Shopping on line can be easy, simple and save you lots of money. It can also take a lot of your time, frustrate you, and result in unwanted purchases. Now the same can be said for regular high street shopping, but with the vast opportunity presented by the Internet it will pay you to spend a few minutes reading this and understanding how to better optimize your Gramophone Record shopping experience:

1. Compare - without doubt the biggest advantage that the Gramophone Record offers shoppers today is the ability to compare thousands of Gramophone Record at a time. This is a great thing, but not necessarily all the time! Too much can be daunting at times so take advantage of the great comparison sites and where possible let them do the hard work for you.

2. Research - if it has been said it will be on the internet. Ignorance is no longer a justifiable reason for buying the wrong thing. Take the time to research in detail everything that you could possible want to know about

3. Testimonials - don't know anybody that has bought a Gramophone Record? Wrong! If the Gramophone Record is good the internet will let you know. Use the Internet as a friend and get testimonials before you buy.

4. Questions - Got a question about Gramophone Record then search the Forums, FAQ's, Blogs etc. Don't be afraid to ask .....

5. Reputation - Never heard of the company selling Gramophone Record? Don't worry, no reason why you should know every company in the world, but you know someone that does! Use the internet to find out what people are saying about Gramophone Record and build up a picture of their reputation for sales, returns, customer service, delivery etc.

6. Returns - still worried that even after all of the above your Gramophone Record wont be what you want? Check out the returns policy. There is so much competition now that someone, somewhere is bound to offer the terms that you are comfortable with.

7. Feedback - happy with your Gramophone Record then let people know, after all you are depending on others people input in your buying decision, so why not give a little back.

8. Security - check for the yellow padlock on the Gramophone Record site before you buy, and the s after http:/ /i.e. https:// = a secure site

9. Contact - got a question about Gramophone Record, or want to leave a comment then check out the sites contact page. Reputable companies have them and respond.

10. Payment - ready to pay for your Gramophone Record, then use your credit card or PayPal! Be aware of companies that don't accept them, there may be genuine reasons but given the huge amount of choice you have when buying online there is no reason at all not to buy via credit card or PayPal.

A gramophone record (also phonograph record, or simply record) is an analog signal sound storage medium consisting of a flat disk with an inscribed modulated spiral groove starting near the periphery and ending near the center of the disc. Gramophone records were the primary medium used for commercial music reproduction for most of the 20th century. They replaced the phonograph cylinder as the most popular recording medium in the 1900s, and although they were supplanted in popularity in the late 1980s by digital audio, they continue to be manufactured and sold as of 2007. Gramophone records remain the medium of choice for some audiophiles, and specialist areas such as electronica.

The terms LP album (LP, 33, or 33-1/3 rpm record), Extended play, 16-2/3 rpm record (16), 45 rpm record (45), and 78 rpm record (78) each refer to specific types of gramophone records. Except for the LP and EP (which are acronyms for Long Play and Extended Play respectively), these type designations refer to their rotational speeds in revolutions per minute (RPM). LPs, 45s, and 16s are usually made of polyvinyl chloride (PVC), and hence may be referred to as vinyl records or simply vinyl.

History Early history A device utilizing a vibrating pen to graphically represent sound on discs of paper, without the idea of playing it back in any manner, was described by Charles Cros of France in 1877, but never built. In 1877, Thomas Edison independently built the first working phonograph, a tinfoil cylinder machine, intending to use it as a voice recording medium, typically for office dictation. The phonograph cylinder dominated the recorded sound market beginning in the 1880s. Lateral-cut disc records were invented by Emile Berliner in 1888 and were used exclusively in toys until 1894, when Berliner began marketing disc records under the Berliner Gramophone label. The Edison "Blue Amberol" cylinder was introduced in 1912, with a longer playing time of around 4 minutes (at 160 rpm) and a more resilient playing surface than its wax predecessor, but the format was doomed due to the difficulty of reproducing recordings. By November 1918 the patents for the manufacture of lateral-cut disc records expired, opening the field for countless companies to produce them, causing disc records to overtake cylinders in popularity. Disc records would dominate the market until they were supplanted by the Compact Disc, starting from the 1980s. Production of Amberol cylinders ceased in the late 1920s.

Materials Early disc records were made of various materials including hard rubber. From 1897 onwards, earlier materials were largely replaced by a rather brittle formula of 25% "shellac" (a material obtained from the secretion of a southeast Asian beetle), a filler of a cotton compound similar to manila paper, powdered slate, and a small amount of a wax lubricant.The mass production of shellac records began in 1898 in Hanover, Germany. Shellac records were the most common until the 1950s. Unbreakable records, usually of celluloid (an early form of plastic) on a pasteboard base, were made from 1904 onwards, but they suffered from an exceptionally high level of surface noise.

In the 1890s the early recording formats of discs were usually seven inches (nominally 17.5 cm) in diameter. By 1910 the 10-inch (25.4cm) record was by far the most popular standard, holding about three minutes of music or entertainment on a side. From 1903 onwards, 12-inch records (30.5cm) were also commercially sold, mostly of European classical music or operatic selections, with four to five minutes of music per side.

Such records were usually sold separately, in plain paper or cardboard sleeves that may have been printed to show the producer or the retailer's name and, starting in the 1930s, in collections held in paper sleeves in a cardboard or leather book, similar to a photograph album, and called record albums. Empty record albums were also sold that customers could use to store their records in.

