Both Tim and Nick are experienced vinyl cutting engineers, having cut successful albums by artists such as Jethro Tull and KT Tunstall on the Neumann VMS-80 cutting lathe at our London studio from 2006 to 2020.

When the time came to expand to two studios we took the decision to dispose of the lathe so that we could focus on mastering full time, but we’re in the fortunate position of having amassed a wealth of experience with vinyl, enabling us to provide cutting masters which are ideal for the purpose.

Most of our masters would be perfectly suitable for cutting by a reputable engineer without any further intervention on our part; with the engineer making slight adjustments to get the best out of the process, taking into account the sound, duration and speed as well as the unique performance of their particular lathe, the cutting stylus and lacquers currently in use and so on. There are lots of variables, and a cutting engineer juggles them all to get the best possible result. Where the budget allows, we always recommend going to a reputable engineer/facility for your vinyl cuts and we’re happy to suggest some people to you.

However, many independent releases are now cut by persons unknown at the factories, where the requirements and specifications for a vinyl cutting master have become more stringent in recent years, in order to make the cutting process as simple and transparent as possible.

It is for this reason that we now offer a vinyl mastering service, where we have the advantage of being familiar with the material in order to make targeted adjustments where necessary to ensure that the cutting master meets the requirements of the pressing plant.