vacumecleanerman Posted July 22, 2009 Share Posted July 22, 2009 Sounds like "Manny being Manny..." Sorry i just couldn't resit saying that after reading this thread, aha Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cactusbot Posted July 22, 2009 Share Posted July 22, 2009 I know of your problems and just like every other thing people always do have different experiences. I apologize for the fact of hyping them up to you and it not working out the way you wanted it to be. However, I have never had nothing but good things in my experiences with them. Granted I'm not dealing with shipping issues but both Dennis and Kevin have been superb in every aspect. I actually just spoke with Dennis today and I get nothing but good results. I just can't see myself using anyone else. The biggest advice I can ever give to folks that use Bill Smith is don't ever email them. Give them a call, there has never been a time where I haven't been able to get a straight answer immediately on any question. They've made things very easy and convenient for me. For that I'm extremely grateful. Giving them a call is good advice if they actually answer it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danalive Posted July 22, 2009 Author Share Posted July 22, 2009 i called and ended up talking to the president or something of rainbo. i believe his name was steve. anyway...he was super nice and apologetic and made me feel like i was appreciated as a customer. turns out manny did turn in the order and they should be done on thursday. neither of us have any idea where the confusion came from on whether the tests had been approved or not. hopefully he will talk with manny and get some shit figured out. besides these problems with the plant i've had nothing but good results with this record. dave at lucky lacquers is awesome and was real nice. imprint did a great job on the jackets. can't wait to have these in my hands. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danalive Posted July 22, 2009 Author Share Posted July 22, 2009 oh and by the way...the record i am pressing is by my friend Andrew Bryant. the record is called "galilee" and it is sooo good. seriously. http://www.myspace.com/andrewbryant - if you wanna check out some songs http://magnoliastate.bigcartel.com - if you wanna order that shiiit Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matt Posted July 22, 2009 Share Posted July 22, 2009 I know of your problems and just like every other thing people always do have different experiences. I apologize for the fact of hyping them up to you and it not working out the way you wanted it to be. However, I have never had nothing but good things in my experiences with them. Granted I'm not dealing with shipping issues but both Dennis and Kevin have been superb in every aspect. I actually just spoke with Dennis today and I get nothing but good results. I just can't see myself using anyone else. The biggest advice I can ever give to folks that use Bill Smith is don't ever email them. Give them a call, there has never been a time where I haven't been able to get a straight answer immediately on any question. They've made things very easy and convenient for me. For that I'm extremely grateful. Giving them a call is good advice if they actually answer it. I don't know dude... but like I've said to you before I've called them countless upon countless of times and there has never been a time they HAVEN'T answered the phone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cactusbot Posted July 22, 2009 Share Posted July 22, 2009 Giving them a call is good advice if they actually answer it. I don't know dude... but like I've said to you before I've called them countless upon countless of times and there has never been a time they HAVEN'T answered the phone. Yeah, yeah. Just letting people know both sides of experiences. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flood Posted July 22, 2009 Share Posted July 22, 2009 i seem cursed... im like the only person who never has problems with pirates... and any time i use anyone other than pirates its a total clusterfuck across the board. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ihprstl Posted July 22, 2009 Share Posted July 22, 2009 i seem cursed... im like the only person who never has problems with pirates... and any time i use anyone other than pirates its a total clusterfuck across the board. Agreed. Damon at PP is fantastic. Rainbo was impossible to get a response from and when you finally did something was not correct. And Musicol never answered e-mails and I had to call him for any kind of update. This is not as easy when you have a Monday through Friday day job. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