While a 78 revolutions per minute record is brittle and relatively easily broken, both the microgroove LP 33⅓ rpm record and the 45 rpm single records are made from vinyl plastic that is flexible and unbreakable in normal use. However, the vinyl records are easier to scratch or gouge, and much more prone to warpage. 78s come in a variety of sizes, the most common being 10 inches (25 cm), and 12 inches (30 cm) in diameter (sometimes 6–8 inches in the UK), and these were originally sold in either paper or card covers, generally with a circular cutout allowing the record label to be seen. The Long-Playing records (LPs) usually come in a paper sleeve within a colour printed card jacket which also provides a track listing. 45 rpm singles and EPs (Extended Play) are of a 7-inch (17.5 cm) diameter, the earlier copies being sold in paper covers.

In 1930, RCA Records launched the first commercially available vinyl long-playing record, marketed as "Program Transcription" discs. These revolutionary discs were designed for playback at 33⅓ rpm and pressed on a 30 cm diameter flexible plastic disc. In Roland Gelatt's book The Fabulous Phonograph, the author notes that RCA Victor's early introduction of a long-play disc was a commercial failure for several reasons including the lack of affordable, reliable consumer playback equipment and consumer wariness during the Great Depression.

However, vinyl's lower surface noise level than shellac was not forgotten, nor was its durability. In the late 30's, radio commercials and prerecorded radio programs being sent to disc jockeys started being stamped in vinyl, so they would not break in the mail. In the mid-40's, special DJ copies of records started being made of vinyl also, for the same reason. These were all 78 RPM. During and after World War II when shellac supplies were extremely limited, some 78 rpm records were pressed in vinyl instead of shellac (wax), particularly the six-minute 12" (30 cm) 78 rpm records produced by V-Disc for distribution to US troops in World War II. In the 40's, radio transcriptions, which were usually on 16 inch records, but sometimes 12 inch, were always made of vinyl, but cut at 33 1/3 rpm. Shorter transcriptions were often cut at 78 rpm.

Beginning in 1939, Columbia Records continued development of this technology. Peter Carl Goldmark and his staff undertook exhaustive efforts to address problems of recording and playing back narrow grooves and developing an inexpensive, reliable consumer playback system. In 1948, the 12" (30 cm) Long Play (LP) 33⅓ rpm microgroove record album was introduced by the Columbia Records at a dramatic New York press conference. In 1949, RCA Victor released the first 45 RPM single, 7" in diameter, with a large center hole to accommodate an automatic play mechanism on the changer, so a stack of singles would drop down one record at a time automatically after each play. Early 45 RPM records were made from either vinyl or polystyrene.

During the reign of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union in the former USSR, records were commonly homemade using discarded medical x-rays. These records, nicknamed "Bones", were usually inscribed with illegal copies of popular music banned by the government. They also became a popular means of distribution among Soviet Punk rock bands; in addition to the high cost and low availability of vinyl, punk music was politically suppressed, and publishing outlets were limited.

On a small number of early phonograph systems and radio transcription discs, as well as some entire albums, such as Goodbye Blue and White by Less Than Jake, the direction of the groove is reversed, beginning near the centre of the disc and leading to the outside. A small number of records (such as Jeff Mills' Apollo EP or the Hidden In Plainsight EP from Detroit's Underground Resistance) were manufactured with multiple separate grooves to differentiate the tracks (usually called 'NSC-X2'). X2 was pioneered by Ron Murphy and Heath Brunner from Sound Enterprises (formerly National Sound Corporation), a record mastering company in Detroit.

Speeds The earliest rotation speeds varied widely. Most records made in 1900–1925 were recorded at 74–82 revolutions per minute (RPM). However a few unusual systems were deployed. The Dutch Philips company introduced records whose rotational speed varied such that the reproducing "needle" ran at a constant linear velocity (CLV) in the groove. These records also, unusually, played from the inside to the outside. Both of these features were to be emulated by the modern day Compact Disc. The London Science Museum displays a Philips record marked as "Speed D". It is one of these CLV disks.

In 1925, 78.26 rpm was chosen as the standard because of the introduction of the electrically powered synchronous turntable motor. This motor ran at 3600 rpm with a 46:1 gear ratio which produced 78.26 rpm. In parts of the world that used 50 Hz current, the standard was 77.92 RPM (3000 rpm with a 38.5:1 ratio), which was also the speed at which a strobe disc with 77 lines would "stand still" in 50 Hz light (92 lines for 60Hz). Thus these records became known as 78s (or "seventy-eights"). This term did not come into use until after World War II when a need developed to distinguish the 78 from other newer disc record formats, an example of a retronym. Earlier they were just called records, or when there was a need to distinguish them from phonograph cylinder, disc records. Standard records was also used, although the same term had also been used earlier for two-minute cylinders.

and RCA's competition extended to equipment. Some turntables included spindle size adapters, but other turntables required snap-in inserts like this one to adapt RCA's larger 45 rpm spindle size to the smaller spindle size available on nearly all turntables.After World War II, two new competing formats came on to the market and gradually replaced the standard "78": the 33⅓ rpm (often just referred to as the 33 rpm), and the 45 rpm. The 33⅓ rpm LP (for "long play") format was developed by Columbia Records and marketing in 1948. RCA developed the 45 rpm format and marketed it in 1949, in response to Columbia. Both types of new disc used narrower grooves, intended to be played with a smaller stylus—typically 0.001" (25 µm) wide, compared to 0.003" (76 µm) for a 78—so the new records were sometimes called Microgroove. In the mid-1950s all Record industry agreed to a common recording standard called RIAA equalization. Prior to the establishment of the standard each company used its own preferred standard, requiring discriminating listeners to use preamplifiers with multiple selectable equalization curves.

A number of recordings were pressed at 16⅔ RPM, but these were mostly used for radio transcription discs or narrated publications for the blind and visually impaired, and were never widely commercially available, although it was still common to see turntables with a 16 RPM speed setting produced as late as the 1970s.

