How to Cut Vinyl (Lacquer Cutting Lathe) with Gearbox Records on MusicGurus

Full video course: goo.gl/tUHUSp
Caspar from Gearbox records demonstrates the lacquer cutting lath, an excerpt from a full course on MusicGurus
Gearbox records is a specialist in putting out analog vinyl cuts from digital or analogue sources.
In this course, Darrel and Caspar will cover all the main aspects of what Gearbox does to get their product to market - the last stage of the creative process.
As part of the course, they'll show you the studio and recording process, the EQing process using outboard equipment, the work on digital workstations, the maintenance of the analog reel-to-reels, and go into the detail of cutting vinyl records using the studio's lathe.
This course is aimed to people who are used to digital mastering on the computer and who'll be excited discover how to do the same thing in the analog domain using mainly outboard equipment.
Why Analog mastering? Just because it's sonically better than digital and you're not dependent on hard drive disk space - it all fits on a tape!
Gearbox's mastering studio has the best vintage gear, all in great condition, which gives the best sound and pristine audiophile quality. They're also tied to Mark Ronson's live room next door, and have access to a top-notch recording facility where Grammy's are made!
More From MusicGurus:
All Tileyard Education courses: bit.ly/3smV4XC
About MusicGurus:
MusicGurus Ltd is an online learning platform that partners with the world’s best musicians to create interactive lessons to enable music lovers to “become the musician they’ve always wanted to be”.
Established in 2015 by Tom Rogers and Christopher Esclapez, MusicGurus is fast becoming the industry leader in online music education. The platform offers 1000s of high-quality on-demand lessons across a variety of different instruments, skills, styles and abilities.
Popular world-class ‘Gurus’ already teaching on the site include KT Tunstall, Paddy Milner (Tom Jones), Juliet Russell (The Voice UK) and industry brands including Rockschool.
Subscribe to this channel and keep in touch - visit us on www.musicgurus.com​
Instagram:@musicgurushq
Facebook: ​@musicgurushq
Twitter: @musicgurusHQ

[@jazzroom]

The Late Great Dexter Gordon on the Saxophone saying ... " This one is called The Panther " what a classic ! are you cutting straight from the original master tape? wow!

[@scottlippittmusic]

So cool! Thanks for sharing! This lad appears smiley and happy about what he's doing! As he should - he knows his stuff!

[@anajonda]

Fun fact: The gap created with the scroll is called a "band" and used to be cited on some label track listings in place of a number. (eg Band One: track title, Band Two: track title, etc)

[@jamessmith84240]

I was wondering how they made these master press disks. In all the other "how vinyl records are made" videos they completely skip this part like it happens by magic. Great video.

[@ethantastic]

he's so giddy all the time i love it

[@Trojan0304]

Makes one appreciate your record , thanks for sharing a amazing process

[@jonwilliams9976]

Nice job. I just ordered the Jazz Couriers Tippin' Lp based on your work here.

[@KRAZEEIZATION]

The guy is the head off Bruce Hornsby! Seriously though, why do most modern pressings sound boomy and compressed? I always find the older pressings sound better.

[@DalontaeDavis]

Thank You

[@williampalenik7306]

Very neat to cut a record

[@djpopcorn]

Without a preview does that increase going through more materials when mistakes are made? It appears there is no preview for the lathe computer.

[@gns423]

Love the music!

[@anthonygaydotcom]

Wouldnt him speaking while the ruby stylus is cutting the laquer technically add more vibrations into the groove being cut? Someone is gonna wonder why they hear him speaking during that jazz music.

[@Pisti846]

I would think not since this is an electrical recording.

[@anabelpelayo8825]

QUIERO UNA MAQUINA DE ESAS! AWESOME!

[@djsonvinylcollection]

Power

[@RJ3477DJ]

Hello I'm from Brazil.

[@kriseckhardt5148]

Helium is a finite resource. Can't you use argon?

[@llary]

A small tank will last a year, lacquer cutting is not exactly a burden on helium supplies

[@hugopastora50]

Where in this planet can I buy this kind of machine? I have years looking at it for sale😔

[@michaelhorgan9525]

Sillitoe might be able to sell you a lathe, and Flo Kaufmann makes 1 or 2 lathes/year depending on how busy he is from repairing the lathes of Europes finest cutting rooms. You could check out Opcode66 KZbin channel as he is working on a portable machine, and I know that there is a Chinese-Italian-Dutch consortium working on something.

