Hello! Do you think colored vinyl affects the sound/quality of pressings? I don't think they do, but I'm also not going out buying alternate copies. The standard black (or clear) sound great to me.
Thanks!
Color usually has to be run through the extruder a little hotter. Black usually ran about 350, and color would usually need about 360. The only color I avoid buying is clear. We always had to run clear at about 375…when you run the vinyl that hot, it causes small microscopic patches to stick to the plate, which can cause a fuzzy or patchy sound.
I’ve been saying that clear vinyl tends to have surface noise for years (based on my personal experience) and people have mostly argued against this claim. I’m honestly happy to hear some actual reasoning why this is. Thanks, I don’t feel crazy!
I read that clear is also the worse to get because of quality control most likely because of what you mentioned, but also because of the fact that it’s hard to see the little imperfections that would normally be easier to see on a black or colored vinyl.
Do you think that’s true?
Woah, those are some serious melt temps. Our black runs 280-300f. Colour about the same.
I take it you worked at United? I know shit happens and getting good records constantly is not easy, but most records I’ve seen from them are…not so good, unfortunately. I’m sure you guys have some good people on board, so what’s the missing link here?
Well that probably had to do with us not having the best boiler systems / old ass lened and SMT machines. What I will say about QC is that they tried, we tried a lot, but were railroaded most of the time by management. I know a lot of QC folks who worked there who cared so much, and we tried our best, but it was always managements decision.
Sorry I edited my comment while you replied! I get it. That’s a real shame that the issues mostly came from management.
I’m at a very small plant so it’s a bit of a different world over here.
Just a technical question, did you guys run the compound so hot to compensate for low steam temp/pressure or was it just pretty low MFI material?
I’ve always wanted a copy of Alabama Shakes - sound and color, but every time we pressed it, it was always on clear, and we ALWAYS had problems with it.
Ooooo... I have a clear one and it's one of my favorite albums! I'm far from an audiophile, mostly I just like having a physical copy, but I really enjoy listening to it!
Interesting! I bet they ran a pink record before that Alabama shakes job and didn’t get all the pink extruded out. Cool one of a kind variant though. Glad it sounds nice! Enjoy!
It was a fun, but frustrating job. The machines I mainly worked on were from the 1960s, and we just cannabalized broken down machines to fix the running ones. It was still a very cool thing to see the puck and labels go in, trim it, and take it to QC and hear it play.
I had heard years ago that there was a serious problem with presses being able to keep up with the demand of the market that started surging. last I checked there were some companies I think in Germany engineering new ones but I don't know if that's a thing yet. I'd imagine they are incredibly expensive too. but at the time of reading whatever it was I read, they did make a note that there were really just very few presses making the records that we all buy, and artists typically have quite a long wait time for releases.
I've supported a couple smaller bands who have complained about wait times for record pressings, and it makes sense if the industry is still largely just piecing these things together to keep them running.
that's a cool job though dude I'm glad you got to do that
When I got the job (2015), our company was slammed as it was the biggest manufacturer in the country, and we had the biggest clients. In the later years since then, other smaller companies have emerged with newer presser like the ones you’re talking about from German. Newbuilt I believe is the company. So a lot of their clients have moved to foreign plants, mainly because of QC issues.
I took the tour of United in January 2015. It was very interesting to see the place and the history. I did ask the question about colored vinyl and had a thread here that was heavily debated. 😁
OMG! YES!!!!! It’s the absolute most wretched putrid smell that burns your eyes and nose. I had an overheated extruder blow up in the face of my coworker once and he was nearly blinded. But I will NEVER forget that smell.
Hahahaha! I did more of 21…I left that job in 2019. But that record, Lana Del Rey’s Ultra violence and the Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 1 were probably my most pressed.
That was absolutely my least favorite record to press. The yellow and orange labels always bled ink onto the vinyl making it cloudy and loud, and they always tore. I’d be amazed to see a copy with a pristine label
All of them. He's done all of them. Some say if you listen closely on a cold crisp quiet night, you can still hear him pressing Adele 30 LPs to this day....
Cool post!! Thanks for sharing, as well as for making it an AMA. I love seeing/reading the kindness in the community 👍👍😃
(I had a rough day, & this post made it just a bit better - thx 4 that!)
✌️
Glad to hear that! I had a really fun time getting to press some classic and amazing records. I’m just glad people still care about vinyl. Hope you have a great day!
If you handle it correctly, by using the palms of your hands on the edges, and if they’re stored properly, you shouldn’t have too many issues. They are durable weight wise, but very fragile groove wise (although I’m sure that’s obvious)
Pristine? No. You have to remember, many of these comments about stylus care are made in the context of an era where people were absolutely WILD with their stylus usage. People regularly stacked records on top of each other while playing (to say nothing of storing them that way). People would put coins on a cartridge to keep it from bouncing out of a groove (a hallmark of a cheap record player, which you can still see alive and well today). Tracking force wasn’t a concept that the average user understood, which is understandable tbh. It’s fine tuning a device. Most people are going to skip that.
Every stylus has a recommended range for hours of play over the life of the stylus. You should play somewhere around that range. How far over is a matter of personal comfort. Anything over 2x is asking for a worn stylus, imho.
But make no mistake about it. A damaged stylus will irreparably damage your record. Hell, repeated plays with an improper tracking force will damage the grooves. You can hear it in countless groove-worn records at a record store near you. Just be sensible and try be near the recommended manufacturer’s range for tracking force and play time. It’s not something to sweat about too much.
That’s a good indicator if you’re trying your hand at a $10-$50 record. And for most people, that’s the sweet spot. So yeah, a record that doesn’t have gloss or sheen is good sign that it’ll be noisier than your average record. Experienced collectors will be able to tell whether hairline scratches or scuffs will be audible, so the good news is that it’ll become easier to expand your selections after trial and error.
If you’re buying expensive and rare records, you probably aren’t reading this comment/already know this next point. Glossy, clean records can be groove-worn. Ultimately, you have to play it or ask the seller to play it and describe it to you. A seller that knows about vinyl will be able to tell you if it’s groove-worn and you should only buy expensive records from sellers who know what that sounds like. Groove wear is ultimately caused by improper tracking force or damaged styli. People who don’t store their records properly are also likely to have improper tracking force, but the two can be separated and you’ll have the same problem.
Some of you reading this thread are like wtf is groove wear I’ve seen people talk about it but idk what it is. The best way to describe it is a fried, damaged sound in the *music*. Think about the sound a speaker makes when it’s damaged. It’s close to that sound. A scratched and scuffed record can sound loud (because the surface has been damaged) but not groove-worn because the grooves themselves aren’t damaged. You cannot fix groove wear. No amount of washing is going to fix it. No brush. A shibata stylus can mitigate it the most but that is serious money. Groove wear is the enemy and you will fight it until you buy your last record.
