Vinyl has its own technical considerations, and the biggest one is usually high-frequency content.

All records are cut using the RIAA EQ curve, which means the cutting system amplifies high frequencies by roughly +20 dB relative to your delivered files. Because of this:

• Slightly more de-essing than you’d use for a digital release is often helpful
  
  
• A gentle high-end roll-off can prevent distortion or harshness
  
  

This historical limitation is a major reason vinyl is often described as sounding “warmer.” Beyond this, very little tonal shaping is typically required.

Low-frequency stereo information can cause tracking issues if it’s too wide. That said, forcing everything below 300 Hz into mono is often unnecessary and overly aggressive.

We recommend using a correlation meter:

• If the signal frequently dips into the negative range, consider a higher mono filter setting
  
  
• If it stays mostly positive, filtering may not be needed at all
  

Every track is different — let the source material guide the decision.

Please deliver files at the original sample rate used during recording or mixing. We do not downsample before cutting a master.

Typically, higher sample rates are preferred — as long as that is the native rate of the project. Upsampling a lower-rate file does not improve results.

On vinyl, louder masters usually result in quieter records.

Highly compressed or heavily limited audio generates more heat in the cutting amplifiers. Excessive heat is damaging, so very loud or “busy” masters often need to be turned down during cutting to protect the equipment.

Because compression and limiting are often part of the artistic character, we recommend:

• Using the least amount of processing you’re happy with
  
• Avoiding clipping
  
• Prioritizing dynamic range whenever possible
  

If your file isn’t clipping, it’s generally acceptable from a headroom standpoint — dynamics are key to a great-sounding record.