question about vinyl pressing and mastering

[thewelfareline]

i know it is general physics of an LP to get a little different sounding towards the end of each side.
but should the mastering engineer that is mastering the album for vinyl compensate a little for this during the mastering
or
should the company that actually physically presses the vinyl have some voodoo they doo to the end tracks on each side
or...
is this just the way it goes and thats that.

thanks yall

[Cellotron]

Originally Posted by thewelfareline

i know it is general physics of an LP to get a little different sounding towards the end of each side.
but should the mastering engineer that is mastering the album for vinyl compensate a little for this during the mastering
or
should the company that actually physically presses the vinyl have some voodoo they doo to the end tracks on each side
or...
is this just the way it goes and thats that.

thanks yall

There's really nothing you can do in plating and pressing to minimize inner groove distortion other than simply taking due diligence to make sure all processes are done with care (which optimally should be done at all times anyway).

In mastering however any experienced vinyl cutting engineer is aware of the potential for problems and can minimize it by:

* advising in sequencing to have the quietest cut be the last one on the side
* advising the side length to be kept shorter, and then keeping the track pitch when cutting as tight as possible so that there is unused land for the side, allowing more of the program material to be out of the more problematic inner areas
* lowering the level of the last tracks on the side relative to the initial tracks (and if done subtly over the course of a side this can be fairly un-noticed by the end listener)
* lowering the high frequency content for the final tracks, or increasing the high frequency limiting or de-essing or Low Pass Filtering being done for the track

Best regards,
Steve Berson