Decca, dead wax and all the infos you need

Now we need to investigate the disc, especially in the dead wax, that empty space between the engraved part and the label.

Decca ZAL5036 1E London ZAL5036 1E King ZAL5036 1E JB ZAL5036 4W 140gr 150gr 205gr 130gr

In the dead wax, looking at the label from the front, at 6 o'clock we read the engraved writing ZAL5036 1E. ZAL5036 is the progressive preparation number of the master tape used to record side 2, while the master tape ZAL5035 will be used to record side 1. The prefix ZAL means that the recording is stereo while the prefix ARL indicates that it is monophonic. 1E means that it is the first cutting of E and that is Stan Goodall. Let's explain better: the sound engineer delivers the master tapes, one for each side, to the technician who will cut the lacquer. In this case Kenneth Wilkinson delivers the two master tapes ZAL5035 and ZAL5036 to Stan Goodall. Stan Goodall cuts the ZAL5036 tape on lacquer, the result is satisfactory and 1E is printed on the dead wax, the first cutting made by E. The same thing is done for side 1, with the master tape ZAL5035, but something goes wrong, either in the cutting of the lacquer or in one of the subsequent phases. Therefore the lacquer ZAL5035 1E cannot be used and Goodall will have to cut a second lacquer, this time successfully, which will be ZAL5035 2E. In the end the first pressing of this disc will report the codes ZAL5035 2E and ZAL5036 1E

We have seen that the E code corresponds to Stan Goodall. Here is the list of the other technicians involved in cutting the lacquers, noting that B (Ron Mason) and C (Trevor Fletcher) have done much less work.

Let's now look at the dead wax of the Decca SXL at 12 o'clock and read the engraving KT while on the London CS we read ET. These are two of several codes of what is generally known as the tax code ( T stands for tax ) and indicates the period in which the disc was printed. In reality this code should be better defined (and at the time it was better known) as RPM (Retail Price Maintenance) and indicated the selling price that was controlled by each of the record manufacturers. This distinction is important (and for this information I have to thank Rob from rarityvalue) because not all the codes were used by all the producers and therefore it can happen to find a record with a code older than the pressing period (For example Decca in 1960/61 did not change the selling prices and continued to use the ET code from 1959)

The table below highlights the codes used from 1959 to 1973 which are valid for all record producers in UK, including both the Decca and the London since they were printed in the same factories in the UK

This table courtesy of https://londonjazzcollector.wordpress.com/

Decca KT code London ET code

After looking at 6 and 12 o'clock, we try to look at 9 o'clock and we find the engraved writing 1. That is the number of the "mother", information of relative utility if we do not know what the "mother" is. So let's take a step back and return to Stan Goodall who has just finished cutting the lacquer ZAL5036 1E; this lacquer (a 14" diameter aluminum disc covered in lacquer) constitutes a "positive" and could be played on a turntable if it were not so delicate. This lacquer will be used to obtain, through a plating process, a nickel-coated copy called "father" or "master" which will constitute a "negative". Since it is so delicate, from one lacquer you get only one father. The latter could be used to press records but generally, always through a plating process, is used to produce more "mothers". Deriving from a negative, the mother is a positive like the lacquer and could be played on a turntable but instead it will be used, through the final plating process, to obtain the "stampers" which will be negatives intended to press the records. So, to recap: from a lacquer (positive) you get only one father (negative) from which you get multiple mothers (positive) and from each mother you get multiple stampers (negative)..The above method of creating a stamper is known as a three-step plating process and it is alternative to the so called one step processing where the father is used as the stamper. The one step system has never been adopted by the major record companies because, although it allows for better quality, it limits the quantity of copies to a few hundred for each lacquer and is therefore absolutely unsuitable for medium and large runs

At this point we just have to look at 6 o'clock, where we find the letter B on the Decca SXL and the letter C on the London CS. These letters are part of the so-called Buckingham code used by Decca to number the stampers; with this code the 10 letters that make up the word Buckingham replace the numbers from 1 to 10. Therefore, B corresponds to the number 1, M corresponds to 0, and to indicate the tenth stamp, BM is used.

Now let's analyze the labels. The first ones are called wide band because there is the silver band with the writing "Full Frequency Stereophonic Sound" just above the spindle hole . The first wide band label appeared in 1958 and it is the so-called ED1. It has "Original Recording by" written between 9 & 12 o'clock, round the edge of the label and has a deep groove in the vinyl, under the label, about 1cm from the outer edge. This deep groove is obviously caused by the pressing machine and gives us a rough indication of the period in which the record was printed. The last ED1s were printed in 1968

The ED2 version appears in the years 1965/66 and ends in 1969. It is substantially the same as the ED1 version and the main difference is the writing "Made in England by" that replaces "Original recording by ". The ED2 version the deep groove remains

The ED3 version appears in 1969 and ends in 1970. It is substantially the same as the ED2 version and the only difference is that it does not have the deep groove.

The ED4 version is the first so-called " narrow band label ". It takes this name because the silver band saying “Full Frequency Stereophonic Sound” is narrower than the wide band on ED1, ED2, ED3. It appears in 1970 and will end in 1979 when Decca will stop producing records in the UK and will move production to Holland.

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