Frequently asked questions

General

Please address inquiries to the central e-mail address info_at_randmuzik.de. After clarifying the technical and commercial details, we will prepare an offer. Than you can order with reference to this offer.

A calculator is not available at the moment. A newly developed vinyl pressing configuration tool will be available in April 2023.

With the help of our online data transfer, you can transmit all audio and/or print data for your order to us quickly and easily. If you have any technical questions, please contact dataupload_at_randmuzik.de.

The delivery times apply from the date of order submission and the submission of all necessary data.
The delivery time for a complete order is 8-10 weeks. After 4-6 weeks test pressings will be delivered. The finished records will be shipped ca. 4 weeks after the customer confirms they are satisfied with their test pressings.
Delivery times can vary depending on the order.
The catalog number allows a record to be identified (for example, in our production process or on Discogs). It is determined by the label or artist and can have different formats (continuous label shortcut, name of the plate, etc.). The catalogue number is engraved during the production process, so that the pressing tools can always be clearly assigned. The catalog number should therefore be given for any documents, data and communication as a reference to the order.
Payments are to be made after receipt of the invoice, in accordance with the terms of payment and stating the invoice number in the payment details.
As soon as deliveries are commissioned within Germany, the German value added tax is due.
As long as one copy of the test pressings is error-free, the main pressing is produced without errors. For each main pressing the first pressed records are discarded, these are often faulty. This step is omitted when creating test pressings and can therefore be a reason for surface noise.
We offer the following formats and weight variants:
7 "with 40 g
12" with 140 g and 12 "with 180 g
Production-related weight can vary by +/- 10%.

Copyright

GEMA or any equivalent international collecting society must be informed of any mechanical reproduction of works in order to check whether the works are in their repertoire. After examination, the collecting society issues a delivery license.
Yes, a pressing plant is not allowed to ship any records without the delivery license.
Almost every country has a collecting society. You must report the record to the collecting society of the country to which the records are sent.
With the exemption agreement you declare you own all relevant intellectual property rights (e.g. copyright) and R.A.N.D. MUZIK assumes no liability if the copying violates the rights of third parties.

Studio

The mastercut is the vinyl cut, where the audio data is technically adapted and transferred to the lacquer disc or DMM disk.
A mastercut does not include audio pre-mastering (EQing, compression, limitation). However, a customisation is included. Audio pre-mastering is optional upon request.
The data must first be checked for accuracy.
The data must be clearly assignable to an order.
Individual titles should be named by side and position (for example, A1_xyz, A2_xyz, ..., B1_xyz, etc.)
If a complete file per side is sent, a tracklist/cue-sheet must be enclosed so that all titles are recognisable.
Optical markers (track markers) must be independent of the music, this means we should also be able to put two tracks together without creating an acoustic break.
If the desired revolution (33 1/3 rpm or 45 rpm) per side is not specified, the studio decides (recommended!). In the case of a discrepancy, the studio will contact the customer.
Accepted are the usual formats WAV, AIF, FLAC (lossless) & DDP Master, as well as Audio CD.
The resolution should not be lower than that of an audio CD (16bit, 44,1Khz). The higher the resolution, the better the result on vinyl.
Reduced formats like mp3 are only available by request.
The maximum playing time is always dependent on the master's frequency and dynamic range, as well as the RPM's of 33 1/3 rpm & 45 rpm. The louder the cut, the less playing time available, an average guideline of maximum playing times can be found here:
07 " vinyl at 33 rpm - max. 06:30 min.
07 " vinyl at 45 rpm - max. 04:30 min.
10 " vinyl at 33 rpm - max. 15:00 min.
10 " vinyl at 45 rpm - max. 07:00 min.
12 " vinyl at 33 rpm - max. 24:00 min.
12 " vinyl at 45 rpm - max. 11:00 min.
Unless otherwise requested by the customer, our studio staff will choose the best possible variant depending on the audio material available.
By default the catalog number + side is engraved in the runout (eg XYZ-Rec-001 A or XYZ-Rec-001 B). Extra engraving requests must be stated when placing the order, as any subsequent wish (after electroplating) will incur an extra charge.
Unless otherwise stated about 2 sec silence is inserted between songs. Please specify if this is already created in the master or not desired.
Loops and locked grooves are available on request.
Unfortunately we can not offer inside-out cuts.
All special (also technical) requests are to be clarified directly with the studio.
The master is adapted to be suitable for cutting with the aim of making the record sound 1: 1 like the master delivered, which is dependent on the material and not always 100% possible due to the physics of cutting vinyl.
Detailed technical specifications for the vinyl master can be found in our audio specifications (PDF).
Complete audio premastering is available on request.
There are two vinyl cutting processes: the classic lacquer cutting and the later developed DMM (direct metal mastering) cutting process. Both have their advantages and disadvantages. Lacquer cutting is most suitable for very loud and deep cuts. DMM is ideal for long records (LPs) over 20 min of playing time per side and thanks to the one-step electroplating process (minimising background noise) treble is reproduced with more stability. Pre- and post-echo effects are also eliminated.
With our two cutting studios we can offer both methods. The lacquer is cut on a NEUMANN VMS70 + Pitch13 computer, incl. SAL74 cutting amplifier and a SX74 cutting head. The machine incl. Amplifier has been completely overhauled and modified by FLoKAson (Flo Kaufmann, Switzerland). The DMM editing is done on a very rare NEUMANN VMS82, incl. FLoKAson Ultracut amplifier in conjunction with a NEUMANN SP79 mastering console. This machine was also completely overhauled and modified by FLoKAson
Unless otherwise requested by the customer, our studio staff will choose the best option depending on the audio material available.

Vinyl pressing

All colours available in our calculator can be ordered. They can also be combined with a maximum of 2 colours in the marble effect (the exact mixture in % cannot be given nor guarantee for the color result).
Yes and no. Black vinyl has the best reproduction characteristics with the least amount of noise. Colour pigments that are added to the vinyl can lead to slightly higher noise levels. Transparent colours are more affected than opaque colours.

Sleeves and Cover

There are many different combinations of our sleeves (Inner sleeves, Disco sleeves, Covers, PE sleeves, PVC sleeves). For a personal consultation contact us via info@randmuzik.de.
Embed fonts converted into paths
Color profile: CMYK
Resolution: min. 300 dpi
true to scale 1: 1
no cut marks, registration marks, color control strips or cutting lines
no template information from our specifications
Keeping the background colour in the bleed
Distance of 2 mm between text / important information and punching line "
Special colours should always be created as solid colours. Also they should always be left blank or croped.
To get a deep black area, printing with black as the only color is not enough.
One way to achieve a deep black is to mix the process colours in the following ratios: Cyan 63 %, Magenta 52 %, Yellow 51 %, Black 100 %.
For a "cold black" use cyan with 30-60 % as the only deposited color to 100 % black. A slightly "warmer black" is achieved with 0 % cyan, 60 % magenta, 3 0% yellow and 100 % black.
Fonts and the outer edges of a filled area should have a pure black outline, only 100 % K, so that a clear distinction without bleeding or visible registration problems of individual colours can be achieved.
The print data should be created in "print format". These can be found for each product in the respective specifications.
The cardboard we use has two different sides. A smooth side intended for printing and a rough inside. Inside out printing prints on the rough inside, not the smooth outside. This is not intended for printing by default. The advantage of this printing process is a special look. It should be noted that the paper reacts differently with the ink. This can lead to deviations in the print result.
When cutting the edges of printed products, a variance in the position of the knife must be expected. In order to be able to compensate for this variance, all print data should be provided with an additional 3 mm margin.