recordsarestupid Posted July 22, 2009 Share Posted July 22, 2009 used rainbo for a record recently, complete mess. the records themselves were good, but the entire process was shit. i had my lacquers done by dave/lucky, that was the only smooth part of the process, looking forward to working with him again now that he is going through A+R. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dreamover Posted July 23, 2009 Share Posted July 23, 2009 not totally sure why pirates gets a ton of flack. i pressed with them, and not only were they super fast (especially considering they have to ship the records from czech republic to CA to be assembled, then to me in chicago) but the product was great. if any of you want to argue "some of their records sound like shit", i think it's because they are willing to take mp3's (including low quality mp3s) and of course the record is only as good as the source. most of us labels like to have shit done as fast as possible, and when they say "would you just like to ftp the files?" maybe to some small labels, it sounds like a fast, good idea. NO SIR. mail those masters. my records from them sound much better than the original cd that was released. as long as you work out the pricing before hand, and it works out in your favor, i have nothing bad to say about pirates. but there is nothing worse in the world than bad communication from pressing plants or licensing labels (cough, cough). and broken circles experience with bill smith has been every little thing i've ever heard bad about them, that all separately would not be a huge deal, except EVERYTHING that could have happened to piss someone off, did, which sucks. but at least the records are here and they SOUND AMAZING. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thisthatrecords Posted July 23, 2009 Share Posted July 23, 2009 I pressed my first release with United and the service sucked and the finished product wasn't exactly what we wanted. I'm using Pirates for my second release and Damon has been cool as fuck so far. We should be getting tests tomorrow, so says the fed ex website. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matt Posted July 23, 2009 Share Posted July 23, 2009 i give US folks flack for using GZ/Pirates because I get on a high horse about keeping things domestic and keeping things as local as possible. Some of their stuff sounds fine and if you're into the colors and/or packages they offer thats all on you. The biggest thing that gets me are those center labels. The colors are always dull and look like they got printed out on a HP bubblejet printer. I can see the convenience factor for doing things all in one but again, just not my style. I like the aspect of coordinating with everyone/everything individually. Going off of the the thought of keeping things local I find myself in a lucky position where I can go and see/hear my lacquer being cut, using a local southern california company to make my labels, and then pick up my order in person at the plant about 45 minutes away (i'm also looking into using california printers to do jackets from now on as well) at the end of the day everything evens out. for every 10 people who complain about a plant im sure you can find 20 folks that speak the world of that plant. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dreamover Posted July 23, 2009 Share Posted July 23, 2009 i think the whole "keep that work in america" or whatever argument is complete bullshit. me doing 500 or 1000 records in another country isnt hurting the american economy, especially when every plant in the world is so backed up with orders from major labels now. the big labels don't give a shit, they'll press where its cheaper. if you can get a better deal or a better product overseas, why wouldnt you? if youre paying more and getting a shittier product overseas, then youre an idiot anyway and who cares? also, my labels look much better and are much smoother than most labels ive seen done at imprint. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cactusbot Posted July 23, 2009 Share Posted July 23, 2009 Pirates Press labels are shit. Worst labels ever. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matt Posted July 23, 2009 Share Posted July 23, 2009 i was trying to type out something well thought out that would sum up my feelings on the PP/GZ thing but during an excursion where I wanted a comparison of products I came across this small rant from Brent from Magic Bullet "That domestic economic catastrophe we're in? That's in some (oversimplified) ways the Pirates Press mentality on a grand scale, the summation of all these little things we do to "save a buck." Just as your retarded, BROKERED, non-lacquered splatter vinyl gets outsourced and manufactured elsewhere, so are many other goods and facets of American society. In doing so, it takes large chunks of money out of our economy and costs people down the street from you jobs and careers. It's a house of cards and if you send your work overseas, you're contributing to the phenomenon straight up. From an ecological perspective, Jeff also brought up the sheer volume of fuel required to send palette after palette of splatter vinyl from CZ to the states. What's WORSE is that, from CZ, everything needs to be sent to San Francisco first (the furthest point in the continental US possible from CZ), then broken down, and then RE-SHIPPED on trucks to you from SF. Here's essentially what's happening if you live in like... Miami, FL and broker through Pirates: • You're sending master/art/etc. to Pirates from your location (3,111 miles away - your packages goes on a plane and/or trucks) • Pirates simply turns that package around and sends it to CZ (5,838 miles away - on