How to guide

Written by Phoenix Vinyl on 16 May 2021. Posted in Information

Here is a detailed “How to” guide to get you started making your first Vinyl record.

Firstly, decide on your size and type of project, this could be anywhere from single 7” to Album Cut 12”, if you are not sure of what to choose here are a few more details: -

One track per side, up to a maximum of 4 minutes per side.

10"

Single - One track per side up to a maximum of 10 minutes per side.

EP - Up to Two tracks per side up to a maximum of 10 minutes per side.

12"

Single - One track per side up to a maximum of 20 minutes per side but if 45rpm is required this will be less (around 11 minutes)

EP - Up to Two tracks per side up to a maximum of 20 minutes per side only cut at 33rpm

Album Cut - Up to Five tracks per side up to a maximum of 20 minutes per side only cut at 33rpm

If you require more than Five tracks per side but the total duration is still under 20 minutes each side, please contact us for a quote.

Now you have decided on the size of your project, you can look at all the options for that size within our “online ordering” section here: -

If you are looking to make custom labels for any size Vinyl or a cover for a 12” project you will find these here: -

There is a design studio to assist you in creating these if you choose, it is however a bit limited in its capability, instructions for using the design studio are here: -

If you go into the “product details” for each of the Vinyl records you will find “upload” boxes for audio, just a note of caution when using these, when you add your audio and then add the Vinyl record to cart, at that point the website attempts to upload your audio, if the file sizes are large or there are multiple users on at the same time this WILL slow the process down and the system may look like it is “hanging”, its not and it will upload eventually but it WILL take time, stopping the upload and re-starting will not speed this up, it will slow it down as the website will still complete your original uploads as well as the re-started files.

We recommend for ALL orders that you use the alternative method of “we transfer” this will enable you to send both audio and image files for your order along with any notes you may wish to add, instructions for using “we transfer” are here: -

Please note, it is not a requirement of the site that you need to add any audio or images when making a purchase, you can add to cart without any attachments.

A note on track order, before sending your audio it will be helpful if you amend the file names with a pre-fix number of your preferred track order, (right click on the file, then choose “rename” and add a number at the start of the file name, e.g.: - 01 Dexys Midnight Runners – Come on Eileen, this will assist the process and sometimes there are track numbers already on tracks so it will ensure they land with us in the correct order.

Please check your audio files are roughly the same volume if making an Album, if not your compilation may play at varied volume levels, we will try to ensure this does not happen, but this can lead to unsatisfactory results if not addressed and level adjustments for individual tracks are not covered within the pricing.

Using online software and merging the audio tracks to make one continuous track will enable you to purchase your compilation as a 12” single or EP rather than an album, However each track is mastered differently and the tone levels are always different, we will set our system to the first track so if the others are various levels and tones will result in a poor sounding record, if you have experience in audio compilations and can make the necessary adjustments you will save money slightly on the Vinyl purchase, but also the album will not have any VTM’s (visual track markers) between the tracks.

Mastering for Vinyl is not included within the pricing, this means if your audio has not been mastered for Vinyl it may produce varied results, we do use filters and processing of the audio to enable it to be cut to the Vinyl, however there are differences between a digital audio file and one “mastered” for Vinyl, there is a detailed article on our website relating to this here: -

Finally, we would recommend you read our FAQ’s fully so you know what to expect from your purchase, it covers most questions you may need answered, including notes on print quality, delivery time and guarantee’s, this can be found here: -

Thank you!