One thing I didn't realize for a long time is that it turns out that a lot of these machines have a digital stage. To cut a disk you need to pack the grooves as close as possible. But the spiral isn't fixed, it's adjusted dynamically. Quiet sections can be packed close together. That means that before cutting, the machine needs to know how much physical space it needs for the audio it's about to put on the disk. And that requires a buffer, and that's very often digital. So it turns out there's precious little vinyl out there without a digital step being involved out there.

Not that it matters anyway, since vinyl is a pretty terrible technology, but still, it's kind of funny.

Is there a performative and marketing element? sure. But that's the music world, a great deal is performative. We have depended on patrons who want to support the arts and be seen supporting the arts for time immemorial.

FWIW, You can get 100 records + jackets printed professionally for ~$10 a pop.

Gakken toy record cutter is low quality, but costs $160.

I wonder what this would cost. Surely it's impractical for personal use, as marketed.

https://youtu.be/udQC04YrXq0

Actual transcription lathes will be much more expensive and I think can record on better material. Those can be used for direct to disc recording production. I’m not sure if what TE and Dinsync offer can make something that can be used for production.

Their hours are "2:30 PM to 12 Midnight", I sort of believe... 7 days a week?

Rich will actually answer the phone, and guide you. I've done it a few times (it's an incredibly cool gift). A single record is $12. Extremely worth experiencing it.

Their track record consists of vastly overpriced and under-functioning products.

Damn I would buy this for 50 bucks.

I actually have a project that requires a bunch of custom vinyl, but I am guessing this is not economical.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flexi_disc

I remember to listening to some in my childhood and never understood why the tech was not the standard (relative to the brittle cumbersome vinyls). Maybe the sound quality is worse. Unsure

Isn't marketing wonderful. Who cares what the motor shaft is made of? (and why not ordinary steel? tungsten just sounds cooler? they want to reuse it for a lightbulb filament later?)

https://www.outofrage.net/post/review-henge-journey-to-voltu...

I love this company and wish there was more like them.

It appears they’ll just rebrand a few record cutters and call it a product. TE always comes off as really low quality for the types of prices they charge.

The MPC Sample is 400$ and looks well built, the KO2 is 300$ and has faders falling off.

Roland has a few samplers in the same price range as well.

The audio wasn't the best, but hey, you could make your own dubplates, and it did so in stereo!

I wonder if they chose it because of the APC40, which is a delightful set of MIDI pads.

Scrolled down

WTAF

I'm a total TE fanboi, I have the OP1F and OP-XY, they're everything I ever wanted and my MPC and Digitakt haven't be touched in months. And the Digitone Keys is unplugged propped against the bookshelf. It's extraordinary how addictive these two little synths are for making things happen.

The APC-2, however, is a fascinating outcome of what happens when you have a bunch of creative people who like - and can - do things that are new to them and make them new to others. It's no wonder they keep getting asked to do cool stuff like Panic's Playdate, Baidu's Raven, Nothing Smartphones and Headphones.

TE have retained this incredible playful vibe that has long drained from Sony and Apple.

I've heard every lazy comment about hipsters and rich kids who are supposedly their target audience, and the cost of the products, as if the visible ingredients are all that accounting measure. Swiss watches cost orders of magnitude more than TE's amazing inventions, and their only purpose seems to be to remind the wearer how amazing they are when they look at it.

"God, I'm good," thought the Rolex wearer as he glanced at his wrist.

Hipsters will buy anything that looks cool. But that doesn’t mean anything that looks cool was made for them.