tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8317494389554131654.comments2024-03-14T19:19:31.021+09:00Vinyl Hunting & Collecting: a Bruce Springsteen record collector's log from the Far Eastmanattophttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08493548501480718612noreply@blogger.comBlogger240125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8317494389554131654.post-34258885330889951372024-03-14T19:19:31.021+09:002024-03-14T19:19:31.021+09:00Many thanks for your words, and I'm glad my bl...Many thanks for your words, and I'm glad my blog is informative and useful for you. Your WLP copy of Spirit 7" is of a Santa Maria pressing (based on your report on Plant ID: SS). I guess it's made of vinyl but not styrene. Is it correct? Yours is -1F/-1G pressed at the Santa Maria Plant, and mine is -1C/-1E at the Terre Haute, so the second single's -1A/-1B is probably the matrix number for the Pitman.<br />manattophttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08493548501480718612noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8317494389554131654.post-28090281667381085662024-03-13T10:30:16.339+09:002024-03-13T10:30:16.339+09:00Thank you so much for sharing such an incredible a...Thank you so much for sharing such an incredible amount of detailed information that is actually consumable. There are many nuances to understand - you have an extraordinary gift and I appreciate your generosity. Regarding the WLP of Spirit In The Night, here is the info on one of the variants. <br />Plant ID: SS<br />Matrix / Runout (Label Side A): J ZSP158393-1F<br />Matrix / Runout (Label Side B): ZSS 158394-1G<br /> Rhondanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8317494389554131654.post-11827464291059495882024-01-07T16:46:45.631+09:002024-01-07T16:46:45.631+09:00Whenever I looked at the red Columbia labels on th...Whenever I looked at the red Columbia labels on the "early Pitman" and "Lakewood/Pete" pressings of DARKNESS LP, I wondered why their label design significantly differed from the company's regular labels, such as those of Santa Maria and Terre Haute. Of course, the strike at the Pitman must have been the major cause. Does that mean a non-regular printer got involved in the label design and printing? Because the "early Pitman" and "Lakewood/Pete" pressings share a very similar label design (artist name and album title divided into two lines), the same printer most likely manufactured the two labels. Nevertheless, minor differences exist, notably (1) the spacing between the album title and tracklist and (2) the description following the phonogram symbol ("1978 Bruce Springsteen" on the Pitman and "1978 CBS Inc." on the Lakewood). Did the printer introduce such differences intentionally to distinguish the vinyl discs pressed at one pressing plant from those from the other?<br />manattophttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08493548501480718612noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8317494389554131654.post-40981436169651583952024-01-07T03:52:39.640+09:002024-01-07T03:52:39.640+09:00The "late" pressing from Pitman is exact...The "late" pressing from Pitman is exactly what their label type layout would have looked like (artist name in big type, title divided into two lines as 'DARKNESS ON' and 'THE EDGE OF TOWN') at the onset had not the strike put them out of operation when this album was prepped for release. The early Pitman copy, however, looks like its label type came out of Terre Haute.wbhisthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02270661237413315760noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8317494389554131654.post-50838567579294824232023-12-24T14:09:43.476+09:002023-12-24T14:09:43.476+09:00I encountered this miss-pressing that was sold by ...I encountered this miss-pressing that was sold by a U.K. seller online. Although this is just an example among many others, I can't help but feel how the internet has opened up the rather closed collectors' market to a wider audience since its application to online auctions (I started collecting long before the internet was public knowledge). Otherwise, I would have had no chance to know the existence of such an error product that would have been discarded or circulated only locally (although I don't think many collectors would have been interested in this bizarre error item).