richiebullets Posted December 9, 2010 Share Posted December 9, 2010 inspired by the picture disc thread... i've never really been a fan...most are black vinyl with blank labels and no artwork...i could never justify buying one in my head...opinions? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geezfools Posted December 9, 2010 Share Posted December 9, 2010 I though you were talking screen prints. But TP's, I have some with cool jackets and I have some borings versions. But hey, if you're into collecting, they're kinda fun to chase. Or, like a few of mine, kind of a cool piece for being part of a project. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justindinealone Posted December 9, 2010 Share Posted December 9, 2010 I though you were talking screen prints. But TP's, I have some with cool jackets and I have some borings versions. But hey, if you're into collecting, they're kinda fun to chase. Or, like a few of mine, kind of a cool piece for being part of a project. my thoughts exactly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
circlingvultures Posted December 9, 2010 Share Posted December 9, 2010 any time a record is advertised or announced and there is a test pressing of more then 20 copies, I stop thinking of it as a test press and more as a regular edition. These things used to be impossible to get. maybe 3-5 test presses would get made for a record and if you ever found one you never let it go. Now people print them up like crazy. I will buy certain bands tests if I have the chance and if they are limited. Otherwise I don't care too much. They should be pressed for their purpose then distributed to label and band folk. Not pressed to sell. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
weck Posted December 9, 2010 Share Posted December 9, 2010 they are cool if you are really into the band and need to have everything by that band...otherwise its really just another record.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j4m35 Posted December 9, 2010 Share Posted December 9, 2010 any time a record is advertised or announced and there is a test pressing of more then 20 copies, I stop thinking of it as a test press and more as a regular edition. These things used to be impossible to get. maybe 3-5 test presses would get made for a record and if you ever found one you never let it go. Now people print them up like crazy. I will buy certain bands tests if I have the chance and if they are limited. Otherwise I don't care too much. They should be pressed for their purpose then distributed to label and band folk. Not pressed to sell. i agree with this. i think a test pressings is the most personal manifestation of the music, as opposed to thousands of records on a billion colors being pressed for the public. if i were in a band, and we had the fortunate opportunity to press a record, i would only request enough TPs for the band and maybe a couple other close friends. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
selfreliable Posted December 9, 2010 Share Posted December 9, 2010 Never cared about them. Never wanted to chase after one. The only way I would ever care is if what was on the test press was different than what came out, like the Velvet Underground one that did that and one of the Zeppelin ones. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scarnage Posted December 9, 2010 Share Posted December 9, 2010 Never cared about them. Never wanted to chase after one. The only way I would ever care is if what was on the test press was different than what came out Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jhulud Posted December 9, 2010 Share Posted December 9, 2010 they are cool if you are really into the band and need to have everything by that band... I have a few. Some with custom-made jackets done by the label or band. Some others with no jackets whatsoever or blank sleeves. Those without jackets, I have been making my own jackets for. It's fun and keeps me busy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
travis Posted December 9, 2010 Share Posted December 9, 2010 I have a few of them. The only ones I really care about are the ones I have for the first 4 ETID LPs since I have a pretty much complete ETID collection and the Blink and Blink-related ones I got recently since they are one of my all time favorite bands and I had a part in making those pressings happen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tankerdesk Posted December 9, 2010 Share Posted December 9, 2010 Never cared about them. Never wanted to chase after one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daegor Posted December 9, 2010 Share Posted December 9, 2010 They should be pressed for their purpose then distributed to label and band folk. Not pressed to sell. i agree with this. i think a test pressings is the most personal manifestation of the music, as opposed to thousands of records on a billion colors being pressed for the public. if i were in a band, and we had the fortunate opportunity to press a record, i would only request enough TPs for the band and maybe a couple other close friends. My thoughts exactly. I work very closely with a buddy's band, and when we get to the point of pressing something, we will only be getting enough pressed for the band and whoever the band members personally want to give copies to. The only time that I would be interested in a test press from a band I am not involved/invested in would be when the pressing never makes it past the test pressing stage. Or as mentioned, if the test pressing was different than the regular pressing somehow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seafoamgreen Posted December 9, 2010 Share Posted December 9, 2010 I only have 3 tests and they're of three of my favorite records. More importantly, they're from a time when tests were actually tests, not the VC era of 20+ tests. That shit is just ridiculous and a total scam. