Sadly I'm seeing that almost all of the older Piros LZ I versions in decent condition are just about completely dried up and gone on Discogs. Has anyone heard the 1982 reissue with Piros mastering? It gets some pretty good reviews in the comments section on Discogs so was just wondering if this might be an affordable solution for a clean player?
Absolutely, will do. I've read very favorable reviews on here so I'd be surprised if it's not a solid player.
I just ordered one to compliment my occasionally crackly 1969 Club (which I'll take to the grave with me). It's rather shocking how scarce and expensive the early Piros pressings have become.
I think my struggle is with the emotional attachment I find with these pressings. I've spent many a day crawling around on my hands and knees looking through dusty milk crates and old cardboard boxes...taking my toddler son with me to scavenge through somebody's garage at an estate sale. It's a pretty cool rush to find an LZ II RL in the back room of a head shop that nobody else thought to look. I miss those adventures.
Agreed. I remember exactly when and where I got what monarch houses I sold. Zia records in Phoenix it was $14. November 2017. There was also a Monarch TSRTS soundtrack that I didn't buy that day but regretted leaving.
Hey everybody, stop the presses, I found the Japanese lyric sheet in the Stairway inner sleeve! Yay! Complete VG+ Japanese IV for $20! That's how it's done. I feel so happy and complete now.
Everything from Physical Graffiti onward I have US first pressings. Everything prior is your run of the mill late 70s US pressings. (edited, worded badly)
I have the classic records and then an RL of two and I am happy. Would love to pick up some plum OGs but the Classic Records presses have held me over well
Prob best not to refer to all your clubs as club pressings, not very helpful to others as depending on the club, SQ can be very different. If a mastering engineer"s mark is in the wax...refer to it that way since it's a stock press. If no Atlantic markings then refer to that as a club press.
Good point. Honestly I didn't even know it was a Club issue until I checked further and all the info on Discogs matched up. Great mastering job by Grenell! We'll call it the 1969 Grenell mastering.
Just spun it and it's really not bad. This is the 3rd issue from 1976, it looks like all the albums up to that time were reissued. The bass is really something, but I did have the sub up just but it. Still there's more bass there than I am used to, which is a surprise considering the origin. Overall though it's a bit congested and the cymbals seemed a bit muted. I've heard wider soundstages. It's not like our favorite pressings of this one are jaw dropping. I would say if this is all you had you'd be happy. Better than a German first pressing. The jacket is gorgeous and the English lyrics have some funny stuff. "Hey hey man" starts off Black Dog. Yeah he's not singing to a man here! Either way it's so weird I can't remember the next line now. It's off-putting.
What you really have in a nutshell is a US first pressing from Presswell, one of the finest plants around. It just has a stamp and sticker on it. And they mailed it to someone.
I wish I remembered how much I paid for it. I’ll have to search back through Discogs. The cover has some water damage but the record itself plays a solid VG+. I don’t remember it being super expensive, maybe in the $30-50 range.
Just out of curiosity, the seller gave you the matrix for the Spanish pressing of Led Zeppelin lll? Matrix stamped machine or hand etched? If both matrix are handwritten, do you know if there was a small wave on each side?
Thank you for your support ... I feel less alone. Here in Europe, the collection market is even more colorful! It's really contrasted. In terms of mastering, it oscillates between the mediocre to the exceptional. Hence the pleasure of hunting any well-hidden treasures! There are !!
Unfortunately I didn’t ask, doh! I should have and have been asking more prior to ordering but for that particular one I did not. I’ll let you know when I get it. For some reason I’ve been fairly lucky when ordering internationally, probably had the most issues with UK orders actually.
For the third album, if you get these matrix (A4 / B3, A5 / B3, A6 / B3 ... all machine stamped) ... you should be happy! I think they were cut during the same session. My pressing has these matrix (A5 / B3). Sounds fantastic! Otherwise the first matrix must be A2 / B2 (machine stamped too). Never heard. Otherwise there is a subsequent pressing, with the A side mastered by a very talented local engineer: "Alvear". I have talked a bit about him and his work on other threads. Not yet picked up this hybrid pressing. I therefore cannot speak about it. But I hope to pick up a copy soon to get an idea. I fantasize about a two-sided Led Zep lll Alvear but not sure it exists !?
I just got the ‘77 Piros of LZII in the mail. Really nice condition and a very quiet player so far. This is a lion!! Sounds fantastic!!
So I received the ‘82 Piros LZ 1 title and have to say I was quite underwhelmed. I think those that rate it highly perhaps haven’t heard a real nice dynamic early one. I found it congested and cut way to low which means you really have to turn it up and it was a crackle fest.
Hmmm ... I think the mastering moves done by Robert Ludwig was what was originally planned by Jimmy Page and Eddie Kramer !? The very strong cut, the choice to favor Bonzo's slam, certain instruments deliberately exaggerated at the beginning of each side (the bass on WWL, the side guitars on Heartbreaker) ... etc ... all these are not simple gimmicks sound but consubstantial with the genius of the band: a sonic dramaturgy intended to amaze the kids of the time and incidentally, to crush the competition! In this, the original mastering is unique. Now if you prefer the mastering of George Piros, more "audiophile", why not, but I think it departs from the original intentionality of the group !?
Sadly more than 99% of Zeppelin fans will never hear the Ludwig version. I’ve still got the German one sided on the way but I have to say I was blown away by the Piros’77. It didn’t really sound like an audiophile version to me necessarily but the spaciousness and drive was phenomenal and far better than other versions I’d heard. If I have to say that’s my go to version I’m not gonna feel too bad. Hell, there’s a whole millennial generation that only knows Zeppelin on MP3 and Spotify!
