Vinyl records now in crisis: Apollo Transco Mastering lacquer plant is a total loss*

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by SoCalWJS, Feb 6, 2020.

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  1. trackstar

    trackstar Forum Resident

    So it's been confirmed this will not have an impact on:

    GZ
    Precision
    Furnace

    Those are so far, three MAJOR pressing plants running round the clock.
     
  2. Kevin j

    Kevin j The 5th 99

    Location:
    Seattle Area
    oh ffs
     
  3. MrRom92

    MrRom92 Forum Supermodel

    Location:
    Long Island, NY
    That’s GZ and 2 pressing plants that outsource part of their production to GZ, which isn’t representative of the vast majority of pressing plants.

    How many DMM plates ever pass through the doors of a place like QRP? United? RTI? Rainbo? Erika Records? I’m guessing not many, if any at all. All plants that have been employed on big projects by the majors. Plants that have been pressing around the clock for a long while now. Record after record after record, they’ve all gotta be cut somewhere.

    This will have a big impact and everyone’s gonna be feeling it sooner rather than later.
     
    MielR and nosliw like this.
  4. LeifFan

    LeifFan Forum Resident

    Location:
    Burlington
    This is a joke right? Please tell me it’s a joke.
     
  5. Kardiaclp

    Kardiaclp Well-Known Member

    Location:
    Raleigh, NC
    This
     
    Jrr likes this.
  6. James_S888

    James_S888 Forum Resident

    Some obscure, unknown Chinese entrepreneur in some inland province, your hour of glory has come.
     
    OldMusicOnVinyl1 and willied like this.
  7. Jrr

    Jrr Forum Resident

    Well, in most cases those are going to sound better than a reissue anyway!
     
  8. kt66brooklyn

    kt66brooklyn Senior Member

    Location:
    brooklyn, ny
    I know of Chinese facilities that produce celluloid nitrate already. Polishing and coating the aluminum discs would be the needed skill.
     
    bpmd1962 likes this.
  9. Jrr

    Jrr Forum Resident

    Since DMM “can” sound good, my bet is labels like MFSL, who depend on new releases, and others that really care about sound quality, will learn how to consistently make DMM sound really good. As others have said, there are recordings that sound just fine mastered this way. Now there is a real incentive to dial in DMM even better. I think we’re in for a dark winter while everything is sorted out, but after spending more time reading the comments here I think things will be okay. We have to remember that vinyl was for all intents and purposes dead for many years and came back. The real question is who can survive and what companies will we lose in the interim?

    It’s clear many people posting have not read what the lacquer part of the process is; posts like melting down old vinyl, etc. Would be great if everyone would read Steve’s about the process post before posting! It has nothing at all to do with a vinyl shortage...would be great if that was the issue.
     
    aseriesofsneaks likes this.
  10. Jrr

    Jrr Forum Resident

    After all, UMG releases sound so great! Actually, imo that is the last company I want involved. I hate the way most of their vinyl sounds...they always seem to use the cheapest pressing plants. IMO they don’t care about sq.
     
    BOZMAN, Tommyboy and aseriesofsneaks like this.
  11. dadonred

    dadonred Life’s done you wrong so I wrote you all this song

    Location:
    Austin, TX
    First order of business is to re-allocate any material that was going to Justin Bieber pressings to a higher national (dare I say Global?) strategic priority like Frank Zappa new releases. Right after the task force solves global warming...
     
    JohnCarter17 and A6mzero like this.
  12. dadonred

    dadonred Life’s done you wrong so I wrote you all this song

    Location:
    Austin, TX
    They’ve already proven they can’t be trusted with flammables....
     
    Jrr, BOZMAN, Dan C and 3 others like this.
  13. Ironic or apropos?
     
  14. Jrr

    Jrr Forum Resident

    Great post. I would love to see the lacquers saved for new releases, and this is coming from someone that mainly buys quality reissues. But really, if what one wants is a previously released product, they are quite easy to find. And if you want the best sq pressing, places like this will tell you which to buy. I do it all the time!
     
    Man at C&A likes this.
  15. The Gomper

    The Gomper By Your Side?

    Location:
    Missouri
    Not if they keep making horrible sounding digital masters...
     
  16. DaleClark

    DaleClark Forum Resident

    Location:
    Columbus, Ohio
    Good thing CED video discs did not make a comeback, we would be in real trouble
     
  17. sublemon

    sublemon Forum Resident

    if a one man shop can produce high quality lacquers, it probably isn't too hard from a technological standpoint. I'm sure people will step in to fill the void, with some new innovation even maybe. Could be a significant delay on a lot of new releases for years though, a lot of small/indie bands doing 100-300 copies and releasing on bandcamp etc. will now be digital only probably.
     
  18. MrRom92

    MrRom92 Forum Supermodel

    Location:
    Long Island, NY
    Even if they wanted to - which I assure you, they don’t - MFSL does not have the capability to transition to DMM. Their cutting chain can’t be converted, and they cut their own releases. Of the audiophile labels that have their stuff cut elsewhere, they still aren’t going to want DMM, and again, even if they did consider having a DMM-equipped studio cut their records, the major labels aren’t going to let their master tapes leave the country, so they’re never going to end up anywhere near a DMM cutting chain.
     
  19. Jrr

    Jrr Forum Resident

    My local store has hundreds (if not in the thousands) of left over RSD albums. They on occasion put them at up to 50% off, many much more, but as someone else said most of them won’t sell even if they went to 90%. I can’t believe some of the garbage soundtracks (Ghostbusters II anyone?) for instance, that have been reissued. Tons of stuff that didn’t even sell when they were brand new releases. What I don’t get is how my local store is making money overall with RSD releases. I used to own a retail record store way back in the 80’s, so I look at the bins and bins full of those albums, do the math, and I know since they will eventually have to mark them down to a near zero worth, there is no way in the world they sold enough on the other end to pay for all that. And every RSD more gets added to the pile. You might say they can make it up by selling the in demand RSD titles in volume, but that math doesn’t work when typically the in demand titles are rationed and most stores get a handful at best. I just see that whole thing as incredibly wasteful, and this might reign in that waste as labels will need to take a closer look at what is released.
     
  20. sublemon

    sublemon Forum Resident

    it's a bit harder than making a lacquer coated aluminum disc though.
     
  21. Jrr

    Jrr Forum Resident

    Yes, I forgot that DMM mastered vinyl can’t be pressed just anywhere. Well, maybe building more of those presses is easier than remfg the lacquer equipment; who knows!
     
  22. The Gomper

    The Gomper By Your Side?

    Location:
    Missouri
    Most stores make their money in selling stock items on RSD - the idea that the consumer will come in to pick up RSD exclusives, and pick up more casual unstuck items during the visit.

    The RSD exclusives are simply a carrot to lead people to the stores.
     
    DTK and nosliw like this.
  23. The Gomper

    The Gomper By Your Side?

    Location:
    Missouri
    :doh:
     
    MrRom92 likes this.
  24. vinyl diehard

    vinyl diehard Two-Channel Forever

    That’s not what I meant. But okay.
     
    c-eling likes this.
  25. paulmock

    paulmock Forum Resident

    Location:
    Hollywood, CA
    I'm not so sure that module still works many years after it's inception. You can easily get the RSD items online a few days later mostly not at too-inflated prices. If you wait, they go down. Also, I have been amazed at how many RSD items are still available in the stores weeks after the day of long, long lines and crowded aisles. I have yet to not be able to find a desired RSD item days or weeks later without having to go thru the ridiculous rush on the day at the store.
     
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