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Posted by jon jon on Apr-25-2001 00:33:

This might be a really really stupid question, but I have no idea what the answer is to this question, a friend of mine asked me and I laughed cuz I had no fucking clue.

Why are there two speeds on turntables? 33, and 45? Is there a reason? Does a certain speed have better quality? Can you manipulate one speed better then the other. I realize you can fit more time on a 33 cuz it's moving that much slower, but there has to be other reasons then that.

From one dj to another, help! lol

Jonathan

Posted by Peter Campbell on Apr-25-2001 09:07:

I don`t know munch about vinyl , I like my CDs but its probley for different sizes of them

Posted by Joel Fielder on Apr-25-2001 12:18:

Higher speed means better high frequency response due to effectively shorter possible recorded wavelengths.

Warping error (as the record moves up and down vertically) increases though but wow and flutter will have less noticeable effect.

There could be more to it - Skywarp's the vinyl tech expert, give him a shout.

Posted by skywarp on Apr-26-2001 11:06:

Well I'm not 100% sure on this but besides what Joel said, the 45 rpm records are easier to press and also a little more resistant to physical damage. Slight imperfections due to pressing or rough handling should be less noticable on a 45 because there is less audio per unit of length and so a scratch shouldn't damage or distort as much of the signal as on 33 ...

Posted by tu_face on Apr-27-2001 08:39:

i think they only usually press 33's so they can fit more on... ah i aint no expert in thiseither so thats my educated guess

Posted by Johnny Eckhardt on Apr-30-2001 19:29:

Also, with 33s the grooves are usually packed closer together than with 45's. A lot of times 45's can sound a bit cleaner than the same song on 33 but then again, that all depends on the quality of the vinyl used and also the pressing itself.

Posted by Tony Morello on Apr-30-2001 20:51:

it has to do with science (more or less)
the 45 rpm records are smaller, so they need to spin faster so that the music doesn't sound slow, as with the 12" records, they need to spin at a slower speed, because they are bigger, hence the 33 rpm

basically, the bigger the record, the slower the table speed needs to be

i hope this answers your question

Posted by skywarp on Apr-30-2001 21:05:

Shockwav: what are you talking about ? 12" can be pressed at both 33 and 45 so the size of the record doesn't really have anything to do with it. By your logic the deck would have to change the speed as the needle moves towards the center of the record in order for the music to run at constant speed...

Posted by Tony Morello on Apr-30-2001 21:45:

you know what, you're right
don't mind me, i'm on crack
i also haven't had any sleep in like 36 hours

Posted by skywarp on Apr-30-2001 21:50:

... it shows =)

Posted by breakdown on May-01-2001 01:07:

some decks have 78 eh? i think that is superby pointless..

Posted by keppj0nes on May-01-2001 03:40:

I have had decks with 78, its great for speeding through a record you dont want to touch.

Posted by Johnny Eckhardt on May-01-2001 05:03:

The REALLY old ones used to have 16 as well as 33, 45 and 78!