a plane, then it goes on a truck to the plant) • Pirates starts on your vinyl and outsources the jackets/printed goods a second time (let's say another 50-100 miles away) • Everything gets made up by foreign workers and regroups at CZ for packaging and paletting. Palettes are built (weighing hundreds and thousands of pounds and taking up huge footprints on any cargo carrier). • Palettes are loaded onto trucks and bound for the airport (who knows what the distance is...) • Palettes are loaded onto cargo planes. Most of you have seen how much floorspace 500/1000 records takes up. Multiply that by hundreds of customers and hundreds of orders. To think that this process isn't significantly effecting cargo flights and fuel at this point is naive. • The cargo planes then fly 5838 miles BACK to San Francisco. • The palettes are broken down and then put on UPS trucks. • That individual order from Miami then has to go back 3,111 miles to Miami on a truck. In other words, your little splatter vinyl project for that "joke band" you thought would would be funny to put out has just helped burn up over 25,000 miles of fuel before it sits idly in a backroom as you realize that you made too many to begin with. My personal choice/philosophy is to press everything domestically and to do it as close to home as you possibly can. Tennessee is one state over, so United gets my business. Just as Bill Smith/G&M is in CA like Jeff, and they get his business. Records weigh a lot, and you save so much fuel and resources by having that initial chunk delivered to you in as short a distance as possible." just to take it a little further and show a comparison of products taken by a buddy of mine top record is from GZ bottom is from Bill Smith "jacket on top is "upgraded" from Pirates Press, it was supposed to be a rough to the touch finish as well, but they screwed that up, something was lost in communication. Jacket on the bottom is a normal lame-o jacket from Imprint/Ross Ellis." just overall heavier stock on the "normal" jacket vs an "upgraded" jacket from gz washed out labels from GZ vs G&M Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cactusbot Posted July 23, 2009 Share Posted July 23, 2009 Recently Pirates has been thicker than Bill Smith. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dreamover Posted July 23, 2009 Share Posted July 23, 2009 i've seen all that stuff, but i have several records from just about every plant. i have some old shitty pirates records, but mine turned out great, like many other recent ones, and i didn't use any upgrades. my jackets don't have as thick a spine, but still thick enough to have text on it. and you should know as well as anyone else, every record is different. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dreamover Posted July 23, 2009 Share Posted July 23, 2009 " In other words, your little splatter vinyl project for that "joke band" you thought would would be funny to put out has just helped burn up over 25,000 miles of fuel before it sits idly in a backroom as you realize that you made too many to begin with." not everyone presses fucking splatter vinyl there. i did blue, white, and black. all solid colors and they are on virgin vinyl, instead of getting garbage marble colors like united and bill smith where i need to pull records out and push them onto my turntable because the holes aren't cut right. and i highly doubt they chartered a plane just for my records. if they did, then i got quite a good deal. also, i saw the truck that dropped off my records, it was a huge semi that had many pallets going to a business park four blocks away. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matt Posted July 23, 2009 Share Posted July 23, 2009 of course every record is different. nowhere am i saying every record is like this or like that. there are extremes in all scenarios but those illustrate my points and claims rather well. its all preference but this all dictates why i don't or wouldn't use GZ for my releases. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andrew13 Posted July 23, 2009 Share Posted July 23, 2009 did you do a dead radical LP? i didn't even know they had anything pressed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xunspokenliesx Posted July 23, 2009 Share Posted July 23, 2009 i give US folks flack for using GZ/Pirates because I get on a high horse about keeping things domestic and keeping things as local as possible. Some of their stuff sounds fine and if you're into the colors and/or packages they offer thats all on you. The biggest thing that gets me are those center labels. The colors are always dull and look like they got printed out on a HP bubblejet printer. I can see the convenience factor for doing things all in one but again, just not my style. I like the aspect of coordinating with everyone/everything individually. Going off of the the thought of keeping things local I find myself in a lucky position where I can go and see/hear my lacquer being cut, using a local southern california company to make my labels, and then pick up my order in person at the plant about 45 minutes away (i'm also looking into using california printers to do jackets from now on as well)at the end of the day everything evens out. for every 10 people who complain about a plant im sure you can find 20 folks that speak the world of that plant. Hey Matt...if you're looking for printers in CA, check out Dorado...we just picked up our jackets for the Northern Towns 10" from them on Monday and they look fantastic. They are right up in San Fernando too. Imprint recommended them to us. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
