Because they were made of polyvinyl chloride, these records earned the nickname "vinyl." Rollers catch the excess run-off lacquer, which is re-used. There is also a relatively new and rather uncommon mastering technique, developed in the mid-1980’s, called Direct Metal Mastering (DMM). Some people believe color vinyl records are noisier than black vinyl records due to the lack of polycarbonate material. Next, the Mother is placed in a nickel bath to create a Stamper. Before the fifties, records were often made of a specific material called shellac which is a resin produced by a female lac bug. Browse an extensive collection of Vinyl Records from different genres at What Records. Subscribe now and receive 10% at our store for vinyl enthusiasts, By subscribing you agree to our terms & conditions. The cutthroat rivalry between RCA Victor and Columbia Records led to the introduction of another competin… I’m particularly interested in the number of ‘Fathers’ and ‘Mothers’ produced for a large release. Cellulose acetate is one form of it. Each side of the consumer record will require its own separate lacquer plate. Right before 78 RPM records – ‘78s’ – were standardized, most discs were already recorded and played back at speeds from 70 to 80 RPM. In an age where digital devices absorb increasing amounts of our time, it’s refreshing to know this age-old process is still making an impression on today’s music fans. With the nickel set into the grooves, the disc is removed from the electroplating tank and the metal layer is removed from the original lacquer disc. What a great video. Josh Miller. The Church of Scientology. Vinyl records are popular again, and here's how they're made. Very interesting piece especially the fact that many records are on average 30% someone else’s work! Whether the hunt … The days of vinyl records being a nostalgic relic of the past are long gone. These were a commercial flop due to consumer hesitance during the Great Depression and a lack of consumer playback equipment. These flat discs are made from an aluminum core, which is first sanded down to a smooth finish. As early as 1894, Emile Berliner's United States Gramophone Company was selling single-sided 7-inch discs with an advertised standard speed of "about 70 rpm". Want to join the Discogs Community of music lovers? Depending on the number of records that need to be pressed, there will typically be a few Stampers made. Once the Master is created, it is brought to a processing plant and run through a process called Electroforming, also known as Electroplating. Featuring the best tips, tricks, and features to enhance your love of vinyl records. The earliest examples of colored vinyl records date to 1908, with the introduction of Blue Amberol cylinders by the Edison company. Using what looks like a large turntable, an arm equipped with a heavy stylus uses pressure to create grooves. If you are going to source from digital, make a compact disc. You’re Invited to the Telepathic Following of Bruce Haack, Mixtapes Are the Original Playlists, All Thanks to Lou Ottens, The Legacy of MF DOOM Through His Samples. Behind the scenes: Biscuits come in different weights, ranging from 140 grams at the low end to more than 200 grams at the high end. Connecting the data: You’ll notice that some Vinyl releases in the Discogs database have a Lacquer Cut At or Lacquer Cut By line in the credits. Connecting the data: You’ll often see pressing plants listed in the Discogs database on the Pressed By line in the credits of the vinyl release. Find the album or single you're looking for at an unbeatable price! The first vinyl discs were made for playback at 33 1/3 rpm and pressed onto 12” diameter flexible plastic discs. They eventually make their way onto your turntable and could one day end up on the massive Discogs vinyl marketplace. Brooklyn Phono is a vinyl record pressing plant in NY with 5 printing presses that make 3,000 vinyl per day. Labels are produced in square stacks, which are first punched in the center and trimmed into circles. Electroplating simply involves immersing the silver-plated disc into a liquid tank of dissolved nickel. Unfortunately, this technique’s expensive capital requirements and chronological overlap with the rise in the cassette and other, cheaper, formats was inopportune. Creating a Master Copy. Generally 78s are made of a brittle material which uses a shellac resin (thus their other name is shellac records). Next, a microscope and cutter are moved to the disc’s outer edge ready to perform a test cut. Preparing The Labels. The analogue format made of polyvinyl chloride had been the main vehicle for the commercial distribution of pop music from the 1950s until the 1980s and 1990s when they were largely replaced by the Compact Disc (CD). Nice write-up but records are not dipped in water at any stage of manufacturing. Releases with more than 10,000 records in the batch will usually undergo three-step electroforming. At the studio, our new shiny master discs are cut using a recording machine called a lathe. During the peak vinyl