#33 1 2 rpm records series#

It’s also a good option if you want to set up a permanent turntable for 78s.ĭebut Carbon Esprit SB, Recordmaster and Recordmaster Hi-Res It's a great solution if you’ve either want to play some 78s as a novelty once in a while, and don’t mind going to a little effort for the listening session. Then you’ll need to change it back once you want to play regular records again.

It seems a little intimidating, because you’ll need to take a screwdriver to your lovely turntable to pop off the main motor pulley and replace it. The motor keeps spinning at its regulation speed, but the new pulley makes the platter spin at precisely 78 revolutions per minute. Here's a few achievable options to get you started on your vintage analogue adventure.įirst, you can take the world’s most popular turntable, the trusty Pro-Ject Debut Carbon and buy a 78 adaptor kit for it. To use this adaptor, you simply swap the standard pulley for the 78 RPM version. These are astonishing turntables for absolute musical bliss, but they might be a bit more than you need to play the old records you got at a garage sale.

#33 1 2 rpm records series#

The easiest and most expensive option is to pick up one of the exquisite Signature series turntable with electronics speed control. Pro-Ject turntables offer a few different options to get a platter spinning at 78 RPM. If it’s an antique 78, then we are going to need to get a stylus that will read these different sized grooves. If it’s microgroove, then we’re done and ready to play. Second, we’ll need to determine if we’re playing larger groove records, or microgroove at 78. That’s pretty obvious it's the real defining factor of a 78, after all. First, we need the turntable to actually spin at 78 RPM. There are two important things to bear in mind when you're looking to play 78s. It’s a little trickier than swapping between the standard 33 and 45 RPM.

In these cases it’s mostly been a microgroove pressing, so a current stylus will read the record, it will just need a faster spin. These are special releases that are frustratingly difficult to play for most collectors. Or in the case of Jack White, having a secret 78 track on an otherwise 33 RPM record. Over the last few years, the industry has seen some artists releasing limited editions on 78. You might get a bit macabre and pick them up from someone’s deceased estate sale. Mostly you’ll find them as antiques or in the odd treasure trove when crate digging through an op shop.

Still, there’s plenty of 78s lying around. These are referred to as “microgroove” and has been the standard since about 1948. Current generation records have a much finer groove, due to better pressing and cutting techniques. The slang here is why we say “needle” when we’re talking about a diamond stylus that modern turntables use (modern, meaning since the 1960s…). They were often played with something akin to a metal pin. They only had a few minutes to a side (some say that’s why modern pop songs are about are 3 - 5 minutes long) and they actually predate vinyl as a material – most were made of a shellac medium, although there were plenty of odd alternatives around. By today’s standards, 78s are a bit of an odd creature.