Boz Scaggs Silk Degrees First LP Cut

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by -Ben, May 18, 2004.

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  1. -Ben

    -Ben Senior Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    Washington DC Area
    In the last Silk Degrees CD thread, Steve mentioned the first LP cut (see above).

    I wonder if my copy cut by ALLEN ZENTZ (AZ) is early enough to be the first cut?

    Dead wax: (hand written) PBL 33920 - 1N Az
     
  2. James Glennon

    James Glennon Senior Member

    Location:
    Dublin, Ireland

    According to the sleeve notes Silk Degrees was cut by Doug Sax at The Mastering Lab.

    The dead wax of my LP is as follows:

    PAL 33920 - 1C TML-M
    PBL 33920 - 1C TML-M

    I have had a lot of copies of this album and this is the best by far.
    hope this is of interest.
    JG
     
  3. Sckott

    Sckott Hand Tighten Only.

    Location:
    South Plymouth, Ma
    This LP got A R O U N D. Even Capitol did runs to keep up the demand for Columbia....
     
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  4. Stax Fan

    Stax Fan Forum Resident

    Location:
    Midwest
    Nice copy, James. TML "M" cuts are typically a tad better than the "S" or "X" cuts. My guess is you'd be hard pressed to find a better copy of "Silk Degrees". :)
     
  5. -Ben

    -Ben Senior Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    Washington DC Area

    Interesting.
    Thanks James. I must have a hybrid then (sides cut at different places by different folks).
    I should have posted both sides:
    Side One: PAL 33920 1AD TML-M
    Side Two: PBL 33920 - 1N Az
     
    McLover likes this.
  6. JohnT

    JohnT Senior Member

    Location:
    PA & FL gulf coast
    I've got a
    PAL-33920-1AQ-PM
    PBL-33920-1AM-PM

    This one has good sound. Anyone care to venture a thought on who PM is?
     
  7. John Carsell

    John Carsell Forum Resident

    Location:
    Northwest Illinois
    My promo copy is on side 1: PAL 33920 1F and on side 2: PBL 33920 1E
     
  8. James Glennon

    James Glennon Senior Member

    Location:
    Dublin, Ireland

    Glad to be of help. I have a couple of LPs myself that have different masterings on each side.

    Every Pictures Tells A Story being one, side one mastered by gilbert kong, side two mastered at masterdisk.
    JG
     
  9. James Glennon

    James Glennon Senior Member

    Location:
    Dublin, Ireland
    EXPLAIN PLEAAASSSSE! how are 'M' cuts better than the 'S' or 'X'.
    JG

    PS: THANKS FOR THE INFO.
     
  10. Stax Fan

    Stax Fan Forum Resident

    Location:
    Midwest
    Well, The Mastering Lab apparently used three lathes to help speed up the cutting process since they were a pretty busy outfit back in the 1970's and into the 1980's. The "M" lathe was the master and the "S" was a slave. I'm not sure, but I'm guessing the "X" lathe was a slave as well.

    Of course, it still boils down to judging on a pressing-by-pressing basis given stamper wear and whatnot, but IME, the "M" lacquers often seem a smidgen better. Nothing to fuss over too much, though. I was just commenting as it's always nice to see back-to-back "M" lacquers.

    It's worth noting that the lathes at TML were driven with tube amps, which is nice...and certainly *very* unique for the time. Lots of swell records cut by Doug Sax and company back in the day.
     
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  11. James Glennon

    James Glennon Senior Member

    Location:
    Dublin, Ireland

    thanks for the info on M, S and X.

    They say a little knowledge is a dangerous thing.

    The icing on the cake for me, is that I listen to my LP collection on all tube (dual-mono) gear.
    JG
     
  12. Stax Fan

    Stax Fan Forum Resident

    Location:
    Midwest
    Probably is if it's coming from me...



    Better switch to solid-state. Tubes wear out ya know. :D
     
  13. James Glennon

    James Glennon Senior Member

    Location:
    Dublin, Ireland

    Well as Neil Young said: 'It's better to burn out than to fade away'
     
  14. -Ben

    -Ben Senior Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    Washington DC Area
    THANKS ARIN :righton:

    Always learn something from your excellent posts. The very reason I started this thread.
     
  15. Steve Hoffman

    Steve Hoffman Your host Your Host

    They needed to cut two or three lacquers at once? Wow. Odd.
     
  16. Stax Fan

    Stax Fan Forum Resident

    Location:
    Midwest
    I'm not the official TML historian or anything, but I did read a Doug Sax interview recently where he stated at one point in the height of their operations it was a 24/7 business for them. Busy, busy guys apparently.
     
  17. Stax Fan

    Stax Fan Forum Resident

    Location:
    Midwest
    I'm the vinyl poster child for "don't let this happen to you". It's not too late for you, Ben. You can still save yourself. :)

    Oddly enough, I don't even have a TML "Silk Degrees". (I just stayed at a Holiday Inn Express last night) :D
     
  18. Steve Hoffman

    Steve Hoffman Your host Your Host

    But one lacquer can make many mothers and those mothers can make many stampers. These can be shipped to all the factories. The record couldn't have been THAT popular that they would be wearing out metal at such a high rate that they needed multiple lacquers for metal master making.

    I think that whatever lathe they used was just the one they used, and marked as such. I'll have to ask Doug, but a lathe marked "slave" wasn't necessarily used like one I betcha...

    Ah, who cares? I'm obsessing.
     
  19. Sckott

    Sckott Hand Tighten Only.

    Location:
    South Plymouth, Ma
    Back in early days of college, I had a girlfriend who's father pressed records for Columbia. I'm assuming it was the NY plant. When I asked him, he didn't have much to say or remember but he did mention at times they had people working in furious shifts to keep up the work, 24/7.
     
  20. Stax Fan

    Stax Fan Forum Resident

    Location:
    Midwest
    I know you can get some pretty serious mileage from one lacquer, but I've seen all three designations for "The Wall", some of the Chicago titles and even a Columbia Neil Diamond Lp.

    I dunno, however they operated, it would be swell to hear the inside story from Doug Sax if it ever comes up. No doubt he's quite the interesting conversationalist. :)
     
  21. Stax Fan

    Stax Fan Forum Resident

    Location:
    Midwest
    I'm not surprised for a big-time label like Columbia. Wouldn't it be cool to work there and be able to snag fresh 1A pressings of everything? :laugh:
     
  22. Steve Hoffman

    Steve Hoffman Your host Your Host

    I knew a guy at Columbia who drained the vinyl at night and added colored vinyl to the machines and made himself ONE copy of everything in colored vinyl, all the Dylans, Sprintstones, etc. That's obsessed!
     
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  23. Evan L

    Evan L Beatologist

    Location:
    Vermont
    There is in existence a single colored vinyl copy of the US A Hard Day's Night LP done by a man who did the same thing.

    Evan
     
    Lonevej likes this.
  24. John Carsell

    John Carsell Forum Resident

    Location:
    Northwest Illinois
    Some one at RCA did that with Elvis's Christmas Album around 1959.

    The only one red vinyl copy known to exist and it was sold for over $14,000 years later. But that price is ridiculous since it's not even legit.
     
  25. poweragemk

    poweragemk Old Member

    Location:
    CH
    That's crazy! :eek:
     
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