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
Post removed 

To add:

If one wants a good analog 70s LP copy of let say, any 70's Pink Floyd... and is perusing eBay, look for EMI/Harvest in mint shape from Canada, instead of the  USA.

That kind of thing. Do yer research, if so inclined.

Ah, the joys of the Analog era! I won’t be shedding any tears!

It’s a mirror, son. Stop stabbing at people and you won’t get stabbed back.

Fixing it involves dealing with yourself, first.

Come back when you find your humanity. Thanks.

OTOH, we would not understand who and what nice people are, if you did not provide perspective. So there is that value. For whatever it is worth.

@teo_audio 

That's a lot of awesome info! I wonder if there is any processing data anywhere on the sleeve or the LP, like abbreviations for the manufacturing steps.

I will definitely look for Canadian prints.

@lewm @drbond 

I have a lot of Russian records, they are awful. Yugoslavian records: flawless. In the 70s and 80s, there was no competition in Eastern Europe. Every company (other than hairdressers and mechanics) was a monopoly in their region. They could make horrible or flawless quality products, it did not make a difference to them. The biggest factor was the culture and the heritage: e.g. Hungary was a science and math oriented country, full of nerds, which showed, musicians cared about quality in every sense, and they couldn't (I assume) cut good copies just for themselves - if they wanted a good LP, they had to have a good all around process.

 

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@teo_audio @bdp24 @russ69 

is there a way to tell if an LP is likely to sound better from looking at it? Such as the weight? Gloss? Little telling signs? I browse a lot of used records and so far it has been a complete hit and miss.