years, magazines often used to give away flexi-discs containing exclusive tracks or popular hits. The Biscuit is then heated with steam that is approximately 300 degrees Fahrenheit (148 °C) and compressed with more than 2,000 square pounds per square inch of pressure. Marc HenshallJanuary 16, 2017Tech Talk, Vinyl 1014 Comments. Once the digital file has been optimized for conversion into vinyl, lathe-cutting is used to imprint the digital files to a lacquer plate. Musicians will bring a digital file to the mastering engineers. Does anyone know the significance of “Masterdisk” inscribed on the runout of a disc? Is there any historical information like this available anywhere? For aficionados that are curious about the process of how vinyl records are made, follow along as we go through the steps with help from Telegraph Mastering, Bonati Masterting and Cascade Record Pressing. The Stampers act in a similar fashion to a waffle-iron, with raised grooves that permanently imprint vinyl-material when applied with enough pressure. Flexi Disc records are made of a thin, flexible vinyl sheet. "Wax" for records was not wax as we know it, but a slang term for vinyl. The Biscuit is sandwiched between labels on the top and bottom. But the shortage of resin during WWII prompted manufacturers to use vinyl (polyvinyl chloride, or PVC) instead. Just wondering re coloured / picture releases, if you have a coloured release does or is the shade of the vinyl likely to vary across the release pending on if it is 70, 80 or 50% ‘new’ vinyl? Despite collectors’ collective fixation on this format, seldom is appreciation given to how vinyl records are made. The thrill of the hunt. This is often the final step in the engineering studio. To press vinyl records, the manufacturer first pours Polyvinyl Chloride pellets into a hopper, which feeds the material into an extruder that condenses them into a small puck shape referred to as a biscuit. 45s -- Only 7 inches (17.5 centimeters) in diameter, the 45 debuted in 1949 and was often called a "single," as it held one song on each side. This does not increase the price for you. […] Once you’re happy with the final test cut, your engineer will cut the final 14-inch master lacquers (one for the A-side and another for the B-side). The login page will open in a new tab. […], […] can read in more detail about the vinyl record production process on the internet, for example on How Are Vinyl Records Made? Yet, despite the complications, the vinyl medium works, and in fact, the manufacturing process has remained relatively unchanged for decades. Most 78s were actually made out minerals and cotton … Shapire, as a slightly softer stone, is the second most used material. Once the digital file has been optimized for conversion into vinyl, lathe-cutting is used to... Electroforming. A small batch of records is prepared for artists and labels to review. Did you know? Should you choose to purchase through one of our links, we may take a small commission for the final sale. However, starting in 1939, Columbia Records continued to develop vinyl technology and In 1948, introduced the 12” Long Play (LP) 33 1/3 rpm microgroove record. Vinyl is the material of which vinyl is made and before vinyl is made there are gigantic cylinders that are made up of zinc and glass that are used to make these vinyls. They were initially made of SHELLAC (an animal-based resin secreted by an insect), wax, cotton and slate. Before the discs can progress to the next stage, they must first undergo inspection for flaws. In doing so, we thank you for your support in allowing us to continue producing free content. On subscription, we will send you one email per week with the latest tips, tricks, and features to enhance your love of vinyl records. Pressure alone fuses the label to the polyvinyl chloride during the pressing process. Among the solid forms that music and other recordings have taken in their brief history, the long-playing phonograph record ma… Once dry, the nitro finish becomes a thick coating similar to nail polish. Great video, love the info on length of sides and order of songs. Colored Vinyl Records History. In fact, when you investigate how records are manufactured, it’s a minor miracle the format even works, let alone looks appealing. Image shared under the creative commons by JacoTen. A duller metal is added to the silver side, which stiffens the disc ready for the electroplating process. A good follow up would be to give us a little more on matrix runouts and all the letters and numbers that populate the runout eg why are some etched and some stamped, the difference between A1,B1 and A3,B3? However, as from the beginning of the decade, a new material called vinyl became the new way to make a record come to life, hence the fact they were originally called “shellac records” then “vinyl records”. That’s not too hard to fathom, since computers today are smaller than ever with tons of room for digital information. This year, vinyl sales have outpaced CD sales in the United States for the first time since the 1980s. In many ways, I