wired vinyl hot stamper
mark Settle·
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There’s vinyl, and then there’s hot stampers

wired vinyl hot stamper

We’re all fully aware of the reverie and purism surrounding vinyl. And just when you thought that all vinyl sounded awesome and spectacular, it seems that even within the vinyl collecting community, there is another level of amazing when it comes to quality and desirability — the hot stamper.

An article in Wired showcases Tom Port, a record shop owner who specialises in these hot stampers. To explain — vinyl records are pressed from a metal master. And through sustained abuse on the press, this master wears out, making subsequent pressings just a little bit worse. Thus the hot stamper is the first run, possibly even one of the first few off the press, and held to be the very best pressing of that release. Consider it to be the first edition of vinyl.

Of course, each and every nuance matters to audiophiles, and each hot stamper that Tom Port puts out has been meticulously cleaned and appraised before being released for sale. Sleeve notes become post-it notes detailing the characteristics of this particular recording, because when you’re parting with hundred of dollars, details matter.

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Read the whole article over at Wired — it’s quite an education.

6 Comments

  2. I call this ‘Hot Stamper’ thing BS. By the time such a record reaches the hands of a collector, any ‘superior’ sound quality is completely lost by already playing that record on test-systems, other customers etc. If the case was about sealed copies, maybe this could exist. But since they open and test such records prior to any sale, they take away any advantage. Let alone the fact that most probably nobody’s ears are in such a great shape to be able to tell if a ‘hot stamper’ actually sounds better.

    Purist’s markup BS.

  3. I call this ‘Hot Stamper’ thing BS. By the time such a record reaches the hands of a collector, any ‘superior’ sound quality is completely lost by already playing that record on test-systems, other customers etc. If the case was about sealed copies, maybe this could exist. But since they open and test such records prior to any sale, they take away any advantage. Let alone the fact that most probably nobody’s ears are in such a great shape to be able to tell if a ‘hot stamper’ actually sounds better.

    Purist’s markup BS.

    1. Collecting isn’t always about using though. Star Wars toys stay in boxes untouched. Rare comics remain sealed and unread. And I’ve got vinyl that I’ve bought and have yet to open (not many though). It’s often just about saying that you own it.

      1. Regarding collector’s value, I agree 100% with you.

        My comment referred to the so-called sonically advantages of hot-stampers etc. As DJs, we all know that even if such an advantage existed, any additional play time would immediately diminish it. It’s a matter of vinyl as a material.

        1. Of course — ultimately vinyl by definition is a consumable. Eventually it will wear out. I often wonder how many record collectors actually listen to their music. I’m guessing that they suffer a lesser audio quality by having one that they play regularly and one that they keep for those special occasions.