consider a period domestic press. The desired copy is the Robert Ludwig press. https://www.ebay.com/itm/LED-ZEPPELIN-II-LP-Robert-Bob-Ludwig-RL-hot-mix-master-US-Atlantic-VG/27289... Even with a few ticks and stitches, a period press usually gets my vote over any reissue. |
I have several: the RL packs more punch than most- condition is key, and the prices tend to be high even for noisy copies- It took me 3 copies to get a dead quiet player. The early plum UK is also very good- more bass, a little less "thwack," but still a good listen. You may be able to find a plum in better condition for the money than an RL. The Canadian Red Labels marked with TG in the dead wax (to my knowledge, only II and III were available) are good, III in particular. These aren’t necessarily expensive, but they are rare. Most of the George Piros recuts of Zep in the ’70s (GP in the deadwax) are good and fairly plentiful in the U.S. Agree with @tablejockey - all my best sounding Zep copies are early pressings and that includes the Classic 45s I own. |
"all my best sounding Zep copies are early pressings and that includes the Classic 45s I own." whart-never heard the 45s. Being a Zep head, always wondered how it would compare to a clean RL, or,the other early presses? I find 45 reissues of other genres,just off the mark compared to their period original. I've compared my Classic HOTH with an RL. The Classic is very good, but it has a subtle "CD perfect" (which may just be in my head?)overall sound. The RL seems to have just a little more...realism? pivetta-The entire catalog is a safe bet, heard on an original pressing. |
I don’t have a Classic of II. I have a Classic 200g (33, not 45) of III which isn’t bad, but it is brighter, less of a piece- more detail and less cohesive than my first press UK plum. The Canadian Red Label III with the TG marking is also very good, but much harder to find. I have Classic 45s of 1 and IV-- for 1, the Hoffman forum fav- a Piros recut done in the ’70s with certain deadwax details pressed at Monarch (I can pull up the details if necessary) is far more of a piece than the Classic 45- which, again, to my ears, is modern ’audiophile’ with more mid detail but no deep bass, a bit brighter on top and less cohesive overall. The best sounding 1 I have is a second japanese press- I like it better than the Piros.* I have a plum of 4, a Piros/Porky if memory serves, the Classic 45 and perhaps a few others. I don’t listen to that recording much, nor to the later ones- on HOTH the RL is relatively cheap; on Physical Graffiti, I have a very early UK pressing, I know I have copies of Coda and Presence somewhere, but don’t remember them being anything special. I was and remain a fan of the first album. I like certain tracks on II. I’ve grown to appreciate III, but at the time of release, it was not heavy enough for me. The Classics were a decent thing to buy when they were originally issued at 40 bucks, but now that the market commands bigger prices, I think the money is better spent on the old copies. Of course, some people may prefer the Classic, and who am I to argue? It is partly personal preference, and partly system synergy, I think. The problem is, that for the most part, these are pretty bad recordings, so don’t expect that a Zep 45 is going to give you the same magic as, say, the 45 recut of Sonny Rollins Way Out West, or Hoodoo Man Blues, or any of the other 45 recuts, like that SRV set (Tin Pan Alley is a killer, but I find SRV boring, even though I live in Austin!).** ____ *We did a shoot out of 1 several years ago, an early uk plum (not turquoise), an east coast first press, a west coast first press and the Piros. Among those the Piros pressed at Monarch was better in pretty much every respect. I later bought an early plum- again not a Turquoise, just to do a recomparison. It still didn’t sound as good as the Piros, let alone the Japanese pressing mentioned above. **For what it’s worth, and I haven’t done the comparisons, there are a lot of folks that among the Classic 33 rpm, prefer the 180g to the 200g. Part of this may be the QC issues Hobson experienced when he went to "heavy vinyl’ but part of it may also be the sound of heavy vinyl. I don’t find 200 gram pressings to be in any way better than standard weight. I do agree that some of the 45 masterings of other records definitely improve on the 33. Interestingly, on Hoodoo, a great record that should still be readily available on 45, I got the chance to compare it with pristine originals, mono and stereo. The originals were noticeably better. Those records, in that condition, are virtually impossible to find. |
Haven’t heard it -of II. My second japanese press of 1 is special, and not crazy money, but I can’t make the leap of faith from that to a japanese pressing of II. I thought the Jimmy Page sanctioned reissues from a few years ago were great for people who wanted clean playing copies--but they sounded vey sterile to me. I only bought the first three, listened to them in comparison to some other copies, and eventually, they went out the door with about 5-7000 other records before I moved. As to the 45s, you’ve already got my comments and mike lavigne’s. Generally, those were only available as part of the complete road case, which is now stupid money, and some individual albums here and there from The Music and/or Hobson and a few third party vendors, including test pressings and the like, also pricey. |
@notesaddict- it all depends on which pressing, who mastered, what plant. If you read the deadwax, that will tell you. Atlantic actually put the code for the plants on the labels themselves. The one people tend to chase is the RL mastered one, which got pulled b/c it was too 'hot.' The Monarch pressings tend to be bombastic to begin with- Monarch being a relatively small plant that was owned by the same people that owned Sonic on the east coast and Buddha records. Even though these were not considered top of the heap companies in their day, the Monarchs have a real following now, but the quest usually starts on LZII, at least for old pressings, with the RL masterings, which are evident from his inscription in the deadwax. |
@notesaddict: That is the beginning of the code: S for Stereo, A for Atlantic. Then Numbers. Then a suffix. The suffix on the Atlantics, usually a two letter code, is the pressing plant, e.g. MO is Monarch. Not saying those are the best, just one factor among many including who mastered the record. Those are usually inscribed in the deadwax. If you look up info on Atlantic deadwax inscriptions, you'll see a ton of stuff. |
Nothing Beats an Original Robert Ludwig First Press by Monarch,Presswell Columbia-Pitman(CP) or Specialty Plastics. I Recently Sold a Columbia Pitman NM/NM https://www.discogs.com/Led-Zeppelin-Led-Zeppelin-II/release/8645549 |
I have a Japanese pressing and I like it quite a lot. Some say they are not as good as others, but they are super quiet. I certainly agree with the quiet part - the vinyl is quite silent. As for the sound quality otherwise, I think is very respectable. The price was also reasonable. Not cheap for a near mint copy, but far cheaper than the classic records version of course. |
I have several Robert Ludwig Mastered Original First Press Releases on Discogs starting at $299 https://www.discogs.com/sell/item/946156717 |
An "under-the-radar", original ANALOG copy alternative to the Ludwig first pressing WHICH BEST preserves the same impact of it was: a reel to reel tape issued of II (all the Zep albums; from 1 through "Houses of the Holy" had come out on such what was considered the pre-digital-era audiophile format) in October 1969. Since it's sort of a collector's novelty and has gotten a "reputation" around the Web of proving to be an overlooked sonic surprise (it's, also, the only commercially formatted release to have included the subtitle: "The Only Way to Fly"), I would like to share a 16/44 WAV cloudfile from my copy of that tape. side 1 https://mega.nz/file/iR911Sjb#594K-7zCNYXwoWdgm0ZjMMDlhW4DHcAF3W_FnmxO6co side 2 https://mega.nz/file/bR9nRSQS#IjE8XYoQA8QxvU5LFBdIl89hgAoiRGVwcpAHfBmVjcw |