<br />manattophttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08493548501480718612noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8317494389554131654.post-50835968283774599412023-12-24T09:12:42.749+09:002023-12-24T09:12:42.749+09:00Thank you so much for the deep knowledge and infor...Thank you so much for the deep knowledge and information about the record industry in the U.S. you recently provided in a series of comments to my blog posts, especially on label printing and vinyl pressing, which are so overwhelming that I cannot reply to each comment immediately! <br /><br />On the last part of your comment: I know there were NAMI pressings of Columbia label artists, not only Springsteen but others. I also know Springsteen's NAMI LP pressings were not limited to Darkness On The Edge Of Town. For example, I've seen some copies of BORN TO RUN with the unique, middle-size diameter of a stamper ring on the labels (ca. 35 mm), a signature of NAMI pressing. The catalog number prefix of these copies was PC but not JC, so I guess they were manufactured before the Pitman strike in early 1978, although I don't know why NAMI got involved in this album production. It's too bad I still don't own such copies in my collection!manattophttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08493548501480718612noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8317494389554131654.post-80839208671885418182023-12-23T10:39:14.008+09:002023-12-23T10:39:14.008+09:00Let me try again. When I initially made the comme...Let me try again. When I initially made the comment, there was a snafu, I thought it went through and that was the end. Here we go:<br /><br />North American Music Industries acquired the Scranton plant in November 1973, and ran it until spring 1979 when it finally closed. From 1946 until June 30, 1973, it was the East Coast pressing plant of Capitol Records (they who originated that 'anvil' symbol, and from 1963 to 1973 had in their deadwax an 'IAM' symbol inside a triangle - signifying the International Association of Machinists' union whose workers were employed at the plant); before that, it was the Scranton Record Company that pressed for a host of indie labels including Capitol, and long before that the Scranton Button Company. NAMI-pressed 45's had a holdover from Capitol's ownership: pressing dies with 360 embossed serrations, first installed in late July/early August 1968, which led to the reduction of their 45 center label size from 3.625" to 3.3125". They were the only indie-owned pressing plant to have this feature.<br /><br />The Scranton plant had pressed for Columbia before, as early as late 1951-early 1952 when Columbia's East Coast plant in Bridgeport, CT was on strike for several weeks. I think I saw a 1966 LP re-pressing of one of Mitch Miller's "Sing-Along" albums from there, as it had the ~1.5" pressing ring in the label area. But in 1972-73 was where a lot of their later pressings came from; I have three such 45's:<br />- "I'll Always Love My Mama" by The Intruders, mispressed on Philadelphia International labels (the record was actually on Gamble)<br />- "Time To Get Down" by the O'Jays (on Philadelphia International)<br />- The Manhattans' first Columbia single, "There's No Me Without You"<br /> . . . all of which had full 3.625" labels, thus they would have had in their label area the embossed ridges in what Billboard, in a 1968 article, termed as "non-slip disks" (which, alas, ruined many a picture sleeve).<br /><br />But "Darkness" wasn't the only NAMI-pressed Columbia LP during the Pitman strike. There were others, namely Willie Nelson's album "Stardust," and (here's where wires were crossed) a re-pressing of Johnny Mathis' 1958 album "Merry Christmas," with the red/orange "ring around Columbia" design - and "NONBREAKABLE" below the cat. #, for the first time on any "back catalogue" pressings of that album since late 1966.wbhisthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02270661237413315760noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8317494389554131654.post-64997696561576402482023-12-22T11:48:35.491+09:002023-12-22T11:48:35.491+09:00(CONT'd) . . . 1958 album "Merry Christma...(CONT'd) . . . 1958 album "Merry Christmas," with the red/orange "ring around Columbia" design - and "NONBREAKABLE" below the cat. #, for the first time on any "back catalogue" pressings of that album since late 1966.wbhisthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02270661237413315760noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8317494389554131654.post-73270940696988301152023-12-17T21:54:55.556+09:002023-12-17T21:54:55.556+09:00The label at left - shorn of the "walking eye...The label at left - shorn of the "walking eye" logo - dates to 1992 or a few years thereafter, in a period Columbia - by then owned by Sony - was trying to transition away from that iconic design. The 0.96875" pressing ring indicates a pressing origin from MCA's Gloversville, NY plant, to which Sony shifted pressing for their product after their own, last vinyl pressing plant, in Carrollton, GA, closed up shop in November 1991. The "down triangle in a circle" was inserted to the label copy in the mid-1980's and probably originated from Carrollton.