Beatles Help! W. German Apple pressing

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by Chris R, May 29, 2003.

Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.
  1. Chris R

    Chris R Forum Fones Thread Starter

    Just received in the mail a copy of The Beatles - Help! LP, W. German Apple pressing, IC072-04 257, matrix -2, that I recently purchased on ebay with "Buy It Now". It only cost me $21.00 Canadian.

    The album is very quiet. No clicks or pops anyhwere. This seller was very nice. The LP only took 8 days to reach me. Her description was bang on. She rated the LP VG++ and the sleeve VG+. I totally agree. :)

    Some of you may remember the bad incident I had in April, with that mono Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band LP, that sounds like someone scratched the vinyl with an SOS pad. It's nice to deal with an honest Ebay seller.

    The sound of this LP is right up there with my early/mid 1970s W. German Apple "Magical Mystery Tour", and "Revolver" LPs. It seems that in the 1970s, EMI W.German pressings were on par with their U.K. counterparts, as opposed to those odd pressings from the 1960s, particularly "Yeah! Yeah! Yeah!", (AHDN) that sounds like there was a piece of plastic wrap over the master.

    Does anyone else have any W. German Apple LPs from this period? I bet they sound great.

    Thanks. :)
     

    Attached Files:

  2. Chris R

    Chris R Forum Fones Thread Starter

    I ran a comparison for you which can download from here. It's "Ticket To Ride" from:
    1. Horzü W. German LP - first pressing -1, 1965.
    2. Parlophone U.K. two box, early 1970s pressing, -1.
    3. W. German Apple mid 1970s pressing, -2.
    And just for a laugh
    4. Capitol Canada green target label, Dextorized faux stereo.

    This screen cap from Cool Edit pro shows the clips in the above order. As I said in the first post, this W. German pressing is on par with the U.K. from the same period. Sounds great, as you will hear.
     

    Attached Files:

  3. ybe

    ybe The Lawnmower Man

    Thanks for the download, Mike! That Parlophone sure sounds smooth. The German Apple seems to have more bass punch. I have 70's UK & French Parlophones of Help! Not much difference between those two, IIRC.

    Nice vinyl rips, BTW.:thumbsup:
     
  4. Uncle Al

    Uncle Al Senior Member

    Location:
    Long Island, NY
    I believe I have that very version of Help - but I will verify that after work tonight. I did give it a spin for the first time in over 10 years a couple of months back, and was plesantly surprised at the sound. I hadn't heard the original mix in a long time, and I found it clear, smooth and warm. Everything I like about vinyl. Sounded like the Beatles were singing in my living room.
     
  5. sgraham

    sgraham New Member

    Location:
    Michigan
    I had a couple of French Palophones in the '70s. I recall them being fairly visciously (and primitively) de-essed. Sort of a "sploshy" sound.
     
  6. ybe

    ybe The Lawnmower Man

    Interesting. I can't hear such thing on my French YEX 168-2 "Help!". The 70's UK Parlophone sounds a little warmer and fuller, though.
     
  7. kipper15

    kipper15 Forum Resident

    Location:
    United Kingdom

    I own several 70s German pressings of Beatles LP's - some on Apple, some on Odeon. They sure do sound great. :thumbsup:
     
  8. Chris R

    Chris R Forum Fones Thread Starter

    Thanks. I have a Rega Planer 3 turntable running through an Hitachi HTA 7000 amp/receiver, into an old crappy 16 bit Sound Blaster card. :laugh: I'm upgrading to a 24 bit M-Audio very soon.

    The German Apple does have a bit more bass punch, much like the German Apple Magical Mystery Tour's, particularly on "Baby You're A Rich Man." Very sweet! Even the earlier Horzü pressing is OK as a stand-alone. But when you put it up against the UK Parlophone and W. German Apple, it doesn't have the same punch.

    I think a needle drop of the Apple Help! is in order. :D
     
  9. Uncle Al

    Uncle Al Senior Member

    Location:
    Long Island, NY
    Yeah, that seems to be my copy as well. Label is exact.
    The scribe on the dead wax is:

    Side 1: SHZE 162 A-2 right up against the label, and 04257 A-2 in the runout area

    Side 2 = two different numbers, both adjacent to the label, 90 deg apart:
    SHZE 162 B-2 and 04 257 B-1

    is that a -2 matrix? Side 2 has me thrown for a loop.
     
  10. Chris R

    Chris R Forum Fones Thread Starter

    Al, this Side 1 is exactly the same as yours.
    SHZE 162 A-2 against the label, and 04257 A-2 in the run-out groove.

    Side 2 is:
    SHZE 162 B-3 and 04 257 B-3, both against the label, 90 degrees apart.

    I think the -1, -2, -3, etc. is the matrix. The Horzü copy I have is a -1. I know from the label and Horzü logo on the LP jacket that it is from the first pressing in 1965. So it would make sense that the -1 is the matrix. Maybe Steve could help us with that one. :)
     
  11. Bruce Burgess

    Bruce Burgess Senior Member

    Location:
    Hamilton, Canada
    I have a German Blue Box, which contains Apple versions of Revolver, Sgt. Pepper, Magical Mystery Tour, the White Album, Yellow Submarine, Abbey Road and Let It Be.

    The vinyl is so quiet there is dead silence between "The End" and "Her Majesty." The sound quality of all of these pressings is outstanding and make the CDs sound harsh by comparison.

    Unfortunately, the Odeon LPs are less consistent. Beatles For Sale sounds great, even better than my British Parlophone pressing, but With The Beatles and A Hard Day's Night sound like the crappy sounding 1960s pressings, discussed in earlier threads. No high end. Even the Capitol versions sound better.

    The other pressings are Dutch Parlophone and they all sound great.
     
  12. Beatle Terr

    Beatle Terr Super Senior SH Forum Member Musician & Guitarist

    Very nice rip each one sounding very much it's own to me. Gee I love that Capitol though with the guitar riff up louder throughout the song, I can't help it guys it's just that default thing in from my ears to my brain that says "HEY that's the way you first heard the this song" It's a curse!!!:laugh:
     
Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.

Share This Page

molar-endocrine