I found a ZZ Top Eliminator Promo double sided RL , however the other Eliminator they had was GK. Both were stamped Sterling, though.
O.k, not EVERYTHING RL is good... I know I have enjoyed following this thread but unfortunately, I think it has turned into more of a "everything ever manufactured with RL" as opposed to a "must have" type of list. For the most part, there are very few "bad" RL pressings in my somewhat limited experience, but I have to say some just stink. Case in point, Bruce Springsteen's "Born In The USA". I have 3 different copies, including a RL version, and they all sound sooo bright, thin and harsh. I just can't enjoy this one. I don't blame Ludwig as I suppose he was working with what he was given but almost everything that was bad about recordings from this era is present here. And for the record, I'm a big Springsteen fan.
^ I agree about ´Born in the USA´. Sounds a bit bright to my ears too. But it´s about the only disappointment of "RL"s I´ve come across... This has probably been mentioned before, just didn´t see it. But anyhow ZZ Top : Deguello (although a combination Sterling RL / Sterling BK) (Was such a pleasant surprise to find it at a local record shop here in Finland...) And some others I didn´t notice been listed: Eric Clapton : Clapton at his best (sterling RL 4 sides) Brewer and Shipley : Weeds Barclay James Harvest : and other short stories Pat Metheny Group : American garage Atlanta Rhythm Section : Underdog
Yeaah, indeed. Somehow it had turned overnight from Sterling to Masterdisk... I must have checked it a hundred times when buying it and still got it mixed. Thanks for the correction.
Gotta love threads like this...finally checked my ZZ Top Fandango, and yep, it's an ' RL Sterling ' on both sides. And it only took me 35 years to know that.
Robert Ludwig doesn't do vinyl mastering any more, hasn't done for a couple of years now. Probably cut from a Robert Ludwig hi-res file. JG
I like Bruce too, but Born in the USA is thin and harsh. I swear the thing is early, ****** 44.1/16 digital. Though of course I don't know. I have original US and German pressings and neither are sonically any good. Great music, ****** sonics. Shame really.
I'm sure none of you have mentioned the following yet: Jenson Interceptor - S/T (1980) Nazareth - Play 'n' the Game (1976) City Boy - Young Men Gone West (1977) Stephan Nesrallah and Dave Kalil - Transition (1983) All of them are Canadian pressings, with the exception of the City Boy, which is, of course, a US pressing. As you would expect for a Bob Ludwig mastered record, they all sound great! Unfortunately, I cannot tell you about the Stephan Nesrallah as it is unplayably warped Also, all of them are one-sided RL's, except for the Stephan Nesrallah which is a double-sided RL. They may be one-sided RL's, but the writing on the non-RL side is definitely that of Bob Ludwig's
ok, can someone tell me why some RL's are single sided and some double? and do the masterers actually scratch the initials themselves?
To answer your question, I think that Mr. Ludwig masters both sides of a record most of the time, but sometimes he doesn't bother to engrave his initals in the deadwax on one side. The only way to find out if the non-RL side is in fact a Bob Ludwig master is to compare the writing style with the RL side. Most of his one-sided RL's retain the stamped "MASTERDISK" on the non-RL side, but unusually, on Nazareth's Play 'n' the Game, there isn't either a stamped "MASTERDISK" or any mastering engineer's signature on the B-side. But it's surely his writing style! And yes, the masterers of the records actually do engrave their initials in the deadwax themselves.
Jimmy James and the Vagabonds - I Am Somebody (7" 1975, Pye) Sterling RL in the A-side deadwax. This killer northern soul track was definitely built for Bob Ludwig!
Here's another Bob Ludwig cut to add to the ever-growing list: Corey Hart - Fields of Fire (1986, Aquarius) And don't forget that it's also direct metal mastered.
