how were copies of vinyl made in "third-party" countries


I have some LPs from the former Yugoslavia, Holland, Hungary, Russia (bought them way back when in bulk) and now I wonder what the process was and how close they are to the original? 

I assume they weren't digitized, they were released in the 70s and early 80s. Anyone knows what they would receive from the recording studio/company/warehouse? Tapes, the "negatives"? Are there copies considered better than others?

 

grislybutter

What tapes is the question. And if far enough into 80s the next is did they use a digital delay to create the preview path. Your ears will probably tell you

@russ69

if it's not that tricky why are there so many versions rated so differently? And people paying 100s for a specific copy? I am just curious. 

The pressing plants probably received a 1/4" dub off the mixed master.  In the 80s, that's also what studios received to edit music videos.

...if it's not that tricky why are there so many versions rated so differently?

If you run the Stampers or Mothers too long, don't watch your vinyl temps carefully, or run substandard vinyl, quality can suffer. Cutting the Masters is done early in the process and unless it's a bootleg, it's as good as it gets. 

thank you all. I guess now that I know more, I feel way more ignorant than this morning.