Retro > Live-to-Disk
Live-to-Disk
Live-to-Disk is the ultimate RETRO offering, and can be done either using a Single-Mic recording or a Live-to-Stereo recording as its source. In either case, audio is passed from the output of the console into the vinyl cutting lathe, and onto a lacquer master disk. From there the master will be plated, stampers made, and vinyl records pressed.
Live-to-Disk Recording
The objective of this format is to capture musical performances on a lacquer master disk in real time. Generally, the simplest format is for single songs, for use in pressing 7”, 45rpm records. It’s more challenging to capture a whole side of a 12” record. Either way, it’s likely that you’ll need a few takes to choose from, in which case we’ll be consuming several lacquers. Lacquer master disks run between $30-$40 per, so the costs can vary depending on how many takes are required.
As is true for all of our live recording packages, well-rehearsed arrangements are very important. Not having this done prior to recording creates delays in the process, quality failure, additional expense in lacquer masters. Being able to sing on pitch, play in tune, and keep time is obviously very important. This seems like a glib statement, but without pitch correction, editing, over-dubbing, etc., lack of ability-to-execute creates an entirely different end result than when recording with the corrective measures used in a ‘normal’ session.
Mic-placement and instrumentation will be important; there’s a lot of mic bleed happening during these sessions. While we love the sound of mic bleed, in some cases it can become unwieldy and we may suggest alternative approaches for some instruments. For instance, sometimes mic’ing an acoustic piano works fine, other times we may suggest an electric version of acoustic piano to be played. Vocals are another place where we’ll explore different alternatives.
Lastly, since there is no ability to do overdubs, we look for creative ways to enhance the production with use of vocal doubling, having people (one of our engineers, or friends of the band!) play percussion, sing background vocals, etc. In general, bring extra people if you like to add candy…
Pricing below is for a 2-sided, 7” record. So generally that means 2 songs, approximately 4 minutes of playing time per song. If you have an interest in pursuing a 12” live-to-disk project, we’d love to do it. However we’ll need to talk about the project and define the scope and workflow to give you a price.
Pricing
· 1 day of recording, 2 songs recorded and cut live-to-disk, mixed/mastered live. $1,300
o 3 lacquers per song – this correlates to 3 takes per song. If additional takes are needed, $50 per lacquer used will be added.
o Lacquer masters will be sent to the plating facility and pressing plant of your choice. If you’d like for us to arrange metalwork and pressing, we do it all the time. Cost will be dependent on quantity of records ordered.