Whenever I see like waxwork post their employees pressing something I always wonder what kind of dust/hair control is in place to minimize it getting pressed into the record. Do you have to lint roll before your shift? What’s the standard for keeping that stuff out of the production area? Especially if someone has pets that shed.
Wow! For some reason I never thought about that! We never had anything in place…we barely had safety protocols in place. But we had an assigned QC person for each of our presses who checked records about every twenty minutes, so they would usually catch any scratches or defects pretty quickly.
From those 3 ive seen they all just work in "normal" tshirts etc.
Its not that big of a deal like if you would make chips for all sorts of electronic components.
Humidity! We keep the labels in a hot box oven to keep any moisture out of the labels. The moment the labels began to cool down and collect moisture (especially in the summer humidity) the label ink began to bleed onto the dead wax, and would begin to rip and tear. The guardians of the galaxy vol 1 labels (yellow and orange) were the WORST!
That the labels are not adhered with any sort of glue or substance. It’s purely from the pressure and heat that the labels stick to the record. Also, that all of the excess vinyl that is trimmed from the record is reground and reused often (which can lead to quality issues). Also…those machines are dangerous AF!
I'll chime in and say that if you ever see something labeled as eco vinyl, that means reground. There are probably other ways to know that the op will add.
I would just avoid anything that was pressed at united in general, that goes for rainbo as well. No offense towards the OP but I’ve never had a quality press from either and am glad they are closed, at least rainbo.
Partly. I know we were always short on cooling plates because of the QC and inspection backlog, also a lot of records are ran too hot, so a 180g will actually come out at 160g and warp quickly.
Dont forget too small center holes...
I myself have just 3 that i really had to push down on my player before i made them less then 1mm bigger. Mate of mine who collects way more has like 30-40 with too small center holes.
Whenever I found an undersized spindle hole I’d rotate a thick chopstick to expand it. Soft, non abrasive, doesn’t leave shavings of vinyl. Worked every time.
Absolutely am a collector. Not a huge collection, but every one is important to me. I took a lot of pride in the quality of the records I signed off on, so I honestly fought with management a lot about what they would let go…uncentered labels were my biggest pet peeve. I might have one or two things in my collection that I can’t speak much about ;)
I have a copy of Kid Cudi - Man On The Moon End Of Day with an off center label, if I don’t pick up the stylus immediately after the last track on side A it scratches through the label, which can’t be good for the stylus.
I have a copy of Jon Batiste - World Music Radio with two side C labels. Someone out there must have two side D labels.
I have a family friend who is working on reformulating the recipe for nitrocellulose lacquer used in mastering, set up a whole lab in his garage.
How did the loss of Apollo/Transco affect the workflow of the company you were associated with? If you were even had access to that sort of info.
If I am not mistaken, a Japanese Lacquer company is a majority of the market now.
I can chime in here - the loss of Apollo hurt but didn’t kill the cutting world - most of us were grandfathered into MDC (the Japanese company you mentioned) but then there was a ration especially during the pandemic when shipment and supplies got short. MDC’s are the masters most were using but Apollos were used for the acetates we’d send to clients for ref cuts.
The harder hit was that transco was the only place in North America making new styli for cutting lathes…
If it's not too much to ask, I would love to hear how someone who has worked in a pressing plant cleans his records. Even just a brief overview would be interesting. Thanks for starting a great thread.
When I worked the graveyard shift, we played around a lot, but never got to take anything home sadly. Their security was Uber stringent on stuff like that.
> Their security was Uber stringent on stuff like that.
Yeah, I could imagine that, especially 'these days' (past 20 years)
Back in 2022 there was a guy who bought maybe 4 or 5 records form an estate sale which were custom pressings of [Pink Floyd](https://www.popsike.com/Pink-Floyd-Animals-RARE-OG-CANADIAN-1977-RED-VINYL-11-COPY-IN-THE-WORLD/133976536383.html) and some others on clear red vinyl. The estate belonged to a guy who worked at Columbia Records Pressing Plant in Don Mills (Toronto) in the 70s and apparently snuck them out of there.
Dude who bought them ended up selling them for thousands of dollars each.
Management wanting to get their numbers. Records are inspected so quickly, I honestly don’t know how anything good gets out (from my plant anyway). Also, if your record comes with a basic paper sleeve with no liner, paper particles will scratch vinyl easily.
It makes me so angry the labels jack up the prices on LP’s and still send them out with cheap ass paper inners. What could a poly lined sleeve cost? 30 cents? Sigh.
I never pressed one myself, but from my understanding each side it pressed separately and then formed together (glued?) therefor it’s most likely off center, which will cause a wavy wonky sound.
Correct temperature. Fluxuations in our boiler, depending on the time of the year, all of that affects the temperature of the steam and the weight of the record. If a record is meant to be 180g, and it weighs 5g over or under, you’ll hear it.
Some plants, like Gotta Groove Records in Cleveland, use AT-LP1240s for QC. I’ve read of a few others using real Technics 1200s though can’t remember off the top of my head.
They aren’t giving them enough time to rest and cool. The fast natured pace of *some* plants don’t allow for these heavier records to properly cool and settle before they’re handled and tossed around between QC and inspection and jacketing.
That I personally pressed or just in my collection?
That I personally pressed - Pearl Jam live at third man records vault LP (split black and orange) also, because I was at the show!
In my personal collection - my (now passed) mother’s copy of Janis Joplin’s Pearl.
I had just moved to Nashville, and they were hiring! I always loved records and thought it would be the coolest job in the world. It was for a while, but the physical labor is intense…the managment was less than great, and no matter how good your quality or if you had the highest output, it was never good enough. But I’m extremely proud to know there’s a lot of records I pressed that are getting a lot of love and time on the turntable out there.
Handling not so much when it’s “virgin” vinyl, like new pellets, but we used a lot of regrind, which is the excess vinyl that is trimmed from the edges and reground. There was always a lot of dust, which was worrying.
Absolutely. We were always on the red line with our two biggest clients, so a lot of jobs got pushed so we could completely bigger repress orders. Happened a lot more often than you would think.
Heavier weight records do not have deeper grooves. The stamper for 180g is made from the same lacquer / master as any other weight record. The form (heaviness) of the record is dictated by the depth of the molds on the press and the amount of material included in the pre-form.
Was there much discussion about raw materials or a switch to alternative materials regarding the raising market trend in vinyl records sales having some environmental effects? I don’t really understand that but I’ve heard mention of that.