<br /><br />Of the Columbia plants during Springsteen's run, Santa Maria was the first to fall, closing on Dec. 4, 1981 (three months after the September opening of the Carrollton plant). The next, in late 1982, was Terre Haute, which Sony then took over to retool as a CD manufacturing plant. Pitman last pressed vinyl (and styrene) in late 1986/early 1987, and was converted entirely to CD manufacture by 1988. When Carrollton closed, the label's 2.703125" (or, in metric, 68.5mm) pressing ring went with it.wbhisthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02270661237413315760noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8317494389554131654.post-64967106407105210482023-12-17T21:48:30.394+09:002023-12-17T21:48:30.394+09:00From my eye, as an expert in type layout, the Sant...From my eye, as an expert in type layout, the Santa Maria (with Varityper and Varityper Headliner fonts) seemed rather clunky and inelegant. The Pitman (whose type was also used on Terre Haute pressings) had more command and control over how to do it right.<br /><br />The typefaces used, from smallest to largest, on the Santa Maria pressings were:<br />- 7 point Sans Serif Bold (Varityper)<br />- 10 point Futura Bold (Varityper Headliner)<br />- 14 point Alternate Gothic No. 1 (Varityper Headliner)<br />This and other fonts of that nature were used by Santa Maria from May 1966 (when they weaned themselves off of The Bert-Co Enterprises of Los Angeles for their label copy needs on the 'Coast) and August 1977 (when that plant got the same package of Mergenthaler Linotype VIP fonts Pitman began using in June 1974, and Terre Haute later that year). These fonts (also including 12 point Gothic Extra Bold Condensed) were most prevalent on many a West Coast label such as Warner/Reprise, ABC/Dunhill, 20th Century, and White Whale. On those labels, for the most part, Pitman and Terre Haute pressings bore Santa Maria label type.<br /><br />Pitman used, on this, two basic typefaces: 8, 10 and 12 point Franklin Gothic, and 6 point Trade Gothic Light.wbhisthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02270661237413315760noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8317494389554131654.post-70151365792323430712023-12-17T21:41:59.480+09:002023-12-17T21:41:59.480+09:00Pitman, for a few years after 1975, did press the ...Pitman, for a few years after 1975, did press the occasional WLP in vinyl, which would explain why their particular fonts (all from Mergenthaler Linotype's VIP phototypesetting library, and first used in Pitman's print shop in June 1974 while the old-style hot-metal Linotype and Intertype typefaces in evidence on the labels of Bruce's first two Columbia albums and singles were phased out and eliminated altogether by November) were on such copies. For a time in 1973 to early '74, Pitman - and Terre Haute - occasionally pressed selected stock 45's in vinyl to test the waters as to how they fared over their styrene counterparts (I have two such pressings, both by Chicago - "Feelin' Stronger Every Day" from Pitman and "(I've Been) Searchin' So Long" from Terre Haute), but the 1973-74 PVC shortage - plus the Arab oil embargo - would put paid to that, and each of the other two plants would only occasionally do vinyl promos from there on out.<br /><br />You may want to check the dash numbers on that Pitman WLP and compare on the stereo side to the stock dash numbers from that plant. Pitman may've been the only other plant besides Santa Maria at this point to press their WLP's in vinyl.wbhisthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02270661237413315760noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8317494389554131654.post-82424187467281765172023-12-17T21:31:58.703+09:002023-12-17T21:31:58.703+09:00As Mr. Springsteen was not exactly a big seller wh...As Mr. Springsteen was not exactly a big seller when "Born To Run" was first recorded and released, Columbia had a policy with low-selling artists that only one set of lacquers be shipped to each of their pressing plants, hence the 1A set of dash numbers to Pitman, 1B to Terre Haute, and 1C to Santa Maria. In contrast, by the time of "The River," initial sets sent to each plant were two per (1A/1B, 1C/1D and 1E/1F).<br /><br />B.T.W., the 'P' in PAL/PBL matrix prefices in the deadwax signified that it was a "Popular" release, and had nothing to do with the Pitman plant as many have speculated over the years. On Columbia Masterworks product, the deadwax prefices were MAL/MBL; and on budget releases put out through 1973 by Harmony, HAL/HBL.wbhisthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02270661237413315760noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8317494389554131654.post-24358649284280012522023-12-17T21:26:02.494+09:002023-12-17T21:26:02.494+09:00Such an error would not have been on U.S. pressing...Such an error would not have been on U.S. pressings, as ABBA in the States (and Canada) were signed to Atlantic Records. More likely pressing errors would have been if one side of that album - ish'd in the States as "(Benny, Bjorn, Anna and Frida)" - had, say, one side of The Rolling Stones' "It's Only Rock 'N' Roll" album on the flip, or Led Zeppelin's "Physical Graffiti." (Especially if the side they used had the epic - sorry 'bout that - "Kashmir.") Or if "ABBA: The Album" had one side of the Stones' "Some Girls" pressed alongside the quartet's usual pop fare.