Vestax vrx 2000 - "demistifying the monsters nightmare"

This is where record cutters raise questions about cutting, and trade wisdom and experiment results. We love Scully, Neumann, Presto, & Rek-O-Kut lathes and Wilcox-Gay Recordios (among others). We are excited by the various modern pro and semi-pro systems, too, in production and development. We use strange, extinct disc-based dictation machines. And other stuff, too.

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Vice Fiori
Posts: 94
Joined: Fri Jan 03, 2014 12:29 pm

Vestax vrx 2000 - "demistifying the monsters nightmare"

Post: # 35658Unread post Vice Fiori
Mon Jun 22, 2015 3:33 pm

Ok, you all can punish me now and put my head over the wall, but yes, I buy a Vestax Vrx-2000...

Why I buy it? Because a miracle appears side by my country (brazil) with a only one guy in the word who love vinyl (only have lp's at home) and he got one by accident, and one year thinking about sell or not, he stop thinking and sell at me by $1.700.
I never see a right topic about this machine, and when i see videos, I never find with any sound sample.
Away i read it's about the bad reputation, sounds ultra lo-fi, dont work, blablabla.

I post about my first impressions, and remember, Im not reeeeally professional on the cut business:

*Sound:
-It's not a ultra lofi machine, I have really fun with it, the machine sounds great, really. when I put to record for the first time with a semi-mastered sound, I get myself impressed, when i start to use a better eq for vinyl, i still get impressed..

-I think everyone who use this machine, maybe, i said maybe, think it's only put a iphone and record, of corse any machine going to sound terrible and lofi with it, happen to me one time when i try record without any master.

*Mechanism:
-It's nothing the best, but not really bad, work nice even with the lo cost amp, record really loud, can make loud dubs, but a limitation with 15min per side (dont have pitch control and i think you can made one by yourself, i dont need it by now...
-Everything work good, but i think, like every lathe operator, you must need know the minimum about maintenance or you'll get screwed.. for ex: this machine have stocked more than one year, i need clean the cutter head, a little lub, fix some screws, put another anti vib rubber, tight more the motor mechanism and calibrate the output because the ship transport maybe get hard on it, but nothing terrible...
-The "locker" is made from hard plastic, without screws, so it's not get a hard fit from the blank, a little piece of fiber cloth fix the problem, one day i make a hole and a screw.
-The plate: it's not the best one, not a sp10, but work good, have a heavy plate, run smooth.

*operate:
-At first time, it's a pain in the ass, i think it happen with every starter on cutter... Noises, scratchs, static, ball and more balls from of-cuts, etc.. with little time i start to make great and silent cuts.
-Broke my 3 stylus to get it right, i dont know anybody here and when i start to talk with someone, it's late..heh.., now its time to get a new diamond one and put it to rock
........
So, buy or not? If you have the same miracle as i have, and dont have any cutter, why not? It's not a souri, but sound great, I love it, have a lot of fun and start my little business, i record my tests with the broken needle, only to test sound quality, even with the noises, and i know this noises come to end with new needle, because i record some clean tests, with no noise..
If you only find for 10k, try to get a souri, if you find one for 1k, dont be shame and be happy as I am right now..

So, for everyone who only and ever hear shitty about the machine, this is my first video trying to record, with no vinyl mastering, and with a bit noise, because I dont put the right weight for the first time, so yeah, surface noises, hiss from cymbals, etc:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oTVRUi_Jldg

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dimi751
Posts: 266
Joined: Fri Sep 07, 2012 9:24 pm

Re: Vestax vrx 2000 - "demistifying the monsters nightmare"

Post: # 35660Unread post dimi751
Mon Jun 22, 2015 6:31 pm

He he

Nice video and explanation, I've never owned a vestax but I have see one at a record store a long time ago, I spoke to the owner about price he said around 18k.aus

You know if your happy with the cutter that's great learn everything there is about it collect as much information

Have fun with the cutter

By the way I laugh a lot when you stick up the middle finger lol :D

Dimi

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Vice Fiori
Posts: 94
Joined: Fri Jan 03, 2014 12:29 pm

Re: Vestax vrx 2000 - "demistifying the monsters nightmare"

Post: # 35665Unread post Vice Fiori
Mon Jun 22, 2015 11:25 pm

Ahaha, thank you!
Im really happy for the first impression about the machine, I must confess, Im really scared when i see a lot of comments on the forum about "how terrible" this machines can be, and I see only one (and lost) video from a guy who don't know how to operate a lathe cut, so, can you imagine how terrible that record sounds..
I can have a nice high's and special in low frequencies, even with the limit from 20 to 12khz, I really impressed.

As i said, It's a miracle how i get it. I start talk with a friend of mine, who dont understand anything about, but he's musician, and he only said "hey, what do you think about vestax? someone are selling here"...
I even stop to think, just buy, because this is the first and only record cutter in Brazil I find for sell, and really close to me, only 20 minutes by car, he got a wrong packing and put to sell, in the box, complete, with this price! I start to get lungs and try to talk with souri, and it'll cost, i think, more than R$25k ($8k US), and i pay $1.700 US (aprox R$5.300) from vestax.

