Small-run CD replication/duplication recommendations?

Archived from groups: rec.audio.pro (More info?)

Any of yall have a recommendation on places to get small-runs done
(500-1000) in any combination of DIY or complete packages? Any word about
places NOT to use? Looking for quality first, then price advantage from
there.

TIA,

dik

Archived from groups: rec.audio.pro (More info?)

On 8/10/05 9:25 AM, in article ddd2or$6sb$1@panix2.panix.com, "Scott Dorsey"
<kludge@panix.com> wrote:


> I have always been very happy with Karl at Europadisk. Their prices
> are not the best, but they do excellent work and they stand behind it.
>
> Given their current financial situation, they might be willing to
> cut a deal, too.

Sorry Scott, but Europadisk is officially closed. Here's a posting from the
ProSoundWeb forum:

===================

Might as well be the first one to break the world the news:
after 28 years in business Europadisk at 5:00pm on Friday July 23
officially closed for good.

Europadisk was started in 1977 by Jim Shelton as a vinyl master plating
facility using the latest advanced European techniques. Vinyl record
pressing & packaging facilities were added soon after that. The Neumann
Direct Metal Mastering VMS-84 lathe was added in 1987, which along with the
SP79 transfer console, SAL84 cutting rack, and Neve DTC formed the backbone
for one of the finest vinyl mastering rooms of the time. Lyrec cassette
duplication was also added at this time. CD pressing, silk screening,
packaging, glass mastering facilities, and graphic design and film output
facilities were added in the 90's, and in 2004 a DVD press was the final
addition to what was essentially a complete one stop manufacturing facility
under a single roof.

I joined Europadisk in 1998 as a production assistant & customer service
rep and was promoted in 1999 to be the Vinyl Dept. Production Manager. I
worked in this capacity until 2002, when I left the company to start my own
business, Total Sonic Media. I rejoined Europadisk in April, 2004 as the
mastering engineer shortly after the prior and longtime ME, Don Grossinger,
left to work at Masterdisk.

The reasons for the closure are extensive and originate with what a poorly
executed move in 2000 to a new facility in Long Island City. This move was
not by choice but made after the lease to all the industrial tenants at the
long time 75 Varick former a0ddress was terminated by Trinity Real Estate
(who capitalizing on the dotcom boom of the time turned the building into
high priced luxury office space). The move turned out to be more expensive
than budgeted for - and resulted in much greater down time than expected by
the owners. In 2001 the US CD manufacturing industry as a whole faced sharp
downturns, due to sagging growth in sales, a large number of new plants or
plant expansions leading to over capacity, and greater amount of out
sourcing the largest production runs to overseas plants. This was also
aggravated further by general economic downturns probably most deeply felt
in NYC due to 9/11. Strained capital resources made maintaining the machines
to the best possible shape difficult - which further aggravated things by
hindering turn times and capacity - thereby also straining relations with
the clients. This was further aggravated by what I consider a number of poor
business decisions from the owners that would be inappropriate to detail
here. Profit margins continued to sharply deteriorate for optical discs as
the new millenium progressed as energy & polycarbonate costs soared. Vinyl
sales also showed a marked decline partly due to overall lower vinyl sales
as a whole by the industry, partly due to poor turn times leading to many
clients going to other plants, and partly due to the Universal plant (also
now closed) deliberately undercutting all other vinyl manufacturer's
pricing. Profit margin for vinyl also declined as vinyl costs soared, while
Europadisk's long time largest vinyl client, Strictly Rhythm, went out of
business itself. Chapter 11 restructuring was attempted beginning in June
2002 and in May 2004 it came out of Chapter 11. However, the plant continued
to lose money and was going steadily into very deep debt - resulting in the
owners deciding to finally pull the plug this week.

I was able to get all my personal equipment (the SAWStudio workstation,
Lavry & Mytek & Lucid converters, the Amek/Neve Medici, Filtek MkIII's, and
the custom modded NTP179-120's) that I had used to make a recent upgrade to
the mastering studio safely home with me. The DMM system & other mastering
equipment however has become property of the lien holding bank and will most
likely be auctioned off. (side note to any vultures out there: please don't
email me about what/when/where any of this will be auctioned at as #1 - I
don't know right now - and #2 when I find out I am not going to help others
to possibly bid against me!)