find the idea of a micro-stylus tracking tiny grooves to replay music more impressive than any digital playback mechanism. Each Stamper is taken to a hydraulic press, which stamps it down onto pre-heated vinyl material. The biscuit and labels are then moved to the press where 100 tons of pressure is applied at very high temperatures to melt and mold the biscuit into a new vinyl record. First, the master disc is placed onto the lathe and the protective strips are carefully removed. Since the turn of the millennium, CDs have been partially replaced by digital downloads and streaming services. It is an artist’s or label’s final opportunity to evaluate how the record will sound prior to the larger production run. (Read more on vinyl record production, here). Previously, records had been made out of shellac, celluloid, rubber, or mineral filler. Vinyl records, as opposed to shellac records for example, are made out of polyvinyl chloride, commonly abbreviated as PVC. For larger runs, a three-step process is used to create a Father, from which many Mothers and subsequently Stampers can be created. The microscope is used to assess the test groove for any issues. Please log in again. Very interesting. For many who love vinyl, it’s also about the thrill of the hunt. But when Columbia Records released vinyl long-playing records, or LPs, in 1948, shellac’s days in the music industry were numbered. It was more brittle than vinyl, and wore out more quickly. For a great high-level overview, watch the beginning of this video by Adam Gonsalves at Telegraph Mastering and Josh Bonati of Bonati Mastering. The labels must be created first, as they will fuse to the record as part of the pressing process. And there you have it; the removed metal layer is our stamper that will be used to press shiny new vinyl records. Vinyl records have a tactile quality that simply cannot be replicated in the digital realm, and for many – including myself – this tangible aspect makes up a large portion of the overall appeal. First, it is sprayed with a silver solution to create a copy called a Mother. The website for vinyl in the digital age. As it turns out, it’s a relatively arduous process that you shouldn’t try at home. As the name implies, a lathe outfitted with a diamond-stylus carves grooves directly into a copper Master disc. Acetate is actually a bit of a misnomer as the discs are actually lacquer coated with cellulose nitrate. Once cool, the excess vinyl is ready for a final trim. Once happy, the engineer will begin recording, allowing the lathe to cut a continuous groove representing our source material using a sapphire tipped cutter. Many processing facilities handle these last steps differently. Luckily there are still a handful of outfitters using DMM operating in Europe. This year, 2020, marks the first year in more than a generation since record sales — that is to say physical vinyl records — have surpassed CD sales. As you can imagine, the quality wasn’t great as the thin material and subsequent shallow grooves didn’t reproduce great sound. Some would argue that each vinyl playback is a performance in its own right. A digital file is perfectly repeatable each time it plays, whereas vinyl can change — often dramatically — depending on the maintenance and quality of your record and playback equipment. The plant will use the master discs to produce the stampers, which are then used to press your vinyl records. These specialized sound engineers will optimize the files through a series of steps that includes adding level and required limiting, sequencing so that the loudest and most dynamic tracks are near the beginning of each side, equalizing to limit skipping, splitting the tracks, selecting the rotation speed and taking into consideration many other factors. (Step-by-Step […]. This fact seems peculiar to us today because, with compact discs, cassette tapes, highly portable players, automobiles with lush sound systems, hundreds of radio stations on the dial, television stations devoted to music, and a myriad of other broadcast sounds, we are surrounded by sound. How about records made from an analog source? Vinyl records are made with polyvinyl chloride, commonly known as PVC. This may be due to a vinyl plant trying to rush out an order before it has had proper time to cool and cure. These cylinders, which were more durable and had longer playing time than the earlier versions, used celluloid that was dyed blue in order to make them stand out in the marketplace. The recording is monitored via a computer, which can adjust the spacing between grooves if required. Traditionally, you would now send these lacquers to the record plant for production. Nice article. Privacy Policy: We hate spam and promise to keep your email address safe. Pressings are randomly pulled for careful visual and audio inspection by a skilled and experienced vinyl technician. Sound has always fascinated human listeners, but, until late in the 1800s, it eluded capture. Polyvinyl chloride (PVC) records provide a quieter surface, store more music, and are far less