The music was different from that of their parents, and the stage was set for a youth music revolution. High-fidelity made great advances through the latter half of the sixties and seventies, with the rise in popularity of stereo records and separate turntables that were either direct or belt-driven. The first stereo turntables were record changers capable of playing several records sequentially.
Records were stacked on a spindle on top of each other, and when one finished, the player would automatically spin the next record. However, the drive mechanism behind these systems named the idler wheel had its disadvantages. In this case, a belt-driven turntable was a much more efficient and cost-effective method.
The motor was off to the side, driving a rubber belt wrapped around the outside of the platter. This belt absorbed vibrations and significantly helped with isolating motor noise from the platter.
The first model was their classic Technics SP turntable. With a direct-drive turntable, the platter sits directly on top of a drive motor. This results in greater speed consistency and torque, while also reducing the amount of parts that can wear out. However, critics would say it also introduces more noise interference that can work its way into the playback system. Either way, the direct-drive turntable was a significant breakthrough in turntable technology that remains in use to this day.
By the s, most homes had a vinyl playing back system of some variety. A century in the making, the record format had gone from a primitive and elite system made with a basic cylinder and tinfoil to a fully-fledgling Hi-Fi experience available to almost anyone. Time, however, keeps rolling on, and as the decade progressed, the rise of digital technology and the compact disk resulted in a sharp decline for vinyl and turntable sales.
Many enthusiasts never let go, of course, and in many respects, DJ turntablism helped keep the format alive through the dark days of the 90s and early 00s. Thanks to enthusiasts of all ages looking for a more authentic and rewarding listening experience in an otherwise clinical digital age, a format once thought destined for the scrapheap of history is thriving once again.
The vinyl age is here to stay. Long live the vinyl record. Please log in again. Emile Berliner called his invention the gramophone, which he patented in This invention consisted of shellac and hard rubber. Later on, it would be made with vinyl.
This invention was later considered the basis of the record player we know and love. It was able to interpret grooves on flat discs instead of the cylinder that Edison used. At this point, the vinyl record became necessary. As the record spins, a needle reads the grooves. This needle is cone-shaped and hangs from a stretchy band of metal.
The needle is set at one end of the tonearm which is located on the side of the turntable, parallel to the vinyl. The arm moves across the vinyl as the needle follows the grooves. The needle picks up the vibrations as it moves around the grooves of sound and these vibrations travel through the metal band located at the end of the arm and to the wires of the cartridge at the end of the tonearm.
The coil, which is in a magnetic field, turns the vibrations into an electric signal which is then carried from the wires to the amp. These signals eventually turn into sound via the speakers, producing the music. For more detail, check out my article on how record players work.
In , the first record player was mass produced. It was incredibly popular until the introduction of radio. In the s and the s, the turntable was back on the map with the release of the first model that provided stereo playback. This type of Hi-Fi sound hit the scene and caused thousands of people to purchase a turntable of their own. The automatic turntable was also a big hit in the s. In the s and s, hip hop DJs found a new way to use turntables by connecting audio mixers and using their hands to scratch the vinyl against the stylus in order to produce a totally new sound.
By the mids, the majority of vinyl releases had shifted to stereo. While on mono reproduction the stylus moves horizontally, on stereo records the stylus moves both horizontally and vertically. No small change. The s were the golden era for all things vinyl. But all good things come to an end, and with the popularity of cassettes, followed by CDs in the s, vinyl quickly became considered a thing of past.
But you can't keep a good thing down. And the much-discussed vinyl revival has seen an unprecedented resurgence in the aged format, as young and old music fans discover the beauty of physical media and the enjoyment to be had in taking the time to sit back and listen to a piece of music and then get up and turn it over.
Naturally, we've seen a resurgence in record players, too, not just budget and high-end classic decks, but also in the form of all manner of contemporary turntable spin-offs — from those compatible with Spotify to Bluetooth and vertical decks. There are digital turntables with USB outputs that can be used to turn your vinyl into digital files, and Bluetooth turntables that can wirelessly stream your spinning vinyl to Bluetooth speakers or headphones.
Many modern decks also have built-in phono stages, allowing you to connect it straight into an amplifier, while we're also seeing more just-add-speaker turntable systems, complete with both built-in phono stages, amplification and even speakers. And who knows, soon there could be another chapter to the turntable story yet with none other than HD vinyl During that time she has been fortunate enough to travel the world to report on the biggest and most exciting brands in hi-fi and consumer tech and has had the jetlag and hangovers to remember them by.
Library of Congress. They experimented with: Molten metal Wax Water Some other materials These techniques helped to deepen the grooves, and had many effects on the method itself: Higher sound quality Longer lasting recording, meaning it could be played back many more times A more reliable method of recording Instead of patenting their invention, however , they sealed it in the Smithsonian.
Disc, Not Cylinder — Instead of recording on a cylinder which rotated vertically, Berliner used small discs, no more than cm wide, to record the sound waves by using a needle the same tool Edison used to engrave his cylinders. By using a disc, both the length of recordings as well as the quality was significantly improved. Negative Imprint — Berliner was the first to record sound waves outwardly on a disc, using a technique called electroplating.
In , Berliner found a way to create "master copies" of recordings utilizing this technique, which could be used to reproduce discs with inward grooves.
With these methods, artists could reproduce recordings of a single track many times, seriously impacting the commercial value of the method for the better. Shellac Discs : Berliner also innovated the development of shellac discs.
Shellac is a substance that is secreted from certain insects, similar to sap. Berliner used this material to create discs that were reproducible and set the stage for more significant innovations in the 20th Century. Victrola Eldridge R. Radio Corporation of America Of course, around this time in history, the radio was also becoming a popular staple of American life. The Vinyl Record The first vinyl record was born in Stereo Sound and New Formats In , the first commercially available stereo sound records were released to the public.
Many inventions of the twentieth century proved to be commercially unsuccessful, in fact, including: Three-channel recording — Which formed the basis for surround sound. Four-channel recording — Which was a complete commercial failure.
Laser turntables — Which were functional but expensive and laid the groundwork for the compact disc and other optical formats. Various Enhancements Since the s, various enhancements have been made to improve the quality, reliability, durability, and dynamic range of records: Improved cutting techniques — Changed the way records are cut, and increased dynamic range significantly, paving the way for less traditional genres in music, including metal and hip-hop.
Diaphragming — A chemical technique designed to mask background noise and create less surface noise in addition. Enhancements in spiral groove pitch — Which improved endpoint distortion on records. Record Players Today In the late 80s, record players started to die out in popularity due to new formats and policies from record distributors about applying credits for unsold, returned, vinyl records.
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