Record lathe for $1000USD

[djdiggla]

https://phonocut.com/

 

Cuts 10 records from digital files. Got a kickstarter with 3 days left.

[JHouse]

Dope.

[Tenshun]

I hope with the production of this I hope we will see more vintage cutting heads and lathes for sale.

 

I wonder if this will be able to adjust the lines per inch, locked grooves , 45s ?

[Deft]

After the Vega Plus shenanigans I'm not crowdfunding again.

[djdiggla]

What was the Vega Plus?

 

Ive definitely been screwed once or twice but not more than $30 or so

[Steve]

If Thud Rumble were selling it, I'd be in.

[Deft]

What was the Vega Plus?

 

Ive definitely been screwed once or twice but not more than $30 or so

 

The stupid handheld Spectrum computer thing. I pissed away £280 on that, the fucks didn't seem to do a single thing and walked off with £500,000.

https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/the-sinclair-zx-spectrum-vega-plus-console#/comments

[Tenshun]

The Person that's designing the cutting head and electronics (Flo Kaufmann) is a well known record cutter and designer of cutting heads. I am sure this is not a scam and its a real deal.

 

This is what he posted on the lathe trolls site:

 

"hello

maybe i can give you some more infos. answers to the not asked questios as some seem to have questions, but i can't read them.

all info we think is important is on the official website. all other not important or it will show up later.

most important. this is not a neumann for 1k but its real. not a joke made by people who are serious about it and who try to cnvert dreams into reality.

its a simple machine that everybody can use. really like a printer. if you buy a 3d printer you also not expect a full metal cnc router.
so just take it as it is. a super simple machine. i wanted to do a one button machine and i did aone button machine. no display .nothing on the first unit.
i build and service lathes since 25 years and if i think i can build high quality stuff and add all features i want. but the goal was a simplicity.

the fact that those guys who present the machine in L.A. successfully managed to cut records is best proof for me that the concept can work.
none of them cut a record before. the democut they provide was maybe one of the first cuts they ever did. not perfect. but also not that bad.

also the goal was to present a real machine that can be built before kickstarter. too many just render projects are shown there.
so the thing is real and can be built. so this first machine is built and handcrafted by me and lots of other helfull hands.

for the moment is a beefed up kingston dubplatecutter with, i would say even better performing cutterhead than the kingston dubplatecutter had, a great mechanics and a state of the art bldc direct drive turntable. in a nice swiss made quality case 3mm alu case outside and finest mechanics.
done by designers and mechanical engineers who knows to do stuff like this. . i dont feel bad if some of you prefer the 1930ies presto's i can understand, but we are 2019 and there seems to be people who like stuff different.
so give them the freedom to do a lathe that looks 2019 and not 1930.

most of the inside cutting technology is nothing new for me, well prooved and tested and i know how to do.
challenge again was to make it useable for everbody. but to do it like this its qute a project.

please just take it as it is. and dont cry for features or whatever you can not find in the specs.
we have for almost everything a reason why its like this or not.
if you dont like it dont buy it and build your own. more fun to do. and this is why this forum exists.

if you have open questions ask and you might find an answer in the FAQ.

the most powerfull feature many of you might not even noticed.
the cutterhead is a cartridge.
you can theoretically dump a nice cutterhead if the stylus is broken or bad. of course the cartridge can be recycled or shipped back. but the nice thing is that you can upgrade and have different cartridges.
i mainly did this because i love to put a "HD-Vinyl ready sticker on the machine (sorry for bad jokes)
one intention is that it should be upgradeable and expandable. and super simple. we dont want to ask user to adjust stlus and groove adjustment.
so there might be one day a 78rpm mono cartridge with the right groove geometry and equalisation. whatever
for the user its nice to just buy a new cartridge. send the old back and click in the new one. all nice and good.

again. it takes away a lot of fun we all have with our pre-war and 50ies beauties....

as a start the 1k unit will most probabbly not be a same as neumann performing feedback cutterhead version. sorry.
but as most on this forum are happy with 1930 moving iron mono heads or speaker driven VR heads i guess we can easy bring
same or better quality on the entry model.

about the blank situation same as for printers. the blanks will partly pay the machine and will guarantee the best performance.
if you want to use your own blanks. go and buy an old lathe. buy a VR or whatever.
the PHONOCUT will recognize the original blanks and if using others (sure its hackable..everthing can be tricked) just the warranty will be gone.
very simple and fair enough. buyers will be noticed before and its up to everybody if he wants to safe money stay with DIY or use the PHONOCUT stuff.

