FAQ

No, is the basic answer - CDs and vinyl are two different things - the frequencies that are captured on a CD roughly go from 20Hz to 20kHz (our hearing goes up to around 16kHz). In the case of a polivinyl dubplate there is a gentle rolloff of treble frequencies from around 12kHz.

Yes, but it also depends on how your tune is mixed and prepared for cutting. There might be a bit less treble response, but it is also true that preparing your tracks and bearing in mind you are going to cut them on polivinyl can often avoid this slight difference. It is not normally a problem. Further on down the page there are some tips and tricks on how to best prepare your material. The times that are mentioned on the Prices and Conditions page for the different record sizes assure the best relationship between sound quality and volume. The more minutes you add, the volume will be reduced. For example, a 12" @ 33rpm with 20 minutes per side will not sound the same as a 12" @ 45rpm with 10 minutes per side. The distance between the grooves is a lot smaller on the 33rpm record and therefore the volume will be lower and the the treble and bass response might be slightly diminished to avoid skipping.

The better the quality of the audio format, the better the quality of the sound once cut - basically if you send an MP3 at 128Kbps it is not going to sound the same as a WAV file at 24 Bits and 96kHz. If you can send your music in a high quality format it is strongly recommended.

Please contact us first to talk about your project, and once we agree on a way forward then it is time to send your tracks.

Yes.

If you have LEGALLY bought and paid for the tune, and have the corresponding invoice to prove it, according to the law you are entitled to make one physical copy of this tune in whatever format you choose.

If you have not legally bought and paid for the tune, you cannot cut it and under no circumstances will we do so - we DO NOT CUT downloaded music from youtube. 

If you have the correct PRS limited release licence, we can cut a certain amount of copies of a tune with third party copyright (e.g. a Beatles tune) but all this paperwork has to be provided and checked by us before proceeding. 

We provide 1 blank sticker per record cut free of charge. We can print up to 6 colour centre stickers included in the price (for orders over 5 copies). Anything above that amount is charged at €2 /6 stickers. We also offer a sleeve printing service for orders above 50 copies in all formats. WE DO NOT print sleeves, though are always looking for a good printing service for sleeves so please get in touch if you have a printing business!!!! ;-)

Once we receive your music we will check it out fully to make sure it is OK to be cut onto vinyl. If we see any problems we will immediately get in touch to work out a solution. Normally, this can be easily sorted out in our studio, quickly, and free of charge. If it turns out we have to go deeper into editing and mastering there will be an extra charge, but you will be kept up to date at all stages of the process and if you decide not to proceed after talking to us, we can cancel your order. So basically, if it doesn’t cost us a lot of time in the studio, we will tweak your tunes for free.

One format does not sound better than another. To put it simply, it is a question of the relationship between time and volume. When you put less time on a record, you can normally get more volume - within certain limits of course!

 - for example, if you put 3.45 minutes on a 10” you can squeeze a bit more volume out of your cut than if you used a 7”

Think in terms of ‘more distance between grooves means more possible volume’ - once again, within certain limits!

In the price list we detail the maximum cutting times for each format at 45rpm. 

If you are interested in getting more time out of a format you can cut at 33rpm. Please contact us if this is an option that interests you.

Cutting a dub plate on polyvinyl is not the same as burning a CD. There are some basic recommendations that should be taken into account about how to prepare your tracks/mixes.

 

 • Everything below 100Hz (INCLUDING FX RETURNS) has to be in mono. Bass cannot be cut in stereo. All frequencies below this will be summed in mono before cutting, so if you are wanting a ‘stereo image’ or ‘stereo movement’ on your sub bass this is not possible.


 • Avoid using ‘enhanced trebles’ on high frequencies. Many modern samples (esp. on drum machines) have very enhanced treble frequencies above 7Khz- This is generally not good for vinyl cutting and tends to lead to hi frequency distortion and various other problems including possible damage to the cutting head. 

When mixing your track please take this into account and use low pass filters and subtractive high shelves and EQ to eliminate unwanted/unused high frequencies on your instruments. 

If we see that there is too much energy  in problematic frequencies we will contact you and send you a re-equalised version of the track for your approval before proceeding with the cutting. This is a very common problem so it is important to take it into account. Just because your track sounds fine on CD does not mean it will do so on vinyl.


 • Certain instruments and silibence can also cause distortion at varying frequencies. Some can normally be removed by EQ and de-essing but this will affect all the things in the mix if only applied to the master. So, if you able to control these things in the mix, generally you will end up with a better sounding vinyl. Otherwise there will almost always be a compromise in quality and once again, if we see this we will send you a ‘fixed’ clip for your approval before cutting. 

IT IS STRONGLY ADVISED TO DE-ESS VOCALS AND HI-HATS / CYMBALS IN THE MIX IF YOU CAN - LOOK FOR THE FREQUENCY THAT STANDS OUT ABOVE ALL OTHERS BETWEEN 7KHZ and 12KHZ AND APPLY YOUR DESSER / MULTIBAND COMPRESSOR TO 'TAME' IT WITHOUT KILLING IT!

 • An excessive use of brick wall limiting or normalizing on the master can also cause problems with distortion - try and keep the RMS between -14 and -11dB. The former level if you still feel your track will need tweaking, and the latter level if you are sure your mix and master is good.