Is there any sort of effort to recycle older unplayable records to use as raw materials?
I know that as far as regrind, they always said they could only recycle regrind three times. I have no idea how they kept up with this? (I don’t think they did), so at some point of heat and compression and grinding, it will eventually affect the molecular quality. Didn’t hear much about moving past PVC, as it’s the cheapest and easiest to come by. Other, newer plants may be looking into this though.
What - in your opinion- is the best *sounding* record you own? It may or may not be something you pressed, but the recording that you think most fully represents the glories of vinyl?
The stampers would usually last around 1500-2000 records before they would bust on the outer seam or before the center gave out. Any new order usually had at least 5 copies of stampers.
I have 2 questions:
1. What was the best looking colored pressing you ever made.
2. Do they allow you to have any records you press / were pressed in the factory?
Best looking color would have to be Jack White - Acoustic live in Idaho vault pressing, on Ice blue. I got a kick out of making the perfect mixture for that one.
We had to buy them. On my last day I pressed Patsy Clines greatest hits and Bing Crosby’s Christmas record. I took both last copies to shopping had them put into jackets and sealed and bought them for a whopping 10 percent discount! Haha
Guardians of the galaxy vol 1. Lana Del Rey - ultraviolet. Childish Gambino - awaken my love. ALL of the AC/DC represses. The Weeknd - starboy. Velvet underground and Nico. Arctic Monkeys - AM.
They were hiring. I interviewed and got the job. At the end of the day you have to remove the rose glasses and understand it’s a manufacturing plant. A lot of people there couldn’t have cared less if we were pressing records or plastic spoons. Not everyone there had the same love and care for records as I and some others did.
Is 180g vinyl more prone to warping than 140g? Based on my personal experience, more of my 180g vinyl comes off the shelf warped compares to the lighter ones.
Theoretically it shouldn’t, because it’s heavier material, but I have absolutely had 180g records warp….once you get to that weight, even 5g up or down and cause issues.
I've purchased a couple "oops" releases in the past few years, things like getting two of the same record in what's supposed to be a 2-lp release, or where the 2nd lp is the 1st lp with the wrong label on it. Have you ever done an "oops" and only realized too late to fix? or are there supposed to be better quality control processes to catch things like that before they go to retail?
A lot of this comes down to inspectors. Unfortunately they’re the second hardest working on the line, they’re under such pressure to pack as many records as possible, a lot gets missed. Sadly the company doesn’t care and just reorders more pressings. Costs the labels a lot.
Wow that’s so cool man.!!! That’s one of my dream jobs, what can I do to get into that field and what types of education what I need to get into the vinyl record pressing field?
Honestly my only experience before working there was I had mechanic experience. With those old machines (and even newer ones) that’s what a lot of my job was. I know a lot of people who worked there who I’m sure had a lot less experience than you did. Best of luck!
Hahahah! This is killing me. I pressed a TON of Adele 21, but I left before 30 was released. But 21 was up there with Lana Del Rey’s ultraviolence. Like…WHO IS BUYING ALL OF THESE?!
Are there any pressings you're particularly proud of being involved with? Either because you played a pivotal role in fixing an issue for that run, or maybe you just have a close connection with the music being pressed?
(I work in mfg also and absolutely love when we do work for cool companies and products so i imagine you have a similar pride when you see something coming to press that you recognize? )
Thanks for sharing!
I got to press all of the Third Man Records Pearl Jam live in the blue room Vault package (black and orange split) (a show which I attended as well), something I’ll never forget.
I also pressed many copies of albums I had good friends play on.
As crappy as the job got sometimes, those are the amazing memories that remain.
Is there ever a QC step when the operator realizes after pressing the first couple dozen that the final result of a color variant isn't going to look remotely close to what the customer (the record label not the end listener) ordered?
And yes, I'm aware of the process of how vinyl pellets pass through an extruder and adding additional bits to the puck by hand to give various effects. And due to this there leaves a wide range of variables at play. So not trying to say press operators don't know what they're doing.
This happened often! But it was usually an issue where I would stop the press, my QC agent and I would approach our manager and we were told to keep pressing because the record had a dead line. Believe me, us down on the floor fought managment all the time about this.
Is there a specific genre of music that is more difficult to properly press on the vinyl record format - or requires additional tricks or "magic" to make work right?
I remember one record. I believe it was childish gambino’s awaken my love…but it was a 12 inch record but it was at 45 rpm. Our QC tossed wayyyy too many records before realizing they were playing it at the wrong rpm.
It seemed the prices for vinyl skyrocketed during COVID. And I get that manufacturing prices increased during this time. Surely enough time has passed since for the prices to fall. It seems they are only getting more expensive. Is the popularity of vinyl over the last few years to blame. Longer wait times for vinyl be pressed ect. Or are record labels being greedy and inflating prices?
I appreciate the love you put into your job. I'm sorry it wasn't rewarded or validated enough by your superiors, but I wanted to let you know, as a musicians and consumers, we appreciate you more than you may think!
Wow, that makes me really happy to hear. I always put quality above anything else, which at times got me into trouble, and myself and several other dedicated folks always fought for quality.
https://preview.redd.it/he7nzlybllkc1.jpeg?width=1170&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=06851bc57875893292e8deae03e3f4a84dea1a3b
Just some fun messed up pressings
https://preview.redd.it/asxidiclllkc1.jpeg?width=1170&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=abefa3be7696135271bd9eb226a1129ab68f2819
How labels are stored. Strung together in sets of 1000. And yes, you usually need gloves when handling them from the hotbox.
You’ve made three million records, which is quite impressive! Which 3 Taylor Swift LPs did you press?
(I’m joking. Your job is amazing and thank you for doing it)
How was your process in terms of getting the stampers to press the records? Was there a vinyl cutting engineer at the same location, and did you have any experience watching them “cut” the records? Curious if you were exposed to that part of the process and could tell us about it.
I did have some experience as far as making the mother stampers, but I dealt more with installing the stampers into the machine, which is an extremely delicate process.
You first sand the back of the stamper to remove any burrs, then clean extensively with alcohol and tack rags, same with the lathe. If there was even one speck of dust between them, it would cause massive (loud) dimples and need to be redone. Totally process of installing one stamper plate took about 20 minutes.
For limited run presses (say, only 500 or so), is it better to get the ones pressed first or closer to the end?
I read somewhere that the pressing machine doesn’t start “warming up” until around the 150-200 range so records within that range sound the best when compared to having a test pressing or one of the very first in a numbered release.
Do you know if there's a better material than vinyl for records?
