The Vinyl Record

The sound quality and durability of vinyl records is highly dependent on the quality of the vinyl. During the early 1970s, as a cost-cutting move towards use of lightweight, flexible vinyl pressings, much of the industry adopted a technique of reducing the thickness and quality of vinyl used in mass-market manufacturing, marketed by RCA Victor as the "Dynaflex" (125 g) process, considered inferior by most record collectors. Most vinyl records were pressed on recycled vinyl. New "virgin" or "heavy" (180-220 g) vinyl is commonly used for modern "audiophile" vinyl releases in all generes. Many collectors prefer to have 180 gram vinyl albums, and they have been reported to have a better sound than normal vinyl. These albums tend to withstand the deformation caused by normal play better than regular vinyl. 180 gram vinyl is more expensive to produce and requires higher-quality manufacturing processes than regular vinyl. Since most vinyl records are made from recycled plastics, impurities can be accumulated in the record, causing a brand new album to have audio artifacts like clicks and pops. Virgin vinyl however, means that the album is not made from recycled plastics, and will theoretically be devoid of these impurities. In practice, this depends on the manufacturer's quality control.

Vinyl records do not break easily, but the
soft material is easily scratched and vinyl readily acquires a static charge, attracting dust that is difficult to remove completely. Dust and scratches cause audio clicks and pops. In extreme cases, they can cause the needle to skip over a series of grooves, or worse yet, cause the needle to skip backwards, creating a "locked groove" that repeats the same 1.8 seconds of track over and over. Locked grooves were not uncommon and were even heard occasionally in broadcasts. Vinyl records can be warped by heat, improper storage, or manufacturing defects such as excessively tight plastic shrink-wrap on the album cover. A small degree of warp was common, and allowing for it was part of the art of turntable and tonearm design. A once per revolution pitch variation could result from a warp, or from a spindle hole that was not precisely centered. Vinyl records will degrade chemically when exposed to ultraviolet light or to heat. Humidity does not affect the PVC itself, but will affect the packaging it is stored in. PVC is also resistant to fungal growth.

Visit this Squidoo Lens For More Information About
Vinyl Record Care and Maintenance

The record has gone through many changes over time and generations and as a result has been referred to by several aliases. The terms LP and EP are acronyms for Long Play and Extended Play where 33's, 45's and 78's these designations refer to the records rotational speeds in revolutions per minute. Along with different rotational speeds records were made in different sizes 7" 10" 12". Typically a 7" record would be a 45 rpm speed, a 10" would be either 33 or 78 rpm and a 12" would be 33 rpm. Of coarse there are exceptions to every rule. Records have been made of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) since about 1949, and as such may be referred to as a "vinyl records" or just simply "vinyl". The term "record album" originally referred to a set of 10" 78's coupled together and housed in a "photo album" style booklet, usually containing art work on the front side and on the reverse, information about the recordings, the result a nickname the "phonograph record album" or "record album" which has stuck. In fact for decades many people referred to them as "records" These are the more popular aliases for the "vinyl records", there are certainly hundreds more terms that hipsters and disc jocks alike have used over the life and time of the phonograph record.

Check Out This Squidoo Lens For More Information about
Phonograph Records

While most vinyl records are pressed from metal discs known as "stampers", the original disc is lathe cut. The lathe cuts the long spiral microgroove into a aluminum disc which has been coated with a soft lacquer. This lacquer disc is then electroplated with nickel to form a negative known as a 'master' disc, which has a protrusion rather than a groove. The lacquer disc is destroyed when the nickel impression is separated. This master disc is then electroplated with nickel to form a a positive disc known as a 'mother'. Many mothers can be grown from a single master before the master deteriorates beyond use. In their own turn the mothers are nickel plated to produce more negative discs known as 'stampers'. Again a single mother can grow many stampers before they deteriorate beyond use. It is these stampers that are then used to mold the final vinyl discs. In this way several million vinyl discs can be produced from a single lacquer original. For production of discs where a relatively small quantity is required, the first nickel negative grown from the lacquer original is used directly as a stamper. Production by this latter process known as the 'half process' is limited to a few hundred vinyl discs.

Vinyl Record Care and Maintenance
Cleanliness is absolutely mandatory if the optimum sound capability of the vinyl record is to be realized. A clean record will not only sound better, but last longer. It has long been proven that repeated playing of dirty phonograph records can cause permanent damage to the vinyl. Preservation of your valuable or irreplaceable records requires careful cleaning. Not to mention that stylus wear is greatly accelerated by playing dirty records, and with high price of cartridges these days, playing dirty records can lead to significant and unneeded expense.

Visit These Squidoo Lens For More Information on
Vinyl Record Care and Maintenance
The Vinyl Record

Vinyl Record Grading -
Standard Goldmine Grading System
Fox Music Company uses the grading system first developed by Goldmine Records. Virtually all methods currently in use for the grading of records, is based in some way, shape, or form, on this system. Rather than offer some variation of the original system first developed by Goldmine, Fox Music Company has created a lens to display the Goldmine record grading method in it's entirety.

Visit this Squidoo Lens For More Information on
Grading Your Vinyl Records.

