Hellbender Vinyl FAQ

Average turnaround times at the moment are approximately 8 weeks for custom-pressed vinyl records, although this will vary depending on order size, complexity, etc.

If you have any questions or concerns, or if you have a specific deadline in mind for your project, please contact us in order to ensure that we can accommodate you!

We're musicians ourselves, and we started Hellbender Vinyl because we got tired of giving vinyl plants thousands of dollars and then have them not communicate with us for months.

When you choose to press your vinyl with Hellbender, you'll have a personal, dedicated concierge who will provide you with weekly updates throughout the entire process!

And because we're musicians ourselves, in addition to helping you with placing your order, we also won't settle for anything less than the best-sounding vinyl you've ever heard!

Every record is listened to and approved by our Head of Quality Assurance and Quality Control, Orlando "Buscrates" Marshall, an internationally-celebrated producer and vinyl DJ who doesn't let any order leave our facility until it meets his S-tier standards!

With our 100% test pressing approval rate and our legendary customer service, we assure you that you'll not only be satisfied, but thrilled with the results!

Pressing vinyl isn’t cheap, but music fans are willing to pay more for physical records that they can hold in their hands! Expect to spend anywhere between $1,825 to $2,715 for a pressing of 100 to 300 copies (including jackets), with additional extras costing more.

The "sweet spot" for indie artists and labels is typically around 300 units. The cost of pressing 100 units may be cheaper upfront, but it will likely require you to sell all 100 at $20 each just to make your money back. On the other hand, quantities of 200 and 300 come with price breaks that make the overall total cost much less per unit (just like at Sam's Club or Costco) - meaning that you break even and/or make a profit much easier!

The reason that quantities on our website begin at 100 is because the preproduction steps of laquering and plating alone cost us a combined amount of $700 - so we could sell you just one record, but do you really want to pay $700 for just one record?

By the time your quantity increases to 100 records, the preproduction costs have been diluted within the overall price to the point where the cost per record is more reasonable!

If you're looking to order fewer than 100 records, please contact us directly!

Yes! Please contact us for a customized quote if supplying your own lacquers/stampers.

Generally speaking, these are the ballpark "limits" for each format...

7″ - up to 5 minutes per side

10" - up to 15 minutes per side

12" - up to 22 minutes per side

We can and do make longer records regardless of size, but volume-to-disc has a direct correlation with running time. The shorter your record, the louder it can be made!

Conversely, the longer your side is, the lower the volume might end up to disc. There's only so much room on a record, after all! Louder records take up more space, but if your running time isn’t too long, it will all fit just fine. When we make a record that's longer than recommended, however, sometimes our only option is to lower the volume in order to physically make all of those grooves fit on the disc. As a result, your record is quieter, and pops and clicks that are inherent to the format become much more noticeable. Some of the benefits of a louder cut include masking the noise floor as well as other ticks and pops, and for those reasons we suggest keeping the length of your record under the maximum length whenever possible.

Please contact us if you have any questions or concerns about your project!

We can master your record for vinyl, although our engineers will charge an additional fee, so please contact us for rates.

Most mastering engineers can master for vinyl, though, so you're not required to use Hellbender for these services if you're already working with an engineer. However, you should tell your engineer that you're planning on releasing your record on vinyl, as they may then create a specific vinyl master separate from the master that will be submitted to digital platforms. What sounds good on vinyl can sometimes be very different than what sounds good on Spotify!

Every vinyl record pressing order comes with five (5) test presses at no charge! Extra test presses beyond that are $20 each, and reference lacquers are available as well - please contact us if you're interested in either of these additional items!

Yes! There's no limit to what Hellbender Vinyl can create with the help of your imagination!

We simply can't list every variation and possibility on our website, however, so please contact us today to start creating the record of your dreams!

We accept Venmo, PayPal, Google Pay, Apple Pay, Amazon, Discover, MasterCard, Visa, American Express, and more!

Want to finance your project with Hellbender? We've now partnered with Affirm in order to help you pay in low monthly installment amounts instead! Get 0% APR and no late fees!

Please don't hesitate to contact us if you have any questions or concerns.

Sure! We love showing people how their vinyl comes to life!

We're located at 5794 Butler Street in Upper Lawrenceville, next to Arsenal Strength and Somewhere Good Electric Tattooing (look for our sign out front). If you've reached the Pittsburgh Zoo, you've gone too far!

Just give us a heads up whenever you'd like to stop by!

We sell t-shirts, hats, tote bags, and more at our merch store! hellbender.store