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Led Zep III First Pressing?


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No, it's definitely not a counterfeit version. It's got all the marks / matrices that it's supposed to and the label is correct for it's release. I'm just a little curious to see what the etchings are supposed to look like. I didn't have a reference point so something to compare it to would be great. The white label photos above look very 'scroll'y' and mine don't look like that at all, from what I can make out.

Feedback would be awesome!

Those are my pictures, and I can't do better than that to show the image. The wording looks like it was written with printed font, by someone writing the words with a ballpoint pen, and it is somewhat flowy. The writing is likely to be different for various countries, based on who created the master stampers. The UK version and the US version have different catalogue numbers, so the stampers will be different, along with the info in the run off.

Perhaps you should take pictures like I did, post them here, and we can try to give you some feedback.

Edited by The Dark Lord
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Wow! Pretty impressive. What kind of a copy do you have? Mine is a plum / red label but from your photos it looks grey / white. The pictures came out really well. I'm so confused now because my LP carries all the right marks for an original pressing but the etching definitely doesn't look like yours.

I should point out mine is a UK pressing with serial number 2401002 [no gaps or hyphens] A5 / B5 w/ exec. producer credit to Peter Grant and correct Track 2 listing as Celebration Day, as opposed to Celebration on later pressings.

Anyone who owns a plum / red got a photo of the etchings?

Edited by Clar Ni Pharsuin
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Not sure what mine is. Bought it at a record show as a first pressing but what did I know 25 years ago. My copy has the green and red label with a white line across the center number is SD 19128.

The complete etching on side one says, ST. A . 702005 - A (1) one Mastercraft PR - So Mote Be It -

Side two says, ST . A . 702006 - A (2) two Mastercraft PR - Do What Thou Wilt -

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Not sure what mine is. Bought it at a record show as a first pressing but what did I know 25 years ago. My copy has the green and red label with a white line across the center number is SD 19128.

The complete etching on side one says, ST. A . 702005 - A (1) one Mastercraft PR - So Mote Be It -

Side two says, ST . A . 702006 - A (2) two Mastercraft PR - Do What Thou Wilt -

This is a much later official repressing, as denoted by the updated catalogue number of SD 19128, verses the original catalogue number of SD 7201.

Edited by The Dark Lord
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Wow! Pretty impressive. What kind of a copy do you have? Mine is a plum / red label but from your photos it looks grey / white. The pictures came out really well. I'm so confused now because my LP carries all the right marks for an original pressing but the etching definitely doesn't look like yours.

I should point out mine is a UK pressing with serial number 2401002 [no gaps or hyphens] A5 / B5 w/ exec. producer credit to Peter Grant and correct Track 2 listing as Celebration Day, as opposed to Celebration on later pressings.

Anyone who owns a plum / red got a photo of the etchings?

The copy I utilized to take the pictures of is a Mastercraft PR SD19128. ST-A-702005-E for side one. Side two is ST-A-702006-F. If you need the run off information please let me know since there is more etched. It's not a red /plum label I also own a ST-A-7002005-A side one with an ST-A-F side two.

Robert

www.behindthetoys.com

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How many pressings were there before they stopped the etchings?

That is really tough to answer, because it all depends on when the non "Do What thou Wilt" masters were made, and then distributed. And then it would depend on when each individual plant would put them into service. Some would be sooner than others. If you have the "Do what though wilt" etching, then yours is probably an early version of the new catalogue number. You would need to find out when Atlantic switched from SD 7201 to SD 19128 in the US. You may also have a record pressed by the original stampers, but with the new labels, with the new catlogue number, instead of the SD 7201 labels. Your cover and labels both say SD 19128, right? In Canada, when they made the transition, they put a sticker on the cover, overtop of the SD 7201 number, and it read SD19128; so, there was a transitional time when they were using a mish-mash of old and new, as they moved to the new catalogue number exclusively. I have a funny feeling that your record might fit right into that transitional time in the US. Bottom line: SD 19128 was the succession number to SD 7201.

