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78 rpm Records
Can be called "Seventy-Eights"
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| Shellac 78 rpm record |
78 rpm records came around somewhere around 1902. They can be called "seventy-eights", and they are 10
inches in diameter and can hold about 4 minutes of audio per side. When they were used to record albums they would take
several 78 rpm records and put them into their own sleeves, and they would bind all of the sleeves together to make an "album"
of records, hence where we get the term "album" for a CD or record that we buy, allthough they aren't in an album. Not all
record players will play 78's, so you need to find one with the setting. Most, (or all) record players that can
take 78's will have a little switch or tab that you can press on the needle cartridge. This changes the needle that you are
using. The reason for this is because the 78's need a thicker heavier needle to play them. That second needle is also for
playing 16's also.
The old 78 rpm discs were very fragile, and they have to be handles with great care, because the wrong drop will smash
them into pieces. The reason for this is because they are made of shellac, a very brittle material. The 78 rpm records were
the original recording speed for the victrolas, but they can be played on a record player thats speed can either be manually
tuned, or on a record player that has a 78 rpm setting. I would expect that any 78 rpm record that you get would have been
listened to several times. And because of this, they sound poor, and also because the needles on the old victrolas that
they were used on were made of steel and wore out the records quickly. They still are well worth collecting for the purpose
of having them.
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