The older 78 format continued to be mass produced alongside the newer formats into the 1950s, and in a few countries, such as India, into the 1960s. As late as the 1970s, some children's records were released at the 78 rpm speed.

The commercial rivalry between RCA Victor and Columbia Records led to RCA Victor's introduction of what it had intended to be a competing vinyl format, the 7" (175 mm) /45 rpm disc. For a two-year period from 1948 to 1950, record companies and consumers faced uncertainty over which of these formats would ultimately prevail in what was known as the "War of the Speeds". (See also format war.)

Eventually the 12" (300 mm) 33⅓ rpm LP prevailed as the predominant format for musical albums, and the 7" (175 mm) 45 rpm disc or "single" established a significant niche for shorter duration discs, typically containing one song on each side. The 45 rpm discs typically emulated the playing time of the former 78 rpm discs, while the LP discs provided up to one half hour of time per side (though typically 15 to 20 minutes). The 45 rpm discs also came in a variety known as Extended play (EP) which achieved up to 10-15 minutes play at the expense of attenuating (and possibly compressing) the sound to reduce the width required by the groove.

From the mid-1950s through the 1960s, in the U.S. the common home "record player" or "stereo" would typically have had these features: a three- or four-speed player with changer (78, 45, 33⅓, and sometimes 16⅔ rpm); a combination cartridge with both 78 and microgroove styluses; and some kind of adapter for playing the 45s with their larger center hole. The large center hole on 45s allows for easier handling by jukebox mechanisms. RCA 45s can also be adapted to the smaller spindle of an LP player with a plastic snap-in insert known as a "spider"; such inserts were prevalent starting in the 1960s.

Deliberately playing or recording records at the wrong speed was a common amusement. For example, playing the song "I'm on Fire" from Bruce Springsteen's 33⅓ LP at a 45 speed gives the singer a falsetto singing voice that sounds very much like Dolly Parton. Conversely, playing a 45 rpm recording of Dolly Parton at 33⅓ gives her a voice a husky, almost masculine tone.

This effect was used in 1966 by Cork Marcheschi of California group the Ethix (and later of Fifty Foot Hose), who issued an experimental single, "Bad Trip", which could be played at any speed. Canadian musician Nash the Slash also took advantage of this speed/tonal effect with his 1981 12" disc Decomposing, which featured four instrumental tracks that were engineered to play at any speed (with the playing times listed for 33⅓, 45 and 78 rpm playback). Faster playback made the tracks sound like punk rock or power pop, while slower speeds gave the songs a thick, heavy metal effect.

Sound enhancements In 1958 the first stereophonic sound two-channel records were issued—by Audio Fidelity in the USA and Pye in Britain, using the Westrex "45/45" single-groove system. While the stylus moves horizontally when reproducing a monophonic disk recording, on stereo records the stylus moves vertically as well as horizontally.

One could envision a system in which the left channel was recorded laterally, as on a monophonic recording, with the right channel information recorded with a "hill-and-dale" vertical motion; such systems were proposed but not adopted, due to their incompatibility with existing phono pickup designs (see below). In the Westrex system, each channel drives the cutting head at a 45 degree angle to the vertical. During playback the combined signal is sensed by a left channel coil mounted diagonally opposite the inner side of the groove, and a right channel coil mounted diagonally opposite the outer side of the groove.

It is helpful to think of the combined stylus motion in terms of the vector sum and difference of the two stereo channels. Effectively, all horizontal stylus motion conveys the L+R sum signal, and vertical stylus motion carries the L-R difference signal.The advantages of the 45/45 system are:

This system was invented by Alan Blumlein of EMI in 1931 and patented the same year. EMI cut the first stereo test discs using the system in 1933. It was not used commercially until a quarter of a century later.

Stereo sound provides a more natural listening experience where the spatial location of the source of a sound is, at least in part, reproduced.

Under the direction of C. Robert Fine, Mercury Records initiated a minimalist single microphone monaural recording technique in 1951. The first record, Kubelik/Chicago's performance of "Pictures at an Exhibition" was described as "being in the living presence of the orchestra" by The New York Times music critic. The series of records was then named “Mercury Living Presence”. In 1955 Mercury began three-channel stereo recordings, still based on the principle of the single microphone. The center (single) microphone was of paramount importance, with the two side mics adding depth and space. Record masters were cut directly from a three-track to two-track mixdown console, with all editing of the master tapes done on the original three-tracks. In 1961 Mercury enhanced this technique with three-microphone stereo recordings using 35mm magnetic film instead of half-inch tape for recording. The greater thickness and width of 35mm magnetic film prevented tape layer print-through and pre-echo and gained extended frequency range and transient response. The Mercury Living Presence recordings were remastered to CD in the 1990s by the original producer, using the same method of 3-to-2 mix directly to the master recorder.

The development of quadraphonic records was announced in 1971. These recorded four separate sound signals. This was achieved on the two stereo channels by electronic matrixing, where the additional channels were combined into the main signal. When the records were played, phase-detection circuits in the amplifiers were able to decode the signals into four separate channels. There were two main systems of matrixed quadraphonic records produced, confusingly named SQ (by CBS) and QS (by Sansui). They proved commercially unsuccessful, but were an important precursor to later "surround sound" systems, as seen in Super Audio CD and home cinema today. A different format, Quadraphonic#CD-4 .2F Compatible Discrete 4 .2F Quadradisc (not to be confused with compact disc), by RCA, encoded rear channel information on an ultrasonic carrier, which required a special wideband cartridge to capture it on carefully-calibrated pickup arm/turntable combinations. Typically the high frequency information inscribed onto these LPs wore off after only a few playings, and CD-4 was even less successful than the two matrixed formats.

