45 pressing question. My new Hip hop beats label.
idiotproof
880 Posts
This isn't an Announcement, just some questions, so ease off you trigger happy mods... Ha!Questions for people who have pressed 45s or wax in general...Fuck an MP3. Ha!Okay. I got all gee'd up again today after hearing some new tracks for the label & then I heard Devil McDooms mix in the announcements section & was doubly gee'd up. And also spurred on by Olski's Melting Pot & GNat's BITR.We've just started a spin-off label called SNULL SKAPS[/b] & our 1st 45 release will be by a kid called DRACO, then BABY CHOW, myself & then hopefully BLUNTED STYLUS, RANSOM & POLARITY.All Australian artists. All beatdiggers. Culminating in a CD compilation for next year.So we'll be ready to press in a months time so I just would like to ask some questions.We haven't pressed a 45 yet. Only 12"s & CDs1. Should I press with a large hole? I'm swaying towards a YES. Aesthetics issue.2. Should we press on 45 or 33rpm?3. 40g or 70g (i think 70g are too heavy)4. Should I be worried about all those sampling law clauses at certain US pressing plants.I was thinking of the place in Nashville or Toronto's MMS or the Czech plant GZvinyl.Any recommendations would be nice.300 copies.Listen to McDee's mix for an indication of the style of music.These are people I know who would dig it & will most likely be sent a copy when pressed.If they want one. 
Mike 2600McDeeDayAkoDelayLynn NessD.CastilloYoung PhonicsUpskibooGnatAspirinOlskiThanks in advance...
Mike 2600McDeeDayAkoDelayLynn NessD.CastilloYoung PhonicsUpskibooGnatAspirinOlskiThanks in advance...
Comments
I'm not trying to speak for Asprin, but I do all the research for him
Mus-I-Col in Columbus, Ohio is great. (musicolrecording.com) Been in the business longer than you've been alive. Warren is very friendly and helpful. Vinyl is of good quality (not the best) and the turnaround time is excellent. (There may be a 500 minimum order?) They may be slightly more expensive than the Czech Republic, but you're supporting a family run business. 500 45s clocks in just over $500, I believe. (Asprin's 45 was pressed there.)
RTI (recordtech.com) is the best pressing plant in the US. See 99% of all Drag City, Touch and Go, Quaterstick, and Secretly Canadian releases. There's a reason why folks use them. Amazing, but you pay for it. There's a very informative "first time pressing vinyl" section on their website that will answer most of your questions.
United Record Pressing (urpressing.com) in Nashville is fast, but you should be catious. Universal Records (the major label) quit pressing vinyl altogether and most of that work has been funnelled to United. Their turnaround time and quality (if you pester them to rush your job) has diminished slightly. I'd recommend United only if you're not going to need your records quickly (it'll take 6 weeks). Rush them and your record will suck. United is probably your best bet for a 7".
Erika (erikarecords.com) is good quality vinyl but their prices aren't too competitive.
Recordpressing.com is also Piratespress.com. Their vinyl looks great and is heavy. These companies both use gzvinyl.com in the Czech Republic to press everything. They are a broker but save you on shipping. Problems i foresee with going the Czech way:
1) They often encourage you to not get a test pressing, claiming their process is DMM (Direct Metal Master) and "if you've listened to the master tape, you know how the record will sound." A good case in point: Zandosis, and Atlanta band went that route and when they got their records (no test presses) one of the songs was cut off the 45. Sheer incompetence.
2) The jackets they provide are flimsy. They are printed on thin shitty cardboard (the typical kind you find in European pressings). They are a cheap quality and printed digitally. Hence the low cost.
For mastering, I would recommend Joe Davenport at MDF Studios (Soulstrut's own mesh). He is professional and affordable.
If you have extra cake, then go with John Golden Mastering (goldenmastering.com). John (and now his son) handle a majority of the independent labels.
George Horn at Fantasy did one of our projects, and is recommended. A little expensive, but he's been working in the field for years.
Paul Stubblebine (paulstubblebine.com) is fantastic, though pricey. He's done three or four projects for us. If you're pressing vinyl, Paul will gently insist that you use Bill Smith for your laquers. And I can't argue with Paul. (You can have your final mixes mastered by one person, and laquered by someone else, who then sends that laquer to the pressing plant for plating. It's a little more time consuming (and slightly more expensive), but it's comparable to the logic of component stereo systems versus a boombox, I guess?)
