Schallplatten Schneid Technik GmbH, Frankfurt am Main

Things in cabinets and on tables

Equipment

We operate two fully equipped cutting studios, located in acoustically designed rooms with neutral monitoring facilities. The key elements are the Neumann VMS80 disk cutters with a complete set of options, complemented in each case by an SAL74B amplifier rack and an SP79 disk mastering console.

Two playback heads. The first controls the groove spacing; the second supplies the audio signal to be used for cutting

The following players are available in both studios:
A cutting studio model of the Telefunken M15(A) 1/4" tape recorder,
professional audio CD players from Studer and Tascam,
professional DAT recorders from Sony, Panasonic and Tascam,
Sony MiniDisc recorders, and
computers for PC-based playback of all standard audio file formats, with a sampling rate of up to 192 kHz and 24 bit/32 bit floating point resolution. The computers are equipped with Plextor CD and DVD drives and RME sound cards.
All digital formats are converted into analog signals externally via the Benchmark DAC1. Unlike the usual practice elsewhere, at our facility audio signals from tape or from PC-processed audio files do not require further digital delay: Subsequent processing of the audio signal obtained from the player/converter is completely analog, until the signal reaches the cutting equipment.

A cutting stylus in operation. As a result of cutting the groove, a continuous shaving is produced, which is removed by suction directly in front of the stylus (cutting direction from left to right)

Slight changes e.g. in the sound or dynamics can be undertaken in order to improve the suitability of the master for disk recording – of course this is done only in consultation with the customer. The following equipment is available for this purpose.
Equalizers: Neumann W495STB, OE Duo, HT75, Klein + Hummel UE1000, UREI 527A, and Neumann EE77D and VAB84 elliptical equalizers;
Compressors/limiters: Neumann U473SP and Jünger d02;
and a multitude of plug-ins for use with Magix Samplitude.
For detailed analysis and continuous monitoring of the audio signal, in addition to a variety of analog indicating instruments, the MSD600M master sound meter from DK-Audio is available in both studios.
Our monitor loudspeakers are Manger MSMc1 (Studio 1 and Studio 2).

Hearing and seeing: An intensive evaluation of your production is a prerequisite for good cutting

We have an array of standard broadcasting measuring instruments for the servicing and regular maintenance of our studio equipment, and can thus guarantee compliance with the applicable DIN IEC and NAB standards.
If required, the digital microscope camera Zeiss AxioCam 506 Color is used for precise visual investigation and documentation of the cutting and pressing results. A professional phonograph disk cleaning machine is also available.

Clearaudio Double Matrix phonograph disk cleaning machine