randysxe Posted July 23, 2009 Share Posted July 23, 2009 this thread is funny! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matt Posted July 23, 2009 Share Posted July 23, 2009 did you do a dead radical LP? i didn't even know they had anything pressed. i didn't but my buddy put it out. its a split 12" with sidetracked. you can pick it up from 16oh.com i give US folks flack for using GZ/Pirates because I get on a high horse about keeping things domestic and keeping things as local as possible. Some of their stuff sounds fine and if you're into the colors and/or packages they offer thats all on you. The biggest thing that gets me are those center labels. The colors are always dull and look like they got printed out on a HP bubblejet printer. I can see the convenience factor for doing things all in one but again, just not my style. I like the aspect of coordinating with everyone/everything individually. Going off of the the thought of keeping things local I find myself in a lucky position where I can go and see/hear my lacquer being cut, using a local southern california company to make my labels, and then pick up my order in person at the plant about 45 minutes away (i'm also looking into using california printers to do jackets from now on as well)at the end of the day everything evens out. for every 10 people who complain about a plant im sure you can find 20 folks that speak the world of that plant. Hey Matt...if you're looking for printers in CA, check out Dorado...we just picked up our jackets for the Northern Towns 10" from them on Monday and they look fantastic. They are right up in San Fernando too. Imprint recommended them to us. i actually just emailed them today about getting a quote. i hear theyre pricey, even more so than stoughton. this thread is funny! now this is something i can agree on! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tre Posted July 23, 2009 Share Posted July 23, 2009 Hey Matt (and all) I have actually wrestled with those same issues regarding keeping the manufacturing of our records here in the states, thinking about both the economical and environmental reasons. For years, Deathwish used United for most of our jobs, unless there was a specific color combo that they couldn't do, or a pic disc (ew) and we used Erika. At the time, I didn't think much about it, but when things went south with United, and we started using Record Pressing and Pirates Press, I felt bad about sending business overseas. What made it harder was the fact that the process was soooo seamless (with Pirates, RP was a lil different) Sure the records were more expensive, but having one less thing to think or worry about made life so much easier. Fast Forward a couple years, and GZ raises their prices, and in turn Pirates raises their prices. The cost is just too much, and we move a good chunk of our business back over to a US plant. It was cheaper, and it felt better to have the records made here in the States. And yeah, not thinking about jet fuel to get our records here made me feel better about the whole process. So it was a nice warm fuzzy. About 2 records into pressing records back here in the States, it starts happening. Phone calls not returned in (what I would consider) a "timely manner", emails not being answered, waiting a month to get a test press, having to reject it, having to ARGUE about how TERRIBLE it sounds and then waiting another month to get the 2nd test, and then almost another month to get the actual LPs, "8 week minimum" turn around times, running out of colors of vinyl, and so on. It just doesn't really make sense to continue to use these places on principal alone if every step of the way they are keeping you from getting the records when you and the band need them. Working with Pirates has been close to 99% perfectly smooth, every step of the way. I don't HAVE TO chase down Pirates to find out where a job is at, but when I do, I get answered on the spot, or within an hour at most (at nearly ANY hour of the day or night too..) I can log into the website and check online where my job is at. I can request to get records when I NEED them, and have them actually show up as promised, as opposed to nearly being laughed at and constantly told how backed up they are and "hopefully next week" over and over... With all that being said, I think that if the process was more seamless here in the states, I would work a US plant. But the way it stands now, with this "vinyl craze" going on... it just is too slow and shitty. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cactusbot Posted July 23, 2009 Share Posted July 23, 2009 I know from now on I will be using Pirates Press for exactly the reasons mentioned above. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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