dear lathetrolls. no danger for all your business or loosing value on your beloved presto or whatever.
its just a serious alternative to cut a record as simple as printing a sheet of paper out of your computer.
which was not the case so far. its also not killing the vinyl mastering business and and it wont be guilty for
disappearing pressing plants.
if you want an oil painting out of your favorite jpg image you dont expect that from your $99 inkjet printer.

so enjoy your nice old skool gear and if you are not one of the chosen lucky ones who have a neumann lathe or a presto in mint condition
or even better completly home built lathe there is just a chance to cut your own records at home, like most readers of this forum here.

thanks.hope that helps and if not, go to L.A. and check it out.maybe the european readers will have the chance too to see it in reality.

happy cutting."

[arkei]

Flo Kaufmann used to press all of Switzerlands Vinyl releases. He also produced the Lathe-Cutter which you could put onto a modified SL-1210. This guy knows his craft.

[Flexinoodle]

Custom blanks = Bullshit, the developer controls the price and when they decide to stop delivering you are fucked in to hack territory.

[djdiggla]

^^thats what I worry about. Just a few years back seems like I was reading how you couldnt find blanks.

[Tenshun]

i am sure people will find out what the material of the record blanks are and then you can just go to your local plastic supply place and buy a sheet and make your own.

 

I think the reason why they are charging $10 a blank is because they gotta make some loot to keep the phonocut business running.

[Flexinoodle]

Then it isnt a viable business lol

[Deft]

The list of people involved in the Vega Plus was totally credible and included original designers of the Spectrum or some bullshit like that. They had already delivered the Vega previously, so it seemed like a slam-dunk "pre-order". They still fucked it up by all falling out and arguing / pissing the money away on lawsuits or whatever they were doing! So I'd now personally think twice about a $1000 commitment on a non-existent "product", even if Boris Johnson himself was behind it (aka the MAN WHO CAN DELIVER BREXIT).

[Tenshun]

if we get lucky we will have people frustrated that don't know how to use them just because they didn't know how to change the needle or didn't have the patience to dial it in put them up on Ebay just like the crappy Vestax lathe .

[arkei]

Maybe Dan Swift will come up with his own blanks made of Marmite (Beats, Breaks and Scratches on Marmite Vol. 1-10...watch out Simon Harris)...

[cutdisco]

The Person that's designing the cutting head and electronics (Flo Kaufmann) is a well known record cutter and designer of cutting heads. I am sure this is not a scam and its a real deal.

 

This is what he posted on the lathe trolls site:

 

"hello

maybe i can give you some more infos. answers to the not asked questios as some seem to have questions, but i can't read them.

 

all info we think is important is on the official website. all other not important or it will show up later.

 

most important. this is not a neumann for 1k but its real. not a joke made by people who are serious about it and who try to cnvert dreams into reality.

 

its a simple machine that everybody can use. really like a printer. if you buy a 3d printer you also not expect a full metal cnc router.

so just take it as it is. a super simple machine. i wanted to do a one button machine and i did aone button machine. no display .nothing on the first unit.

i build and service lathes since 25 years and if i think i can build high quality stuff and add all features i want. but the goal was a simplicity.

 

the fact that those guys who present the machine in L.A. successfully managed to cut records is best proof for me that the concept can work.

none of them cut a record before. the democut they provide was maybe one of the first cuts they ever did. not perfect. but also not that bad.

 

also the goal was to present a real machine that can be built before kickstarter. too many just render projects are shown there.

so the thing is real and can be built. so this first machine is built and handcrafted by me and lots of other helfull hands.

 

for the moment is a beefed up kingston dubplatecutter with, i would say even better performing cutterhead than the kingston dubplatecutter had, a great mechanics and a state of the art bldc direct drive turntable. in a nice swiss made quality case 3mm alu case outside and finest mechanics.

done by designers and mechanical engineers who knows to do stuff like this. . i dont feel bad if some of you prefer the 1930ies presto's i can understand, but we are 2019 and there seems to be people who like stuff different.

so give them the freedom to do a lathe that looks 2019 and not 1930.

