Some are less so like “Pecko Duck,” the nom de plume of George Peckham.įurther down the dead wax rabbit hole there is typically some inscription that tells you where the record was pressed. Some are easy to guess such as “RL” for Robert Ludwig, “MILES” for Miles Showell, and “KG” for Kevin Gray. Each engineer has their own style, so if you find one that you like you should definitely learn their signature and keep an eye out for more. Other than checking to see if you have a first pressing, this is probably what you’ll most like to know about the record you’re holding. The next inscription that you’ll probably see is the initials of that engineer. Mastering is very much an art and, like a lot of artists, mastering engineers have been known to sign their work. A RE pressing may or may not be as collectable, but there’s still a good chance that it will have similar mastering and sound as an initial pressing. So, repressings can still be from the year of the album’s release. Keep in mind that back when records were pretty much the only way to get music, albums were pressed by the millions regularly. This symbol indicates that the album is a repressing. Immediately after this is commonly followed by a dash and a number/letter combination such as “-1A.” There is some variation on this, but typically this would indicate that the record is a first pressing and you’re looking at side A.Īfter the catalog/part and pressing information, you may see “RE” inscribed into the dead wax. The long stream of numbers, sometimes prefaced by two or three-letter code, are typically a catalog number or part number identifying the stamper used. This is where you may find out that you won the first and/or rare pressing lottery. So What Sort of Story Are These Scribbles Telling Me Here? After you get your bearings, it’s possible to even make some educated guesses even if you don’t have all the info. What these inscriptions mean varies from record label to record label (and sometimes from pressing plant to pressing plant), but there are some commonalities. What you’ll usually find may include a string of numbers and letters, a signature, and a symbol of some sort. The dead wax marking can be machine stamped, hand inscribed, or a mix thereof.
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