brittle than shellac discs, Klinger says. There are so many points at which the process could go awry – and that’s before we even consider the playback procedure, which has its own complications and inherent flaws, such as imperfect geometry and progressively decreasing resolution as the record progresses from start to finish. I’m sure I’m not the only one who could do with a little enlightenment on the mysteries of the lp runout groove! From here, vinyl records are distributed through retail stores and direct sale from musicians. In digital form, that music (or information) is stored as numbers. The vinyl format has some natural nuances and idiosyncrasies, but the new pressings are ultimately being vetted for significant and consistent defects during this evaluation. With modern music today, sound waves are basically stored on tiny computers. Have you ever opened a brand new release to find the vinyl warped? Vinyl plastic is heated and extruded (squeezed out) between the two stampers, filling out every little space, to produce a durable two-sided record. Once a test pressing batch has passed inspection from all involved parties, full consumer production of the vinyl record can begin. (The guitar players among us lucky to enough to own a nitro finished guitar will be very familiar with the look and feel of nitro lacquer). You’ll commonly see Mastered At and Mastered By credits as well. Add in the almost hypnotic process of watching your record spin as the stylus makes its journey from start to finish, and I’d say the performance argument is compelling when analyzing why consumers still buy vinyl in the digital age. Before labels are pressed onto vinyl records, they are baked in a special oven to eliminate moisture, otherwise bubbling may occur. Early recordings were made of wax,from which the masters were made to press commercial quantities of records.Believe it or not before the age of vinyl, mass produced records were made of shellac. How labels are attached to vinyl records: Most modern labels do not require adhesive. Though Cascade doesn’t print jackets, they will take care of the final packing of the vinyl, including any inserts and download cards. PVC pellets are melted and shaped into a malleable patty-type lump (imagine a delicious rubbery mini-burger made out of tasty-tasty PVC). The processing plant will follow the same steps to press the record, but instead of a small batch will run through the full production run. CNET Photographer Josh Miller takes us on a behind-the-scenes look at the how a vinyl records are made. The machines hold these vinyl biscuits in place as the labels are placed above and below. Very nostalgic nonetheless. To secure the disc, the engineer places a vacuum line at the center. Avid vinyl record collectors know the production process is also an extremely important one, with the quality of the record on the line. I’m thinking like a Beatles LP in the 1960’s. Unlike a CD – which, while a remarkable piece of technology in its own right, can hardly be called charming – a well-made vinyl record is a beauty to behold. As the 2018 Discogs mid-year report confirmed, Vinyl is king on Discogs. The discs are then placed on a conveyor belt ready to be coated in a nitrocellulose (nitro) lacquer. After logging in you can close it and return to this page. Getting Your Music on Vinyl: A Guide for New Artists - Sound Matters, I'm into vinyl, baby | Nerdy is the new cool. Cascade Record Pressing strives to produce the highest quality records and their careful dedication means that 10-20% of all records at this stage will not pass their inspection. To finish the stamper, the manufacturer uses an optical centering punch to make a hole in the exact center before progressing to trimming off any excess metal. Chew on that conspiracy theorists. The records that don’t pass their quality control are reground and can be used in combination with fresh vinyl pellets and biscuits, in turn creating new records. 78 rpm records began to disappear with the advent of the microgroove in the 50's. While records are waiting for sleeves, they are stored on spindles, which keep them flat and assists with the curing process. The rpm is the the speed at which a vinyl spins. The RIAA Curve: Longer Play (Part 1) Very early on, it was discovered that bass frequencies make for large, broad excursions (squiggles) in the groove. You’ll often see vinyl records weighing 180g or more marketed on sleeves and promotional descriptions due to the perceived improved quality of heavier records. Records are also made with different rpms or revolutions per minute. Stampers have raised grooves used to press indentations into vinyl. Music is merely information, just like everything else. Electroforming, sometimes referenced as Electroplating, is the process of making a copy of the lacquer Master in a fortified material that will be able to withstand the pressures of mass replication. This is where the Master was made. This website includes affiliate links to some products we recommend. Steven is a Discogs super fan who lucked out in landing