Watch vinyl records being cut at Abbey Road Studios

Ever wondered what actually goes on when you master a record?

Last month, we were given unprecedented access to the mastering suites at London’s world-famous Abbey Road Studios to meet some of the best engineers in the business. The final stage of the production process before the masters are shipped off to the factory to be pressed, mastering is a fine art and its practitioners highly technical craftsmen. Responsible for some of the most important records in history, from The Beatles to Pink Floyd, there’s no better place to learn than Abbey Road.

Having explored the art of vinyl mastering in our short film earlier this year, our visit to Abbey Road was an opportunity to receive a one-on-one tutorial of what actually goes on when you cut music to disc for the first time. Veteran mastering engineer and the man behind the half-speed and direct to metal mastering which make Abbey Road unique, Miles Showell talks you through the process, from keeping the levels tight to spacing the grooves on the record.

This is a snippet of a longer film we’re putting together on analogue studios. Keep your eyes peeled for more in the coming weeks.

Music: Teena Marie – ‘I Need Your Loving’ (John Morales M + M CD Mix) taken from ‘John Morales presents: Club Motown’, available on Universal Music Catalogue.

Want to see the end of that process in action? We’re giving you the opportunity to win a tour of The Vinyl Factory pressing plant. Click here to enter.