Perfect Groove Software

[Dntoddy]

Hi

https://www.perfectgroove.com/vinyl-cutting/

What are peoples opinions on this new software release from the guys at HD Vinyl?
Looks very interesting.
I am a complete newbie to vinyl cutting but would love to learn. Do you think this could be a help in order to get disk space and groove calculations correct?
Cheers

[Sillitoe]

It’s great!

[Dntoddy]

Thanks for the input James glad you think it might be a useful piece of software.
Any thoughts on there being a sillitoe lathe preset for the automatic pitch control some time in the future?
Cheers

[Sillitoe]

Good idea

[Dntoddy]

Yeh they only seem to have it set up for a vms-80 at present but it's says on there site they are looking to add more. I don't have clue how any of this works to be fair but I did think about your new lathe when I saw that. Anyway I think I might download the trial and play about with it. I don't have a lathe or any cutting experience but at the very least it might help me brush up on my mastering for vinyl skills and I might learn some things about cutting from it.

[misjah]

People that run a vms80 dont need software to tell them how to set it up...(and neither do most of the vms70 users)...it might be a useful tool for mastering engineers that do not have a lathe to provide masters that are less problematic to cut.

[andreas.wagner]

Hi. I'm the main developer of the Perfect Groove. For this version, I only had access to a VMS 80, so that's what we're emulating at the moment. But I'm eager to add other lathes/controls over time - and yes, a Sillitoe would be amazing to work with ;) Any questions and suggestions are welcome.

[misjah]

Hi Andreas,

Does the software tell you the level it needs to be cut for it to fit on a side?

Cheers,

Misjah

[andreas.wagner]

If you have calibrated the software to your studio and lathe levels – i.e. what does 0 dBFS cut in cm/s – it will show you how much capacity of the record your tracks will use. In my testing so far, this was pretty spot on compared to what the VMS 80 computer actually reported. You can then manually adjust the levels of the tracks or the whole side and approach the optimum.
If your program exceeds the capacity, the software will tell you by how much. In a future version, it will also suggest a gain reduction that would fit your program – but that's a bit tricky to calculate reliably.

[jtransition]

The video skips past the calibration settings which is a shame because it is unclear how this is set up in the software ,

If you have calibrated the software to your studio and lathe levels – i.e. what does 0 dBFS cut in cm/s – it will show you how much capacity of the record your tracks will use.

"0 dBFS cut in cm/s" This is not a real term because we are dealing with an analogue signal.
This software could be a good idea but I am confused why you have based it on a VMS 80 when there are (iirc) currently more VMS 70's in use worldwide.
I will have another look at this when you include the 70.
Best Regards

[andreas.wagner]

Hi. I left out calibration, because I wanted to keep the video short. I'm planning to do a separate video on calibration alone since it's a bit tricky but important.

Unless you're cutting from and analog source, your studio setup defines what 0 dBFS in your DAW will generate in terms of analog studio level dBu (or dBr, dBV,...) at your lathe. That's the first transition from dBFS (digital level) to dBu (analog level).
Then, your lathe's input calibration defines what the cutter head will cut when presented with 0 dBu analog signal. That's the second transition from dBu (analog level) to cm/s (head or stylus velocity).
If you put those two together, you can define, what "0 dBFS cut in cm/s". This is what the software needs to know in order to make a correct prediction of the groove geometry, since we're dealing with digital files.

Re VMS 70 vs. 80: I was fortunate enough to have access to two studios with VMS 80s during development, that's why the focus is on that model at the moment. But I'm already in contact with VMS 70 cutters to add the VMS 66/70 next.

[Aussie0zborn]

Thanks for the info Andreas This is looking like it could be very useful.
FYI... there are maybe 30 x VMS80 lathes in use and over 100 x VMS70 lathes.

[flozki]

i would say
around 100 VMS80 and 82. lets say 80 are still in use.
they made around 80 ?? VMS80'ies and 21 VMS82
i dont know of any destroyed one so far...

out of the 100 VMS70 at least 50-60 use vinylium, flokason Pitch98/13/18. maybe more
then there are a few zuma's out , a few compudiscs.....
a few in england stayed original , a few here and there...

not easy to find one in germany, that is not converted and i good and accurate shape. .
competition is too high to stay original...

i would say maybe 25 which are regulary used.
and VMS70 pitch controller suffers of a heavy design error in the electronics causing random overcuts.
if an overcut occurs it will be on a different spot on the next cut with same settings.
also most suffer from worn out tachometers, worn out rubber parts. ...the list is long.

so not easy to get a reliable pitch prediction on a stock VSM70 that is accurate.

[andreas.wagner]

Thanks for the insight!
Since I've started looking more into the VMS70, I'm glad I started out with the 80 – otherwise I would have lost hope pretty early on
But I'm still confident we'll get there eventually and have a decent prediction at least for the aftermarket controls.

[Johanz]

You could just start with VMS 70's with the most common pitch controls. Great software btw, very useful. Been waiting for this! A game changer.

[Phinster]

a 'perfect groove' stylus would be nice....

[Llisa]

If anyone would be willing to sell his license... unfortunately it can't be purchased for the moment. Like somebody said before, it's a real game changer for a VMS80 User. So i'm desperate on getting it