Ludwig cut different lacquers of the title, on some, he failed to put the SS on both sides. Also, some pressings have a smaller dead wax area on one side. On this title, the RL is of the most import.
Info from my double RL led Zeppelin II includes... Side 1 dead wax ST - A - 691671 - A LW W AT RL Side 1 label (ST-A-691671-SP) Side 2 dead wax (very skinny) ST - A - 691672 - A LW AT RL W Side 2 label (ST-691672-SP)
Hello all! I actually wrote Bob a while back and got a reply! He summed up what a lot of people have guessed and other folks have guessed wrong, and possibly some myths are put to rest in this simple concise email from the guy who did the actual record! I asked him some basic questions, because I had a copy of this Lp up for auction on a Facebook page that does record auctions and the ADMINS started hacking away at the value of my record with all sorts of BS that they heard over the years, such as the LH on side two was done in an effort to prevent returns of the record, etc. Anyway… I was RITE pissed at these yahoos causing people to cancel bids and wound up selling a record worth $200 at least, for $50…so I wrote Bob, he wrote back, I published the email on the FB page and asked for an apology and was BLOCKED…LOL… anyway… from the man himself! Hi Sean, I'm surprised about Lee Hulko's initials being on some of the parts. In all these years I had never come across any copies with his initials before. When there were big orders of certain titles and there wasn't physically enough time for one person to crank out the lacquers as fast as the record company wanted, sometimes we would help each other out. For instance, my initials might appear on a Beatles record that Lee mastered. In every case, compared to now, those titles were relatively easy to master. Once one of us mastered an album and it was approved, we made careful notes, either one of us could cut it and it should come out the same. Back then, Lee and I shared the one room and worked different hours so it is possible one of the plants blew a part and needed a replacement right then with no delay. So after I mastered the album (which Eddie Kramer & Atlantic approved) it was shipped to all the radio stations and the initial pressing was all from me and Sterling Sound. Amhet Ertegun at Atlantic heard the album (which Eddie demanded be as hot as possible) and apparently it skipped on his daughters little turntable. Instead of calling us at Sterling and asking us to lower the level a little and telling us where it skipped, they had the disk cutters at Atlantic use my EQ'd cassette file copy and they cut it WAY lower than my original cut plus, in my opinion, it sounded dull and generally not very good sounding in comparison. So all the disks that were played at the radio stations and all the initial pressings world wide came from me (and apparently Lee cut a part or two) and that was what "sold" the record and made it a hit. A year later, whenever I visited someone I would look at their Zeppelin II album to see if it was my cut or Atlantic's cut. It was easy to see by eye, the Atlantic cut ended much farther from the label and the grooves to the naked eye looked very conservative. I still got to Master "Houses of the Holy" later on, no skipping problems with that as far as I know! I hope this clears this up for you. All my best, Bob Ludwig Gateway Mastering Studios Inc 428 Cumberland Ave Portland Maine 04101 207 828 9400 [email protected]
Side 1 - ST - A - 691671 - MO - T CC (MR) RL SS LW A 13933 W AT (Note: LW is sideways) Side 2 - ST - A - 691672 - MO - CC (MR) LW RL SS A 13933-X W AT (Note: LW is sideways)
So I have two kind of worn US copies of LZII with the 1841 Broadway address on the labels sitting in my collection which I thought I had checked years ago for the RL initials in the dead wax but decided to just take a peak at them again to see if I may have missed them. Well it turns out, that the first copy I looked at was a non RL but the second one sure as hell was one. Years ago, when I was a record dealer, I had sold another RL copy I had for decent money and thought that was my only one and sort of regretted I didn't have on for my personal collection. So I played the RL copy I discovered I still have and while it looks VG minus at best, it sounds quite good despite some pops and crackle. I'll have to A/B test it with the other old copy I have plus the recent remaster. So here's the dead wax info: Pressed at Presswell, NJ SIDE 1: ST-A-691671-B P LW AT RL SS W SIDE 2: ST-A-691672-A P LW AR RL SS W The Side 2 dead wax band is very narrow
I have a number of these. Unfortunately, most of them are really no better than VG. A couple even less, a couple may pass for a VG+ if I don't grade conservatively. -SP Label; ST-A-691671 - A0 W SRC LW AT RL ST-A-691672- C0 LW RL W AT SRC -PR Label; ST-A-691671 - C RL SS LW W AT ST-A-691672 - A LW AT RL SS W (narrower run-out) -CP Label; ST-A-691671 RL ST-A-691672 RL B3(real faint) -PR Label; ST-A-691671 - A P LW W AT RL ST-A-691672 - A P LW RL SS W (narrower run-out) ( I have another with the same matrices) -SP Label; ST-A-691671 - C RL SS LW W SRC AT ST-A-691672 - C LW RL SS W SRC -SP Label; ST-A-691671 - A0 W SRC LW AT RL ST-A-691672 - A0 LW AT RL SS (narrower run-out) -PR Label; ST-A-691671 - B LW AT RL SS ST-A-691672 - C LW RL SS W AT -CTH label; (this one is sitting under a layer of wood glue at the moment. It does have -1A matrices on both sides)
ST-A-691671-MO-CC RL SS ST-A 691672-MO-CC RL SS VG+, a bit of SN here & there but not problematic in the least. I have ~14K lps & this is the best sounding record in my collection. Sound is just awe-inspiring.