his dream gig. Dub Plates. or How Are Vinyl Records Made? Thanks for the interesting facts on the vinyl making process. To create vinyl records from the master record, we must first create the stamper. The microcomputers available in this generation can house everything from photos, to videos, to games and apps, to text files, to music. How Vinyl Records Are Made Mastering the Tracks for Vinyl Pressing. Most from are made from diamond as common knowledge is that it is the hardest material on the world. We now have a beautiful new vinyl record ready for hours of listening enjoyment. After pressing, the record must be properly trimmed, cooled and then safely set aside for final curing. Also, these new records were made of a vinyl compound rather than the easily breakable shellac of 78s. The labels must be created first, as they will fuse to the record as part of the … Mastering engineers and musicians work together to prepare the music for vinyl pressing. Next, the edges of the new vinyl record are softened, rounded and trimmed. The vinyl record is then cooled with a dip in water and set out to cure. Until now. The most common record speeds are 33 1 ⁄ 3 rpm, 45 rpm and 78 rpm.. You can usually tell what speed your record is spinning by looking at the record label. Acetate was used during the vinyl age for making record demos and record-it-yourself records, which could be done at recording studios and some amusement parks. Creating test pressings are a crucial step in making vinyl records. We have a lot to cover before a vinyl record is made though, so let’s move on to the next step. A stack of freshly pressed white vinyl records. Many record collectors want the total analog process. It’s a fascinating process and one that deserves a blog post of its own. When immersed, the nickel is fused to the silver surface by an electrical charge. Actually, more accurately, it’s stored as long stringsof num… Photo about: What are Vinyl Records Made Of, Title: What Are Vinyl Records Made Of Floating Record Rock Music, Description: .. , Tags: what are costsof an mba in europe,what are dms,what are influencer,what are unions,what are you looking at 1 12 2, Resolution: 1280px x 719px Despite the time-intensive nature and detailed work that goes into vinyl pressing, the entire process is very delicate with no room for error. After assembling the associated parts, they can shrink wrap or poly-bag the finished product. Subscribe to Sound Matters and receive our free guide to the top record cleaning tools every vinyl enthusiast should own. On passing quality control, a hole is punched into the center to complete the new master disc. It could also be from storing vinyl records improperly. Any silver that does not stick is washed away. It’s actually rare to find Virgin vinyl presses, most have about a 70% new / 30% used composition. If he's not making cocktails and listening to records to escape the COVID-doldrums, he's likely somwhere deep in the woods of the Pacific Northwest. This material starts out as pellets, which are formed into a solid hockey-puck shaped disc known as the Biscuit. Unlike the standard 10-inch 78 rpm record, which could play about 3 1/2 minutes on one side, the new “LP” could hold 15-plus minutes on one side of a 10-inch record and up to 25 minutes on one side of a 12-inch disc. Cascade in Portland, OR, doesn’t do printing in-house, so their customers work on printing sleeves and jackets separately unless they want stock white. Early disc recordings were produced in a variety of speeds ranging from 60 to 130 rpm, and a variety of sizes. The process begins by washing the master disc before spraying it with tin chloride and liquid silver. Ta da! Source(s): age I've loved vinyl for as long as I can remember, but I never knew exactly how records were made. After the recording finishes, the mastering engineer will assess the cut for any issues before scratching a serial number (and often their signature) into the inner edge of the disc. Any flaw big or small in the finish is catastrophic for the final result; therefore, the failure rate on inspection is extremely high. The factory will now carefully pack the new discs in batches using separation strips between each one to protect the delicate lacquer surface. A vacuum removes the scrap lacquer created by cutting. An excellent article. It is important for durability since the hardness of the material can make the needle erode much slower. Really interesting to a vinyl fan like myself!! Even after being vetted as a test pressing, vinyl record production is part-art, part-science. There are currently no master facilities utilizing DMM in the United States after the closing of New York City’s Europadisk in 2005. Who bought their diamond-outfitted lathe when they closed? The device utilized a stylus that was designed to cut grooves of sound onto cylinders and discs made of tinfoil. Some audiophiles claim that having a certain amount of recycled vinyl mixed with new vinyl actually improves the audio quality of the record.
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