News

Record Technology Incorporated (RTI) Set to Press 4 Million+ Records in 2016

Michael Fremer  |  Dec 3, 2015

Adele's 25 sold 22,000 vinyl copies in its first week. Yes, that's a fraction of the total sales of 3.8 million copies sold but it's still impressive in our niche world (photo taken during video shoot for "It's a Vinyl World After All" DVD).

In 2014 RTI pressed 2.8 million records. This year MacInnis expects to press 3.5 million. We'll have the actual total as part of our annual pressing plant survey.

Next year RTI expects to press in excess of 4 million records. What accounts for the increased capacity? MacInnis told me that in late October of 2014 he made the decision to do "whatever is necessary" to begin running two full shift operation, or 16-18 hours of press operation per day.

Once that began and was successful, he upped production this past September to 24 hour a day operation for 5.5 days a week, which will bring the total up to a projected 3.5 million records pressed in 2015 and more than 4+ million in 2016—that is unless this ridiculous hipster fad finally collapses under the weight of its own Luddite stupidity. Ha Ha Ha Ha.....

COMMENTS
fetuso's picture
Submitted by fetuso on Thu, 2015-12-03 11:42

I'm new to the world of vinyl, but I have a couple of RTI pressings and they're great. I also have been buying Blue Not e's 75th anniversary releases pressed at United and the quality has been uneven. A grant green lp was totally concave, and I have two others where I can barely get the record through the spindle because the hole is too small. They sound better than the RVG cd's, however.

Michael Fremer's picture
Submitted by Michael Fremer on Thu, 2015-12-03 15:43
That the URP pressings better the RVG CDs in terms of sonics. I was surprised by how blah they sounded. Here's what i suggest you do (if you can spare the $$$). If there's a Blue Note 75th anniversary title that you really dig and there's a Music Matters all-analog edition, bite the bullet and buy it. But please be sitting down when you play it because otherwise you'll fall down!
Ryskie's picture
Submitted by Ryskie on Mon, 2015-12-14 14:51

Michael (and all)

care to weigh in on which Music Matters Blue Notes are essential in your opinion? I have lots of the originals but would love to get those from MM that are arguably better. Thanks All
Ryan

Michael Fremer's picture
Submitted by Michael Fremer on Tue, 2015-12-15 08:45
Try "Maiden Voyage" or "Night in Tunisia"
daveming3's picture
Submitted by daveming3 on Wed, 2016-01-06 08:40

Well I took your advice and bought Music Matters issues of my 3 favorite Blue Notes (Maiden Voyage, Unity and Out to Lunch).

How long did it take before my jaw reached the floor?

Oh, about 10 seconds into the first cut of Maiden Voyage...

Auric G's picture
Submitted by Auric G on Thu, 2015-12-03 12:07

would be over the top (or would it) but why leave the front door open for all manners of airborne pollutants to find their way on to/ into my freshly pressed record?

OldschoolE's picture
Submitted by OldschoolE on Thu, 2015-12-03 12:44

Any contaminants flying through the open door are the least of your worries in my opinion. This is why RCMs were invented. The universal bigger concern is the reconstituted sand paper inner sleeves records come in. The clean room concept would be good and work (pretending there is money for such things) only if everything else were addressed as well. A clean room won't do much good if the records are still packed with release agent and sand paper inner sleeves for instance.

Michael Fremer's picture
Submitted by Michael Fremer on Thu, 2015-12-03 15:47
Hmmmm where have I heard that before? :-) I agree though about sleeves. RTI uses those pink plastic ones that are far better than paper but not as good as rice paper...
OldschoolE's picture
Submitted by OldschoolE on Thu, 2015-12-03 19:32

Yeah, but it's such a good description, not to mention accurate, it needs to be used. :-) That's good at least RTI uses better than paper.

Martin's picture
Submitted by Martin on Fri, 2015-12-04 01:06

They appear to leave a residue on the record.
I'm assuming something is sublimating out of the plastic sleeve onto the record. If left on it will likely bond with the PVC of the record.
I've been throwing all those pink sleeves into the bin and replacing them with MoFi sleeves since I noticed the problem.

Michael Fremer's picture
Submitted by Michael Fremer on Sun, 2015-12-06 08:56
They left a white stripe on the record that was not removable but didn't "sound". It was a disaster for RTI as people wanted perfect cosmetics as well as quiet. BUT they have identified the culprit in the sleeve compound and it's no longer a problem, though I still prefer the rice paper type sleeves that QRP uses.
Michael Fremer's picture
Submitted by Michael Fremer on Thu, 2015-12-03 15:45
Not necessary for vinyl pressing and while the "open door policy" seems like a bad idea, RTI's pressing quality (most of the time, after all they are human) speaks for itself. Other factors contribute more to the final product than an open or closed door....
Toptip's picture
Submitted by Toptip on Sat, 2015-12-05 16:42

I was just thinking the same while also listening to Barbiere di Siviglia on DG vinyl... Did the Germans press records in similarly primitive, "freighter's boiler room" conditions? This DG has no audible surface noise or any pops and ticks and I bought it used! (I figure people who sell off their opera collections must only ever have listened to the first side of the first disc -- like the overture: every time I buy used opera, that side is thrashed whereas the remaining 5-7 sides are pristine!)