[@new_retail]

Вот интересно, а речь мастера запишется? Теоретически, от голоса должна быть вибрация на лакере и в тихих и местах наверняка должна зписаться речь

[@recvival995]

Hi! Thank you very much! This video is very clear and nice. Please, could you post the links about the name of this machine? I ´m looking to buy it!

[@nexcyia]

It's a Vintage Haeco Scully Lathe with Westrex (Western Electric) heads and cutting amps.

[@nexcyia]

www.gearboxrecords.com/home.html

[@EveningRepublic]

Prince William if he was not a Prince

[@TheDIMONART]

It`s a DIY lathe in video or factory fabricated? Which brand, anyone knows??

[@KCNYC]

Scully 601

[@kairodriguez1402]

Iv'e heard there is a significant difference in sound quality to lathe cut and pressed records is this true?

[@guitarfoundry]

yes. the Master can only make a few mother copies though, which in turn produces the molds to make the stampers. unless you have true audiophile quality equipment, you won't be able to hear a significant difference between the master and pressed copy.

[@redhouscv2792]

@@guitarfoundry it depends on how it was cut. It’s very easy to mess up especially if you don’t have lots of experience and a cheaper lathe

[@DG-ss1gc]

Someone needs to build a modern CNC based machine that cuts these records . They will make a fortune . Mastering lathes like this are unobtainable, and the people who know how to service them are dying. Some of the big studios have wiring diagrams and will be paying fortunes just to fix things like a platter motor. A modern machine is just what this vinyl resurgence needs It needs to be 90% simpler to use , and cost between 15-30,000.00 so it’s in the reach of small businesses.

[@llary]

I design and build machines related to the cutting and pressing industry, we have looked into this and realistically a modern lathe up to Neumann standards would have to sell for 150k+. Only a handful of people would actually buy them because you could get an old proven Neumann for the same price, so how do you cover the R&D costs on top of all the manufacturing and support? There is no way you will get anywhere near Neumann standards for professional lacquer cutting with a 30k budget, probably not for 100k either.

[@indigoTALKx]

cool talk...

[@gjermundification]

Does the "printer" have a name?

[@zushiomaru]

VenusInFurs

[@tr909love]

Stop speaking while recording, your voice is getting in the needle aswell !

[@llary]

That doesn't happen

[@tr909love]

@@llary yes tiny vibration affects the needle, it's not huge but still

[@SydneyDrums]

I was wondering what Cameron did after Ferris Bueller

[@americanstreet8704]

Sydney Drums hahahahaha

[@utub1473]

Good joke but I barelyyyy see it

[@101wut2]

For DECADES I've wanted to know how you put the little gaps between the tracks, but I've never been able to find a video that shows. Thanks to you I can now sleep at night! 🙏

[@MSHRadio-dj5zn]

lol

[@DOCLOWE1988]

@@MSHRadio-dj5zn 😂

[@gotham61]

A lot of lathes are more automated, and you can just hit a button.

[@dububro]

You haven't been able to sleep for decades?

[@rockmusicvideoreviewer896]

@@dububro He hasn't replied back to you because he's catching up on his sleep. Check back in 2043.

[@RobertColianni]

This guy is cooler and I could ever be. Thanks for the awesome tutorial!

[@IsraelQuezada999]

I wish I could learn and have a job like that...

[@utub1473]

I'm gonna make it happen, you should join me!

[@mr19zee]

@@utub1473 I'm joining you

[@utub1473]

@@mr19zeeNice! See you out there one day.

[@EricBrownBey]

@@utub1473 Do it, do it, do it go for it.

[@utub1473]

@@EricBrownBey I'm going for it! Here's my plan: finish up high school and then attend my local university, eventually graduating with a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering. Using that degree, I have a variety of options available to me. The option that would lead me to this would be mastering. I've been told by various mastering engineers that electrical engineering is an excellent choice, and that it raises my chances of being hired in a studio. Once I start mastering, I can try to get started with cutting lacquers as well. And hey, even if that doesn't work out, I'd love to develop hifi equipment just the same. I've got one hell of a life ahead of me.

[@chrisburn7178]

One thing that I don't understand is: how does the machine compensate for the reduced rotational velocity as you move to the centre of the disc? By nature of a circle, the relative speed of the head and disc is less in the centre which should mean the music plays slower but this is obviously compensated for somehow by the cutting lathe.

