Frequently Asked Questions

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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.