The Ultimate Guide to Preparing Audio for ElasticStage Vinyl

On-demand vinyl services like ElasticStage are a massive win for independent artists and labels. They make the once unattainable dream to sell real, beautiful physical records without spending thousands upfront on a massive pressing run come true! Many people don't realise the process to make regular, pressed records is quite complex and involves many steps making getting to the point where you press physical records relatively expensive when compared to digital replication. There are also relatively high minimum quantities, also adding to the cost.

ElasticStage doesn't use this traditional process and instead uses a (somewhat mysterious) propriatary, high-tech lathe cutting process into PETG plastic rather than traditional lacquer cutting which is eventually used to make stampers. The quality is somewhere between regular lathe cut records (which can be a bit noisy) and a traditional pressing, but if done right can yield excellent results. Since the process is different, the submission workflow is also unique and not necessarily the same as sending your record off to be pressed. They don't have an in-house mastering engineer checking your files for mistakes - their system is automated. What you upload is exactly what gets cut into the plastic. I am somewhat prompted to write this article as an artist that has a band member I know that has been on several projects I have worked on just had an issue - the test pressing came back at the wrong pitch much to their horror - probably a sample rate issue, so the vinyl release and delivery is up in the air until it's fixed.

To ensure your records sound incredible, don’t skip, don't distort on a turntable, and don't come back at the wrong pitch you need to prep your files correctly. Here is the step-by-step engineering checklist for a flawless ElasticStage release.

1. Your Masters

ElasticStage’s own documentation is pretty wild and loose when it comes to the technical side of your actual masters. Let's start with what they DO specify. Running time: Optimal running time is under 22 minutes a side, with 23 minutes the suggested maximum. They also say "a dedicated vinyl master is not required to release music on elasticStage. Well-mastered audio prepared for streaming or CD will often translate well to vinyl."

However, vinyl mastering may improve playback quality by optimising:

• Excessive sibilance or aggressive high frequencies

• Heavy stereo bass content

• Very long sides

• Extremely loud digital masters

By this vagary, presumably to reduce friction with clients and get them to press upload without too much worry I can only assume they they turn the level of the entire master down on ingestion to the mastering system, and despite the enthusiasm, a digital master that is prepped at modern, competitive levels is less than ideal, being extremely polite. We know this not from opinion but due to the laws of physics and the entire history of mastering for vinyl record production. While they may have a proprietary system, a heavily limited, loud master with a low crest factor will compromise the audio severely even if turned down for the cut. It will still lack dynamics and have a crappy crest factor. Since we're going to charge punters 25 bucks+ for our product, we OWE it to them, and ourselves to make it worth being on vinyl in the first place. In the 2000's when indies were pressing 7" singles they often sounded like they were pressed on sandpaper precisely due to this cheap slackness.

My suggestion, should you take this on yourself is keep your master levels at a maximum of -12 LUFS, with true peak of -1db. Note that this a guideline only - the problem is this varies with the program material itself, how bassy it is, how dynamic it is, and how long the side is.

2. Export at 96 kHz / 24-bit WAV

From their own documentation ElasticStage’s physical manufacturing system runs natively on high-quality converters at 96 kHz / 24-bit. While their system will accept lower sample rates (like 44.1 kHz or 48 kHz), their automated software will sample rate convert your files to 96/24. As we have learned from our friend's experience - occasionally this can go wrong if you choose this route!

• The Pro Move: Do not let a mystery server algorithm convert your art if you've come this far. If your project was recorded or mixed at a high sample rate, export your final masters natively at 96 kHz / 24-bit. If you are starting from a lower rate, just bounce the intended vinyl masters at 96k, or use a premium, transparent converter to upsample the files cleanly before uploading. I shouldn't have to say this but I will just in case: always upload uncompressed WAVs, not MP3s or FLAC for physical vinyl.

