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FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS:

1.1 What do I have to deliver so that the order can be dealt with?
1.2 What should I take into consideration when sending material?
1.3 When and how is payment made?

2.1 What kind of sound or data recording media can I deliver as the master?
2.2 How must my master be labelled?
2.3 What information must be included in the track listing?
2.4 How should I prepare the master, what technical specifications must it meet,
and which precautions will keep studio time down?
2.5 What should I check on the master before sending it?
2.6 How should my master sound?
2.7 Should my master be pre-mastered?
2.8 What advantages and disadvantages (pros and cons) do the various sound and data recorders have?
2.9 How should material for loops (lock grooves) be prepared?

3.1 If my material is pre-mastered, or just a 1:1 transfer is requested, under what circumstances is
additional studio time charged for treatment?
3.2 How are the side length and the achievable volume level dependent on one another?
3.3 Why are some records not cut right up to the label?
3.4 Which is better, 33 or 45 rpm?
3.5 Is it impossible to cut out-of-phase bass?

4.1 What do I have to consider when ordering dubplates?
4.2 What kinds of dubplates are availiable?
4.3 Is playing dubplates the same as playing vinyl?

1.1 What do I have to deliver so that the order can be dealt with?

• the master [ see 2.1 - 2.9 ]
• From now on we provide a downloadable order form. Filling this in concisely and including it with your master
  will speed up the processing of your order, as redundant phone calls and mails will be avoided.
• If for some reason you choose not to include the order form the minimum information you have to provide is:
• the track listing [ see 2.3 ]
• contact info for the person responsible for the order: name, telephone number (day/evening/mobile),
  fax number, e-mail
• a written order with name, address, contact info and client's signature, and a detailed description of
  the work required
• However, we strongly recommend using the order form to avoid delay in the processing of your order

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1.2 What should I take into consideration when sending material?

• never send the only copy of the master
• don't send by recorded delivery
• please arrange for delivery during office hours (Mon-Fri 11 am - 4 pm), especially when sending Express

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1.3 When and how is payment made?

• the client will be invoiced on completion of the order - goods will be released on receipt of payment
• bank transfer, direct debit, VISA, Master Card, or cash on collection

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2.1 What kind of sound or data recording media can I deliver
as the master?

• Audio CD or CD-R respectively
• Data CD or CD-R (preferably as SDII split-stereo files, if possible with Pro Tools Session, or as SDII, AIFF, WAV)
• DAT
• 1/4" tape
• Compact Cassette
• Mini Disc
• From now on we also offer a remote service. You can upload your files to our ftp server.[address URL] If you need your mastered files really urgently, we also upload them to our server and will provide a password so you can download the files. We can also upload them to a server specified by you. Transfer of your files to us is free. If we have to upload files, we will charge for this service. Please refer to our price list.

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2.2 How must my master be labelled?

• label, cat.no., project name, title
• additionally, a track listing is required [ see 2.3 ]

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2.3 What information must be included in the track listing?

• abel, cat.no., project name, title
• atrack listing [with correctly numbered Start IDs for DATs]
• track durations - for DATs the track start and end times according to ABS [Absolute Time Index]

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2.4 How should I prepare the master, what technical specifications
must it meet, and which precautions will keep studio time
down?

• only material to be processed by the studio should be on the master
• the master must be fully and clearly labelled [ see 2.2] all formats for vinyl cut
• we recommend a pause of at least 2-3 seconds between tracks to enable any adjustments [if necessary]
• tracks must be in the same order and have the same intervals on the master as they should on the finished record

DAT:

• provide correct Start IDs
• provide ABS (Absolute Time Index)
• don't change the sampling rate between tracks as this will cause digital noise and temporarily mute the output
• record 2 minutes of silence at the beginning of the DAT, where the risk of dropouts is highest
• avoid using DATs much longer than necessary, try not to use 90 minute DATs, don't use 120 minute DATs
• if possible use "Professional" or "Master" DATs rather than "Consumer" DATs, definitely no DDS (Digital Data Storage) DATs as they have an particularly high error-rate
• don't record in longplay mode (32 kHz)
• enable erase protection
• always rewind all the way before ejecting

1/4 Tape:

• provide lead-in tape, equalizer specifications (NAB or CCIR) and test tones

CD-ROM:

• If possible provide Sound Designer II split stereo files, or .wav or .aiff.
• split stereo. As we work with ProToools, please don't mix bit rates or sampling rates
• within the material for one side.

Cassette:

• if possible, don't use noise reduction (DOLBY, Telcom, etc), otherwise please give details
• pay attention to the correct magnetization / bias (metal, CrO2, normal)

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2.5 What should I check on the master before sending it?

all formats

• listen to it once all the way through, checking for distortion, overrecording, noise, etc
• pay particular attention to the beginning and end of each track

DAT

• look out for dropouts (clicks)
• make sure that the tracking is good - where possible, make a comparison on another DAT machine, checking for glitches

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2.6 How should my master sound?

• Above all, it should faithfully express your ideas. It's always advisable to compare the material with other productions that sound good to you, especially if you're not entirely confident about your listening situation.

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2.7 Should my master be pre-mastered?

• Not necessarily. It can be useful, if the pre-mastering brings out your intentions [ see 2.6]. It is not useful as preparation for a vinyl cut. We have excellent equipment in the studio, and we prefer to see through the full process here. In-depth knowledge and long experience of the vinyl cutting process - together with test cuts - are vital to determine which treatments are really appropriate. We advise caution with compressing and limiting, especially with maximizing or optimizing plug-ins, as they may cause additional problems for the cut.

