Divyanshu67/squad_v2 huggingface dataset:
Gramophone_record

In 1968, Reprise planned to release a series of 78 rpm singles from their artists on their label at the time, called the Reprise Speed Series. Only one disc actually saw release, Randy Newman's I Think It's Going to Rain Today, a track from his self-titled debut album (with The Beehive State on the flipside). Reprise did not proceed further with the series due to a lack of sales for the single, and a lack of general interest in the concept. Guitarist & vocalist Leon Redbone released a promotional 78 rpm record in 1978 featuring two songs (Alabama Jubilee and Please Don't Talk About Me When I'm Gone) from his Champagne Charlie album. In 1980 Stiff Records in the United Kingdom issued a 78 by Joe "King" Carrasco containing the songs Buena (Spanish for "good," with the alternate spelling "Bueno" on the label) and Tuff Enuff. Underground comic cartoonist and 78 rpm record collector Robert Crumb released three discs with his Cheap Suit Serenaders in the 1980s.

Question: In what year did Reprise plan to release a series of 78 rpm singles?
Answer: 1968

Question: Which disc did Reprise release in 78 rpm format?
Answer: Think It's Going to Rain Today

Question: What two songs were featured on the 1978 release by Leon Redbone in 78 rpm format?
Answer: Alabama Jubilee and Please Don't Talk About Me When I'm Gone

Question: What record company released recordings of 'Buena' and 'Tuff Enuff' in 1980?
Answer: Stiff Records

Question: Why did Reprise only release one 78 rpm vinyl?
Answer: lack of sales for the single, and a lack of general interest
Gramophone_record

In the 1990s Rhino Records issued a series of boxed sets of 78 rpm reissues of early rock and roll hits, intended for owners of vintage jukeboxes. This was a disaster because Rhino did not warn customers that their records were made of vinyl, and that the vintage 78 RPM juke boxes were designed with heavy tone arms and steel needles to play the hard shellac records of their time. This failure to warn customers gave the Rhino 78 records a bad reputation,[citation needed] as they were destroyed by old juke boxes and old record players but played very well on newer 78-capable turntables with modern lightweight tone arms and jewel needles.

Question: When was the release by Rhino Records of 78 rpm for jukebox owners?
Answer: 1990s

Question: What was the result of the use of this release of 78 rpm vinyl when used in vintage jukeboxes?
Answer: they were destroyed

Question: What was needed to successfully play the newer released 79 rpm vinyl?
Answer: lightweight tone arms and jewel needles

Question: For whom was the 1990 release of 78 rpm intended?
Answer: owners of vintage jukeboxes

Question: How did the 1990 release of 78 rpm effect Rhino Records?
Answer: bad reputation
Gramophone_record

In 1931, RCA Victor launched the first commercially available vinyl long-playing record, marketed as program-transcription discs. These revolutionary discs were designed for playback at 33 1⁄3 rpm and pressed on a 30 cm diameter flexible plastic disc, with a duration of about ten minutes playing time per side. RCA Victor's early introduction of a long-play disc was a commercial failure for several reasons including the lack of affordable, reliable consumer playback equipment and consumer wariness during the Great Depression. Because of financial hardships that plagued the recording industry during that period (and RCA's own parched revenues), Victor's long-playing records were discontinued by early 1933.

Question: What was the playing time of program-transcription discs?
Answer: ten minutes playing time per side

Question: How successful was RCA Victor's program-transcription discs?
Answer: commercial failure

Question: When did RCA Victor release long play discs?
Answer: 1931

Question: Who released the first commercial long play discs?
Answer: RCA Victor

Question: By when were long play records discontinued?
Answer: early 1933
Gramophone_record

Vinyl's lower surface noise level than shellac was not forgotten, nor was its durability. In the late 1930s, radio commercials and pre-recorded radio programs being sent to disc jockeys started being stamped in vinyl, so they would not break in the mail. In the mid-1940s, special DJ copies of records started being made of vinyl also, for the same reason. These were all 78 rpm. During and after World War II, when shellac supplies were extremely limited, some 78 rpm records were pressed in vinyl instead of shellac, particularly the six-minute 12-inch (30 cm) 78 rpm records produced by V-Disc for distribution to United States troops in World War II. In the 1940s, radio transcriptions, which were usually on 16-inch records, but sometimes 12-inch, were always made of vinyl, but cut at 33 1⁄3 rpm. Shorter transcriptions were often cut at 78 rpm.

