I cut dubplates....

[pete_bubonic]

Transition have big competition hahaha, why would you post a thread like this you know you gonna dissed. I dont know shit about cutting dubplates for the record.

Why not?

Possibly because Transition have the best reputation for cutting dubplates.

I would say transition has a good reputation, not the best. All respect due to Chef and Jason.

More dubplate cutters the better. Hopefully it will inspire people to follow up cutting engineer courses and especially lathe technicians. because as far as i am aware, there is a huge shortage of them.

[spooKs]

Transition have big competition hahaha, why would you post a thread like this you know you gonna dissed. I dont know shit about cutting dubplates for the record.

bun this attitude.....so retarded. just seems childlike to me "oohhh i'm part of the dubstep fam, don't try and step on transition".

DON'T WE LOVE VINYL?

[wil blaze]

ahh,, do you..

Halfspeed is like: ummm..

remember hi-speed dubbing on a tape recorder?.. it's like the opposite.. By slowing down the recording, and the recorder, you get a better sound on playback.. it's very complicated, only a few cutters in the world do this..
it's called "the paradigm 1/2 speed process".

I also use my own eq curves when recording to punch up the low end, and give a crisp high end.. I can cut as loud as +14db/0 using halfspeed and my own eq curves..

I could do mastering too, but I only have a mono cutter head atm, and I use a presto.. not a scully or neumann...

A guy in the UK called miles does the halfspeed thing too, but in mastering.. He uses a neumann vms-80, and his cuts are out of sight. The loudest pressed record in my collection was done by him..

The dynamic range I can capture atm is 8hz-18Khz... verified using pink noise as a source, and wavelab to measure it.. +14db/0 reading off a Pioneer DJM-800...

miles: http://www.imastering.co.uk/engineers/miles_showell
read up on half-speed cutting: http://www.positive-feedback.com/Issue2/mastering.htm

www.dcdubs.com

yeah i understand the halfspeed concept... the bit i was questioning was the "full range sound"? can you be more specific about what you mean by this? If you are refering to the frequency range then i don't understand how cutting at halfspeed would make a difference (though i am no cutting engineer it has to be said)... if not what do you mean?

what i was questioning more was the use of the term "wide mono cut"... though it has just occured to me now that u may have been using the word "Wide" in reference to the width of the groove, rather than in reference to the width of what you hear... obviously being a mono signal it doesn't make much sense saying that it sounds "wide"...

sorry about the shortness of my original post... was a bit tired and in a bit of a hostile mood so i apologise for being so rude without thinking about it... it's just that at a glance the original post didn't seem to make that much sense!

peace

[efa]

I aways thought you got a better sound by having a faster RPM - IE: 45 RPM 12" should sound better than 33RPM 10" would like to know this from Jaybird and J if poss as will be cuttin plates soon!

I originally used Vinyl Carvers on 10" but found the grooves pretty shallow & volume a bit low however the sound was good with nice bass. Anyone able to report on Dubstudios plates?

[Sharmaji]

a good cutter is a good cutter. i'd def. be interested in hearing something coming out of here.

[d-code]

[ory]

I aways thought you got a better sound by having a faster RPM - IE: 45 RPM 12" should sound better than 33RPM 10" would like to know this from Jaybird and J if poss as will be cuttin plates soon!

They're talking about cutting speed, not playback speed.

[typo]

I know nothing about cutting dubs but have always wondered if these are any good? http://www.htfr.com/more-info/MR34618

I'm guessing they're probably a bit shit but £5000!?

[RubiconMan]

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=50fhueFWpaw
i cant imagine the vestax thing to be of any audio worth -

[darkmatter]

Jason and Chef don't need to diss him - they offer a complete service mastering and all, with proper mixer etc. etc. etc.

This guy can probably offer great value dubs but obviously can't do the full service, so they'd be fine for one off mono pressings but not for labels.

Doesn't seem like this guy is going to be stepping on anyone's toes - I know some people reckon this is blasphemy but I'd say there's space on the scene for people to be using more than one cutting house. Bit of healthy competition. Get a test plate cut then judge

If you are refering to the frequency range then i don't understand how cutting at halfspeed would make a difference (though i am no cutting engineer it has to be said)... if not what do you mean?

ten thousand vibrations a second is easier to do accurately than twenty thousand vibrations a second.

what i was questioning more was the use of the term "wide mono cut"... though it has just occured to me now that u may have been using the word "Wide" in reference to the width of the groove, rather than in reference to the width of what you hear... obviously being a mono signal it doesn't make much sense saying that it sounds "wide"...

yup.

[blk plague]

a good cutter is a good cutter. i'd def. be interested in hearing something coming out of here.

get me...

[slothrop]

Doesn't seem like this guy is going to be stepping on anyone's toes - I know some people reckon this is blasphemy but I'd say there's space on the scene for people to be using more than one cutting house. Bit of healthy competition. Get a test plate cut then judge

Plus he's stateside, so the US crew can save the planet by reducing their dubplate-miles.

