Current fulfillment time: approximately 8-10 days from date of purchase.
Make your own custom vinyl record from any songs you choose. A real, playable LP... your music on actual vinyl, cut to order, with whatever artwork you want on the cover.
This is the shop side of Vinyl Mixtape Shop, which means yes, you can absolutely bring us your year-end Wrapped or a mixtape you've been meaning to make your dad forever (please do, those are our favorites). But you can also just bring us an album you love, your band's EP, your wedding's first dance, or honestly any music that matters to you for any reason. We'll cut it onto a record and send it to you. That's the whole thing.
The short version: you upload your songs, we get them cut onto vinyl using a lathe, we sleeve it, we ship it. That's the business.
The longer version is that vinyl is opinionated. It has rules about what you can do to it. Heavy bass on the outer edge of a 12-inch sounds great. Heavy bass on the inner grooves sounds like the record is annoyed with you. And length matters: a 12-inch sounds best with about 16 to 18 minutes a side, and tops out around 20. Push past that and the grooves get crammed together, which quietly drains the volume and the high end. This isn't marketing, it's physics. We mention it because most services don't, and then your record shows up and the last song sounds like it's playing from inside a sock.
The honest, four-step version of what happens after you order:
WAV at 24-bit / 48kHz is the gold standard. MP3 works (and plenty of orders come in that way), but it won't sound as good, and we'll tell you so if the source files are rough. If you don't have files, you can search our library inside the editor and we license the songs on your behalf.
Bass below a certain frequency gets collapsed to mono so the needle stays put. Levels get checked. Anything weird gets caught before it becomes a problem on the record. If none of that means anything to you, that's fine, it's our job.
A stylus carves your audio directly into a blank vinyl disc as the music plays through, one record at a time. Both 12-inch and 7-inch records play at 33⅓ RPM. The cutting happens at a lathe-cutting studio we work with in the USA, on equipment built for exactly this.
Every record gets listened to before it leaves. If something's off, we re-cut on our dime. Then it gets sleeved, packaged in a record-sized mailer, and shipped from Jersey City, NJ.
Most orders ship within 5 to 8 business days. During the holidays (November through February) it runs longer, usually 15 to 20 business days, because everyone has the same good idea at the same time.
If you want a deeper read on lathe-cut versus pressed records (and what that actually sounds like, with audio samples), there's a whole guide on it.
“Premium quality” means basically nothing. Every custom-vinyl site on the internet says it. So instead, here are the actual specific things that are different about ordering a record from us.
Before your record gets sleeved, someone actually plays it. If a cut is off, if there's a skip, if the levels are weird, it gets re-cut on our dime. You should never receive a record that we ourselves wouldn't want to own.
Order confirmations are automated, like everywhere else, but when you reply to one, a real human (me, Harsh) answers... usually within an hour or two, sometimes up to 24 hours. It is a slightly absurd thing to brag about in 2026, but here we are.
Made and shipped in the USA, in record-sized mailers built not to bend in the worst-case-scenario mail truck. Most orders ship within 5 to 8 business days. November through February it's closer to 15 to 20.
Anniversaries, weddings, birthdays, last-minute Valentine's Day saves... if you have a deadline, email support@vinylmixtapeshop.com before you order and we'll tell you honestly whether we can make it work. We'd rather pass on an order than promise something we can't deliver.
If you're trying to figure out whether a custom vinyl record is the right idea for the thing you're trying to give someone (or keep for yourself), here's what other people have done.
Spotify Wrapped drops in mid-to-late December, which means a Wrapped record is really a January thing... a way to hold onto the year you just had. People put their year on Side A, their partner's on Side B, or one year per side across two years. It's a screenshot you can actually keep.
First dances, processionals, the song that was playing the night you met. Some couples do the single first-dance song on a 7-inch, some do the full curated reception playlist on a 12-inch and hand it to a parent as a thank-you. Both work.
Bands order their own EP, single, or live set, sometimes just one copy, sometimes a handful of copies to sell at shows. Wedding parties order matching 7-inch records as gifts for groomsmen, bridesmaids, or close family. We have no minimums, so one is fine, and so is ten.
The mixtape for a crush, the mixtape for a partner, the one you've been meaning to make your dad forever, the one your friends would've burned onto a CD-R in 2003. This is where the shop started. The mixtape side of the shop is the better starting point if that's what you're making.
A 7-inch holds about 7 minutes a side, so it's the move when you have one or two songs that really matter: a first dance, a single, the one song that is the whole point. It's small, it's giftable, it feels like a keepsake. A 12-inch holds up to 20 minutes a side (16 to 18 sounds best), so it's what you want for a full playlist, an album, a Wrapped year, or a proper mixtape with a real arc to it.
Rule of thumb: a couple of songs, go 7-inch. A whole vibe, go 12-inch.