Question: What was a benefit of using vinyl over shellac?
Answer: lower surface noise

Question: By the mid 1940s what was the primary material records were made of?
Answer: vinyl

Question: What was a factor in shellac availability?
Answer: World War II

Question: Which material was more durable,  shellac or vinyl?
Answer: vinyl

Question: What material were most mailed records made of?
Answer: vinyl
Gramophone_record

Beginning in 1939, Dr. Peter Goldmark and his staff at Columbia Records and at CBS Laboratories undertook efforts to address problems of recording and playing back narrow grooves and developing an inexpensive, reliable consumer playback system. It took about eight years of study, except when it was suspended because of World War II. Finally, the 12-inch (30 cm) Long Play (LP) 33 1⁄3 rpm microgroove record album was introduced by the Columbia Record Company at a New York press conference on June 18, 1948.

Question: What caused a delay in the production of high quality records?
Answer: World War II

Question: Who released the 12 inch LP?
Answer: Columbia Record Company

Question: On what date was the 12 inch LP released?
Answer: June 18, 1948

Question: In what city was the 12 in LP released?
Answer: New York

Question: How long did it take Columbia to produce a consumer friendly long play record?
Answer: about eight years
Gramophone_record

Unwilling to accept and license Columbia's system, in February 1949 RCA Victor, in cooperation of its parent, the Radio Corporation of America, released the first 45 rpm single, 7 inches in diameter with a large center hole. The 45 rpm player included a changing mechanism that allowed multiple disks to be stacked, much as a conventional changer handled 78s. The short playing time of a single 45 rpm side meant that long works, such as symphonies, had to be released on multiple 45s instead of a single LP, but RCA claimed that the new high-speed changer rendered side breaks so brief as to be inaudible or inconsequential. Early 45 rpm records were made from either vinyl or polystyrene. They had a playing time of eight minutes.

Question: What did RCA release to complete against Columbia's LP?
Answer: The 45 rpm player

Question: What materials were 45 rpm records made of?
Answer: vinyl or polystyrene

Question: What was the play time of a 45 rpm
Answer: eight minutes

Question: What was the size of a RCA Victor 45 rpm?
Answer: 7 inches
Gramophone_record

One early attempt at lengthening the playing time should be mentioned. At least one manufacturer in the early 1920s, World Records, produced records that played at a constant linear velocity, controlled by Noel Pemberton Billing's patented add-on governor device. As these were played from the outside to the inside, the rotational speed of the records increased as reproduction progressed. This action is similar (although in reverse) to that on the modern compact disc and the CLV version of its predecessor, the Philips Laser Disc.

Question: Who had made an attempt in the 1920s to release a long play time recording?
Answer: World Records

Question: What caused the constant linear velocity?
Answer: Noel Pemberton Billing's patented add-on governor device

Question: What was a unique feature of World Records records?
Answer: played from the outside to the inside

Question: What currently utilized item was World Records CLV similar to?
Answer: Philips Laser Disc
Gramophone_record

The older 78 format continued to be mass-produced alongside the newer formats using new materials until about 1960 in the U.S., and in a few countries, such as India (where some Beatles recordings were issued on 78), into the 1960s. For example, Columbia Records' last reissue of Frank Sinatra songs on 78 rpm records was an album called Young at Heart, issued November 1, 1954. As late as the 1970s, some children's records were released at the 78 rpm speed. In the United Kingdom, the 78 rpm single lasted longer than in the United States and the 45 rpm took longer to become popular. The 78 rpm was overtaken in popularity by the 45 rpm in the late 1950s, as teenagers became increasingly affluent.

Question: When did the 45 rpm gain popularity over the 78 rpm
Answer: 1950s

Question: With which crowd did the 45 rpm gain popularity?
Answer: teenagers

Question: At which time were the 79 rpm no longer mass produced?
Answer: about 1960

Question: On which date did Columbia release it's last 78?
Answer: November 1, 1954.

