White Labels

[Moon]

I never seem to have luck with these things. Getting tracks in advance can be sweet but it seems like 80% (maybe even higher) of the white labels i get either wear down really fast or sound like ass

maybe it's just with dnb. there are alot of promos available that i'm considering but very skeptical due to sound quality and durability reasons. it seems like most of the time i've had to re-buy the track when the official release came out. which is retarded

other dnb dj's i've talked to don't seem to have this problem at all. anyone notice this with white label promo presses?

[Lady Dame]

stick with heavy tracks and tracks that make even the most elitest of those want to move.
other than that, its too hard to keep up with good dnb, it just keeps getting better.

but im not complaining.

[inside]

Yeah, when I was spinning dnb, most the white lables I got weared out really fast. Nothing like trying to cue it up to have the needle skip. Hard Dance white lables have always treated me good. I got tracks from 99 that are still going strong. Though they haven't been played for nearly 2 years. I need my decks back!!

[angst]

Originally Posted by k-pryde

I never seem to have luck with these things. Getting tracks in advance can be sweet but it seems like 80% (maybe even higher) of the white labels i get either wear down really fast or sound like ass

maybe it's just with dnb. there are alot of promos available that i'm considering but very skeptical due to sound quality and durability reasons. it seems like most of the time i've had to re-buy the track when the official release came out. which is retarded

other dnb dj's i've talked to don't seem to have this problem at all. anyone notice this with white label promo presses?

It all depends on where the record was mastered and pressed. Most likely this rapid wearing and poorer sound quality is a result of:

1) The engineer not taking as much time to do a vinyl master of the tune before it's pressed b/c it's really just a test press, which will then be remastered and tweaked once it's been played out for a little while.

and/or

2) The record is pressed using a 1 step stamping process (just the father stamper is made right from the lacquer) as opposed to a 2 or 3 step process (where a mould (or mother) is made from which future stampers can be made). A 1 step process is usually only good for a maximum of 500 pressing until it starts to wear out. The end result is the record can sometimes be prone to rapid wear if the stamp is used beyond 500 pressings.

[Moon]

^that makes sense

and i'll bet those lazy dnb fuckers would pull that shit

[dabbler]

that's all fine and dandy, but no one gets test presses.
the promo's you buy in the shops, have only two differences
from the full release. release date, and lack of artwork.
they are exactly the same record as the full release. test presses
and done in such limited numbers (most i've heard of is 50) that
they don't often make it to ANY shops (incl. chemical)
the promo's are made in quantities of 100-500, and are sold or given to shops,
they are the exact same as the record with the label, they just put white labels
on them (i assume this is to save money, cause a lot of the "promo's" are supposed
to be just that... "promo")

[angst]

Originally Posted by dabbler

that's all fine and dandy, but no one gets test presses.
the promo's you buy in the shops, have only two differences
from the full release. release date, and lack of artwork.
they are exactly the same record as the full release. test presses
and done in such limited numbers (most i've heard of is 50) that
they don't often make it to ANY shops (incl. chemical)
the promo's are made in quantities of 100-500, and are sold or given to shops,
they are the exact same as the record with the label, they just put white labels
on them (i assume this is to save money, cause a lot of the "promo's" are supposed
to be just that... "promo")

Yeah, I'll agree with that for the most part, but you and I both know that sometimes changes are made before the full release is pressed up.

[Moon]

Originally Posted by dabbler

that's all fine and dandy, but no one gets test presses.
the promo's you buy in the shops, have only two differences
from the full release. release date, and lack of artwork.
they are exactly the same record as the full release. test presses
and done in such limited numbers (most i've heard of is 50) that
they don't often make it to ANY shops (incl. chemical)
the promo's are made in quantities of 100-500, and are sold or given to shops,
they are the exact same as the record with the label, they just put white labels
on them (i assume this is to save money, cause a lot of the "promo's" are supposed
to be just that... "promo")

i wish this was true

but i've got SO many white labels that have worn on me after 5 plays opposed to the full release that still sounds good after about 40 plays

[BenGiovanni]

with any promos ive played, all i see is the highs getting a bit muffled, but the rest of the track sounds good...
hrmm ive heard different that promos are usually prereleases give to certain people and places in really limited numbers... and by the time they wear out they will be released so you can actually buy the longer lasting copy and white labels are just vinyl that has been signed or just testing the market to see if the track will sell so they dont waste money on a couple thousand big ass coasters...
there are soo many definitions of "promos" and "whitelabels"
some people mix up the 2 i guess and its just staright up WHITELABEL

[Moon]

btw jay are you guys getting the new influx uk lp soon?

[decypher]

all my white labels are fine, and i used them alot.

[Wood]

i'm in agreeance with dabbler here... whites are cut from the same masters as the finished copies... of course it's possible that they could use a lower quality of vinyl for the promos, but i doubt it... i've purchased literally thousands of whites over the years and i've never noticed a difference.

btw martin, i have one promo copy of that Influx lp on the shelf now... been sitting there for like 2 weeks bro

[dabbler]

we have a copy still on the shelf too!
(and it's $10 cheaper than ^ :P)

[Moon]

does it "sound good"?

hehe when are you guys getting the full release i'd rather get that

[Wood]

^probably never for us, unless the promo sells. i thought it as a pretty weak album, haven't seen much interest from customers either... no one's even asked me to break it up, as they usually do with the big-ticket items. definitely expected much more from the man.

[dabbler]

not until i sell the promo ;)

[Moon]

any ways you can break it up then?

i want the track "shine"

not too big on the rest of the tracks