Sold Date: April 5, 2022
Start Date: March 26, 2022
Final Price: $95.00 (USD)
Seller Feedback: 1782
Buyer Feedback: 0

*N LED ZEPPELIN II ROBERT LUDWIG '69 RL\RL SS HOT MIX INSANELY RARE (PR) PRESSWELL G++

Original First Pressing. Less than 200,000 copies exist. This platinum album has sold more than 12 million copies.

LED ZEPPELIN II ROBERT LUDWIG HOT MIX Presswell first pressing with RL etched both sides.

This may be considered a low cost RL starter copy due to condition, but it plays through on my system with only one quick skip, although with considerable surface noise. Other systems, of course, could have other results.

Vinyl grade Good to G+- Surface ticks/crackle, skip

Vacuum cleaned, with Mofi archival inner sleeve.

Cover VG - no seam splits or writing.

Labels with writing in marker

Original inner sleeve without the Led Zeppelin I ad yet

GRADING SCALE: NM Near Mint with only one or two insignificant defects. EXC Extremely nice, would be NM except for a few light hairline scratches or scuffs which do not affect play. VG+ A nice but used record that may have a series of light scuffs or scratches. It may play with a few pops or ticks but no serious problems. VG A well used record that still sounds OK but may have moderate surface noise, pops, etc. G A very worn record that plays through will do until a better copy comes along

Great starter album for someone curious as to what all the hype is about. This might be considered a gateway drug, leaving you wanting more to buy a $400 better copy.

The album cover is hard to grade because it’s better than 90% of the ones you’ll find on an original pressing that is 52 years old, But I would rate it a VG to VG +.

The 1841 Broadway address at the bottom of the label shows that it is a first pressing as opposed to the later more common Rockefeller Plaza address.

The PR behind the numbers on the label stand for Presswell Pressing.

The sound quality of this Mix has a much louder volume and generally more bass and tones you don’t hear on the later versions.

Many near mint copies have recently sold for $1800, and Mint copies for $3000+.

I’ve priced mine at what I think is a low or very fair price, but feel free to send me an offer. Depends on my mood at the time and if I have my eye on something else rare and unusual.

Tracklist

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 4:1

Recent letter from Robert Ludwig about the rare original Hot Mix of Led Zeppelin.

I wrote Robert Ludwig in the last week and he wrote me back. All the versions from sterling are the same hot mix. The subtle variances between them are all simply from the slight differences in making a hand-made analog lacquer disc, at least one of which was sent to all the pressing plants at the time. The CTH plant got a lacquer that was half RL and half LH (Lee Hulko, his partner) but was of the SAME MIX AND MASTER, based on RL's notes. THEY ARE ALL THE SAME, aside from subtle variances and should be valued the SAME no matter who's initials are in the dead wax. They are all the same master from STERLING SOUND! Here is my reply from Robert Ludwig. Let this be the final word in this debate. Thanks!

Hi Jim,

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