Production of gramophone records
Encyclopedia
For the first several decades of disc record manufacturing, sound was recorded directly on to the master disc (also called the matrix, sometimes just the master) at the recording studio. From about 1950 on (earlier for some large record companies, later for some small ones) it became usual to have the performance first recorded on audio tape, which could then be processed and/or edited, and then dubbed
on to the master disc.
A record cutter would engrave the grooves into the master disc. Early versions of these master discs were soft wax
, and later a harder lacquer
was used.
The mastering process was originally something of an art as the operator had to manually allow for the changes in sound which affected how wide the space for the groove needed to be on each rotation. Sometimes the engineer would sign his work, or leave humorous or cryptic comments in the lead-out groove area, where it was normal to scratch or stamp identifying codes to distinguish each master.
with a metal, commonly a nickel alloy
. In the early days of microgroove records (1940–1960) the nickel plating was only brief, just an hour or less, before transferring to a copper plating tank. This was due to copper plating being both quicker and simpler to manage at that time. Later with advent of Nickel Sulphamate plating solutions all matrices were solid nickel. Most factories transferred the Master Matrix after an initial flash of Nickel in a slow warm nickel electroplating bath at around 15 ampere to a hot 130 degree Nickel plating bath where the current would be raised at regular intervals until the current reached between 110A and 200A depending on the standard of the equipment and the skill of the operators. This and all subsequent metal copies were known as matrices. When this metal master was removed from the lacquer (master), it would be a negative master or Master Matrix, since it was a negative copy of the lacquer. (In the UK, this was called the master; note the difference from soft master/lacquer disc above). In the earliest days the negative master was used as a mold to press records sold to the public, but as demand for mass production of records grew, another step was added to the process
.
After removing the silver deposit and passifing (see below), the metal master was then electroplated (electroformed) to create metal positive matrices, or "mothers". From these positives, stampers (negative) would be formed. Producing mothers was similar to electroforming Masters, except the time allowed to turn-up to full current was much shorter and the heavier Mothers could be produced in as little as one hour and stampers (145 grams) could be made in 45 minutes. Prior to plating either the Nickel Master or Nickel Mother it needed to be passified to prevent the next matrix adhering to the previous matrix. There were several methods used, EMI favoured the fairly difficult Albumin soaking method where as CBS Records and Phillips used the Electrolytic method. Soaking in a di-chromate solution was another popular method, however this method risked contaminating the Nickel solution with chrome. The electrolytic method was similar to the standard electrolytic cleaning method except the cycles were reversed finishing the process with Matrix as the anode. This also cleaned the surface of the matrix about to be copied. After separating from the Master a new mother was polished with a fine abrasive to remove or at least round-off the microscopic "horns" at the top of the grooves, produced by the cutting lathe. This allowed the vinyl to flow better in the pressing stage and reduced the non-fill problem. Stampers produced from the mothers after separating were chrome plated to provide a hard stain-free surface. Each stamper was next centre punched, methods used included aligning the final locked groove over three pins or tapping the edge while rotating under the punch until the grooves could be seen (through a microscope) to move constantly towards the centre. Either method was quite skilled and took much effort to learn. The centre punch not only punched a hole but formed a lip which would be used to secure the stamper into the press. The stamper was next trimmed to size and the back sanded smooth to ensure a smooth finish to the mouldings and improve contact between the stamper and the press die. The edge was then pressed hydraulically to form another lip to clamp the edge down on the press. The stampers would be used in hydraulic presses to mould the LP discs. The advantages of this system over the earlier more direct system included ability to make a large number of records quickly by using multiple stampers. Also, more records could be produced from each master since stampers would eventually get damaged but rarely wear out.
Since the master was the unique source of the positive, made to produce the stampers, it was considered a library item. Accordingly, copy positives, required to replace worn positives, were made from unused early stampers. These were known as copy shells and were the physical equivalent of the first positive.
The "pedigree" of any record can be traced through the positive/stamper identities used, by reading the lettering found on the record run-out area.
covers with a paper (usually additional artwork, photography, and/or lyrics) or plastic liner (or "poly-lined" paper) protecting the delicate surface of the record. Few albums have had records packaged inside with a 3 mil polyethylene
plastic sleeve, either square or round-bottomed (also called "U" shaped), and an accompanying 11×11 paper insert with the additional artwork, photography, and/or lyrics as described above. The insert could be single- or double-sided, in color or grayscale
, and glossy or matte.