Standard black vinyl is the classic, and it's the best-sounding option, full stop... the audiophile move is always black. Color vinyl is the premium pick when the record is a gift or a display piece and you want it to feel special the second they slide it out of the sleeve. Photo vinyl is a picture disc with an image printed right into the record, and it's the most personal of the lot: a photo of the couple, the band, the dog, whatever the record is really about.
Color and photo are premium products and cost a bit more. If sound quality is the only thing you care about, black. If the record is as much an object as it is a thing you'll play, color or photo earns the upgrade.
Current pricing: black vinyl from $88.99, color vinyl from $109.99, photo (picture disc) vinyl from $114.99. Full customization of covers and labels is included on every option.
Vinyl Mixtape Shop is me, Harsh (pronounced “Hersh”... I still blame my parents), working out of Jersey City, NJ. I'm a software developer by background who started this shop after rediscovering a shoebox of mixtape CD-Rs and getting unreasonably emotional about it. The full story is on the about page.
Short version: I think the music that matters to you deserves to exist as an actual object you can hold, not just a screenshot of a Spotify playlist.
Questions before you order? Email support@vinylmixtapeshop.com. You'll hear back from a real person (me), usually within an hour or two.
How much does a custom vinyl record cost?
Pricing is simple, honest, and clear. There are no quote forms, no hidden setup fees, and no surprises at checkout. The price you see is the price you pay, and that price includes full customization of the covers and labels. Black vinyl starts at $88.99, color vinyl at $109.99, and photo (picture disc) vinyl at $114.99.
Can you make your own vinyl record at home?
Technically yes, practically no. A real vinyl lathe is the size of a desk, costs more than a car, and is finicky in ways that take years to learn. People do attempt DIY vinyl with hobbyist machines, and the results are roughly what you would expect... a record that sort of plays, sort of sounds like music. The reason we exist is to skip that part. You upload your songs, we cut the record on professional equipment, and you get something that actually sounds good.
How is a custom vinyl record made?
Every record is lathe-cut, not pressed. That means a stylus carves your audio directly into a blank vinyl disc in real time, one record at a time, as the songs play through. Before any of that happens, your audio is mastered for vinyl (the bass gets collapsed to mono so the needle stays in the groove, levels get checked, anything weird gets caught). The whole process is done by a lathe-cutting studio we work with in the USA, on equipment built for exactly this.
Will a custom vinyl record play on a regular turntable?
Yes. Both 12-inch and 7-inch custom records play at 33⅓ RPM on any standard turntable. One heads-up: the cheap suitcase-style turntables (Crosley, Victrola and friends, the ones that got popular around 2015) have heavier tonearms that aren't ideal for any vinyl, lathe-cut or pressed... they'll play your record, but they wear records down faster than a proper turntable would. Any belt-drive turntable from Audio-Technica, Pro-Ject, Fluance, or similar is great.
How long can each side of a custom vinyl record be?
A 12-inch maxes out at 20 minutes per side and sounds best at roughly 16 to 18 minutes per side. Push past 20 and the grooves get crammed together, which quietly drains the volume and the high end. A 7-inch maxes out at 7 minutes per side. Pick the format that fits the music: a 12-inch for a full playlist or album, a 7-inch when you have one or two songs that really matter.
How long does it take to make and ship a custom vinyl record?
Most orders ship within 5 to 8 business days. During the holiday season (November through February) it can take 15 to 20 business days because the volume is much higher. We only quote ship-within times, never delivery times, because shipping speed depends on the carrier and your location. If you need a record by a specific date, email support@vinylmixtapeshop.com before you order and we will tell you honestly whether we can make it work.
What audio files do you accept, and what about quality?
WAV at 24-bit / 48kHz is the gold standard. MP3 works (we accept it, plenty of orders come in that way), but it will not sound as good as a high-quality WAV, and we will tell you so if the source files are particularly rough. M4A, AAC, and WMV are also accepted. If you do not have files at all, you can search our music library inside the editor and we license the songs on your behalf.
What vinyl finishes can I choose from?
Black vinyl, color vinyl, and photo vinyl (also called a picture disc, with an image printed right into the record). Black is the standard and the best-sounding option. Color and photo are premium products and cost a bit more, but they're the move when the record is a gift or a display piece and you want it to feel like an object the second they slide it out of the sleeve.
What's the difference between a custom vinyl record and a vinyl mixtape?
They're the same thing, just different words people use. A vinyl mixtape is what most people call it when the record is a sequenced playlist of songs from different artists (a Wrapped year, songs from a relationship, a road-trip mix, that kind of thing). A custom vinyl record is the broader umbrella term and includes everything else too: an album, an EP, a single, a band's own music. Same product, same process. If a mixtape is closer to what you're making, the mixtape side of the shop on the homepage is the more useful starting point.
See the mixtape side of the shop →Pick your format, drop in your songs, design the cover and labels however you want. We cut a real, playable vinyl record one at a time and ship it to you.