let's talk about our pressing of ALVEAR (Led Zep, AC / DC, CCR, Young ... and others ...)

Received yesterday a Spanish pressing of Led Zeppelin "In through the out door" (©1979)

Handwritten matrix...but no signature ALVEAR:

Matrix Side A:

Stramberry ( stamped machine)

S - 90.166 - A - 1

( 1)





Matrix Side B:

Stramberry ( stamped machine)

S - 90.166 - B - 1

( 1)





How does that sound?

Very very good. Better than its French counterpart!
Cut louder, "Alvear-style" soundstage, better feeling for details, better drumming, less dull ... etc ...

Purchased mint for $ 25.00. Superb overall quality. Maybe the Classic Records or the John Davis remastering ( 2014) makes that even better, but I'm really happy.
My dark and passable French pressing is now only a distant memory! ⚡

 

I had read about that gel, but I never used it.
I have an Ultrasonic and vacumm cleaner machines.
First I clean with the Project vacuum cleaner, then I made an ultrasonic cleaning, and finally I rinse with distiled water.
Great results.

 

Good to know. Always on the lookout for an ITTOD that sounds a little less congested in Carouselambra and In The Evening and not so heavy, piercing-like vocals in ITE and elsewhere. Maybe it doesn't exist! Clearer bass and drums?
Less squeaky guitar (SBS solo). Good to know the A1 B1 handwritten matrix.

 

Hello Dear Sear,

You are not serious I hope ?!

 

Christophe, that is that 'lonesome' 1? in the wax that at times looks as much like a 'v' or a 'check' mark...

 

I send you my records!

 

Yes I am!

 

Compared to my French pressing, it's better! After that, I don't think this album is a sound success !? If it was a sonic wonder, we could hear the group ABBA in the choirs!

 

I want some Abba!

 

Well since the time I registered on this site (about 3 years)..........I must have been fired about twenty times!

 

Yes. You have seen that lone mark on the opposite side in the wax clearly as an etched '1-' Christophe? I have seen it at times almost like a 'v'? (Alvear?) or a 'check mark'...No?

With the etched albums. With the stamped albums. A good idea to check them for the '1 -' or '1- 2s' and compare...

I have seen it also what looks like a 1 - 'cursive, curly' 2. It almost looks like a signature...

 

I'm sure one day I'll discover an obscure 45 RPM from ABBA with a cover of Whole lotta love remastered by Robert Ludwig's nephew!

 

Yes yes I see what you are referring to. For me, this is probably the stampers protocol from the Hispavox label. But maybe I'm wrong !?

 

Thank you.

I have thought like you say it being as you mention, a Hispavox ID.

It is something

 

Since childhood, I have always been in love with Agnetha Fältskog!

 

Frankly I thought you were kidding !?

Is that in the rules?! .... Completely stupid!

Strange these members who dissert with 50 posts per day on the rock ... but who do not support the transgression!

 

There's 'gear' and there's 'ear'...
I think many folks also care about the ear...put the machines in your profile, no?

Anyway, let's discuss the pressings and the vinyl and the matrices and the titles, the Hispavox label, etc...

 

It is. I will post some more matrices (etched or stamped, signed and unsigned) of titles I have.

 

As promised, I am coming back to this pressing; opportunity for me to deliver my own thoughts on how to approach the mastering of this double album. I heard 3 different pressings of this album; one French, one Italian and one Spanish. Unfortunately not had the opportunity to hear the first 2 UK pressings. Overall the quality was very good for these 3 copies. But the one I liked best was the Spanish pressing. For essentially two reasons: the engineer had the intelligence to approach this double album ... like a double album (although it is a disparate compilation of tracks from various sessions ... like everything else). everyone knows it)! What I mean by that is that the Spanish engineer managed to (almost) erase the sonic disparity between each side by harmonizing the voice of Robert Plant. It is not perfect but certainly more homogeneous than its two counterparts. Listening is smoother and less jagged! The other excellent intuition is that he probably approached the beginning of his mastering with the most epic titles (especially Kashmir). Certainly to better concentrate the dynamics. Just compare the side with Kashmir of the Spanish LP Versus Italian LP. On the Italian pressing, Kashmir seems more narrow, while on the other pressing, the dynamics are better and the sound is wider ... even this configuration shows its own limits; it should have been published on a triple LP!
But undeniably, the Hispavox engineer has shown the way!