Packaging methods have changed since the introduction of the LP record. The 'wrap-around' or 'flipback' sleeve initially became the standard packaging method for LPs during the 1950s. In this packaging method the front cover is able to be printed in colour and is laminated, whereas the back cover features only black text on a white background and is usually unlaminated. These sleeves are constructed in two parts: a laminated front section is wrapped around a separate back panel. Three 'flaps' are used to fix the front and back panels together on the outside. As the unlaminated cardboard back cover section is prone to discolouration due to exposure to natural light, in some instances a single printed sheet containing the back cover information is pasted over the entire back panel, covering the 'wrap-around' flaps but not reaching the outer edge of the sleeve, thus allowing some of the laminated 'flaps' to be exposed. While discolouration still occurs with this method, it is often less evident than when the cardboard back cover alone is exposed. A common feature of flipback sleeves in the 1960s was for information specific to either monaural or stereo versions of the record (typically a format-specific catalogue number and a "MONO" or "STEREO" disclaimer) would be printed on the same front cover artwork, and the whole front panel shifted up or down to expose the appropriate "version" on the front while the unused one would be covered up (but often not very well) by the back cover panel.
Towards the end of the 1960s advances in printing
and packaging technology lead to the introduction of the 'fully laminated' sleeve. Rather than the two-part construction of the 'wrap-around' sleeve, this method consists of a single component part, which is printed in full colour and is completely laminated with the 'flaps' tucked inside the back sleeve section. This is the method generally used for all subsequent releases in the vinyl age and is considered superior not only because of the additional ease allowed in the use of a single component, but also because the fully laminated finish offers far better protection from discolouration caused by exposure to natural light.
With the advent of long-playing records, the album cover
became more than just packaging and protection, and album cover art became an important part of the music marketing and consuming experience. In the 1970s it became more common to have picture covers on singles. Many singles with picture sleeves (especially from the 1960s) are sought out by collectors, and the sleeves alone can go for a high price. LPs can have embossed cover art (with some sections being raised), an effect rarely seen on CD covers. The label area on the disc itself may contain themed or custom artwork rather than the standard record company's logo layout.
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Records are made at large manufacturing plants, either owned by the major labels, or run by independent operators to whom smaller operations and independent labels
could go for smaller runs. A band starting out might get a few hundred disks stamped, whereas big selling artists need the presses running full time to manufacture the hundreds of thousands of copies needed for the launch of a big album. For most bands today, using any of the large manufacturing plants, it is not cost-effective to produce less than one thousand records. To do raises the cost of production, almost prohibitively. The reason for this is that the start up costs for making a record, as discussed prior in this article, are high when compared to the start up costs for making, say, a compact disc.
Sometimes bands might make a picture jacket for their record. Again, usually it is cost prohibitive to make less than one thousand jackets. The average cost for manufacturing a 7" record with a picture jacket is approximately $2.50, at a run of one thousand records and jackets - if one uses any of the large manufacturing plants.
Records are generally sold through specialist shops, although some big chain stores also have record departments. Many records are sold from stock, but it is normal to place special orders for less common records. Stock is expensive, so only large city center stores can afford to have several copies of a record.
While records are generally pressed on plain black vinyl, the album itself is given a much more ornamental appearance. This can include a solid color (other than black), splatter art, a marble look, or transparency (either tinged with a color or clear). Some examples of this can be seen to the right. One of the most well known examples of this technique is the white vinyl repressing of The Beatles' White Album.
Record companies organised their products into labels
. These could either be subsidiary companies, or they could simply be just a brand name. For example, EMI
published records under the His Master's Voice (HMV) label which was their classical recording brand, Harvest
for their progressive rock
brand, home to Pink Floyd
. They also had Music for Pleasure and Classics for Pleasure as their economy labels. EMI also used the Parlophone
brand in the UK for Beatles records in the early 1960s.
In the 1970s successful musicians sought greater control, and one way they achieved this was with their own labels, though normally they were still operated by the large music corporations. Two of the most famous early examples of this were the Beatles' Apple Records
and Led Zeppelin
's Swan Song Records
In the late 1970s the anarchic punk rock
movement gave rise to the independent record labels. These were not owned or even distributed by the major corporations. In the UK, examples were Stiff Records who published Ian Dury and the Blockheads and Two Tone Records, label for The Specials
. These allowed smaller bands to step onto the ladder without having to conform to the rigid rules of the large corporations.
RCA Victor introduced home phonograph disk recorders in October 1930. These phonographs featured a large counter-balanced tone arm with horseshoe magnet pick-up. These types of pick-ups could also be "driven" to actually move the needle and RCA took advantage of that by designing a system of home recording that used "pre-grooved" records. The material that the records were made from (advertised as "Victrolac") was soft and it was possible to somewhat modulate the grooves using the pick-up with proper recording needle and a fairly heavy weight placed on the pick-up. The discs were only six inches in diameter so recording time at 78rpm was brief. Larger size Victor blanks were introduced late in 1931, when RCA-Victor introduced the Radiola-Electrola RE-57. These machines were capable of recording at 33 rpm as well as 78 rpm. One could select to record something from the radio or one could record using the hand-held microphone. The RAE-59 sold for a hefty $350.00 at a time when many manufacturers had trouble finding buyers for $50.00 radios.
The home phonograph disk recorders of the 1930s were expensive machines that few could afford. Cheaper machines, such as the Wilcox-Gay Recordio line, were sold during the late 1940s and early 1950s. They operated at 78 rpm only and were similar in appearance to (and not much larger than) a portable phonograph of the era. One 1941 model that included a radio sold for $39.95, approximately equivalent to $500 in 2005 dollars. The fidelity was adequate for clear voice recordings.
In the past (approximately from the 1940s through the 1970s), there were booths called Voice-O-Graphs, that let the user record their own voice onto a record when money was inserted. These were often found at arcades and tourist attractions alongside other vending and game machines. The Empire State Building
's 86th floor observatory in New York City
, Coney Island
, NY and Conneaut Lake Park
, PA are some of the locations which had such machines. Gem Razors also created thousands of free Voice-O-Graph records during wartime for the troops to send home to their families.
During the reign of the Communist Party
in the former USSR, records were commonly homemade using discarded medical x-ray
s. These records, which were usually made under the nation's samizdat
movement, were nicknamed "Bones" or "Ribs", were usually inscribed with illegal copies of popular music banned by the government. They also became a popular means of distribution among Soviet punk bands; in addition to the high cost and low availability of vinyl, punk music was politically suppressed, and publishing outlets were limited.
Currently, two companies (Vestax
and Vinylrecorder) offer disk recorders priced in the high four figures which enable "experienced professional users" and enthusiasts to produce high-fidelity stereo vinyl recordings. The Gakken Company in Japan also offers the Emile Berliner Gramophone Kit, and while it does not record actual records, it enables the user to physically inscribe sounds onto a CD (or any flat, smooth surface) with a needle and replay them back on any similar machine.
Home recording equipment made a cameo appearance in the 1941 Marx Brothers
film, The Big Store
. A custom recording was also the original surprise Christmas present in the 1931 version of The Bobbsey Twins' Wonderful Secret (when the book was rewritten in 1962 as The Bobbsey Twins' Wonderful Winter Secret, it became an 8 mm movie).
Dubbing (music)
In sound recording, dubbing is the transfer or copying of previously recorded audio material from one medium to another of the same or a different type. It may be done with a machine designed for this purpose, or by connecting two different machines: one to play back and one to record the signal...
on to the master disc.
A record cutter would engrave the grooves into the master disc. Early versions of these master discs were soft wax
Wax
thumb|right|[[Cetyl palmitate]], a typical wax ester.Wax refers to a class of chemical compounds that are plastic near ambient temperatures. Characteristically, they melt above 45 °C to give a low viscosity liquid. Waxes are insoluble in water but soluble in organic, nonpolar solvents...
, and later a harder lacquer
Lacquer
In a general sense, lacquer is a somewhat imprecise term for a clear or coloured varnish that dries by solvent evaporation and often a curing process as well that produces a hard, durable finish, in any sheen level from ultra matte to high gloss and that can be further polished as required...
was used.
The mastering process was originally something of an art as the operator had to manually allow for the changes in sound which affected how wide the space for the groove needed to be on each rotation. Sometimes the engineer would sign his work, or leave humorous or cryptic comments in the lead-out groove area, where it was normal to scratch or stamp identifying codes to distinguish each master.
Mass producing
The soft master known as a lacquer would then be silvered using the same process as the silvering of mirrors, when wax was used as the soft master fine graphite was used, later the soft master now made of lacquer was sprayed with a saponin mix, rinsed, sprayed with Stannous Chloride which sensitized the surface, rinsed again before the finally simultaneously spraying the Silver solution and dextrose reducer. This silver coating provided the conductive layer to carry the current for the subsequent nickel plating electroplatedElectroplating
Electroplating is a plating process in which metal ions in a solution are moved by an electric field to coat an electrode. The process uses electrical current to reduce cations of a desired material from a solution and coat a conductive object with a thin layer of the material, such as a metal...
with a metal, commonly a nickel alloy
Alloy
An alloy is a mixture or metallic solid solution composed of two or more elements. Complete solid solution alloys give single solid phase microstructure, while partial solutions give two or more phases that may or may not be homogeneous in distribution, depending on thermal history...
. In the early days of microgroove records (1940–1960) the nickel plating was only brief, just an hour or less, before transferring to a copper plating tank. This was due to copper plating being both quicker and simpler to manage at that time. Later with advent of Nickel Sulphamate plating solutions all matrices were solid nickel. Most factories transferred the Master Matrix after an initial flash of Nickel in a slow warm nickel electroplating bath at around 15 ampere to a hot 130 degree Nickel plating bath where the current would be raised at regular intervals until the current reached between 110A and 200A depending on the standard of the equipment and the skill of the operators. This and all subsequent metal copies were known as matrices. When this metal master was removed from the lacquer (master), it would be a negative master or Master Matrix, since it was a negative copy of the lacquer. (In the UK, this was called the master; note the difference from soft master/lacquer disc above). In the earliest days the negative master was used as a mold to press records sold to the public, but as demand for mass production of records grew, another step was added to the process
Industrial process
Industrial processes are procedures involving chemical or mechanical steps to aid in the manufacture of an item or items, usually carried out on a very large scale. Industrial processes are the key components of heavy industry....
.
After removing the silver deposit and passifing (see below), the metal master was then electroplated (electroformed) to create metal positive matrices, or "mothers". From these positives, stampers (negative) would be formed. Producing mothers was similar to electroforming Masters, except the time allowed to turn-up to full current was much shorter and the heavier Mothers could be produced in as little as one hour and stampers (145 grams) could be made in 45 minutes. Prior to plating either the Nickel Master or Nickel Mother it needed to be passified to prevent the next matrix adhering to the previous matrix. There were several methods used, EMI favoured the fairly difficult Albumin soaking method where as CBS Records and Phillips used the Electrolytic method. Soaking in a di-chromate solution was another popular method, however this method risked contaminating the Nickel solution with chrome. The electrolytic method was similar to the standard electrolytic cleaning method except the cycles were reversed finishing the process with Matrix as the anode. This also cleaned the surface of the matrix about to be copied. After separating from the Master a new mother was polished with a fine abrasive to remove or at least round-off the microscopic "horns" at the top of the grooves, produced by the cutting lathe. This allowed the vinyl to flow better in the pressing stage and reduced the non-fill problem. Stampers produced from the mothers after separating were chrome plated to provide a hard stain-free surface. Each stamper was next centre punched, methods used included aligning the final locked groove over three pins or tapping the edge while rotating under the punch until the grooves could be seen (through a microscope) to move constantly towards the centre. Either method was quite skilled and took much effort to learn. The centre punch not only punched a hole but formed a lip which would be used to secure the stamper into the press. The stamper was next trimmed to size and the back sanded smooth to ensure a smooth finish to the mouldings and improve contact between the stamper and the press die. The edge was then pressed hydraulically to form another lip to clamp the edge down on the press. The stampers would be used in hydraulic presses to mould the LP discs. The advantages of this system over the earlier more direct system included ability to make a large number of records quickly by using multiple stampers. Also, more records could be produced from each master since stampers would eventually get damaged but rarely wear out.
Since the master was the unique source of the positive, made to produce the stampers, it was considered a library item. Accordingly, copy positives, required to replace worn positives, were made from unused early stampers. These were known as copy shells and were the physical equivalent of the first positive.
The "pedigree" of any record can be traced through the positive/stamper identities used, by reading the lettering found on the record run-out area.
Packaging and distribution
Singles are typically sold in plain or label-logo paper sleeves, though EPs are often treated to a cover in similar style to an LP. LPs are universally packaged in paperboardPaperboard
Paperboard is a thick paper based material. While there is no rigid differentiation between paper and paperboard, paperboard is generally thicker than paper. According to ISO standards, paperboard is a paper with a basis weight above 224 g/m2, but there are exceptions. Paperboard can be single...
covers with a paper (usually additional artwork, photography, and/or lyrics) or plastic liner (or "poly-lined" paper) protecting the delicate surface of the record. Few albums have had records packaged inside with a 3 mil polyethylene
Polyethylene
Polyethylene or polythene is the most widely used plastic, with an annual production of approximately 80 million metric tons...
plastic sleeve, either square or round-bottomed (also called "U" shaped), and an accompanying 11×11 paper insert with the additional artwork, photography, and/or lyrics as described above. The insert could be single- or double-sided, in color or grayscale
Grayscale
In photography and computing, a grayscale or greyscale digital image is an image in which the value of each pixel is a single sample, that is, it carries only intensity information...
, and glossy or matte.
Packaging methods have changed since the introduction of the LP record. The 'wrap-around' or 'flipback' sleeve initially became the standard packaging method for LPs during the 1950s. In this packaging method the front cover is able to be printed in colour and is laminated, whereas the back cover features only black text on a white background and is usually unlaminated. These sleeves are constructed in two parts: a laminated front section is wrapped around a separate back panel. Three 'flaps' are used to fix the front and back panels together on the outside. As the unlaminated cardboard back cover section is prone to discolouration due to exposure to natural light, in some instances a single printed sheet containing the back cover information is pasted over the entire back panel, covering the 'wrap-around' flaps but not reaching the outer edge of the sleeve, thus allowing some of the laminated 'flaps' to be exposed. While discolouration still occurs with this method, it is often less evident than when the cardboard back cover alone is exposed. A common feature of flipback sleeves in the 1960s was for information specific to either monaural or stereo versions of the record (typically a format-specific catalogue number and a "MONO" or "STEREO" disclaimer) would be printed on the same front cover artwork, and the whole front panel shifted up or down to expose the appropriate "version" on the front while the unused one would be covered up (but often not very well) by the back cover panel.
Towards the end of the 1960s advances in printing
Printing
Printing is a process for reproducing text and image, typically with ink on paper using a printing press. It is often carried out as a large-scale industrial process, and is an essential part of publishing and transaction printing....
and packaging technology lead to the introduction of the 'fully laminated' sleeve. Rather than the two-part construction of the 'wrap-around' sleeve, this method consists of a single component part, which is printed in full colour and is completely laminated with the 'flaps' tucked inside the back sleeve section. This is the method generally used for all subsequent releases in the vinyl age and is considered superior not only because of the additional ease allowed in the use of a single component, but also because the fully laminated finish offers far better protection from discolouration caused by exposure to natural light.
With the advent of long-playing records, the album cover
Album cover
An album cover is the front of the packaging of a commercially released audio recording product, or album. The term can refer to either the printed cardboard covers typically used to package sets of 10" and 12" 78 rpm records, single and sets of 12" LPs, sets of 45 rpm records , or the front-facing...
became more than just packaging and protection, and album cover art became an important part of the music marketing and consuming experience. In the 1970s it became more common to have picture covers on singles. Many singles with picture sleeves (especially from the 1960s) are sought out by collectors, and the sleeves alone can go for a high price. LPs can have embossed cover art (with some sections being raised), an effect rarely seen on CD covers. The label area on the disc itself may contain themed or custom artwork rather than the standard record company's logo layout.
Independent record label
An independent record label is a record label operating without the funding of or outside the organizations of the major record labels. A great number of bands and musical acts begin on independent labels.-Overview:...
could go for smaller runs. A band starting out might get a few hundred disks stamped, whereas big selling artists need the presses running full time to manufacture the hundreds of thousands of copies needed for the launch of a big album. For most bands today, using any of the large manufacturing plants, it is not cost-effective to produce less than one thousand records. To do raises the cost of production, almost prohibitively. The reason for this is that the start up costs for making a record, as discussed prior in this article, are high when compared to the start up costs for making, say, a compact disc.
Sometimes bands might make a picture jacket for their record. Again, usually it is cost prohibitive to make less than one thousand jackets. The average cost for manufacturing a 7" record with a picture jacket is approximately $2.50, at a run of one thousand records and jackets - if one uses any of the large manufacturing plants.
Records are generally sold through specialist shops, although some big chain stores also have record departments. Many records are sold from stock, but it is normal to place special orders for less common records. Stock is expensive, so only large city center stores can afford to have several copies of a record.
While records are generally pressed on plain black vinyl, the album itself is given a much more ornamental appearance. This can include a solid color (other than black), splatter art, a marble look, or transparency (either tinged with a color or clear). Some examples of this can be seen to the right. One of the most well known examples of this technique is the white vinyl repressing of The Beatles' White Album.
Labels
Record label
In the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing and promotion,...
. These could either be subsidiary companies, or they could simply be just a brand name. For example, EMI
EMI
The EMI Group, also known as EMI Music or simply EMI, is a multinational music company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the fourth-largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry and one of the "big four" record companies. EMI Group also has a major...
published records under the His Master's Voice (HMV) label which was their classical recording brand, Harvest
Harvest Records
-References:* Harvest Records collectors guide ISBN 978-5-9622-0021-7...
for their progressive rock
Progressive rock
Progressive rock is a subgenre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s as part of a "mostly British attempt to elevate rock music to new levels of artistic credibility." John Covach, in Contemporary Music Review, says that many thought it would not just "succeed the pop of...
brand, home to Pink Floyd
Pink Floyd
Pink Floyd were an English rock band that achieved worldwide success with their progressive and psychedelic rock music. Their work is marked by the use of philosophical lyrics, sonic experimentation, innovative album art, and elaborate live shows. Pink Floyd are one of the most commercially...
. They also had Music for Pleasure and Classics for Pleasure as their economy labels. EMI also used the Parlophone
Parlophone
Parlophone is a record label that was founded in Germany in 1896 by the Carl Lindström Company as Parlophon. The British branch was formed in 1923 as "Parlophone" which developed a reputation in the 1920s as a leading jazz label. It was acquired in 1927 by the Columbia Graphophone Company which...
brand in the UK for Beatles records in the early 1960s.
In the 1970s successful musicians sought greater control, and one way they achieved this was with their own labels, though normally they were still operated by the large music corporations. Two of the most famous early examples of this were the Beatles' Apple Records
Apple Records
Apple Records is a record label founded by The Beatles in 1968, as a division of Apple Corps Ltd. It was initially intended as a creative outlet for the Beatles, both as a group and individually, plus a selection of other artists including Mary Hopkin, James Taylor, Badfinger, and Billy Preston...
and Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin were an English rock band, active in the late 1960s and throughout the 1970s. Formed in 1968, they consisted of guitarist Jimmy Page, singer Robert Plant, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham...
's Swan Song Records
Swan Song Records
Swan Song Records was a record label launched by the English rock band Led Zeppelin on 10 May 1974. It was overseen by Led Zeppelin's manager Peter Grant and was a vehicle for the band to promote its own products as well as sign artists who found it difficult to win contracts with other major labels...
In the late 1970s the anarchic punk rock
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
movement gave rise to the independent record labels. These were not owned or even distributed by the major corporations. In the UK, examples were Stiff Records who published Ian Dury and the Blockheads and Two Tone Records, label for The Specials
The Specials
The Specials are an English 2 Tone ska revival band formed in 1977 in Coventry, England. Their music combines a "danceable ska and rocksteady beat with punk's energy and attitude", and had a "more focused and informed political and social stance" than other ska groups...
. These allowed smaller bands to step onto the ladder without having to conform to the rigid rules of the large corporations.
Home recording
One example of an "instantaneous recording" machine, available to the home recording enthusiast by about 1929 or 1930, was the "Sentinel Chromatron" machine. The Sentinel Chromatron recorded on a single side of uncoated aluminum; its records were read with a fibre needle. It was "rather unstable technology" which produced poor sound quality in comparison to shellac records and was rarely used after 1935.RCA Victor introduced home phonograph disk recorders in October 1930. These phonographs featured a large counter-balanced tone arm with horseshoe magnet pick-up. These types of pick-ups could also be "driven" to actually move the needle and RCA took advantage of that by designing a system of home recording that used "pre-grooved" records. The material that the records were made from (advertised as "Victrolac") was soft and it was possible to somewhat modulate the grooves using the pick-up with proper recording needle and a fairly heavy weight placed on the pick-up. The discs were only six inches in diameter so recording time at 78rpm was brief. Larger size Victor blanks were introduced late in 1931, when RCA-Victor introduced the Radiola-Electrola RE-57. These machines were capable of recording at 33 rpm as well as 78 rpm. One could select to record something from the radio or one could record using the hand-held microphone. The RAE-59 sold for a hefty $350.00 at a time when many manufacturers had trouble finding buyers for $50.00 radios.