Bill Smith (billsmithcustomrecords.com).
There used to be this little book that people in the indie circles passed around. A book that gave you recommendations and explanations regarding running your own label. I got a copy mailed to me from Amy Pickering years ago. Now, luckily, everything is on the internet. Spend a few hours here: http://www.indiecentre.com/index.cfm -- it will answer a lot of questions.
Good luck,
~B
1993 called...
You don't think I'll like it???????
Thanks heaps mate. I appreciate you taking time out to write all that up. Helps a lot.
I guess you are talking about the 'Revolution Vanguard' 45. I'll have another listen to the pressing.
Czech stuff I agree with. It's just that another hip hop label down here are also brokers for them. But their covers are terrible.
500 for $500 is doable. Equals out to be about $650AUS. Shipping would be another $100+ to here.
I'll do some investigating.
We have one record pressing plant that another hip hop label actually bought , primarily for their own records, but the pressings are way to low in comparison to US ones so we have to go OS.
I don't know know if 300 copies are worth the action. You will hardly recoup your costs when you do such a small number. You should compare the prices for higher numbers. It is not unlikely that you will get 500 or 1000 copies for 100 or 200 $ more.
Good luck!
Hey Olski
This pressing plant in Checz Rep. Do they have a website I can check out? Just did a quick google and didnt come up.
My crew are looking to press up a new release soon.
do you make music?
if yes ---> where can i hear it?
1. Do a large hole! However, if these are songs that can be cut up, i would go for a small one (especially when rapping is involved...)
2. If its with rapping, i would go for a 33 pressing, if its only music i would go for 45...just based on aesthetics, i don't like rappin on 45, although it is a better quality...
3. 40g is enuff
4. If u do under a 1000 copies and don't use 30 second loops of some ish, i wouldn't go for clearing or the like...
my 2c's
oh, and please add me to that list
peace,
dojah
wait a minute! so if my mix defines the musical direction of the label, how come im not the a&r yet?
looking forward to hearing the stuff!
Bam - i am continually humbled by the knowledge you share.
Yeah Bobby Dee. Show & prove I say. http://img238.imageshack.us/img238/73/aussieheads8ka.gif
Okay large hole & 40g. Cool.
500 copies then. Shipping units from down here will make the cost unnatractive to
This helped me confirm.
No raps. Just beaty stuff. One side will usually be a bit more uptempo.
It'll pretty much be like UK labels Breakin' Bread, Puma Strut, Jack to Phono.
Here's an indication of what the 1st single will be like. http://www.dracomusic.com/music.html
And Blunted Stylus has been making music since 1993. Was also in one of our most successful crews The Resin Dogs. I'd like to point out that Faux can be a real annoying 'look at me' fuckknuckle sometimes, but he does that all by himself so I won't mention it.
I think the phrase you're looking for is "has the heart of a Milk Dud."
i DO want a copy.
We've also got a track on the 2nd release called 'Oriental Lessons' that is made from Asian breaks & samples. Steinski style. From our mate who is working in Shanghai. Created from a selection of all the records he's dug for in Malaysia, Indo, Taiwan, HK.
Don't worry he's Chinese Australian, so he isn't a cultural vampire.
It'd be worth having a look at the setup N.S. has got going with the Czech Pressing Plant. I think I read on their website that Dean just got back from czeching (!) it out. And I've heard from them that it's going to be cheaper than Zenith.
Anyway, keep the updates coming.
Oh, and good luck.
Yes we do need more of this stuff from down here.
Zenith are a bit 'hows it going'. The OzHH 45s aren't much chop.
The 3 I have are all warped with low pressings. Chasm 45 is pretty good.
We're still waiting on Ransom & Blunted's 'Lesson 80s'. It's an electro
A lot of the stuff that gets made down here never gets out of the country.
Lately its gotten better with The Bamboos, Resin Dogs, Flow Dynamics, Dan Dare, Bobby Blackbyrd, Katalyst getting some love in the UK. Our hip hop is healthy, but probably too Australian for outsiders to handle. Which is the way we want it.
Hopefully the instrumental stuff will carry further.
Its the good positive people on here that spur me on as well. Appreciated.