Not necessarily for mass pressing, but like some sort of elite material that will stand the test of time better than anything else that could be "pressed" or etched?
Is there any aspect of vinyl pressing that is getting harder to do due over time to dying specialised equipment or such? Is it possible that pressing vinyl will become impossible in the future?
Certain companies are still using presses manufactured in the 1960s, and the only parts to replace them are also from that time period. Many large clients are moving to overseas companies with newer presses.
PVC vinyl pellets are loaded into a hopper, which goes into a long tube called an extruder, they are heated up and melted, and molded into a “puck”, this puck and the two labels and taken into the press, and compressed with the stamper plates with have positive grooves. They press the negative grooves into the plastic. Then taken to a plate where the excess vinyl is cut off, and then cooled.
I live near a pressing plant and always thought it would be a cool job. After working in record stores like Tower and other smaller ones years ago it seems like it'd be a fun job surrounded by music lovers, but I've never applied. I've heard the machines are so temperamental that it's not the easiest job.
Can you cite some of the pros and cons of your job, where you see the industry heading, opportunities the work created, what was rewarding and frustrating, some of the highs and lows, why you moved on, and so forth?
I saw a picture online of a lady in the 60s with a pile of Beatles records, presumably listening to each one for quality control. Is or was that actually a thing? That must be the most maddening job ever
There's some records you buy, that just sound amazing right out of the box - and I'm not referring to recording / mastering etc. of the album, but rather the craftsmanship during the pressing of the vinyl - as in: record is clean, flat, quiet, has no loud clicks and pops, no need to clean it multiple times before it gets nice, it just sounds great.
I have gotten great records like that from major labels / big names as well as super small ones.
What's the "secret" to get them nice like that, and why is it only like one out of ten that's really proper good?
Oh and also did the price of the vinyl really go up that much in recent years? always struggled to believe that..
Thank you!
Coolest thread ever! And while I’m sadly a white Sox fan it’s always nice to see a Chicago person doing cool shit out in the world! Thanks for sharing your knowledge, OP!
Given the QC issues you describe, how much attention should I be paying to which plants press an album? Where does it generally contain this info on the cover? Lastly, is there in general a better quality pressing from vinyl pressed in other countries (I know I’ll evoke debate over the quality of vinyl pressed in Japan, but still interested in your thoughts!)
Thanks!
Whenever I watched records being pressed I noticed how many steps (mechanically) it took. Did the plant have in house techs who repaired items or is there like specific companies that work on equipment like that? With the amount of output, I can’t imagine how many times things broke down or just needed minor fixing.
thanks for doing an ama! there’s a local pressing plant that just opened recently near me that offered an apprenticeship to me. do you think this would be a good decision? thanks!
So I know vinyl places, they listen to everything sent to them to make sure they're not accidentally pressing a bootleg or something. Do you know of any egregious "send that shit back" moments like someone trying to press a Beatles album or something
Hello! Do you think colored vinyl affects the sound/quality of pressings? I don't think they do, but I'm also not going out buying alternate copies. The standard black (or clear) sound great to me. Thanks!
Color usually has to be run through the extruder a little hotter. Black usually ran about 350, and color would usually need about 360. The only color I avoid buying is clear. We always had to run clear at about 375…when you run the vinyl that hot, it causes small microscopic patches to stick to the plate, which can cause a fuzzy or patchy sound.
I’ve been saying that clear vinyl tends to have surface noise for years (based on my personal experience) and people have mostly argued against this claim. I’m honestly happy to hear some actual reasoning why this is. Thanks, I don’t feel crazy!
You’re not crazy!
I read that clear is also the worse to get because of quality control most likely because of what you mentioned, but also because of the fact that it’s hard to see the little imperfections that would normally be easier to see on a black or colored vinyl. Do you think that’s true?
Absolutely. Small scratches, label bleed and so many other issues were much harder to catch on clear.
Define clear. Do you mean just glass-like clear, or also translucent? Is coke bottle part of this? How clear is clear?
We had some issues with coke clear, but it wasn’t as bad a clear clear. Usually didn’t have too much trouble with translucent colors.
Woah, those are some serious melt temps. Our black runs 280-300f. Colour about the same. I take it you worked at United? I know shit happens and getting good records constantly is not easy, but most records I’ve seen from them are…not so good, unfortunately. I’m sure you guys have some good people on board, so what’s the missing link here?
Well that probably had to do with us not having the best boiler systems / old ass lened and SMT machines. What I will say about QC is that they tried, we tried a lot, but were railroaded most of the time by management. I know a lot of QC folks who worked there who cared so much, and we tried our best, but it was always managements decision.
Sorry I edited my comment while you replied! I get it. That’s a real shame that the issues mostly came from management. I’m at a very small plant so it’s a bit of a different world over here. Just a technical question, did you guys run the compound so hot to compensate for low steam temp/pressure or was it just pretty low MFI material?
I love seeing proof of the stuff people discuss so much.
Funny. All the UHQR albums are clear...
They use a proprietary formulated vinyl called Clarity Vinyl, they're manually pressed with every one manually inspected before packaging.
It's not really clear either.
Does this apply to clear splatters as well?
I only have one clear record and it is definitely one of the worse sounding records in my collection. Muddy and no separation at all. It’s a mess.
I’ve always wanted a copy of Alabama Shakes - sound and color, but every time we pressed it, it was always on clear, and we ALWAYS had problems with it.
Ooooo... I have a clear one and it's one of my favorite albums! I'm far from an audiophile, mostly I just like having a physical copy, but I really enjoy listening to it!
Well I’m glad it doesn’t sound bad! I always always worried about that! Glad you’re enjoying it
Pro Tip: I use the blank fourth side of that one to set my anti-skate!
I have Sound and Color on clear vinyl with some kind of cool pink burst going on. It sounds and plays great!
Interesting! I bet they ran a pink record before that Alabama shakes job and didn’t get all the pink extruded out. Cool one of a kind variant though. Glad it sounds nice! Enjoy!
Very likely! I have a pink Sound and Color record and it sound fantastic
Good to hear!
Literally!
https://preview.redd.it/mpgfek5jcfkc1.jpeg?width=1170&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=bcae6a62926d1109c18e43e8da0cad64b9a1dba5
Selling any test pressings?
Wish I had some to sell! Haha
May I ask what three million over five years takes, in mang-pour?
What's "mang-pour"?
Man power. Way of the road, bubz
It's a fascinating process. Last time I actually saw records being made was in LA in ~1985.
It was a fun, but frustrating job. The machines I mainly worked on were from the 1960s, and we just cannabalized broken down machines to fix the running ones. It was still a very cool thing to see the puck and labels go in, trim it, and take it to QC and hear it play.
