Vinyl Cutting FAQ

I am not sure what to do.

If you are thinking of getting an album or single cut as a present and you're not sure what you should do then please get in touch and I'll try and make it as pain free as possible. My contact details are at the bottom of each page or use the Contact Us button to the left.

How do I get my tracks to you?

You can do this in a number of ways, either send them via WeTransfer or DropBox or something similar or I can send you a link where you can upload your tracks - please ask. Or simply put a CD in the post - always add in your ideal track sequence.

What about copyright?

With a change in the law a few years ago if you have bought a selection of songs, then you can transfer them to any format you like be it CD, vinyl, MP3 or whatever - this is called 'fair use' and is the basis of my other transfer services. 

If you want more than one copy of a song (that you don't own copyright to) then I have to pay the PRS (Performing Rights Society) so the artist gets paid. This is only £1 or so per track, so this is added to the price of the vinyl cut.

What format do you want the audio in? 

In simple terms, the highest quality possible, preferably 16bit/44.1Khz WAV or AIFF (standard CD quality) as a minimum. If you only have it in a compressed format (MP3 AAC etc.) then when you send it to me I can let you have more info on the quality you can expect from the vinyl.

Can you produce records for 45rpm & 78rpm Jukeboxes?

I have had significant success with producing both small hole and large hole 7" singles for use in Jukeboxes. You have to leave a decent amount of lead in and lead out on the cut so the automatic return function works properly. Tracks over 3min 45 seconds can be tricky to do so please get in contact and we can discuss the tracks you want doing.

I have recently cut some 10" 78RPM discs for a Wurlitzer 1100 Jukebox. It is tricky with this age of Jukebox to get the grooves correct but so far so good. I can never guarantee they will work perfectly. If your jukebox has a 33/45 size stylus then it will certainy work, but the bigger styli may be more of a challenge.

It's my own music, how should it be mastered? 

If the music is your own you probably have the original master and can remix it. If this is the case mixing for vinyl is different from digital releases, there are many articles and links as to what you should do, but in essence follow these rules:

Wild variants in level can cause issues so compress the tracks a bit to keep the levels a bit more consistant.

Don't pan too much especially the bass instruments, keep these in the middle - Kick Drum, bass guitar etc. the cutting stylus can't cope with large movements - if I think it's too much I'll advise you to re-mix it, or I can make adjustments to the cut.

Following on from this, 'harsh' instruments that start to produce square waves like rasping sax can cause problems so try and reduce these.

De-Ess the vocals, and reduce the level of high hats etc. - vinyl accentutates these frequencies - again once I listen to your track I'll advise.

In essence - I try and cut at the highest volume possible which increases the 'signal to noise ratio', what this means is that the inherent noise you get when playing vinyl becomes barely noticeable. If your track has a lot of the above problems then it can still be cut but at a lower volume.

This is also the case if you want more than 12.5 mins per side of a 12" disc, I can cut up to 20 minutes but the volume will need to come down a fair bit.

You can always leave all this to me and I can re-master your track as part of the process.

Again - any questions please let me know.

Why would anyone want a recording at 78 rpm?

Well, with the increased popularity of vinyl generally there are some record player manufacturers - STANTON to name one - who produce players that do all 3 speeds. A record cut at 78 has a significant increase in quality over the slower speeds, the basic physics means that the resolution is much higher. If you can find a 78 from the 1940's that is in pristine condition then collectors will pay significant sums as the reproduction is excellent. I have found that producing discs at 78 improves the reproduction even without having spent £££'s on a stylus and turntable.

Please CALL 07722 050539 or e-mail info@cuttinggrooves.co.uk for more information.