Vinyl Cutter?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Slackmaster2K
  • Start date Start date
Slackmaster2K

Slackmaster2K

Gone
I'm sick of shiney. I hate my DAW. I hate my shitty sounding CD player. I hate that 90% of all CD players on the market sound like shit. I hate that the producers of junk digital equipment seem to have everyone fooled.

I need history. I'm from a generation of convenience. I basically missed LP's, 8 tracks, reel-to-reel tape.....I started with junky cassette tapes and have been stuck with CD's for the past 14 years.

I don't want to make a CD. 1) CDR sucks 2) my CD player sucks 3) I fucking hate jewel cases with a passion and those cardboard things can suck my ass.

Ok ok, so I'm not a retard...I HAVE to make a CD...but...

I want to experiment...get back to the old for a bit and see how things were done.

I want to learn more about making vinyl records. I think it would be interesting and kinda fun. When I was pretty young my mom and dad had a pretty extensive album collection...I can remember the way they smelled and felt and how I couldn't run in the house while music was playing or I'd scratch a disk. I also loved to clean them...I loved that shit you'd squirt out of the little red bottle and that brush thing that smelled really cool.

What I can't seem to find are resources on this topic. I think I'm mostly interested in the little 7" records...the whole punk thing I guess.

1) How are records physically made? What is the device called (I've heard many terms so far)? What kind of price range am I looking at for such a device?

2) Where the hell do you get blanks and how much do they cost?

3) What other equipment is necessary?

4) Any links to used gear of this variety?

I've been searching the net a bit and this site and have found only slim pickins (no not the actor).

Any help would be appreciated, thanks.

Slackmaster 2000
 
Off hand I can't help with any sites, but I'm glad to see a younger person take interest in the days of old. You're sort of the opposite of me when it comes to owning CD's and vinyl. I'm sure I have less than 10 CD's, but I have tons of vinyl and tape, and continue buying it at an alarming rate, as I'm sure it will become extinct in the days to come. I personally like the recorded sounds made by 80's era equipment. So full and...well, you know. If I run across any sites, I'll let you know. I'm sure Ed is lurking in the shadows here somewhere and probably has a wealth of info stashed at arms length. Oh Ed....?

BTW, hang on to or buy any of those old 8 track cartridges, as they are becoming popular again with certain groups. Like the classic car people for one. I actually have an 8 track (cartridge) recorder in mint condition.
 
is this spam?

my last band has a 7" record. am i cool now?
 
Well, Slackmaster...

...making vinyls is an art. I have never done any myself, but cutting a vinyl isn't easy. Since vinyl is an analog physical medium it has certain properties you need to have in mind when mastering and that shit. At least thats what I'm told, I haven't done any mastering myself...
You probably could fins used vinyl cutters cheap somewhere, but you'd probably be better off in getting a pro firm to do it for you, unless what you want is not a good finished product, but the diditmyself-feeling! :)

No, Kristian. 7" is out. 12" is in. :)
 
but...

but it was a couple yars ago. like 3 1/2... does that count?
 
Re: but...

kristian said:
but it was a couple yars ago. like 3 1/2... does that count?
Click to expand...
Nope, sorry, it makes it worse. That was at the height of the DJ movement, only 12" counted then. :)
 
Hey Slack...

I just remember reading in last month's EQ (I think - maybe Mix), about a mastering unit for vinyl. Which, from the impression I got was similar in concept to say the Alesis Masterlink, only with a vinyl cutter.........

If I come across it again I'll post more details for ya... seems like you're not the only one who wants to dabble with vinyl - there's enough demand that they produced a unit for it. (I think it's geared towards the DJ'ing biz though... that's ok - pitch control is a good thing!!!) ;)

Bruce Valeriani
Blue Bear Sound
 
Monty, Ed isn't as vintage as one might think :)

gibs, thanks for the links. Some of that stuff is pretty good! Better than what I was able to dig up.

Kristan, no this is not spam. I try to leave the cave in the cave.

regebro, I'm going for the DIY feeling...the "art" as one might call it.

bvaleria, I don't get Mix but I do have the last few months of EQ somewhere...I'll look there. Thanks for the tip!

Slackmaster 2000
 
spamarse

uhh.h. i was alluding to me plugging a band iwth reference to a 7" as spam. i was just being dumb. haha?
 
Slackmaster2K said:

I want to experiment...get back to the old for a bit and see how things were done.

What I can't seem to find are resources on this topic. I think I'm mostly interested in the little 7" records...the whole punk thing I guess.

1) How are records physically made? What is the device called (I've heard many terms so far)? What kind of price range am I looking at for such a device?

2) Where the hell do you get blanks and how much do they cost?

3) What other equipment is necessary?

4) Any links to used gear of this variety?

I've been searching the net a bit and this site and have found only slim pickins (no not the actor).
Any help would be appreciated, thanks.
Slackmaster 2000
Click to expand...


Well, are you refering to a Cutting Lathe, or the Stamper?

Here's how it used to work:
You made a Tape.
The Tape was then EQ'd to the RIAA standard.
This was then put through the "Cutting Lathe", which cut an ACETATE. (Essentially a Metal disc with several layers of a very soft plastic or wax on it.
A pair of Stamps (side 1 and 2) were made.
These went into a Pressing machine.Liquid Plastic(PVC, Orginally it was made from Lacquer)is poured on the Stamps, and the Stampers squeeze together pressing out a disc.

This is the way that Pro disc pressing plants do it.
Forget about "blanks"-you're thinking CDR here.

The only "Blanks" were for an Acetate-and those would only be good for a few playes before the grooves were destroyed by your needle.
The Acetate is your Back up for the stampers.

Some places do DMM (Direct to Metal Mastering) in which the entire Acetate Stage is removed-and the actual Stamper is cut from the Tape.

Does this help any?

I remember back in the early 80's seeing ads for Mastering your own Disc...They would be in the Classified/backs of Magazines like RE/P (Recording Engineer/Producer) which was an Awesome Magazine -but it had a controlled Circulation-it was available generally to Pro's only.
Also, in dB magazine...

One day my brother told me he wished that we could have bought one back then...

I've produced several 7" singles for a few Punk bands since starting in 1990, and My last project was and EP called "Beyond Rome" by my brother's punk band called Johnny Hash.
Not exactly how I wanted it to sound-but it was exactly what He was after. At least he let me get a real Drumsound, instead of that horrible "punk drumkit" sound he kept getting earlier on his recordings....

Tim
 
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