33 Vs 45 Rpm

[Hopkirk]

Why did vinyl singles spin at 45 rpm and LPs at 33?

Why didn't they both spin at the same speed?

[sandyRoe]

33rpm was for LPs. 45 were mostly singles.

[Hopkirk]

Yes, but why?

[sandyRoe]

It'll take a wiser head than mine to answer that.

[sandyRoe]

at 33rpm you could get more material onto a record. a 45 was usually a single playing for about 3 minutes.

[Hopkirk]

I started wondering after hearing Johnny Walker on R2 Sounds of the Seventies this afternoon.

He mentioned a group who released an EP on 7 inch which span at 33rpm, and Johnny said it confused a lot of people.

[Calibax]

Good question. Thought it might have something to do with size and angular velocity but the old records which were half-way between LPs and singles in size ran at 78!

[Arksided]

It's to do with the quality at the time of sound reproduction.

[Buenchico]

A high speed (78rpm) was initially needed to hide the distortions inherent in early recording and play-back equipment.

As such equipment improved, lower speeds were possible. 45rpm offered good sound quality but only limited recording time (or around 3 minutes per side on 7" records).

That was of little use for classical music (where at least one movement of a symphony needed to be fitted onto a single side of a disk) so larger disks, with a slower speed (33rpm) were used. (It was only later that such disks were used for 'albums').

However please don't ask me why those precise speeds were chosen (rather than, say 80rpm, 50rpm and 35rpm). I've often wondered about that myself and I've yet to find a clear answer!

[Hopkirk]

Scrivens's link seems to answer it pretty well. Thanks.

[gingejbee]

...and to make it even more curious...wasn't it 33 AND A THIRD rpm?

[Hopkirk]

Yes, Gingejbee, you are right.

[DrFilth]

i think you will find it has to do with the length of the track and as an example
see picture 1,
single, hurricane by bob dylan a side 45rpm short version

http://tinypic.com/view.php?pic=soqs88&;s=8#.U53KEShoiTI

side b full length version 33 1/3 rpm

http://tinypic.com/view.php?pic=20adqnk&s=8#.U53KWyhoiTI

[Hopkirk]

Is that really a disc with different speeds on side A and side B, Doc?

[DrFilth]

yep just taken the pics

[DrFilth]

you can see your post on my laptop screen

[DrFilth]

how about an a side no name or label ?

http://tinypic.com/view.php?pic=11lnf2a&s=8#.U53XPShoiTI

[Mosaic]

In those distant black and white days we had endless fun playing records at the wrong speed. After all, television didn't start till ten past five.

[Old_Geezer]

You probably got better sound at a faster speed, but if you wanted to get a whole album of music on then it had to go slower.

[VHG]

I remember buying a single in 1970 by the rock band Ten Years After that had a song Love Like a Man on both sides.

One side played at 45rpm and lasted about 3 minutes.

The other side played at 33 third rpm and lasted 8 minutes.

More here

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Love_Like_a_Man