Vinyl Lovers - did you know... Some Interesting Facts About LP Record Albums Early recordings (circa 1896) were made on cylinders rather than disks and were made of a hard black wax. Early disks were also made of wax The first 33 1/3 LP album was introduced in 1948 and played for about 22 minutes. Prior to that, records were recorded at 78 RPM and only played for about 5 minutes. Early LP recordings were monophonic, but stereo LP records became commercially available in 1958. In the 1970s, quadraphonic sound (four-channel) records became available. These did not achieve the popularity of stereo records, partly because of scarcity of consumer playback equipment, competing and incompatible quad record standards (each of which were compatible with two-channel stereo equipment) and partly because of the lack of quality in quad-remix releases. Quad never escaped the reputation of being a gimmick. Three-way and quadraphonic recordings, which were favored and championed by artists like Leopold Stokowski and Glenn Gould,[19] are now making a modest comeback, with older masters being turned into multi-channel Super Audio CDs. (However, a fair number of new surround recordings—primarily classical—are being made for SACD and Blu-ray Audio.) The composition of vinyl (more precisely, a co-polymer of vinyl chloride acetate) used to press records has varied considerably over the years. Virgin vinyl is preferred, but during the 1970s energy crisis, it became commonplace to use recycled vinyl—melted unsold records with all of the impurities. Sound quality suffered, with increased ticks, pops and other surface noises.[citation needed] Other experiments included reducing the thickness of LPs, leading to warping and increased susceptibility to damage. Using a bead of 130 grams of vinyl had been the standard, but some labels experimented with as little as 90 grams per LP.[citation needed] Today, high fidelity pressings follow the Japanese standard of 160, 180 or 200 grams.[citation needed] Besides the standard black vinyl, specialty records are also pressed on different colors of PVC or special picture discs with a card picture sandwiched between two clear sides. Records in different novelty shapes are also produced. Some Interesting Facts About LP Record Albums Early recordings (circa 1896) were made on cylinders rather than disks and were made of a hard black wax. Early disks were also made of wax The first 33 1/3 LP album was introduced in 1948 and played for about 22 minutes. Prior to that, records were recorded at 78 RPM and only played for about 5 minutes. Early LP recordings were monophonic, but stereo LP records became commercially available in 1958. In the 1970s, quadraphonic sound (four-channel) records became available. These did not achieve the popularity of stereo records, partly because of scarcity of consumer playback equipment, competing and incompatible quad record standards (each of which were compatible with two-channel stereo equipment) and partly because of the lack of quality in quad-remix releases. Quad never escaped the reputation of being a gimmick. Three-way and quadraphonic recordings, which were favored and championed by artists like Leopold Stokowski and Glenn Gould,[19] are now making a modest comeback, with older masters being turned into multi-channel Super Audio CDs. (However, a fair number of new surround recordings—primarily classical—are being made for SACD and Blu-ray Audio.) The composition of vinyl (more precisely, a co-polymer of vinyl chloride acetate) used to press records has varied considerably over the years. Virgin vinyl is preferred, but during the 1970s energy crisis, it became commonplace to use recycled vinyl—melted unsold records with all of the impurities. Sound quality suffered, with increased ticks, pops and other surface noises.[citation needed] Other experiments included reducing the thickness of LPs, leading to warping and increased susceptibility to damage. Using a bead of 130 grams of vinyl had been the standard, but some labels experimented with as little as 90 grams per LP.[citation needed] Today, high fidelity pressings follow the Japanese standard of 160, 180 or 200 grams.[citation needed] Besides the standard black vinyl, specialty records are also pressed on different colors of PVC or special picture discs with a card picture sandwiched between two clear sides. Records in different novelty shapes are also produced.
Posted on: Sat, 23 Aug 2014 13:28:55 +0000
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