FAQ-CategoryMixing Tips

you can send us the following audio formats: .wav, .aif, .aiff, .mp3, .flac, .ogg, m4a.

.mp3 is not losslessly compressed. compared to .wav or aiff., information is omitted in order to minimize the size of the file. there are quite audible differences depending on how and how much compressed your .mp3 is.

some theory:
Audio is presented in the form of a curve. In a vinyl record, this curve is cut (very simplified). digitally, it is done using 0 & 1 parameters.
This determines a number of horizontal and vertical dots (as in a graph) and should approach the shape of a curve. strictly speaking, this is no curve but rather an up and down from horizontal and vertical lines. In .wav files, scaling is relatively fine. in order to see the edges and corners, one would need to 'zoom' in quite far. With .mp3's larger steps are taken to represent the curve. This makes the image 'edgier'.
As a comparison: Photos are also displayed in the digital world in the form of pixels. More pixels mean a larger resolution, a sharper image and a better quality.

Whether .mp3 files sound good on vinyl, we can only tell after a test cut. you can assume that good .mp3 files are also okay on vinyl. But if you do 'hear' the .mp3 file, there is a a high probability that your music will not sound good...

Unfortunately, we cannot accept complaints about the sound quality of very compressed file formats. Likewise, errors can be caused by mixed file formats and bit rates. Please specify if you send us "cabbage and turnips" ...

in principle:

• the shorter the recording time, the better the quality!
  We want every track to be recorded with the maximum possible volume and dynamics.
• 45 rpm allows a higher resolution than 33 rpm.

The possible recording time and quality depends on many criteria:

• a clean mix: the better a track is mixed and mastered, the better it sounds on record
• the more basses your mix contains, the greater the groove spacing and the shorter the recording time.
• Check your mixes for monocompatibility to avoid phase shifts in the bass range. best not use stereobasis-broadening-effects (what a word ...).
• the louder the plate is recorded, the more groove distance is necessary and the shorter the recording time.
• extreme stereo signals call for greater groove spacing.
• extreme basses (below 20 hz) and extreme highs (above 18 khz) cannot be recorded.

the physics

on the outside of a plate d*pi == 92cm per turn are available for your music. the inside of the label is only about 35cm.

The groove running speed of a 30 cm LP is on the outside at the beginning of the modulated groove at 29.2 cm diameter 50 cm/s and inside at the end of the modulated groove at 11.5 cm diameter only 20 cm/s.

This also explains the inwardly noticable decreasing sound quality of a record. Therefore, loud tracks belong to the beginning, and quietly to the end of a plate.

we cannot outsmart physics!

Dr.Dub's Guide to achieve the most delicious sound on vinyl:

Vinyl records are analog record carriers and, therefore, have clearly different characteristics in comparison to CD's.

we include a basic vinyl mastering for all one-off records, that means we make sure the tracks sound good on vinyl!

if you want to achieve good results on vinyl, please note the following points in your self-produced tracks:

• Vinyl sounds different than digital recordings. Of course, that's why you're on this side.

• be aware of this and do without fancy stereo and psychoacoustic effects. Similarly, digital sounds produced for a cd cannot sound like that on vinyl. all sounds that deviate far from natural sounds can bring mechanical sound recording to its limits.

• The lowest frequencies below approx. 400 hz must be in phase! Check if your mix also sounds good in mono. if frequencies are missing or overemphasized, something is wrong!

• stereo effects in the bass are taboo. this includes the strong use of chorus / phaser in the bass section.

• challenging tracks with high bass and treble have to be arranged at the beginning of a record side. the recording and reproduction conditions worsen towards the middle of the plate.

• Frequencies below 20 hz cannot be reproduced as well as frequencies above 18000 khz. Frequencies above 15khz should be slightly lowered.

• Frequencies between 8 and 9 khz sound particularly satiated and "crisp" on vinyl.

• check your mixes for distortions and peaks. especially digital distortions (clipping!) must not exist! These can become disproportionately loud and disturbing while cutting and are the main reason why plates can only be cut by us with restrictions! So... as soon as the "over" LED is on - get the hell down with the level or limits.

• if you work with mastering plugins: less is better. driving the ultramaximizer at the limit does not sound good in most cases.

• an uniform level of your recordings guarantees a consistent quality of the whole record. if your tracks have big level jumps, we normally adjust them, but do not know if you want them this way too. so please drop us a message in case you prefer to keep high level differences between your tracks.

• for very hissy recordings, we recommend the use of a de-esser for both vocals and mix generals.

• .mp3 files often do not sound as good as wav's, aiff's or cdr's! By the data compression acoustic artifacts can arise, which become amplified on vinyl. if you send us ripped youtube videos, you have to be aware that the sound is very poor and it's not really legal anyway. if it has to be mp3's, then compress it with max. 256 kbit / sec. here the noticeable quality loss starts in the areas above 17khz, which is played by vinyl records only conditionally anyway.

• the playback quality of a record depends to a large extent on the used reproduction technique. the type of scanning system, wear and condition of the scanning needle, adjustment of the vertical pressure and anti-skating play a major role.