Vanity Vinyl

[Tripehound]

Like I suspect a few others, I spent much of the assorted lockdowns and downtime writing and recording an album's worth of material with a singing, lyric-writing mate with audio files bounced back and forth over Google Drive etc. 

 

It's now as-near-as-dammit finished and I've posted it up on Bandcamp - as it seemed the logical thing to do - but it's not as satisfying as creating a proper artefact so I'd love to get a vinyl copy of our album for each of us. After all that effort virtual or even CD doesn't really seem to reflect what went into it.

 

Does anyone have any recommendations, experience or advice on getting a very small run of records done?

 

If you'd like to have a listen then it's here https://hendersonsheppard.bandcamp.com/album/quench-the-album - friends have compared it to the likes of David Sylvian, The The, Blue Nile and Depeche Mode whilst at the same time making clear that it's nowhere near as good as any of them...

[meterman]

18 minutes ago, Tripehound said:

Like I suspect a few others, I spent much of the assorted lockdowns and downtime writing and recording an album's worth of material with a singing, lyric-writing mate with audio files bounced back and forth over Google Drive etc. 

 

It's now as-near-as-dammit finished and I've posted it up on Bandcamp - as it seemed the logical thing to do - but it's not as satisfying as creating a proper artefact so I'd love to get a vinyl copy of our album for each of us. After all that effort virtual or even CD doesn't really seem to reflect what went into it.

 

Does anyone have any recommendations, experience or advice on getting a very small run of records done?

 

If you'd like to have a listen then it's here https://hendersonsheppard.bandcamp.com/album/quench-the-album - friends have compared it to the likes of David Sylvian, The The, Blue Nile and Depeche Mode whilst at the same time making clear that it's nowhere near as good as any of them...

How small a run are you thinking of?

[Doctor J]

@BigRedX probably has a decent idea of the vinyl pressing process

[BigRedX]

As has been said first off how small a run are you considering?

 

Last time I looked, Mobineko were the only real choice for anything under 250 units, unless your run is going be so small that you could consider getting a handful of one-off dub plates, in which case I'd be looking for anyone cutting vinyl here in the UK (I'm assuming that's where you are based).

 

However you need to bear in mind that firstly vinyl has become exceedingly hip and demand currently outstrips the production capabilities so you might be waiting for quite some time for your records. Secondly when I last had anything produced by Mobineko all the processes were handled outside of the UK - the label printing was done somewhere in the far east and the actual pressing in France. We had our own custom packaging done so I don't know where the standard record sleeves are made. Now that the UK is no longer in the EU this might not be as straight-forward or as cheap. 

 

Finally get your mixes mastered specifically for vinyl. Unfortunately vinyl is somewhat limited with what can be reproduced compared with a CD or digital only release, so it always best to get a vinyl specific master made before you send off the audio files for cutting, as problems at this stage will impact both in cost and time.

[Earbrass]

When I were a lad it was all quite simple...

[MartinB]

Ignoring the marketing bs, "elasticStage" might be worth keeping an eye on for when they launch:

Quote

A new service can cut master-quality vinyl faster than ever with runs as low as a single disc

[...]

The firm promise "no lead times and no upfront costs".

https://www.musicradar.com/news/vinyl-lives-and-this-time-its-even-eco-friendly

[meterman]

There’s a number of companies who will press one single disc for you if you want. Full colour sleeve and inners and all. It’s expensive but it’s available. 
 

Some companies offer short runs of 50 or 100. And there’s also the lathe cut option, where you can have coloured vinyl pressings from one to maybe 30 or 40 and the turnaround time is pretty quick.
 

I’ve had short runs of vinyl done in the past, and lathe cuts done too. Admittedly these were for sale but it’s not really difficult to organize. Loads of companies offer short runs as an option. I’ve got 30 singles being delivered next week. Few for family and friends and I’ll use the rest as promos for a proper release later in the year. I’m as low-tech as it gets and if I can do it you definitely can 👍

[BigRedX]

18 minutes ago, meterman said:

There’s a number of companies who will press one single disc for you if you want. Full colour sleeve and inners and all. It’s expensive but it’s available. 
 

Some companies offer short runs of 50 or 100. And there’s also the lathe cut option, where you can have coloured vinyl pressings from one to maybe 30 or 40 and the turnaround time is pretty quick.
 

I’ve had short runs of vinyl done in the past, and lathe cuts done too. Admittedly these were for sale but it’s not really difficult to organize. Loads of companies offer short runs as an option. I’ve got 30 singles being delivered next week. Few for family and friends and I’ll use the rest as promos for a proper release later in the year. I’m as low-tech as it gets and if I can do it you definitely can 👍

 

Who did you use for your short run?

[meterman]

1 hour ago, BigRedX said:

 

Who did you use for your short run?

For vinyl I recently used MY45 who are based in Germany and am next considering using either vinyl-pressing.com (France) or Press On Vinyl (Middlesbrough, UK) depending on the finished project.

 

For lathe cuts I’ve done a couple of runs this year with Lathe To The Grave, they’re based in Cardiff and the quality of their products is great. Indie labels like Fika and WIAIWYA have used them for short runs and they always sell out. They’re not expensive either.

 

Mobineko do runs starting at 50 though. That’s got to be worth looking at.

[Tripehound]

I was hoping for may 10 or so copies but I guess 50 is a possibility. Just don't want to be left like the dude from Creme Brûlée and his drawer of cassettes. It's a stinky poo business...

 

[Tripehound]

3 hours ago, meterman said:

There’s a number of companies who will press one single disc for you if you want. Full colour sleeve and inners and all. It’s expensive but it’s available. 
 

Some companies offer short runs of 50 or 100. And there’s also the lathe cut option, where you can have coloured vinyl pressings from one to maybe 30 or 40 and the turnaround time is pretty quick.
 

I’ve had short runs of vinyl done in the past, and lathe cuts done too. Admittedly these were for sale but it’s not really difficult to organize. Loads of companies offer short runs as an option. I’ve got 30 singles being delivered next week. Few for family and friends and I’ll use the rest as promos for a proper release later in the year. I’m as low-tech as it gets and if I can do it you definitely can 👍

Who did you use?

[meterman]

5 minutes ago, Tripehound said:

Who did you use?

In the last 2 years:

my45 (Germany)

GZ Media (Czech Republic)

Archer (Detroit, USA)

Lathe To The Grave (Cardiff)

 

Friends have used:

DMS (UK)

Mobineko

Cram Distribution  

my45

 

Also, mates have used companies like:

Vinyl Me Please for very short runs, but they aren’t cheap, like £35 a pop, easy. It’s probably cheaper to get 50 pressed, keep some copies for the band, and sell what’s left on Bandcamp to recoup pressing costs.