Personal high points to my work there for me includes work on nearly all of
the AV8 Records releases of the past year (remixes on vinyl only of a
literal who's who of past and present hip-hop stars including artists like
Notorious BIG, Nas, Jay-Z, Ciara, Lil' Jon, Snoop, Fat Man Scoop, etc.); the
vinyl and CD single for Martha Wash's "You Lift Me Up" (Martha even attended
the sessions and is one of the nicest people in the biz I've met); the
Likwid Sound Station 12" that was nicely pre-mastered by our own Bob Katz,
avant-jazz legend Henry Threadgill's Zooid release "Pop, Start The Tape,
Stop," the vinyl for the amazing Yellow #5's "Demon Crossing", vinyl
releases on Signature Sounds for Erin McKeowan & Josh Ritter; painstakingly
reproduced reissues for the Japanese market of Wayne Wonder, The Wiseguys
and Naughty by Nature issued by Eon Music; CD's for Warped tour stalwarts
the Nillaz, Jose Castellar's "The Man From San Juan" (featuring jazz legends
Cachao, Roy Campbell & John Tchichai), CD's for underground hiphop heavies
"Shake-A-Vel" & "Anger Management", the LP for drone-rock heavies "Om", and
the vinyl for the Foo Fighter's latest release "In Your Honor."

Anyway - my plans at this point are to take it easy for the rest of the
summer, get my personal life organized, get back to a decent practice
schedule to get my cello chops more in shape, and hopefully to get a bit of
travelling in. I've been haunting Audiogon.com looking for a deal on decent
monitors as I will most likely open my own room back up in the Fall to offer
CD mastering at budget rates. If there's anyone browsing this in the NYC
metro area that has leads to a nice space for this - or who needs someone
highly experienced in CD & vinyl mastering, audio manufacturing production
managament and graphic design for audio packaging to work for them, send me
a pm at steve at totalsonicmedia dot com and I'll get a resume out to you.

Best regards,
Steve Berson

http://www.totalsonicmedia.com
http://www.invert.org

Archived from groups: rec.audio.pro (More info?)

Nate Najar <nate@natenajar.com> wrote:
>wow.. i can't believe europadisk closed. I have used them on a few
>projects, and just ran a reprint on a project about 3 months ago! I
>guess I'll have to start paying discmakers high prices now!

It's a tragedy... I have been dealing with them for many, many years.


There is always Oasis. Again, more expensive, but they have done good
work. No LP pressing, though.

So what is happening to the Europadisk facility? I'd love their DMM
lathe...
--scott

--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."

Archived from groups: rec.audio.pro (More info?)

On 8/10/05 10:29 AM, in article ddd6gp$h0u$1@panix2.panix.com, "Scott
Dorsey" <kludge@panix.com> wrote:

> So what is happening to the Europadisk facility? I'd love their DMM
> lathe...

Yeah, get in line buddy! (ha ha!)

You can always put in your bid when it comes up for auction, when ever that
will be!


Allen
--
Allen Corneau
Mastering Engineer
Essential Sound Mastering
Houston, TX

Archived from groups: rec.audio.pro (More info?)

Dik Ledoux wrote:
> Any of yall have a recommendation on places to get small-runs done
> (500-1000)

I recently sent off a project to Nimbit Services (www.nimbit.com), and
the client and I were both happy with the results. They're all nice
folks to deal with, and they'll even cut you a 10% discount if you're
an ASCAP member.

Travis Garrison

Archived from groups: rec.audio.pro (More info?)

no_one_here@home.org wrote:
> Whatever you do, do NOT under ANY circumstances use Omnidisc in Canada.

> They sent me a big ol' lot of defective CD's. I politely brought it to their
> attention, waited for follow-up, re-contacted them (still politely). All I
> ever got from them was:

> 1. First, they blew me off a few dozen times.
> 2. Then, they claimed they never had a problem with defective CD's before
> and couldn't figure out why mine were defective.
> 3. They blew me off, indefinitely. No refund, no explanation, just
> "goodbye".

> The way I see it, they owe me my money back...which I never got. I'm in the
> US, so it's harder to pursue resolution. If I were in Canada, I'd be all
> over them.

> Do not use them. They are THIEVES.

I wonder if this is the same Omnidisc that did some work for me about
4 or 5 years ago. They were actually a small operation run by a guy
named Steve Cookes. I was quite happy with the work, and the price was
right. But that's a few years ago. They were in Toronto.

Rob R.