What are lathe cut records?

Lathe cut records are created using a diamond cutting stylus to cut microgrooves and the music into blank PVC vinyl discs in real time. Our records are cut onto PVC vinyl blanks rather than machine pressed. They are very easy on your stylus so they will not harm your high-end cartridge/needle. All cuts are done in Stereo and just like pressed vinyl you can play them over and over again!

The sound quality is similar to that of pressed vinyl records. The noise floor may be a little louder than pressed vinyl on silent/quite groves, for smaller-diameter records it's always better to choose 45rpm over 33rpm as the transcription will be a lot better.

These are handmade one-off record cuts so each record might be a little bit different, audio mastered for vinyl is best but we can cut most music that's not been mastered for vinyl.

Recording cutting times per side:

If you exceed the maximum time suggested per record side, it can affect the overall quality of the audio. This is because distortion and high frequency loss become an issue as you near the centre of the record. The longer the record, the more grooves have to be packed into the dimensions of the record, so overall longer running times will result in a quieter record, which will make the noise floor of the vinyl more apparent.

SIZE	SPEED	OPTIMUM TIME	MAXIMUM TIME*
12"	45 rpm	12 minutes	15 minutes
12"	33 rpm	17 minutes	22 minutes
10"	45 rpm	7 minutes	9 minutes
10"	33 rpm	11 minutes	15 minutes
7"	45 rpm	3 minutes	4 minutes
5"	45 rpm	2 minutes	2 minutes

*Longer times may compromise cutting levels and/or EQ.

How do I get my audio tracks to you?

You can do this in a number of ways, you can send them online using wetransfer or dropbox or something similar where you can upload your tracks and share the download link.

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, we can cut from MP3's but this is not ideal as its a very compressed format and translation to Vinyl isnt the best.

How should tracks be mastered? 

Preparing your mixes for vinyl

Audio for vinyl records do require special preparation in order to bring out the full warmth and sonic range of vinyl records. The below list provides check-points to adhere to in order to achieve the best cut and audio levels.

Wild variants in levels can cause issues so keep the track levels a bit more consistant.

Bass and low frequencies
Never supply bass in stereo, convert the low frequency instruments to mono, and roll off all frequencies below 20hz. This applies to bass lines, kick drums, synth bass and all other low frequencies. If using a stereo widener ensure this is set to above 500hz or thereabouts, again not obligatory but good practice

High frequencies
Too much overload of information in the high frequency range can lead to distortion in the cut. Instruments that can contain excessive high frequency levels include hi-hats, cymbals, tambourines, high frequency special effects and sweeps.

As a general rule any frequencies above 10khz should not be boosted in your mix. if you need more brightness or presence in a track then look at boosting frequencies in the 2.2-6.5khz range. Ensure there is a low pass filter applied to the highs so any frequencies above about 18khz are rolled off and not present in the mix. All music is different so these figures are not completely rigid, but a guide.

Sibilance
Sibilance is the sound of an over pronounced letter S, like a ‘SSSS’ sound. This can lead to unwanted distortion on the cut. Vocal tracks that have sibilance should be run through a ‘de-essing’ process before final mix-down. Sibilance exists in the 5-8khz range, but can certainly be present at even higher frequencies.

Panning
Ensure all the low frequencies are in the centre of your stereo mixes and avoid any drastic and sudden panning across the stereo plain. The sudden and drastic panning applies across the entire frequency spectrum.   That is not to say do not use panning in higher frequencies, but avoid sudden sweeps from left and right and visa versa.

we will 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 not as noticeable. If your track has a lot of the above issues then it can still be cut but at a lower volume levels.

Deliveries:

No more waiting in all day for your delivery to arrive!

Predict - One Hour Delivery Window
Interlink Express will provide you with a one hour delivery window so you don't have to wait in all day for your parcel. Here are some of the advantages:

You are given a one hour delivery window for your order..
You are notified of this by text and email.
Track your parcel within 15 minutes from your delivery time.
If not convenient you can use the text or email to deliver to a next door neighbor or change the delivery date.
Track your parcel in real time within 15 minutes away from your door on a live map.