COMMONLY ASKED VINYL MASTERING QUESTIONS

How much time can you fit on a side?

It depends on the music. Typical rock LP’s are around 18 to 21 minutes. Club LP’s are around 12 to 15 minutes or less. Club 12” 45’s are around 6 to 10 minutes. 7” 45’s are around 3 to 4 minutes. I have cut 26 minute LP’s with good results considering the length and the music. The less time per side always helps to achieve the best quality.

Can you cut it extremely loud and with lots of bass?

The oldest request. The only change has been the amount of volume and bass. The less time per side is always better for more volume and more bass. Also, short 6 to 8 minute sides for a 12” record should be considered for cutting at 45rpm. Yes, I’ve cut them very loud and punchy. Mistracking does become a concern.

What do you mean by “mistracking”?

The ability of the playback stylus to follow the groove path. Poor turntable

alignment or a worn stylus hinders the ability of the playback stylus to follow the groove path. The common result is distortion and sometimes skipping in extreme cases. Different types of playback systems track and sound different.

Can you cut my master flat?

Sure, but you may not be happy with the results. Mistracking can result from excessive levels. For example bad sibilance or bright cymbals may result in groove modulations too complex to track on even the best playback systems. Excessive bass can result in skipping. Disc cutting engineers take this into account and use their judgement for the best playback results for different systems. Besides, you will hear a difference as the cartridge approaches the inner diameter of the disc. This is called “Diameter Loss”.

What is Diameter Loss?

Problems that occur from “Diameter Losses” have been around since the beginning of the phonograph disc. The most common observation is when you compare the tape to the disc. You will notice less high frequencies as you approach the inner diameter. This is because the length of the groove speed passing under the stylus is in direct relation to the radius of the disc at that time. The beginning groove speed on a standard LP is approximately 20 inches per second. The turntable speed remains constant so groove speed decreases as the playback stylus approaches the inner diameter to approximately 8.3 inches per second at its minimum closing diameter. “Cutting Losses” and “Tracing Losses” become worse as this happens. Cutting Losses occur due to the width of the burnishing facets of the cutting stylus. The combination of high frequencies and reduced groove speed at the inner diameter results in some self erasure. Tracing Losses occur due to the failure of the playback stylus to accurately trace every groove undulation. The stylus will often take shortcuts and miss very small sections of the groove.

Is there anything I can do when mixing to make a better record?

Yes!

Sibilance is a common problem with the vinyl format and most cutting

engineers are equipped with a variety of high frequency limiters. The best

solution is de-essing in the studio.

Excessive High End from hi hats and synths as this can cause tracking

problems. I sometimes get digital masters with an incredible amount of 16 to 20kHz.

Excessive Sub Bass from synths and 808’s. My experience has been that the tightest, best sounding bass for clubs occurs above 40 Hz. That doesn’t mean that some 30 Hz is bad, but an excessive amount of subs when using certain club playback cartridges causes the cartridge to resonate and skip.

Out of phase instruments can be a problem. Low frequency elements of the mix out of phase is a serious problem. This usually happens due to a wiring error. To make the record trackable a low frequency cross-over or elliptical equalizer is used. The result will be some undesirable phase cancellations. If an oscilloscope or correlation meter is not available, checking the mix in mono will result with the culprit disappearing completely (canceling itself out) in the mix if it is completely out of phase.

Center the kick drum for club mixes. With more home studios I see more

masters with the kick unintentionally at 9 or 10 o’clock. That can be dealt

with in mastering using the EE but it best corrected in the studio.

Excessive amounts of 2 buss limiting and compression. There is a

misconception that the record will be loud since the mix has been

squashed. Most likely the cutting engineer will lower the volume for

cutting. I suggest that engineers don’t sacrifice the timbre of an

instrument for the sake of volume. Use tasteful amounts of dynamics

processing.

Do you press records?

No.