How Records Are Made (Vinyl Pressings)

How records are made. Pressing music into a vinyl disc is not as simple as say, copying a file to an external hard drive. A lot of TLC needs to be attended to if things aren’t going to go horribly wrong in the sound quality department. In this week’s episode of The Occasional Podcast, mastering engineer Dave McNair walks us through the process of creating a vinyl pressing, from start to finish.

Quite a lot of attention is brought to managing the sound as the stylus moves across the surface, and Dave even drops some interesting insights into what to look for in a well mastered record. It’s a must listen for any vinyl collector or analog enthusiast.

The Occasional Podcast has just launched into their sixth season. Previous episodes include interviews, how to’s and more from audio’s greatest talents, including another interesting conversation A Beginner’s Guide To Tube Amplifiers and A View From The Booth: Reference Systems, Accuracy & Why Audiophiles Love Jazz So Much: including rare interview with the late audio legend engineer Al Schmitt. The finale from season 5 includes the yearly “best of awards” and you can also find episodes covering British HiFi, Subwoofers/Setup/Tips, and the how to: Budgeting From Entry Level To High End. Season 4 highlights include Joseph Audio, Pro-Ject Turntables, and Rob Watts. One can still download this season’s educational show with TOP’s Beginners Primer To High Fidelity Digital Audio alongside the latest on Two-Way Speaker Design. Fan favorite What Is Mastering? What Happens When An Album Is Remastered? is also still available as well. If you are interested in further exploring the analog realm, the Guide To Buying A Turntable (and records) might point you in the right direction. 

Options to stream this week’s episode How Records Are Made : direct from the embed below or subscribe to the show on your favorite podcast platform including iTunes, Android, Google, Deezer, Spotify, iHeartRadio and more.