Goldmine Record Album Price Guide has the detailed descriptions and current prices you need to determine what your vinyl is worth. From Abba to ZZ Top, you'll find your favorite vinyl LPs and their variations. This massive reference also features the industry-standard Goldmine condition grading guide, valuable tips on buying and selling records, and a detailed guide listing record company labels, numbering systems, and production years. The Goldmine Record Album Price Guide features 70,000 vinyl LPs from 1948 to 2007 with detailed listings along with up-to-date values and 400 photos. Also included is essential information on grading, buying and selling records

To Purchase This Reference Book "Goldmine Record Album Price Guide" or
Too See Other Books Available About Record Collecting, Please Visit Our Amazon Book Store
"Collectors Showcase" Your Source for Special Interest Books & Collectors Guides

Collectors of jazz on vinyl know how difficult it can be to find pristine copies of original classic jazz recordings, and ever-changing market values can make pricing those albums even more difficult. With this fantastic, updated 2nd edition, collectors will be able to accurately price records using the most current market values. This all-encompassing reference features all types of jazz issued on 33 1/3 rpm long-playing records, including Dixieland, bebop, big band, swing, West Coast, fusion, modern and many others. It includes over 40,000 albums released between 1948 and today, valued in three grades of condition, as well as a thoroughly illustrated label guide for easy distinction between first editions and later pressings. Collectors will discover thousands of records not listed in any other price guide! The Goldmine Jazz Price Guide Contains listings for over 40,000 records in all types of Jazz, updated prices reflect today's market values an illustrated label guide aids in identifying original editions.

To Purchase This Reference Book "Goldmine Record Jazz Price Guide" or
Too See Other Books Available About Record Collecting, Please Visit Our Amazon Book Store
"Collectors Showcase" Your Source for Special Interest Books & Collectors Guides

Whether you're an avid collector searching for a hidden treasure at a flea market, garage sale or thrift shop, or you want to dispose of a trunk full of dusty records, you need this authoritative and comprehensive guide for accurate identification and current pricing of 45s. Don't get stung. Have Goldmine Price Guide to 45 RPM Records on hand!

Need Accurate Prices Fast? Find Them in This Easy-to-Use Book! The Goldmine 45 rpm price guide features 80,000 prices and descriptions for 45s, EPs and accompanying picture sleeves (7-inch singles only)with 400 photos. This value guide also includes essential information on grading and selling your records

To Purchase This Reference Book "Goldmine Price Guide to 45 rpm Records" or
Too See Other Books Available About Record Collecting, Please Visit Our Amazon Book Store
Collectors Showcase Your Source for Special Interest Books & Collectors Guides

Sign Up and Create Your Lens Today!!
I Squidoo, Do You??

Vinyl Record Care and Maintenance
Cleanliness is absolutely mandatory to achieve the best sound quality of your vinyl records. A clean vinyl record will not only sound better, but last longer. It has long been proven that the playing of dirty records will result in a rapid deterioration of quality and degradation of the original recorded sound, or simply can cause permanent damage to your vinyl records.
Read More

Grading Your Vinyl Records
The following is the grading system first developed by Goldmine Records. Virtually all methods currently in use for the grading of records, is based in some way, shape, or form, on this system. Rather than offer some variation of the original system first developed by Goldmine, Fox Music Company will display the Goldmine record grading method in it's entirety.
Read More

Vinyl Records.., What Are Vinyl Records..??
Vinyl records were introduced and marketed as the unbreakable record, unlike its shellac counterpart of days gone by, that would break at the drop of a hat and becomes more brittle over time.
Read More

David Stone Martin and the Art of Jazz
In the world of jazz there is one artist collected the world over who has never played an instrument not even a note of music but has left his mark on the jazz culture. Illustrator David Stone Martin was one of the most prolific and influential graphic designers of the postwar era, with his signature hand sketched graphics with two or three primary colors, perfectly capturing the energy and spontaneity of the jazz idiom.
Read More


What Type of Records Do You Collect??
Vinyl Record Collectors come in as many shapes as sizes and generations as the vinyl records they collect. Why do people collect records??
Read More


What Is A Phonograph Record??
A phonograph record is an analog sound medium that consists of a flat disc record with an inscribed modulated spiral groove usually starting near the outside edge (lead-in) and ending near the center of the record (lead-out).The audio content of the record is contained within the spiral groove which extends for more than a half mile. The groove itself is actually narrower than the thickness of a human hair yet
Read More

Lenny Bruce the Charlie Parker of Comedy
When once asked to describe jazz, trumpet legend Miles Davis sarcastically but saliently replied, "You can sweat it down to four words: Louis Armstrong and Charlie Parker." Now trying to apply that same old-school, new-school trailblazer to comedy is somewhat more a problem.
Read More

Static Electricity and Your Vinyl Records
Because static electricity plays such a major role in the problem of vinyl record cleaning and that we have repeatedly referred to the malice effects of static electricity, we feel an explanation of this phenomenon is in order.
Read More

Audio Rarities
Fox Music is a Indie Record Store Located in the Heart of Watertown Wisconsin in the Downtown Historic District on the corner of First and Main Street. Our online location Fox Music Company - webpages where you can find and search by Artist, Album or Song - Read Reviews, Bios or Listen to Audio Clips of new release and back catalog tiles and a whole lot more......
Read More

Don't Forget To Take The Fox Music Company
Indie Record Store Picture Tour
Hosted on flickr (yahoo images)...and of coarse you must stop and visit with
Tyson and Boogie
the Record Store Mascots or... is it "Mas-Cats"