Promo record - good? Bad? No matter?

[aramirez626]

I have been seeing a few "promo label" records in my vinyl searches. These seem to be marketed up a little becasue they are promo records. My question is, are these somehow better pressed records? My main goal is sound quality, I am not a collector but I will pay a little more for better sound.

 

[Dan ʕ•ᴥ•ʔ]

Generally, unless having been abused by a radio station, they are desirable because they will almost be the first pressing of an album and mastered from the actual master tape, as opposed to later editions which may be mastered from second or third generation tape copies.

 

[ConradH]

I have a couple, but no real knowledge. They are probably early pressings in a given run, which is a good thing. Depending on where they went and what they are, they may have had almost no play. Or, they may have been played to death. Like most things, there may be no general rule to apply.

 

[KentTeffeteller]

Celt,

The promo copies are mastered from the same masters ordinary pressings are mastered from as a rule, usually meaning tape copies. The promos are among the very first pressings made from the stampers unless replacement copies.

 

[Qsiris]

I had two records of Rick Wakeman's "White Rock".
One is white label promo that I bought first and then I bought 4 record lot which included the other regular one.
Both in excellent condition but promo is a superior record. More clarity, more detail, better sound all around.
I gifted a second copy to a friend.

 

[Dan ʕ•ᴥ•ʔ]

Celt,

The promo copies are mastered from the same masters ordinary pressings are mastered from as a rule, usually meaning tape copies. The promos are among the very first pressings made from the stampers unless replacement copies.

Well, true. BUT...later editions are often mastered from copies of copies. Note the deterioration of the Byrds catalog from early releases to the ones made in the 70's. It was well into the CD era when CBS finally got off their asses and went back to the masters.
The difference in sound quality was amazing.

 

[static14]

some promos were also higher quality vinyl then the regular pressings. Like Quiex II promos.

 

[beatcomber]

Well, true. BUT...later editions are often mastered from copies of copies. Note the deterioration of the Byrds catalog from early releases to the ones made in the 70's. It was well into the CD era when CBS finally got off their asses and went back to the masters.
The difference in sound quality was amazing.

In the case of the Byrds and other records that were in print for many years, there are several reasons why later issues might have degraded sound quality.

1.) The stampers are worn out, requiring the recording to be remastered in order to cut fresh lacquers. The re-cuts may or may not be inferior to the earlier masterings, due to differences in the mastering chain (ie: tube vs. solid state) or the different approaches of the mastering engineers.

2.) The tapes may be worn out from too much use, requiring the use of either a remix from the session tapes (ie: Dylan) or the use of a later generation backup master.

3.) If the original stampers were used for a long time, later pressings will suffer from the plates being worn. Promo copies are usually the first ones off the presses, so the plates were still fresh when they were pressed.

 

[grillebilly]

I got a slew of 'em and never had a dud yet.

 

[Sam Cogley]

Celt,

The promo copies are mastered from the same masters ordinary pressings are mastered from as a rule, usually meaning tape copies. The promos are among the very first pressings made from the stampers unless replacement copies.

I've run across some white label promos (not test pressings) that used different stampers than the general production runs.

 

[Ilikevinyl]

I have many promo albums. Prefer them also.

 

[maddog37]

My wife was the Director of International Marketing for Elektra, Sony and Warner Bros back in the 90s in NYC, and she had a bunch of promo copies of vinyl, now only CDs remain.

Her non-technical take on this is that she is not aware of any difference in quality between the promos and other mass consumer pressings, only that they were first pressings to get the music "out there" before the public got a crack at it. The difference is in collectability (sp?).

 

[Naptown Rob]

I've got a ton of promos as I was always serviced by the labels because of my work.
I think that out in the marketplace you'll tend to find them in two very distinct conditions: never, or almost never played & beat to hell.
White labels are really a different animal, often Test Pressings, & much more uncommon.

 

[vinyl1]

Someone mentioned the Quiex II promo pressings from the late 70s and 80s.

