Records

A gramophone record (also phonograph record, or simply record) is an analogue sound storage medium consisting of a flat disc with an inscribed modulated spiral groove usually starting near the periphery and ending near the center of the disc. more...

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(Some commercial-use only records ran the groove from the center to the edge of the record.) 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 media, they continue to be manufactured and sold as of 2008. Gramophone records remain the medium of choice for some audiophiles, and specialist areas such as electronica.

Type of record

The terms 33 1/3 rpm record ("33", also LP record or "LP"), EP, 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, which referred to almost all 33 1/3 recordings (a few 33 1/3 rpm recordings contain only one short song per side), and Extended Play, which referred to 45 rpm recordings with twice the usual number of songs on each side, 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.

Sizes of records in America and the UK are generally measured in inches, usually represented with a double prime symbol, e.g. a 7-inch or 7″ record. 45s are generally 7″ records. LPs were 10″ records at first, but are now usually 12″ records.

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 built by Edouard-Leon Scott of France in 1857. The device, known as a phonautograph was built to examine the characteristics of sounds, but the inventor failed to appreciate that it actually recorded the sound. An early recording made in 1860 has recently been reproduced using computer technology.

In 1877, Thomas Edison developed the phonautograph into a machine, the phonograph, that was capable of replaying the recordings made. The recordings were made on tinfoil, and were initially intending to be used as a voice recording medium, typically for office dictation. This initial machine was developed further by Edward Guilliard, though his developments were subsequently incorporated into Edison's patent, something that he had to fight for the next 26 years.

Read more at Wikipedia.org