Led Zeppelin – Led Zeppelin II Vinyl LP – Robert Ludwig RL Hot Mix – VG to NM

$

340

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Led Zeppelin – Led Zeppelin II Vinyl LP – Robert Ludwig RL Hot Mix – Very Good to Near Mint

The Holy Grail of Vinyl Records.

Tiny RL etched into the lead out groove area on both sides of the vinyl LP.

Please Note: This copy is one of the better copies that I own compared to similar ones for sale. My objective is for you to know as much information as possible about this record before placing any bids. Before placing any bids, please review my pictures and video of Whole Lotta Love. eBay will only allow for 1 video to be uploaded per auction. Please message me and I can send you additional information and videos that range from 30-45 seconds where I’ve identified some of the songs at the beginning and the middle of the songs. Each video is up to 160 mb in length.

Led Zeppelin – Led Zeppelin II

Label: Atlantic – SD 8236

Format: Vinyl, LP, Album, Stereo, "RL" Cut, PR - Presswell Pressing

Country: US

Released: 1969

Genre: Rock

Style: Hard Rock

Grading

Sleeve and Spine

Good to Very Good. The spine’s lettering is not in the best condition and there is wear on the sleeve that you typically see in a record that is 53 years old. The inside jacket is near mint.

Insert

The record insert is in excellent to near mint condition.

Media

I would say that 90% of this record sounds great. There are a couple of scratches on the record that result in pops. I’ve listened to the entire record and here is my feedback by track:

Side 1

1 – Whole Lotta Love – Rating: 9/10 – There are pops when you first lay down the needle before the song starts, but once the song starts, it sounds fantastic. I’ve never heard this song this great before on any other pressing.

2 – What Is And What Should Never Be – Rating: 8/10 – Small pops during the quiet periods throughout the song. Otherwise, it sounds fantastic. The speaker separation of Jinny’s guitar at the end of the song is phenomenal.

3 – The Lemon Song – Rating: 8/10   - One small pop early in the song, but not a distraction at all. Light scratches towards the middle end of the song in the quiet parts.

4 – Thank You – Rating: 8/10 - Very light surface noise at the beginning of the song and during the quiet parts of this song. There are some small pops in the last 10 seconds of the song at the end of side one.

Side 2

5 – Heartbreaker – Rating:  6/10 - There are small pops when you first lay down the needle before the song starts, but once the song starts, it sounds fantastic. I give it a 6 out of 10 because there is one skip towards the end of the song.

6 – Livin’ Lovin’ Maid – Rating: 10/10 – Great sounding song with no noticeable pops or surface noise

7 – Ramble On – Rating:  8/10 - Slight surface noise/pops at the beginning of the song.

8 – Moby Dick – Rating:  7/10 - Pops coming out at the end of Ramble on and right before Moby Dick starts. There is one scratch on this song that results in a pop as the record spins around at the spot of the scratch. It’s most noticeable during the quiet parts of Bonzo’s bongo solo in the middle of the song.

9 – Bring It On Home – Rating:  6/10 - Noticeable pops at the beginning of the song from the scratch in the quiet parts. Once the song kicks, it, you don’t hear them. Rating it a 6 out of 10 due to the pops at the beginning of the song and slight surface noise at the very end of the song.

Story of Led Zeppelin II Original Master by Robert Ludwig

When "Led Zeppelin II" was first released, legendary mastering engineer Robert Ludwig cut the lacquers using the master tape. The story goes that Atlantic founder Ahmet Ertegun gave a copy to his brother Nesuhi to give to his daughter. Her "kiddie" phonograph couldn't track the record, which had been cut with full dynamic range and bass response (the notion that vinyl can't do wide dynamic range or deep bass is a bunch of hooey).

The label panicked, and recalled the record, which was re-cut with less bass and lesser dynamics, which is the version most people bought. However, some "RL" mastered originals got into distribution and are "out there".

Copies now go for between a few hundred and up to $1000 depending upon condition, though of course you can always luck into one at a garage sale or at a used record store run by someone who doesn't know any of this.

You can tell if you have one if you see a tiny RL etched into the lead out groove area. This copy is hardly "mint" but it's good enough! By the way, the distortion you hear is tape saturation, not a playback deficiency. Please compare this vinyl transcription to the recent Jimmy Page supervised mastering on vinyl or on high resolution digital download. There is no comparison.

Lacquer Cut By – Bob Ludwig

Mastered By – Robert Ludwig

Mastered At – Sterling Sound

Mastered At – Longwear Plating

Mastered At – Atlantic Studios

Lacquer Cut At – Sterling Sound

Pressed By – Presswell

Matrix / Runout (Side A Runout Variant 1): ST-A-691671-C RL SS P LW W AT

Matrix / Runout (Side B Runout Variant 1): ST-A-691672-A P LW AT RL SS W

"P" in label matrix denotes a Presswell pressing.

"LW" in runouts indicates Longwear Plating metal parts.

"AT" in runouts indicates Atlantic Studios mastering

"W" in runouts indicates that blank lacquers came from the company Audiodisc.

US 1st pressing (with the 1841 Broadway address on the labels), featuring Robert Ludwig's "hot" mastering on both sides. These were withdrawn early because the high bass levels caused low-grade cartridges to mistrack, leading people to return the album on the belief that it was defective. Another engineer was then hired to recut a much less "hot" version of the album, and that is the far more common version.

On some copies the Sterling Sound credit, "SS", appears in both runouts following Ludwig's "RL", and on others the "SS" appears only in the Side Two runout. The "RL" will still appear in both runouts.

Comes in a gatefold sleeve.

This record is also protected with an original master sleeve record insert from Mobile Fidelity.

This record is protected with a 2-millimeter Dual Pocket LP Vinyl Record Outer Sleeves (RESEALABLE) - Crystal Clear CPP from Vinyl Storage Solutions.

This record has been professionally cleaned on my PRO-JECT - VC-S2 ALU Record Cleaning Machine.

Track List

A1                        Whole Lotta Love 5:33

A2                        What Is And What Should Never Be 4:47

A3                        The Lemon Song 6:20

A4                        Thank You 3:50

B1                        Heartbreaker 4:15

B2                        Living Loving Maid (She's Just A Woman) 2:40

B3                        Ramble On 4:35

B4                        Moby Dick 4:25

B5                        Bring It On Home 4:19