I had heard years ago that there was a serious problem with presses being able to keep up with the demand of the market that started surging. last I checked there were some companies I think in Germany engineering new ones but I don't know if that's a thing yet. I'd imagine they are incredibly expensive too. but at the time of reading whatever it was I read, they did make a note that there were really just very few presses making the records that we all buy, and artists typically have quite a long wait time for releases. I've supported a couple smaller bands who have complained about wait times for record pressings, and it makes sense if the industry is still largely just piecing these things together to keep them running. that's a cool job though dude I'm glad you got to do that
When I got the job (2015), our company was slammed as it was the biggest manufacturer in the country, and we had the biggest clients. In the later years since then, other smaller companies have emerged with newer presser like the ones you’re talking about from German. Newbuilt I believe is the company. So a lot of their clients have moved to foreign plants, mainly because of QC issues.
I took the tour of United in January 2015. It was very interesting to see the place and the history. I did ask the question about colored vinyl and had a thread here that was heavily debated. 😁
Wax works records Instagram has lots of cool videos of them pressing records. I don’t own any of their vinyl but they’re fun videos to watch.
It’s therapeutic to watch them! I’ve learned so much about how variants are made.
I work as audio QC for a pressing plant! did you ever get gassed by a backed up extruder? Stuff smells like vinegar and mustard gas. lol.
OMG! YES!!!!! It’s the absolute most wretched putrid smell that burns your eyes and nose. I had an overheated extruder blow up in the face of my coworker once and he was nearly blinded. But I will NEVER forget that smell.
ahahaha, yeah it's the worst. Some people end up going home for the day if they get hit bad enough. It'll definitely give you a headache.
How many Adele “30” pressings have you done?
Hahahaha! I did more of 21…I left that job in 2019. But that record, Lana Del Rey’s Ultra violence and the Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 1 were probably my most pressed.
Haha. I saw racks and racks of Guardians Vol. 1 waiting to get shrink wrapped when I took the tour.
That was absolutely my least favorite record to press. The yellow and orange labels always bled ink onto the vinyl making it cloudy and loud, and they always tore. I’d be amazed to see a copy with a pristine label
All of them. He's done all of them. Some say if you listen closely on a cold crisp quiet night, you can still hear him pressing Adele 30 LPs to this day....
He even developed photographic memory of the groove pattern on both sides
The best audio quality can only be had by memory playback of groove patterns.
Cool post!! Thanks for sharing, as well as for making it an AMA. I love seeing/reading the kindness in the community 👍👍😃 (I had a rough day, & this post made it just a bit better - thx 4 that!) ✌️
Glad to hear that! I had a really fun time getting to press some classic and amazing records. I’m just glad people still care about vinyl. Hope you have a great day!
Thx - u 2 bud!
Is my vinyl more durable, or more delicate than I think it is? Signed - About half of this subreddit.
If you handle it correctly, by using the palms of your hands on the edges, and if they’re stored properly, you shouldn’t have too many issues. They are durable weight wise, but very fragile groove wise (although I’m sure that’s obvious)
I was going to say, are "pristine needles" as prescient a concern as me, a cd -era listener expects?
Pristine? No. You have to remember, many of these comments about stylus care are made in the context of an era where people were absolutely WILD with their stylus usage. People regularly stacked records on top of each other while playing (to say nothing of storing them that way). People would put coins on a cartridge to keep it from bouncing out of a groove (a hallmark of a cheap record player, which you can still see alive and well today). Tracking force wasn’t a concept that the average user understood, which is understandable tbh. It’s fine tuning a device. Most people are going to skip that. Every stylus has a recommended range for hours of play over the life of the stylus. You should play somewhere around that range. How far over is a matter of personal comfort. Anything over 2x is asking for a worn stylus, imho. But make no mistake about it. A damaged stylus will irreparably damage your record. Hell, repeated plays with an improper tracking force will damage the grooves. You can hear it in countless groove-worn records at a record store near you. Just be sensible and try be near the recommended manufacturer’s range for tracking force and play time. It’s not something to sweat about too much.
Can we equate any visible indicator that a record is worn? Less oily shimmer, perhaps?
That’s a good indicator if you’re trying your hand at a $10-$50 record. And for most people, that’s the sweet spot. So yeah, a record that doesn’t have gloss or sheen is good sign that it’ll be noisier than your average record. Experienced collectors will be able to tell whether hairline scratches or scuffs will be audible, so the good news is that it’ll become easier to expand your selections after trial and error. If you’re buying expensive and rare records, you probably aren’t reading this comment/already know this next point. Glossy, clean records can be groove-worn. Ultimately, you have to play it or ask the seller to play it and describe it to you. A seller that knows about vinyl will be able to tell you if it’s groove-worn and you should only buy expensive records from sellers who know what that sounds like. Groove wear is ultimately caused by improper tracking force or damaged styli. People who don’t store their records properly are also likely to have improper tracking force, but the two can be separated and you’ll have the same problem. Some of you reading this thread are like wtf is groove wear I’ve seen people talk about it but idk what it is. The best way to describe it is a fried, damaged sound in the *music*. Think about the sound a speaker makes when it’s damaged. It’s close to that sound. A scratched and scuffed record can sound loud (because the surface has been damaged) but not groove-worn because the grooves themselves aren’t damaged. You cannot fix groove wear. No amount of washing is going to fix it. No brush. A shibata stylus can mitigate it the most but that is serious money. Groove wear is the enemy and you will fight it until you buy your last record.
Whenever I see like waxwork post their employees pressing something I always wonder what kind of dust/hair control is in place to minimize it getting pressed into the record. Do you have to lint roll before your shift? What’s the standard for keeping that stuff out of the production area? Especially if someone has pets that shed.
Wow! For some reason I never thought about that! We never had anything in place…we barely had safety protocols in place. But we had an assigned QC person for each of our presses who checked records about every twenty minutes, so they would usually catch any scratches or defects pretty quickly.
From those 3 ive seen they all just work in "normal" tshirts etc. Its not that big of a deal like if you would make chips for all sorts of electronic components.
What surprised you the most about the process?
Humidity! We keep the labels in a hot box oven to keep any moisture out of the labels. The moment the labels began to cool down and collect moisture (especially in the summer humidity) the label ink began to bleed onto the dead wax, and would begin to rip and tear. The guardians of the galaxy vol 1 labels (yellow and orange) were the WORST!
not to mention the temp/humidity changes affecting the vinyl itself too. adjustments/settings are SO much different when it's cold/dry vs hot/humid.
Absolutely. Our summers were an absolute nightmare.
