Led Zeppelin 11

Mmmm poultry. Who's hungry? 

Hilarious!

Cut down on fried! Too much cholesterol.

Led Zeppelin 11 is expensive because they quit after 8.

I held a RL of Zeppelin 2 in my basement when I was 11...I miss 11

Hahaha it was supposed to say Paultry....freaking spell correction on cell phone. Oh well, I'm sure someone will grab it, I crazily gave it some thought....

Dunno why Jimmy hasn’t released it on CD. I’d speculate that this must have been addressed by him at some point - the elephant in the room, kinda thing.

I don’t pretend to know much about master tapes - but there must be two - the RL one and also the one that was released generally.

Given that the RL creation was "hot" it may present certain technical challenges, dunno. As if that should be any issue these days.

Not to be too much of a dweeb, but the word is spelled paltry.  And yeah, I continue to be dazed and confused by the prices these frizbees fetch, no matter how many hours it obviously takes to hand-carve them. And don't give me heat for seemingly implying that that gentle number.is on the second album, not the first...

Since it was paltry instead of poultry, the joke doesn't make any sense.

Im too chicken to spend that kind of skin...

Jeez excuse me for living, so I learned something, I’m not an English major, and it was not a joke or no joke, stole that from Biden. People have butchered posts far worse than mine....the point I’m trying to make is its a crazy expensive record and his copy is the most expensive I’ve seen. Now I will go to the blackboard and write the word PALTRY 100 times, after the nun is through wacking my knuckles....tough crowd...

I am generally looking for feedback on whether this record for sale at better records is worth the $2499 asking price...will it retain or even go up in value due to the fact that it is not only a good copy, but also a "white hot Stamper"? A good investment or crazy spending? 

Consider that first UK release on Discogs lastly sold for 1,5k us. and the highest asking in NM is 2,8k us. and up to 5k for RE 200 (M).

The question is, would you buy it for investment or for pleasure. I would not see it as an investment. But you never know. 

If someone's crazy enough to pay that I guess it is to them. I'd love to hear a comparison to the Page remaster or other available pressings.

I have that and it is terrible, no bass detail or texture ... it can’t compare to the RL.... I may give the JP remaster to my daughter...it has no life to it at all...Michael Fremer compared numerous pressings of this record, the RL came out on top. He also spoke favorably about the Orange and green UK Atlantic label, the UK plum label, as well as the classic records release...

https://www.analogplanet.com/content/%E2%80%9Cramblin%E2%80%99-on%E2%80%9D-about-led-zeppelin-ii-or-i-got-blisters-my-eardrums

Don't know how it compares to the hot stamper but I have a 2002 Classic Records, Bernie Grundman mastered, test pressing on QUIEX SV-P 200 Gram Vinyl that sounds better than any other version I've heard.

I think I'd be willing to part with it for that kind of chicken scratch. 

Makes me wonder about the white hot stamper of led zep 11, I mean I’m sure to be chosen as the crown jewel winner of the shootout, which I assume was compared to other RL’s, it must be something special.....I guess you would then own the King of RL’s....at least among the runner ups listened to...as there is always another king in the wings...who knows.

Looks like it sold...guess I'll never know...😉

I have an LZII RL pressing (RL etched both sides) and compared to the MFSL, the 180g Classic and the 200g Classic while I owned all four of these pressings. I sold the later three and the RL cut is superb and one of my favorite LP’s in my collection.

Now, I did not pay insane dollars, I spent $80 many years ago for a solid VG+ if not better pressing. Currently, along with many other sought after LPs, the pricing is ridiculous for a half way decent copy. Most of these were played to death on mediocre systems and have been abused.

For someone who must own the best, only they can decide the value.

@tablejockey + 1

I have purchased a few Better Records but not anywhere near the price of LZ II. Yes ,I did find them to be better than the recordings I already had including one half speed master. I would not look at them as an investment and I think Better Records mentions this on their site. If you really like an album and you want a great sounding copy give them a try as there is a 30 day trial.

I just checked out my obviously audiophile Led Zep 2 reissue. The only mark I can find on the vinyl is BC...or is it BG1?. My pitiful eyes and my not-quite-medical-grade magnifying devices just aren’t good enough for me to be sure.

Better Records’ Tom Port obscures the pressing info contained in the run out groove of the LP’s he sells by adding his own scratches (not cool, imo), in order to make identifying a white hot stamper (as defined by him. When I visited his apartment in the early-mid-90’s, his hi-fi was decidedly mid-fi---a receiver, record changer, and bookshelf loudspeakers. Perhaps he has a more transparent, resolving system today. Or perhaps not. Rare record dealers are most often not audiophiles) impossible.

