What a test pressing is for

A few weeks before a record is pressed in quantity, the plant sends a small batch of test pressings: plain white labels, no sleeve, usually five copies. Nothing else gets made until we say yes.

What we listen for

We play every side all the way through on two turntables, one good and one ordinary, because most people will hear it on the ordinary one.

• Noise in the quiet parts. Run-in grooves, the gaps between songs and the fade at the end of each side are where a bad pressing shows first: crackle, a low rumble, a tick that comes round once per turn.
• The inner tracks. The last song on a side sits closest to the label, where the groove moves slowest. If the loud parts break up there, the side is too long or cut too hot.
• Skips and pops. Anything that jumps the needle is a reject, even if it only happens on one copy.

When we say no

About one release in four goes back for a second test. Most often it is noise from the stamper, sometimes an off-centre hole that makes long notes wobble. The second round adds two or three weeks, which is why pre-order dates are set with room to spare.

Once a test is approved, the leftover copies are signed by the artist and sold in Extras. They go quickly.