small run vinyl pressings?

[behndy]

sooooooooo my boy kinda wants to do a few copies of our stuff on vinyl. buuuuut i don't think we're trying to sell stuff, just have a few as mementos.

is that cost prohibitive? do places do like 10 without charging a kabillion dollars?

murrrrrr?

[space6oy]

not that i've ever heard of...

[kaboom]

MEEP Records: this place does small run pressings. it's kind of expensive, I guess, but they're pretty cool. my band just got a couple from a show we played, we'll probably order a few to sell.

[space6oy]

from or for? curious if they have pricing online...

[tommasters]

For small runs you gotta do lathe pressings not conventional vinyl.
They make each one after another and cut it into plastic instead of using a mould.
The set up cost is the majority cost in pressing vinyl
I used Peter King in New Zealand to make this noise record once. 20 copies, double album, super expensive I think I got like 40 on clear for maybe 500 bucks but the sound is really cool (lofi) and it would have cost me about 2000 at least to get a 100 minimum on black and I was never gonna sell that many.
You can get a single one done and they charge by the piece. Meep records is lathe stuff

[space6oy]

last band i was in did a 7" batch of 100 red & 200 black, guy that ran the studio adjusted the master (though it was barely necessary, just a procedure he does since it's different on vinyl) cost us $500-something.

[kaboom]

from or for? curious if they have pricing online...

it was part of a series of shows called Fortunate Listener, put together by a local production company called Audiovore. they pick a couple bands to put on a show, we each pick a song from our set to be recorded and people could order the records there, and they'd get them in the mail as soon as they were done. $15 apiece is a little much for a 7", but they make them look and feel a little more special than a normal record I guess. MEEP's pricing is here http://meeprecords.com/pricing/

[space6oy]

interesting, thanks...

[BitchPudding]

Interesting...I've always wanted to drop my shit on wax in small quantities. Might have to try this.

Also dude, hmu if Bloody Party ends up on wax, I'd but the shit out of that just to hear my stereo try and handle kittens.

[behndy]

Bitch Flavored Puddins - MOOP! of course!

nice! thanks. it looks like lathe cut is a cool option.

we're only talking like 6 or so for ourselves and family. so even at $30 each it's doable.

i was looking around at different sites and i'm a GIT about records. it looks like 35 minutes is the limit? is that right? i'm a bit confused about all the 7" vs 10" and rpm options.

[D.o.S.]

sooooooooo my boy kinda wants to do a few copies of our stuff on vinyl. buuuuut i don't think we're trying to sell stuff, just have a few as mementos.

is that cost prohibitive? do places do like 10 without charging a kabillion dollars?

murrrrrr?

First question--how long is the record going to be, timewise?

[behndy]

it's right at 33 minutes with 9 songs i think?

[D.o.S.]

Ok. So, basically, the length of a record side has to do with a whole host of factors--and really, you can go longer than recommended, but that's at the expense of dynamics and volume. Since your album is really bass heavy (go figure), you're going to want to probably go shorter. The higher the RPM, the shorter the limit (you can ask Christian ATL about the horrors associated with having peeps trying to fit too much music onto a 45... )

33 minutes means you're about 16 minutes a side, which is pretty perfect for a 33RPM 12". Anything else you'll definitely be cutting a corner somewhere--in a bad way.

AND!
You almost certainly want to have your stuff mastered for vinyl, even though I know you guys are waiting to save up and get it mastered for CD/Digital. Vinyl takes to sound differently, and it really helps to have someone who knows what they're doing WITH vinyl master the songs FOR vinyl.

You should totally do it. I'd buy one.

[behndy]

ugggh. extra mastering. moar MONIES. DAMNIT. shit is nooooot cheaaaaap.

i mean, the plan was just to do a few to have for ourselves. i don't know about getting them sounding awesome to be sellable? is vinyl mastering but cheap compared to the houses we've talked to about main album mastering?

we still need to get new shirts and print a few cd's and i'm never actually going to LISTEN to a..... record of ours? I DON'T HAVE THE HIGH TECH CONTRAPTIONS THAT MAKE THEM MAKE NOISES.

[D.o.S.]

Right. Vinyl mastering depends on the engineer--that's all over the place, kind of like normal mastering stuff.

If you're doing something like a Meep thing for friends and family, you probably don't need it ( I just read the rest of the thread 'cause I'm spaced today), but definitely try a test pressing out to see if anything sounds really fucking awful before you get in too deep.