Not all vinyl records are actually vinyl

[bandit957]

Did you know that not all vinyl records are really vinyl? Some are actually polystyrene. This is especially true of 45's in the 1970s and 1980s. Sometimes you can tell because the sound quality isn't as good on styrene records. Unless you play them with just the right needle, the sound can get sort of scratchy or distorted after only a few plays. Columbia and A&M were among the labels that generally used styrene for 45's.

This problem usually afflicts 45's, not albums. That's because the offending labels thought 45's were just toys that would just get stepped on and broken after 2 or 3 plays so nobody would notice the difference.

Some turntables came with needles that would really tear up styrene records. The right needle won't do any premature damage. But some manufacturers used the wrong kind of needle just out of malice. I had a Panasonic stereo that had this type of needle, and I think it was damaging styrene records.

[nexus73]

78's were made from shellac.  That is some heavy stuff!

Rick

[ErmineNotyours]

The worst part of polystyrene records is that the label is glued on after the record is injected molded.  (Vinyl records have the label pushed into the vinyl.)  Soon moisture gets attracted to the label.  It puffs up and looks awful.

[ErmineNotyours]

For that matter, CBS had the worst failure rates of cassettes from the early 80s, hands down.  Figures, because they were also the label of Loverboy and Journey.  The tapes and singles were designed to be listened to a few times and forgotten, like a cereal box record.

[bandit957]

I noticed that records by the Police always seemed to be on bad vinyl. I noticed this on a radio station I listened to, on a college station I was on, and in a box of records I rescued. The Police were on A&M at the time of those records.

Kenny Loggins seemed to be on bad vinyl a lot. He was on Columbia.

[US 81]

Tangentially: there was a time in the - ahem, 60's & 70's - when disposable records were produced: enclosed in magazines, molded into cereal boxes or toy packaging, etc.

I've got to admit that little kid me was frustrated that they didn't last very long at all.

[bandit957]

Tangentially: there was a time in the - ahem, 60's & 70's - when disposable records were produced: enclosed in magazines, molded into cereal boxes or toy packaging, etc.

I've got to admit that little kid me was frustrated that they didn't last very long at all.

I remember these. They still had these in the '80s.

I left a cardboard record from a Froot Loops box in a hotel room as a prank once. I wrote on it "PLACED BY THE GIDEONS" and put it next to the Bible in the drawer.

I remember Time magazine including these little records that had samples of classical music. One day, we noticed there was a hole torn right in the playing surface, and we all got in a big argument over who caused it.

[SectorZ]

I noticed that records by the Police always seemed to be on bad vinyl. I noticed this on a radio station I listened to, on a college station I was on, and in a box of records I rescued. The Police were on A&M at the time of those records.

Kenny Loggins seemed to be on bad vinyl a lot. He was on Columbia.

I guess they made up for it by making 'Synchronicity' by the Police the first album to be mastered onto CD to be sold in the USA (though manufactured in Japan). Still A&M but Sony made the CD.

[kevinb1994]

I noticed that records by the Police always seemed to be on bad vinyl. I noticed this on a radio station I listened to, on a college station I was on, and in a box of records I rescued. The Police were on A&M at the time of those records.

Kenny Loggins seemed to be on bad vinyl a lot. He was on Columbia.

I guess they made up for it by making 'Synchronicity' by the Police the first album to be mastered onto CD to be sold in the USA (though manufactured in Japan). Still A&M but Sony made the CD.

I thought that honor went to Hall and Oates' Greatest Hits CD that same year.

[ErmineNotyours]

I noticed that records by the Police always seemed to be on bad vinyl. I noticed this on a radio station I listened to, on a college station I was on, and in a box of records I rescued. The Police were on A&M at the time of those records.

Kenny Loggins seemed to be on bad vinyl a lot. He was on Columbia.

I guess they made up for it by making 'Synchronicity' by the Police the first album to be mastered onto CD to be sold in the USA (though manufactured in Japan). Still A&M but Sony made the CD.

