How to read the runout: matrix numbers and dead wax explained

In short: Between the last groove and the label sits the runout, also called the dead wax. That’s where you find the matrix number and other markings – stamped or etched by hand. They tell you which side and which cut you’re holding, and often where the record was pressed and who cut it. Together with label and cover they help you pin down an edition. On their own, though, they rarely prove a first pressing.

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What’s in the runout?

In the classic process, an engineer first cuts the music into a lacquer. From it, metal parts are made in several steps – father, mother and finally the stamper that presses the records. Whatever is etched or stamped into the lacquer or the metal ends up on every record from that stamper:

Matrix number: the code of the record side, often closely related to the catalogue number.
Additions like “-1” or “A-1”: depending on the company, they can mark the cut of a side, for example. What they mean has to be checked label by label and plant by plant.
Pressing plant marks: small stamps or symbols collectors use to identify the plant.
Mastering engineers’ initials: such as “RVG” for Rudy Van Gelder, “RL” for Robert Ludwig or “Porky Prime Cut” by George Peckham.

Example 1: Blue Note 1544 – etched by hand

Blue Note BLP 1544 label, side 1, with the code “(BN 1544-A)” — The label names the side: “(BN 1544-A)”.

Hand-etched matrix “BN-LP-1544-A-1” in the runout of Blue Note BLP 1544 — In the runout: “BN-LP-1544-A-1” etched by hand, top right the small “ear”.

The label of Hank Mobley’s “Hank Mobley and His All Stars” (Blue Note BLP 1544) shows “(BN 1544-A)” under “Side 1”. In the runout of the same side, “BN-LP-1544-A-1” is etched by hand – label and runout match. Top right sits a small impressed mark collectors call the “ear” – really a curved “P”: the sign of the Plastylite plant, which pressed for Blue Note at the time. With Blue Note, collectors also look for Rudy Van Gelder’s initials “RVG” – etched by hand on early records, stamped later – or the stamp “VAN GELDER”. This record in the shop

Example 2: The Beatles, “White Album” – machine-stamped

Apple label of the UK mono edition, side 3: “PMC 7068 (XEX 711)” — Side 3 of the UK mono edition: “PMC 7068” and below it “(XEX 711)”.

Stamped matrix “XEX 711-1” in the runout of the UK mono edition — In the runout: “XEX 711-1”, machine-stamped.

The 1968 UK mono edition of the “White Album” (PMC 7067/8) shows “PMC 7068” on the side 3 label and “(XEX 711)” below it. In the runout, “XEX 711-1” is stamped. At EMI, “XEX” stood for a mono LP (stereo was “YEX”), “711” is the code number of this side, and at EMI “-1” stands for the first cut. This record in the shop

What the markings tell you – and what they don’t

The same matrix number doesn’t mean the same pressing: one cut was often used for several runs, and a later run can get a new cut. Whether it’s etched by hand or stamped says nothing about quality. An identification only becomes reliable when label, catalogue number, runout and cover all match a documented edition – for example in the “Matrix / Runout” field of databases such as Discogs.

“For me, it’s the first issue when it has the same number – I don’t care about the stampers. If it’s something you really collect, you sometimes go deeper. With Blue Note, it’s very important.”

Thomas Busk · Plattenparty video at 1:18:59

So how deep you go depends on the record – and on what it sells for.

“With other records, nobody cares whether it’s the first, second or third stamper. But if a really rare record sells for 100,000 with the first stamper and for 5,000 with the second, suddenly there’s a reason to learn about it. Every record has its own story.”

Thomas Busk · Plattenparty video at 1:25:50