Gramophone record

A gramophone record, (also phonograph record - often simply record) is an analog sound recording medium: a flat disc rotating at a constant angular velocity, with inscribed spiral grooves in which a stylus or needle rides. Analogue audio recording onto a disc was the main technology used for the storing of recorded sound for most of the 20th century. By 1988 digital media such as the compact disc surpassed the gramophone record in popularity, but gramophone records continue to be made (although in very limited quantities) into the 21st century, particularly for DJs doing live remixes and for local acts recording on small regional labels. Used records are still sold in decent numbers and remain a common part of many music collections. Most major releases still recieve a vinyl release, sometimes with bonus tracks and artwork.

Disc limitations

Shellac 78s were extremely brittle and would break into several pieces if dropped. Typically, they would break into several wedge-shaped pieces; if the glued label did not tear, they might remain loosely connected by the label. In some cases, they are actually still playable if the label holds the pieces together, although there is a loud 'pop' with each pass over the crack, and breaking off the needle is highly likely.

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Breakage was a very common accident, but one that usually induced a sharp pang of loss. Even careful owners usually lost some records to breakage. In the 1934 novel, Appointment in Samarra, the protagonist—admittedly drunk—

Related Topics:
1934 - Appointment in Samarra

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:broke one of his most favorites, Whiteman's Lady of the Evening... He wanted to cry but could not. He wanted to pick up the pieces. He reached over to pick them up, and lost his balance and sat down on another record, crushing it unmusically. He did not want to see what it was. All he knew was that it was a Brunswick, which meant that it was one of the oldest and best.

Related Topics:
Whiteman - Brunswick

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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 because "I knew it would knock old Phoebe out." But "I dropped the record, and it broke into pieces... I damn near cried, it made me feel so terrible, but all I did was, I took the pieces out of the envelope and put them in my coat pocket."

Related Topics:
J. D. Salinger - 1951 - The Catcher in the Rye

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Vinyl records were less subject to breakage. However, the vinyl material was an effective insulator and very prone to acquiring a static charge and attracting dust, which was very difficult to remove completely. The soft material was easily scratched. Dust and scratches caused audio clicks and pops. In extreme cases, they could cause the needle to skip over a series of grooves, causing the player to skip over a segment of the audio track; or, worse yet, cause the needle to skip backwards, creating a "locked groove" that would repeat the same portion of track over and over again. Locked grooves were not uncommon and were even heard occasionally in broadcasts. Locked grooves formed the subject of jokes ("Machines never make a mistake... make a mistake... make a mistake...") and became a common metaphor (a repetitious complainer might be accused of being "a broken record" or "a stuck gramophone record").

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Locked grooves are a special case of groove skipping, in which groove damage or dirt lodged in the groove causes the stylus to skip to an adjacent groove.

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

Related Topics:
Heat - Shrinkwrap - Wow - Pitch - Spindle

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As a practical matter, records provided 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. Casual ears cannot detect a difference in quality between a CD and a clean new LP played on good equipment. Audiophiles take great care of their records, playing them on expensive equipment to get the best sound and impart the least wear to the disc. However, even with the best of care, keen ears can detect the inherent surface noise. Nevertheless some aficionados believe that under the very best conditions LP sound is superior to CD (see Analog vs. Digital sound argument). 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.

Related Topics:
Radio station - Digital music - Libraries - Audiophile - Ear - Analog vs. Digital sound argument - 1980s

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A further limitation of the record is that with a constant rotational speed, the quality of the sound differs across the width of the record: the inner tracks play back at a significantly lower speed than the outer tracks. The result is that inner tracks have distortion that can be particularly noticeable at higher recording levels. CDs resolve this issue by using a variable rotational speed, giving a constant bit-rate.

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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.

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Another problem arises because of the geometry of the record arm. To be cost-effective, they pivot at a fixed point and the stylus describes an arc over the record. This means that the stylus may be presented at an angle to the groove and this introduces a distortion. A number of manufacturers introduced solutions to this issue by creating players with parallel tracking arms (for example Bang & Olufsen and the Beogram 8500) which used a servo system to power the arm across the player.

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