I thought that honor went to Hall and Oates' Greatest Hits CD that same year.

And I heard Billy Joel's 52nd Street, several years old at that point, was the first non-classical CD to roll off the Sony Japan manufacturing line.  CBS's execs repeatedly played "Honesty" trying to determine if they should go for this compact disc thing.

I remember when I was very young an Archies song from the back of a cereal box that my dad played a few times on his higher quality turntable.  It seemed he only played it a few times and then stopped, because he doesn't love me.  Actually, I later found out it was because those cereal records on a very thin layer of plastic over cardboard don't last very long.  Who knew?  Also, I read a comprehensive book on bubblegum music collected from music magazines, and I discovered the entire Archies catalog is available on Freegal from the library, so I'll finally get to have that song anyway.

Later I was able to get a Muppets Take Manhattan DVD included inside a box of cereal.  Time marches on.

[bugo]

My dad has an old crank up record player, and the records are made of "glass". I don't know if it's really glass but it is far more brittle and heavier than vinyl.

[SidS1045]

Most 78rpm records were made of shellac.

[roadman]

When I was 4 or 5, I had some children's 45s that were made from hard plastic, and were about a quarter inch thick.  Unlike most records of this ilk, they were meant to be played (and did play) on a standard record player.

[GCrites]

I noticed that records by the Police always seemed to be on bad vinyl. I noticed this on a radio station I listened to, on a college station I was on, and in a box of records I rescued. The Police were on A&M at the time of those records.

Kenny Loggins seemed to be on bad vinyl a lot. He was on Columbia.

Huh, yeah, my copy of Synchronicity just didn't clean up well and sounds dirty despite having little in the way of visble scratches.

[capt.ron]

Did you know that not all vinyl records are really vinyl? Some are actually polystyrene. This is especially true of 45's in the 1970s and 1980s. Sometimes you can tell because the sound quality isn't as good on styrene records. Unless you play them with just the right needle, the sound can get sort of scratchy or distorted after only a few plays. Columbia and A&M were among the labels that generally used styrene for 45's.

This problem usually afflicts 45's, not albums. That's because the offending labels thought 45's were just toys that would just get stepped on and broken after 2 or 3 plays so nobody would notice the difference.

Some turntables came with needles that would really tear up styrene records. The right needle won't do any premature damage. But some manufacturers used the wrong kind of needle just out of malice. I had a Panasonic stereo that had this type of needle, and I think it was damaging styrene records.

If you play polystyrene 45's with a microline or shibata stylus, you're asking for trouble. Styrene 45's are best played with a good conical stylus, or maybe a mild elliptical.

[KeithE4Phx]

Most 78rpm records were made of shellac.

They would have held up better if they had been made of glass.  Those shellac records would break if you did little more than look at them.

[KeithE4Phx]

When I was 4 or 5, I had some children's 45s that were made from hard plastic, and were about a quarter inch thick.  Unlike most records of this ilk, they were meant to be played (and did play) on a standard record player.

I remember those, as well as 5 inch 78s made of yellow plastic that lasted about a minute and a half per side.  The ones I had were made in the mid 1950s thru the early '60s, when I was young enough to appreciate them.  I don't think they were a full quarter-inch thick, but they were thicker than the standard 45s of the era.

[bandit957]

I remember those, as well as 5 inch 78s made of yellow plastic that lasted about a minute and a half per side.  The ones I had were made in the mid 1950s thru the early '60s, when I was young enough to appreciate them.  I don't think they were a full quarter-inch thick, but they were thicker than the standard 45s of the era.

I have one of the old yellow ones from the 1950s. I don't know where I got it, but we've had it for as long as I can remember. I don't have a 78 RPM player though.

[roadman65]

I remember the older records if you dropped them, they would shatter like glass.  My dad said they were composed of schalack especially those 78 rpm records of the 1940 era.