I believe I have that pressing too, or rather the same as kohoutek in post #179, and agree that the sound is indeed awe-inspiring, despite my copy being "fair" to "good" at best (I also find the scratches hardly matter once the music starts); in fact, if I didn't know better, I might think the "MO" initials here stand for "MONSTER" as this LP certainly is a "BEAST" (thank you, irwin69! ). BTW, the full dead-wax on mine reads: ST-A-691671-MO-T CC RL ss (MR) 5 LW △13933 w AT ST-A-691672-MO-CC T (MR) 5 LW RL ss △13933-X w AT The "MR" is in a circle stamp (not sure how to reproduce it here), the "ss" is sort of on top of itself, the "LW" is sideways, and the "AT" is halfway round the run-out groove, which is actually not quite as narrow as the "Specialty Records" edition I used to own, but that one unfortunately had a nasty skip during "What Is And What Should Never Be" so I was glad to trade it in once I found this Monarch copy. No question in my mind but that the double-"RL" vinyl presents Led Zeppelin II the way (I'd say) it was meant to be heard...immense, expansive, loud and rocking!! What a great album!
I have a couple of copies. Both copies with matrix info below the label at 6:00 o'clock Copy 1 -Side A: ST-A-691671-CTH Matrix: ST-A-691671-1A RL SS (above the matrix info @ 6:00 o'clock) -Side B: ST-A-691672-CTH Matrix: ST-A-691672-1A RL SS (opposite side of wax across from the matrix info @ 12 o'clock) Side 2 dead wax = 13mm Copy 2 -Side A: ST-A-691671-CP Matrix: ST-A-691671 RL SS (@ 3:00 o'clock) -Side B: ST-A-691672-CP Matrix: ST-A-691672 RL SS (@ 12:00 o'clock) Side 2 dead wax = 16mm
Side A: ST-A-691671-MO. Deadwax: ST-A-691671- MO RL SS Side B: ST-A-691672-MO. Skinny Deadwax: ST-A-691672- MO RL SS
I have three Led Zep II RLs. The first one listed, and in the best condition of the three, I bought from RaunchnRoll. First copy- Side A: ST-A-691671-MO-C BB LW ^/13933 AT RL ss W Side B: ST-A-691672-MO-CC – (LW RL ss ^/ 13933-X W AT (Narrow Deadwax side 2) label says ST-A-691671-MO at bottom Second copy- Side A: AT ST-A-691671-C t0 LW W RL ss Side B: ST-A-691672-A t0 LW AT RL ss W (Very Narrow Deadwax side 2) label says ST-A-691671-PR at bottom Third copy- Side A: AT ST-A-691671 – A t0 LW W RL (does not have ss) Side B: ST-A-691672 – A t0 LW AT RL ss W (Very Narrow Deadwax) label says ST-A-691671-PR at bottom
I was fortunate to obtain a sealed 1969 copy of Led Zeppelin II last week. I opened the lp and played the first side and sounds great! Matrix Numbers: Side 1 ST-A 691671-1F CTH 1 T Side 2: ST-A691672-16 T
Just acquired this one. It's an SP pressing, I think that's the Specialty logo on side 1 after the number? This vinyl on this one seems a bit flimsy for an early pressing, IMO. A: ST-A-691671 (something like an R and then a C both in half circles, SRC I take it) BO LW AT RL SS w B: ST-A-691672 AO LW AT RL SS w
One of my other ones. This is a PR pressing with a gold record award on the cover. A: ST-A-691671 A LW W AT RL B: ST-A-681672 A (some sort of symbol) LW AT RL SS W
Is there a vinyl surgeon in the house?! I purchased a RL/SS in VG+ condition on Ebay and the seller mailed in a Priority Mail Flat and it broke the vinyl almost in half by the time I received it.