<br /><br />As for UK Epic, their label design changed to the "orange" label only three years after its introduction in the U.S. (the first U.S. Epic 45's with the orange label came out in April 1973).wbhisthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02270661237413315760noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8317494389554131654.post-33834238559343925812023-12-17T21:16:54.909+09:002023-12-17T21:16:54.909+09:00It is not known if this "vendor" was use...It is not known if this "vendor" was used for this album, but over the years Columbia would use a New York printing house, Haber Typographers, for their typesetting on record album covers (including and especially the back) and the occasional 45 picture sleeve. One of that printing firm's most famous fonts used on Columbia product (not anything by Bruce, alas) was "Morgan No. 25," based on a sans serif wood block typeface that went by various nomenclatures in different places over the years including "Winchester," "OL Smokler," "HTF Champion Gothic" and "Gothic Nesbitt." Another firm they used from time to time was Photo-Lettering, Inc.wbhisthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02270661237413315760noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8317494389554131654.post-30218656543925290092023-12-17T21:10:31.422+09:002023-12-17T21:10:31.422+09:00This appears to have been Columbia's way of di...This appears to have been Columbia's way of distinguishing label paper between "heat seal" for styrene and "compression" for vinyl. C1S was used for the former because it was on the uncoated side that the adhesive (known in the paper industry as "gummed") was added to the back that would form as a glue when pressed onto the styrene 45. C2S (and occasionally, Dull Coated) - not only used on Santa Maria 45's but also on LP's from all plants - had a smoothness when pressed onto the record that would not have been possible with certain types of C1S - namely, Kromekote CC1S (Cast Coated 1 Side) which back side resembled Vellum (which was coarser in its texture than Offset, another type of uncoated paper stock) - and why, on vintage 1950's and '60's albums and some 45's pressed with such paper, the super-shiny surface seemed rather bumpy. (Notably on Bob Dylan's first five albums' original pressings.)<br /><br />As of the time Bruce first joined Columbia, C2S paper for LP and Santa Maria 45 labels was manufactured by Newton Falls Paper Mill, while the C1S for styrene 45's was made by Nashua Corp. (formerly Nashua Gummed & Coated Paper Co.). (LP jackets' paper - those done in the old-style "tip on" format, rather than "print-on-board" as perfected by Shorepak [Shorewood Packaging] - was usually 70 lb. C1S, though Bert-Co often did back sides with uncoated Offset paper.)<br /><br />Besides what I brought up about label blank printers, it is also possible that, in the last few years of the Santa Maria plant (closed Dec. 4, 1981), Columbia was using Stoughton Printing of City of Industry, CA to print label blanks. (I'd been in touch some years ago with Jack Stoughton, Jr., and he mentioned Columbia stipulated their Newton Falls paper be used to print labels for Pink Floyd's "The Wall" album, which Stoughton Printing handled for "the Coast.") In addition, from late 1976 to its closure Santa Maria alternated between vinyl and styrene in their pressings of 45's. I have at least one single from that plant in two copies, each pressed in those different ways.wbhisthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02270661237413315760noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8317494389554131654.post-26144409803981722952023-12-17T17:42:16.214+09:002023-12-17T17:42:16.214+09:00Many thanks for your information, which is always ...Many thanks for your information, which is always detailed and top-notch!<br />manattophttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08493548501480718612noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8317494389554131654.post-9660249744868590842023-12-17T15:57:08.432+09:002023-12-17T15:57:08.432+09:00Thank you so much for the further interesting info...Thank you so much for the further interesting information. I have an elementary question regarding paper coating, C1S (Coated One Side) and C2S (Coated Two Sides), in record manufacturing. What is the advantage of using C2S (i.e., Santa Maria pressings) for record labels? Record labels only need to be printed on one side. Just curious.<br />manattophttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08493548501480718612noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8317494389554131654.post-25809801691367223052023-12-17T04:03:58.711+09:002023-12-17T04:03:58.711+09:00Actually, having gotten a label sheet blank printe...Actually, having gotten a label sheet blank printed by Keystone Printed Specialties for CBS in the early '80's (pre-'82 before the unsightly box meant to put on the UPC was inserted, and on Philadelphia International), the paper stock used was 70 lb. C1S. It measured .0039 by my caliper (which was more or less the figure for such weight). The sheets, again "24 up," were apparently 19" x 25" before being cut into 6-up sheets to feed to the Heidelberg printer to add the label copy.