Preparing Your Master

* "7" records over 5 minutes on 33rpm are not recommended as the sound quality is sacrificed. Unless a lo-fi sounding record is what you are after, we recommend you steer clear of this."

MASTERS.

Masters are accepted on CD, we can cut off 24 bit data CDs as well as 16 bit audio. Accompanying the master must be a clearly legible TOC or cue sheet showing the Start and Finish times of each track, the Artist and Title, track names, Label and Catalogue Number (if used) and if you like, any inscriptions required on the vinyl runout grooves - limit 10 characters

Unless specifically instructed otherwise, we will cut your master exactly as it is presented. We can of course EQ, limit, compress, re-edit and if necessary burn a pre-mastering CDR or cut a dub plate for your approval, at an extra cost.

A AND B SIDES.

There MUST be at least 30 seconds of silence between sides A & B. The written start and finish times must not include this silence. Making a pause command is not enough.

CDR: The best way to do this is to record a 30 sec "silence" track and insert it between sides A& B, so it shows up as "silence" on the TOC and we will know when side A ends.

Any special instructions (eg fade track 3) must be included with the TOC or cue sheet. All tracks should be level matched and EQ'd to your taste. Unlike CD's, vinyl levels are relative. There's nothing to be gained by squeezing a master though a digital maximiser such as a TC Electronics Finaliser set on 'maximum' to produce a constant digital level of O dB, unless you particularly like that sort of sound.

PHASING.

When a recording is "in phase", the stylus moves nicely from left to right. When it's "out of phase", the stylus moves up and down, causing it to jump out of the groove given half a chance. In the "good old days" of expensive studios, most good consoles had a 'phase correlation meter' on the output. Since phase is irrelevant to CD, this expensive extra is usually unavailable to todays engineers, leading to major headaches when trying to cut vinyl from digitally recorded or mixed masters.

Especially critical is the bottom end - when this is out of phase, the recording can be near impossible to cut. Extremely "subby" dance mixes usually present the biggest problem but are OK if the bass & kick are in phase. It's not such a problem for lo-fi garage recordings, unless the feedback gets REALLY trebly and piercing, which will be removed during cutting anyway. Well-recorded acoustic stuff is no problem at all. Most problems come from live recordings made from the desk, or from stereo samples where a plug-in DSP has removed a solo instrument or leaving the rhythm track. Using Stereo widening Plugins is often disastrous, and may cause the inner tracks to sound dull. Mono samples panned near to the centre don't have the same problem.

How can I tell if my mix is out of phase?
If you don't have a phase correlation meter on your desk or in your hardware, try reversing the phase of one side of your mix and listen to the result in Mono, panning both sides to the centre. If the mix is entirely in phase and the levels match, then the result will be almost silence. Reverbs and flanged/phased sounds won't entirely cancel because they rely on being a bit out of phase to work. As long as the result is mainly high frequency, there won't be a problem. If heaps of bottom end still comes through, there will be a problem and the record may need a remix in order to be cut at all.

Hint: Many mixers invert the phase of the signal from the Aux sends, so you can send one side of the mix from an Aux send, return it to another channel and then mono it as above to check the phasing.

Be sure to bring phasing up with whoever is mixing your next recording and we won't have to spend 6 hours and $200 in acetates waxing those phat beats.

LABEL ARTWORK

We can accept artwork via email or on a disc. Photoshop/Quark/Illustrator files are all OK on either Mac or PC, but please make sure they're completely ready to output to film. Please make sure that you download the correct label art die on the contact page as well as the Adobe Distiller settings

If you're providing film for us to print the labels, ensure that the film is screened at no more than 60%, or 30% recommended for solid. If you cannot do this, we will arrange the printer to do this for you, but again you will be charged extra for this service. Labels with solid art stick to the pressing plates, often causing damage and necessitating a recut, which costs you time and us money.

Our printers can tackle anything you throw their way. Contact us for details or email us at info@zenithrecords.org.

7" -- 92mm diameter
12" -- 102mm diameter

When laying out your label artwork, be sure to allow 3mm of bleed around your artwork, and ensure that the 2 sides are set out at least 10mm apart from cut to cut. For best results it's best not to rule a line around the diameter of the label as sometimes this can be visible on the finished label. The same applies to the hole in the centre of the labels. Please just use a small dot or cross to mark the middle of your artwork.


RECORD COVER PRINTING

We can print standand 7" and 12" covers. We can also work with you to develop unique packaging ideas for your projects.

ONE OFF DUBPLATES

Hey DJ, Zenith Records can cut your one off Dub Plates, just what you need to test out your latest tune on the dance floor, or to make a special battle weapon 12" for DJ battles!

If you are interested in Dub plates call Zenith Records to book a fast, fat, loud and funky cut!