Welcome to my blog! I’m here to talk about how record players work. They’re pretty amazing machines, and I’m excited to share my knowledge with you. I’m sure you’ll find this information fascinating, and maybe even a little bit useful. So let’s get started!
Table of Contents
How do record players work
Record players work by turning a record player’s turntable, which is usually made of aluminum, at a constant speed. A stylus, which is usually made of diamond, is placed on the record and vibrates as it rotates. This causes the record to vibrate and creates soundwaves that are amplified by the record player’s speakers.
How a Vinyl Record is Made
Vinyl records are made by first creating a master disc. The master disc is created by recording the audio onto a metal disc, which is then coated with lacquer. The lacquer is then cooled and hardened, and the metal disc is removed.
The lacquer disc is then sent to a pressing plant, where it is pressed onto a mold. The mold is made of two parts: the plug, which has the same shape as the grooves on a vinyl record, and the stamper, which has the negative image of the grooves. The mold is filled with hot plastic, and the lacquer disc is placed on top of it. The plastic cools and hardens, and the lacquer disc is removed.
The vinyl record that results from this process will have grooves on one side and a raised label on the other. The label will usually contain information about the artist, song title, and other relevant information.
How Records Are Played
To understand how a record player works, it is important to understand the basics of sound. Sound is created when something vibrates. The vibration creates waves in the air that our ears pick up and interpret as sound.
Music is created by a series of vibrations that create sound waves. These waves can be recorded onto a medium, such as a vinyl record. When the vinyl record is placed on a turntable, the needle picks up the vibrations from the grooves on the record and translates them into sound waves that we can hear through the speakers.
There are two main types of record players – belt drive and direct drive. Belt drive turntables have a belt that connects the motor to the platter (the part of the turntable that the record sits on). Direct drive turntables have the motor directly connected to the platter. Both types of turntables can produce high-quality sound, but belt drive turntables tend to be less expensive and are therefore more popular with beginner DJs and home listeners.
How Do Vinyl Record Players Work?
Vinyl record players work by using a needle to read the grooves on a vinyl record. The needle vibrates as it moves along the grooves, and this vibration is converted into an electrical signal. This electrical signal is then amplified and played through a speaker, which produces sound.
Vinyl records are made by cutting grooves into a piece of vinyl. The deeper the groove, the louder the sound will be. The size of the groove also determines the frequency of the sound that will be produced. The needle on a vinyl record player reads these grooves and produces sound accordingly.
Vinyl record players have been around for many decades and are still popular today. They offer a warm, rich sound that digital music formats cannot match. If you are looking for an authentic listening experience, then a vinyl record player is a great option.
The history of the record player
Invented in 1877 by Thomas Edison, the phonograph was the first machine used to record and play back sounds. Prior to Edison’s invention, there was no way to record and playback sound. The phonograph worked by recording sound waves on a spinning cylinder covered in tin foil. These recorded sounds could then be played back by holding a stylus, or needle, on the foil while the cylinder spun. The vibrations from the stylus would reproduce the recorded sounds.
The first record players were large and bulky, and they required quite a bit of skill to operate correctly. In order to play a record, you had to place the needle on the foil-covered cylinder in just the right spot. If you didn’t place the needle correctly, the sound would be garbled and distorted.
It wasn’t until 1887 that Emile Berliner invented the gramophone, which used flat discs instead of cylinders. Berliner’s invention made record players much more user-friendly and affordable, which helped them become one of the most popular forms of entertainment in the early 20th century.
Record players became even more popular in the 1920s with the invention of electrical recording and playback. Electrical recordings are made by amplifying sound waves with a microphone before they are recorded onto a disc. This allowed for much higher quality recordings than previous methods, which made record players even more desirable.
Over time, record players have undergone many changes, but their basic principle remains the same: using a stylus to read recorded sound vibrations from a spinning disc.
How to set up a record player
Before you can start playing your vinyl records, you need to set up your record player properly. This is a simple process, but it’s important to do it right or you could damage your records.
- First, find a level surface on which to place your record player. It’s important that the surface is level so that the record doesn’t skip when it’s spinning. If you don’t have a level surface, you can try placing a towel under the record player to level it out.
- Next, plug your record player into an outlet and turn it on. Most record players have a switch on the back that you’ll need to flipped to the “on” position.
- Now give the platter a spin to make sure it’s spinning evenly. If it’s not, you may need to adjust the weight on the tonearm.
- Now it’s time to set up your turntable cartridge. This is a small disc with a needle on it that sits on top of the platter and reads the vinyl record as it spins. There are two ways to set up a cartridge: pre-mounted and removable stylus models
cartridge models: With this type of cartridge, the stylus (or needle) is already attached to the cartridge body . You’ll need to remove this from its packaging and screw it into place on the tonearm . Be careful not to touch the stylus as you’re doing this, as even the slightest fingerprint can damage your records .
turntable stylus models: With this type of cartridge, the stylus (or needle) is not attached to the cartridge body . You’ll need to remove this from its packaging and insert it into place in the tonearm . Again, be careful not touch the stylus as you’re doing this .
- Once your cartridge is in place , tighten down knob until it feels snug . Then use protractorcheck overhang . Place protractor against platter , line up edge with spindle hole , and read number where tonearm meets headshell . This is overhang measurement should be between 15 – 22 degrees– 22 degrees
- Now adjust tracking force by moving weight forward or backward on tone arm until pointer falls between 0 – 3 grams tracking force range for your particular model listed in manual.
- With both tracking force and overhang properly adjusted , now check null points by moving tone arm over center of platter from rest position , then release gently until tonearm floats balanced over platter without dropping down too far past 90 degrees– null point should be somewhere around 100 – 120 degrees depending on arm.
- If tonearm still isn’t balanced check for skating force by cueing lever up slowly until tonearm floats slightly above platter surface , while watching where stylus tracks across record if skating force too low will see sonics jump optically across grooves– if skating force too high will see sonics appear squeezed together across grooves.
- Once skating force properly adjusted re-check tracking force and overhang settings might have been disrupted when adjusting for skating force if all else fails check owner’s manual for specific information related to your particular model.
How to clean a record player
Cleaning a record player helps maintain optimal sound quality and prevent damage to both the player and records. Although the specifics vary depending on the type of player, the general process is similar.
The best record players on the market
There are many different types of record players on the market these days. Some are very high quality and some are not so great. Here is a list of the best record players that you can buy.
- Audio-Technica AT-LP120-USB
- Crosley C200A-SI
- Sony PSHX500
- ION Max LP
- Victrola VTA-200B
- 1byone Belt Drive 3 Speed