soundhog

*Note* this was supposed to just go out on my Bandcamp page to followers of my little DIY record label at https://plastidisc.bandcamp.com, but it turns out it was waaaaayyyyyy too big for that. So it’s on here, now.

Good evening, everyone.

So, October 3rd came around pretty quickly, didn’t it? Yes, here I am again, stressing out like mad because it’s RELEASE TIME in about 12 hours or something. If you saw the previous email that I sent out, or read it on here or whatever, you’ll know that there are two discs on the way from The Ultra Modern Label in 2025. Bonkers, that’s me.

Tomorrow it’s a 7″ single of instrumental synth-pop, composed and produced by me. I mean, it’s my pretend record label, so why shouldn’t I? Entitled Interim Report ’25 (mainly because my LP didn’t appear, so this is a sort of consolation prize) it’s got one fast peppy number on it, and one slower moody number on it. Both were composed using some of my almost-working ‘vintage’ analogue synth collection: a couple of Rolands for the fast peppy number, and an example of the legendary (mainly because Bernard from Joy Division built one) Transcendent 2000 for the slower moody number.

It’s in a card sleeve with the artwork printed as front and rear stickers, sort of going with the industrial accident theme of the whole thing. It’s on white plastic, aside from four ‘rogues’ which are a different colour (or no colour at all). Sort of an easter egg hunt, I suppose. I can’t remember which colours went into which sleeves, so it’s a proper lottery. Anyway, there’s a photo below so you can sort of see what it looks like. As for what it sounds like, you’ll obviously be able to listen to the two tracks first. Hopefully they’ll be good enough to warrant ten of your Earth Pounds (or whatever that ends up being in another currency). Speaking of which…

Sending stuff around the world just gets more difficult with each passing day, as I’m sure you’re aware. First up: Europe. This Global Product Safety Pain-In-The-Ass stuff. Suffice to say, I cannot justify paying someone hundreds of pounds per year to be my ‘responsible person’ overseas. Not for the amount of stuff I (don’t) put out. I’ve been speaking to friends who send records out into Europe with no problems, so I’ve decided that I’m basically going to treat it like I did last year and pretend nothing’s changed. IOSS is sorted via Bandcamp, so there should be no extra tax surprises at the other end once an order is placed, the only issue would be the disc vanishing into the holding pen because it’s considered a hazardous item or something, in which case we’ll sort something out… even if it’s a total refund and we can have a little cry about it afterwards. I’m just as much in the dark as anyone about it all.

The US: After bashing my head against the wall a bit, it would seem that ‘phonograph records’ are exempt from Orange Tax. I can only assume this to be the case. I’ve done a ‘test’ with the Royal Mail postal system that I use, and it gave me a price for International Standard delivery with no warnings, so I assume that everything is taken into account and it should work ok. So, if any of my friends over there fancy the disc, just go for it and we’ll see how it all pans out.

UK orders will go Tracked48, so I can keep costs realistic. Hopefully the asking price for the discs is realistic as well. Digital is, as ever, ‘pay what you want if you want to’. The tracks were made to exist on a record, anything else is gravy.

Right, I think that’s enough about all of that. Incidentally, if you’re into this particular release then you might be interested in another couple of things which I cut and are on sale for this BC-F. First up is a rather good electronic pop 7″ by DIMITRI (not from Paris), which is coming out on the excellent Do It Thissen label out of that there Sheffield. ‘Regeneration Breeds Regeneration’ is particularly ace, and both sides have the extra benefit of my mate Dean ‘I Monster’ Honer’s sonic polishing cloth. https://doitthissenrecords.bandcamp.com/merch for that one.

There’s also a suitably nuts 7″ by Leamington Spa legends Jackdaw With Crowbar. One side is a sort of electronic dubby banger, the other side kind of sounds like the dear departed Tim from Cardiacs joining up with late period Add N To (X). Well, to me anyway. I’ve never been very good at describing music, so probably a good job I didn’t try to become a music journalist, eh? Anyway, https://jackdawwithcrowbar.bandcamp.com/merch for that one. And yes, both sound great. Of course they do. I made them.

There we go, I think that’s about it.

Oh yeah, the upcoming Photocopies 10″ has taken a step further towards reality. The music is done, the labels are done, the cover is pretty much done (I just need to work out what form it’s going to take). It’s going to be a translucent red disc containing 22 minutes of pop-aceness. I’m going to start making them soon, and it’ll be out in December, all being well. First Friday, of course. Stay tuned.

Ben

It’s not often that I ever come into contact with a record that I’ve cut once it has gone in the post. Sometimes people will send me the sleeves and any other packaging so I can make my own copy of something I particularly like – I’ll post a couple of examples of those soon – but in general I don’t feel the need to hang onto ‘one for myself’. However, a notable exception turned up in the post yesterday.

