EZ Testpress (eBay)

[Angus McCarthy]

Is this anybody we know? Offering 100 discs for $350-$450. I can't seem to track down any kind of site beyond the eBay auctions.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/290856322083
http://www.ebay.com/itm/290856332290

[JayDC]

eztestpress.com
neumann mastering, won't except outside lacquers for metal mastering..

[Angus McCarthy]

Wow. There's even less on that site than the auction pages...

[JayDC]

I kind of get the impression that this guy prefers to work with people that don't know very much about how to do this.. I don't know how that speaks of the final product though..

[opcode66]

I don't think they run their own press. This is Archer pressing. I'll bet $20 on it.

They are using Archer prices and charging only $154 for the cutting. They have limited the time to 7 minutes per side 12". So, my guess is that if you have more material than 7 minutes you will be paying more than $499.

People should not be whoring themselves out. $250 to $300 is the industry standard for cutting 12" masters on a professional stereo lathe. My guess is that this person is NOT using a professional grade lathe. Even though the auction says Neumann in the title, it also says Presto, Scully and dubplate. So, I think he was just putting related keywords in the title to get more hits on his auction.

I don't know how you could purchase a pro grade lathe, take on the costs of setting it up and maintaining, helium costs, masters and cutting styli and only charge $150 for two sides. That is not possible.

[petermontg]

I wonder could we somehow call him out, maybe to give us a bit of insight. It's always better to hear from the horse's mouth.

[JayDC]

I spoke to this guy via ebay, and he assured me that he uses a neumann.. then he wanted to know what I cut on

[opcode66]

It would be good to hear from the horse's mouth.

People say a lot of things. Doesn't mean you should bank on them.

14" lacquers cost about $36 per. So, $72 in lacquer costs. At least $5 wear on the stylus. Box to ship lacquers for plating plus shipping $15. So far we are at $92. If this cutter is only making about $150 (their price minus known plating and pressing costs) then that leaves on $58 to pay rent on your cutting room, monthly helium tank fees, helium costs, various other costs of materials for cutting, insurance and a modest hourly wage. There's just no way this is a Neumann VMS70 or VMS80 system.

If this person is running a 70 or 80 it can't be in great shape. Otherwise they would be charging more to offset the costs of restoration or initial purchase. And if they are actually cutting on an 70 or 80 it must be in their parent's house where they don't pay rent. And, they must not be using helium. The costs just simply exceed the profit margin that he could be making.

If this person cuts on a Neumann then they are using a really old one with a mono head. Or, they are independently wealthy and don't cut for a living. If the later is the case then they are making it harder for those who do make a living from cutting by whoring themselves out.

I just don't believe you could feasibly keep afloat running a professional cutting room on those profit margins ($58 per 12" release). What money would be used to make a good signal chain??? It just doesn't add up. Possibly this is a rogue cutter working for an established room doing cuts at night without the boss knowing. People who run cutting rooms with employees who do the cutting might want to check their stock...

[JayDC]

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Dear superjay432,

We stay away from outside parts, labels, etc. can't be responsible for anything going wrong. What if you lacquer skips? That the first big no no for us.. We use the Neumann. We are happy with the results...

- eztestpress

I don't know why, but i get the feeling this guy is from ny..

[Angus McCarthy]

I still don't understand why they've imposed a 7-minute time limit for a 12" disc. It seems like a waste actually.

[opcode66]

I've taken what they are charging and subtracted known costs for plating, pressing, lacquers and cutting materials. The difference is about $58. So, with $58 to pay all of your overhead and yourself a per hour wage, 7 minutes per side is about all the time you want to commit to I imagine. If they let people go up to 20 minutes per side they would be making less than 0 given the amount of time it would take to setup, time out and make the cut.

[Serif]

Even 160 LPI fixed pitch, no de-expanding, would be enough room for 15 minutes of modulation. Not enough, though, for Kraftwerk's unedited 22 miniutes epic, Autobahn. (According to Impact Sound's cheat sheet) 232 LPI fixed pitch for that, with plenty of diameter loss, since it would need the complete 3.3" effective radius of a 12" diameter record unless an advance signal computation for boosting and re-bucking feed is established in order to use a finer base pitch at the same forte power).

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-21315793


I mention this in light of the direct-to-disk cuts done where fixed pitch is convenient (although a skilled maestro could learn the score and might eke out some expansions or de-expand here and there, manually). Only where maximum level is important to the client does the choice of the safest fixed pitch limit time drastically. A better solution would be sticking to 0 VU or lower for 12". This saves fidelity. Level is adjustable by the end user, but fidelity is cast in Nickel.


- Andrew

[petermontg]

Maybe it's just a ploy for a young cutter trying to find some new work. Would have made more sense to stick a reference or two into the details. Am still always wary of these Ebay ads for service's.

[tragwag]

Maybe it's just a ploy for a young cutter trying to find some new work. Would have made more sense to stick a reference or two into the details. Am still always wary of these Ebay ads for service's.

though I can see how it's clever marketing, it still irks me when I see ebay ads for services as well.