What Is Vinyl Record Made Of

Cnet photographer and resident music aficionado josh miller walks you through the steps it takes to make one.

What is vinyl record made of.

Because they were made of polyvinyl chloride these records earned the nickname vinyl. Vinyl records replaced an even earlier system of wax based cylinders which acted as both recording and playback units. By the 1920s portable turntables called victrolas and elaborately decorated record players had. Biscuits come in different weights ranging from 140 grams at the low end to more than 200 grams at the high end.

You ll often see vinyl records weighing 180g or more marketed on sleeves and promotional descriptions due to the perceived improved quality. At the time the lp was introduced nearly all phonograph records for home use were made of an abrasive and therefore noisy shellac compound employed a much larger groove and played at approximately 78 revolutions per minute rpm limiting the playing time of a 12 inch diameter record to less than five minutes per side. The phonograph disc record was the primary medium used for music reproduction throughout the 20th century. Successfully introduced in 1948 they played for about 25 minutes per side.

Vinyl is not a natural substance but is a synthetic man made material. It had co existed with the phonograph cylinder from the late 1880s and had effectively superseded it by around 1912. The fragile records were made with shellac. It is a type of plastic that is made from ethylene found in crude oil and chlorine found in regular salt.

Unlike a cd which while a remarkable piece of technology in its own right can hardly be called charming a well made vinyl record is a beauty to behold. The new product was a 12 or 10 inch 30 or 25 cm. In fact when you investigate how records are manufactured it s a minor miracle the format even works let alone looks appealing. Vinyl records are making a big scratch again.

In the mid 2000s gradually records made of any material began to be called vinyl records or simply vinyl. These vintage items are making a comeback to honor that we r. Vinyl records are popular again and here s how they re made. This week on how stuff is made we get a behind the scenes look at how vinyl records are made.

Before the advent of magnetic tape and digital cd technologies flat disks made from a petroleum based plastic called vinyl were the preferred media for popular music reproduction. This is how a vinyl record is made. I ve loved vinyl for as long as i can remember but i never knew exactly how records were made.