[@drillbag]

It seems that the head cuts straight across the plate, moving to the center as the disc spins over time, therefore creating a perfect spiral !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! relative speeds do not matter as the groove is being cut at a certain speed and played back at the same speed. This is how "half speed mastering" works, play the tape at half speed and cut the record at 16.666 RPM (for example), then it sounds normal when played back at 33rpm.

[@drillbag]

also, this is why "inner groove distortion" is a factor, as the middle of disc has the closer grooves to compensate for the smaller circle, the reason why traditionally the louder songs were at the start of the record and the quiet songs end the sides (more bang for your buck) - also why you see some 12" records with 7" of dead wax (consistency) weird hey... i've been looking into this and it is fascinating!

[@igordeoliveirasa6674]

@@drillbag are you sure? Could you detail a bit more? Im trying to understand.. thanks!

[@TheHmm43]

The disc spins at a constant RPM, so the outside is the same RPM as the center, so the lathe does not necessarily need to compensate as it moves the cutter. The speed of the record's surface is faster near the edge than the center, relative to the stylus, and because of this the fidelity decreases from the edge to the center. The speed of the music never changes unless the RPM changes. The fidelity also decreases because the groove is curved sharper towards the center.. I don't know how much that affects the sound though.

[@RonaldRagn]

So cool. Personally love 12" played at 45rpm because of what he explained: they can be cut "hot" so to speak when the grooves have more distance between them. Also this guy can't not smile at the work he is doing. Very good boy

[@BADBIKERBENNY]

I would love to have my own lathe.

[@jefferybimbopdibbity7942]

Do you loathe the fact that your love for a lathe is left un-legitimized

[@ivannikolaev2293]

Honestly, I thought that this process is done in some dust-free camera or something like that, because there is a lot of dust in the air flying around. But it was extremely educating to see with my own eyes how this exactly is done. Thank you.

[@richardcranium9002]

I would think that production machines are in a dust free lab and are computer controlled. I suspect this is a demo/training room.

[@HiNinqi]

I love this. I'm hunting for a cutter machine now. They're really tough to source so far.

[@redhouscv2792]

Did you ever find one?

[@michaelhorgan9525]

Todd Mariana is working on a lathe called the PLS-21 or whatever it is called. Sillitoe has machines but they are currently sold out rn and are quite expensive. Flo Kaufmann also makes 1-2 Neumann inspired systems a year.

[@andyboys5669]

Who left their pith here, there ith pith all over the plathe.

[@ns3510]

Daffy Duck yo

[@MortalVildhjart]

OK, aliens have come and shared this tech with us and this is how we started actually recording music. This makes more sense to me then some Emil Berliner German American dude in 1887 inventing this shit on their own. Like "Oh yeah we don't have proper medicin, don't have real ethics yet, science is largly rubbing Onions on people and hoping for the best, But imma make this lvl 100 Technowizard machine by candle light."

[@letsgococo288]

Exactly! Most people can’t see hiStory is BS. And they didn’t have tapes in the 1800s and this guy is using a tape for the sound…

[@dantaylor7344]

So vinyl is basically, sound waves to magnetic pulses to electrical signals, to magnetic pulses, to mechanical movement, to electrical signals back to sound waves. Just a big circle

[@MSHRadio-dj5zn]

and waves are just energy. Music is just energy...

[@Frank55]

Wouldn't a remote for the tape machine be handy?

[@jayslabotsky462]

Nice demo. Never would have thought about a risk of fire. LOL Loads of really cool gear in that room.

[@nickpaul2988]

if you are speaking during the process, does it ad tiny sound vibration to the record ?

[@DJNESSY.]

No as the direct sound is coming from the cassete

[@Jim54_]

Casper is very handsome

[@macos-brasil1814]

Its incredible how he carefully shows how everything works like if we all gonna make that at home rs

[@robfriedrich2822]

Doesn't the cutter support Direct Metal Mastering? So you could use the cut without any layer for getting matrices.

[@moontagedoorah3989]

Hi, if anyone can help of where that i can found an acetate mother master stamper, i saw some in a boot fair last month but after came back home i realize that i shoulg purchased them not only one but all of them and the price was 10 pound each. normy son is looking for his schook project i wanted to help him found one.

[@vdentalvolispanagiotis7577]

very clear and nice video, honestly how can anyone dislike this vid??? A question now.... what are the types of records to "cut" that anyone can use ? with pros/cons?

[@Gothic55]

Brilliant tutorial, now I understand what cutters do and why they are so important to decent sounding vinyl.

