Disc cutting lathe
A disc cutting lathe is a device used to transfer an audio signal to the modulated spiral groove of a blank master disc for the production of phonograph records. Disc cutting lathes were also used to produce broadcast transcription discs and for direct-to-disc recording.
Overview[edit]
Disc cutting lathes utilize an audio signal, sent through a cutting amplifier to the cutter head, which controls the cutting stylus. The cutting stylus engraves a modulated spiral groove corresponding to the audio signal into the lacquer coating of the master disc. The direct metal mastering (DMM) process uses a copper-coated rather than lacquer-coated disc. Before lacquer discs, master recordings were cut into blank wax discs.
Once complete, this master disc is used to produce matrices from which the record is pressed. For all intents and purposes, the finished record is a facsimile of this master disc.[1]