Episode 34: Levi Seitz of Black Belt Mastering

If you heard my recent chat with Rocky Votolato, you may remember us discussing a new 7" he appears on as part of the Live On Lacquer series, where artists cover each other's work and do so without any overdubs or tweaking -- all sounds are directly recorded onto acetate as a lathe machine cuts the record's information in real time, before it's sent off for duplication. Today, Levi Seitz from Live On Lacquer as well as Black Belt Mastering joins me to discuss the 7" series, his iconic Scully Lathe, the art of mastering for both digital and vinyl releases, whether there's truth to some of vinyl's biggest buzz words and much more! Levi's résumé includes work with Death Cab for Cutie's Chris Walla, Macklemore collaborator Wanz and even vinyl cutting for upcoming reissues of Mother Love Bone's first two releases as well as a forthcoming live Pearl Jam 3LP set, so this is a great chat for anyone interested in how sound is cut directly to vinyl. Visit blackbeltmastering.com to learn more about Levi's work, and make sure to enter our contest this week where you and a friend could both win the Rocky Votolato / Noah Gundersen Live On Lacquer 7", graciously provided by Levi for our listeners!   SPONSORS: Pinwheel Records, 1722 W. 18th St. in Chicago's Pilsen neighborhood; KeepersRecordClub.com, where you can save 10% on all subscriptions with promo code VINYLEMERGENCY at check out.   If you like the show, leave us an iTunes review or donate to keep us up and running and you'll be entered into the Mint Condition Coalition, giving you entry into a gigantic giveaway at the end of 2016 for records and swag from Vinyl Me Please, Warner Bros., Topshelf, Wax Mage, Hey Mercedes and much more. Visit vinylemergency.com and click 'donate' for more info! Follow @VinylEmergency on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook. Show questions and feedback are welcomed at [email protected].