Last month, some records arrived and among them are 'promotional' and 'demonstration' copies of albums that I already have. Reason is I am just curious to find out if I can hear differences between these and the commercial or regular pressings. A minor variable would be the element of groove wear but since both copies have 'near mint' spindle holes and impeccable shiny vinyl, I figure I can write that variable off.
Here's a Columbia 360 Stereo demonstration copy of an album I know so well, Brothers Four Sings Lennon McCartney.
Back cover has the 'demostration copy' stamp.
Another title is Tony Mottola's Tony and Strings album, this one has a pure white label with words 'promotional copy' printed on it.
On the Brothers Four LP, the demo copy was totally grainless and very smooth, specially on the voices of the 4 singers. I thought my regular copy was smooth already by comparing them, the regular copy does not have the smoothness of the demo copy. By and large, the instruments sounded pretty much the same to me. On the Tony Mottola album, the regular copy sounded thin and wiry, particularly on the guitar and violins. There is almost a glare and brightness on the entire sound spectrum but when I put on the promo copy, the guitar sounded 'thick' and the strings were smoother. No glare or brightness present. These 2 are by far my most telling experiences with promo or demo pressings. Whether they are consistent on all titles, that remains to be seen or heard. Problem is, these kinds of pressings are not really easy to come by, specially in NM fashion. But at least I get to hear what others have been talking about.