In the late 1970s and 1980s, a method to improve the dynamic range of mass produced records involved highly advanced disc cutting equipment. These techniques, marketed as the CBS Laboratories and Teldec Direct Metal Mastering, were used to reduce inner-groove distortion.

Also in the late 1970s, "direct-to-disc" records were produced, aimed at an audiophile niche market. These completely bypassed the use of magnetic tape in favor of a "purist" transcription directly to the master lacquer disc. Also during this period, "half-speed mastered" and "original master" records were released, using expensive state-of-the-art technology. A further late 1970s development was the Disco Eye-Cued(TM) system used mainly on Motown 12" singles released between 1978 and 1980. The introduction, drum-breaks or choruses of a track were indicated by widely separated grooves, giving a visual clue to DJs mixing the records. The appearance of these records is similar to an LP, but they only contain one track each side.

The early 1980s saw the introduction of "dbx-encoded" records, again for the audiophile niche market. These were completely incompatible with standard record playback preamplifiers, relying on the Dbx (noise reduction) compandor encoding/decoding scheme to greatly increase dynamic range (dbx encoded disks were recorded with the dynamic range compressed by a factor of two in dB: quiet sounds were meant to be played back at low gain and loud sounds were meant to be played back at high gain, via automatic gain control in the playback equipment; this reduced the effect of surface noise on quiet passages). A similar and very short lived scheme involved using the CBS-developed "CX (audio)" Audio noise reduction encoding/decoding scheme.

ELPJ, a Japanese-based company, has developed a player that uses a laser instead of a stylus to read vinyl discs. In theory the laser turntable eliminates the possibility of scratches and attendant degradation of the sound, but its expense limits use primarily to digital archiving of analog records. Various other laser-based turntables were tried during the 1990s, but while a laser reads the groove very accurately, since it does not touch the record, the dust that vinyl naturally attracts due to static charge is not cleaned from the groove, worsening sound quality in casual use compared to conventional stylus playback.

Formats , containing abstract information on how it is to be played. Common formats {| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"|- bgcolor="#CCCCCC"| Diameter || Revolutions per minute || Time duration|-| 12 in. (30 cm) || 33⅓ rpm || Long play (LP)|-| 12 in. (30 cm) || 45 rpm || 12-inch single, Maxi Single, and Extended play (EP)]|-| 7 in. (17.5 cm) || 45 rpm || Extended play (EP)|-| 7 in. (17.5 cm) || 33⅓ rpm || Often used for children's records in the 1960s and 1970s.|}

Note: Before the mid-1950s, the 33⅓ rpm LP was most commonly found in a 10" (25 cm) format. The 10" LP remained a common format in some markets until the mid-1960s.

Less common formats Structure The normal commercial disc is engraved with two sound bearing concentric spiral grooves, one on each side of the disc, running from the outside edge towards the centre. Since the late 1910s, both sides of the record have been used to carry the grooves. The recording is played back by rotating the disc clockwise at a constant rotational speed with a stylus (needle) placed in the groove, converting the vibrations of the stylus into an electric signal (see magnetic cartridge), and sending this signal through an audio amplifier to loudspeakers.

The majority of records are pressed on black vinyl. The colouring material used to blacken the transparent Polyvinyl chloride plastic mix is carbon black, the generic name for the finely divided carbon particles produced by the incomplete burning of a mineral oil based hydrocarbon. Carbon black increases the strength of the disc and renders it opaque.

Some records are pressed on coloured vinyl or with paper pictures embedded in them ("picture discs"). These discs can become collectors' items in some cases. Certain 45-rpm RCA Red Seal Records used red translucent vinyl for extra "Red Seal" effect. During the 1980s there was a trend for releasing singles on coloured vinyl — sometimes with large inserts that could be used as posters. This trend has been revived recently and has succeeded in keeping 7" singles a viable format.

Vinyl record standards for the United States follow the guidelines of the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). The inch dimensions are nominal, not precise diameters. The actual dimension of a 12 inch record is 302 mm (11.89 in), for a 10 inch it is 250 mm (9.84 in), and for a 7 inch it is 175 mm (6.89 in).

Records made in other countries are standardized by different organizations, but are very similar in size. The record diameters are typically 300 mm, 250 mm and 175 mm.

There is an area about 6 mm (0.25″) wide at the outer edge of the disk, called the lead-in where the groove is widely spaced and silent. This section allows the stylus to be dropped at the start of the record groove, without damaging the recorded section of the groove.

Between each Song on the recorded section of an LP record, there is usually a short gap of around 1 mm (0.04") where the groove is widely spaced. This space is clearly visible, making it easy to find a particular track.

-HOFX (Fat Wreck Chords)Towards the label centre, at the end of the groove, there is another wide-pitched section known as the lead-out. At the very end of this section, the groove joins itself to form a complete circle, called the Unusual types of gramophone records#Unusual grooving; when the stylus reaches this point, it circles repeatedly until lifted from the record. On some recordings (for example Spice by Eon (musician)), the sound continues on the lock groove, which gives a strange repeating effect. Automatic turntables rely on the position or angular velocity of the arm, as it reaches these more widely spaced grooves, to trigger a mechanism that raises the arm and moves it out of the way of the record.

The catalog number and stamper ID is written or stamped in the space between the groove in the lead-out on the master disc, resulting in visible recessed writing on the final version of a record. Sometimes the cutting engineer might add handwritten comments or their signature, if they are particularly pleased with the quality of the cut.

