33 RPM RECORD FULL
33 RPM RECORD LICENSE

It was just like the future VHS/Beta and Blu-ray/HD-Video wars.īut there was a more scientific reason for the larger hole.

The thinking was that once someone bought one of these turntables with the fat spindles, they were theoretically locked into buying music in that format from then on. RCA wanted their new format to crush Columbia’s LPs, so they began selling turntables that could only play 45s.

33 RPM RECORD FULL

With the ability to stack up to ten 45s on the RCA spindle, it was theoretically possible for the music to continue for a full hour without human intervention. The tone arm then swung back into place and the music would continue. Once a side of a 45 finished playing after five or six minutes, the tone arm moved away long enough for the next record to drop down onto the platter. While the LP promised up to 22 minutes of uninterrupted music per side, RCA’s crowed that their 45s could be stacked on the special tall, fat spindle-about 6 inches high-that was exclusive to RCA-manufactured turntables. Why would they do something like that? Two reasons.

33 RPM RECORD LICENSE

Rather than license Columbia’s technology for their releases, RCA introduced their own new record, the 7-inch single that spun at 45 RPM and had a center hole that measured 1.5 inches in diameter. However, Columbia’s archrival, RCA, was most annoyed at this new format. When Columbia Records introduced the 33 1/3 RPM long-playing album in 1948, they kept the hole in the center the same size. That was also the size of the hole drilled into all records. On recent songs pressed with modern techniques, a 45 RPM record will definitely sound better than a 33 RPM.Here is a fundamental question that every vinyl lover has asked: why is the hole of a 7-inch single so big?įor the first fifty years of the turntable’s existence, the spindle on which you placed the record was a standard size: approximately. In short, a 45 RPM record sounds better than a 33 RPM 80% of the time, but not 100%. For this reason, it is not uncommon to hear a 45 RPM reissued after the original 33 RPM sounds worse. Indeed, even if the physics says otherwise, there are other factors to consider: the mastering, access to the original tape, quality of the pressing factory, etc. However, a 45 RPM may not always sound better than a 33 RPM. That’s the reason why 12″ 45 RPM is not the most common but is still used, especially for promoting songs.Ī 45 RPM record sounds better than a 33 RPM 80% of the time. Eventually, that’s multiplying the mastering cost, plating cost, pressing cost, labels, and jackets. An LP or an album would need more disks to store everything. Therefore, if the songs are too long, you can only put one title, maybe 2, per face. Because of that, you engrave less music on a 12″ 45 RPM than a 12″ 33 RPM record. Indeed, 45 RPM is faster than 33 RPM by 36%. Then, why aren’t all records 12″ 45 RPM? The reason goes down to cost. It can therefore store more audio information per second and sounds better. Indeed, the outer edge of the 12″ is bigger than the outer edge of the 7″. Therefore, a 45 RPM record will also have a better sound quality in the central grooves.įor the same reason, a 12″ 45 RPM record sound quality is better than a 7″ 45 RPM. Increasing the rotational speed – the RPM – will increase the distance traveled per second, thus increasing the audio quality.

In the table above, I only focused on the most common sizes when someone mentions 33, 45, and 78 RPM records. As the 33 and 45 RPMs are the most common speeds on turntables, some music labels like to make odd sizes from time to time for special occasions. Indeed, you may find records as small as 3″ in Japan or old 16″ from the 30s. The same as any size records can be made 33 or 45. In fact, 10″ can also be made in 33 or 45 RPM real vinyl. They came from an ancient time when styli needed to be changed very often and were not made from diamonds. They are usually thicker and not flexible as vinyl. The 10″ 78 RPM records are not really vinyl since they are made of shellac. I focus more on the difference in sound quality later in this post. They can be used for promotion on the radio for instance. They are mostly used for singles and for their higher sound quality. They are easy to differentiate thanks to their size.Īfter that, the most common records are the 12″ 45 RPM vinyl.

33 rpm record