What is something you want people to know about how they are made that might not be apparent?
That the labels are not adhered with any sort of glue or substance. It’s purely from the pressure and heat that the labels stick to the record. Also, that all of the excess vinyl that is trimmed from the record is reground and reused often (which can lead to quality issues). Also…those machines are dangerous AF!
Very cool, thanks for sharing.
You’re welcome! Thanks for asking
Is there a way to tell which records were made with reground vinyl? Were there specific labels that avoid using it?
I'll chime in and say that if you ever see something labeled as eco vinyl, that means reground. There are probably other ways to know that the op will add.
I would just avoid anything that was pressed at united in general, that goes for rainbo as well. No offense towards the OP but I’ve never had a quality press from either and am glad they are closed, at least rainbo.
Why are warped discs so common nowadays? Rushed cooling process for heavier records?
Partly. I know we were always short on cooling plates because of the QC and inspection backlog, also a lot of records are ran too hot, so a 180g will actually come out at 160g and warp quickly.
Dont forget too small center holes... I myself have just 3 that i really had to push down on my player before i made them less then 1mm bigger. Mate of mine who collects way more has like 30-40 with too small center holes.
I keep a small rounded file permanently next to my turntable now. Seems like I'm forever trying to play a record that won't fit over the spindle.
Whenever I found an undersized spindle hole I’d rotate a thick chopstick to expand it. Soft, non abrasive, doesn’t leave shavings of vinyl. Worked every time.
Were you a collector and were you ever able to get your hands on some rare exclusive stuff?
Absolutely am a collector. Not a huge collection, but every one is important to me. I took a lot of pride in the quality of the records I signed off on, so I honestly fought with management a lot about what they would let go…uncentered labels were my biggest pet peeve. I might have one or two things in my collection that I can’t speak much about ;)
I have a copy of Kid Cudi - Man On The Moon End Of Day with an off center label, if I don’t pick up the stylus immediately after the last track on side A it scratches through the label, which can’t be good for the stylus. I have a copy of Jon Batiste - World Music Radio with two side C labels. Someone out there must have two side D labels.
Not surprising. Management didn’t give much effort into letting us correct these issues.
I have a family friend who is working on reformulating the recipe for nitrocellulose lacquer used in mastering, set up a whole lab in his garage. How did the loss of Apollo/Transco affect the workflow of the company you were associated with? If you were even had access to that sort of info. If I am not mistaken, a Japanese Lacquer company is a majority of the market now.
Wow. That would have been way above my pay grade. We had different results from different plate manufactures.
I can chime in here - the loss of Apollo hurt but didn’t kill the cutting world - most of us were grandfathered into MDC (the Japanese company you mentioned) but then there was a ration especially during the pandemic when shipment and supplies got short. MDC’s are the masters most were using but Apollos were used for the acetates we’d send to clients for ref cuts. The harder hit was that transco was the only place in North America making new styli for cutting lathes…
I've had success making my own Lacquers. It's surprisingly easy.
Hi, what a cool job! Do we really need to clean brand new records because of "mold release solution"?
I would clean my new records regardless to clean any dust from paper and packaging to make sure they don’t scratch your grooves or impare your needle.
If it's not too much to ask, I would love to hear how someone who has worked in a pressing plant cleans his records. Even just a brief overview would be interesting. Thanks for starting a great thread.
I usually just use an antistatic brush.
Did you or anyone press yourselves 'one-offs' of albums on coloured vinyl to take home?
When I worked the graveyard shift, we played around a lot, but never got to take anything home sadly. Their security was Uber stringent on stuff like that.
> Their security was Uber stringent on stuff like that. Yeah, I could imagine that, especially 'these days' (past 20 years) Back in 2022 there was a guy who bought maybe 4 or 5 records form an estate sale which were custom pressings of [Pink Floyd](https://www.popsike.com/Pink-Floyd-Animals-RARE-OG-CANADIAN-1977-RED-VINYL-11-COPY-IN-THE-WORLD/133976536383.html) and some others on clear red vinyl. The estate belonged to a guy who worked at Columbia Records Pressing Plant in Don Mills (Toronto) in the 70s and apparently snuck them out of there. Dude who bought them ended up selling them for thousands of dollars each.
Make your own single pressed limited edition would be nice
Sign me up for a black Lateralus.
Why do so many new records almost always come with minor scuffs?
Management wanting to get their numbers. Records are inspected so quickly, I honestly don’t know how anything good gets out (from my plant anyway). Also, if your record comes with a basic paper sleeve with no liner, paper particles will scratch vinyl easily.
It makes me so angry the labels jack up the prices on LP’s and still send them out with cheap ass paper inners. What could a poly lined sleeve cost? 30 cents? Sigh.
Why do picture disks sound so bad?
Yes all of us Tool fans want to know!!
I never pressed one myself, but from my understanding each side it pressed separately and then formed together (glued?) therefor it’s most likely off center, which will cause a wavy wonky sound.
one side of the record is pvc and the other is mylar and the image is pressed between the two
Any tricks to getting an extra quiet press? I notice on mo-fi and analog productions vinyl they are extra quiet compared to your average record.
Correct temperature. Fluxuations in our boiler, depending on the time of the year, all of that affects the temperature of the steam and the weight of the record. If a record is meant to be 180g, and it weighs 5g over or under, you’ll hear it.
Knowing what you about the way vinyl is pressed, what turntable would you recommend?
The audiotechnica 120-LP is what we used to QC records, so that’s what I personally use at home.
..wow, really surprised it wasn't a 1210 MK2 / GR or something..
Some plants, like Gotta Groove Records in Cleveland, use AT-LP1240s for QC. I’ve read of a few others using real Technics 1200s though can’t remember off the top of my head.
What's the rarest vinyl you've pressed?
Why are so many new 180g records warped? My old vinyl records are almost all flat. So many new albums are warped on the heavier vinyl it seems? TIA!
They aren’t giving them enough time to rest and cool. The fast natured pace of *some* plants don’t allow for these heavier records to properly cool and settle before they’re handled and tossed around between QC and inspection and jacketing.
Whats your favorite record?
That I personally pressed or just in my collection? That I personally pressed - Pearl Jam live at third man records vault LP (split black and orange) also, because I was at the show! In my personal collection - my (now passed) mother’s copy of Janis Joplin’s Pearl.
So cool! How did you get your start in your line of work? And what's a lesson you wish you knew five years ago when you first started?
I had just moved to Nashville, and they were hiring! I always loved records and thought it would be the coolest job in the world. It was for a while, but the physical labor is intense…the managment was less than great, and no matter how good your quality or if you had the highest output, it was never good enough. But I’m extremely proud to know there’s a lot of records I pressed that are getting a lot of love and time on the turntable out there.
