swankymodes Posted November 5, 2009 Share Posted November 5, 2009 I know there are a bunch of label people on here and probably a ton of these threads already (I keep getting an error when I try to search). I'm debating releasing a record on a label of my own and was wondering who uses what companies? Or who to avoid and why? Thanks in advance for any info. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xjustinxschwierx Posted November 5, 2009 Share Posted November 5, 2009 I primarily use Dave Eck / Lucky Lacquers for lacquer mastering but have used Aardvark Mastering and Prairie Cat Mastering for lacquer cutting(I believe Mastercraft plates them all) Rainbo for vinyl pressing primarily. have used Musicol, United, Pirates Press, Alpha Music. I'd go with the Lucky Lacquers -> Rainbo connection United is a luck of the draw whether or not they will screw you over or be one of the lucky few who aren't on a regular basis. Musicol is slow, but do a decent job Alpha is better than United and Musicol but they sometimes have communication issues Pirates Press is good, quick, but expensive and in the Czech Republic. so if it's worth it to outsource work to another country, do it. but there are at least 15 pressing plants in America that you should consider first. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
punkrockvinyl25 Posted November 5, 2009 Share Posted November 5, 2009 everything at asian man records is done with dave and rainbo. at a point we did use pirates press but we've gotten back the mike hale/chris wollard plates and are now being done at rainbo. I primarily use Dave Eck / Lucky Lacquers for lacquer mastering but have used Aardvark Mastering and Prairie Cat Mastering for lacquer cutting(I believe Mastercraft plates them all) Rainbo for vinyl pressing primarily. have used Musicol, United, Pirates Press, Alpha Music. I'd go with the Lucky Lacquers -> Rainbo connection United is a luck of the draw whether or not they will screw you over or be one of the lucky few who aren't on a regular basis. Musicol is slow, but do a decent job Alpha is better than United and Musicol but they sometimes have communication issues Pirates Press is good, quick, but expensive and in the Czech Republic. so if it's worth it to outsource work to another country, do it. but there are at least 15 pressing plants in America that you should consider first. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cactusbot Posted November 5, 2009 Share Posted November 5, 2009 Don't use Bill Smith for pressing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whenslunchrecords Posted November 5, 2009 Share Posted November 5, 2009 we used Pirates Press for our stuff, for a few reasons I will used them again, mostly because they got their shit together and no issues from quote to delivery, and the issue we did have, the made it right. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thechuckdiezel Posted November 5, 2009 Share Posted November 5, 2009 For my first release I went with Dave Eck/Luck Lacquers for the Lacquer mastering and A&R is pressing it. I guess I will let everyone know how it goes with A&R considering I dont really know anybody who has used them yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soundstudymatt Posted November 5, 2009 Share Posted November 5, 2009 Dave at Lucky Lacquers is the best for mastering hands down. We've used United, Rainbo and Pirates Press in the past with varying results. Just recently used A and R for Live at the Atlantic: FEST Edition. Their customer service was top notch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john Posted November 6, 2009 Share Posted November 6, 2009 Do you have have the jackets and liner notes done at the same places as the records? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cactusbot Posted November 6, 2009 Share Posted November 6, 2009 Imprint for jackets/covers/labels. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matt Posted November 6, 2009 Share Posted November 6, 2009 looks like im the oddball here Mastering - Richard Simpson/Infransonic Sound - Dude does incredible work and there is no substitute for being able to go to his studio and watch/listen to my releases get cut. Did a lot of dance/club records, tons of stuff for the mars volta and queens of the stone age, and now does a lot of stuff for "punk" labels. Also is one of the in house engineers/mastering guys at Erika. Plating gets done at Mastercraft Pressing - Bill Smith Custom Records - No complaints whatsoever, both Dennis and Kevin have both been extremely helpful with me. My projects get turned around in an efficient manner and I'm able to drive up and pick them up. Don't think I'd ever go elsewhere barring something major occurs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bdr Posted November 6, 2009 Share Posted November 6, 2009 Dave @ Lucky FTW. Best deal in town. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whenslunchrecords Posted November 6, 2009 Share Posted November 6, 2009 Do you have have the jackets and liner notes done at the same places as the records? I do at Pirates Press, but Imprint does awesome work too! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xjustinxschwierx Posted November 6, 2009 Share Posted November 6, 2009 looks like im the oddball hereMastering - Richard Simpson/Infransonic Sound - Dude does incredible work and there is no substitute for being able to go to his studio and watch/listen to my releases get cut. Did a lot of dance/club records, tons of stuff for the mars volta and queens of the stone age, and now does a lot of stuff for "punk" labels. Also is one of the in house engineers/mastering guys at Erika. Plating gets done at Mastercraft Pressing - Bill Smith Custom Records - No complaints whatsoever, both Dennis and Kevin have both been extremely helpful with me. My projects get turned around in an efficient manner and I'm able to drive up and pick them up. Don't think I'd ever go elsewhere barring something major occurs. I wish i lived close enough to places that did this as well...I might use Bill Smith for the upcoming Mexican Cheerleader LP as I won't need to press 500 copies of that one, maybe 200. Most people I know that use Bill Smith have loved what they do...so...I look forward to doing something there! Bob Weston cuts lacquers in town but I would need to get on a 2-3 month waiting list to get in to his studio and he's more expensive than Dave as well...and I can barely plan on where I'll be living in 3 months let alone planning mastering appointments... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaps Posted November 6, 2009 Share Posted November 6, 2009 PRESS OFTEN PRESS AMERICAN. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
torpaul Posted November 6, 2009 Share Posted November 6, 2009 i use musicol. warren is a little slow, but does great work and has very good prices (especially when it comes to color variants...) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest kylewilliam Posted November 6, 2009 Share Posted November 6, 2009 i've used united, two records came out great, one was horrific. i am dedicated to lucky laquers for mastering, dave is a top notch dude. and i will switch between a & r and rainbo in the future. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcnail Posted November 9, 2009 Share Posted November 9, 2009 For the record we are putting out, we had the vinyl mastering done by Dave at Magneto, lacquers cut by Salt, and pressing will be done by Archer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yancey47 Posted November 16, 2009 Share Posted November 16, 2009 Anybody use http://www.eksmfg.com/ pressing in New York? I just got a quote from them and it was very reasonable. I've never heard of anybody using them before so that's my only hesitation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gojira Posted November 24, 2009 Share Posted November 24, 2009 For audio mastering Carl Saff is great and easy to work with. For cutting the record Dave from Lucky Lacquers is the ONLY way to go. It's so nice dealing with someone who is doing it out of love for records plus keeping a step of production within the punk community is always a plus. Talking to him on the phone and over email you can tell just how much he loves what he's doing which is really refreshing. I just pressed a record at A+R and it is by far the best plant I've ever worked with. Great quality, great prices, ridiculously expedient and they are genuinely nice and helpful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steviex2shoes Posted November 25, 2009 Share Posted November 25, 2009 Wow, I know i wasn't the original poster on this one, but you guys have been really helpful with this info. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redrocket Posted November 25, 2009 Share Posted November 25, 2009 PIRATE PRESS IS GOD Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
recordsarestupid Posted November 25, 2009 Share Posted November 25, 2009 Anybody use http://www.eksmfg.com/ pressing in New York? I just got a quote from them and it was very reasonable. I've never heard of anybody using them before so that's my only hesitation. will at eks is a good dude. pressed the ipsissimus 12" i put out on hot air press. no complaints. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nevinyl Posted January 11, 2010 Share Posted January 11, 2010 We have used most plants in the USA and cutting houses. A&R prices are amazing. For the cuts I prefer andy@masterdisk or dietrich@cdm. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aarondanger Posted January 11, 2010 Share Posted January 11, 2010 Dave at lucky Walt at imprint Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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