pleasant listen if not for surface noise
    from obvious mishandling (this record was sold to me as a VG or VG+, but it isn’t).
     
  9. action pact

    action pact Music Omnivore

    I have a German Hör Zu copy that my brother bought new in 1973, and it sounds DREADFUL. Really really dull sound.
     
  10. Tommyboy

    Tommyboy Senior Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    New York
    Thanks Chip or Thom!

    Based on what I have read thus far, I guess, for the most part, it makes sense to stay away from the 062 pressings
     
    Dan The Man1 likes this.
  11. BlueSpeedway

    BlueSpeedway Curated Iconic Half-Speed Picture Disc

    Location:
    England
    I have that too and it's the worst-sounding Beatles LP I ever bought!
     
  12. mc7t

    mc7t Forum Resident

    I have a strange UK pressing of Sgt Pepper, it has a 1 box EMI label on side 1 & a 2 box label on side 2..Great pressing though, nice & thick vinyl..Is this rare?

    Cheers!
     
  13. Ben Sinise

    Ben Sinise Forum Reticent

    Location:
    Sydney
    It's definitely rare in a Beatles German pressings thead! :laugh:

    However, I'm guessing that there wouldn't be too many pressed like that. It dates from late 1970 when they transitioned from the 1 Box to the 2 Box label. Obviously EMI had more of the earlier Side 1 labels to use up and just loaded them into the presses along with the newer ones. I have seen other Beatles LPs with similar mismatching sides so it's not all that unique.
     
  14. mc7t

    mc7t Forum Resident

    :D..Yeah, sorry about that:righton: & thanks for the reply.
     
  15. Tommyboy

    Tommyboy Senior Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    New York
    So, I decided to buy another German With The Beatles. This one was an 072 pressing and had a light green Odeon label. The matrix information is as follows:

    04181-A1
    04818-B1

    This pressing is the exact opposite of my 062 pressing. Where the 062 pressing sounds excessively dull, this pressing sounds way too hot. It has too much treble and bass and not enough midrange. My ears hurt after listening to this LP. Someone on this forum had mentioned that the light green Odeon label pressing sounded very nice. Maybe I have a different pressing, but in my opinion this is one pressing to avoid.
     
  16. Stan94

    Stan94 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Paris, France
    It's hot and narrow stereo but I like it!
     
  17. Tommyboy

    Tommyboy Senior Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    New York
    I can respect that, although it's too hot sounding for my taste.

    I really like that French pressing of WTB. It sounds great. Nice and warm.
     
  18. Glenn Christense

    Glenn Christense Foremost Beatles expert... on my block

    After reading through this thread I realized that I have three German Beatle albums in my collection. I forget what I have sitting on the shelf sometimes. It seems that Tommyboy's original questions have been answered, so.. if someone can give me a quick opinion on these albums sound quality and scarcity it certainly would be appreciated. Please don't make me wade through the zillions of threads where they have probably been endlessly covered already. :D

    Please Please Me Odeon ZTOX 5550 1x and 1
    Rubber Soul Odeon SMO 74 066 -2 and-1
    Mystery Tour Apple 1c 072-04 449 A-1 and B3

    Forgive me, because I know basically nothing about all these numbers.:laugh:
    Thanks in advance.
     
  19. alexpop

    alexpop Power pop + other bad habits....


    How do they sound ?
     
  20. edised

    edised Forum Resident

    Does anybody own the blue Odeon "Beatles '65" ? I have got one but can't plug my TT at the minute. How does it sound ?
     
  21. Stan94

    Stan94 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Paris, France
    I do. Sounds good.
     
  22. wolf66

    wolf66 New Member

    Location:
    Austria
    I have a German Apple 'Revolver' typeset -04097-A2 and -04097-B2 in the deadwax area - but there is a second set of matrixnrs near the label reading "SHZE etc" so this must be a stamper (?) from the old "HörZu" pressing right ?
    Do you guys have C 072 versions without those second "SHZE .." matrix sets ?
     
  23. wolf66

    wolf66 New Member

    Location:
    Austria
    .
     
    voxstarstream and Sean like this.
  24. Ben Sinise

    Ben Sinise Forum Reticent

    Location:
    Sydney
    That's correct, those stampers were originally on the HorZu label.

    I don't have an 072 Revolver, but my 072 Help also has the 2 sets of numbers. The main point is what cut you have ie: is it -1 or -2 etc. For German releases the recuts (-2 or later) are preferred for sound quality IMO.
     
  25. wolf66

    wolf66 New Member

    Location:
    Austria
    Got it. So my -2 cut should be better than a -1 cut ?
     

Share This Page

molar-endocrine