The machine weight something about 50kg, really heavy, i think it help about vibration, i only have vibration trying to record sheet pvc foils, I have the same with recordette, so it's not the machine's fault.

Now I only need to know how really do the master for vinyl, i know about the center bass, now i need to know how i can use about the highs to not get "hiss" and press more perfect from vinyl, I never do that, but thank god, Joly Man help me a lot, and Im electronic technician since I was a child, it's help me a lot too!

When my new needle and blanks coming, i'll record things with better quality and post here to show better about the machine, I cant prove something good with a broken and noisy stylus and noisy flex cheap blanks..

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dimi751
Posts: 266
Joined: Fri Sep 07, 2012 9:24 pm

Re: Vestax vrx 2000 - "demistifying the monsters nightmare"

Post: # 35667Unread post dimi751
Tue Jun 23, 2015 12:00 am

Hi vice

This software seems to do good mastering for you it also has built in mastering presets

Have a look

https://www.izotope.com/en/products/mixing-mastering/ozone/


Also have you try diamond on your cutter I'm not sure which cutting stylus you using

Look here diamond


http://www.myshank.com/en/9-diamond-stylus


Look here blanks

http://www.myshank.com/es/20-blank-records


Dimi

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Vice Fiori
Posts: 94
Joined: Fri Jan 03, 2014 12:29 pm

Re: Vestax vrx 2000 - "demistifying the monsters nightmare"

Post: # 35724Unread post Vice Fiori
Sat Jun 27, 2015 12:39 am

Thanks...
Myshank start sell back vestax stylus? great!
Last time he told me to send the measures or the shank, but I dont have time for this right now, i'll ask him if he got the measures again.. :D

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Ciuens
Posts: 191
Joined: Mon Sep 08, 2014 7:48 am
Location: Brasília - Brasil

Re: Vestax vrx 2000 - "demistifying the monsters nightmare"

Post: # 35732Unread post Ciuens
Sat Jun 27, 2015 9:32 pm

Em português primeiro...

Olá Vice, legal seus vídeos e suas aventuras com a VRX 2000. Bom saber que tem outros BR aqui no fórum. Estou me aventurando também, mas na montagem do zero, impressão em 3D e projeto da cabeça de corte.
Depois dá uma olhada nesses vídeos da evolução do projeto, já estou conseguindo gravar com qualidade razoável.

https://vimeo.com/131547513
Now in English.
Hello Vice, cool your videos and his adventures with VRX 2000. Good to know that you have other Brazilians here in the forum. I'm venturing too, but in zero assembly, 3D printing and cutting head design.
Then watch these videos of the evolution of the project, I'm getting record with reasonable quality.

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Vice Fiori
Posts: 94
Joined: Fri Jan 03, 2014 12:29 pm

Re: Vestax vrx 2000 - "demistifying the monsters nightmare"

Post: # 35746Unread post Vice Fiori
Sun Jun 28, 2015 3:48 pm

Cara, tá ficando show, a qualidade me pareceu muito boa..

Se tivesse te conhecido antes, provavelmente teria armado alguma coisa pra montar duas, estava em desespero neste tempo pois nada aparecia por aqui e não tinha ninguém pra ajudar..

Nesta procura acabei descobrindo mais 3 pessoas no brasil, uma inclusive me ajudou muito, passou também por muita dificuldade, já que não tinha ninguém pra dar uma mão sobre o assunto, este inclusive conseguiu uma vinylrecorder..

No mais, só por curiosidade: que blanks e agulha vc está usando? fez corte ou emboss?
Pedi pra fazer aqui uns 18 blanks de policarbonato cortados a laser, fazendo as contas deu coisa de uns 12 por blank, mas com uma bela chiadeira e o som baixo, que com certeza vem da minha agulha, que já está bem judiada, com um dos facets lascado, só aguenta gravar folha de pvc rígida fina e ruidosa, o poli ele nem aguenta..

Se encontrou a agulha no brasil eu arriscaria um teste, pois vai levar um tempo para pegar da myshank, não por falta de dinheiro, mas sim por falta de cartão, estou louco para testar estes blanks cortados a laser pois é um policarbonato composto também de pvc.

Se precisar pode entrar em contato. vice_fiori@hotmail.com e facebook: vice fiori

abraço e sucesso, tá realmente muito bom!

aqui um sample gravado direto de uma folha de pvc ruidosa, com agulha quebrada, é um projeto de sludge metal que estou fazendo, uma guitarra absurdamente grave, com 2 oitavadores, e mesmo assim deu um resultado interessante, só me instiga mais a pegar logo uma agulha boa e nova:
https://soundcloud.com/das-buch-vice/noisy-flex-vinyl-record-test-so-havera-malhacao

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jyonderboy
Posts: 4
Joined: Sun Apr 23, 2017 8:25 am

Re: Vestax vrx 2000 - "demistifying the monsters nightmare"

Post: # 46756Unread post jyonderboy
Tue Apr 25, 2017 3:07 am

Great video and review. Admirable that you jumped in with both feet and gave us even-greener types an idea of benchmark.
Worst case scenario, know your enemy.

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