Vinyl Pressing Plants - Kindercore (Episode 58)

We don’t really stop and think about it that much, but records are
pretty damn amazing. A hunk of plastic that can be so powerful that
it can bring us to tears, take us back to childhood haunts, or even
make friends out of total strangers almost instantaneously. But
beyond records being this incredible social and cultural artifact,
records are amazing pieces of innovation.  In essence, the
basic concept of a record hasn’t changed much since Edison’s needle
etched vibrations onto tinfoil wrapped over a spinning cylinder.
Records, even today, are still just soundwaves embedded into
grooves. Sure, we’ve changed the sizes, material, the rpm, the
quality, the technology, and the sound, but still, we’re talking
about a unique physical manifestation of audio that holds the
ability to summon the whole spectrum of human emotions. 
Occasionally on the Mr. Rogers show, he would leave his house to
take a field trip. He would take us on a behind the scenes tour of
some of the coolest places we could imagine … a crayon factory, the
post office, the set of The Incredible Hulk show. Mr. Rogers would
show us how the machines worked, chat with the people who had our
dream jobs, let us in on secrets of the industry. We would see a
world that both satiated our curiosity and fueled our fascination.
Locating that kind of experience as an adult seems an impossibility
at best. Those once thrilling machinations become simply a way to
pay the bills, for the most part. There are times, however, albeit
rare, when the stars align and time seems to move backward. We were
recently lucky enough to have one of those experiences. In Athens,
Georgia, a town which is a musical landmark in its own right, there
is an out of the way industrial building that’s become home to one
of the rarest and coolest parts of the music industry, a record
pressing plant. Kindercore Vinyl stands as one of only about 30
operating record presses in the US, the only one in Georgia, and
one of the only that is functioning with brand new presses
featuring the first real technological breakthrough in maybe 50
years. And they have plans for more innovations that may
drastically change the face of record creation. We were fortunate
to spend several hours touring the plant, seeing the operation,
interviewing, and, as it happens when record folk gets together,
talking about music. It was amazing.  Though the basic
mechanics of record presses seem simple enough...melt PVC, make
into puck or biscuit, add the label for baking, smash the PVC
together with prepared grooved plates, cut the trim, sort the
discs, quality control, and packaging. But, of course, nothing is
that simple. Everything factors into how the record gets from being
mastered, lathed, and lacquered to spinning on your turntable. Even
with 3 beautiful new high tech automated machines churning out a
disc every 24 seconds, pressing records is as much an art as it is
a science. The type and color of PVC, the dynamics of the music,
the heating and cooling temperature, the operator, the temperament
of the machine, the humidity in the air (inside and out), each play
an integral role. Everything needs to be controlled, checked, and
rechecked. And often rechecked yet again. An exercise in
multi-tasking, problem-solving, and, occasionally, MacGyvering.
Truly, once we understand the planning, processing, and dedication
it takes to make a single record...it makes records all the more
impressive. Visit Kindercore Vinyl Subscribe to Highway Hi-Fi:
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