RL pressings of LZ 2 are not that that to find; I found one in VG+ condition locally for $40. Was it a white hot stamped pressing? I don’t know---I’m not a fan of LZ, and left the LP for someone who is. Unlike TP, I’m not a greedy pig.

Hmm, I have not noticed anything amiss in the runout grooves of any of my "better records". Id have to say, his records do sound better. I’ve spent what amounts to a small fortune on his records, and I’ve been very satisfied with what I received.

You guys got me to do some random needle drops. My analysis... Often relentlessly multi-miked.. Vocals are by turns excellent or edgy, trebly and a hair distorted. Jimmy's guitar is tone is okay if not world-beating. Drums are punchy, spacious, naturally miked and altogether beautiful. Bass is very natural  I like the harmonica, too. Dead silent, utterly flat pressing.

@edcyn is that the RL pressing you did a needle drop on?

@bdp24 I just again checked about 6 better records pressings, 5 out of 6 have the dead wax info intact,, nothing added or omitted. On 1, there are some scratch outs of some info, but who ever did it did not do a good job obscuring it, as it is still readable. I do believe that when you look at discogs, which I often do, they indicate in the fine details of each pressing, that some info in dead wax is scratched out and something added beside it. However, this is done at the pressing plant. Scratch outs are not uncommon. I'll give Tom the benefit of the doubt, as only 1 out of 6 had something scratched out. 

If a Zep head REALLY wants to flex,  THIS ONE is what you open you're wallet for. There were many presses in 1969. I have a non RL Terre Haute Indiana copy, and it's quite nice. Not as impactful as my RL HOH copy.

Thanks @audioguy85, I stand corrected. I heard about Port obscuring the dead wax info somewhere, and assumed it was in fact true. That’ll teach me!

I myself bought only one LP from Tom, and not because it was a hot stamped LP. In fact, I don’t think Port was yet using the term when I got from him a German pressing of Magical Mystery Tour. The German pressing is desirable instead because it was the only version at that time (early/mid-90's) which was in true stereo. Both the UK and USA LP’s were reprocessed/fake stereo, as bad an invention as the record business has ever foistered on the public!

My Side 2 lead-out groove is inscribed SO (or is it 50?) 8256-6. There's no RL anywhere on the vinyl. And to be honest, I can't remember ever buying an audiophile reissue.I truly thought I still had my bought-the-first-day-it-came-out LP.

@bdp24 no problem, you had me worried! I cannot say for certain that it was or was not scratched out by him, but like I said, I only found that one....I’d still have to check like 20 something others I bought...yes, fake stereo seldom sounds very good, although I have heard a few exceptions that did sound OK I’ve been burned a few times, or I should say I burned myself when buying in some thrift shops. They tend to have lousy lighting and my eyes are not what they used to be. So, when I returned home on a few occasions and re-inspected what I bought, to my horror, there it was in small print, re-processed or electronically re-processed for stereo, ugh! luckily I only paid a buck for most.

Audioguy, I regret to inform that the nun whacked your knuckles :-)

Lol...I'll have to invest in a dictionary...

Scratched out numbers or codes are not uncommon in the golden days of record pressing. It might be due to a revision in the matrix, as with early Kate Bush where Harvest was bought out by EMI, but there was EMI America and EMI UK each with different catalogue numbers. 

Or scratched out and corrected stamper info.

Great point @lowrider57. I have seen lots of factory-made scratch-outs of matrix numbers in the run-out grooves of new (factory-sealed) LP's.

I thought Paultry was a pun. John Paul…get it?

@johne15 lol, I could have used that as an out!

I bought a number of hot stampers from Tom for a number of years until I discovered a record seller in the Bay Area and another in SoCal where I could buy multiple copies and perform my own shootouts.  In some cases I was able to find pressings better than hot stampers.  The LZII is a sore spot for me as I paid big bucks for a hot stamper after Tom saying it was nearly impossible to find a RL copy in good condition which I then debunked when I bought a nice RL copy on Ebay for something like $200 that absolutely eclipsed the hot stamper version.  It was superior in every way especially in bass and dynamics.  The impact was something else.  I eventually stopped buying hot stampers and found my own for a fraction of the price.

I see that Better Records hot stampers have suffered from the same price escalation as with equipment.

I see that Better Records hot stampers have suffered from the same price escalation as with equipment.

Yeah, all those old records sitting in basements, attics, at garage sales, vintage shops have suffered greatly from supply chain issues and the war in Ukraine.

Eleven?  There's only one good use for that number.  Maybe the funniest bit ever?