[@The_Music_Sanctuary]

I took up the wrong profession...fascinating, thanks for sharing, cheers ✌️

[@ashokbulbule680]

Excellent tutorials by this guy.

[@djpopcorn]

Are there lathes that have two cutting heads? I can't seem to find a video on one?

[@ns3510]

Literally thought he said "a piece of piss"

[@101wut2]

The auto-generated captions agree with you! 😁

[@Ailgadem]

What did he actually say

[@garrettwendel373]

@@Ailgadem pith

[@teela-audiophile7864]

I want you to burn a vinyl record of 50 pcs

[@kistuszek]

The loudness of the music takes up extra space! LOL

[@soberhippie]

Turns out, cutting records is a piece of pith (3:37)

[@TheAboriginal1]

What an amazing video and an amazing process! I never knew this much work went in to cutting. Absolutely incredible

[@TonyArechiga]

This video gives me anxiety! What a job!

[@markeric1337]

god, how did we get ourselves into this mess? 7" 10 minute albums lathe cut are like $22 each, a 12" is $45 each, if you press that's like $35 a record, if you replicate CDs it's like $800 for 100, and no one will buy them, cassettes cost even more and nobody will buy them either. Every option is completely useless.

[@MSHRadio-dj5zn]

welcome to the future... people still buy good music on tape and vinyl but in very limited quantities. Majority don't even purchase music anymore. It's a new era of streaming for nearly free. Musicians can't survive just making music. They need to have day jobs.

[@markeric1337]

@@MSHRadio-dj5zn I know, I'm a musician who runs a label. My point is more that the CD, tape and vinyl manufacturers are living in 3 decades ago. They are the only ones making money. At a time when all you said is true, the damn audience demand boutique vinyl with rainbow fucking colours on 180 gram vinyl before they consider it. Sandwiched in between these two unreasonable realities are the artists, bands and labels who are running at a massive loss, or if they are lucky the break even.

[@MSHRadio-dj5zn]

@@markeric1337 yeah. I expect this downhill trajectory to continue. But I am just curious what the end result is going to be. Less pro musicians probably means lower quality music... I just learned that 'no-melody' music is picking up the steam.

[@markeric1337]

@@MSHRadio-dj5zn I'm not sure. I have a label that makes free jazz and some more melodic jazz in sydney. The prices just make streaming the only viable option left. If you are not a mass appeal artist or label, these studio and manufacturing places have either not caught up with the times, or do not care about 99% of actual musicians.

[@llary]

Pressing costs are similar to 20 years ago when accounting for inflation and now there are options out there to press 100 12" for under $10 each. If you can't sell 100 then can't really blame pressing prices. As for lathe cuts it takes at least an hour to set up and cut a 12", deduct materials and maintenance costs a guy doing lathe cuts is maybe earning $20 an hour max? If you think it's too expensive you could buy a lathe and undercut everyone.

[@debarghyaroy9948]

Cool gadgets! What's the cost of the entire cutting machine now?!

[@NasserAlhameli]

Is from this record they make copys?

[@planetX15]

10:41

[@robfriedrich2822]

The disc is larger than 12"?

[@gaz312]

I take it the helium is for the high notes. lol

[@sinsagoodmansbrother]

Wow! Phenomenal... Loved the explanations... VERY educational...

[@letsgococo288]

So it’s using a tape to sound the cutting of the record, yet in the 1800s tapes we’re not invented. Yep seems legit…

[@llary]

What are you talking about? This lathe was built in the 1950s, at that time it would have definitely been paired with a multitrack magnetic tape recorder.

[@djdreamproductions]

How can anyone dislike this video.

[@teela-audiophile7864]

Hi ! i want to burn disc, you can do

[@CreatingMusicandSound]

Excellent video!!!

[@murray5874]

Lot of people on here are taking the pith

[@hsillams]

how do you get verified at 30k

[@UberPilot]

-1 for the digital watch........................LOL

[@mplsmark222]

I have always wondered how many different lacquer laths have been made over the last century. This machine is mostly manually controlled, built like a machinist lathe. Others I’ve seen have a lot more automatic features, and look more like an electronic device. The whole industry of vinyl production is so complex from the lathe cutting to plating then pressing, . All the nasty chemicals, steam to melt the vinyl, huge hydraulic presses, there is so much to it. As much as I like vinyl, digital media, completely bypassing the physical format is a great thing. Having said that, it would be an interesting job making record masters.

[@Manu_Nayar]

Incredible ❤❤❤ I just love record from my child hood. Now I have huge collections

[@LutzSchafer]

Very interesting! I'm curious about the helium. Assumingly its not cryogenic cooling. But then why helium?

