Hot Stamper Pressings of The White Album Available Now
Starting as early as 1984, some pressings of The White Album came with a decidely inferior side one, 5c.
Often it was mated to an equally problematic-sounding side two, -6. Although the -6 stamper can be good, when it has 5c on side one, it’s never as good as it should be.
Even though this copy had less-than-impressive sound on sides three and four — these sides qualify as minimally Hot Stamper pressings — there is nothing inherently wrong with the -2/-3 stamper numbers for those sides.
These later pressings just don’t sound as good as the earlier ones we like.
Not that we like the originals.
The few we’ve played were terrible. They tend to have -1 or -2 stampers for the first two sides, and their mastering tends to add a lot of problems to a recording that already has more than its share.
Want to find your own top quality copy?
Consider taking our moderately helpful advice regarding the pressings that tend to win our shootouts. The White Album sounds its best: