LED ZEPPELIN II 2 TWO RL ROBERT LUDWIG HOT MIX 1ST US PRESSING 1969

$

50

We all know the story. Atlantic Records hired a young Robert Ludwig to master Led Zeppelin's sophomore effort in late '69, and what he produced was a disc so powerful that it could literally make a cheap stylus jump.

However, it seems most of the record-buying public was sporting these cheap styluses, and thus returned their copies Ludwig's Zeppelin II, believing the album to be defective. Atlantic quickly began damage control, recalled the albums cut from Ludwig's master, and re-released the album from a new, low-volume, and lifeless master.

Very few of the original pressings remained on the open market. This is one of the few that survived . . .

Yes folks, this is an original 1969 US pressing of the legendary Led Zeppelin II, on the '1841 Broadway' Atlantic Label, and with Ludwig's 'RL' engraved in the deadwax on each side. Not only do Ludwig's initials indicate that this pressing is original, but the deadwax on either side is considerably narrower than that on subsequent pressings - definitive proof that this is indeed the 'hot mix'.

I have listened to this album and can say with certainty that the differences between this Ludwig's cut and its replacement are quite noticable.

Bonham's drums are normally loud, but on Ludwig's cut they simply explode! John Paul Jones' bass is also far more present - heavy, but with all the melodic elements intact.

Ludwig's impeccable channel seperation emphasizes the hefty amounts of panning utilized on this album, with Plant's voice and Page's guitar dancing from speaker-to-speaker and as if around your head!

Now let's get to what really matters: condition.

Unfortunately, this disc is not in great condition. It has many scratches, most of which are light but some of which are a bit deeper.

I have listened to this record start-to-finish, on a great Technics turntable fitted with a Shure cartirdge/stylus (elliptical, of course), and tracking at 1.5 grams. Here is my report:

• Normally all of those scratches would cause a lot of background noise. HOWEVER, because this album is mastered so loud, background noise is NOT a problem. There is some during the quieter parts, but even at that it does not detract from the album.
• There is very little distortion. It gets a bit crackly in some spots, but not enough to truly be called 'distorted'.
• However, there is some bad news: the album skips - once each at the beginnings of tracks 1 and 2, and four times on 'Ramble On'. This is obviously a concern for the discerning listener, and thus I have put this one up for cheap - I don't expect you to pay $400 for it.

I have cleaned this disc using the Spin-Clean, which always brightens up the sound considerably. The disc has also been placed in a brand-new, heavy-duty, acid-free paper liner.

Also included are the original jacket and Atlantic ad liner. The jacket is in okay shape, although the spine is bad, while the liner has actually held up pretty well.

If you have any other concerns, just email me.

I can only ship on the following days of the week: Friday, Saturday, Monday.

I only accept PayPal.

International buyers are welcome - but any import duties are YOUR RESPONSIBILITY.