Alright.
Say you have 20 minutes of awesome music to slap on a record. Here's your two choices:
1) A 33 1/3 12", with 10 minutes each side, crammed into the edge so the last half of the record is a big black mirror. I take it bands do this because of the higher quality that closer to the edge gives you.
2) A 45 rpm 12". These always sound great, but now you have to use the whole side, therefore losing quality?
My gut (non-technical) instinct tells me option 1 is more consistent, but option 2 will be more awesome in general.
Vinyl question - final format decision time
2Is the sound quality really higher "closer to the edge" of a record?
Vinyl question - final format decision time
3The members of our band are having the same discussion about the record we'r recording in a couple of months. (Our record is going to run about 25 minutes) My understanding is that your low end will be better at 33, but your high-end will be better at 45.
Your gut is right. I own the Saint James Infirmary 12" on Frenetic/Allied that runs at 45 rpm. The sides are about 14 minutes and change each, but they still sound great.
If you can get your sides under 14 minutes a piece, and have a talented engineer (as opposed to the house guy at the pressing plant) cutting your lacquers, go for it.
Your gut is right. I own the Saint James Infirmary 12" on Frenetic/Allied that runs at 45 rpm. The sides are about 14 minutes and change each, but they still sound great.
If you can get your sides under 14 minutes a piece, and have a talented engineer (as opposed to the house guy at the pressing plant) cutting your lacquers, go for it.
Vinyl question - final format decision time
4Is the sound quality really higher "closer to the edge" of a record?
Not really. Spreading the groove over the surface of the record is preferable to groove packing.
I said groove packing.
Vinyl question - final format decision time
7here's a hint, if you're instrumental-only.
don't print the approved speed on the label.
whilst this will confuse the fuck out of your listeners, it may, if you're lucky, give them double the fun as they figure out what setting they prefer. I had a UI EP that I thought was a pretty neat "slow-core"-ish grinder; all of a sudden hey presto! it turns out it was a pretty tight "math-rock" 45 speed all the while. It was like getting 2 records for the price of 1.
This also happened with Slint's "Glenn" - got a hold of it on a live tape in about 1992, allegedly sourced direct from Mr Pajo. Whoever had recorded it had done so at 33rpm. I loved it. Then, some years later, it gets released on CD and whaddya know...
don't print the approved speed on the label.
whilst this will confuse the fuck out of your listeners, it may, if you're lucky, give them double the fun as they figure out what setting they prefer. I had a UI EP that I thought was a pretty neat "slow-core"-ish grinder; all of a sudden hey presto! it turns out it was a pretty tight "math-rock" 45 speed all the while. It was like getting 2 records for the price of 1.
This also happened with Slint's "Glenn" - got a hold of it on a live tape in about 1992, allegedly sourced direct from Mr Pajo. Whoever had recorded it had done so at 33rpm. I loved it. Then, some years later, it gets released on CD and whaddya know...
Vinyl question - final format decision time
8Antarctica by Men Without Hats is far better converted from 45 to 33. It's actually their only tolerable song.
Vinyl question - final format decision time
9Redline wrote:Is the sound quality really higher "closer to the edge" of a record?
Not really. Spreading the groove over the surface of the record is preferable to groove packing.
I said groove packing.
Kevin Smith of Acoustech (one of the best masterers in the country) says:
Ever wonder why outside diameter cuts on a record sound clearer and cleaner than inside ones? Unfortunately it’s a fact. Why? The answer is geometry, curvature again. One turntable revolution at 33 1/3 rpm on an LP takes 1.8 seconds. That 1.8 seconds is spread over a circumference of 36 inches on the outside of the record. At the minimum allowable inside diameter that same 1.8 second revolution would only cover 14.9 inches. You can see from this, that a gentle wiggle spread over 36 inches would get quite ‘scrunched’ over 14.9 inches. A jagged groove at 36 inches would get really scrunched at 14.9 inches (remember the rapids). Excessive treble can even cause the cutting stylus to accelerate so fast that its back edge wipes out what the front edge just cut! It’s unfortunate, but treble rolls off, and distortion goes up as you approach the center of the record. It is quite gradual, but if you compare the source recording to the disc, this actually starts to become noticeable after the second cut or so. Any attempt to compensate for this by boosting the treble, only makes the problem worse (greater curvature remember).
Full link http://www.recordtech.com/prodsounds.htm
p.s. I quite like the 'grunge' Men Without Hats record called Sideways. Very little synths, lots of distorted guitars. I don't think it was commercially released in the U.S.
Vinyl question - final format decision time
10I don't know about the differences between speed so much, but I would recommend NOT putting 20 minutes of music on one side of an LP.
When you put a bunch of music on a side of an LP, the grooves are closer together and you quickly start losing fidelity. So, if you want to do 33rpm, I'd still split it up into two sides.
When you put a bunch of music on a side of an LP, the grooves are closer together and you quickly start losing fidelity. So, if you want to do 33rpm, I'd still split it up into two sides.