Therefore, no special mono cartridges are necessary. This happens for reasons of compatibility with commercially available cartridges, but also because mono cutter heads are practically no longer existent. Today, the thinner stylus is also used for cutting mono LPs. With a stereo cartridge it was still possible to play the wider groove of early mono LPs, but not the other way around. With the rise of the stereo LP in the late 1950s, the tip radius of the turntable stylus was standardized to 15μm maximum. The lacquer master must be cut in one go, an interruption is not possible.ĭuring the cut, the chip from the lacquer is vacuumed off at the cutter head. Lead-in and lead-out grooves are cut automatically, the wider groove distances between the tracks are placed manually. Thereafter, just like a record player’s tone arm, the cutter head is lowered and the cut can begin. For the cut, the lacquer is placed on the turntable and a vacuum is applied from underneath, pulling the lacquer towards the turntable. Dependent on these parameters, the groove width and the “land” between the grooves are manually preset. First, the cutting engineer must correlate several parameters: the maximum level and the music signal’s dynamics and playing time. Most of the work takes place before the actual cut. So at this point, we will only a describe the process briefly. There are lots of videos on the Internet that explain lacquer mastering. It thereby minimizes the cutting stylus’ resonant frequency, which is within the audible frequency range. Smoothing the frequency response using feedback is another function of the cutting amplifier. The inverted RIAA characteristic is used when records are being played back.
Furthermore, the cutting amplifier fits the signal to the RIAA characteristic by filtering lower frequencies and amplifying higher frequencies. For one thing, very high output is required, e.g. These are no ordinary hi-fi amplifiers, but devices specifically designed for this purpose. Depending on the preference of the respective studio, however, other manufacturers are also used. In addition to their cutting machines, Neumann also offered suitable amplifiers. The cutter head is controlled by the cutting amplifier. They are still being produced by two manufacturers. The cutting stylus, a heated ruby, is replaced after 10-20 operating hours. Only a handful of people can repair these machines and spare parts are as rare as they are expensive. On the other hand, unlike stereo cutter heads, mono cutter heads have not been further developed with regard to linearity and distortion reduction.ĭespite helium cooling, the cutting stylus’ drive coils can burn out, which renders the cut ruined and will make a larger investment necessary. On the one hand, this happens for reasons of compatibility (see Cutting lathe / Formats). Today, even LPs containing a mono signal are cut using a stereo cutter head. The latter is considered very delicate and is therefore rarely used in general and none of our studios use it. Today, Neumann SX-74 and Ortofon DSS-732 are being used. Next to the cutting lathe, another crucial component is the cutter head. Neumann also developed an additional feature for the VMS 80 to suppress pre-echoes, which could be installed optionally. Due to the variable groove width, however, there is less need to cut so far towards of the middle of the LP, while maintaining a constant level of the music signal. For vinyl lovers, however, it is important that the VMS 80’s well-engineered variable pitch technique not only results in extended playing time, but also in improved sound quality.Ī basic concept problem in the replay of records lies in the operating principle of the record player itself: The closer the pickup gets to the LP’s center, the more the distortion increases while the information density per revolution decreases. The function of the variable pitch technique has already been explained in the chapter “tape machine”, so it will not be discussed here again.