Ever been screwed by not getting a test press?

[sonix]

side question; how much does it cost to do a test pressing?

[riddle350]

I could be wrong but I thought it was only around $50-$75.

[cactusbot]

Test presses are cheap.

[nickheitman]

Be careful. Wear an audio condom.

best fucking advice

[Guest afsdan]

side question; how much does it cost to do a test pressing?

it varies between plants, but usually between 3-6 tests will cost you $50-100. that's a standard the plant has, and it'll cost extra to get extras

how do you know the plates are bad? is that your opinion, or did the plant tell you that?

I agree that if the plant fucked up the plates, they should pay for new plates, but you definetely have to pay for the pressings.

[jailhouse]

yeah man, I actually feel really bad for you :-[ that's a good chunk of change down the drain.

I am sure wev'e all done some stupid shit we regret when starting a label, or what not. Just take as an expensive lesson learned!

I am sure it won't happen again though huh?

Best of luck man

[numanoid]

how do you know the plates are bad? is that your opinion, or did the plant tell you that?

I agree that if the plant fucked up the plates, they should pay for new plates, but you definetely have to pay for the pressings.

They sent the clear ones separate from the black ones. I was excited and went home at lunch to check it out. When I noticed it was bad, I figured I could stop the presses on the black, and find out what the problem was. When described to the guy on the phone, he said it sounds like bad plates and the black would sound the same. The black came a few days later, and they sounded the same.

With the plates being bad, I can't even get a small number pressed again. I agree that I should have to take the burden of the ones pressed, but I do think they should take care of the plates, after all, that's quite a bit of the expenses involved in pressing a record. And really, that's all I wanted.

The only think I can think of is to place another order, get test presses, reject them, and get the plates redone. But I doubt that will work.

And it wasn't a money issue, I was trying to speed things along for a band that started their tour already.

[Guest afsdan]

if they actually said "the plates are bad", then you might be able to work something out.

something tells me this is another adventure with United.

plus, lesson learned about trying to speed things along. I've missed getting records for tour, and we ended up selling the covers w/ a cdr, and getting the address of everyone who bought so we could mail them when we got home.

worked like a charm!

[sonix]

in the record pressing game, rushed should never be an adjective used to describe a job ;]

[joelifeline]

It depends on your agreement for not running test presses....

But what I recommend, I've been in a some what similar boat before, say your product is faulty and you want a full refund and you will gladly send them back all of your vinyl and return it to them because you are not able to sell this faulty product.

Be prepared to mail them all back if you really have to, but just state you paid for this and you can't do anything with it. It's essentially garbage. See what sort of deal you can work out, since you declined to run test presses maybe you can get them to cover the plates and the postage for the new vinyl but you will have to pay for the records to still be made. That's probably the best you can get out of this.

[hyperrealist]

i've had several records cut more than once, so tests are definitely necessary.

i did have one plant press vinyl that wasn't the color i ordered and refuse to credit me or replace them without it coming out of my pocket. i had the replacement color pressed, but still had to pay and i essentially ended up with 350 more records than i asked for when what i wanted was clearly stated on the order form. that's some bullshit.

[kyle]

i've had several records cut more than once, so tests are definitely necessary.

i did have one plant press vinyl that wasn't the color i ordered and refuse to credit me or replace them without it coming out of my pocket. i had the replacement color pressed, but still had to pay and i essentially ended up with 350 more records than i asked for when what i wanted was clearly stated on the order form. that's some bullshit.

Which plant was this?

BTW, I'm learning now how important test presses are. My first release is now delayed because the plant I went with made shitty plates. The records just sound like pure crap, I'm so bummed. To make things worse the tests came 2 weeks late, when I was promised they'd arrive no later than the 28th so that I could have them for an event (I ordered 25 extra test pressings to be a special show-only version of the record). Well, the plant didn't make good on their promise and now they gave me a subpar product. I'll never use Rainbo Records again.

[desensitizedbyu]

I wish I could put out a record.

[punkxisxforever]

with the first record i had pressed, i ALMOST skipped getting a test press because the band was going on tour and we needed the records as fast as possible. i ended up getting the test press anyway, and it's a really good thing i did because it had some random japanese punk band's songs on it. i couldn't imagine how pissed at myself i would have been if i had skipped the test and ended up with 500 records with the wrong songs.

[andywax]

something tells me this is another adventure with United.

Haha that's exactly what I thought.

[nickheitman]

I THINK I'M PUTTING OUT A RECORD.

P.S. I WILL GET TESTS FOR MINE WHEN I PUT IT OUT.

[desensitizedbyu]

WHY THE CAPS? AND WHAT'S THE RECORD?

[xjustinxschwierx]

i've had several records cut more than once, so tests are definitely necessary.

i did have one plant press vinyl that wasn't the color i ordered and refuse to credit me or replace them without it coming out of my pocket. i had the replacement color pressed, but still had to pay and i essentially ended up with 350 more records than i asked for when what i wanted was clearly stated on the order form. that's some bullshit.

Which plant was this?

BTW, I'm learning now how important test presses are. My first release is now delayed because the plant I went with made shitty plates. The records just sound like pure crap, I'm so bummed. To make things worse the tests came 2 weeks late, when I was promised they'd arrive no later than the 28th so that I could have them for an event (I ordered 25 extra test pressings to be a special show-only version of the record). Well, the plant didn't make good on their promise and now they gave me a subpar product. I'll never use Rainbo Records again.

don't totally fault Rainbo, all the plants are backed up right now, so delays will happen...unless you pay extra for rushing the order, then you can't complain.

