Because Vinyl is Final #4- Reissue Vinyl

by Ma Nerriza dela Cerna

As Erika Records has seen vinyl sales go up we’ve noticed a good portion of the records being pressed are reissues of artists and bands such as John Coltrane, Ozzy Osbourne, and Iron Maiden just to name a few. And with vinyl reissues usually comes a set of expectations established by the first batch of records made decades prior.

If you’re planning on pressing a reissue and want to get as close to the original as possible, there are a few important things to keep in mind.

The lacquer mastering process was much more involved 40 years ago. Major labels such as RCA had in house mastering engineers that took original tapes and cut multiple reference lacquers. With each reference lacquer they made adjustments to the levels and EQ until the reference was approved and then moved forward with the final cut. So with the reissue, you may have replicated the new music files exactly from the original source master, but your replicated files won’t reflect all the changes made in the cutting room by the original lacquer mastering engineer all those years ago.

So what should you do? We suggest that you bring your replicated music files that came from the original source and the vinyl record you want to match to your mastering and mixing engineer. Communicate that you want the files to match the vinyl and that you would like them to make the necessary adjustments to the files before sending them in for the final cut.

Once they’ve made those adjustments and you’re ready to submit them for the final cut, let the mastering engineer who is cutting your lacquer know that it’s a reissue and provide him or her with the record you want to match as well. The changes should already be reflected in the master you provide, but it’s good that everyone involved in mastering has an idea of what you’re trying to achieve.

And if you happen to have some extra time and little wiggle room in your budget, we suggest having a reference lacquer cut for you to review against the original record you’re trying to match. Once that reference lacquer is approved, our mastering engineer will know that he can move forward with the final cut. And if it’s not approved, then you still have the chance to provide the engineer with notes on what you would like changed. Taking this extra step can save you from the hefty cost of a re-cut, re-plating, and re-tests if you don’t achieve what you want on the first reference disc.

The key is to keep everyone in the loop on what you want and expect. Mastering is so subjective that it’s best not to make assumptions that your engineer immediately knows what you’re looking to achieve. So be clear about what you want and provide your engineers with a point of reference if it’s available….

Because once it’s on vinyl it’s final! 

Because Vinyl is Final # 3- Locked Grooves 

by Ma Nerriza dela Cerna

There are quite a few tricks in lacquer cutting that can make your record unique, such as inside out cutting and cutting your record at the now uncommon speed of 78rpm. But the one added feature we see the most of is the Locked Groove. 

A locked groove is a groove that intentionally repeats with every rotation of a record, which repeats the portion of the music within that groove. Fall-in locks are put at the end of a selection. The groove is locked during the cut to form a concentric circle at the end of the music, making the last 1.8 or 1.3333 seconds repeat until the listener lifts the tone arm.

Here are some important details you need to know prior to getting your master made with a locked groove:

Our SAL74B/VMS70 Neumann cutting system

• The time for a lock is 1.8 seconds if your record is being cut at 33 1/3 rpm and 1.3333 seconds if the record is being cut at 45rpm. Make sure that the portion of music you want locked is either one of those lengths.
• The tracks should be sent as WAV files with the portion that you want locked included.
• Please make sure to have the portion you wanted turned into a lock groove repeats at least 15 times to give the mastering engineer the time to create the locked groove. This portion of music should be part of your last track at the end of your music and NOT its own separate file.
• You must provide us with the times at which your music ends and your locked groove begins. Once we see that your music has reached that time, we know that what comes after is a sound that you want locked to ensure we are locking the correct portion of the music.
• Also note, that you may hear an audible pop as the groove locks. It’s just the nature   of the lock.

Locks are complicated due to the very specific lengths of music and the fact that they are done manually. We cannot guarantee that they will be a 100% match to what you had in mind, but we’ll definitely try our best. And to yield optimum results please follow the directions above. If there is anything you don't understand, speak to one of representatives and we'll be glad to go over this with you.

 

Always ask questions if something isn't quite clear because once it’s on vinyl, it’s final.

Because Vinyl is Final is Erika Records' vinyl tips and advice column, where we will be providing you the customer with information on how to prepare your music for its final lacquer cut. 

Because Vinyl is Final #2- Matching Levels 
by Ma Nerriza dela Cerna

Have you ever listened to a record, enjoying a nice mellow track only to have your ear drums blown to bits by the high volume of the next track? It's an unpleasant surprise for the listener and one that can be avoided by making sure all your tracks are at the same level prior to sending them in for a cut. 

To avoid constantly adjusting the volume on your record player from song to song, make sure your final music is mastered and mixed at the same levels and volume from track to track. 

An example of a scenario in which different levels can occur is when tracks are mastered and mixed by different mastering engineers at different locations. Without communication between the two engineers, one mastering engineer could prepare his tracks at 0db while the second mastering engineer will set his for 4db. Once those songs are cut onto the lacquer, the different volumes are transferred to vinyl.

Even if you're using one mastering engineer still talk to that person about equal levels of volume for your tracks across the board. You may have a dynamic album with an acoustic song followed by a headbanger. By nature they're played and recorded at different levels, so they'll need to be adjusted during the mixing and mastering process. You don't want your listeners startled into banging their heads (possibly on their record players), but rather enticed into headbanging freely because your music is soooo good and masterfully mastered!