It’s an EP (or mini-album maybe, it’s 25 minutes long) by tenebrous LIAR, a group founded by Steve Gullick in the mid-2000s. If his name sounds familiar, then you may also know him as a photographer of some repute. Even if it doesn’t, I can pretty much guarantee that you’ll recognise some of his work if you do a quick internet search. So, obviously the visual presentation of his music isn’t going to be anything run of the mill. I supplied him with the cut 12″ discs in blank, black card sleeves, with white labels. The card sleeves were stamped and hand numbered, with an A3 photo print wrapped around it providing the main artwork. Inside, the discs are in black poly-inners, with the labels hand stamped. There’s also an A4 matte card print, the album credits* printed onto (what I presume to be) a vellum sheet, and a paper bag containing a numbered print of the full cover art. It’s all really quite something. The main photos here are from the Bandcamp listing incidentally, as I don’t have a camera which will do it all justice.

I cut 20 discs in all, and they all sold pretty quickly. Mr. Gullick was very happy with the discs, I’m knocked out by the end product, and hopefully the owners of the other 19 copies are as well. Good luck getting a product of this quality from Elasticst*ge.

* Massive thanks to Steve for giving me a mention on the credits as well. It doesn’t happen as often as you might expect…

Afternoon, folks.

No, no great earth-shattering news to report. Business as usual, basically. In case anyone thinks I’m not doing this anymore because of the lack of updates on this site, it’s just that the lack of updates are due to me being so busy. Some people might know that I was juggling this little escapade with another full time job, with the result that I had zero time that I wasn’t working at something or other. Things reached crisis point late last year, and the cutting won. So this is my sole income right now. Quite scary going back into the realms of self-employment after six years of a steady paid job (the first one I’d really had, which is quite amazing since I’m over 50) but it had to be done because I absolutely detested it.

The market has changed a lot in the five or so years since I started this little venture. Back then a few people seemed to be having the same ideas as me, but no bother. In the last two, I’ve seen dozens of other people buy a cutting lathe and set themselves up in business. Good for the customer? Maybe. I’ve heard some good results from elsewhere, and some shockingly bad rubbish. The majority is in the latter camp. There’s also a new(ish) company offering ‘on demand’ LPs with no upfront costs, in full sleeves (a real plus) for a fairly decent price… less than I could match, unfortunately for myself*. They’re being very secretive about how they’re achieving all this, and one of their founders is very vocal in trashing the likes of established lathe cutters and their methods. One of the other founders is someone who was a partner in a very well known and long established lathe cutting company. Hmm….?

It’s an attractive option. I know how they’re making them. I’ve seen/heard the results. Best leave it there for now…

Anyway, I’ve expanded the already copious amount of words on the site, addressing a few issues which have come up recently, and also why I won’t be able to do you orange and black splatter discs like some people are now offering. The whole ethos of Plastidisc is to make good records, and if that means dialling back the novelty factor then so be it. It’s worked so far, hopefully it will continue to do so in the face of increased competition. I’ve capitulated to a few people and quoted some recent feedback on the front page. I was always loathe to have a ‘testimonials’ section on here, I can’t stand people puffing themselves up, but maybe it’s time I started using the leverage that I’ve built up over the last half decade. I’m still cringing deep within, mind you.

Anyway, back to it. You know where I am if you need me. Cheers, folks…

Ben

* I’d say 80% of my business is 7″ and 10″ at the moment. Suits me!

I just realised I’ve not posted anything for a while. There’s an understatement. Can’t have me losing ‘engagement’ with the algos, can we? Whatever that is/they are. I could post this on my FB group but I really need to make it look like I’m not asleep on here. Quite the opposite in fact, I’m at bursting point with the workload yet again. Long may it continue.

Anyway, I was thinking about how the technical aspects of microgroove records have become something of an obsession for me, since I started doing all this. Having bought and played thousands of records over my lifetime, I sort of understood how it all basically worked, but I had no idea just how difficult it was/is to create something that sounds decent and plays properly, and how much intricate work goes into that piece of plastic which you listen to twice and then forget about.

I cut a few 7″s earlier this week for a very satisfied customer indeed (modesty prevents me from quoting his feedback, but suffice to say he feels they were a lot better than the ones he’d had done elsewhere of the same tracks previously, so that’ll do me nicely) and to be honest it was a bit of a squeeze. Two five minute tracks with pronounced beats and a fair bit of low end on them, one for each side. Keeping a decent overall volume without losing too much bass at 45rpm on a seven inch is a tricky act, because there isn’t very much space to fit it all in, if you’re sticking to the technical standards laid down – for very good reasons – a million years ago by the RIAA. Example: keeping the inner concentric (lock) groove where it’s supposed to be, 98.4mm from the centre of the disc. Going past that point can cause problems on some record players, aside from the compromised sound due to dimensional losses and increasing tracking angle error, which will affect *all* of them. Some auto units will reject the disc before the end of the audio, some will cut the motor, sometimes the arm will be physically unable to swing in any further (Soundburger owners, take note). If you’re cutting a novelty 5″ disc or whatever then obviously the rules don’t really apply so much, but for a ‘proper’ record I feel it’s best to stick to them.

