What are grooves on a record?
The groove you can see on a vinyl record is like a fingerprint of the sound waves captured in a lacquer disc that we call a vinyl record. These three-dimensional cuts within the spiral groove on the vinyl record are a recording of how the sound waves behave as they move through the air.
How many grooves are on a record?
It’s an old, silly riddle: how many grooves on a record? Of course, the answer is just one on each side—but that groove is usually about 1,500 feet long, or about 1/3 of a mile.
What happens if you touch the grooves on a record?
If you touch the record’s surface, you increase the risk of getting dirt on the record and damaging it unnecessarily. To avoid these risks, some vinyl enthusiasts will protect the record’s sound quality by using cotton gloves that protect the records from fingerprints.
What do the grooves in a record look like?
To the naked eye, the grooves look like thin, even lines, but that’s not the case as you’ll see below. Your LP’s music is physically stored on the walls of the groove. Exact images of soundwaves (or undulations) are cut and imprinted on both sides of the groove wall.
Why does vinyl sound better?
Because of record grooves, the sound of vinyl is more open, allowing a greater quantity of features to be heard. The space afforded by the grooves allows one to locate and individuate particular instruments and sounds and observe how they contribute to the music as a whole. This way, diversity can be heard.
Does vinyl actually sound better?
Absolutely – vinyl wins this one hands down. However, compared to a CD? That’s more tricky. Vinyl fans will argue that as it is an end-to-end analogue format, from the recording and pressing to playback, that it more closely reproduces what the artist originally played in the studio.
Do vinyls get worn out?
If it sits on the grooves too heavily, it will wear them away quickly and the sound will deteriorate more over time. If you have a more expensive turntable set up, you will have a stylus and cartridge you are able to replace when it gets worn out.
Is it OK to leave a record on the turntable?
Ideally, the only time you can keep your record out of its sleeve is while using it. If you leave it on the platter or for an extended period, you are exposing the vinyl record to dirt and dust. Leaving the record on the turntable often will increase the risk of damaging its surface.
Is CD quality better than vinyl?
Sound Quality From a technical standpoint, digital CD audio quality is clearly superior to vinyl. CDs have a better signal-to-noise ratio (i.e. there is less interference from hissing, turntable rumble, etc.), better stereo channel separation, and have no variation in playback speed.
What is a 78 record?
Any flat disc record, made between about 1898 and the late 1950s and playing at a speed around 78 revolutions per minute is called a “78” by collectors. The materials of which discs were made and with which they were coated were also various; shellac eventually became the commonest material.
What does 33 45 and 78 mean on a record player?
Speed and Diameter Vinyl records come in three speeds: 33 1/3 rpm (often just called a “33”), 45 rpm and 78 rpm. The “rpm” is an abbreviation for “revolutions per minute” — an indication of how fast the record is meant to spin on the turntable.
Which lasts longer CD or vinyl?
In most cases records will last considerably longer because they are more durable than CDs. CDs are quite easy to scratch and once they get scratched they begin to skip and freeze. Records are much harder to scratch and even if they do get scratched there are multiple ways that you can fix them.
Can I fall asleep with a record playing?
Leaving your record player on all night might cause problems and it might not. If your player functions flawlessly and nothing goes wrong with the needle, stylus, arm, turntable, or the internal mechanisms then playing a record overnight will only add to the wear and tear on the machine and records.
Is new vinyl as good as old vinyl?
Usually, if the master tapes are in good working order and have been looked after over the years, the best vinyl reissues will come from the original master recordings. These can sound just as good as the original pressings.
Why is vinyl coming back?
This year, 2020, marks the first year in more than a generation since record sales — that is to say physical vinyl records — have surpassed CD sales. The reasons for this are twofold: CD sales have dropped dramatically in recent years, while sales of vinyl records are actually up this year.
Why is it called 33 and 45 rpm?
When using a master tape to create records, one of the primary goals is to preserve as much of the audio as possible. This page explains why music simply sounds better when mastered to 45 RPM than to 33-1/3 rpm, and the simple answer is that more of the original music is preserved at that speed.