In many cases, they did cut a special, extra-dynamic master lacquer that sounded much better than the regular releases to make these. They also pressed a much smaller number of copies from each stamper.

Some of them are really good, equal to the top audiophile masterings. Try to get Dire Straits on a Quiex II.

 

[Sam Cogley]

My wife was the Director of International Marketing for Elektra, Sony and Warner Bros back in the 90s in NYC, and she had a bunch of promo copies of vinyl, now only CDs remain.

Her non-technical take on this is that she is not aware of any difference in quality between the promos and other mass consumer pressings, only that they were first pressings to get the music "out there" before the public got a crack at it. The difference is in collectability (sp?).

They still should be the best pressings from any given stamper, being the first off the line.

I've got a ton of promos as I was always serviced by the labels because of my work.
I think that out in the marketplace you'll tend to find them in two very distinct conditions: never, or almost never played & beat to hell.
White labels are really a different animal, often Test Pressings, & much more uncommon.

WLPs and test pressings are different animals. I have ONE test pressing in my rather over-large collection of LPs. It has a hand-written label and some other documentation clearly identifying it as a test pressing. That said, WLPs (basically the really early promo copies, in most cases) might well be made from the same stamper as approved test pressings.

Someone mentioned the Quiex II promo pressings from the late 70s and 80s.

In many cases, they did cut a special, extra-dynamic master lacquer that sounded much better than the regular releases to make these. They also pressed a much smaller number of copies from each stamper.

Some of them are really good, equal to the top audiophile masterings. Try to get Dire Straits on a Quiex II.

I have all three of the Dire Straits Quiex II promos (Alchemy, Love Over Gold and Brothers in Arms). They really are fantastic pressings.

 

[KentTeffeteller]

Columbia in the 1960's did use original mixdown masters for cutting records. One of the big reasons why so many of those are now worn out. By 1969, they insisted on production master dubs to cut lacquer masters from. The earlier policy is why so many Columbia titles from Bob Dylan, Simon & Garfunkel, and The Byrds had to be remixed down the road.

 

[Frank Sol]

I have one , more or a novelty , that I play once every 6months or so

12" LP 45 rpm Blue Vinyl of Rod Stewart / Killing of Georgie I & II on both sides

SQ = Great

 

[harman/kardon]

Just like to mention the only promo record I have.

This is an entertaining record, nice guys are talking about their work on their music:

Violent femmes "3 on 3 - an hour of conversation and music from their fourth album '3' and previous 'Slash'"

Warner Bros. albums Words&Music #163

1989

 

[dewdude]

I will buy almost any album with a promotional sticker on it. Some of them have that depressed gold lettering saying its a promotional.

My most interesting is the picture disc I have of Eddie Murphy: Comedian. It has "For Promotional Use Only" printed on the artwork under the vinyl.

Sent from my SPH-M910 using Tapatalk 2

 

[blhagstrom]

Promo

I have quite a few promo copies.
When I buy used, I always check the vinyl first and consider the cover condition second.
Not all promos were sent for radio play.
I was friends with a local record shop owner and he got promos quite a bit from "new" artists. He would play them in the store to, wait fo it, promote the album. He took excellent care of them. He wanted them to sound good and sell. He would sell the promos at a discount after a while.

I fnd it interesting that the promos were probably released before the artist became famous. I find it interesting as a historical thing. Looking back and seeing a point in time when the music was new and the artists were unknown and then thinking about how they changed music and the exploits of their careers.

Artists like The Doors, The Rolling Stones, Donna Summer, AC/DC and many many more.

I have been to a few sales for "radio station" LPs. Some of the vinyl is OK (and I mean, just OK) but the covers are totally worn out. Radio LPs and DJ LPs turn me off. Too many needle drops and pickups to play the one song. Too much handling onto off of the table. Its a good place for rare stuff that didn't get much play, but popular stuff, no. The popular stuff got a lot of pressings and is too common to put up with worn out vinyl.