Speakers Corner Records Production

The success and quality of every new release depends upon the quality of the original tape. This clip offers a peek into one of the tape archives at the Emil Berliner House in Hanover, a part of Universal Music. Both analogue tape material and digital media such as U-Matics and Exabyte cartridges can be seen.
Subsequently you can see the original tape of Mercury SR 90282, one of our very first releases from the Mercury Living Presence catalogue. This recording was made using the three-track technique and was later mixed down to two tracks in the Fine Recording Studios by Wilma Cozart-Fine herself.


This clip and the following two show our cutter Willem Makkee at work in the Emil Berliner Studios.
The complicated tape path results in a delay that is necessary for the cutting procedure: via two heads, the signal first passes by the preview head for driving the cutting head and then with a slight delay to the cutting stylus itself. In this way, it is guaranteed that the groove spacing is appropriate to the recorded amplitude.
It should be mentioned that while digital delays are often used in many cutting studios (meaning that the actual analogue signal is digitalized), our cutters make exclusive use of analogue delays as has the Studer A-80 MK I shown here.



Here you can see the control desk of the Neuman VMS 80 cutting lathe. Our release "Odetta Sings Dylan" can be heard in the background.
A blank cutting disc, which is an aluminium disc covered with a film of lacquer and having a diameter of 14", is unpacked and placed on the turntable of the cutting machine. In order to eliminate even the tiniest movement a vacuum suction system secures the recording blank to the turntable.


The clip begins with a view of the disc-cutting lathe with a lacquer in place, followed by the cutter amplifier Ortofon GO 741, incidentally a transistor amplifier. Mr. Makkee guides the cutting head over the lacquer; the mastering of the Odetta LP begins, and this can be seen from different angles. Subsequently, the cutting head is shown alone.
Finally, we see Willem Makkee standing in front of his equipment.



Ever since our first release ten years ago, our records have been produced by the record manufacturers Pallas in Diepholz. The shot shows the Pallas Group's buildings which house its vinyl production; the vinyl granulate is stored in the large tower in the foreground. At the end of the clip is a diagram showing the steps involved in the production of a record: recording tape - lacquer - father (negative) - mother (positive) - pressing matrix (son) - vinyl - final product.


In the electro-plating department, the surface of the recorded lacquer is plated with silver, thus making it conductive to electricity. Thereafter it is submerged for two hours in an electro-plating bath, shown at the beginning of the clip. When the desired thickness has been achieved, the lacquer and the nickel layer that has 'grown' on it are taken out of the bath and the layers are separated. The lacquer has now achieved its purpose and is disposed of. The remaining layer, known as the "father", is used to produce so-called "mothers" by repeating the electro-plating process, as is shown in the second part of the clip. Finally, we see the centre hole being punched and the forming of the matrix analogous to the pressing mould.



Only when the mother has been produced can the cutting and the electro-plating be checked. This clip shows the optical and acoustic examination. Any flaws that occurred during electro-plating can be eliminated with special tools. Flaws in the lacquer, however, cannot be rectified and a new lacquer must be cut.
When is has been approved, the mother is once again dipped in a separation solution and subsequently in a nickel bath (see part two of video 7) in order to produce a "son". This is then chromium-plated to make it more resistant to wear during the pressing process and in order to lend the required gloss to the final product.



Here we see the actual production. The shot shows one of two rows of automatic presses; in addition there are also manual machines (e.g. for test pressings), and machines for the production of singles.

The actual pressing process is well demonstrated here:
The matrix is fixed in one jaw of the press, and the matrix that will produce the other side of the record is fixed in the other jaw. Then, while the jaws are open, the two paper labels are placed in position and then the so-called "vinyl biscuit". The jaws are closed together under great pressure at a temperature of 150°C in order to produce the record. It should be noted that the pressing procedure shown in the clip is not that of one of our releases - our products remain considerably longer in the machine.
Finally, the surplus material around the disc is cut away and the edge buffed, and the disc is slipped into the inner sleeve.



Weighted down with metal plates, the freshly pressed records have to cool down for at least 24 hours, as shown at the beginning of this clip. All records manufactured for Speakers Corner are individually (!) subjected to an optical examination and then packaged further - in this case, by the way, you can see our release entitled "Mendelssohn In Scotland".
The final shot shows one of the three warehouses for covers and labels, and the shipping department.

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Muito bom, Milton.
Obrigado pelo tópico.

Ainda não vi tudo tudo, mas desde já quero congratular o amigo Milton por este excelente tópico. Não é por acaso que lhe chamam "The Most Beautiful Music Format In The World".

Well Done João!!!