For The Record is a vinyl cutting adventure.

Well after almost a years worth of work, travel and capture, my good friend Gareth Moon has edited together our trip to Europe to investigate the world of Vinyl Records.

A expedition undertaken to discover, learn, meet and document the ideas and people behind the controls of vinyl record production.

Recorded over 6 weeks, travelling through Germany, Switzerland, Austria and the UK - For The Record exposes a number of notions about why vinyl is such an indelible medium and how it continues to remain popular in the the face of opposing format change.

Special thanks to all the people who helped and collaborated on this documentary.

Additional thanks to Creative New Zealand, for support funding.

While discussing a number of turntable related improvements with people over the internet this last year, i had it brought to my attention that the power supplies in the Technics affect the quality of the signal reproduced due to inadequate regulation. So i purchased a Paul Hynes power supply regulator and removed the stock PSU from the technics intended for cutting (images in earlier post).

An explanation from Paul “Many audio equipment manufacturers use industry standard solid state regulators in their products because they are readily available, cheap and easy to apply. They offer reduced power supply ripple breakthrough from the rectifier / energy storage capacitor. This allows a much smaller energy storage capacitor to be used, which in turn reduces component costs considerably, more than offsetting the cost of the regulator itself. Multiple regulator systems can also be applied cheaply. The main benefit of using these devices is essentially one of cost reduction. Whilst this is a laudable aim, most enthusiasts will generally prefer to look for performance improvement before cost considerations.”

And despite an extraordinary wait for the unit to arrive, i can confirm it is operating well! I appreciate the complex front panel. And it has a little blue light that emanates from below when operational, like the neon under a boy racers car. Pimping.

I think i mentioned writing doesn’t come easy. Im told the more you practice…blah blah. I just dont feel like talking sometimes. Or telling stories, feeling that responsibility to inform and maintain the presence a blog demands. Your only as good as your last post i suppose. Then it comes on impulsively, my mind saturated, overflowing into action. A cranial buildup of thoughts, experiences and activity. Rest assured, if you havent heard from me, doesn’t mean i haven’t been out there knee deep in it all. The adventure continues. I did write an article for a good friend of mine recently. He writes for a living and loves vinyl probably as much as i do, hence his enthusiasm to hear more about the goings on surrounding my lathe experiments and associated activity. But instead of boring myself and everyone else with rabid details of antique technological frustrations, i took myself on a day trip out to visit a former cutting expert cohabiting the Canterbury plains with me. Easier to write about anything other than oneself. I think i mention it in the article but it’s worth repeating; funny how you can travel the whole world round to find that the very thing you are looking for exists in your back yard. I guess thats what it takes sometimes. The effort gets the reward. Anyway, Austin has been one of the most pleasant and interesting characters i have met in recent weeks, welcoming Gareth and I into his house for an interview and discussion around his early years at the controls of Green&Halls vinyl mastering suite in Wellington. These are the pics i submitted for inclusion in the VanguardRed Magazine article. I think i’ll post the rest of the images i took as well…

Mike shows me how it’s all done. A garage workshop and love for miniature trains. Another man who likes to actually make shit with his bare hands.

A second and third platter option from Mike New… im geekn out. Big time.