As a result, one of the things I’ve been noticing on older records – cut before the days of super sophisticated lathes with pitch computers, and then Direct Metal Mastering which can pack grooves even more tightly together – is how much space there is (or isn’t) between the end of the audio and the lock groove. Going by the aforementioned standards sheet for the 7″, the last ‘recorded groove’ should be at 108mm from the disc centre, giving 10mm of run-out area. On a track which is up to around 3 minutes long, it’s easy to stick to this and get a nice ‘hot’ (ahem) level with full range. Past 3 minutes, you start to run into problems, and certain things may have to be compromised.

So, in the pop world as songs started getting longer but overall volume was still important for jukebox play and whatnot, people started to push things a bit and eat away into that 10mm area. It’s not uncommon to find 7″s from the late ’60s and ’70s with 5-6mm or so ‘deadwax’, sometimes even less, as the cutter strove to make it just that little bit louder without cutting the bottom end away. And the more they got away with it, the more they pushed it, either for length or volume or both. Therefore I’ve been examining dozens upon dozens of 7″s, just to see how close to the wind they rode. I found a record recently (cut and pressed in Spain) which was only just over 3 minutes long, but cut with a peak level of nearly +12db for maximum sonic impact at discotheques, and barely 3mm of space to spare before the end. The identity of this particular hot stamper club banger? Erm…

Hello. Business as usual here, the platter hasn’t stopped spinning and the discs keep on coming. There have been some interesting developments in the blank disc world, as the people making the nice white discs are now doing all sorts of funny shapes as well. Some are off the shelf, but there’s also the possibility of getting any design custom made. Basically this means that there’s going to be an explosion of novelty shaped lathe cuts going forward, and if you really wanted an hexagonal disc or a square one or one with little designs cut out of it, in black, white or transparent, then it’s probably doable. Bear in mind that anything other than a square is going to cut down on the usable space for recording, and hence running time.

Other than that, I’m awaiting a new piece of equipment which I’m hoping will improve the standard of my discs yet further. “But surely that’s not possible?” Well, yeah it is. I don’t care what shape or colour or whatever a record is, if it doesn’t sound good then it’s got no right to exist, and that’s the most important thing for me. So, more news on that when it happens. I’m not just mucking around here, you know…

Have a photograph to liven up this dull post. I recently made 100 7″s in black for the excellent Swansea Sound, which sold out in the blink of an eye. However I also cut a solitary white one, which went on eBay and raised over £200 for a fund to benefit striking Amazon workers in Coventry. I’m quite proud to have been involved in that, frankly. Right, back to it… type soon.

A quick note to say that decent quality white blank discs are now available to me, and thus to you. Prices are the same as 2mm black or transparent discs, which is nice. Let me know if you fancy a flat white that makes noises rather than just makes you jittery and gives you a headache….

(It could be a both/and, I suppose.)

Anatomy of a soundcard crashing:

1) Almighty popping sound sent to cutterhead at full power.
2) Cutting stylus jumps off disc.
3) Cutting stylus lands back on disc in a very wonky fashion indeed.

Damage sustained: one comprehensively blown fuse and a ruined cut. Nothing else, thankfully. It could have been a *whole* lot worse, especially as I’m absolutely screaming flat out right now. I need a stiff drink to calm my nerves. (Yes, any excuse.)

100+1 7s for a rather ace ‘indie popster supergroup’ done and dusted in an intense/insane 10 hour stint. I’d go to the/a pub but they’re all about to close. Plus I need to get started on the next job. Hey ho, and off we go again…

(I’m going to try and remember to post stuff from my FB group on here at the same time, see… makes it look better, no?)

Hello again. Just so you know, I’ve not vanished or stopped or anything. In fact, I’m busier now than ever. I honestly will try and collate some recent projects into a page on here, but I simply don’t have the time right now. I’ve got a current lead time of approx. six weeks, so please bear that in mind if you have a project you are considering putting my way. I think word seems to be spreading… More soon, honest!

How on earth can we be halfway through 2022 already? I don’t know. Anyway, this is a quick note to say you may notice I’m in the process of sorting this website out, the main part of which is moving it to some proper hosting which I hope should stop the majority of the adverts for goodness knows what appearing on it. I honestly didn’t know until I saw it on a computer not running an industrial strength adblocker. I think it’s working now, but we shall see.

As for records, I’ve been making a lot this year, and I’ve got loads more to do now. My trusty SP10 has been fitted with a bespoke part which now allows me to make 12″ discs that don’t sound like frying bacon on the run-in groove and has further reduced the (already minimal) wow and flutter on the outer edge to virtually zero. Which is good as I’ve had a couple of LPs to do which featured pianos at the very start. Always the acid test, that.

In fact, have a look/listen to this. An example of what I can make now. Compare and contrast with the competition, and all that. There may be ads on this, obviously, but that’s the world we live in.

A proper update soon. Honest. I have records to cut now, so I’d better get on with it and stop fiddling around with the website for a bit. T’ra.