Vinyl Alchemy

Where art meets science

Would you like to get your music on a durable physical vinyl record?

Digital fades. Vinyl lasts.

Holding a record in your hands connects you to music in a way no playlist ever can. Each record we cut is a tangible keepsake, individually crafted with care, precision, and passion.Our London-based studio specialises in bespoke Vinyl production using our custom diamond-stylus record cutting lathe and precision audio processors. Our Alchemists also have expertise in vinyl mastering as well as converting vinyl to digital audio files.Explore this website then contact us to find out more about how we can help.

© Vinyl Alchemy. All rights reserved.

Bespoke Record cutting

Would you like to hear your music on vinyl? Known for it's superior audio quality and warmth, listening to music on vinyl is a completely different experience.At Vinyl Alchemy, we hand-cut custom vinyl records using our studio lathe. Whether it’s your band’s debut single, a one-of-a-kind wedding gift, or a cherished voice recording from a loved one—this is music made permanent.We use our custom hand made lathe to cut your music onto a vinyl record in real-time. We carefully review your source music through our audio processors to ensure it can be cut to record successfully given the physical restrictions of cutting music to vinyl. We make test cuts and calibrate our lathe for each record and audio source.We can make one-off bespoke records or small runs of up to 50 copies. Additionally, we can master your source music to ensure it can be successfully reproduced on a record.


WHAT WE MAKE

  • Custom Music Records – Upload your own track, and we’ll press it to vinyl, ready to play on any turntable

  • Limited Edition Runs for Artists – Small batch pressings for indie musicians and labels. No minimum orders

  • Gifts That Matter – Surprise someone with a heartfelt recording: a voicemail, love letter, podcast snippet, or song

  • Wedding & Event Vinyl – Your first dance song, a recorded vow, or favors your guests will actually keep

Mastering for VINYL

We use the latest digital audio workstations and both digital and analogue effects processors to ensure your audio is ready for lathe cutting to vinyl. We can help by:

  • Optimising your source audio to create a suitable wave form for vinyl cutting

  • Level adjustment to reach commercial volume without losing overall dynamics

  • Track arrangement

  • Creating A & B side single high-quality digital files with gaps set in place as required

  • Summing frequencies below 300Hz to make bass signals Mono

  • Taming high frequencies and sibilance which may increase distortion and restrict volume

  • Removing tape hiss, clicks, pops, and unwanted noise in your audio where possible

  • Using mild compression/limiting & EQ) where necessary to achieve an optimal cut

  • Consistent leveling for all tracks

converting vinyl to digital

Do you have a treasured collection of record that you would like to digitise so you can listen to the music on different devices?
Vinyl Alchemy studio contains a host of specialist software and hardware units to accurately convert your favourite vinyl to digital WAV, FLAC and MP3 files. We will attempt to remove any rumble, pops and crackles and other noise from the recordings prior to generating the highest-quality digital audio files.How it works
After discussing your requirements and the work required, you send your vinyl records to us. We carefully playback the audio and capture it within our digital audio software. We will then use our knowledge and experience to remove pops, clicks, low-end rumble, hiss and other distracting sounds before generating the final WAV, FLAC and/or MP3 files. These will be sent to you digitally via a file transfer service. Finally, we will send your vinyl records back to you using a tracked safe and secure mail service.

Testimonials: What our clients say about us

We support a number of bands, DJ's, producers and vinyl enthusiasts with their bespoke vinyl record requirements, primarily cleaning up and optimising digital audio and cutting one-off vinyl records by hand in real-time.

Audio requirements for cutting

Vinyl records can reproduce frequencies from approximately 20 Hz to 20 kHz, but the effective range for high-quality playback is narrower.Due to the specific physical properties of vinyl records and to be able to cut your music properly we require source audio meeting the following specification. CONTACT US, we can help.

  • Audio Format: 16 bit, 44.1kHz WAV/FLAC or higher. MP3's are not of a high enough quality to cut properly to vinyl.

  • Length: Our maximum recommended playing lengths per side are in our FAQ section. Longer playing times decrease volume and dynamic range thereby making surface noise more evident.

  • Sibiliance: Excessive sibiliance can cause playback distortion. Extra de-essing audio processing may be required during lathe cutting.

  • Low frequencies: Below c. 150Hz are best kept in mono to ensure consistent lateral groove modulation, which is easier for the stylus to track.

  • High Frequencies: Avoid frequencies above 15 kHz as they cause distortion.

  • Limiting & Clipping: Optimal cuts have a wide dynamic frequency range, do not (brickwall) limit or clip your source audio as this may result in distortion.

  • Sequencing: When the stylus reaches the inner grooves of the record it's frequency response is reduced. Therefore place the quietest song last when devising the track-listing for longer multi-track LPs.

Frequently Asked Questions

  • What is a lathe cut vinyl record?
    A custom-made record created one at a time using a special machine called a vinyl cutting lathe. Instead of being mass-produced like traditional pressed records, each lathe cut is made by hand—your audio is played through the machine, which carves the sound directly into a blank disc using a special diamond cutting stylus. This process lets us make single copies or small batches, perfect for personalised gifts, one-off releases, or special keepsakes providing an authentic way to bring your sound to life on vinyl.

  • How much do your services cost?
    We charge a fair price for our services based on the time spent on your project. The more time and effort spent on your source audio, the more we charge. All our records are cut manually, by hand. Our work is highly specialised and we take pride in making the best quality, high fidelity vinyl records for our clients. Get in touch for a friendly conversation about how we can work with you to meet your needs.

  • What blank records do you use?
    Special 7", 10" and 12" black PVC vinyl blanks are used to produce each lathe-cut record. Our lathe-cut records are as durable as commercial vinyl releases and will sound great for a long time unlike acetate disks. Each lathe-cut record comes with blank white labels with a Vinyl Alchemy logo stamp (though custom printed centre labels can be supplied for large volume cutting projects upon request).

  • How much music can you record on each side?
    The length of music that can be recorded to vinyl is dependent on numerous factors, in general:
    7" at 45 rpm - about 4 minutes
    10" at 45 rpm - about 7 minutes
    10" at 33 1/3 rpm - about 10 minutes
    12" at 45 rpm - about 12 minutes
    12" at 33 1/3 rpm - about 18 minutes

  • What are your records made from and how long will they last?
    We cut our records onto special polycarbonate plastic which is as durable and long-lasting as commercial pressed records. We not cut softer acetate discs which have a shorter lifespan.

  • Is surface noise a problem?
    Whilst a digital file can be reproduced perfectly without background noise, Vinyl is a physical medium with it's own particular characteristics. We aim to minimise surface noise by using custom tools and calibration settings on our lathe. Each vinyl record we make is checked before leaving our studio as part of our extensive quality control procedures.

about us

We are vinyl record enthusiasts with over 50 years' of experience in the music industry. Consisting of a small group of DJ's, music producers and engineers, we set up our own in-house record cutting service to be able to make our own vinyl records quickly and to a high standard. Having spent years' perfecting the art of lathe cutting our own productions we are offering our expertise to you. We provide high-quality bespoke vinyl record ripping, mastering and cutting services to a niche range of clients from record enthusiasts and collectors, DJs, sound systems and those who want their favourite music cut onto a vinyl record.

Contact Us: Get in touch

Don't delay. Send us a message and lets start discussing your ideas and vinyl requirements now. We will respond to you by email within 24 hours.

Thank you

Thanks for sending us a message. One of our alchemists will reply to you as soon as possible to start a conversation about how we can help solve your vinyl record needs.