When record changer were commonplace, records were typically pressed with a raised (or ridged) outer edge and label area. This would allow records to be stacked onto each other, gripping each other without the delicate grooves coming into contact, thus reducing the risk of damage. Auto changing turntables included a mechanism to support a stack of several records above the turntable itself, dropping them one at a time onto the active turntable to be played in order. Many longer sound recordings, such as complete operas, were interleaved across several 10-inch or 12-inch discs for use with auto-changing mechanisms, so that the first disk of a three-disk recording would carry sides 1 and 6 of the program, while the second disk would carry sides 2 and 5, and the third, sides 3 and 4, allowing sides 1, 2, and 3 to be played automatically, then the whole stack reversed to play sides 4, 5, and 6.

Vinyl quality The sound quality and durability of vinyl records is highly dependent on the quality of the vinyl. During the early 1970s, as a cost-cutting move towards use of lightweight, flexible vinyl pressings, much of the industry adopted a technique of reducing the thickness and quality of vinyl used in mass-market manufacturing, marketed by RCA Victor as the "Dynaflex" (125 gram/m²) process, considered inferior by most record collectors. Most vinyl records are pressed on recycled vinyl.

New "virgin" or "heavy" (180-220 g/m²) vinyl is commonly used for modern "audiophile" vinyl releases in all genres. Many collectors prefer to have 180 g/m² vinyl albums, and they have been reported to have a better sound than normal vinyl. These albums tend to withstand the deformation caused by normal play better than regular vinyl. 180 g/m² vinyl is more expensive to produce and requires higher-quality manufacturing processes than regular vinyl.

Since most vinyl records are from recycled plastic, impurities can be accumulated in the record, causing a brand new album to have audio artifacts like clicks and pops. Virgin vinyl means that the album is not from recycled plastic, and will theoretically be devoid of these impurities. In practice, this depends on the manufacturer's quality control.

The orange peel effect on vinyl records is caused by worn moulds. Rather than having the proper mirror-like finish, the surface of the record will have what looks like an orange peel texture. This introduces noise into the record, particularly in the lower frequency range. It should be noted that with direct metal mastering (DMM) the master disc is cut on a copper-coated disc which can also have a minor "orange peel" effect. As this "orange peel" originates in the master rather than being introduced in the pressing stage, there is no ill-effect.

While most vinyl records are pressed from metal discs known as 'stampers', a technique known as lathe-cutting is used to create the original discs. A lathe is used to cut microgrooves into an aluminium disc coated with a soft lacquer. This lacquer disc is then electroplated with nickel to form a negative known as a 'master' disc, which has a protrusion rather than a groove. The lacquer disc is destroyed when the nickel impression is separated. This master disc is then electroplated with nickel to form a a positive disc known as a 'mother'. Many mothers can be grown from a single master before the master deteriorates beyond use. In their own turn the mothers are nickel plated to produce more negative discs known as 'stampers'. Again a single mother can grow many stampers before they deteriorate beyond use. It is these stampers that are then used to mould the final vinyl discs. In this way several million vinyl discs can be produced from a single lacquer original. For production of discs where a relatively small quantity is required, the first nickel negative grown from the lacquer original is used directly as a stamper. Production by this latter process (known as the 'half process') is limited to a few hundred vinyl discs.

Limitations Shellac Shellac 78s are brittle, and must be handled carefully. In the event of a 78 breaking, the pieces might remain loosely connected by the label and still be playable if the label holds them together, although there is a loud 'pop' with each pass over the crack, and breaking of the stylus is likely.

Breakage was very common in the shellac era. In the 1934 novel, Appointment in Samarra, the protagonist "broke one of his most favorites, Paul Whiteman's Lady of the Evening ... He wanted to cry but could not." A poignant moment in J. D. Salinger's 1951 novel The Catcher in the Rye occurs after the adolescent protagonist buys a record for his younger sister but drops it and "it broke into pieces ... I damn near cried, it made me feel so terrible." A sequence where a school teacher's collection of 78 RPM jazz records is smashed by a group of rebellious students is a key moment in the film Blackboard Jungle.

Vinyl Vinyl records do not break easily, but the soft material is easily scratched. Vinyl readily acquires a static charge, attracting dust that is difficult to remove completely. Dust and scratches cause audio clicks and pops. In extreme cases, they can cause the needle to skip over a series of grooves, or worse yet, cause the needle to skip backwards, creating a "locked groove" that repeats the same 1.8 seconds of track (at 33⅓ rpm) over and over again. Locked grooves were not uncommon and were even heard occasionally in broadcasts.

Vinyl records can be warped by heat, improper storage, or manufacturing defects such as excessively tight plastic shrinkwrap on the album cover. A small degree of warp was common, and allowing for it was part of the art of turntable and tonearm design. "Wow (recording)" (once-per-revolution pitch (music) variation) could result from warp, or from a spindle hole that was not precisely centered.

As a practical matter, records provide excellent sound quality when treated with care . They were the music source of choice for radio stations for decades, and the switch to digital music libraries by radio stations has not produced a noticeable improvement in sound quality (note that most radio stations severely Dynamic range compression (audio) in their broadcasts). Casual ears cannot detect a difference in quality between a CD and a clean new LP played in a casual environment with background noise . There is controversy about the relative quality of CD sound and LP sound when the latter is heard under the very best conditions (see Analog sound vs. digital sound). The limitations of recording and mastering techniques had a greater impact on sound quality than the limitations of the record itself, at least until the 1980s .

A further limitation of the record is that with a constant rotational speed, the quality of the sound may differ across the width of the record because the inner groove modulations are more compressed than those of the outer tracks. The result is that inner tracks have distortion that can be noticeable at higher recording levels.

7" singles were typically poorer quality for a variety of the reasons mentioned above, and in the 1970s the 12" single, played at 45 rpm, became popular for DJ use and for fans and collectors.

