OT: LP Questions

[colfaxrev]

for anyone that has been through this process, insight is appreciated

first off this is an LP we plan on selling

1. do you know for CDs, what the LP running time limit is? Must be some industry standard or something!

2. picking the right material

no more image

we have a lot of material, more than this... although a good amount of these fit together... did you find it difficult to make good track selections? We unfortunately branch off too much sometimes, and keeping the songs sounding like the same band is proving more difficult than we thought, at least in the demo process.

I have tried writing a list of words that would describe the bands vibe, mostly the debut albums vibe. and deciding on what we want to be exactly i think is helping us make track selections a lot easier.

[mre1208]

two-disk debut LP...problem solved.

[Brutalitarian Supremacy]

we just said piss on it and released a double album...plus gatefold vinyl looks rad as hell! I think the
average disc running time is approx 75min or so.

[bclaire]

I have a feeling that it would all fit on a CD if those running times are correct.

However, there is a lot to be said for taking your absolute best material and only using that. Maybe save some in the can if you're looking for label interest when they say "sounds good... got any more?" and you will have...

[colfaxrev]

we definitely want to pick the best 10-13 tracks

most of the song durations are correct, except the ones under 2 mins i believe

[Ddjembe Mutombo]

I would pick the songs that go together the best. Something that gives the album a flow.

[Nork]

I would pick the songs that go together the best. Something that gives the album a flow.

now that i've done a couple albums, this is true. my first one when i was 17 was all over the place. but picking your best stuff...and the absolutely best stuff with stuff to spare isn't a bad idea.

[Deacon Blues]

i think 80 minutes is the limit.

[Mrjones2004x]

My blank cds say 700MB or 80mins max

[riffmonster]

For an LP I would probably aim for your best 10-12 tracks, that should be in the region of 40 mins (looking at your run times).

For promotional or free hand outs, maybe an EP - basically a CD with about 4 tracks on showing what you can do. At least 1 killer track, but also some 'left of field' stuff that perhaps didn't make it onto the LP.

It's always useful to have a few spare tracks up your sleeve - maybe one could be a free download from your web site for example.

Do you play live? That might help to choose tracks, the ones that go best with the punters - who hopefully will at some point buy your LP.

Good luck

[bassdrop]

Maximum length of an LP is 60 minutes, but better sound can be achieved by keeping each side to around 20 minutes. You can do a lot of options with vinyl. For instance, one of my favorite bands, Garage A Trois, did a 12" 45 EP years ago that is one of the best sounding records I own- that gives you about 10 minutes per side. 45 is like going from 7.5 to 15ips on the tape machine- it increases your fidelity. A lot of bands are also including free MP3 or FLAC download codes with the vinyl. Keep us posted on what you decide.