Lacquer Vinyl Records

The recordings are cut on metal plates that are coated with soft lacquer.

Lacquer vinyl records.

Acetate discs are used for the production of vinyl records unlike ordinary vinyl records which are quickly formed from lumps of plastic by a mass production. The california plant is one of only two in the world that manufactures lacquers vital to the production of vinyl records. Lacquer discs play a crucial role in the production of vinyl records and are cut by mastering engineers to create master discs which are then supplied to pressing plants to make the stampers from which records are pressed. The manufacturing and storage facility for apollo masters corp.

An acetate disc also known as a lacquer test acetate dubplate or transcription disc is a type of gramophone record widely used from the 1930s to the late 1950s for recording and broadcast purposes and still in limited use today. Putting a lacquer or dmm master into a vinyl press is kind of like putting a cold grilled cheese sandwich under the wheel of an f 150 so instead we take it and spray it with silver nitrate. Acetates are the first step in the process of making a record as they can be plated with metal and used to make stampers for production of the copies sold in stores. The nitrate fills all of the grooves in the master disc.

The lacquer discs manufactured by apollo masters play a pivotal role in the production of vinyl records. The discs are cut by engineers to craft master discs which create the template to press. The apollo masters fire destroyed one of two lacquer manufacturing plants globally that produce vinyl records. Some argue that 16 bit is fine for vinyl because the dynamic range of vinyl is less than 96db but my suggestion is to keep your vinyl pre master at 24 bit in case the lacquer cutter needs to apply any digital processing before cutting the lacquers.

Basics lacquers which are available in different sizes are composed of polished aluminum discs which are coated in acetate. Establishing vinyl records value is an inexact science. On thursday apollo masters corp which has produced the lacquer. Out of the rubble has emerged the vinyl record manufacturers association.