Another problem arises because of the geometry of the tonearm. Master recordings are cut on a recording lathe, where a sapphire stylus moves radially across the blank, suspended on a straight track and driven by a lead screw. Most turntables use a pivoting tonearm, introducing side forces and pitch and azimuth errors, and thus distortion in the playback signal. Various mechanisms were devised in attempts to compensate, with varying degrees of success. See more at Phonograph#Arm systems.

Frequency response and noise In 1925, electric recording extended the recorded frequency range from acoustic recording (168-2000 Hz) by 2½ octaves to 100-5000 Hz. Even so, these early electronically recorded records used the exponential-horn phonograph (see Victor Talking Machine Company) for reproduction.

The frequency response of vinyl records may be degraded by frequent playback if the cartridge is set to track too heavily, or the stylus is not compliant enough to trace the high frequency grooves accurately, or the cartridge/tonearm is not properly aligned. The best cartridges and styli have response up to 76 kHZ. The RIAA has suggested the following acceptable losses: down to 20 kHz after one play, 18 kHz after three plays, 17 kHz after five, 16 kHz after eight, 14 kHz after fifteen, 13 kHz after twenty five, 10 kHz after thirty five, and 8 kHz after eighty plays. While this degradation is possible if the record is played on improperly set up equipment, many collectors of LPs report excellent sound quality on LPs played many more times when using care and high quality equipment.

quadraphonic#CD-4 .2F Compatible Discrete 4 .2F Quadradisc LPs contain a frequency modulated carrier that extends up to 30 kHZ. Many record collectors report that the CD-4 carrier is still playable, even though the records have been played extensively and are in excess of 30 years old. It should be noted that many of these records were only played with super-compliant styli.

Gramophone sound suffers from rumble, low-frequency (below about 30 Hz) mechanical noise generated by the motor bearings and picked up by the stylus. Equipment of modest quality is relatively unaffected by these issues, as the amplifier and speaker will not reproduce such low frequencies, but high-fidelity turntable assemblies need careful design to minimize audible rumble.

Room vibrations will also be picked up if the pedestal - turntable - pickup arm - stylus system is not well damped.

Tonearm skating forces and other perturbations are also picked up by the stylus. This is a form of multiplexing as the "control signal" (restoring force) used to keep the stylus in the groove is carried by the same mechanism as the sound itself. Subsonic frequencies below about 20 Hz in the audio signal are dominated by tracking effects, which is one form of unwanted rumble ("tracking noise") and merges with audible frequencies in the deep bass range up to about 100 Hz. High fidelity sound equipment can reproduce tracking noise and rumble. During a quiet passage, woofer speaker cones can sometimes be seen to vibrate with the subsonic tracking of the stylus, at frequencies as low as about 0.5 Hz (the frequency at which a 33-1/3 rpm record turns on the turntable). For this reason, many stereo receivers contained a switchable subsonic filer. Some subsonic content is directly out of phase in each channel. If played back on a mono subwoofer system, the noise will cancel, significantly reducing the amount of rumble that is reproduced.

At high audible frequencies, hiss is generated as the stylus rubs against the vinyl, and from dirt and dust on the vinyl. Noise can be reduced somewhat by cleaning the record prior to playback.

Equalization Due to recording mastering and manufacturing limitations, both high and low frequencies were removed from the first recorded signals by various formulae. With low frequencies, the stylus must swing a long way from side to side, requiring the groove to be wide, taking up more space and limiting the playing time of the record. At high frequencies noise is significant. These problems can be compensated for by using equalization to an agreed standard. This simply means reducing the amplitude at low-frequencies, thus reducing the groove width required, and increasing the amplitude at high frequencies. The playback equipment boosts bass and cuts treble in a complementary way. The result should be that the sound is perceived to be without change, thus more music will fit the record, and noise is reduced.

The agreed standard has been RIAA equalization since 1952, implemented in 1955. Prior to that, especially from 1940, some 100 formulae were used by the record manufacturers.

In 1926 it was disclosed by Joseph P. Maxwell and Henry C. Harrison from Bell Telephone Laboratories that the recording pattern of the Western Electric (W. E.) "rubber line" magnetic disc cutter had a constant velocity characteristic. This meant that as frequency increased in the treble, recording amplitude decreased. Conversely, in the bass as frequency decreased, recording amplitude increased. Therefore, it was necessary to attenuate the bass frequencies below about 250 Hz, the bass turnover point, in the amplified microphone signal fed to the recording head. Otherwise, bass modulation became excessive and overcutting took place into the next record groove. When played back electrically with a magnetic pickup having a smooth response in the bass region, a complementary boost in amplitude at the bass turnover point was necessary. G. H. Miller in 1934 reported that when complementary boost at the turnover point was used in radio broadcasts of records, the reproduction was more realistic and many of the musical instruments stood out in their true form.

West in 1930 and later P. G. H. Voight (1940) showed that the early Wente-style condenser microphones contributed to a 4 to 6 dB midrange brilliance or pre-emphasis in the recording chain. This meant that the electrical recording characteristics of W. E. licensees such as Columbia Records and Victor Talking Machine Company in the 1925 era had a higher amplitude in the midrange region. Brilliance such as this compensated for dullness in many early magnetic pickups having drooping midrange and treble response. As a result, this practice was the empirical beginning of using pre-emphasis above 1,000 Hz in 78 rpm and 33 1/3 rpm records.

Over the years a variety of record equalization practices emerged and there was no industry standard. For example, in Europe recordings for years required playback with a bass turnover setting of 250 - 300 Hz and a treble rolloff at 10,000 Hz ranging from 0 to -5 dB or more. In the United States there were more varied practices and a tendency to use higher bass turnover frequencies such as 500 Hz as well as a greater treble rolloff like -8.5 dB and even more to record generally higher modulation levels on the record.

