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PLEASE ALSO CHECK THE PRESS SECTION FOR INTERVIEWS THAT I HAVE DONE. THEY WILL ALSO ANSWER MANY OF YOUR QUESTIONS.

This was my response to an actual email. I get a lot of questions like this, so it should answer some common questions:

When you get Peter King to press your records, do you usually call him first?
YEAH, I WOULD DEFINITELY GIVE HIM A CALL, JUST SO HE CAN TELL YOU HOW TO/HOW MUCH MONEY TO SEND. HE DOESN'T USE PAYPAL OR ACCEPT AMERICAN DOLLARS, (OR USE EMAIL), SO CALLING HIM IS THE WAY TO GO. HE'S REALLY AWESOME AND EASY TO DEAL WITH.

It really sounds like a great thing...especially when you consider that I submitted a quote to an American pressing company today for 30 black vinyl 7 inches and it came back $800. Which brings me to my next question: where do you go for larger press runs?
I NORMALLY USE WWW.URPRESSING.COM FOR MY FULL RUNS. THEY ARE ABOUT TO GO UP 12% ON ALL THEIR PRICES, WHICH SUCKS, BUT WILL STILL PROBABLY MAKE THEM THE CHEAPEST PLACE IN THE US. THE PROBLEM WITH MAKING A RECORD (OTHER THAN IN NEW ZEALAND) IS THAT YOU HAVE $700 WORTH OF SETUP COSTS (MASTERS/PLATES/STAMPERS, ETC) BEFORE YOU MAKE A SINGLE RECORD. IT'S NOT THE VINYL ITSELF THAT IS EXPENSIVE, ITS THE PREPRODUCTION STUFF. SO, UNLESS YOU ARE DOING AT LEAST 150-200 RECORDS, IT'S NOT COST EFFECTIVE.

Also, what do you do for record jackets? Do you do that through the vinyl company, or is that separate?
I NORMALLY ORDER BLANK RECORD JACKETS FROM ROSS-ELLIS OR DORADO PRESS FOR 12" JACKETS, OR SOMETIMES BAGS UNLIMITED FOR 7' JACKETS OR A SMALL NUMBER OF LP JACKETS. I ALSO TRY TO USE FOUND MATERIALS AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE, ESPECIALLY FOR LATHE CUTS. I SILKSCREEN THEM MYSELF. YOU CAN ALSO GET BLANK JACKETS FROM UNITED PRESSING FOR A REASONABLE PRICE, WHICH MIGHT BE YOUR BEST BET.

And as if these questions weren't enough, how do you pay to get a record pressed? I know that the answer is money, but I mean with regard to making sure you get enough money to at least cover the cost and making sure the band gets enough too.
DON'T EXPECT TO EVER MAKE MONEY *(OR SOMETIMES BREAK EVEN) AND YOU WILL NEVER BE DISAPPOINTED. CONSIDER IT AN EXPENSIVE HOBBY. EVEN THOUGH MANY OF MY BANDS ARE RELATIVELY WELL KNOWN IN SOME CIRCLES, ONLY ONE OF MY FULL PRESSING RECORDS HAS EVER BROKEN EVEN. THE LABEL OWES ME CLOSE TO $15,000. THIS IS AN EXPENSIVE AND TIME CONSUMING HOBBY, SO START OUT SLOW. DO LATHE CUTS. MAKE SURE YOU HAVE THE FUNDS, TIME, ENERGY TO DEVOTE TO IT. IN MANY WAYS, I SOMETIMES FEEL LIKE I'VE BITTEN OFF MORE THAN I CAN CHEW, AND THE MORE "SUCCESSFUL" THE LABEL BECOMES, THE MORE TIME I HAVE TO PUT INTO AND THE MORE IT DOMINATES MY LIFE, WHILE NOT REALLY REWARDING ME FINANCIALLY FOR MY EFFORT. I NEVER EXPECTED TO MAKE MONEY, BUT NOW IT IS TO THE POINT WHERE IT IS TAKING UP EVERY MOMENT OF MY FREE TIME. LUCKILY, IT IS MY PASSION, AND I DON'T MIND IT TOO MUCH, BUT IT'S CERTAINLY NOT FOR EVERYONE. THINK THROUGH EVERY STEP OF EVERY MOVE YOU MAKE. ASK PEOPLE WHO HAVE DONE IT BEFORE AND GET AS MUCH INFORMATION AS YOU CAN TO AVOID MISTAKES. EVERY RECORD I'VE MADE SO FAR HAS HAD SOMETHING GO WRONG WITH IT, SO EVERY TIME I LEARN A LITTLE MORE ABOUT WHAT/WHAT NOT TO DO.

/end email.


OLDER QUESTIONS:

What was the Limited Edition Subscription club all about?
It was a subscription of 6 records on shaped (heart, triangle, hexagonal, square, etc) lathe cut clear vinyl. Bands included Wooden Wand, Jad Fair, Poster Children, Tender Forever, Angelo Spencer, and Will Johnson from Centro-Matic. it's over for now, though.

What is a Lathe Cut Record?
Cutting a vinyl record on a record lathe is one of the oldest methods of sound recording. Essentially, each record is made by hand. The sound is transferred down to a heavy needle which literally cuts the grooves into the record in real time, which began the process as a slick piece of clear vinyl. So, if the record is 30 minutes long, then it takes at least 30 minutes to make each one. I sometimes refer to these as "acetates" because it is more easily recognized, however, these records are actually cut onto a polycarbonate material, which is very similar, but sounds much better and lasts MUCH longer than true acetate records. Acetate records can only last around 50 plays, traditional vinyl records, about 300, and polycarbonates up to 1000 plays before the sound starts to degrade.

Will they play on a standard turntable?
Absolutely! The shaped discs are 8"s of round, playable space with the shape taking up the rest of the platter.

Can anyone get their own record pressed onto a lathe cut?
Sure! Contact Peter King in New Zealand (http://home.comcast.net/~cassetto/kingcontact.html). He will do records in amounts as small as 20. He's an amazingly nice guy who is keeping a lost art alive.

Why are the lathe cuts so expensive?
Many different factors contribute to the relatively higher prices:
1. Production of these records is extremely time and labor intensive. It is just one man making each of these records, one at a time.
2. Many of these records are in odd shapes: Hexagonal, Heart, Triangular, square, etc. These records just cost more. We could save 30% by making them round 7"s, but, really... what would you rather have: a round 7" or a heart shaped 8"?
3. Shipping from New Zealand to the states, and then back from us to you is a large part of the cost. Vinyl is extremely heavy, and overseas shipping is extremely expensive. Shipping from PIAPTK to you also requires a record mailer, layer of bubble wrap, postage, etc.
4. The US Dollar/New Zealand dollar exchange rate is bloated in favor of the New Zealanders, which makes it expensive to transfer money.