Find of the Year! An unplayed Beatles Collection BC13 UK Box Set

Miracles never cease! Keep on digging!
Support the channel! New Merch here: shop.theuniver...
Follow me:
Insta - / universityo. .
Web - www.theunivers...
Email - [e-mail]

[@R3TR0R4V3]

Wow, what a find! You're pretty darn lucky. 😎 I assembled my own BC-13 boxset, mainly based off of Andrew @ Parlogram's recommendations - a mixture of UK & German pressings, then I found an empty box on ebay to store them all in. 🙃

[@ziccuj]

I found the Dutch BC13 box in a similar visual condition as yours, or even slightly better, and I'm very happy with it. All the best from Finland!

[@Universityofvinyl]

Very nice!

[@VinylLatte]

Great find! I haven’t seen one in that good of shape in a long time!

[@JimVim]

Just ordered EAS Japan 1982 Version I opted for this set for quiet Vinyl and Sleeve Packaging. Yes this set is a Tad better then the MFSL-Treble Bass is not on par with UK BC-13. Hoffman forums stated 2 Gen Dubs but quite honestly given my TT (Fluance 81 E) Sony AV Amp-Acoustic Speakers Should be FINE. Most UK Sets are well over 500 CDN-and beyond my budget. If I waited longer given the LP market, inflation I made my decision. Analogue UK pressings should be a worthwhile addition for ANY Beatles fan. Hope anyone Lucky enough to snag this set Below cost...consider yourself blessed indeed. Happy hunting folks. Hope you scored a deal UOV-Fun video much appreciated. Hi from Canada.

[@Universityofvinyl]

Thanks Jim 👍🏻

[@bryangibson8479]

I lucked into an unplayed Blue Box several years ago. My LPs are a mix of UK and Dutch pressings from the mid-80s; all sound great. Congrats!

[@Universityofvinyl]

Thanks!

[@latheofheaven]

Absolutely outstanding find Tim! Of course... with over 500 record stores in Colorado alone, well... 😁 No, seriously, that is a truly fantastic GRAIL find, no doubt about it and I bet they do indeed sound wonderful. Oh... you know, you *CAN* tell us how much the box was. We as passionate record enthusiasts and collectors actually WOULD like to know mate! Just a note... FWIW, Patrick has done detailed shootouts and blind poles comparing pressings, and to many people's surprise, including Steve Westman, many chose the 2012 Stereo pressings of a few of the songs as the best sounding. Patrick himself has always said that he feels they sound very good and he says they sound no different from the UK pressings found in the Blue Box sets. I'm sure there are some variances though, I wouldn't think that is comprehensive. But, he has passionately defended the 2012 Stereo Box quite vehemently when others are prone to dismiss it. But hey... it ain't no pristine MINT Blue Box though... 😁 FWIW, on my system the first several albums sound very good. I compared a very early UK 2-box with the gramophone rimtext (likely early 1970's) of Revolver with the one in the Stereo Box, and the one in the box holds up pretty well. I THINK the issue with the Stereo Box are some of the later pressings. I believe I heard that Abbey Road came out sounding somewhat 'off', but I haven't honestly checked that out yet or done any comparisons. Still... Bloody *AWESOME* find Tim! You certainly don't run across those every day! (except in Colorado... 🙄)

[@latheofheaven]

I just realized that I misspelled 'Polls'... What a PutZ! 😕

[@alanbescan4311]

I bought my set in the Cleveland area when it came out in 1978- my copy is #801. Also that year from the same store I bought 2 copies of the U.K. White Album on white vinyl and a U.K. Let It Be on white vinyl- still have them all.

[@krwd]

Tim, Andrew's vids on this subject are very good i own the Dutch set he is the go-to guy on anything Beatles

[@andy57167]

great find ,I have experienced a few sets and usually they are near mint unplayed for some reason the best set ive owned so far (and my keeper set) is the swedish set for german export it sounds fantastic it contains all uk pressings however all the records are pressed from much earlier masters than even the 78 uk set ,some quite rare indeed, a true hidden gem of a collection and sounds fantastic it also cantaing the excellent early german 70's white album pressing. the extra bonus is it contains some early german covers as an added cool factor. that said your set is a great find and good quality,and I know sounds great as well

[@kenw.8013]

Congrats on finding one! It’s one of the cornerstones of my collection, along with the German Magical Mystery Tour and the 2014 mono box.

[@brianmedeiros6845]

It’s certainly a golden moment and I can definitely feel the energy in you with this review. Just what the doctor ordered you deserve it! That shirt looks awesome too, will share this review with Bob the owner of Sunset Records. He’s a huge Beatles fan and plays drums in a Tribute Band at age 65 in which they got invited to play during Beatles Week Liverpool England last year. Thank You

[@Universityofvinyl]

Nice! 👍🏻👍🏻

[@johns126]

I have the 1978 Australian BC 13 box. I was lucky enough to have it as part of a collection I bought. So great to have this in NM condition. Your actual box is in as good a condition I’ve ever seen one. Going rate in Australia is approx $500 AusD - I think still a great experience at that price and potentially a positive investment return for the future.