It’s zep 2 or 11 or II, not eleven...I’m just saying. Hey, they gave me crap for poultry lol...and then the misspelled paultry (paltry) and the misspelled whacked (wacked) ....

@audioguy85 

It should be written as Led Zep II not 11.

I was able to find pressings better than hot stampers.  The LZII is a sore spot for me as I paid big bucks for a hot stamper after Tom saying it was nearly impossible to find a RL copy in good condition which I then debunked when I bought a nice RL copy on Ebay for something like $200 that absolutely eclipsed the hot stamper version.  It was superior in every way especially in bass and dynamics.  The impact was something else.  I eventually stopped buying hot stampers and found my own for a fraction of the price.

 

$200 is a very fair price for hot stamper quality. Better Records prices are too rich for my blood.

@rlawry  how do you plan on finding your own hot stampers? Are you going to rely on descriptions of used records? You'll end up buying multiple copies.

I have a Presswell copy with narrow deadwax on side 2 that is Mint-[I have several period copies including the old Mofi]; the Monarch is supposed to be the "bomb" but I don’t know if there are any white label promos pressed by Monarch. They changed the mastering pretty fast, though by standards of the industry, they pressed a ****load before they changed the mastering.

The UK plum (by definition, early) is equally bass-y but doesn’t have the high frequencies of the RL.

As to Better Records, no comment. :)

I have a copy of Free’s Tons of Sobs from them and it is the best sounding among three copies here, though I don’t have a first. (bullseye pink).

I no longer collect records as I now listen to streamed digital files through my headphones.  There, I said it.  It is most cathartic to finally come out as I never, ever thought I would trade LPs for digital, but here we are.

I collected records for 50 years and learned through Tom Port's hot stampers and others some of the tricks in finding the best pressings, at least the ones most likely to enter into shootouts.  Things like determining who the parent record company, the country of origin, the usual best-sounding pressings for a certain label, etc.  There were prior existing rules of thumb that didn't often work like getting pressings from the country of the artist; it was more important to determine the parent record company and get pressings from the country headquartering that record company as they were more likely to manage the mastering there and used the highest generation mother stampers for pressing there.  Also, to look in the deadwax and find an imprint of the top mastering houses like Sterling Sound or The Mastering Lab.  Things like that.  

Now with digital I don't worry about that stuff.  I think I have about 150 Better Records hot stampers and 350 that I did myself.  The only question is what to do with them, maybe sell them or hang on to them.

YYAAAAAWWNNN..........

What a boring thread.  Mainly about spelling of paltry and how to write Led Zep Two - there that's clear now.  The Roman empire ended about 17 long centuries ago.

On the spelling, most people can't do it as it's not taught in schools any more.  I care about that but I don't obsess.

Led Zep are about the most over-rated band ever anyway.  I wouldn't want to spend $2.45 on their disc.  There.  Some else to fill this thread with.

Who are you, clearthinker? A former troublemaker who has returned with a new handle? 🥴

@rlawry , some good tips, thanks. I've been all digital for a few years and am returning to vinyl.

My God, a few spelling errors and wow I put 11 instead of II...jeez, I think most knew what I meant! Talk about an anal bunch...no wonder people leave this place. ..two of my errors were by my freaking phone assuming things and making changes to what I typed. Also, I’m quickly typing out a post on a tiny phone keypad OK? I’m not submitting something to be graded on, who gives 2 sheets? I’m generally a terrific speller 😁. As far as boring, well that is subjective. Seems to me quite of few responses for such boring content. Led Zeppelin -II- was one of, if not the hottest pressed lp’s in the history of analog records by Robert Ludwig, also responsible for Houses of the Holy, and AC/DC’s Back in Black lp. I won’t bore ya’all with any more...I think my writing and thoughts are far more coherent than some people who post on here, just saying. Happy hot stamper hunting, if you got the time..I don’t, so I blow big cash on them, who cares, I’m not poor...you only live once. Some blow their money on gambling and have little to show for it...could be spending money on worse things. 

audioguy85-

Most here  at least recognize Zeppelin as one of the founders of classic heavy rock.

Take and ignore the  grammar error  abuse, as it's part of being on a forum. Your post was too hard to resist. I dig Classic Rock on records, always will-even with a few stitches and pops(as long as it's the REAL DEAL)

You're fortunate to have the ability to shop for the "Hot Stamper." I get one now and then, but I have to do the heavy lifting-3-5 copies, many month/years until I find "the one."

@audioguy85 

This is a worthwhile thread, I'm glad you started it. We're having some good-natured fun. Led Zep 11, we know what you meant, nothing mean-spirited was directed at you. I'm sure you've seen some real nasty comments on Audiogon, that's not what's going on here.