 

Be careful not to abuse ultrasound! It is undoubtedly the most efficient solution for cleaning a very dirty vinyl record; but over time, used consistently, it can act like a sandblaster (on a microscopic scale, cavitation is a very, very powerful phenomenon, as one member explained to me here. The best combination would be to opt sporadically for one. ultrasonic cleaning and from time to time, for a softer solution ... and maybe also more ecological! For that, the gel that I use (specially designed for this by engineers; forget about wood glue!) is really brilliant! Efficient, fast (you just need to know how to organize!) and economical results (after cleaning and listening, I put the record back in a Japanese pouch, completely airtight)!

Wednesday or Thursday, I will post more HD audio samples, including an excerpt from a before / after "restoration" made with this product!

Promise!

 

Hmm ... I think first of all that our real profile is first of all our ... mind! Since it is he who determines how you want to listen to your favorite music! I find it discriminatory to filter (select?) Conversations based on the material used to listen to our music !? And even paradoxical since Steve Hoffman did not declare one day that the biggest myth that persists in the audiophile world is to believe that a very expensive system will bring added value in line with the proportional investment. emotionally speaking !? Strange conception of democracy!?!

Let's continue discussing Alvear's work and Spanish pressings; that's the subject of this thread ... right ?!

 

Yes, yes, we are only
MR. HOFFMAN'S guests.

Hispavox, Spain pressings, Alvear, etc.

Perhaps an Italy pressings thread at some point with Piero Mannucci of RCA Italy in the conversation. No wonder all the Italy Bowies and are so darn expen$ive (with shipping).

 

Don't worry about our "audiophile" friends (still a hackneyed term it seems? And enjoy the wonderful presses of your country. There are many ! Received yesterday a 1979 reissue, "Exile on main street" by the Rolling Stones. Sounds awesome! I compared it with my German Artisan pressing, as well as CBS's mid-80s European reissue (so no sharp drop in volume on Sweet Virginia ... like its American counterpart!) And frankly I should have hard to choose between the three records! The Craftsman has a sound that betrays his closeness to the master tape but lacks a little bit of voodoo magic in its presentation, while the CBS looks furiously like its illustrious predecessor, but a hint of added clarity and discernment, perhaps digital. ?! A very good alternative, however! There remains my Spanish reissue received yesterday with my Led Zep, and which looks furiously ........ to the first Spanish pressing of Led Zeppelin ll (A5 / B4 stamped machine) !!! Sounds like it like a mono mix! So more dynamic and very punchy! Superb depth adding even more voodoo magic to an album that does not lack! Another little treasure unearthed!

 

Another inflation for which I am responsible !!!

And after a thread on
Piero Mannuci and Italian Engineering, how about another thread on another mysterious engineer, whose name seems to boil down to ... three ellipses !?

 

Piero will take some time, no? let alone this Alvear fellow...they've already taken all my time and money!


Talking Heads - Remain In Light - etched matrix, ~~~~ both sides, A1, B1, elsewhere in the wax the number 1 slanted without the straight line bottom and then a - and a curly number 2. The 1 -2 almost looks like a signature. The 1 looking almost like a 'v' and the 2 like a cursive, twisted 'a'.

The audio (the band) sounds pristine to me. Byrne's thin voice sounds nicely complemented by the tone of everything eslse surrounding it, imo. If in Spain, I would surely grab a copy in-store or shipped in-country. An audibly good representation of the album, imo. That dreamy, futuristic, video-game landscape of ambient sound in motion all very interesting.