Mastering and lacquer cutting under one roof, by two engineers whose names appear on well over a thousand records. Experience going back to 1979, a Neumann VMS 70 and a single ambition: to get the very best out of your music.
Joachim started out in 1979 at the newly founded studio of mastering engineer Peter Harenberg and has stayed at the lathe ever since. He cut the German pressings of The Smiths, Elvis Costello & The Attractions and the Cocteau Twins, jazz by Duke Ellington and Sonny Rollins, and records for Die Ärzte. Collectors recognise his cuts by the cursive “Hi” etched into the run-out groove.
Joachim on Discogs
In the music business since 2002, Sven brings hip-hop classics such as Main Source’s “Breaking Atoms”, O.C.’s “Word…Life” and Tha Alkaholiks’ “Coast II Coast” back to vinyl as remasters for 90’s Tapes. He also masters for labels including HHV, Project: Mooncircle and Melting Pot Music. On many of these records a second name appears next to his: Joachim Hinsch, who cut them.
Sven on Discogs
Built in the late 1960s by Georg Neumann GmbH, the company whose microphones became world-famous. Heavy, unwieldy, a true diva. In the right hands, an instrument for the highest standards: carefully maintained and operated by people who have known her for decades.
From jazz classics to hip-hop reissues, from household names to underground releases: this music went into the groove through our hands.
… and well over a thousand more. Full credits on Discogs: Joachim Hinsch · Sven Friederichs
A record is made in several steps. It all starts with the lacquer, and that is where the sound of your record is decided.
Vinyl has its own rules. Low end, top end, loudness and stereo image are balanced so they cut cleanly and play back without distortion, while your music keeps its character.
On the VMS 70, a heated sapphire stylus cuts the groove in real time into an aluminium disc coated with nitrocellulose lacquer, side by side. We check the groove under the microscope before the lacquer leaves the studio.
At the pressing plant, the lacquer is electroplated to make the stampers that press every single copy of your record.
Because the lacquer is the source of the entire run, a cutting error cannot be fixed later. That is why experience matters here. And that is why we do mastering and cutting from a single source: whoever makes the master knows how it will be cut. And vice versa.
Vinyl is our speciality. And if you know what a groove can take, you know what every other format needs.
Our signature discipline. We master specifically for cutting on our Neumann VMS 70, and we cut in-house. Mastering and lacquer from a single source, with nothing lost in between.
DDP images for CD, WAV, AIFF and any other format. With the same ear for detail we rely on at the lathe every day.
Masters that sound exactly the way you want on Spotify, Apple Music and every other platform.
Tape is back. We have known the format since the days when Joachim made loop masters for cassette duplication.
Your master, adapted for the stage, so the playback hits as hard live as it does in the studio.
Top quality at fair rates, for major labels and independent releases alike. See our rates
| Format | net | incl. VAT |
|---|---|---|
| 12″, up to 15 minutes | €95.00 | €113.05 |
| 12″, up to 20 minutes | €110.00 | €130.90 |
| 12″, over 20 minutes | €120.00 | €142.80 |
| 7″ (on 12″ lacquer) | €85.00 | €101.15 |
| Format | net | incl. VAT |
|---|---|---|
| 12″ | €85.00 | €101.15 |
All prices per side. Gross prices include 19% German VAT; shipping is charged separately and quoted in advance.
| Service | net | incl. VAT |
|---|---|---|
| Mastering, per track | €85.00 | €101.15 |
| Restoration and other work, per hour | €90.00 | €107.10 |
Gross prices include 19% German VAT.
Every project is different. Tell us about yours and we will put together an offer that fits.