<br /><br />By the 1980's, 7" styrene little LP's would have had a hole of 0.34375" or 0.348" on their labels, while LP's label holes would have been either 0.290" or 0.295".wbhisthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02270661237413315760noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8317494389554131654.post-21609240663332675922023-12-17T03:59:55.784+09:002023-12-17T03:59:55.784+09:00I wish to amend what I'd said about the styren...I wish to amend what I'd said about the styrene labels (though not seen here). Going by caliper measurements of samples I have, most such labels were printed on 70 lb. C1S stock; very few were 60 lb., and those that were, were mainly for promos if at all. And on vinyl, depending on when pressed and other factors (i.e. a deep groove or indented pressing ring), vinyl "compression" labels lost between 0.5% and 0.7% of their original size.<br /><br />Santa Maria, meanwhile, varied between using 70 lb. C2S and 70 lb. Dull for their paper stock - label blanks usually printed (up to at least the late '70's) by The Bert-Co Enterprises (on the East Coast, Queens Litho and Keystone Printed Specialties handled label blank printing for Columbia).wbhisthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02270661237413315760noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8317494389554131654.post-1422884864362096832023-10-10T19:13:13.713+09:002023-10-10T19:13:13.713+09:00Mine also has the hand-written matrix numbers A to...Mine also has the hand-written matrix numbers A to F on Sides One to Six (exactly, each letter is flanked by two hyphens: for example, -A-, on Side One). Each white label is marked just A, B, or C combined with 1 or 2 as a side indication (e.g., Disc 1 carries labels printing A1 or A2).<br />manattophttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08493548501480718612noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8317494389554131654.post-41614731514940439502023-10-10T05:51:33.677+09:002023-10-10T05:51:33.677+09:00On my copy of Movi’n up to Stockholm there is hand...On my copy of Movi’n up to Stockholm there is hand-etched on the dead wax area,letters A B,C D,E F for every side of each record.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8317494389554131654.post-90458534840337914822023-06-18T04:40:36.253+09:002023-06-18T04:40:36.253+09:00Nope, totally get it.
Thanks for the reply.Nope, totally get it.<br />Thanks for the reply.ChuckDhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10634327138679510884noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8317494389554131654.post-25699887270221437562023-06-17T12:55:12.526+09:002023-06-17T12:55:12.526+09:00As far as I know, there are no significant values ...As far as I know, there are no significant values or meanings for Springsteen's Santa Maria pressings to most music fans and vinyl collectors. However, hard collectors like me are interested in variations of a particular title (LP, single, CD, and so on) and try to collect them all. An example of hard collectors' concern in variations is when and where a given disc was manufactured. Vinyl discs pressed at different periods or different factories might sound a little different from each other and show variations in sleeve writing/typing and others, including typos and misprints. Need more explanation?<br />manattophttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08493548501480718612noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8317494389554131654.post-14352055096749604982023-06-17T11:50:27.815+09:002023-06-17T11:50:27.815+09:00Thank you for an interesting comment. Based on the...Thank you for an interesting comment. Based on the track list and matrix numbers, "Movin' Up To Stockholm" and more famous/popular "Follow That Dream" are different pressings of the same concert, using the same audience-sourced master tapes (according to C. Hunt's bootleg section on the Blinded By The Light book). I often thought "Moving Up" sounded a little better than "Follow," but I thought that was just because the masters were cut at higher levels (= louder) on the former than the latter. However, having closely listened to the sound, particularly focusing on the audience, I felt that master tapes used for these vinyl bootlegs differed. What do you think, and do you know anything about audience masters used for making the two bootleg titles?<br />manattophttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08493548501480718612noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8317494389554131654.post-64253564706400566932023-06-16T15:03:41.828+09:002023-06-16T15:03:41.828+09:00Hi, new to this. What's the significance of a ...Hi, new to this. What's the significance of a "Santa Maria Pressing"? I see it referenced elsewhere. but so what?ChuckDhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10634327138679510884noreply@blogger.com