Original pressing
- A record that was pressed from the 1st original masters.
- There is a distinct difference between the sound and vibrancy of the original pressing rather than a repressing.
- Original pressing does not necessary equal first pressing. There can be many re-pressings of a record, it can have many runs or be repressed by a different label.
How do I know if it’s an original pressing?
- Looking for markings, letters and numbers stamped or etched outside the label by the run off grooves
- Looking for the master that it was pressed from
- Often these numbers differ from one manufacturer to another so there is a bit of homework to fully understand these markings
12” Record Gatefold Sleeve
12″ LP Gatefold Sleeve. 25-1/2 x 12-13/16″. 4 mil POLYESTER (Mylar). Fits over open Gatefold Jacket. 5/8″ opening in the center on one side of the sleeve. 2 equal pockets 12-11/16 x 12-1/4″. The sleeve is open on one short end for Gatefold jacket insertion.
Example:
Beatles Rubber Soul Parlophone labels record that has ‘XEX 579-1’ stamped on the run off grooves on side one. This tells us that it is a mono recording which is defined by the “XEX” (“YEX” would be a stereo recording) The ‘ 579’ part tells us the product catalogue number for the pressing (and we can work out that this is side one of the vinyl because side two will feature ‘580’ on the run off grooves.) The ‘-1’ part is the important part because we can see what master this vinyl was pressed from -1 being the earliest possible for this particular album pressing.
