Frequently Asked 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.
