Bad lacquers quality

[montalbano]

Hi all,
I understand that despite Covid, demand for cutting has risen lately, but MDC could send less and better lacquers to Europe rather than more and almost useless... with the last batch of 14" masters, I managed to cut decently only discomixes and short LPs ... with the longer ones, I had to reduce stereo width to minimize groove width variations, and cut with "shady" areas due to the excessive groove width to avoid that in other areas the grooves were untrackable. You start with 60 micron, you end up with 20 at the end of the side and have to start all over again.
This way, the risk of a bad product is all on the pressing plant's shoulders. Expectations from customers get higher, and we are forced to work in these conditions ... which are hard to explain to the public.
Any other with the same issues?

[misjah]

i had this long time ago when i switched from Apollo to MDC that it would cut more and more shallow to the inner diameter (usually only the lead out groove)...fixed it with a washer..never had this problem again...not sure if your problem is the same.

[montalbano]

Nice one. I found out that the flipside is fairly better. There is less difference from the edge to the inside, and if you're lucky, there are no small bumps as well. The small difference in thickness among the various sectors of the lacquer's surface stays almost unchanged though - and it's quite annoying. It seems to depend on the manufacturing lot.

[Phinster]

what are the batch numbers?

[trailerparkjesus]

Just getting my Neumann lathe set up and I thought I was having cutting depth issues. Glad to hear I'm not going crazy.. mine are MDC as well. Not glad to hear there are MDC surface problems when spending over USD $1,000 per box

[misjah]

Just getting my Neumann set up and I thought I was having lathe depth issues, glad to hear I'm not going crazy.. mine are MDC as well. Not glad to hear there are MDC surface problems when spending over 1k a box

You can always buy the alternative....oh wait

[trailerparkjesus]

You can always buy the alternative....oh wait

So great to have so many options lol

[jjgolden]

I have a new box of 12" MDC masters (L10061) that are "Dished " pretty severe. (i.e.The aluminum substrate is not flat.)
Suction will only hold down the non-preferred side.
My guess is that either they are bend in transit or when one side is coated and dried first, the aluminum gets bowed with the lacquer curing.
In any case, it's near impossible (for us anyway) to get this message to the manufacturer.

[misjah]

I have a new box of 12" MDC masters (L10061) that are "Dished " pretty severe. (i.e.The aluminum substrate is not flat.)............

Yep i have the same...was going to use them for ref cuts but can only use 1 side...often have the same with 14” too...you have to be creative to use them.

[jonoaustin]

I’ve found they vary in how much they are dished. They seem to be consistent within a given box, but vary from box to box....

[andybee]

It is a good thing, to have a strong suction at the turntable, to hold also bended discs in place.
two different pumps, one for chip, on for the turntable, is also an option.

[rcvinyl]

i had this long time ago when i switched from Apollo to MDC that it would cut more and more shallow to the inner diameter (usually only the lead out groove)...fixed it with a washer..never had this problem again...not sure if your problem is the same.

Hi misjah I
have this issues on MDC as well, it become much shallow when cutterhead into 8'' inch area, I have to keep adjust the weight of it ,which is very frustrating, what do you mean fix with a washer? put a washer under the lacquer to rise the height? which size washer are you use? many thanks!

[misjah]

Hi misjah I
have this issues on MDC as well, it become much shallow when cutterhead into 8'' inch area, I have to keep adjust the weight of it ,which is very frustrating, what do you mean fix with a washer? put a washer under the lacquer to rise the height? which size washer are you use? many thanks!

For some reason i dont have the problem anymore....the thickness of the washer depends...just start with very thin and add to taste ....good luck!

[rcvinyl]

thanks for your reply! you use 14'' washer to rise the whole lacquers height or just use a small one to rise the center high?