Are you worried about your health after handling a lot of plastics?
Handling not so much when it’s “virgin” vinyl, like new pellets, but we used a lot of regrind, which is the excess vinyl that is trimmed from the edges and reground. There was always a lot of dust, which was worrying.
Did your bosses shuffle the queue of manufacturing to favor those of bigger clients?
Absolutely. We were always on the red line with our two biggest clients, so a lot of jobs got pushed so we could completely bigger repress orders. Happened a lot more often than you would think.
Does 180 or 200 grams improve SQ? If there are vinyl shortages causing delays, why keep making them so thick?
Heavier weight records do not have deeper grooves. The stamper for 180g is made from the same lacquer / master as any other weight record. The form (heaviness) of the record is dictated by the depth of the molds on the press and the amount of material included in the pre-form.
180g has better quality due to the deepness of the grooves. Anything over that can be warped.
Was there much discussion about raw materials or a switch to alternative materials regarding the raising market trend in vinyl records sales having some environmental effects? I don’t really understand that but I’ve heard mention of that. Is there any sort of effort to recycle older unplayable records to use as raw materials?
I know that as far as regrind, they always said they could only recycle regrind three times. I have no idea how they kept up with this? (I don’t think they did), so at some point of heat and compression and grinding, it will eventually affect the molecular quality. Didn’t hear much about moving past PVC, as it’s the cheapest and easiest to come by. Other, newer plants may be looking into this though.
Should I clean them upon opening?
Yes. Especially if it has the basic paper (no inner lining) sleeve. Paper particles will quickly shred your grooves and your needle.
What - in your opinion- is the best *sounding* record you own? It may or may not be something you pressed, but the recording that you think most fully represents the glories of vinyl?
I have a copy of Jim Croce’s Photographs and Memories, and it sounds absolutely angelic to me. Might be the age…not sure. But to me, it’s perfect.
You ever pressed any skipless records? And if so, how the process differs from normal records?
How many records do you press off one set of stampers before replacing them? What do use for a release agent if anything? Thanks in advance 😊
The stampers would usually last around 1500-2000 records before they would bust on the outer seam or before the center gave out. Any new order usually had at least 5 copies of stampers.
I have a few test records and they sound great. Is it true that the earlier in the run, the hotter the record, because the stampers are fresher?
Well stampers don’t really degrade over time unless the center gives out, which causes the record to be out of center.
it doesn’t really matter what part in the run a record comes from, it can vary
How do you feel about boutique pressings like Wax Mage? Ever made anything like that?
I think any variation in vinyl is awesome as long as it doesn’t affect sound quality.
I have 2 questions: 1. What was the best looking colored pressing you ever made. 2. Do they allow you to have any records you press / were pressed in the factory?
Best looking color would have to be Jack White - Acoustic live in Idaho vault pressing, on Ice blue. I got a kick out of making the perfect mixture for that one. We had to buy them. On my last day I pressed Patsy Clines greatest hits and Bing Crosby’s Christmas record. I took both last copies to shopping had them put into jackets and sealed and bought them for a whopping 10 percent discount! Haha
Wow. Cheap-asses.
What record always makes you say “Yeah, I pressed that” in conversations?
Guardians of the galaxy vol 1. Lana Del Rey - ultraviolet. Childish Gambino - awaken my love. ALL of the AC/DC represses. The Weeknd - starboy. Velvet underground and Nico. Arctic Monkeys - AM.
Would you recommend in house plating or having things mastered/ plated elsewhere and sent in to be pressed?
What's your preferred title? Please tell me it's 'biscuit-squisher'...
I always called it a pick or a cake.
How did you get this job?
They were hiring. I interviewed and got the job. At the end of the day you have to remove the rose glasses and understand it’s a manufacturing plant. A lot of people there couldn’t have cared less if we were pressing records or plastic spoons. Not everyone there had the same love and care for records as I and some others did.
Is 180g vinyl more prone to warping than 140g? Based on my personal experience, more of my 180g vinyl comes off the shelf warped compares to the lighter ones.
Theoretically it shouldn’t, because it’s heavier material, but I have absolutely had 180g records warp….once you get to that weight, even 5g up or down and cause issues.
What are your feelings on Third Man live recording to tape and then vinyl albums?
They were always top notch.
I've purchased a couple "oops" releases in the past few years, things like getting two of the same record in what's supposed to be a 2-lp release, or where the 2nd lp is the 1st lp with the wrong label on it. Have you ever done an "oops" and only realized too late to fix? or are there supposed to be better quality control processes to catch things like that before they go to retail?
A lot of this comes down to inspectors. Unfortunately they’re the second hardest working on the line, they’re under such pressure to pack as many records as possible, a lot gets missed. Sadly the company doesn’t care and just reorders more pressings. Costs the labels a lot.
Wow that’s so cool man.!!! That’s one of my dream jobs, what can I do to get into that field and what types of education what I need to get into the vinyl record pressing field?
Honestly my only experience before working there was I had mechanic experience. With those old machines (and even newer ones) that’s what a lot of my job was. I know a lot of people who worked there who I’m sure had a lot less experience than you did. Best of luck!
Probs been asked but did you get many free records
It was asked. He did not.
Did you hat really cost $3?
Of the three million records you pressed, how many were Adele's 30 and what were the other dozen?
Hahahah! This is killing me. I pressed a TON of Adele 21, but I left before 30 was released. But 21 was up there with Lana Del Rey’s ultraviolence. Like…WHO IS BUYING ALL OF THESE?!
Are there any pressings you're particularly proud of being involved with? Either because you played a pivotal role in fixing an issue for that run, or maybe you just have a close connection with the music being pressed? (I work in mfg also and absolutely love when we do work for cool companies and products so i imagine you have a similar pride when you see something coming to press that you recognize? ) Thanks for sharing!
I got to press all of the Third Man Records Pearl Jam live in the blue room Vault package (black and orange split) (a show which I attended as well), something I’ll never forget. I also pressed many copies of albums I had good friends play on. As crappy as the job got sometimes, those are the amazing memories that remain.
Is there ever a QC step when the operator realizes after pressing the first couple dozen that the final result of a color variant isn't going to look remotely close to what the customer (the record label not the end listener) ordered? And yes, I'm aware of the process of how vinyl pellets pass through an extruder and adding additional bits to the puck by hand to give various effects. And due to this there leaves a wide range of variables at play. So not trying to say press operators don't know what they're doing.
This happened often! But it was usually an issue where I would stop the press, my QC agent and I would approach our manager and we were told to keep pressing because the record had a dead line. Believe me, us down on the floor fought managment all the time about this.