  
  

3. Prepare Individual Tracks

Traditional vinyl pressing plants often require you to deliver one continuous audio file for Side A and one for Side B. During the mastering process, hopefully you or your mastering engineer listened and gapped the individual songs for feel and appropriateness so the side

is perfect. Purposeful, thoughtful sequencing is one of the lost arts of mastering - but important! Here's the catch: ElasticStage requires you to upload each track as an individual file.

Their system automatically maps the tracks out on the disc and adds physical gaps between them. However, they do not automatically add silence to the audio. I have seen complaints during my research which are down to artists not understanding the process is very much what you put in, you get out.

• The Pro Move: If, like a CD you wanted standard two-second silences between songs, you must add that silence directly into the end of your preceding track. The even more pro move is to decide based on feel how long each gap should be so the flow is optimal and add that to the end of each track on a song by song basis.

  
  

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4. Manage the Low End and Watch the Correlation Meter

Vinyl is a physical, mechanical medium. If your mix has massive, wide stereo bass frequencies and its cut loud, the physical needle can literally bounce right out of the groove and cause skipping—especially on affordable, lower grade turntables. However, like everything in audio there are no absolutes - somewhat stereo bass is not the devil as some will have you believe.

ElasticStage provides a phase correlation meter in their upload dashboard. This measures how much of the signal is out of phase ay any pount in time. If the meter dips into the red (more out of phase, or negative correlation) for extended periods, your vinyl quality will suffer.

• The Pro Move: Keep your low frequencies centered, and go easy on crazy stereo widening. When mastering, use a dedicated elliptical filter or a mid/side EQ ( something like Fabfilter Pro-Q can do this) to sum everything below 150Hz into mono. This keeps the low frequency energy centered, giving you a deep, punchy bass response while keeping ElasticStage's correlation meter safely in the green.

  
  

5. Sequence Your Tracks to Fight Inner Groove Distortion

As a turntable needle moves closer to the center of a record, the physical speed of the groove passing under the stylus slows down. This natural physical limitation means that high-frequency resolution drops and distortion increases on the inner tracks of a vinyl side. Ever notice where the hits are on old school vinyl? This is one reason!

• The Pro Move: Not everyone thinks about this difference - you may need to be strategic with your track listing and even change it. The first thing is to check the length of the proposed sides - you may need to move a track so you have a more even running time each side. The program length has a big effect on overall quality. Second, put your loudest, brightest, most aggressive tracks at the beginning of Side A and Side B (the outer edges). Reserve the ends of each side for your quieter, softer, or more acoustic songs. If you absolutely must put a bright, sibilant track near the center, use a highly precise dynamic EQ, HF limiter or de-esser to tame the sharp "S" sounds and bright cymbals so they don't distort on playback.

  
  

6. Order a Test Copy

ElasticStage allows you to order short runs and test copies easily. Always take advantage of this - this step is absolutely REQUIRED so you don't shortchange your fans. Listen to the physical playback on a couple of different turntables to ensure your dynamic range, headroom, and track transitions translated exactly how you envisioned them. Your music on vinyl WILL sound different to how it sounded on those clean digital files, so be prepared.

Need a Flawless ElasticStage Master?

Prepping files for automated vinyl cutting requires a delicate balance of preserving your artistic vision while respecting the hard laws of physics.

If all of this sounds like hassle, there's good news! At Deluxe Mixing, alongside regular mastering duties I have been working hard at optimizing digital masters specifically for both regular vinyl and ElasticStage specs, making 96k exports, taking care of low end phase alignment, super picky custom track spacing, plus high-frequency management and optimizing for dynamic, punchy records. You can get both sets of masters directly from me, often for less than it costs for digital masters alone.

I have made a significant investment in specific tools, plus just as importantly have delivered many vinyl specific masters which are reported to sound great by clients and people who bought them!

Let's make sure your physical release sounds just as massive on a turntable as it does in the studio. [Get in touch today to prep your next vinyl release.]