Is There a New Record Pressing Machine Out There?


I bought Wilco's newest Album "Cousin" yesterday and noticed something I have never seen before, the record has no lip. The label area remains raised but otherwise the record is dead flat. It is a very heavy record, probably 200 gm. I believe records had the lip to prevent the tonearm from floating off the edge with changers which were way more popular than manuals back in the 40s, 50s and early 60's. With manuals the flat record is easier to cue by hand. 

128x128mijostyn

I just happened to be playing Bags and Trade (45) - I'm pretty sure it's Analogue Productions and it's squared off with no "lip", but it still makes a little pop when the stylus enters the groove.

I know you are big on vacuum/suction @mijostyn , but for those of us who want the minimal vibration transferred to the record from the platter, you don't want the mat going to the edge of the record. The mat I use is hexagonally shaped (called the eclipse Hexmat) and doesn't reach the edge of the platter even at its 6 outer points. They also have a cheaper one called the Yellowbird I think, which has a little more contact surface area between the mat and the record.

@sokogear The mat on the Sota (the hard part) does not extend to the edge of the record. It is 11.5" in diameter. Only the soft vacuum seal extends past the lip of the record. Because there is a recess for the label and the mat is as hard as vinyl the record effectively becomes part of the platter and as flat as the platter. The main benefit of this sonically is pitch stability. Every record becomes a perfectly flat 200 gram record. People will mistake a quiet record for a digital source. 

Hey @mijostyn - wouldn't that have more vibration/rumble from the turntable transmitted to the record? You'd essentially have all the noise from the platter going  there.

The platter does not make noise. The Cosmos uses a magnetic thrust bearing. If you had a noisy turntable tight clamping might transfer noise better. With quiet turntables vacuum is a net positive. The wandering pitch of a record that is not flat is annoying.