Led Zeppelin II 1969 First Press German LP RL Robert Ludwig “Hot Cut” Side One

$

150

Original 1969 German Pallas pressing of Led Zeppelin II, Atlantic SD 8236, featuring the subsequently withdrawn Robert Ludwig (“RL”) hot cut on side one.

The German thin laminated outer sleeve retains its original gloss and shine, and is clean when viewed straight on, with no writing, price stickers, or other markings on the cover. As shown in the photos, along the top and bottom edges of the sleeve, the laminate is beginning to split or to form small lines. As further shown in the photos, while the top half of the spine is straight and clean, and the band’s name “Led Zeppelin” is readable and largely undamaged, the bottom half of the spine suffers from scuffing and corner dinging, as shown, which has damaged the “Atlantic SD 8236” catalog number.

The vinyl retains its original gloss and shine. Viewed at an angle under bright light, faint sleeve removal marks are visible, but there are no larger scratches, indentations, or scuffs. Side one features the famous Robert Ludwig “hot cut” that was quickly withdrawn after purchasers complained that it caused their needles to skip. As shown in the photos, the initials “RL” are visible in the side one deadwax.The deadwax matrix info is as follows:

Side One: ST -A-691671-A LW W AT RL

Side Two: ST.A-691672-M LW AT W

Played on a modern cartridge that can handle it, this copy of the RL cut sounds like it should, with a huge sound, particularly on John Bonham’s drums. When Bonham re-enters “Whole Lotta Love” after sitting out during that song’s theremin interlude, this copy of this record delivers the huge drum sound that the RL cut is known for. The record plays clean and strong throughout, with only a faint hint of surface noise, pops, and ticks.

“Thank You” at the end of side one is the torture test for any copy of this record, as the stylus must battle inner groove distortion to reproduce Jimmy Page’s delicate acoustic guitar solo and Bonham’s big drum sound at the same time. On this copy of the record, “Thank You” plays cleanly, with the snap of Page’s acoustic guitar strings on the fretboard confirming the lack of groove damage here.

Towards the end of “Thank You,” Robert Plant’s isolated a cappella vocal interlude further leaves nowhere for a noisy or damaged pressing of this record to hide. During Plant’s isolated vocals on “Thank You,” I would rate the audible surface noise, pops, and ticks on this copy of the record as a “2,” on a scale where zero equals a dead silent background and ten equals a record rendered unlistenable by pops, ticks, background crackle, and skips. During the harder-rocking full band electric guitar passages of the album, no surface noise or pops and ticks are audible.

Side two of this record does not feature the Robert Ludwig cut, and is mastered noticeably more quietly. You will have to nudge the volume on your receiver up a notch or two to match the volume of side one. Having said that, side two doesn’t sound bad at all, it’s a good-sounding pressing of side two of this album, in the same overall condition as side one, it just doesn’t feature the famous RL cut.

The record labels are clean and undamaged, with no visible spindle markings or writing on the labels. There is some very slight crimping around the center hole of the side one label, which appears to have happened when the record was pressed. The side two center hole is perfectly clean. The Atlantic “1841 Broadway” address on the labels confirms that this is a first/early pressing, as does the typographical error on the side two label, where the track “Heartbreaker” is misspelled as “Heartbreakers,” an error that was corrected on later pressings. The indentations and center deep groove ring on the labels suggest a Pallas pressing.

Please review my 100% positive feedback as a seller on eBay and buy with confidence. Your record will be shipped in a dedicated heavy cardboard record mailer with cardboard inserts added as necessary to prevent damage during shipment.