Sink Or Swim: Test Press

http://cgi.ebay.com/GASLIGHT-ANTHEM-TEST-PRESS-vinyl-record-water-punk-OOP_W0QQitemZ260559065825QQcmdZViewItemQQptZMusic_on_Vinyl?hash=item3caa87d2e1

I don't plan on bidding, but I'm sure someone here is interested.

I checked my TP and it is the same markings*, so I think this is legit!

*I checked my other 4 copies of SOS and it all checks out, the markings match my Black and White w/ Splatter (both from Hellbent Records) but do not match my clear or solid white (Gunner Records)... ergo, this is a TP from the first pressing of SOS!

this was the first time that I had ever checked the markings on my TP, I was always worried that it was a latter pressing TP (I wouldn't have been disappointed, just bummed).

his description scares me. He said he would rate the vinyl good to very good. For those who collect records, we know good means god awful

If you are buying this I don't think playing it is your main concern.

No but condition of a record you are gonna pay 100 bucks or more for is pretty important

I would still buy a SOS TP if it had a giant whole in the middle of it, just so I could have that piece of history!

yeah i might bid on it, it loos like a chip might be out of the record, i msged the seller and asked if it runs into the grooves, just waiting for a reply

e7c wrote:

I would still buy a SOS TP if it had a giant whole in the middle of it, just so I could have that piece of history!

That's the bit I don't get. Does the test pressing actually pre-date the release of the SoS CD? What makes it a piece of history? As far as I am concerned, the SoS Demo CD-R is more historic as it came before all other TGA releases, in whatever medium.

steady now steady now wrote:

e7c wrote:

I would still buy a SOS TP if it had a giant whole in the middle of it, just so I could have that piece of history!

That's the bit I don't get. Does the test pressing actually pre-date the release of the SoS CD? What makes it a piece of history? As far as I am concerned, the SoS Demo CD-R is more historic as it came before all other TGA releases, in whatever medium.

A test press is what the pressing plant sends to the label to make sure that everything is ok. The label looks it over and if everything is alright then they press the record. they're just important for collectors since there's so few of them made.

steady now steady now wrote:

e7c wrote:

I would still buy a SOS TP if it had a giant whole in the middle of it, just so I could have that piece of history!

That's the bit I don't get. Does the test pressing actually pre-date the release of the SoS CD? What makes it a piece of history? As far as I am concerned, the SoS Demo CD-R is more historic as it came before all other TGA releases, in whatever medium.

First off, CDs are so easily duplicated that there is no way I would ever pay more than the MSRP for any cd. There is so much more work that goes into making a record that is just some how more special, I will pay more for a second pressing of SOS then I would for a CD.

Secondly, it is easy to determine if a record is rare or not. Color variation, etchings, art work etc... while it near impossible to tell if a cd is truly rare or just a CD-r with a sticker on it.

Third, cd production is in the tens of thousands. SOS on vinly has only 6100 copies in 5 pressings. I know that sounds like a lot, but the first pressing is only 600 in two colors (500 in Red/White Splatter and 100 in black) (first pressings are usually the only one worth paying much money for).

As rare as a first pressing is, a test pressing is even more rare! A test pressing is made after the metal mold of the record has been produced and sent to a few people (the band, the record label, the manager etc...). Sometimes there is just 1 TP, other times there are 20 or more. As for SOS 1st Pressing TP, I was told that there were 5 copies made. 1 was for Hell Bent Records (which I now own) and the other 4 went to the guys in the band.

I know this won't make sense to people that don't listen/collect vinyl, but a cd is just a piece of plastic, a record has a soul.

e7c wrote:

a cd is just a piece of plastic, a record has a soul.

well said. though i'd definitely take an original gaslight anthem demo cdr any day!

can't believe this doesn't have a single bid yet. guess people are gonna try to snipe it

e7c wrote:

First off, CDs are so easily duplicated that there is no way I would ever pay more than the MSRP for any cd. There is so much more work that goes into making a record that is just some how more special, I will pay more for a second pressing of SOS then I would for a CD.

Secondly, it is easy to determine if a record is rare or not. Color variation, etchings, art work etc... while it near impossible to tell if a cd is truly rare or just a CD-r with a sticker on it.

Third, cd production is in the tens of thousands. SOS on vinly has only 6100 copies in 5 pressings. I know that sounds like a lot, but the first pressing is only 600 in two colors (500 in Red/White Splatter and 100 in black) (first pressings are usually the only one worth paying much money for).

As rare as a first pressing is, a test pressing is even more rare! A test pressing is made after the metal mold of the record has been produced and sent to a few people (the band, the record label, the manager etc...). Sometimes there is just 1 TP, other times there are 20 or more. As for SOS 1st Pressing TP, I was told that there were 5 copies made. 1 was for Hell Bent Records (which I now own) and the other 4 went to the guys in the band.

I know this won't make sense to people that don't listen/collect vinyl, but a cd is just a piece of plastic, a record has a soul.

Thanks, e7c, for your detailed reply, which is quite a good intro to vinyl collecting. Maybe I'll learn as the years (or months?) go by.

I want to buy this record so bad! but I would feel like a jerk since I already have one. In some other post I made a reference to how much it pissed me off that all of the best art is actually owned by private collectors. Owning more than one copy of SOS TP = jerk move.


...I want to be a jerk.

wow! with one minute left it was $178 and then with 30 seconds left it was $216 and finally sold for $338.00

yeah, i definitely lost this :'(

338.00, wow. thought it'd go for more.

anyone here end up with it?

I figured about 250 so I was a little under.