[@manolokonosko594]

I bought my BC-13 for about $350 2 years ago. The Sgt. Pepper's album was missing the psychedelic inner sleeve and cutouts. It was a UK issue in pretty good shape. And just today I received the holy grail I've been waiting for: The German true stereo A1/B3 pressing of Magical Mystery Tour. I'm still waiting for Andrew's (Parlogram channel) "best sounding" white album recommendation purchase to come through the mail and I think I would finally close that chapter on acquiring all those Beatles "best pressings'. Basically, you can't go wrong with a UK pressing of almost anything, including their solo albums.

[@Universityofvinyl]

I also have the German white vinyl DMM cut of the White Album that Andrew has in his top 3 I believe. 👍🏻👍🏻

[@andy57167]

andrew has good reccomendations for the most part ,however many people including myself dont always agree with his top choices . for example the early US magical mystery tour in mono gives the German Horzu a good challenger ,,many prefer the us mono over the horzu...not saying any one is better than the other but there are many great beatles albums that Andrew doesnt mention in his "shootouts"

[@besteffe]

Congrats Tim on an excellent find! I bought mine back in 1987 from Record Bar, a record store in a local mall. It’s definitely a British pressing because all of the inner sleeves have the “Made in G.B.” text and all are dated as ‘86 but the months vary. What’s weird is my outer box has a gold foil sticker that says “serial number 3780”. It also included a blue one-sheet with all the albums listed and the track listing for each album. All the pressings sound really good. Way better than the digital black box set from 2009. I sold it years ago. I also have the blue EP box set and the blue Singles box set. You need those as well to complete the set!

[@onsenkuma1979]

Congratulations on this great find Tim. I was lucky enough to pick up a sealed UK BC-13 about ten years ago. Most of the titles have 'HTM' in the dead wax, and are mid-80s (all AAA, pre-DMM) pressings. To these worn ears at least, they sound great. Between these, the 2014 mono box, a white vinyl German DMM of 'The Beatles' (AAA), and a Toshiba Pro-Use of 'Abbey Road' I'm set on the original albums. I nearly pulled the trigger on a mint MFSL box some years back, but it's probably for the better that I didn't.

[@Universityofvinyl]

I also have the German white DMM Beatles! 👍🏻👍🏻

[@miked9959]

That's awesome, I'm jealous! You deserve it. I have always wanted that set. I watch it at Discogs and I just keep telling myself it's there when I want to spend the money 😀. I saw it behind you in the last last video but didn't think to say anything. Thanks for showing it to us.

[@ConglomerationCat]

This was such an amazing find Tim! I used to own this quite a while back and the vinyl was in wonderful condition. Very high quality. So cool!

[@MitchsVinylCorner]

Tim, what a great find! I sold my MFSL Box set a few years ago and was underwhelmed with the sound quality. I have a couple of these from this era and they sound great. Harry Moss did a fantastic job cutting these. Whether you get the BC13 box or the individual albums from 1978-85 they all use the same metal work. Keep up the great work and look forward to your future videos.

[@andrewbrown3070]

Nice find Tim!

[@christiansullivan1346]

Wow! What a find Tim! 😍

[@vinylrules4838]

Congrats. Never ran across this one. I had the MFSL Beatles box set, but had to sell it when I needed $$ years ago.

[@twofromthetrunk9932]

Thats a great find. Very interesting find.

[@bruceburgess6869]

I have a Blue Box with a mixture of Dutch and German pressings, some of which sound great and some of which sound awful. I also have the 2012 set, which has more bass than the earlier pressings but is not nearly as bad as Andrew from Parlogram makes out. To me, it doesn't sound bad at all, just different. Based on what I've heard, I would say that the UK 1970s and 1980s pressings are the best and most consistent sounding LPs. Congratulations on finding a near mint UK box. I would gladly trade either of my boxes or perhaps both for one of those.

[@Aged-Mark]

Green with envy. Crikey they are in good nick.

[@marcjohnson9270]

Sweet grab btw. Beautiful box should look stunning between Dylan and The Stones.......just so there's no confusion. 😁😁

[@petermccormick6363]

Congrats on the find. I managed to get a similar early 80s UK BC13 and I love it. I also managed to get my hands on a German A1/B3 Magical Mystery Tour to add to the stereo Beatles LPs. Quick unrelated question - I saw that you mentioned Lindsey Buckingham’s Out of the Cradle from the new boxset on Discogs. Could you share more about the sound quality and if BG is in the deadwax? I love that record…

[@Universityofvinyl]

BG is indeed in the deadwax. Will be spinning it this afternoon. 👍🏻

[@FishinJimmyM]

Hi Tim, Enjoy all your videos but this one got my attention. I have a similar era BC13 set but was never sure what the issue year was. All the inner sleeves in mine have an 82 year, but Discogs doesn't list an 82 UK issue. Based on your video, I'm thinking mine is an 84 set as well. The White album in my set has the embossed Beatles. None of the dead wax on my albums exactly match any of the 84 issues on Discogs though.