DubBoU's picture
Submitted by DubBoU on Thu, 2015-12-03 20:09

About the Blue Note LPs.

Instead of buying 2, get 1 from Music Matters.

I bought Stanley Turrentine's Blue Hour from MM for the first time and I was immediately stunned. I only have a very humber system costing me less than $3,000 altogether, but the sound from this record is so detailed that I was placed in front of the players. I've owned jazz reissues from Analogue Productions, Classic Records, etc, and MM is by far the best I have heard. And the covers are great too. I have since bought all their available 33 1/3s and never regret one.

Martin's picture
Submitted by Martin on Fri, 2015-12-04 01:11

I've heard these records sound. Period.
I have originals in some cases, plus the 45 rpms. Quite frankly, if I play a 45 comparing to a 33 of the same title, it's a toss up. With the 33 even coming out slightly ahead.
Added to which, the originals are all somewhat compressed and flattened, more on the top than the bottom - in my opinion. Whereas the MM reissues, to my ears, have the full dynamic range captured on the tape. Quite frankly, they are amazing. I have what I would call a decent system, Lyra cartridge, SME turntable and Tim de Paravicini amplification and with these MM reissues, Stanley Turrentine, Cannonball Adderley, Grant Green, Kenny Burrell, Art Blakey, they are in the room with you. Amazing.

Racks4Records's picture
Submitted by Racks4Records on Fri, 2015-12-04 09:39

If pressing plants had to use both, would hate to think what the cost of a new Album would rise to. Some are getting pretty pricey as it is

BillHart's picture
Submitted by BillHart on Sat, 2015-12-05 06:45

Having lived through the ups and downs of the medium, and spending a fair amount of time (and money) trying to track down old, desirable pressings--where the issue isn't just price, but condition,--the ability to buy clean, unmolested vinyl from multiple sources that seem to pay some attention to quality should not be taken for granted. Yeah, there are bum pressings, but there were bum pressings in the Golden Age (tm). Sometimes, my biggest 'wish' is for a more adventurous selection of material to reissue/remaster, but that's not the pressing plants' doing. Enjoy 'em while you can. (And I agree about those pink or white inners- I toss 'em as soon as I open the record and replace them with something else).
best,
bill hart

PAUL VAN BERGEN's picture
Submitted by PAUL VAN BERGEN on Mon, 2015-12-07 08:52

HI, CHECK THIS TV SPECIAL (SORRY, BUT MAINLY IN GERMAN) AT ZDF.INFO:
http://www.zdf.de/zdfinfo/vinyl-lebt-die-rueckkehr-der-schallplatte-3911...

Martin's picture
Submitted by Martin on Mon, 2015-12-07 10:03

Great dok from ZDF :-)
I see it here in Switzerland too, this vinyl thing. Every couple of months there is a big record warehouse sale somewhere.
Stores that haven't seen vinyl since the early '90s have over the last two years suddenly sprouted vinyl sections again. The people sorting through don't have gray in their hair either.

hi-fivinyljunkie's picture
Submitted by hi-fivinyljunkie on Tue, 2015-12-08 05:16

Most of the pink ones left a deposit after a time so I have changed them for Mo-Fi after an RCM clean. Most marks come out. I now change any pink or clear sleeves of this type as a precaution though some appear to be OK. I also didn't like the unavoidable rubbing when removing and replacing the discs in these sleeves.

Aussie0zborn's picture
Submitted by Aussie0zborn on Sat, 2015-12-19 00:15

The open door is nothing - other plants have the roller shutter open. That stack of records you see on the press is going straight into the packing room and into sleeves once they have cooled down. The only thing to worry about is those plants that you see sleeving records by picking each disc off the stack with one hand. Don't tell me they're not scuffing the record when they do that?

bongo-hifi's picture
Submitted by bongo-hifi on Sat, 2016-01-16 04:05

I have subscribed to and received all the Music Matters titles to date and everyone is a gem both musically, sonically and pressing wise, with one slight exception. Kenny Burrell Midnight Blue has ghosting on side one through Mule. Groove echo or master tape print through? I emailed MM who told me that it was "on the master tape from a lower noise floor". Still a great sounding record but this is a bit distracting.
One of my favourites to date is Grant Green Matador with Elvin Jones and Mcoy Tyner.
It really is hard to believe that these are 50+ year old master tapes they sound so clear

bongo-hifi's picture
Submitted by bongo-hifi on Sat, 2016-01-16 04:07

I should have said all the 33rpm titles to date

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