![]() ![]() īlank discs were traditionally produced in several different grades, with the best and costliest grade featuring the sturdiest core, the thickest coating and the most perfectly flawless mirror-like surfaces. Instantaneous disc history authority Michael Biel attributes the longstanding "acetate" misnomer to some early lacquer disc labels that carried the warning, "Use only acetate needles", meaning the same high grade of individually inspected steel needles required to safely play the easily needle-damaged pressed flexible acetate transcription discs that were sometimes used in US broadcasting in the 1930s. The record's sleeve is typically nothing more than a generic cover from the manufacturing company and the disc's label is similarly plain, containing only basic information about the content (title, artist, playing time, and so on), which is usually typed but may be hand-written.Īlthough once produced in a wide range of sizes (from less than 7 inches (18 cm) to more than 16 inches (41 cm) in diameter) and sometimes with glass core discs, the examples most commonly encountered today are 10, 12 or 14 inches (25, 30 or 36 cm) in diameter and consist of an aluminium core disc coated with black nitrocellulose lacquer, commonly but incorrectly called " acetate". Most noticeably, vinyl records are comparatively lightweight and flexible, while acetates are usually rigid and considerably heavier because of their metal cores.Īcetates commonly come in two sizes: 10-inch (25 cm) discs for singles and 14-inch (36 cm) discs for albums. The production process results in a disc that is different in several ways from the vinyl records sold to customers at retail. Glass was often used for the substrate during World War II, when aluminium was in short supply. They consist of an aluminum disc with a coating of nitrocellulose lacquer. Some acetates are highly prized for their rarity, especially when they contain unpublished material.ĭespite their name, professional grade "acetate" discs do not contain any acetate. Acetates were often used as "demos" of new recordings by artists and record labels. They were used extensively in Jamaica by sound system operators in the late 1940s and 1950s. They were used in radio broadcasting to archive live broadcasts, pre-record local programming, delay network feeds for broadcast at a later time, and provide programming "from home" on the Armed Forces Radio Network. In addition to their use in the creation of masters, they were widely used for many purposes before magnetic tape recorders became common, and in the modern era they are used by dance music DJs. The disc is then coated in metal, which is then peeled off to form a negative that will later be electroplated and peeled to create a mother (positive copy) which is then again electroplated and peeled to create negatives called stampers, which are then used as molds in a record press. Unlike ordinary vinyl records, which are quickly formed from lumps of plastic by a mass-production molding process, an acetate disc is created by using a recording lathe to cut an audio-signal-modulated groove into the surface of a lacquer-coated blank disc, a sequential operation requiring expensive, delicate equipment and expert skill for good results. Īcetate discs are used for the production of records. ![]() An acetate disc (also known as a lacquer, test acetate, dubplate, or transcription disc) is a type of phonograph record generally used from the 1930s to the late 1950s for recording and broadcast purposes and still in limited use today. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |