{"id":183163,"date":"2023-06-22T15:23:25","date_gmt":"2023-06-22T13:23:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blackouthiphop.com\/blog\/?p=183163"},"modified":"2023-06-22T15:24:12","modified_gmt":"2023-06-22T13:24:12","slug":"columbia-records-introduce-the-first-vinyl-lp-archive-1948","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blackouthiphop.com\/blog\/columbia-records-introduce-the-first-vinyl-lp-archive-1948\/","title":{"rendered":"Columbia Records Introduce The First Vinyl LP \u2013 Archive, 1948"},"content":{"rendered":"

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(The Guardian)<\/a> 21 June 1948<\/strong>: A symphony lasting 45 minutes was played on two sides of a 12-inch long playing record, spinning at 33\u2153 revolutions per minute.<\/p>\n

A symphony lasting 45 minutes was played on two sides of a 12-inch gramophone record at a demonstration here. The average 12-inch record plays for only eight minutes.<\/p>\n

The record is known as the \u201cColumbia LP (long playing) Microgroove.\u201d It is also being made in the 10-inch size with a playing time of 27 minutes. The material from which the records are made is unbreakable.<\/p>\n

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For almost two years the American record market has been stimulated and also bewildered by the impact of the Long-Playing record \u2013 or LP, as it is there universally called. From across the Atlantic came echoes of the battle: company after company entering the field, new concerns springing up on all sides, wild claims and counter-claims made on behalf of each system, and self-respecting turntables asked to revolve at three different speeds \u2013 33\u2153 rpm, 45, and plain old-fashioned 78. As the confusion spread, many small dealers and record buyers retired into their shells with gestures of despair.<\/p>\n

During this period the well-informed English collector has been able to sit back with a superior smile. Splendid! By all means let the Americans see their new invention through the awkward teething stage; neutrality, for the time being, had distinct advantages. But the period of our neutrality is almost over. Next month Decca release a first English list of some 50 LP records, together with a variety of apparatus on which to play them; and it seems likely that the Gramophone Company will soon follow suit.<\/p>\n

First, some facts. The new Decca records have the same essential features as the American Columbia LP Microgrooves, which in July 1948, started the ball rolling. Each side of a 12-inch record plays for between 20 and 25 minutes; each side of a 10-inch record for some 16 minutes. This startling result is achieved by the use of a narrower groove and a playing speed of 33\u2153 revolutions per minute. The records are made of a plastic material, lighter than shellac and almost free from needle hiss. Prices will not, at present, work out much cheaper than before: that is, one LP will cost about as much as four ordinary records of the same size and category. (Decca explain that while royalties are unaltered, material and processing are far more expensive, and the number of rejected pressings far higher).<\/p>\n

LPs cannot be played on an acoustic instrument. But the owner of a radio-gramophone, or even a plain radio, can buy for under \u00a310 a playing-desk and pick-up suitable for LP only; for another \u00a35 he can buy a twin-speed motor (33\u2153 and 78) and a pick-up with two easily interchangeable heads; or he can buy a \u201ctwo-way\u201d Deccalian for \u00a337 16s, which is little more than the cost of the normal model.<\/p>\n

The convenience of long-playing records for symphonic and chamber music, and for opera, can hardly be exaggerated.<\/p>\n

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