Edited by The Dark Lord
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Just to add my two pressings of Led Zeppelin III to the discussion :P

1. SD 7201 - 75 Rockefeller Plaza - Brown/Green Atlantic inner sleeve

Side 1: ST-A 702005-AAA 1-11 (1) one Mastercraft PR So mote be it PRC AT

Side 2: ST-A 702006-AAA - 1 (2) two Mastercraft PR PRC Do what thou wilt - AT

2. SD 19128 - 75 Rockefeller Plaza - White/Cream Atlantic inner sleeve

Side 1: ST-A 102005-K 1-1 sflatl SRC

Side 2: ST-A 702006-K 1-1 sflatl SRC

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Darn! I guess I just got an regular old III, Thanks for the info :heartbreaker:

For what it's worth, my later pressing of III sounds much better. I don't know what it is about the early one, but I think it might have something to do with being water damaged during shipping. It could also be the immense amount of nicotine that has saturated the album. I've already put it through the Spin Clean once...will probably do it again.

Edited by Glyn
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  • 3 weeks later...
  • 4 months later...

Hi,

First post here.

I've just come to the forum as I have been trying to find the age of a copy of Led Zep iii that my mother had. I 'acquired' it from her as a teenager and then it went in the attic with the rest of my stuff. She has since dropped it over here.

It has Peter Grant on the label but the etchings look different to the ones in the previously posted pictures. I know that it was bought before 1974 as she got married then and she has written her maiden name inside it.

I've tried to take some pictures but they aren't brilliant. I don't expect it is worth anything as I play the hell out if it when I was 18.

I can't work out how to attach the pictures. I'll have a go and get back to you.

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  • 11 months later...

Hello all, just thought I'd add my three pressings of Led Zeppelin III to the discussion: 

1. SD 7201 - Canadian first pressing (red label)

Side 1:W ST-A 702005-4 TG

Side 2:W ST-A 702006-4 TG

2. SD 7201 - Canadian second pressing (green whitea nd red label)

Side 1: SD 7201-A TLC-T (and what appears to be) nd

Side 2: SD 7201-B-2X (and whats appears to be) 12 R.E.g TLC.T n (arrow pointing down) w

3. 2401-002 U.K. pressing

Side 1: Do what thou wilt 2401002 A-5 (plus something else I can't read)

Side 2: So mote it be 2401002 B-5 (plus something else I can't read)

Cheers,

Rod.

Edited by rctm
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  • 1 year later...

Hi, New to the forum and thought I would add mine:

SD-7201  Standard Red/Green Atlantic Label

Side 1:  A-13469-A  Line Out

             ST-A-702005-E   AT  (1) one  Mastercraft R  PR

              -Do What Thou Wilt-

Side 2:   ST-A-702006-A  (2) two  Mastercraft R  PR

              -Do What Thou Wilt-  AT

Sleeve:  Solid Yellow no printing

1841 Broadway, New York New York  10023

 

Thanks All

Larry

 

    

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  • 7 months later...

I mastered this album to vinyl. On the very first day, we did two sets of lacquer masters to go to the pressing plant. Both were done right after Jimmy and I mixed III at Ardent Studios original location on National Street, Memphis. We took the stereo mix tape masters to Mastercraft mastering facility on Madison Ave in Memphis, and made those two sets.

 

On one set I inscribed "Do What Thou Wilt" on side 1, and "Shall Be The Whole Of The Law" on side 2. On the second set, "So Mote Be It" was inscribed on side 1, and I have forgotten what I put on side 2.

 

This was all done of course on Jimmy's instruction, being quotations from Aleister Crowley's writings.

I then took both sets of lacquers in the boot of a car driven to Nashville where I met up with Richard Cole. Richard took them from me and on to the pressing plant (I think in Indiana). So both inscriptions are from the first mastering, and also the first pressings.

Thanks all.

Terry

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  • 2 years later...

Hi to everybody. My copy is a little bit strange or it seems so:

SD-7201  Standard Red/Green Atlantic Label

ST-A-702005 PR

Inner groove:    ST-A-702005-D side A

                           ST-A-702006-D side B.

The letter D on both sides sounds strange, am I wrong?

             

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