CD Acetates

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by greelywinger, Apr 29, 2011.

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  1. greelywinger

    greelywinger Osmondia Thread Starter

    Location:
    Dayton, Ohio USA
    I have seen several CD acetates for sale on eBay.
    What's the story on these?
    Some mention being a CD-R.
    Are these legit or is someone cranking these out just for the collector?
    If they are legit, how can you tell (being CD-Rs and all)?

    Darryl
     
  2. Jose Jones

    Jose Jones Outstanding Forum Member

    Location:
    Detroit, Michigan
    I'm hoping the SMiLE Sessions Box that comes out this year is available in an all-acetate edition for maximum authenticity. Hash tent sold separately....
     
  3. Beattles

    Beattles Senior Member

    Location:
    Florence, SC
    I am afraid the sand included in the box will ruin the CDs or Vinyl.
     
  4. colinu

    colinu I'm not lazy, I'm energy saving!

    I think it is a hit-and-miss situation. In order to cut costs, labels have been using more burned discs for promos etc.

    Case in point, I puchased Katy Perry's "California Gurls" radio edit. It was most likely legit - it was a burned disc.
     
  5. hamishd91

    hamishd91 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Sydney
    TRUE TRUE TRUE absolute nutter fans/collectors will be able to tell the difference between official and (home)burnt CD-R's.
     
  6. gabbleratchet7

    gabbleratchet7 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Toronto, Canada
    I can't remember whether it was late 1980s or early 90s, reading in Billboard about the novelty of having a CD burner in-studio so that the day's rough mixes could be brought home by the artist for home listening. I think they name checked Billy Joel as an early adopter of this alternative to the old acetate approach. Seems quaint now, but the whole idea of being able to burn your own CD at that time was well beyond the reach of consumer-grade equipment and pretty mind-blowing (at least to me!).
     
  7. Beattles

    Beattles Senior Member

    Location:
    Florence, SC
    In the CD manufacturing process is there an Acetate/lacquer equivalent that the stamper is made from or the stamper made from the digital source? If so the "acetate" would not have the clear laminate and would probably not be playable.

    I don't think that is what is being advertised though.
     
  8. Sounds like snake oil to me.
     
  9. MikeyH

    MikeyH Stamper King

    Location:
    Berkeley, CA
    Yes, there is a stage called the 'glass master' but it is not silvered and so not playable in a normal player. I don't know if it can be read or checked optically.

    Latest machines seem to be headed to making stampers directly from the data, by a process akin to 3D printing - creating the stamper data directly in polycarbonate. I don't know if this has moved beyond the prototype stage.

    What is being sold as 'cd acetate' is undoubtedly a plain CDR. I have some of these in label packaging, various artwork. Some are lightscribed with the disc information, and thus probably genuine label issue. Still a CDR though. Mine came through the industry, not bought.
     
  10. hamishd91

    hamishd91 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Sydney
    As in, its a scam? What do you mean? CD-R promos are a hot item on eBay. Just because they're CD-R's, and probably amateur burnt, doesn't mean they aren't from a label. I have many.
     
  11. greelywinger

    greelywinger Osmondia Thread Starter

    Location:
    Dayton, Ohio USA
  12. McLover

    McLover Senior Member

    Better way to express it is, record label produced CD-R advance disc.
     
  13. Linus

    Linus Senior Member

    Location:
    Melb. Australia
    Actually, the Glass Master is "silvered", (metallised) as part of the process that produces the nickel stamper used for replication. A glass master is playable but it requires a VERY expensive digital analyser to do so. In no way is a glass master considered an "acetate" and it would never be used as such.

    In fact the term "CD Acetate" is complete B%#*$!T - there is no equivelent of an LP acetate in the CD manufacturing process. There is simply no need for one - Let The Buyer Beware!
     
  14. rudiger

    rudiger Well-Known Member

    Location:
    Italy
    Acetate is an improper term for the CDs: it has been coined for the vinyls and later adopted for the promotional CD-R.

    from wiki: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Promotional_recording
    "Before the advent of formats other than vinyl records, a type of promo surfaced known as an "acetate". These records were made of a cheaper and lower quality acetate vinyl. They were generally made in very low quantity and often had hand-written labels. Frequently they were only a test pressing, and thus were called "promo acetate test pressings". In modern usage the term "acetate" or "promo acetate" usually refers to a cheaply manufactured CD-R made up to efficiently promote the product with minimal expense"

    Most of them are legit but, of course, you can find a fake. However, this is a problem that affects many collectors in various fields. Only some experience helps you to avoid (mostly) scams
     
  15. ralph

    ralph Forum Resident

    Location:
    Ventura CA USA
    I think people call them acetates because there is no official term for them, and "acetate" was the term used for vinyl, therefore most folks will know what you are talking about, even if it not strictly accurate. I believe what is being referred to as CD "acetates" are in-house CD-R burnings to check out the sound, or the feel of a recording. An example of the latter would be one I have in my collection, a professional CD-R of R.E.M.'s Reveal which has a couple of extra songs, plus a couple more songs are different than the released versions. It is likely that after listening to it, the band (or somebody) decided that it didn't feel quite right, and made the changes to the finished version. How this disc wound up in an L.A. record store is another mystery.
     
  16. greelywinger

    greelywinger Osmondia Thread Starter

    Location:
    Dayton, Ohio USA
    A warning sign is when a seller has sold multiple copies of the
    same Advanced CD, and the listing doesn't change.
    A possible sign that he's got an original and is selling burnt copies?
    How about that 50% off deal?

    Darryl
     
  17. rudiger

    rudiger Well-Known Member

    Location:
    Italy
    Of course it is possible but not necessarily. I know sellers who sells dozens of promos, acetate or not, that are legit. I guess they have some kind of connection with the music industry.
     
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