[@Universityofvinyl]

They’re hard to pin down actual year. 👌🏻👍🏻

[@PMC7027]

The 1012 Stereo Box does not contain remixes. It is strictly a remastering.

[@charlieanderson8497]

Great score !!! I have the Japanese set.. I found that it"s better to take them out of the box if you plan on listening to them. Pain to drag box down and get a record.

[@Stickermania2853]

Tim, the first 3000 box sets issued in 1978 were imported pressings from The United Kingdom through Capitol Records. Those box sets have the most value & best stereo audiophile sound according to Tom Port of Better Records. Thanks MR Stickermania

[@markh.9822]

Tom Port saying that means it's worthless info. He has no credibility

[@Stickermania2853]

@@markh.9822 Sorry Tom Port & Andrew from Parlogram Auctions in Austria are two of my foremost mentors in Beatles audiophile pressings. Frank

[@revelry1969]

The 2012 box wasn’t super bad. But I did sell mine. I have the Dutch BC13 and it smokes!

[@Universityofvinyl]

Very nice!

[@BrianR2395]

I'm not so sure that the BC-13 box was the "last time" pressings were cut from the original U.K. stereo master tapes. If you date this box set from 1978, then the Mobile Fidelity half-speed mastered box set entitled THE BEATLES: THE COLLECTION -- issued in late 1982 -- was actually the last time pressings were cut from the original U.K. stereo master tapes.

[@mandorecordman]

I have a BC-13 set from 1986. Does anyone know if these are DMM or is it just the ‘87 version? Discs are lightweight and have a smooth glassy look. They sound like DMM records, I think. I can’t really tell because I don’t have another set to compare it to.

[@numerianocortez3328]

I have the Japanese Pressing of this Boxed-Set …

[@danielwilliams1921]

Me too - never been played. Box is even pristine.

[@karalyncarlton6151]

Cloudburst!

[@gfy4476]

Read somewhere in the Hoffman forums that HTM used solid state to cut them as opposed to the OGs that were cut using tubes….

[@texeast8680]

I have the cassette version of this boxset.

[@elliotttuffin3653]

Don’t believe everything you read about the 2012 vinyl. They improved the bass and that’s what the Beatles wanted they sound amazing. I have all uk originals and 3 uk bc13 s and the winner is the 2012. Buy Beatles for sale and a b it your be stunned how good they sound but get a eu press 👍

[@mikeballard7776]

Tim have you been to Denver and any record stores you would recommend?

[@Universityofvinyl]

Yes - frequently. Here is the best of the best - Twist & Shout (plan on at least 1 hour!), Recollect Records, Drop to Pop, Wax Trax

[@marcjohnson9270]

Ok so are the pre 84 UK pressings analog sourced?

[@Universityofvinyl]

Yes

[@DavidHeafield]

I think on the whole you’re going to find this boxset in at least EX condition. It’s too unwieldy for an original punter to use them as their “go to” copies to play on a regular basis …..similar to most boxset’s of any persuasion. You have to remember that by the time of this boxset release most of us in the U.K. will have already have either original copies or a 70’s reissue. I guessing very few boxsets were sold to people who had none of the LP’s already? Where you’ve really scored is the condition of the box , most of them scar very easily even if the LP’s inside are untouched …..mine has a few scuffs. For most of my record collecting life I’ve passively dismissed the later black/silver Parlophone label stuff with a “meh reissue “ response as the original black/yellow Parlophone were pretty freely available….of course this was well before the deep, deep dive on what knowledge constitutes an “original” became available to us all. Your next boxset aim should be the “From Liverpool “ packing crate box where a lot of mixes and takes can differ considerably from what we were used to hearing……….you put them on to play and without any knowledge your ears will pick up the difference’s “oooh that’s different”. I guess at one point we here in the U.K. were spoilt for choice without realising it , I cast my mind back now to 20-30 years ago and can kick myself for passing over on stuff that seemed too workaday to bother with at the time.

[@jenniferbrennan7530]

You didn't say what it's worth. I have one I bought for my boyfriend who became my husband in 1984 or 1985 new. The box is rough, but the albums are in good shape.

[@Universityofvinyl]

$350 and up depending on condition

[@jenniferbrennan7530]

@@Universityofvinyl thank you

[@harryriles8609]

I used to have that box also. But when someone offered me $250.00 for it. I sold it. Now I can't afford to get it back.