i'm pressing some vinyl soon, and im not shure to add crackles to the record or not, what do you think??.

I think vinyl sim is out of the question, as it can permanently destroy the song as the crackles are not very realistic and very harsh sounding and the compressor is rugged as hell compared to some more fine tuned software compressors. however I find a bit of vinyl sim compression on certian things always gives you that analog fatness. .

I found some good crackles on freesound.org that I might layer behind the tracks to add some grit to the vinyl record.

should I do it, or is that too bogus ???.

I am pressing 7 inches at 33 rpm . so i might get 4 or maybe 5 minutes a side depending on how thumpy my kick drums are.


any suggestions are welcome.


thanks/

I'm sure the pre masterers you hand over will go to a vinyl mastering guy so just prepare 2 versions, one with vinyl crackle and one without.
Give them both to him and he will decide for you.

When you press to vinyl you don't master yourself.
All people I know have always sent premasters to an engineer involved with the production and cutting of the vinyl.

I think this is just because vinyl is such a technical format to press.

Iv got some really badly mastered DnB records and you can watch the needle literally vibrating from side to side in the groove and on a few they literally jump out of the groove unless you a coin ontop of the needle.

a new record won't pop and crackle as much as an old one, and if that sound is something you want, put it in there. just sample some good crackle, eq it so it doesn't interfere with anything, and loop it or place it where you want.

i pressed up an lp that has tons of crackle and pop sampled in places where other samples drop out. i used that as a device to keep a consistent sound over all the tracks. it's the self titled one on my bandcamp in case you wanna check it out.

Do you dj? If so, this is fairly easy. I'm going to assume you have 2 turntables and a dj mixer of some sort. Grab 2 old records, and let the needle spin at the end of each record. Depending on the condition of the records, you should find plenty of sizzle, pops, and crackles to sample from to give your production that "dig in the crates" feel.

If you only have 1 turntable, you can still do the trick, but you'll just have to multi-track the dirt to the pad you plan to sample it on. The warmer the pre-amps of your setup, the better.

Maybe just take the master and roll it down a hill? should give it some crackles

Its your record so you should have the last word, but I reckon adding fake surface noise is bogus.

Why add fake crackles when they'll develop naturally after being played?

Pluse the extra crackles might end up being too much as the record ages & gets real dust on it. That could also get in the way of the music & that's why people will buy your work, not a bit of surface noise.

If I were in your position, I'd consider sprinkling some dust on each fresh 7: rub them on your carpet or something before sending them to buyers/distro. But be clear that you sent out dusty records because that's what you want people to hear with your music, make it a positive. I've been a bit shitty after buying 1st hand records covered in dust from the pressing plant or warehouse, but if someone told me 'it's meant to be that way' I'd be cool with it.

to clarify, whenever i add vinyl crackle or tape hiss to beats, it's to smooth out any distracting drops in sound, to make finishing touches. shadow once described this as "audio spackle."

the point is for no one to ever notice, not to fake a "dusty" sound, which is there anyway when all the samples are from vinyl.

id recommend using this sparingly. if you choose to use it, use it more on the more minimal parts and reduce the vol during the denser parts. remember, if you introduce it to the mix and reduce it after the listener gets used to it, it will still be audible to them but wont be too prominent in the mix. another thing to consider is that the spikes caused by loud volume crackle can affect how a track is normalized and the total volume of the track. if you add it, probably a good idea to run a highpass on it so it doesnt screw up your lowend.

You're right, fake vinyl noise is bogus.