Evidence from the early technical literature concerning electrical recording suggests that it wasn't until the 1942-1949 period that there were serious efforts to standardize recording characteristics within an industry. Heretofore, electrical recording technology from company to company was considered a proprietary art all the way back to the 1925 W. E. licensed method used by Columbia and Victor. For example, what Brunswick-Balke-Collender (Brunswick Corporation) did was different from the practices of Victor.

Broadcasters were faced with having to adapt daily to the varied recording characteristics of many sources: various makers of "home recordings" readily available to the public, European recordings, lateral cut transcriptions, and vertical cut transcriptions. Efforts were started in 1942 to standardize within the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB), later known as the National Association of Radio and Television Broadcasters (NARTB). The NAB, among other items, issued recording standards in 1949 for laterally and vertically cut records, principally transcriptions. A number of 78 rpm record producers as well as early Lp makers also cut their records to the NAB/NARTB lateral standard.

The lateral cut NAB curve was remarkably similar to the NBC Orthacoustic curve which evolved from practices within the National Broadcasting Company since the mid-1930s. Empirically, and not by any formula, it was learned that the bass end of the audio spectrum below 100 Hz could be boosted somewhat to override system hum and turntable rumble noises. Likewise at the treble end beginning at 1,000 Hz, if audio frequencies were boosted by 16 dB at 10,000 Hz the delicate sibilant sounds of speech and high overtones of musical instruments could survive the noise level of cellulose acetate, lacquer/aluminum, and vinyl disc media. When the record was played back using a complementary inverse curve, signal to noise ratio was improved and the programming sounded more life-like.

When the Columbia Lp was released in June 1948, the developers subsequently published technical information about the 33 1/3 rpm microgroove long playing record. Columbia disclosed a recording characteristic showing that it was like the NAB curve in the treble, but had more bass boost or pre-emphasis below 200 Hz. The authors disclosed electrical network characteristics for the Columbia Lp curve. This was the first such curve based on formulae.

In 1951 at the beginning of the post-World War II high fidelity (hi-fi) popularity, the Audio Engineering Society (AES) developed a standard playback curve. This was intended for use by hi-fi amplifier manufacturers. If records were engineered to sound good on hi-fi amplifiers using the AES curve, this would be a worthy goal towards standardization. This curve was defined by the time constants of audio filters and had a bass turnover of 400 Hz and a 10,000 Hz rolloff of -12 dB.

RCA Victor and Columbia were in a "market war" concerning which recorded format was going to win: the Columbia Lp versus the RCA Victor 45 rpm disc (released in February 1949). Besides also being a battle of disc size and record speed, there was a technical difference in the recording characteristics. RCA Victor was using "New Orthophonic" whereas Columbia was using the Lp curve.

Ultimately the New Orthophonic curve was disclosed in a publication by R. C. Moyer of RCA Victor in 1953. He traced RCA Victor characteristics back to the W. E. "rubber line" recorder in 1925 up to the early 1950s laying claim to long-held recording practices and reasons for major changes in the intervening years. The RCA Victor New Orthophonic curve was within the tolerances for the NAB/NARTB, Columbia Lp, and AES curves. It eventually became the technical predecessor to the RIAA curve and superseded all other curves. By the time of the stereo Lp in 1958, the RIAA curve, identical to the RCA Victor New Orthophonic curve, became standard throughout the national and international record markets.

Sound fidelity Overall sound fidelity of records produced acoustically using horns instead of microphones had a ventriloquistic tone quality. Some voices and instruments recorded better than others; however Enrico Caruso, famous tenor, was one popular recording artist of the acoustic era that was well matched to the recording horn. It has been said, "Did Caruso make the phonograph or did the phonograph make Caruso?"

Delicate sounds and fine overtones were mostly lost because it took a lot of sound energy to vibrate the recording horn diaphragm and cutting mechanism. There were acoustic limitations due to mechanical resonances in both the recording and playback system. Some pictures of acoustic recording sessions show horns wrapped with tape to help mute these resonances. Even an acoustic recording played back electrically on modern equipment sounds like it was recorded through a horn, not withstanding a 50% reduction in distortion because of the modern playback. Towards the end of the acoustic era, there were many fine examples of recordings made with horns.

Electric recording which developed during the time that early radio was becoming popular (1925) benefited from the microphones and amplifiers used in radio studios. The early electric recordings were reminiscent tonally of acoustic recordings except there was more recorded bass and treble as well as delicate sounds and overtones cut on the records. This was in spite of some carbon microphones used which had resonances that colored the recorded tone.The double button carbon microphone with stretched diaphragm was a marked improvement. Alternatively, the Wente style condenser microphone used with the Western Electric (W. E.) licensed recording method had a brilliant midrange and was prone to overloading from sibilants in speech, but it was generally better at picking up sounds more accurately than carbon microphones were.

It was not unusual, however, for electric recordings to be played back on acoustic phonographs. The Victor Orthophonic phonograph was a prime example where such playback was expected. In the Orthophonic, which benefited from telephone research, the mechanical pickup head was redesigned with lower resonance than the traditional mica type. Also, a folded horn with an exponential taper was constructed inside the cabinet to provide better impedance matching to the air. As a result, playback of an Orthophonic record sounded like it was coming from a radio.

Eventually, when it was more common for electric recordings to be played back electrically in the 1930s and '40s, the overall tone was much like listening to a radio of the era. Magnetic pickups became more common and were better designed as time went on to dampen spurious resonances. Crystal pickups were also introduced as lower cost alternatives. The dynamic or moving coil microphone was introduced around 1930 and the velocity or ribbon microphone in 1932. Both of these high quality microphones became widespread in motion picture, radio, recording, and public address applications.

