Starting cutting again with a Rek-O-Kut/ Presto in Canada

[EmAtChapterV]

Hi everyone, I thought I'd introduce myself.

I own a Rek-O-Kut M5 with a Presto 1D head, which unfortunately due to life circumstances I had to mothball several years ago. Partially due to finances, but mainly because of frequent moves, living in a series of rental suites in wood-framed buildings alongside neighbours who seemed to enjoy stomping around, crashing into things and slamming doors randomly at all hours.

Now that I'm finally living securely in a nice sturdily-built apartment building with quiet, considerate neighbours, I've spent the last couple of months getting the Rek-O-Kut up and running again, using DSP software to handle the recording EQ and limiting instead of the old outboard gear that had fallen apart from disuse. I'm also slowly teaching myself electrical theory to try to better understand what I'm doing. Thanks to the collective knowledge of the folks on this board, I'm learning a lot.

The Presto head has good frequency response, but overall volume leaves something to be desired, especially with bass-heavy material - it tops out around +2 dB. I also have a Fairchild 541 head that would cut ludicrous levels (easily from one groove over across the far side of the next unmodulated groove at 120 lpi), but I stopped using it in frustration as I could never get a good sound out of it - frequency response fell off a cliff above 6 or 7 kHz. Research now tells me that was probably the result of a poor choice of damping material, and something with a higher Shore A hardness would raise the resonance. If I ever get another lathe with coarser variable pitch, or heaven forbid the Presto fails, I'll revisit it one of these days.

The Rek-O-Kut has 33 1/3 and 78 rpm speeds, and came with the 120, 210, 240 and 270 lpi outside-in leadscrews. I'd love to get my hands on 135 and 180 lpi outside-in leadscrews, though I'm not sure the latter ever existed. Inside-out would be fun, too. I dream of one day owning a Scully/ Westrex system, but I won't be able to afford it for years and years.

I just received an order of fresh blanks from Apollo, and I'm waiting on a couple of parts - a better impedence-matching transformer from Mouser to replace the cheap no-name PA transformer I got back in the '90s as a "temporary till I can get a tube amp", and an Ortofon 2M Red as a successor to the ancient Shure and Stanton cartridges that both decided they were tired of life and physically failed in quick succession. Once those arrive, cutting experiments will re-commence.

There's nothing quite like seeing shiny, evenly-spaced and steady well-modulated grooves in a fresh, mirror-smooth lacquer, and thinking to yourself, "I made this!" I scratched a gouge in a piece of plastic, and when people drag a shiny rock through that gouge, music comes out. Not just music, but good sounding music! It's so satisfying. Pleased to meet you all.

[emorritt]

How did you contact Apollo? I had my lab guy send two requests for quotes, but no response. I sent one myself this morning - no response. Are they still in business?

[EmAtChapterV]

I wasn't having much luck with email or quotes on their website either, so I gave them a good old-fashioned phone call and they got me set right up.

[EmAtChapterV]

The chip hasn't clogged or snarled for the past eight to twelve minutes, so after the music fades to silence, you crank the leadout till the little switch goes click, lift the feednut for exactly two seconds, raise the cutterhead and return the carriage to home position. Then stop the turntable and you see THIS. Awwww yessss. This is beautiful, there's not a feeling like it in the world. I've missed this soooo much.

[Realmusic]

Is this unit still available.i f it is how much i can be reached at realmusic_dj@hotmail.com.Thanx

[EmAtChapterV]

I can cut a record for you, but my system itself isn't for sale.

[EmAtChapterV]

Feh. Feeling more than a little discouraged this week - the cuts I was making I thought were sounding pretty good fidelity-wise... until I A/B'ed them with some old UK drum'n'bass records, which of course blew them completely out of the water. You just can't send a Presto to do a Westrex's job, it's physically impossible. I sooo wish I could afford a professional stereo setup. Or for that matter that one was even available for purchase.

[audadvnc]

FYou just can't send a Presto to do a Westrex's job...

Indeed. I'm still learning to make my Westrex do a Westrex's job

[tragwag]

ah, don't get discouraged.
I bet you're doing an awesome job with what you've got!

I fall into this trap sometimes doing polycarb records,
because they're inherently lower fidelity.

It helps to remember how small the field is, and that the equipment is the limiting factor!


Kudos!

[Steve E.]

Oh....and though this is an old post....

I find I can get pretty amazing results with my Presto 1D head. I don't know if yours needs a workover, but it is key to feed an EQ'd signal into it that compensates for the crazy dips and peaks of the head. If you do, you can get rather astonishingly accurate results.

Feh. Feeling more than a little discouraged this week - the cuts I was making I thought were sounding pretty good fidelity-wise... until I A/B'ed them with some old UK drum'n'bass records, which of course blew them completely out of the water. You just can't send a Presto to do a Westrex's job, it's physically impossible. I sooo wish I could afford a professional stereo setup. Or for that matter that one was even available for purchase.

[EmAtChapterV]

The lathe is still kaput (both available cutterheads broken and me working on other projects), as it has been for the past six months, but here's a piece of "fanart" I did about a year ago, which I'd been wanting to make since 2007 or 8. It gives a good idea of what a Rek-O-Kut/ Presto setup can do when it's working properly. http://youtu.be/vN-v9K7xOew

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