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i'd like to press vinyl, what pressing companies provide good product?


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After years (and years) I have finished recording an album. I want to press vinyl. I started working on the album cover (with gatefold, etc.) and started searching out companies to press the vinyl. As some of you surely know, this industry is suffering severe bottlenecks at the moment. A friend insists that Furnace, who uses Pallas in Germany to press, is the gold standard if you're in the US. I've contacted Furnace twice and just got a 'now now sorry' response from an autoresponder. This same friend insists that Third Man Pressing has significant quality control problems -- they also don't print the jackets or sleeves. Another friend (who works in recording studio) also says Furnace is good and also mentioned Gotta Groove and Pirate Press. I've also located United Record Pressing in Nashville, which has apparently been in business since 1949, but have no information at all on their reputation.

 

Can anyone who has recently pressed vinyl share their experience? I'm not even sure what metrics/data points I'm looking for. I just want to make sure my record looks and sounds awesome. I just need to press 500 records, I've got the tracks in hand and the album art is 95% complete. I'd like to get product in hand by fall.

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I hope you mean fall of 2023 because you certainly are not getting that pressed anytime soon.

 

As you have no experience and a plant that is overworked isn't going to bother with a one off project  I would use a broker like pirate press to handle all your needs from lacquer cutting to test press to actual press to jackets. You need a one-stop shop.

 

 

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23 minutes ago, youspinmeround said:

As you have no experience and a plant that is overworked isn't going to bother with a one off project  I would use a broker like pirate press to handle all your needs from lacquer cutting to test press to actual press to jackets. You need a one-stop shop.

I certainly have no experience pressing vinyl but I *do* have songwriting credit on a gold single in the U.S. You have a good point, though. I'm small-time, and have no pull. Does anyone know if Pirates Press makes good product? Are they taking orders? Fall 2023 is fine if that's all I can get. Any other reputable agents/brokers/one-stop-shops?

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29 minutes ago, sneakyimp said:

I certainly have no experience pressing vinyl but I *do* have songwriting credit on a gold single in the U.S. You have a good point, though. I'm small-time, and have no pull. Does anyone know if Pirates Press makes good product? Are they taking orders? Fall 2023 is fine if that's all I can get. Any other reputable agents/brokers/one-stop-shops?

Maybe things are different these days, but I remember Pirates Press having a pretty bad reputation for many years.

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34 minutes ago, sneakyimp said:

I certainly have no experience pressing vinyl but I *do* have songwriting credit on a gold single in the U.S. You have a good point, though. I'm small-time, and have no pull. Does anyone know if Pirates Press makes good product? Are they taking orders? Fall 2023 is fine if that's all I can get. Any other reputable agents/brokers/one-stop-shops?

I can assure you that no pressing plant cares about your songwriting cred. 

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8 minutes ago, Bronchitis said:

Maybe things are different these days, but I remember Pirates Press having a pretty bad reputation for many years.

I've had two different people mention them as reputable recently (i.e., past 2 months). Perhaps you could elaborate? Having searched a few forums, I see that it's like most things with audiophiles -- NOBODY agrees on anything.

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5 minutes ago, derkwithano said:

I can assure you that no pressing plant cares about your songwriting cred. 

I can assure you that this has definitely been my experience so far. There's no "fancy songwriting credits" box on the Furnace/Pallas contact form. Can you think of anything *positive* that they might care about? The only things I can think of so far is a) have *everything* finished and ready to rock before you call and b) ask them to please take my money. Any other thoughts?

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5 minutes ago, sneakyimp said:

**OFF-TOPIC** I appreciate your kind interest but plz direct your queries to suitable FB/twitter (which we never respond to). We need some followers TBH.

 

I don’t have Twitter/social media but if I did then i’d definitely give you a follow. Eurotrip was great and that song was catchy. Make sure you let us know when you press your record!

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48 minutes ago, sneakyimp said:

I can assure you that this has definitely been my experience so far. There's no "fancy songwriting credits" box on the Furnace/Pallas contact form. Can you think of anything *positive* that they might care about? The only things I can think of so far is a) have *everything* finished and ready to rock before you call and b) ask them to please take my money. Any other thoughts?

No, I mainly focus on negative things. I do wish you luck though!

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2 hours ago, sneakyimp said:

Ehhh i should not have mentioned it. I got defensive when youspinmeround said I have 'no experience.' It's SDK in the movie Eurotrip. I share credit with three other guys.

Catchy fucking song, congrats!

 

Pirates presses through GZ Vinyl which some people don't like because they use Direct Metal Mastering. But honestly, most people can't and won't be able to tell the difference. They're probably a good option for you because they're an all in one, and you're doing a small, first pressing. You mentioned United in Nashville; they're notorious for their questionable quality and I wouldn't recommend them. Geographically, where are you located? If costs are a concern, you could save on shipping by pressing at a plant where you could go pick them up.

 

Frankly, I'd take whoever will accept your project. Most plants are so backed up, they're not taking new orders. Or they're only taking orders from established clients.

Edited by smailtronic
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2 hours ago, sneakyimp said:

Ehhh i should not have mentioned it. I got defensive when youspinmeround said I have 'no experience.' It's SDK in the movie Eurotrip. I share credit with three other guys.

My girlfriend is in the process of switching jobs and her boss's name is Matt. I sing my own modified.version of this song daily to her. Thanks for making it

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2 hours ago, sneakyimp said:

That was a bootleg, which was pressed without my consent or knowledge. Maybe I should call them up? Does anybody know if it was a good pressing?

Good luck, Ross (ETR dude) has always been a sketchy businessman, but I'd guess he licensed it through the company that put out the movie.

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14 minutes ago, smailtronic said:

Pirates presses through GZ Vinyl which some people don't like because they use Direct Metal Mastering. But honestly, most people can't and won't be able to tell the difference. They're probably a good option for you because they're an all in one, and you're doing a small, first pressing. You mentioned United in Nashville; they're notorious for their questionable quality and I wouldn't recommend them. Geographically, where are you located? If costs are a concern, you could save on shipping by pressing at a plant where you could go pick them up.

This is very helpful! I've been googlin' and googlin' and it sounds like GZ is a big operation and YES I've seen mixed reports on them. My mastering guy has a dude I want to use to cut a lacquer. I plan to call my dude tomorrow and I'll have to ask about DMM so thanks also for that tidbit. I'm ready to press 500 copies and I'm not that concerned about shipping amid all the other costs. That said, I'm in Los Angeles. Isn't RTI in Cali somewhere?

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6 minutes ago, smailtronic said:

Good luck, Ross (ETR dude) has always been a sketchy businessman, but I'd guess he licensed it through the company that put out the movie.

Thanks for the warning. Not really sure what transpired there, but I doubt Dreamworks or Universal made any licensing deal with Ross/ETR without our consent. Nobody paid me a cent in royalties -- or even offered me a copy of it.

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10 minutes ago, sneakyimp said:

This is very helpful! I've been googlin' and googlin' and it sounds like GZ is a big operation and YES I've seen mixed reports on them. My mastering guy has a dude I want to use to cut a lacquer. I plan to call my dude tomorrow and I'll have to ask about DMM so thanks also for that tidbit. I'm ready to press 500 copies and I'm not that concerned about shipping amid all the other costs. That said, I'm in Los Angeles. Isn't RTI in Cali somewhere?

Yeah, RTI is in suburban LA, and they put out a really nice product! Oh, and if you have a guy cut a lacquer for you, you can't use Pirates. DMM doesn't use lacquer, it cuts on a different material disc

Edited by smailtronic
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