the learning curve

[flask]

Where do I start. I am looking for a way to learn how to cut records. I understand this isn't an over night process. I have a lot of time on my hands and willing to use it towards learning the craft. If anyone has any ideas, please share them.

[smithadamm]

I think everybody's journey to learn to cut records is different, but I'll give you my general trajectory. I ran a small label and we got our records manufactured locally. On the advice of an old rocker guy in the scene that we released records for, I would sit in on the mastering sessions when we would have jobs cut. I got interested in the process of cutting records then. After a while I got to know the ME pretty well and he would let me sit in on any mastering job he was doing, I spent a couple of years just watching this man cut and trying not to bother him too much with questions. Once I felt like I had a very basic grasp on the process, I bought the basic disc mastering book and a Presto K8 or K10 or whatever, and messed around with that for a while.

I worked as a recording engineer and liked tinkering with studio electronics so I was fluent in some of the basic concepts like AC vs DC, dBV vs dBu vs dBm and how that relates to voltage and current and resistance. I also understood ohms law, kirchoff's voltage law, the math behind how capacitive and inductive reactance become impedance, could design basic filters and had a basic understanding of how different types of motors work. Strictly speaking, you don't have to actually know that stuff to cut a record, but I can't imagine even trying to approach the process without having those fundamentals available to me.

At that point, my experience is a little different than the norm, in that, I got along with the staff at the factory well and eventually got a job offer, I ran a record press on second shift and apprenticed under the ME in the mornings for a few years and eventually was allowed to cut on the house system. After that I put a bunch of money together and bought a Scully. So, if you have a lot of time, I would try to get someone in your area to let you sit in on cutting jobs. Be polite and don't be a pain in the ass. If you have some cash you can buy some kind of consumer grade lathe and push it as far as it will go. At some point, doing this will get expensive, there is no way around that, even working with a Presto will be a very expensive hobby as hobbys go, so if you really want to get into it start saving money now.

[flask]

Thank you smithadamm, I appreciate the information. So I believe that I need to brush up on my mathematic skills and also do some serious reading. Can you recommend any books on these subjects(math, cutting, mastering).

[piaptk]

The best advice is always to read through every thread on this forum with the word newbie in it somewhere via the search. So much information already contained within these digital walls.

There are many paths through this hobby, none of which are cheap, easy, or quick. The more you can learn from everyone else's mistakes, the better off you will be.

[smithadamm]

The best advice is always to read through every thread on this forum with the word newbie in it somewhere via the search. So much information already contained within these digital walls.

There are many paths through this hobby, none of which are cheap, easy, or quick. The more you can learn from everyone else's mistakes, the better off you will be.

All of this is true as can be.

Thank you smithadamm, I appreciate the information. So I believe that I need to brush up on my mathematic skills and also do some serious reading. Can you recommend any books on these subjects(math, cutting, mastering).

The Larry Boden book is great for the basics of Laquer mastering. Mastering Audio: The Art and the Science by Bob Katz is great if you intend to cut masters.

On the electronics theory end, all of the stuff you would ever really have to do is basic algebra, if that, the math part is pretty simple, the electronics concepts are important. There are a million books on basic electronics, I had a set of Radio Shack/Texas Instrument Learning Center ones from the 70's that were pretty good. For really getting good at the technical stuff, I swear by community college electronics technical programs, but it helps if you are already kind of messing with electronics so you have some context for what you are learning. If you are using anything with tubes, you should work through the old NEETS manual (an old Navy training manual) http://electriciantraining.tpub.com/14178/

Also, I should say, electricity kills, so if you decide to learn electronics on your own, be safe.