The home phonograph disk recorders of the 1930s were expensive machines that few could afford. Cheaper machines, such as the Wilcox-Gay Recordio line, were sold during the late 1940s and early 1950s. They operated at 78 rpm only and were similar in appearance to (and not much larger than) a portable phonograph of the era. One 1941 model that included a radio sold for $39.95, approximately equivalent to $500 in 2005 dollars. The fidelity was adequate for clear voice recordings.
In the past (approximately from the 1940s through the 1970s), there were booths called Voice-O-Graphs, that let the user record their own voice onto a record when money was inserted. These were often found at arcades and tourist attractions alongside other vending and game machines. The Empire State Building
Empire State Building
The Empire State Building is a 102-story landmark skyscraper and American cultural icon in New York City at the intersection of Fifth Avenue and West 34th Street. It has a roof height of 1,250 feet , and with its antenna spire included, it stands a total of 1,454 ft high. Its name is derived...
's 86th floor observatory in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, Coney Island
Coney Island
Coney Island is a peninsula and beach on the Atlantic Ocean in southern Brooklyn, New York, United States. The site was formerly an outer barrier island, but became partially connected to the mainland by landfill....
, NY and Conneaut Lake Park
Conneaut Lake Park
Conneaut Lake Park is a summer amusement resort, located in Conneaut Lake, Pennsylvania, USA. It has long served as a regional tourist destination, and is loved by roller coaster enthusiasts for its classic Blue Streak coaster, which was recently classified as "historic" by the group American...
, PA are some of the locations which had such machines. Gem Razors also created thousands of free Voice-O-Graph records during wartime for the troops to send home to their families.
During the reign of the Communist Party
Communist Party of the Soviet Union
The Communist Party of the Soviet Union was the only legal, ruling political party in the Soviet Union and one of the largest communist organizations in the world...
in the former USSR, records were commonly homemade using discarded medical x-ray
X-ray
X-radiation is a form of electromagnetic radiation. X-rays have a wavelength in the range of 0.01 to 10 nanometers, corresponding to frequencies in the range 30 petahertz to 30 exahertz and energies in the range 120 eV to 120 keV. They are shorter in wavelength than UV rays and longer than gamma...
s. These records, which were usually made under the nation's samizdat
Samizdat
Samizdat was a key form of dissident activity across the Soviet bloc in which individuals reproduced censored publications by hand and passed the documents from reader to reader...
movement, were nicknamed "Bones" or "Ribs", were usually inscribed with illegal copies of popular music banned by the government. They also became a popular means of distribution among Soviet punk bands; in addition to the high cost and low availability of vinyl, punk music was politically suppressed, and publishing outlets were limited.
Vestax
The Vestax Corporation of Japan began in 1977 as a designer and manufacturer of electronic guitars. In the 1980s Vestax introduced a series of cassette based multitracks to challenge established products from Fostex, Yamaha and Tascam's portastudios...
and Vinylrecorder) offer disk recorders priced in the high four figures which enable "experienced professional users" and enthusiasts to produce high-fidelity stereo vinyl recordings. The Gakken Company in Japan also offers the Emile Berliner Gramophone Kit, and while it does not record actual records, it enables the user to physically inscribe sounds onto a CD (or any flat, smooth surface) with a needle and replay them back on any similar machine.
Home recording equipment made a cameo appearance in the 1941 Marx Brothers
Marx Brothers
The Marx Brothers were an American family comedy act, originally from New York City, that enjoyed success in Vaudeville, Broadway, and motion pictures from the early 1900s to around 1950...
film, The Big Store
The Big Store
The Big Store is a Marx Brothers comedy film in which Groucho, Chico and Harpo work to save the Phelps Department Store, owned by Martha Phelps . Groucho plays her detective and bodyguard Wolf J...
. A custom recording was also the original surprise Christmas present in the 1931 version of The Bobbsey Twins' Wonderful Secret (when the book was rewritten in 1962 as The Bobbsey Twins' Wonderful Winter Secret, it became an 8 mm movie).