 

most of the inside cutting technology is nothing new for me, well prooved and tested and i know how to do.

challenge again was to make it useable for everbody. but to do it like this its qute a project.

 

please just take it as it is. and dont cry for features or whatever you can not find in the specs.

we have for almost everything a reason why its like this or not.

if you dont like it dont buy it and build your own. more fun to do. and this is why this forum exists.

 

if you have open questions ask and you might find an answer in the FAQ.

 

the most powerfull feature many of you might not even noticed.

the cutterhead is a cartridge.

you can theoretically dump a nice cutterhead if the stylus is broken or bad. of course the cartridge can be recycled or shipped back. but the nice thing is that you can upgrade and have different cartridges.

i mainly did this because i love to put a "HD-Vinyl ready sticker on the machine (sorry for bad jokes)

one intention is that it should be upgradeable and expandable. and super simple. we dont want to ask user to adjust stlus and groove adjustment.

so there might be one day a 78rpm mono cartridge with the right groove geometry and equalisation. whatever

for the user its nice to just buy a new cartridge. send the old back and click in the new one. all nice and good.

 

again. it takes away a lot of fun we all have with our pre-war and 50ies beauties....

 

as a start the 1k unit will most probabbly not be a same as neumann performing feedback cutterhead version. sorry.

but as most on this forum are happy with 1930 moving iron mono heads or speaker driven VR heads i guess we can easy bring

same or better quality on the entry model.

 

about the blank situation same as for printers. the blanks will partly pay the machine and will guarantee the best performance.

if you want to use your own blanks. go and buy an old lathe. buy a VR or whatever.

the PHONOCUT will recognize the original blanks and if using others (sure its hackable..everthing can be tricked) just the warranty will be gone.

very simple and fair enough. buyers will be noticed before and its up to everybody if he wants to safe money stay with DIY or use the PHONOCUT stuff.

 

dear lathetrolls. no danger for all your business or loosing value on your beloved presto or whatever.

its just a serious alternative to cut a record as simple as printing a sheet of paper out of your computer.

which was not the case so far. its also not killing the vinyl mastering business and and it wont be guilty for

disappearing pressing plants.

if you want an oil painting out of your favorite jpg image you dont expect that from your $99 inkjet printer.

 

so enjoy your nice old skool gear and if you are not one of the chosen lucky ones who have a neumann lathe or a presto in mint condition

or even better completly home built lathe there is just a chance to cut your own records at home, like most readers of this forum here.

 

thanks.hope that helps and if not, go to L.A. and check it out.maybe the european readers will have the chance too to see it in reality.

 

happy cutting."

I was like whatever who cares.......but this makes sense, Nice!

On the other hand, i do like a vinyl product and consider a release on vinyl a real release(instread of digital releases) but i stopped seeing reasons cutting a dubplate now that DVS is here.(in terms of scratching)

[Flexinoodle]

First off, you dont “just go to your local plastic factory and have blanks cut” that is complete and utter nonsense, you think they cut it out with scissors lol, no, they use a die that is designed specifically for the job and you have to buy it for that job.

Second, calling the Vestax a crappy lather because a bunch of muppets never got it to work properly is also nonsense, all lathes are crappy if you are crap at using a a lathe, yes the Vestax has restricted frequency range, if any of your music uses those ranges i would be surprised, and if you are over the age of ten i would be surprised if you can hear those ranges.

Buying a Presto might seem like the greatest idea ever, but unless you plan on cutting master laqcuers for a business, it is the stupidest idea anybody could ever have that equates to a fucking huge pit that eats money for snacks.

 

This thing is doomed because it is hipster bullshit, who the fuck else will pay £10 a plate.

[djdiggla]

Yeah $10 a plate is just too much. I'd rather buy a tape duplicator.

[Tenshun]

i actually go to my local plastic supplier in San Diego and cut my blanks out at home with giant scissors! im not Joking by the way!

 

And i actually have two Prestos. One a 6N and the other a k8.

 

I bought these way back in Ebay for really cheap. $250 for the K8 and $500 for the 6N. ive made my money back on both of them releasing diy 7s, 10 and weird shaped ones.

i before everyone was into releasing lathes.

 

You can have the plastic supplier cut the sheet of polycarbonate for you if your not into cutting the sheet yourself.

[Flexinoodle]

So it went from $1000 to $2200 hahahaha, yeah, really.