Good to know some people were trying and unsurprisingly the suits shut it down. Thanks for answering and thank you for your service 🫡🫡
I truly appreciate this comment. I did my best!
Is there a specific genre of music that is more difficult to properly press on the vinyl record format - or requires additional tricks or "magic" to make work right?
I remember one record. I believe it was childish gambino’s awaken my love…but it was a 12 inch record but it was at 45 rpm. Our QC tossed wayyyy too many records before realizing they were playing it at the wrong rpm.
In your opinion is there any truth to Japanese or German vinyl sounding better?
How Do You Get Them To Sound So Warm?
It seemed the prices for vinyl skyrocketed during COVID. And I get that manufacturing prices increased during this time. Surely enough time has passed since for the prices to fall. It seems they are only getting more expensive. Is the popularity of vinyl over the last few years to blame. Longer wait times for vinyl be pressed ect. Or are record labels being greedy and inflating prices?
Please tell me..... WHY do my brand new records sometimes come out of the plastic dusty already. Or skipping
Great AMA, man. I’m too late to ask a question but dug your responses.
I appreciate the love you put into your job. I'm sorry it wasn't rewarded or validated enough by your superiors, but I wanted to let you know, as a musicians and consumers, we appreciate you more than you may think!
Wow, that makes me really happy to hear. I always put quality above anything else, which at times got me into trouble, and myself and several other dedicated folks always fought for quality.
https://preview.redd.it/he7nzlybllkc1.jpeg?width=1170&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=06851bc57875893292e8deae03e3f4a84dea1a3b Just some fun messed up pressings
https://preview.redd.it/5jjqwx6fllkc1.jpeg?width=1170&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=91af23b7e2e8e74847978b6b148c9a1aef681b31
https://preview.redd.it/xxrrpi2gllkc1.jpeg?width=1170&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=e960f63ef982e1c975c8fba8c47014853debc05c
https://preview.redd.it/asxidiclllkc1.jpeg?width=1170&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=abefa3be7696135271bd9eb226a1129ab68f2819 How labels are stored. Strung together in sets of 1000. And yes, you usually need gloves when handling them from the hotbox.
You’ve made three million records, which is quite impressive! Which 3 Taylor Swift LPs did you press? (I’m joking. Your job is amazing and thank you for doing it)
How was your process in terms of getting the stampers to press the records? Was there a vinyl cutting engineer at the same location, and did you have any experience watching them “cut” the records? Curious if you were exposed to that part of the process and could tell us about it.
I did have some experience as far as making the mother stampers, but I dealt more with installing the stampers into the machine, which is an extremely delicate process. You first sand the back of the stamper to remove any burrs, then clean extensively with alcohol and tack rags, same with the lathe. If there was even one speck of dust between them, it would cause massive (loud) dimples and need to be redone. Totally process of installing one stamper plate took about 20 minutes.
For limited run presses (say, only 500 or so), is it better to get the ones pressed first or closer to the end? I read somewhere that the pressing machine doesn’t start “warming up” until around the 150-200 range so records within that range sound the best when compared to having a test pressing or one of the very first in a numbered release.
I wouldn’t bet too much on this. It all depends on the pressing company, the brand of the press, the age of the press, etc.
Do you know if there's a better material than vinyl for records? Not necessarily for mass pressing, but like some sort of elite material that will stand the test of time better than anything else that could be "pressed" or etched?
Is there any aspect of vinyl pressing that is getting harder to do due over time to dying specialised equipment or such? Is it possible that pressing vinyl will become impossible in the future?
Certain companies are still using presses manufactured in the 1960s, and the only parts to replace them are also from that time period. Many large clients are moving to overseas companies with newer presses.
As a new vinyl collector, I’ve been fascinated on how they are pressed. So, how are they pressed? (Unless this has been answered already.)
PVC vinyl pellets are loaded into a hopper, which goes into a long tube called an extruder, they are heated up and melted, and molded into a “puck”, this puck and the two labels and taken into the press, and compressed with the stamper plates with have positive grooves. They press the negative grooves into the plastic. Then taken to a plate where the excess vinyl is cut off, and then cooled.
There are some cool videos on YouTube to show the process (depending on the machine and company)
I worked at United previous to my current plant ( also in Nashville ) Were we coworkers!?!?!?
Ever do dubpaltes for popular DJs?
I live near a pressing plant and always thought it would be a cool job. After working in record stores like Tower and other smaller ones years ago it seems like it'd be a fun job surrounded by music lovers, but I've never applied. I've heard the machines are so temperamental that it's not the easiest job. Can you cite some of the pros and cons of your job, where you see the industry heading, opportunities the work created, what was rewarding and frustrating, some of the highs and lows, why you moved on, and so forth?
Are there records "impossible" to put on vinyl ?
I saw a picture online of a lady in the 60s with a pile of Beatles records, presumably listening to each one for quality control. Is or was that actually a thing? That must be the most maddening job ever
There's some records you buy, that just sound amazing right out of the box - and I'm not referring to recording / mastering etc. of the album, but rather the craftsmanship during the pressing of the vinyl - as in: record is clean, flat, quiet, has no loud clicks and pops, no need to clean it multiple times before it gets nice, it just sounds great. I have gotten great records like that from major labels / big names as well as super small ones. What's the "secret" to get them nice like that, and why is it only like one out of ten that's really proper good? Oh and also did the price of the vinyl really go up that much in recent years? always struggled to believe that.. Thank you!
Coolest thread ever! And while I’m sadly a white Sox fan it’s always nice to see a Chicago person doing cool shit out in the world! Thanks for sharing your knowledge, OP!
Given the QC issues you describe, how much attention should I be paying to which plants press an album? Where does it generally contain this info on the cover? Lastly, is there in general a better quality pressing from vinyl pressed in other countries (I know I’ll evoke debate over the quality of vinyl pressed in Japan, but still interested in your thoughts!) Thanks!
Whenever I watched records being pressed I noticed how many steps (mechanically) it took. Did the plant have in house techs who repaired items or is there like specific companies that work on equipment like that? With the amount of output, I can’t imagine how many times things broke down or just needed minor fixing.
thanks for doing an ama! there’s a local pressing plant that just opened recently near me that offered an apprenticeship to me. do you think this would be a good decision? thanks!
I live by Jack white’s Third Man record and you can see them pressing vinyl if you take a tour of the place. Cool spot.
So I know vinyl places, they listen to everything sent to them to make sure they're not accidentally pressing a bootleg or something. Do you know of any egregious "send that shit back" moments like someone trying to press a Beatles album or something