I've had several plating errors caught from test pressings...so I'd say take Joe's advice, probably the best chance you have in creating anything good out of the situation.

[nickheitman]

WHY THE CAPS? AND WHAT'S THE RECORD?

CAPS = STOKED!!!!!!!

nothing is final yet, but it's pretty much a definite. probably gonna happen around summer time.

http://www.myspace.com/tigersjaw

putting out the full length. it's fantastic.

[ryantheterrible]

I SAW STATIC STATIC ON FRIDAY

[xjustinxschwierx]

I SAW STATIC STATIC ON FRIDAY

ryan, dude you have to explain your avatar! i'm crackin up!

[ryantheterrible]

hahah i can't explain it man. If i do, it takes so much humor away.

[kyle]

Which plant was this?

BTW, I'm learning now how important test presses are. My first release is now delayed because the plant I went with made shitty plates. The records just sound like pure crap, I'm so bummed. To make things worse the tests came 2 weeks late, when I was promised they'd arrive no later than the 28th so that I could have them for an event (I ordered 25 extra test pressings to be a special show-only version of the record). Well, the plant didn't make good on their promise and now they gave me a subpar product. I'll never use Rainbo Records again.

don't totally fault Rainbo, all the plants are backed up right now, so delays will happen...unless you pay extra for rushing the order, then you can't complain.

Well, the guy explicitly promised me he could make it happen. I asked if I needed to pay extra for a "rushed" order and he said no. Then when it came time to pick up the tests (I live close enough that I was just going to pick them up) they told me that the plating department fucked up and didn't even start the plates. I wouldn't have been so quick to blame them right off the bat but the guy actually took the blame for it. As long as I can get the damn 7" done in time for Fest I'll be happy at this point. I'm not totally unhappy but I don't see myself using Rainbo again.

[xjustinxschwierx]

don't totally fault Rainbo, all the plants are backed up right now, so delays will happen...unless you pay extra for rushing the order, then you can't complain.

Well, the guy explicitly promised me he could make it happen. I asked if I needed to pay extra for a "rushed" order and he said no. Then when it came time to pick up the tests (I live close enough that I was just going to pick them up) they told me that the plating department fucked up and didn't even start the plates. I wouldn't have been so quick to blame them right off the bat but the guy actually took the blame for it. As long as I can get the damn 7" done in time for Fest I'll be happy at this point. I'm not totally unhappy but I don't see myself using Rainbo again.

but take into account that if you live close enough to pick things up...that is an invaluable resource especially since that is the most expensive part of the shipping equation of running a label.

Look at it like this, if you're planning to run this label for a while, you're going to need to build a relationship with people at pressing plants...if you stay with them that will reward you greatly in time. because as long as that guy is there...he will always remember that they fucked up and you're still a customer. They fucked up, the guy took the blame for it, was he dodging your phone calls?

I would kill to be able to pick up my records and save all that $$$

[kyle]

Well, the guy explicitly promised me he could make it happen. I asked if I needed to pay extra for a "rushed" order and he said no. Then when it came time to pick up the tests (I live close enough that I was just going to pick them up) they told me that the plating department fucked up and didn't even start the plates. I wouldn't have been so quick to blame them right off the bat but the guy actually took the blame for it. As long as I can get the damn 7" done in time for Fest I'll be happy at this point. I'm not totally unhappy but I don't see myself using Rainbo again.

but take into account that if you live close enough to pick things up...that is an invaluable resource especially since that is the most expensive part of the shipping equation of running a label.

Look at it like this, if you're planning to run this label for a while, you're going to need to build a relationship with people at pressing plants...if you stay with them that will reward you greatly in time. because as long as that guy is there...he will always remember that they fucked up and you're still a customer. They fucked up, the guy took the blame for it, was he dodging your phone calls?

I would kill to be able to pick up my records and save all that $$$

I see what you're saying, and trust me, I understand the value of developing good relationships. But the guy there did dodge my calls the week I was supposed to pick up the tests, two messages on his voicemail went unreplied before I finally got him on the phone the morning I was going to get them.

I don't really have to pay shipping, which is great, but I do have to pay California sales tax (about $80 in this case). Plus, the place is 100 miles away, I was only going to pick them up because I wanted them that day (we had already agreed on the day I would pick them up). I'm upset for a few reasons... the guy knew how important the deadline was. I told him that if I couldn't have the records by then that I'd wait because at the time I could barely afford to pay for the record and ideally I would have waited another two weeks for another paycheck to pay for everything and still have money left over to survive until my next paycheck. Second, my friend and I dropped off the master CD on a Sunday morning so that they would have everything and still have enough time to get the record out for my deadline. Like I said, the plant is 100+ miles away and we got lost on the way there, so it was a waste of half a day. On the day I was supposed to pick them up I finally get ahold of the guy and he just "Oh man, I'm so sorry, I just spoke with the plating dept. and they messed up and never did anything with your master. Sorry." Then, when they finally arrived two weeks later they were no good.

I see their side of it... they're busy, bad plates are a part of the game, etc. But at the same time it sucks to think about the hoops I jumped through just to get the record out and then nothing go right. I'm not 100% against using them, I'm going to wait till I have the final copy in my hand and see how happy I am. Right now I'm leaning towards not using them, but if by the end of the whole process they give me a product I'm satisfied with and leave me believing that I actually matter as a customer then I'll give them another shot. Right now the dude isn't responding to my emails, and in the past he was really quick with the messages. So we'll see.