Steven Berson with the Neumann VMS-82
Direct Metal Mastering record lathe,
at Europadisk, Long Island City, New York, July 2004
The Fairchild 523 Restoration
Project
We are (slowly!) working to restore an early 1950’s
vintage Fairchild 532 record lathe. This lathe will be
capable of cutting up to 16” discs at 33-1/3, 45 and
78rpm - and can do on-the-fly manual pitch
adjustment from 80 to 500lpi. Our intention is to first
get this working with an “old school” true-mono
system featuring a vintage Grampian/BBC B1/AGU full
range cutter head with the all tube Gotham PFB-
150WA amplifier, and then later add stereo cutting
with the recently introduced FlokaSon Caruso stereo
cutter head and Rotel RB1080 high-fidelity solid state
stereo amplifier. As this system will use manual pitch
it will be best for 7” singles or shorter 12” and 10”
sides - but will be capable of cutting both masters and
references (aka “dubplates” or “acetates”).
We expect to have this system working sometime in
2025, please check back here for any updates.
digital & analog audio mastering
Austin / Cedar Park · Texas · USA
Vinyl Records have had a major resurgence in interest in recent years.
Records make an excellent way to deliver your music to your audience - as
they provide a tangible collectible format, that can provide great sound
quality possessing a warmth, depth and vibe beyond that of a digital
release. Vinyl records, with their full sized artwork, also have tons of
appeal at the merch table. Total Sonic Media can provide pre-masters
optimized for this format, ready to be transferred to lacquer or DMM at
the cutting facility or pressing plant of your choice.
We maintain a list of vinyl record pressing plants here.
Hi-Res Digital Pre-masters for Vinyl Records
While you can use the files we create for your CD or digital downloads as
pre-masters for vinyl records as well, we highly recommend you order
additional files that are specifically optimized for transfer to lacquer or
DMM masters for best results.
These differ from the CD / download versions in the following ways:
•
hi-res 24bit 96kHz wav files set up as a single file per side
•
generally less digital limiting to allow cleaner and more dynamic
transfer into the analog realm
•
low frequencies centered to allow for better tracking (if needed)
•
ultra-lows rolled off slightly to allow for better tracking (if needed)
•
ultra-highs slightly rolled off to allow for cleaner transfer (if needed)
•
de-essing selectively applied to allow cleaner transfer on sibilances
(if needed)
Analog Sequenced Reels
For those going for a purist “100% analog” approach, or for those that wish
to impart an even greater “old school” vibe to your release - we can also
provide pre-masters as sequenced ¼” 2-track 15ips analog tape reels (one
reel per side). More info on this process can be read here.
Experienced
TSM’s mastering engineer Steven Berson draws from previous work
experiences at New York City’s Europadisk where he worked directly in
every aspect of vinyl production - first as a production manager overseeing
the scheduling and quality control for the record pressing division from
1999 to 2002, and then as mastering engineer from 2004 - 2005. While at
Europadisk Steve cut hundreds of vinyl record masters using the Neumann
Direct Metal Mastering system for artists as varied and renowned as Foo
Fighters, Martha Wash, OM, Henry Threadgill, and a literal who’s who of
hip-hop stars for 12” remixes and compilations licensed by AV8 Records
and X-Mix. He draws on these experiences to be able to know what works
best for any of the vinyl record pre-master files we create - in order to best
guarantee you will have excellent results during the cutting of your vinyl
record masters.