Why not copy the greats- vinyl LP question

@bdp24 
Thanks for that in-depth answer. And for including the info about "Kind of Blue"...fascinating.
Used AP releases on Ebay can fetch high prices. And a modern reissue from a major label costs the same as your $35 gem.

I've collected early and 1st issues so I'm aware of the  process. I have a pressing that has -1/-1 in the dead wax; 1st stamper, 1st run. But I learned it could mean I have pressing #1 or pressing #2000.

Exactly @lowrider57, the info in the dead wax gets one only so far. That info tells you nothing about when in a stampers lifespan the LP was made.

It was Chad Kassem and his team who made the startling discovery that all pressings of Cat Stevens’ Tea For The Tillerman album---including the original "pink label" Island LP---had been made assuming the master tape was Dolby-encoded. It wasn’t! The Analogue Productions version of that album---Dolby-free----provides a huge, dramatic improvement over all previous versions, including that by Mobile Fidelity.

Speaking of going back to multi track masters with digital mixing, I recently got a copy of Zappa's Roxy Performances, where Craig Parker Adams went back to the 16 track 30 IPS multi tracks, digitized at 24/96 and re-mixed (not sure of process,  I haven't read the below article yet)

The fidelity is outstanding, and far superior to any previous Roxy release.  Unfortunately it's only 16/44.1. but if enough people request a hi res Like I did, who knows.

Craig was nice enough to email me back, and mentioned he did very little cleanup wise, and he thinks he might not have even used compression!  If only all live recordings sounded like this one.  But it does speak to all the typical intermediates and generations used in LP process causing huge sonic loss.
https://www.soundonsound.com/people/craig-parker-adams-mixing-frank-zappa

"Classic even made them available as single-sided 45RPM LP's"

I'd like to get ahold of just one of these "unicorns"
There was a listing here for the complete catalog in a flight case for $$$$!
I'd like LZ1 please.

I have a HOH Classic. It is very good pressing. There is a distinct sound difference comparing the RL Sterling press I have. I could live  without one, but I'll take my original for the sake of being a period press.

@tablejockey- LZ1 was my original entry point to Zep at the time it was released and though there are some tracks on II that I like, the band’s first album is really the one I’m most attached to since it is very much blues based.
Sadly, I don’t think any of the releases of Zep are "audiophile" quality. Among the copies I have of LZ1 are an early UK plum (not a turquoise lettered cover, I’d have to look at the deadwax, but early); the Hoffman forum fav, which is Piros remaster done in the mid-’70s- lot’s of discussion on the SH forum if that interests you- pressed at Monarch as I recall; and among, others, the Classic 45, as well as my go-to, which is (or was) a relatively cheap option. That is, the 2nd Japanese pressing (I think the third pressing may use the same parts and may be a repressing but can’t be sure without digging).
That Japanese copy does achieve a clarity without harshness that cuts through the muddiness of virtually every copy of LZ1 I’ve heard. The Classic 45 (and I think I have the Classic 33 as well, it’s been a while since I dug through the "Zep shelf" here) does have more "air" but to my ears, sounds a little more modern, tipped up in the highs, more midrange detail than the usual old copy. Still, that old Japanese copy is a winner and though I haven’t priced it recently, is probably still far cheaper than some of the uber copies.
On LZII, my go-to has been an RL for a while- it took several copies to find one that was truly clean playing- now people are asking $350 for what they admit amount to noisy, trashed copies. The alternatives include the UK plum (a good listen, but now expensive too). I have not listened to the Classic 45 of LZII.
It would be great if Chad could get licensed to reissue the Bernie G. cuts and make them available in sufficient quantity, quality and at a price that most could afford. I passed on the road case at the time, and remember some of the QC problems Hobson had, partly due, I think, to his move to 200 gram vinyl and flat profile. He certainly filled a gap, despite some of those issues, before the Resurgence of Vinyl.™