Quality Record Pressings of Selina, Kansas make the best pressings I've ever seen. I was given the opportunity to test drive some test pressings of audiophile mastering by Sterling's George Marino that were given me by MCA veteran and JVC Cutting Room chief engineer, Larry Boden. Sterling have the world's only ATR-104 preview deck. It's made from an ATR-102... Not sure which signal pair is assigned to the penthouse, though.
A huge box arrived at the studio with not only several 12" 45s, but also a copy of the Ultimate Analog Test LP, which is a fantastic test disc for assessing and calibrating playback. I recommend anyone doing high end 12" to inquire with QRP. They even have a Wikipedia page.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quality_Record_Pressings
As the article explains, in the old days, temperature gauging was tough, since a thermometer is also a heat sink and will not necessarily show what the item's actual heat is. Dwell time was often more reliable as a means to optimize pressings. But microprocessors and modern thermocouples have refined the art of die heat sensing. QRP have brought disc pressing into the 21st Century, indeed.
- Andrew
DISCO LATHE
Discussing the use, history, and repair of sound disk cutting machines, lacquer sound disks, vinyl stereo monogroove pressings, and other, [un]related topics
