515 Crew

[joseph]

from a 4 track audio cassette tape.
how much does it cost?
no fancy nothing. just 12" 33 1/3Lp. how long per side? no art no stickers no labels no nothing. just records & blank sleeves. ive looked at bill smiths site and urp. im asking before i send an email for my dumb questions. im thinking 100 or 300. probably 100.

[aeon grey]

On a 12" you are going to want to keep it around 15 minutes per side, although you can stretch it to 24, but the longer it goes, the lower the volume will be.

I would suggest making a mixdown to cd before sending it to be pressed. I could help you with this if you wanted. Also, there are a lot of audio specifications when pressing vinyl to keep in mind if you really want the record to sound good.

I would suggest not using URP, as a couple of friends have used them and had a lot of problems.

I have used bill smith, and he was great to use, answered all my dumb questions at the time and helped me a lot. using Rainbo Records right now, but won't use them again, their customer service is terrible and they never get back to me with any information about the project and what stage it is in.

Price wise you are looking at about 1200 to 1500 dollars.

[aeon grey]

http://www.recordtech.com

And that site is another source for pressing, but also has a lot of good information on it regarding file set up and such.

[joseph]

thanks for the suggestions. ive heard a lot about bill smith lately. ive also heard urp is awful. i am recording onto a tascam 4 track and thats also what im mixing on. i want to use that tape. im just thinking about the simplest things. for what im thinking about its just gonna be drums and guitar and it will be live no overdubs. im playing with an old idea. i dont want to digitize anything but thanks for the offer and the help.

[Nick]

I've heard good things about Lucky Lacquers. Super cheap and high quality work. But from looking at the website, it seems he isn't even taking any new customers until the end of July (because he has all the business he can handle right now). Might be worth checking out then if you are willing to wait a bit?

Dave at 206-271-3006.
http://www.luckylacquers.com

Pricing:

Vinyl Pressing

500 7"s - 400 Black, 100 Color $720
1000 7"s - 900 Black, 100 Color $964

Standard 145 Gram Vinyl
500 12"s - 400 Black, 100 Color $1005
1000 12"s - 900 Black, 100 Color $1434

500 10"s - 400 Black, 100 Color $1072
1000 10"s - 900 Black, 100 Color $1566

I know this is who It's Alive Records has been using for years and their vinyl is fucking great!

[aeon grey]

oh, and i have heard great things about these guys but never used them.

http://www.piratespress.com/home/

[Nick]

^^Yes. I've also heard good things about Pirates Press.

[aeon grey]

i dont want to digitize anything but thanks for the offer and the help.

Keep in mind that you won't lose any quality in tracking to digital unless you do some sort of processing. but if you still want to use that tape. you are still going to have to make a final stereo mix on cassette. I don't think anyone will cut a plate from your 4-track tape, but I could be wrong.

[joseph]

i dont want to digitize anything but thanks for the offer and the help.

Keep in mind that you won't lose any quality in tracking to digital unless you do some sort of processing. but if you still want to use that tape. you are still going to have to make a final stereo mix on cassette. I don't think anyone will cut a plate from your 4-track tape, but I could be wrong.

yes i would mix the tape down to another cassette(master). which im pretty sure would be mono just cause i dont really want it in stereo but i havent done it yet so im not sure.
going from analog to digital to analog doesnt lose quality? i think thats more of an opinion.

[aeon grey]

Technically a good digital system should only capture what you hear and not color anything. As long as you aren't compressing it or processing the audio at all, it won't alter the original source at all. If you are recording through low quality digital gear you are going to get coloration from the inputs, clock, and just overall noise of the system as well as bad digital distortion if you record it too loud. If you don't have a system that records at at least 48 khz and 24 bit, you are probably going to lose some audio, but it shouldn't lose the warmth and presence of the tape.

I have recorded many records to CD and I could play either one and you wouldn't be able to tell.

[joseph]

I have recorded many records to CD and I could play either one and you wouldn't be able to tell.

um... pepsi challenge? i dont want to argue or debate.

thanks.

[Hank Fist]

32bit float that shit.

our split is going to rule.

[Hank Fist]

or just send your tape to I'm Drinkin' This and get some tapes. You can get a tape of any length you need. $70 for 100 tapes, comes with tape cover and tape label.
Keep your shit magnetic.

[jnice]

CDs are 16-bit sound and you'll definitely lose some quality. Someone mentioned using 32-bit float: That's the better way to go (burning files to some data CD/DVD instead of burning a 16-bit audio CD). I'd recommend finding someone with a 2-track reel machine for the final product, but that's just my preference.

I had something pressed by Archer Records (in Detroit) five years ago and was pretty happy with the results: http://archerrecordpressing.com The vinyl isn't real heavy, but they're fast, communicate well (have patience for beginners!) and know what they're doing.

I've read mixed reviews for United Record Pressing. I think they're more known for their 7" pressings than anything else.

This was the site I used long ago to figure out what to do:
http://indiecentre.org/info/guide.cfm
Unfortunately I must have skipped the parts about mastering, sales/promotion and touring. The Steve Albini article was one of the highlights on that site.

Tip: Don't put your most bass-heavy song at the end of each side or your stylus might be jumping out of the groove. There's a reason a lot of your favorite albums end with ballads.