Frequently Asked Questions

Simply reach out to our team, providing us with your project vision and we will swiftly work to transform your vision into a lasting tangible experience for your fans to remember and cherish.

Are you a pressing plant?

No. We are a trusted fulfillment service provider that works closely with our vetted and reputable domestic and international pressing plant partners.

What forms of payment do you accept?

We accept all major credit/debit cards, PayPal payments and WIRE transfers. We do NOT accept checks or cash.

Is the 50% deposit for my project refundable?

Yes! If you wish to cancel your project we are able to refund your deposit, minus any goods or services that have already been rendered.

What is the difference between a lathe cut record and a pressed record?

Lathe cut records are manually made in real-time, meaning we use complicated modified machinery to cut a blank disk (acetate, polycarbonate, PVC, etc.) to achieve a clean high quality stereophonic record of a sound recording. Conversely, pressed records are cut onto one lacquer master using a high-end lathe (usually with a diamond or sapphire tip stylus, and is then replicated onto a metal-plate that can be pressed innumerable times on a stamper machine to produce large quantities of records quickly.

Why should I choose you to get my project pressed?

We simplify and streamline the process for you and manage your project with our partnered pressing plants so you don’t have to deal with their outdated and confusing processes and systems. If you were to go directly to any pressing plant to have your vinyl pressed, you will quickly realize that their process is far too complicated and time consuming, not to mention that if they encounter any problems with your audio masters and art files you would be responsible for paying your engineers and graphic designers additional fees to make edits or changes to allow the plant to proceed with your project’s pressing.

These sort of problems are very common in the vinyl pressing industry and will ultimately cause your pressing to be delayed and become more costly (pressing plants offer to edit your masters and art files for an additional costs that tend to be very expensive). Most pressing plants communicate through email mainly once you do order through them, and such emails can easily be missed or sent to the spam folder and their customer support on the phone is limited due to how very busy the majority of them always are.

Therefore, we handle all of those issues for you by preparing, editing, and optimizing your masters and art files before they even reach the pressing plants so you can get your records on time or possibly even sooner than expected. When or if the pressing plants do encounter any issues with your audio masters or art files we will hastily make swift and meticulous adjustments to solve the issue.

Furthermore, we help manage your project by doing all of the tedious tasks that all pressing plants require such as, manually inputting the track listings and time lengths, aligning the album and center label art with their provided templates, and communicating closely with them to keep you updated on the status of your pressing so you don’t have to.

For more information regarding this, visit our Disclaimer page.

Do you accept customer supplied lacquers?

Yes, we do! And if lacquer is a preference over DMM, our partners can also cut lacquers from your digital source files upon request.

Please email us for instructions on sending us your lacquers.

Why do you have to optimize my masters for the pressing process when my project is already mastered?

Your project is more than likely mastered for digital playback across various platforms, devices, and media only. However, a digitally mastered album/soundtrack, as well as an album/soundtrack that has been mastered for digital systems needs to be prepared and optimized for analog mediums such as vinyl to ensure the highest quality possible, which will ultimately set your records apart from your peers or competitors.

We have over 10 years of audio engineering experience and we utilize special analysis software and technology that has been tailored for vinyl preparation, which includes: simulated lathe cut and groove analysis, disc geometry and position, potential defects that could occur at the pressing plant that we resolve prior to forwarding them your vinyl optimized masters, and much more.

What is your current turnaround time for vinyl pressing?

Our current turnaround time is approximately 8-10 weeks from submission of audio and artwork assets.

Please note that this may be subject to change, as we are currently experiencing a high volume of orders.

While we do everything to ensure your order remains on schedule at each stage, unexpected events such as a stamper breaking on press may infrequently occur. If this is the case, we will expedite the resolution, and your account manager will keep you closely updated.

Can I pay more for a rush order?

Unfortunately no, due to the current volume of orders we are not offering a rush service at this time.

Who are your partners and where are they located?

We have several reputable and trusted partners that we work closely with throughout the vinyl production process.

Our vinyl records are primarily manufactured in Canada by a subsidiary pressing plant of GZ Digital Media. Established over 60 years ago, and based in the Czech Republic, GZ is one of the most reputable production and full service pressing facilities in the world. Using one-of-a-kind (proprietary) software to control the most advanced Direct to Metal Mastering (DMM) found anywhere in the industry.

Our engineers and technicians produce some of the highest quality vinyl records you can buy. We make our own (award-winning!) 100% pure virgin vinyl compound, as well as all of our own colored compounds, truly breaking barriers with what is possible while still maintaining the integrity of the original compound. Working together with GZ, our mutual drive to always be at the forefront of vinyl is the reason why we strive to improve technologies that most other manufacturers do not. This partnership allows us to offer the greatest and most innovative vinyl manufacturing, printing, packaging, and fulfillment to our customers all over the world.

Can I get just one record pressed?

Absolutely! We specialize in one-off vinyl records as well as small quantity orders (short run).

Can you do engravings on my records?

Yes, simply explain and add your engraving request in the ‘Additional Notes’ section of any order form on our site or tell us directly via email or phone. This can only be done for pressed records. This option is not available for our lathe cut records.

Can I just order vinyl records, without jackets?

Yes! This is what separates our service from dealing with pressing plants directly as most of them are full service plants, so all vinyl pressing orders with them must include print and packaging.

Do I need to order test pressings?

Test pressings are strongly recommended for pressing quantities of 500 or above, but they are not a requirement.

How long will it take to get my test pressings?

Once we receive your finalized audio masters, your test pressings will arrive in approximately 3-4 weeks.

Why is the value and quantity on my PNL sheet different than the value and quantity on my commercial invoice?

The PNL sheet that we provide to you is to outline the total costs of our associated services in conjunction with our trusted and reputable pressing plant partners.

Moreover, all vinyl orders are subject to a plus or minus 10% tolerance. For example: on a run of 300, it’s possible for the final quantity to be between 270 and 330 units. This is known as the over/under rule, and is an industry-wide standard practice.

Since vinyl manufacturing is a process which can result in occasional defects, our partners will always manufacture 10% more than the ordered quantity in an effort to provide as many perfect units as possible after all 3 quality checks are complete.

Any final value or quantity within this +/- 10% range constitutes a complete order and may be billable at that quantity.

What if I don’t want my masters optimized for vinyl? Can I refuse this part of your services?

You are free to decline this service but we strongly advise against doing so, as we will not be responsible for the potential problems our partnered pressing plants may encounter during your project’s production by you submitting digitally mastered audio files that have not been prepared for the analog domain.

However, if you’ve taken proactive steps to optimize your audio masters for vinyl yourself or through another third-party then that works as well and we’ll be more than happy to begin your project.

What determines your prices for vinyl pressings?

We believe in transparency and will guide you through the customization process, including the associated costs. We prepare, edit, administrate, and finalize your submitted digital assets (masters and art files), as well as optimize your individual masters by converting them from digital into the analog domain prior to being sent to our partnered pressing plants. This process provided by us helps to significantly expedite the vinyl pressing process at our partnered plants.

Custom colors and effects for records come at an additional cost due to the specialized materials and intensive labor involved. However, we strive to keep these options as affordable as possible, ensuring you can offer something truly special to your fans without breaking the bank.

How are lacquers cut?

Every record needs a groove for the pickup-stylus to ride in. This groove needs to be wide enough to safely host the stylus tip on it’s spiraling ride with typically 33 1/3 or 45 revolutions per minute from outside to inside of a record. Even without any music this spiraling groove consumes space. The shallowest groove possible will reach – in complete silence – the end of the record in roughly 36 minutes (33rpm) or 21 minutes (45rpm).

But typically our partners do not cut silent grooves. The goal of a groove is to record the motion of a cutting stylus while the stylus is moved by an audio signal. This motion (lateral and vertical) needs space. The louder the music gets the wider the movements of the stylus becomes and the the more space is needed. By watching a groove through a microscope we can inspect the frozen motion of the stylus as it is inscribed on to a rotating disc.

Every cutting system consists of two branches – called Modulation (MOD) and Preview (PRE).

So we have two sources of motion of the stylus: One caused by the coils in the cutter-head and one caused by the pitch system. As all motion of the stylus is converted into sound at record playback it is not possible to tell one from the other. But we certainly only want to listen to the modulation of the groove as a result of audio signals.

The trick here is to make the movement of the pitch system ever so slow and gentle that the resulting modulation of the pickup-stylus is below the audible spectrum and does not interfere with the motion introduced to the cutting-stylus by the coils in the cutter-head.

In order to make such silent motion the pitch system needs time – to slowly move the cutter-head to the safe position where the cutting-stylus will be able to perform all its motion without interfering with what has previously been cut and without risk of leaving the record surface.

This time is the ‘preview’ time – and this is the reason why the whole signal path is called ‘preview’.

At the end of the preview time the cutting stylus is in the safe position and ready to cut the groove. Preview time differs from system to system and is measured in revolutions. Typically today we use systems with half a revolution preview time – at 33 1/3 rpm this is 900msec.

The modulation path gets the audio delayed by this time, allowing the pitch system during preview time to position the cutter-head according to the needs of the music.

Disc-mastering engineers who fully understand their system can creatively manipulate the parameters to achieve the best results for their personal needs.

What determines the price of your services?

Our prices are set in accordance to your project’s type (i.e., “disc set: single LP, 2LP, graphics, etc.), volume (amount of records, masters, artwork, etc.), and the extent of labor involved with the pre-production process before the finalized digital assets are sent over to our partners for pressing.

In other words, the bigger the project, the more it costs to service, facilitate, and produce.

Aren’t lathe cut records bad with low sound quality?

The sound quality of our stereo lathe cut records can be better than pressed vinyl. However, like pressed vinyl not every lathe cut is made the same. 
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Experience and good machinery is the key to manufacturing high quality vinyl recordings and aesthetics. There are some exceptional cuts being done on vintage mono machines, but be wary of custom vinyl record makers that issue the disclaimer that “lathe cuts are lo-fi novelties not intended for commercial release.”

Let Nero Sol Records help you make a statement with your next vinyl record or release. Contact us to find out more about how we can bring your vision to vinyl.