Bernie Grundman (left) and Ryan Hewitt in the disc-cutting studio, which features a high-powered, solid-state lathe fitted with a stereo Haeco cutter head and driven by Grundman’s proprietary amplifier system; and a stereo Westrex cutter head driven by a refurbished Haeco vacuum tube amp.
Photo: David Goggin
Recording engineer Ryan Hewitt booked Bernie Grundman Mastering’s disc mastering studio for the vinyl release of Flogging Molly’s Speed of Darkness. Recorded at Echo Mountain Studios (Asheville, N.C.) and Sonic Ranch (El Paso, Texas), the album was digitally mastered at 96k/24-bit for vinyl by Dave Collins at Dave Collins Mastering and at 44.1k/16-bit for CD and online release. “We came to Bernie to cut the best lacquer we can for manufacturing,” says Hewitt. “The person who buys vinyl wants to hear the maximum fidelity.”