So double check those levels ladies and gents...

because once it's on vinyl, it's final.

Because Vinyl is Final #1- Sibilance

by Ma Nerriza dela Cerna

Because Vinyl is Final is Erika Records' vinyl tips and advice column, where we will be providing you the customer with information on how to prepare your music for its final lacquer cut. 

One of the most common issues that comes up in the world of vinyl is sibilance: noise on vinyl that is characterized by a hard "s" sound or hissing whenever an "s" sound is made in a vocal recording, or in the use of a snare drum, etc. For example, a line in a song could be "So we settled the score with salt and sea."  But if that track has sibilance it will end up sounding like, "Ssso we ssssettle the ssscore with sssalt and sssea." 

Vinyl does not create sibilance in a record, but rather enhances the sibilance already present in a music master. So to prevent a costly re-cut talk to your mastering engineer about sibilance prior to submitting your music files. He or she can use a de-essing program to solve the issue before giving us your music for the cut...

Because once it's on vinyl, it's final.

Vinyl Forever: Nirvana

by Ma Nerriza dela Cerna
Erika Records Inc. Team Member 

We've all seen the articles, "Vinyl Records Are Making a Comeback," "Did Vinyl Really Die in the 90's," or some iteration examining the increased percentages in record manufacturing and sales. Those paying attention to the growth might say the reason for this surge is nostalgia. Others could say it's the economy in which the music buying demographic grew up. Young consumers are looking for their $1.29 to go further than the convenience of a single download in this post-Napster and post-LimeWire world. Consumers can find a used vinyl record in a sale bin with liner notes and photos of the band for the same price. And as a vinyl manufacturer Erika Records hopes the action of buying that old record will lead to buying a new one. 

But I think the action of buying and collecting records goes deeper than the desire for the simpler time that once was or the need to consume. The nature of vinyl is that it's made of material that is impervious to the elements. It will not decompose and can last beyond a lifetime. And it's my belief that there is something in all of us that wants to endure beyond our own life time; whether it be through our family traditions, heirlooms, or our journals. Another vehicle for that immortality is vinyl. 

As Seattle’s grunge scene bloomed in the late 80s, Erika Records started pressing vinyl for Sub Pop Records. Many of the records consisted of early career releases by bands such as Nirvana, Mud Honey, Soundgarden. I was introduced to Nirvana at an inappropriately young age by my angst-filled flannel-wearing preteen cousin, the summer of 1992. Like most children of the early 90s the prologue to my love story with Nirvana was Nevermind.  Up until then all I knew were the sweet sounds of The Beatles and Top 40 tracks like “Ice Ice Baby.” 

Nirvana taught me that there was a different way to deliver music: a more visceral way. Looking back I realize now it was the first time I ever understood that self-expression didn’t have to be agreeable or romantic hyperbole. Music and art could be angry and cathartic, and still find a way to connect with a kindergartener with zero knowledge of true cruelty.

I still remember watching MTV News in my grandparent’s room as Kurt’s passing was reported. There was a crowd of fans listening to Courtney Love read his note and burning candles that sat on the grass. I thought about how lonely Kurt must have felt. I thought about the wife and child he left behind. Kurt helped teach me empathy. And how world responded to the loss showed me how one’s essence can live beyond death. As a vinyl lover and eternal Nirvana fan my music life came full circle when I started working for Erika Records. I found out that Erika Records pressed the original release of Bleach, has pressed Sliver and manufactured the rare The “Priest” They Called Him picture record, the Kurt Cobain and William Burroughs collaboration.

 

Twenty one years have passed since Kurt Cobain’s death and his influence has yet to fade away into a faint echo. I hear his impact on the artists we cut and press records for today at Erika Records. His influence is as loud as the mastering engineer, the record player, and the listener will allow him to be.  And it’s pretty fucking loud. There is no doubt that Nirvana records will continue finding new ears to infiltrate and new minds to spur.

That revelation is why I collect records, so I can pass the same feeling to my own children one day. I have one record from my grandfather’s collection, my most treasured. Thirty five years after it was originally played, my grandfather has passed but his memory lives on partly in that record. I put it on my player every year on his birthday and the record my grandpa found joy in I’ve found joy in too. The year he died was the year I started working full time for Erika Records, helping people make their music everlasting on vinyl.

Vinyl sustains collective memories that made the music and feeds the memories made as the record plays in the background. There is comfort in the ritual: pulling the record out of the sleeve, the sound of the needle hitting the plastic, and watching that record spin. Sometimes those records create a twinge of the heart and sometimes a smile only seen in the mind's eye.They serve the much needed gravity and levity for our souls.

And one hundred years from now if only one vinyl copy of Bleach exists (due to a robot apocalypse), sitting on a shelf and waiting for rediscovery, Kurt Cobain and Nirvana will live. Because vinyl will never die. Vinyl is forever.

Welcome to the new Erika Records Inc. blog, where we'll be sharing our passion for vinyl records and music! Consider this your source for all things vinyl: get your facts on the vinyl record making process, photos of unique vinyl records that may inspire your next order, updates on Erika Records' products, and more!!

So if you're a vinyl record fanatic, audiophile, or just curious about vinyl be sure to bookmark this site and check weekly to get your vinyl fix!

Thank you for keep vinyl alive!

xoxoxo,
Erika Records Inc.Team