Frequently Asked Questions
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.
