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Lyrita pressings

Posted by bassrome (P) on July 19, 2013 at 10:15:15

I’ve been having a problem with regards to Lyrita pressing details on eBay both as a buyer and a seller. I have the entire Lyrita catalog and have been trying to supplement my collection with earlier pressings and culling the later pressings. In “The Absolute Sound” Vol. 14, Issue 60, July/August 1989 the following letter appeared –

“As a long-time Lyrita collector, I thought I would pass on what I believe is accurate and useful information regarding Lyrita pressings.

In Issue 57 (p. 128) Arthur Lintgen cautioned against the inferiority of what he termed non-Nimbus Lyrita pressings, indicating that Nimbus pressed Lyritas could be identified because they had “Nimbus England” marked in the vinyl near the label, and that the latter were invariably better. I had some doubts about the distinction being quite this simple, because “Nimbus England” marked pressings have a peculiar raised surface in the vinyl under that label, about an inch from the edge, and this peculiarity also is shared by many – but by no means all – non-Nimbus marked Lyritas. In a recent order to Harold Moore’s Records in London, I passed on ABL’s comments and received the following response:

‘We have found some items you are seeking, but I thought I’d add an extra note of clarification. I have just spoken to the owner of the Lyrita label, and he assures me that the criteria for recognizing Nimbus pressings are not quite as you put it. The marking or engraving of the disc with the words “Nimbus” merely indicates the metal parts were made by Nimbus. Nimbus pressings can be recognized be a second concentric ring on the label about 2” (actually 1-1/2”) out from the centre hole. This is a less distinct ring than the sharp cut close to the centre hole… Most titles (all except SRCS 65, 68, 71, 83, 102, 107, and 121/2) are now out of print… We have some of the other Lyrita numbers you list, but they were not pressed by Nimbus and probably never have been.’

I have found Harold Moore’s (and Henry Stave’s before that) to be unfailingly accurate on discographic matters. Now, it may be a case of a rose by any other name still being a rose, and that what ABL really means is that records pressed by Nimbus from Nimbus made parts are better than those merely pressed by Nimbus. Although, I have my own opinions on this, and I use very revealing equipment, I will leave the issue of relative sound of Nimbus pressings to your trusty reviewers.

However, I would like to make several other Lyrita-related points. In Issues 37 (p. 171) and 39 (p. 146), ABL himself identified three specific Nimbus-pressed Lyritas as being inferior to the original Decca–sourced Lyritas because all three had higher level mastering accompanied by greater upper-frequency accentuation sometimes bordering on distortion. He was 100 percent right. I have almost always found the earlier Decca pressings sonically superior (if uneven as to surfaces). Bottom line: Everyone should not go crazy about Nimbus pressings in the same (questionable) way we all have about the purported difference between early and later American Mercury pressings (which are, to my ear, not much different in sound quality, but the later pressings are far more likely to have more listenable surfaces), “vendor” pressings (someone tell me how superior the side of my Starker Schumann-Lalo concertos with the regular label must be to the flip side with a “vendor” label!), and White Dogs vs Shaded Dogs (there are differences, but they seem to vary more from recording to recording, or even between individual pressings, than as a consequence of the dogs’ race, color, or creed).

Finally, it should be remembered that for about five years in the 1970s, HNH had the rights to press Lyrita in the US, and I have a number of these. Categorically, they have the best surfaces of any Lyrita-sourced material; and sonically, my ears tell me, they are fully comparable to most of the imported pressings I have heard. Yet I see them sitting in the bins unclaimed. The entire Lyrita catalogue is a treasure, and it would be stupid beyond belief to pass any of it up in a frustrating hunt for what may, or not be, prime pressings.

Manuel W. Gottlieb
Manhattan”

So, to set the record straight, here is what I know about identifying Lyrita pressings and this correlates to the way Irvington Music identifies them.

First pressings are by Decca, have flat labels and a number stamped in the runout groove in block letters typical of any Decca pressing – ZLY XXXX 1A/B (for side 1 and 2)

Nimbus pressings all have a raised ring under the outside edge of the label. If Nimbus made the metal parts used to stamp the LPs you will see “Nimbus England” also stamped in the runout with the catalogue number SRCS XXX instead of ZLY XXXX.
If Nimbus used Decca made metal parts to stamp the LP then they will have hand carved numbers identical to the Decca numbers starting ZLY. You will not see “Nimbus England”.

A third pressing, often attributed to EMI, have flat labels and stamped (not hand carved) numbers in the runout.

The Rare Classical Record Guides for 2004 and 2006 get this wrong. They claim that the “Nimbus England” stamp is the only identifier for Nimbus pressings.

Cheers,
Jack

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