How Vinyl Records Are Made | How Stuff Is Made

Before all the music in the world could be
played on this, and this, and yes even before this,
you had to get a turntable, set the needle,
and play this.
In 1948, Columbia released the very first
long play, or LP vinyl record.
This 20-minute recording began a
major music revolution.
Until the rise of cassettes and CDs toppled
vinyls from its throne.
Still, diehard music enthusiasts
held onto the vinyl tradition.
And it didn’t take long for it to launch
a comeback tour.
In 2016, 3.2 million LPs were sold,
the most in 25 years.
To keep up with demand, the OG LP producer,
United Record Pressing, had to move to a bigger
location here in Nashville, Tennessee.
It’s the musical encore many audiophiles
have been waiting for.
To make a hit record, you first need a hit song.
A band or musician will record their masterpiece
in a studio, then send the high quality file
to a sound engineer.
In this room full of machines, an engineer
will use Pro Tools to level out the music
before connecting it to the cutting amps.
These amps feed directly to the cutting link,
decked out with an actual ruby chisel.
As the song plays, the vibrating ruby engraves
specific grooves into a lacquer disc, each
cut signifying a different sound wave.
Fun fact, if you yell close to the ruby,
it will engrave your sound wave and your voice
will be recorded.
A single disc can hold up to 2,600 feet of lines,
enough to span the length of seven
football fields.
The first lacquer disc is the mother disc,
used as a mold to create a master stamp.
Each master can be used to press about
100,000 records.
First, the disc gets washed.
Then sprayed with chloride.
Followed by liquid silver to fill in the grooves.
Once the silver is layered on, the disc is
dipped into a nickel solution for several hours.
This hardens the silver into a layer that
can then be peeled away, cut, trimmed, and
perfected.
United Record Recording has a special way
of safely archiving and cataloging the masters.
And, they have thousands in their library.
It’s time to add a little heat.
To make the actual vinyl record, polyvinyl
chloride pellets are melted down in the hopper
into a biscuit shaped puck.
The presses first apply labels, which center
the record and keep it from warping.
Then, the two silver stamps are placed on
either side of the puck and over 60 tons of
pressure flatten the vinyl into a thin blade.
Lastly, the excess vinyl known as flash
is shaved off and saved for reuse.
The final result, a record less than two millimeters
thick but coated with the secret language of music.
Of course, all this work might be for nothing
if the final record doesn’t sound right.
That’s why you have Hunter, who is one of
the many people in charge of production quality control.
His job entails sitting in this room,
and listening to records all day long.
QCs look for warping and listen for any ticks,
pops, and weird noises that might show up
during the stamping process.
This takes a good year,
and takes some serious concentration.
Once they sign off, the record is ready for assembly.
We shouldn't judge a book by its cover,
but pretty packaging certainly helps.
When it comes to records, each vinyl comes
wrapped in a paper sleeve, printed with liner notes
as well as a thicker, heavier, cardboard jacket.
Typically these are packed by hand, but since
United Record Pressing turns out some 40,000
vinyls a day, they have special machines to
help with the shrink wrap and stickering process.
Then, they’re boxed, wrapped, and shipped
to your local record store, ready to bring
music to your ears.
Hey guys!
Thanks for coming to Nashville to watch how
vinyl records are made.
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How Vinyl Records Are Made | How Stuff Is Made | Refinery29

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