This is a technology developed in the mid 1980 s for cutting masters for record manufacturing.
Cut lacquers vinyl.
Unlike ordinary vinyl records which are quickly formed from lumps of plastic by a mass production molding process an acetate disc is created by using a recording lathe to cut an audio signal modulated groove into the surface of a special lacquer coated blank disc a real time.
Vinyl mastering and lacquer disc cutting vinyl mastering consists of optimizing the final mastered song for the unique characteristics of the vinyl format which include low and high frequency treatment level adjustment groove spacing optimization and if necessary low end summing to eliminate undesirable phasing that can occur from stereo effects in the bass frequencies on vinyl.
However the manufacturer guarantees a flawless surface for only one side of the lacquer.
Once the music has been mastered the lacquer cutting can begin.
Cutting a lacquer disc.
This is the first and most delicate step in the record making process.
If the cutting engineer is not the dude at the plant who just pounded three beers on his friday lunch break but rather a sober and experienced cutting engineer working in a sterile environment on a well maintained lathe there is hope of a properly cut lacquer.
Acetate discs are used for the production of vinyl records.
Sending your audio straight to a vinyl pressing plant and letting them handle the lacquer cutting is essentially the equivalent of that.
Lacquers are often cut by those who have made the vinyl master and all that is on the release is the mastering engineer s handle initial.
Instead of cutting into a blank lacquer grooves are cut into a blank copper disc via a specially equipped lathe.
Direct metal mastering dmm.
See also lacquers and lathe.
These discs are the original copies of your music.
This stage involves audio engineers using a lathe machine and a very sharp gemstone to carve your music onto a flat lacquer coated metal disc.
Transferring your digital vinyl pre master to a lacquer is an extremely crucial process and has a major influence on how your vinyl will sound.
Since dmm was developed during the time period when vinyl was being overtaken by cassette tapes and ultimately compact discs as the dominant consumer music formats use and r d work was not extensively implemented in the.
Although not comparable in scale frank remembers the dubplate scene as offering creative precedent for the current situation.
I think this is going off on a dangerous tangent if left unchecked.
The cutting engineer plays the stereo tracks and uses a lathe to cut grooves into a blank lacquer disc.
An acetate disc is a type of gramophone record widely used from the 1930s to the late 1950s for recording and broadcast purposes and still in limited use today.
This analogue mastering technique is widely accepted and used thanks to bigger number of lacquer cutting lathes available and the tradition of lacquer mastering through the years.
Lacquer technology cutting into lacquers is an older method of mastering for vinyl records but still has many supporters and fans.
