Vinyl dead-wax decoder
Tiny marks.
A pressing's paper trail.
Type the letters or describe the symbol in the smooth vinyl between the last song and the label. Learn whether it identifies a master, a lacquer cut, an engineer, or the factory that pressed your copy. Those marks come from the lacquers and stampers a record is made from: how a vinyl record is made.
XSM-1ASTERLING · RL · PRMatrix
Which recorded side and lacquer cut?
Mastering
Who and where cut the lacquer?
Pressing plant
Which factory molded this copy?
Dead-wax decoder
Type what you can read.
Try a stamp, initials, plant code, or description such as “IAM triangle,” “PR,” “RVG,” or “rifle.”
20 marks
XLPMatrixA Columbia 12-inch mono LP master-series prefix.
Usually machine-stamped before the master number in the dead wax.
Read the full guideXSMMatrixA Columbia 12-inch stereo LP master-series prefix.
Usually machine-stamped before the master number in the dead wax.
Read the full guide-1A / -1BMatrixA Columbia lacquer or cut suffix attached to the side's master number.
At the end of the stamped matrix, for example XSM 123456-1A.
Read the full guidePRPressing plantPresswell Records Manufacturing Company in New Jersey.
Often printed as a suffix to the label matrix; related marks may appear in the runout.
Read the full guideMOPressing plantMonarch Record Manufacturing Company in Los Angeles.
Commonly printed at the end of the Atlantic-family label matrix.
Read the full guideSPPressing plantSpecialty Records Corporation in Pennsylvania.
Printed as SP on labels; later copies may carry an SRC-style logo in the runout.
Read the full guideRIPressing plantA Richmond, Indiana pressing—Philips Recording Company on earlier copies and PRC Recording Company after the 1972 transition.
Usually printed at the end of the label matrix on Atlantic-family releases.
Read the full guide△ IAMPressing plantCapitol Records Pressing Plant in Scranton, Pennsylvania.
Machine-stamped in the runout, with IAM letters inside a triangle.
Read the full guide✲ / *Pressing plantCapitol Records Pressing Plant in Los Angeles, California.
Stamped in the dead wax as a star-like or asterisk-like symbol.
Read the full guide0 / OPressing plantCapitol Records Pressing Plant in Jacksonville, Illinois.
A small stamped zero or oval in the runout.
Read the full guide─◁Pressing plantCapitol Records Pressing Plant in Winchester, Virginia.
A stamped or etched symbol resembling a sideways rifle or wine glass.
Read the full guideRVGMasteringThe lacquer was mastered by Rudy Van Gelder.
Hand-etched on earlier examples and machine-stamped on later runouts.
Read the full guideVAN GELDERMasteringA later-form stamp identifying Rudy Van Gelder's mastering work.
Machine-stamped in the runout, replacing earlier RVG forms around the early 1960s.
Read the full guideP / earPressing plantThe record was pressed by Plastylite in New Jersey.
A small raised or impressed cursive-P-like mark in the runout, often resembling an ear.
Read the full guideSTERLINGMasteringThe lacquer was cut at Sterling Sound.
Machine-stamped in the runout near the matrix and any engineer initials.
Read the full guideSTERLING RLMasteringA Sterling Sound lacquer bearing Robert Ludwig's RL initials.
The RL is typically hand-etched close to the STERLING studio stamp.
Read the full guideSTERLING LHMasteringA Sterling Sound lacquer bearing Lee Hulko's LH initials.
Initials etched near the STERLING stamp in the runout.
Read the full guideRLMasteringThe lacquer carries mastering engineer Robert Ludwig's initials.
Usually hand-etched near a studio stamp and the main matrix.
Read the full guideSTERLING RLMasteringA Robert Ludwig lacquer cut during his Sterling Sound period.
RL etched close to the machine-stamped STERLING credit.
Read the full guideMASTERDISK RLMasteringA Robert Ludwig lacquer cut at Masterdisk.
RL etched beside the MASTERDISK studio stamp.
Read the full guideSix deeper guides
Read the system, not just the symbol.
Each guide explains where a mark appears, what it identifies, and the claim it cannot support on its own.
XLP · XSM · -1A / -1BMatrix system · Columbia Records
Columbia matrix numbers
Decode Columbia XLP and XSM matrix prefixes, side numbers, and lacquer suffixes such as 1A or 1B without mistaking one clue for proof of a first pressing.
Decode these marksPR · MO · SP · RIPressing plant · Atlantic family
Atlantic pressing-plant codes
Decode Atlantic label and runout suffixes including PR, MO, SP, and RI, then separate the pressing plant from the lacquer-cutting engineer.
Decode these marks△ IAM · ✲ / * · 0 / O · ─◁Pressing plant · Capitol Records
Capitol pressing-plant symbols
Identify Capitol records pressed in Scranton, Los Angeles, Jacksonville, or Winchester from the IAM triangle, star, zero, and rifle-like runout symbols.
Decode these marksRVG · VAN GELDER · P / earMastering and plant · Blue Note
Blue Note RVG and Plastylite ear
Tell Blue Note's RVG or VAN GELDER mastering mark from the Plastylite ear pressing-plant mark, and learn why one can survive without the other.
Decode these marksSTERLING · STERLING RL · STERLING LHMastering studio · Sterling Sound
STERLING stamp
Learn what a STERLING runout stamp identifies, how engineer initials beside it change the meaning, and why the stamp alone does not prove a first pressing.
Decode these marksRL · STERLING RL · MASTERDISK RLMastering engineer · Robert Ludwig
RL runout initials
Identify Robert Ludwig's RL initials beside STERLING or MASTERDISK stamps, understand what they prove, and avoid assuming every RL copy is a first pressing.
Decode these marksA clue is not a verdict
Keep the whole record together.
Label. Catalog. Matrix. Jacket.
Crown Vinyl reads the visible clues from a photo and puts them in the context of the exact release. No copying a twenty-character matrix into a search box.
Or learn the other half: browse pressing-label guides.