The History of Vinyl Records

Vinyl records use a spiral groove that runs from the outer edge of the disc to the center to record and play back sound. As the record is being made, the sound causes a stylus to vibrate at certain frequencies while it is engraving the vinyl. When the needle of the playback equipment is placed into the record's groove, it will vibrate at the same frequencies and re-create the sound that was recorded.

RCA Victor

The first commercially produced vinyl records were introduced by RCA Victor in 1930. They measured 12 inches in diameter and were played back at 33 revolutions per minute (rpm). Vinyl produced better sound quality and less noise than the shellac records, which were common at the time. Unfortunately, vinyl records did not become popular at the time because the playback equipment was too expensive for most people during the Great Depression.

Columbia Records

During World War II, shellac became difficult to obtain, causing the record companies to manufacture records out of vinyl again. The most commonly produced item was a 12-inch record that only contained six minutes of sound and were played back at 78 rpm. These short-play records were shipped out to the troops in the field to provide them with the popular music of the time. After the war, Columbia Records continued research and development of affordable playback equipment and released its 33 rpm long-play (LP) 12-inch vinyl record in 1948.

Extended Play Records

In response to Columbia's entry into the vinyl market, RCA Victor introduced a new short-play format, the seven-inch Extended Play (EP) record. These smaller records were played back at 45 rpm and eventually found their niche as the standard format for single-song releases. The larger LP format became the standard for albums containing several songs because of their ability to store 30 minutes of sound on each side.

Sound Innovations

Stereo recording on LPs was introduced in 1957 and led to the demise of the traditional monaural format by 1968. Monaural recording used a single-channel to store sound from only one microphone. In the 1970s, the record industry attempted to compete with the popular quadrophonic and 8-track tapes of the time by issuing quadrophonic vinyl records. Quadrophonic recording uses four channels to record and play back sound that comes from all four corners of the listener's surroundings. While the records sounded good, they never became a commercial success because there were three different formats being used and none were compatible with the others' playback equipment.

Decline of the Vinyl Record

The advent of the compact disc in the 1980s drastically cut into the popularity of vinyl records. Records could not produce the same high level of sound quality and were far more vulnerable to damage. Simply bumping the equipment during playback could cause the needle to skip and scratch the delicate grooves in the vinyl.

References

• History of Vinyl Records
• Vinyl Records Timeline