Over time, fidelity, dynamic and noise levels improved to the point that it was harder to tell the difference between a live performance in the studio and the recorded version. This was especially true after the invention of the variable reluctance magnetic pickup cartridge by General Electric in the 1940s when high quality cuts were played on well-designed audio systems. The Capehart radio/phonographs of the era with large diameter electrodynamic loudspeakers, though not ideal, demonstrated this quite well with "home recordings" readily available in the music stores for the public to buy.

There were important quality advances in recordings specifically made for radio broadcast. In the early 1930s Bell Telephone Laboratories and Western Electric announced the total reinvention of disc recording: the Western Electric Wide Range System --- "The New Voice of Action." The intent of the new W. E. system was to improve the overall quality of disc recording and playback. The recording speed was 33 1/3 rpm, originally used in the Western Electric/ERPI movie audio disc system implemented in the early Warner Brothers' Vitaphone "talkies" of 1927.

The newly invented W. E. moving coil or dynamic microphone was part of the Wide Range System. It had a flatter audio response than the old style Wente condenser type and didn't require electronics installed in the microphone housing. Signals fed to the cutting head were pre-emphasized in the treble region to help override noise in playback. Groove cuts in the vertical plane were employed rather than the usual lateral cuts. The chief advantage claimed was more grooves per inch which could be crowded together resulting in longer playback time. Additionally, the problem of inner groove distortion which plagued lateral cuts could be avoided with the vertical cut system. Wax masters were made by flowing heated wax over a hot metal disc thus avoiding the microscopic irregularities of cast blocks of wax and the necessity of planing and polishing.

Vinyl pressings were made with stampers from master cuts that were electroplated in vacuo by means of gold sputtering. Audio response was claimed out to 8,000 Hz, later 13,000 Hz, using light weight pickups employing jeweled styli. Amplifiers and cutters both using negative feedback were employed thereby improving the range of frequencies cut and lowering distortion levels. Radio transcription producers such as World Broadcasting System and Associated Music Publishers (AMP) were the dominant licensees of the W. E. wide range system and towards the end of the 1930s were responsible for two thirds of the total radio transcription business. A quantum level of improvement had been achieved, and when these recordings are found today in good condition, it is amazing to hear what high fidelity sound was like in that era. Playback of these recordings works well using a bass turnover of 300 Hz and a 10,000 Hz rolloff of -8.5 dB.

Developmentally, much of the technology of the long playing record, successfully released by Columbia in 1948, came from wide range radio transcription practices. The use of vinyl pressings, increased length of programming, and general improvement in audio quality over 78 rpm records were the major selling points.

The complete technical disclosure of the Columbia Lp by Peter C. Goldmark, Rene' Snepvangers and William S. Bachman in 1949 made it possible for a great variety of record companies to get into the business of making long playing records. The business grew like "wild fire" as did the widespread interest in high fidelity sound and the do-it-yourself market for pickups, turntables, amplifier kits, loudspeaker enclosure plans, and AM/FM radio tuners. The Lp record for longer works, 45 rpm for pop songs, and FM radio became high fidelity program sources in demand. Radio listeners heard recordings broadcasted and this in turn generated more record sales. The industry flourished.

Evolutionary steps Technology used in making recordings also developed and prospered. Basically there were ten major evolutionary steps that perfected Lp production and quality during a period of approximately forty years.
  • Electrical transcriptions and 78s were first used as sources to master Lp lacquer/aluminum cuts in 1948. This was before magnetic tape was commonly employed for mastering. Variable pitch groove spacing helped enable greater recorded dynamic levels. The heated stylus improved the cutting of high frequencies. Gold sputtering in vacuo became increasingly used to make high quality matrices from the cuts to stamp vinyl records.
  • Decca in England employed high quality wide range microphones (condensers) for the Full Frequency Range Recording (FFRR) system ca. 1949. Wax mastering was employed to produce Decca/London Lps. This created quite a bit of interest in the United States and raised overall quality expectations by customers for microgroove records.
  • Tape recording with condenser microphones became a long used standard operating procedure in mastering lacquer/aluminum cuts. This improved the overall pickup of high quality sound and enabled tape editing. Over the years there were variations in the kinds of tape recorders used such as the width and number of tracks employed, including 35 mm magnetic film technology.
  • Production of stereo tape masters and the stereo Lp in 1958 were quantum level improvements in recording technology.
  • Limitations in the disc cutting part of the process generated the idea of half-speed mastering in which the source tape was played at half-speed and the lacquer/aluminum disc cut at 16 2/3 rpm rather than 33 1/3 rpm.
  • Some 12 inch Lps were cut at 45 rpm claiming better quality sound, but this practice was short-lived.
  • Efforts were made in the 1970s to record as many as four audio channels on an Lp by means of matrix and modulated carrier methods. This development, though another quantum level improvement, was not a widespread success nor long lasting.
  • There were approaches to simplify the chain of equipment in the recording process and return to live recording directly to the disc master.
  • Some records were produced employing noise reduction systems in the tape mastering as well as in the Lp itself.
  • As video recorders became perfected technically it became possible to modify them and use analog to digital converters (codecs) for digital sound recording. This enabled tape mastering with greater dynamic range, low noise and distortion, and freedom from drop outs as well as pre- and post-echo. The digital recording was played back providing a high quality analog signal to master the lacquer/aluminum cut.


    • Shortcomings At the time of the introduction of the compact disc (CD) in the mid-1980s, the stereo Lp pressed in vinyl was at the high point of its development. Still, it suffered from a variety of limitations:
     

    Gramophone Record



     
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