Peters lathe cutting set up was damaged in the last years Christchurch earthquakes. All the machines are back online again now and Peter has also taken this opportunity to overhaul his entire system and reports that he is very excited by the results. By all accounts the overall sound quality, stereo seperation and volume of his records has moved up a step.

What is a Lathe Cut Record?
Cutting a record on a record lathe is one of the oldest methods of sound recording. The sound is transferred down to a heavy needle which literally cuts the grooves into the record in real time; if the record is 20 minutes long it therefore takes 20 minutes to make each one. Peter King has been making lathe cuts records since the 1980s and utlisises 4 lathe machines in series, cutting 4 at once. He uses a polycarbonate plastic that actually has a higher longevity than vinyl. It has been estimated that one should be able to get up to 1000 plays before the sound starts to degrade.

Limitations of the format:
Lathe cut records ARE a relatively lo-fi format. For many people this is part of their charm- they are idiosyncratic and every single one will be in some way a unique representation of your music. Lathe cut records are prone to distorting in the higher frequencies, but this is offset by the fact that they can represent a deeper and stronger bass signal than vinyl records. For details and suggestions regards mastering please refer to the mastering page.
Polycarbonate plastic is also very prone to build up of static electricity and lathe cuts are, as a result, virtual dust magnets.. The common problem of distorted crackly lathe cuts can usually be solved very quickly and easily by gently wiping them in a circular motion with a slightly damp towel.


All prices on this website are in NZ dollars, please use a currency converter such as xe.com to find the rates in your own currency.

Minimum Run: 20 Records.

Master Format: CDR is most common. Please send 2 copies each of SIDE A and SIDE B
(one of each is a back up..) clearly titled with your name. 4 disks in total.
Peter also accepts masters on DAT or cassette.

Colour of Discs: Clear plastic. Peter is prepared to discuss the use of alternative materials
and shapes etc but please discuss this with him by phone.

Peter also makes PICTURE DISKS- full colour both sides. (Temporarily unavailable, restarting 2013)


Thickness: 7"-10" =1mm. 12" =1.5mm. Picture disk = 2mm

Manufacturing Time: Approx 20-40 days- subject to quantity.

Payment: International Money Order, International Bank Transfer, Paypal.
Email for details.

Track Timings:
At 33 1/3 RPM-----------At 45 RPM
7": = 6 minutes per side. ------- 5 minutes per side.
8": = 8 minutes per side. ------- 6 minutes per side.
10": = 12 minutes per side. ------- 8 minutes per side.
12": = 20 minutes per side. -------12 minutes per side.

Price List:
7" NZ$8 per unit.
8" NZ$9 per unit.
10" NZ$11 per unit.
12" NZ$13 per unit.
Triangle 8" NZ$12 per unit.
Hexagon 8" NZ$11 per unit.
Square 8" NZ$10 per unit.
Heart 8" NZ$13 per unit.
Picture Disk 7" NZ$15 per unit. (Temporarily unavailable)
Picture Disk 8" NZ$16 per unit. (Temporarily unavailable)
Picture Disk 10" NZ$20 per unit. (Temporarily unavailable)
Picture Disk 12" NZ$24 per unit. (Temporarily unavailable)

Labels: NZ$1 per record set for colour or b+w on any colour background.
Labels should be 92mm wide or find label template here.
If you are posting to Peter directly rather than using Antony's download option please remember to send a hard copy of your of each of your label designs along with your audio masters.