[sines]

Plus he's stateside, so the US crew can save the planet by reducing their dubplate-miles.

truth.

[brklss]

This guy can probably offer great value dubs but obviously can't do the full service, so they'd be fine for one off mono pressings but not for labels.

yup.

WTF. Why do you think labels are interested in dubplates? They don't sell dubplates.

[jaybird]

Hello Jaybird.
This looks interesting but I have a few questions for you.

The dynamic range I can capture atm is 8hz-18Khz... verified using pink noise as a source, and wavelab to measure it.. +14db/0 reading off a Pioneer DJM-800...

What type of head are you using? and is this flat from 8hz-18k?
Are you doing all your processing in the box?

I also use my own eq curves when recording to punch up the low end, and give a crisp high end.. I can cut as loud as +14db/0 using halfspeed and my own eq curves..

What is your reference point because +14db means nothing unless we have a reference scale.Also what type amps are you using?.
Regards
Jason

dOOD...... lIKE i SAID BEFORE i'M NOT USING A SCULLY OR A NEUMANN..

The cutter is a NON feedback Presto head, ol' 1950's stuff. Not a grampian or haeco. I also have a RCA MI-4887, these are a hot head, and are famous for the sound they create, although it's in the shop, getting restored, and I should have it mounted next week.

The presto head is known for a range of 8Hz to 15K, although it's really like 8hz to 10K coz it drops off steep after that. This is why halfspeed is soo important to my equipment, I would not get the range I can get with out slowing it down.

The levels I'm achieving right now are very loud for this cutterhead. Most of the old guys told be could not be done. Thats why I'm kinda of excited I guess. It's all in the way I do it.

The amp (there's only one) is a custom solid state. it's putting out about 50 watts @ 15Ohms.

You must realize that stereo cutting is a whole other playing field. Apples and oranges. If you guys have a neumann or a sculy, and are doing stereo, you have way more to deal with as far as getting the sound to record. Your investment is also far greater, and I hope to be there soon.



There are alot of responses, and I'll try to answer all of them..

[jaybird]

yeah i understand the halfspeed concept... the bit i was questioning was the "full range sound"? can you be more specific about what you mean by this? If you are refering to the frequency range then i don't understand how cutting at halfspeed would make a difference (though i am no cutting engineer it has to be said)... if not what do you mean?

Okay really quick and simple. When you slow it down, you lower the frequencies. Ie: 10K becomes 7K.. Sort of like how a sampler works. By slowing down or speeding up the sample, your hear different pitches. When this happens it's also effecting the frequency range of the sampled bit.

So by slowing down the process, I'm shifting the high frequencies down to where my cutter head will respond to it..

I understand that this sounds counter intuitive, but it works.. I'm making good with this ol' beater stuff, and I'm ready for the next big jump.

I also use this more in the studio for myself. I just figured, that maybe some dood's in the states would want this. Over seas shipping is expensive, I send a cut out to a guy in amsterdam it was $20 to ship one acetate. I'm glad N-type decided to cut my tunes over in london, so I didn't have to mail him an acetate.

[dubluke]

This guy can probably offer great value dubs but obviously can't do the full service, so they'd be fine for one off mono pressings but not for labels.

yup.

WTF. Why do you think labels are interested in dubplates? They don't sell dubplates.

he was talking about "the full service" ie. mastering etc.

labels are interested in this as they need tunes mastering and tweaking to sound the best before they are pressed

[jaybird]

I aways thought you got a better sound by having a faster RPM - IE: 45 RPM 12" should sound better than 33RPM 10" would like to know this from Jaybird and J if poss as will be cuttin plates soon!

the faster the playback the better the sound, the slower the recording (process of transfering to disc) the better the sound. Length only determinds time.. Although back in the day before stylus heat, I'd go with the 12". As you get to the center of the record, you start to loose high frequencies because the groove is getting smaller. This is not really a problem now.

[darkmatter]

This guy can probably offer great value dubs but obviously can't do the full service, so they'd be fine for one off mono pressings but not for labels.

yup.

WTF. Why do you think labels are interested in dubplates? They don't sell dubplates.

lol nah, i meant the whole service, getting tests/mastering/full release done all in one place.

i just thought this some people were assuming this guy doesn't know his shit, and that you should just use a tried and tested cutter instead, which seemed silly. irrelevant really as slothrop said, i hadn't realized he was in the US.

[edit] didnt see that post, cheers luke, you know where im coming from!

[jaybird]

I know nothing about cutting dubs but have always wondered if these are any good? http://www.htfr.com/more-info/MR34618

I'm guessing they're probably a bit shit but £5000!?

Every cutter I have talked to said this was a joke.. for the same price you could get a kingston cutter, and that vinylium head is a neumann sx74 knock off.. Some guys are using that head for mastering..

http://www.vinylium.ch/dubcut/dubcutter.html