Today we've got DVDs, CDs, MP3s, and the web for all our musical needs. However, none of these would be likely without the invention of the record player, one of the most significant components of technology of all time. It was so pioneering that following its invention in 1877, almost a hundred years passed before it was replaced by newer technologies. And still today, record players carry an oldtime musical feel that ensures they are still very well liked by music aficionados throughout the world. Today, anytime one thinks of a turntable, it is often the Technics or perhaps the Crosley Record Player. Yet more than 100 years ago, the name that mattered most was Thomas Edison.
Back in 1877, Edison developed what he called the phonograph. His initial records had been manufactured of tinfoil. These records had a spiral groove which went along the surface area. A hand-cranked machine with a pin, or stylus, was used to read the grooves vibrating based on the texture. This became ultimately referred to as the hill-and-dale technique. The vibrations would run up the stylus, along a metallic conduit, all the way to a large speaker. These speakers transformed the vibrations into much more audible sound.
At the time Thomas Edison finished his creation, he was more interested in its various scientific applications as opposed to its musical potential. This left further enhancements to other scientists.
Ten years later, Emile Berliner invented the disk record, and had it patented in 1896. Berliner's design and style took its origin from Edison's, but rather than using the hill-and-dale method, which had the grooves go up and down, his method, the varying lateral direction method, featured textures on the sides of the grooves. The varying later direction (VLD) caught on right away, and very soon Edison's hill-and-dale method was a thing of the past.
It wasn't long before mass production of disk records became possible when Berliner invented the matrix record. This master copy permitted duplicate records to be pressed forever. At this point, record players were still running off of the power of the hand crank. But when the late nineteenth century rolled around, so did electricity. Then soon after the electronic record player was announced. Unlike the hand-turned record players that can vary in speed according to the strength of the person, electrical record players supplied consistent speed. This meant that there was absolutely no variation in the tempo of the music that was played.
Gradually, record players became so well liked that whole households gathered around them to take pleasure in quality entertainment. Early methods of the prior-song and skip-song functions of today's Mp3 players were introduced around this time. In order to choose which song was to be played, a person placed the needle in one of the blank grooves in between the textured ones. For many years, the record player was a favorite possession of music fans everywhere.
With the advent of the seventies came cassette-tape decks and 8-track players, and soon, records and record players seemed to be phasing out. However, when DJs became all the rage in night clubs and discos, the turntable remained strong.
No matter what technology throws at us, fans of music will always appreciate the record player!
Back in 1877, Edison developed what he called the phonograph. His initial records had been manufactured of tinfoil. These records had a spiral groove which went along the surface area. A hand-cranked machine with a pin, or stylus, was used to read the grooves vibrating based on the texture. This became ultimately referred to as the hill-and-dale technique. The vibrations would run up the stylus, along a metallic conduit, all the way to a large speaker. These speakers transformed the vibrations into much more audible sound.
At the time Thomas Edison finished his creation, he was more interested in its various scientific applications as opposed to its musical potential. This left further enhancements to other scientists.
Ten years later, Emile Berliner invented the disk record, and had it patented in 1896. Berliner's design and style took its origin from Edison's, but rather than using the hill-and-dale method, which had the grooves go up and down, his method, the varying lateral direction method, featured textures on the sides of the grooves. The varying later direction (VLD) caught on right away, and very soon Edison's hill-and-dale method was a thing of the past.
It wasn't long before mass production of disk records became possible when Berliner invented the matrix record. This master copy permitted duplicate records to be pressed forever. At this point, record players were still running off of the power of the hand crank. But when the late nineteenth century rolled around, so did electricity. Then soon after the electronic record player was announced. Unlike the hand-turned record players that can vary in speed according to the strength of the person, electrical record players supplied consistent speed. This meant that there was absolutely no variation in the tempo of the music that was played.
Gradually, record players became so well liked that whole households gathered around them to take pleasure in quality entertainment. Early methods of the prior-song and skip-song functions of today's Mp3 players were introduced around this time. In order to choose which song was to be played, a person placed the needle in one of the blank grooves in between the textured ones. For many years, the record player was a favorite possession of music fans everywhere.
With the advent of the seventies came cassette-tape decks and 8-track players, and soon, records and record players seemed to be phasing out. However, when DJs became all the rage in night clubs and discos, the turntable remained strong.
No matter what technology throws at us, fans of music will always appreciate the record player!