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bowserhound Posted December 9, 2010 Share Posted December 9, 2010 Sympathy used to do their test presses on colored vinyl if the release was black only. I have 2 and they are wicked cool. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sharkie Posted December 9, 2010 Share Posted December 9, 2010 they're cool to have, but i'm not going to pay (a lot of money) for them. i did win a less than jake test from punk news a couple of years ago Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seafoamgreen Posted December 9, 2010 Share Posted December 9, 2010 Sympathy used to do their test presses on colored vinyl if the release was black only. I have 2 and they are wicked cool. For a time I was trying to collect the entire SFTRI catalog... then the White Stripes got huge. Is there a list of those test presses somewhere? I hope they made a neon green Atomic Garden test press! That etching would look sweet... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
circlingvultures Posted December 9, 2010 Share Posted December 9, 2010 I only have 3 tests and they're of three of my favorite records. More importantly, they're from a time when tests were actually tests, not the VC era of 20+ tests. That shit is just ridiculous and a total scam. I don't think it's VC's doing so much as smaller labels trying to survive by gimmick pressings. I don't know the exact reason for it exactly but it started up before VC. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seafoamgreen Posted December 9, 2010 Share Posted December 9, 2010 I only have 3 tests and they're of three of my favorite records. More importantly, they're from a time when tests were actually tests, not the VC era of 20+ tests. That shit is just ridiculous and a total scam. I don't think it's VC's doing so much as smaller labels trying to survive by gimmick pressings. I don't know the exact reason for it exactly but it started up before VC. Not meaning to call out VC exclusively. I'm referring to the "VC era" as the time period during which VC was at the height of its popularity and a lot of the gimmick TP stuff was going down. I'm fine with gimmick presses as long as there's some transparency and honesty about what those presses really are. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jhulud Posted December 9, 2010 Share Posted December 9, 2010 I think in today's vinyl culture, there's a more intense "collector" mentality than say 10-15 years ago. This of course has led to more and more completist types to be into vinyl and therefore go hunt and must obtain all variants & pressings of a record including test pressings. I can't and won't criticize b/c I am a completist asshole when it comes to certain bands and/or records. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rockstar71888 Posted December 9, 2010 Share Posted December 9, 2010 <3 $$$ seriously though, they are cool if you are a collector. i used to have a complete BTBAM collection, minus the Alaska test. was interesting to sift through peoples' tradelists hunting down what i needed Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
betterdays Posted December 9, 2010 Share Posted December 9, 2010 I dig test presses. I have a couple that are pretty boring but just cool to have. The one record I have put out so far had an awesome Hatebreed rip off cover just for the tests. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
100resolutions Posted December 9, 2010 Share Posted December 9, 2010 Honestly, i don't care about test pressings. They are pricy and not that cool at my eyes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
circlingvultures Posted December 9, 2010 Share Posted December 9, 2010 I think in today's vinyl culture, there's a more intense "collector" mentality than say 10-15 years ago. This of course has led to more and more completist types to be into vinyl and therefore go hunt and must obtain all variants & pressings of a record including test pressings. I can't and won't criticize b/c I am a completist asshole when it comes to certain bands and/or records. Even back 10-15 years ago people were like this. Granted there might have been less pressings of something initially but labels constantly repressed things it seemed like. Back 10 years ago I was a completeist about somethings but that wore off. I remember some crazy die hard nerds on Viva la vinyl back then. Certainly now that the technology is out for all kinds of cool shit to happen with vinyl more and more weird pressings are happening and its all in our face but the same thing will happen that always does. There is a huge amount of people collecting and then the numbers start to dwindle and those folks sell their collections and move on. happens every time. Not sure when it will really start again but all these variants that people are paying big money for will plummet in price and be readily available. Which is always fun. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mclz Posted December 9, 2010 Share Posted December 9, 2010 I enjoy test pressings, but there is only a few bands I would go out of my way to pay a good amount of money for one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dethrock Posted December 9, 2010 Share Posted December 9, 2010 I would never pay for a test press I don't think. I got one with an order once though and that was kind of cool, but I wouldn't go out of my way to get my hands on one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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