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2.8 What advantages and disadvantages (pros and cons) do the
various sound and data recorders have?

all disc formats:

• no extra studio time is needed as the running order can be programmed

all tape formats:

• extra studio time is needed if the running order is changed

Audio CD-R, Audio CD:

• relatively high data security
• error correction can cause some deterioration of sound quality, depending on CD burners and blanks used

Data CD-R:

• high data safety

DAT:

• occasional dropouts (clicks), tracking sometimes not 100% compatible between machines (glitches)
• mechanically delicate (tape transport, etc)

1/4" Tape:

• exceptional analogue sound quality if recorded with proper tape adjustment, recording level, tape type and speed Cassette
• more noise, poor sound quality

Mini Disc:

• deterioration of sound quality because of data reduction

MP3:

• deterioration of sound quality because of data reduction
• We wouldn't recommend data reduced audio even for dubplates. The encoding process often hides the crap in the sidebands, where it is masked by the audio. As the cutting of stereo information basically utilizes a M/S matrix, these hidden turds may cause severe problems during cutting.

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2.9 How should material for loops (lock grooves) be prepared?

• The tempo must be exactly 133 1/3 bpm in order to fit a 4/4 bar onto a 33 1/3 rpm loop - that is the loop must be 1,8 seconds long.
• The tempo must be exactly 180 bpm in order to fit a 4/4 bar onto a 45 rpm loop - the loop must be 1 1/3 seconds long.
• We need a piece of the looped material , about 15 seconds long.
• We can also prepare the material, if required.

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3.1 If my material is pre-mastered, or just a 1:1 transfer is
requested, under what circumstances is additional studio
time charged for treatment?

• The vinyl cut is a totally different recording procedure to digital or analogue tape recording. It is subject to physical constraints which have no effect on other media, and vice-versa. This can involve problems like stylus tracking, when the stylus might cut such steep or quick curves that on playback the needle skips; alternatively it might have clearly audible effect on the sound. These may be perceived as positive (warmer, more rounded sound, harmonic distortion), or as negative (annoying distortion). These effects will be stronger, the louder the record is cut. Therefore a "one-to-one" transfer is often achieved only with the intervention of the cutting engineer, making alterations to the sound. These are technical imparatives specific to a lacquer cut. Clearly, extra studio time may be necessary to make "uncuttable" material cuttable at a satisfactory level, or a cut sound as close as possible to the master (if explicitly required).

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3.2 How are the side length and the achievable volume level
dependent on one another?

Higher volume level, especially in the low end, results in wider movements of the groove in the vinyl cut.
As the grooves must not intersect the following applies:

• higher level = more space consumption = less available playing time per side

And vice-versa:

• longer playing time per side = less available space per groove = lower volume level. These relationships will vary according to the sound material ? but approximately 13 minutes can be cut on a 12" side at 33 rpm without loss of volume due to space, and up to c. 10 minutes at 45 rpm.

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3.3 Why are some records not cut right up to the label?

• On the outer groove of a 12" record cut at 33 rpm one second of sound takes up a groove-length of 49 cm
  (45 rpm:. 66cm); near the run-out it takes up only 20 cm (45 rpm: c. 27cm).
• The resolution deteriorates towards the center of a record which can lead to clearly audible distortion in the
  mid and high range.
• When you decide the running order you may choose not to put a track with a very sharp or delicate
  high end last on the side.

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3.4 Which is better, 33 or 45 rpm?

• At 45 rpm the resolution is much higher which especially benefits the high end [ see 3.3 ].
• At 33 rpm less space is taken up, which can then be used to cut with more volume.
• When cutting longer sides, this may have priority over higher resolution [ see 3.2 ].

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3.5 Is it impossible to cut out-of-phase bass?

• If the right-channel signal is the mirror-image of the left-channel signal, it is phase-reversed by 180°. In this case the stylus cuts vertically, with no lateral movement whatever. The stylus must remain in the coating - which is just 0.175 mm thick - but not cut through it to the metal. Vertical movement increases where higher volume levels and lower frequencies are combined with stronger phase shifts. Even if the original material is already phase-shifted (possibly as intended), we don't recommend trying to correct this in the pre-mastering stage. Only test-cutting will reveal exactly which corrections are necessary, and we have the appropriate equipment to perform these with maximum sensitivity.

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4.1 What do I have to consider when ordering dubplates?

• For dubplates in general only the most necessary treatment is made, such as leveling, broad Eqing and dynamics. So the quality of the dubplate is more dependent on your source material as a master cut. However, if you wish your material treated to a greater extent, please state so clearly in your order. Studio time will then be charged as for a master.

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4.2 What kinds of dubplates are availiable?

• Dubplates are availiable in the following sizes: 7 inch, 10 inch, 12 inch. For some while now we also offer Reference Lites. These are much more lightweight than the standard dubplates, nearly the weight of vinyl records. Especially for Djs who carry a whole selection of dubplates this will be a great relief. The manufacturer of the blanks states that they are also more durable than the standard dubplates. At this point in time we lack long time experience to make a definite statement about that. They are also slightly more expensive.

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4.3. Is playing dubplates the same as playing vinyl?

• As the acetate is much softer than vinyl, it is much less durable and should be treated with great care. Our customers experience shows that you can play a dubplate 30 to 50 times without intolerable deterioration. In some cases they last much longer. It all depends on the source material. Dubplates are not suited for scratching. First of all they wear out quickly. Then they also tend to skip more than vinyl, due to different resonance.

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