[@CatMatRat99]

i wish i coul buy a lathe

[@Manu_Nayar]

You are really prefect record cuter engineer !!!! I love all England cut records grove

[@98266paul]

Nice video! Dubplates are a crucial part of Roots/Dub music and Soundsystem culture, was interesting to see the process, I ended up here by following a link from Prince Fattys website and I'm glad I did.

[@garymazzeo3490]

I got beat many times on ebay, trying to locate a cutting machine. All I could find was some old piece of dried crap that was up in grandma's attic. Many dishonest sellers, they lie through their teeth! I finally gave up.............

[@nintendy]

What's the joke? LOL

[@danielkingham9045]

Great educational and tension to detail ,, thanks for that,,, now,, I have asked many a DJ what actually causes patterns within the groove whilst turning,, and they answer me with,,“Sorry,I cannot answer“ sometimes they start from the center and work there way towards the outside edge or visa versa (During the rotation),, a lot of Depeche Mode 12“ or 7“ singles display such patterns,, what’s the technical gargon for such a thing,, would I be right if I thought that it is caused by drums or even a certain short high tone and on the second third fourth and so on rotations it staggers ? Thanks for your time and have a pleasant weekend

[@litoboy5]

Cool

[@ВалерийК-е2з]

Интересно! ...В 60-х годах было массовое увлечение, делали подобные рекордеры своими руками.

[@trapped-ion]

In some Jamaican documentary they showed the worker put balls of the wax onto a vertical bar and the master copy would descent and press on the wax forming the round record with the tracks. Can someone explain in detail how that worked?

[@PAZPERDEE]

Records are amazing really when you think about it , thanks for the video

[@JEEPSTR78]

Dream Career!

[@shazzbutter]

Scully?

[@just_bucket]

Elon?

[@honved1]

How do you control the amount of a dust in the room? Are there any special requirements or does dust not really affect the process?

[@HonablueInstitute]

As a mastering engineer for CBS Records (NYC) from the 60's and 70's we never dressed like that -and I personally mastered a lot of lp's (Miles Davis, Santana, Led Zeppelin, Ten Years After, Blood Sweat and Tears, Chicago, Edgar Winter, Johnny Winter, Janis Joplin, etc., etc., etc).......There are only a handful of us mastering engineers left in the country -you guys should reach out to us......I'm not sure what variable pitch system you're using -but Capps made an absolute great computer system that would allow you more level on the disc......by the way, Bitches Brew for Miles Davis was 30 minutes on one side.........

[@johnguerrero3174]

Wow, you’re truly a legend! I wish I could spend just one day speaking with you and learning and hearing some of the great stories you must have.

[@dannysnow3020]

Wow, you layin it on pretty thick daddio. You could have been a whole lot nicer to this humble, soft spoken guy in the video. I think he´s great at what he´s doing. If you think he could improve, you could have offered him some priceless insights instead of telling him that he should "reach out to you". Who are you…Jesus Christ??

[@KCNYC]

Hi Robert! I heard you closed down your institute due to health issues. I hope you are doing better. I’m here in NYC and putting together a mastering studio. Are you still available for consultation?

[@2nd2lastdon]

Thank you very much they while process was very interesting and this video was very educational.

[@ReelX1]

super informative stuff, where else can you see this with your own eyes nowadays?! much apreciated.

[@aspjake123]

So intricate, I had no idea so much work needed into cutting vinyl. Thank you for keep this artwork alive.

[@debo4055]

3:38

[@sumitgenzyme]

Nice to see, the record is cutting from a analog source rather from a digital file

[@nevilleandann]

I NEED SOME 12" OR 7" MAKE .LET ME KNOW PLEASE

[@24mastering7]

I can help you with that. Can cut either vinyl or lacquer on neumann VMS70. www.24mastering.com sorry for the hijack ;)

[@18000rpm]

Someone should convert this machine into the ultimate turntable

[@MSHRadio-dj5zn]

I'd like to have a turntable like that.

[@glassjb]

Why helium does it flow quietly

[@llary]

Safe cheap and non flammable

[@kfl611]

The machine looks so simple but it sure is not! You explained this so well. Thank you for posting.

[@Dutchamp]

This is so cool everytime I put on a nice cut record I enjoy the depth and weithness in the sound. Cool video I love DMM record most

[@dahlbergt]

Very interesting and well explained! Thank you!