Just like they did before tape
Teenage Engineering
Forget home-taping or music streaming.
Now you might cut your own vinyl records at home.
Swedish musical instrument design supremos Teenage Engineering is selling a record player that can both cut and play vinyl.
Teenage Engineering
Either way, it also gives us an excuse to look at the weird world of vinyl recordings.
“On one hand, the PO-80 offers a high-quality cutting system that rivals commercial presses.
But on the other hand, there are some key differences that make home-pressed records sound different.”
Teenage Engineering
The PO-80 has a cutting arm and a playback arm.
It’s just like making a tape, except you only get one chance.
Thankfully, the blank vinyl discs are $20 for 10, or $2 a pop.
But who would buy this?
And it’s also just neat to be able to offer vinyl copies of your own music.
You could sell limited editions at gigs, for example.
Master Record
But hold on.
You probably don’t want to plug your Ableton Live project straight into the PO-80 and record that.
To sound good on vinyl, music has to be properly prepared or mastered.
“Mastering for vinyl, digital, and CDs is a markedly different process.
Like a lot of music technology, it changed how musicians performed.
“Even Billie Holiday, that sort of whiney vocal that you know?
