Hello,
I'm brand new to vinyl and trying to figure it all out. I figure there are a lot of experts here who can provide advice on a specific question I have about what consititues a "first pressing."
So, here's the situration: I just bought a record on Ebay advertised as a "first pressing." It's Metallica's 1983 debut "Kill Em All."
Here's what I see on discogs.com (https://www.discogs.com/release/1259481-Metallica-Kill-Em-All😞
Matrix / Runout (Label Side A): MRI 069 A
Matrix / Runout (Label Side B): MRI 069 B
Matrix / Runout (Variant 1, Runout Groove Side A): MRI-069-A STERLING A-1 ↔
Matrix / Runout (Variant 1, Runout Groove Side B): MRI-069-B STERLING A-1 ↔
Matrix / Runout (Variant 2, Runout Groove Side A): MRI-069-B STERLING A- ↔
Matrix / Runout (Variant 2, Runout Groove Side B): MRI-069-B STERLING A- ↔
Matrix / Runout (Variant 3, Runout Groove Side A): MRI-069-A STERLING A-1 ↔
Matrix / Runout (Variant 3, Runout Groove Side B): MRI-069-B STERLING A- ↔
Rights Society: ASCAP
On my record, the labels looks good. It has MRI 069 A and MRI 069 B
However, what I see on the dead wax has me a little worried.
Side A has:
MRI-069-A STERLING A-2 ↔ and
Side B has:
MRI-069-A STERLING A-5 ↔
So, I'm not clear about whether this constitues a "first pressing" or not. Is the A-2 and A-5 significant? In this case, is a true first pressing really only A-1 and A1?
They guy who sold it to me on Ebay claims it's a true first pressing, although he admits he didn't even look at the dead wax.
I'm sure there has already been a lot of discussion on the subject of "first pressings" in this community, but any advice or insight would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!