H.V. Waddell Co.

American west coast vinyl pressing plant founded by Horace V. Waddell and located in Burbank, California. The plant began operations in 1953, and closed in the mid-1980s. Sold by Horace Waddell in February 1983 for $3.5 million.

They were a longtime presser for MGM Records and London Records and subsidiary labels, as well as other companies. Known to have pressed for Reprise up until R-6096 (1963), when Reprise was acquired by Warner Bros.

May also appear as "H. V. Waddell Co." on releases.

Pressing identification tips
Center label matrix plant codes:
• Pressings for London Records will often have a "W" suffix appearing in the label matrix (e.g., Olympic Runners - Out In Front).
• Pressings for Pablo Records will have "PP-xxxx" on the labels (see also runouts below).

Runout markings:
• A large "W" etched in the runout area (e.g., Gil Scott-Heron & Brian Jackson - It's Your World).
• In some cases, "WC" will be stamped (e.g., Jimmy Smith And The Big Band - Walk On The Wild Side) in the runout area instead.
• Pressings for MGM / Verve and Reprise may not have any identifiable etchings in the runouts. (Please refer to the section below for identification based on the size of pressing rings.)
• Pressings for Pablo Records will have "####-####-PP-xxxx" in the runouts.

Note: Waddell never pressed records for Atlantic; please do not interpret the "W" found in the runouts of many Atlantic and subsidiary releases (for an Audiodisc lacquer blank) as the "W" from Waddell.

Pressing ring configurations:
Please note that Waddell may have had as many as four different pressing ring configurations in use simultaneously.
• From the 1950s through the late 1960s, a 2.875" (73 mm) "deep groove" pressing ring (e.g., Joni James - Award Winning Album).
During these years, when a "W" or "WC" is missing, the extra clue to identify a Waddell pressing is a tiny extra pressing ring around the spindle (e.g., The Oscar Peterson Trio With Milt Jackson - Very Tall).

• From the late 1960s to mid/late 1970s, the 2.875" (73 mm) ring was often supplemented with another circular indent of 3.625" (92 mm) diameter. The two rings had a rough texture where they overlapped (e.g., The Moody Blues - On The Threshold Of A Dream).

• From approximately 1976 continuing through plant closure circa 1985, a small 1.25" (32 mm) pressing ring was used (e.g., The Temptations - Power).
These often have a "wavy" appearance to the inner pressing ring.

Fonts/typefaces known to have been used on Waddell pressings:
Ludlow Tempo family fonts:
• Tempo Heavy Condensed
• Tempo Bold