Question: What was the last country to phase out the 78 rpm?
Answer: United Kingdom
Gramophone_record

Some of Elvis Presley's early singles on Sun Records might have sold more copies on 78 than on 45. This is because the majority of those sales in 1954–55 were to the "hillbilly" market in the South and Southwestern United States, where replacing the family 78 rpm player with a new 45 rpm player was a luxury few could afford at the time. By the end of 1957, RCA Victor announced that 78s accounted for less than 10% of Presley's singles sales, essentially announcing the death throes of the 78 rpm format. The last Presley single released on 78 in the United States was RCA Victor 20-7410, I Got Stung/One Night (1958), while the last 78 in the UK was RCA 1194, A Mess Of Blues/Girl Of My Best Friend (1960).

Question: What percentage of Elvis Presley's single sales were of 78s?
Answer: less than 10%

Question: What was the last 78 released in the UK by RCA?
Answer: A Mess Of Blues/Girl Of My Best Friend

Question: Why did Elvis sales of 78s perform so well in the Southern States?
Answer: 45 rpm player was a luxury few could afford at the time

Question: On which label did Elvis release his early singles?
Answer: Sun Records

Question: What was the last Elvis Presley single released on 78?
Answer: I Got Stung/One Night
Gramophone_record

After World War II, two new competing formats came onto the market and gradually replaced the standard "78": the 33 1⁄3 rpm (often just referred to as the 33 rpm), and the 45 rpm (see above). The 33 1⁄3 rpm LP (for "long-play") format was developed by Columbia Records and marketed in June 1948. RCA Victor developed the 45 rpm format and marketed it in March 1949, each pursuing their own r&d in secret. Both types of new disc used narrower grooves, intended to be played with smaller stylus—typically 0.001 inches (25 µm) wide, compared to 0.003 inches (76 µm) for a 78—so the new records were sometimes called Microgroove. In the mid-1950s all record companies agreed to a common recording standard called RIAA equalization. Prior to the establishment of the standard each company used its own preferred standard, requiring discriminating listeners to use pre-amplifiers with multiple selectable equalization curves.

Question: What two formats replaced the 78?
Answer: 33 1⁄3 rpm (often just referred to as the 33 rpm), and the 45 rpm

Question: Who developed the 33 1/3 rpm LP?
Answer: Columbia Records

Question: When did the 33 1/3 rpm hit the market?
Answer: June 1948

Question: When did RCA release their 45 rpm format?
Answer: March 1949

Question: When were RIAA standards established?
Answer: mid-1950s
Gramophone_record

Some recordings, such as books for the blind, were pressed at 16 2⁄3 rpm. Prestige Records released jazz records in this format in the late 1950s; for example, two of their Miles Davis albums were paired together in this format. Peter Goldmark, the man who developed the 33 1⁄3 rpm record, developed the Highway Hi-Fi 16 2⁄3 rpm record to be played in Chrysler automobiles, but poor performance of the system and weak implementation by Chrysler and Columbia led to the demise of the 16 2⁄3 rpm records. Subsequently, the 16 2⁄3 rpm speed was used for narrated publications for the blind and visually impaired, and were never widely commercially available, although it was common to see new turntable models with a 16 rpm speed setting produced as late as the 1970s.

Question: What was 16 2/3 rpm speed used for?
Answer: narrated publications

Question: Who developed the 33 1/3 rpm speed record?
Answer: Peter Goldmark

Question: What record format was created for use in Chrysler automobiles?
Answer: Highway Hi-Fi 16 2⁄3 rpm record

Question: Why did Chrysler discontinue use of the Hifi 16 2/3 rpm record?
Answer: poor performance

Question: To the end of which era could you find 16 rpm setting on record players?
Answer: 1970s
Gramophone_record

The commercial rivalry between RCA Victor and Columbia Records led to RCA Victor's introduction of what it had intended to be a competing vinyl format, the 7-inch (175 mm) 45 rpm disc. For a two-year period from 1948 to 1950, record companies and consumers faced uncertainty over which of these formats would ultimately prevail in what was known as the "War of the Speeds". (See also format war.) In 1949 Capitol and Decca adopted the new LP format and RCA gave in and issued its first LP in January 1950. The 45 rpm size was gaining in popularity, too, and Columbia issued its first 45s in February 1951. By 1954, 200 million 45s had been sold.

Question: Which two companies were involved in the "War of the Speeds"?
Answer: RCA Victor and Columbia Records

Question: Over which years did the "War of the Speeds" last? 
Answer: 1948 to 1950

Question: Which company lost the "War of the Speeds"?
Answer: RCA

Question: What speed ultimantly ended up winning the war of the speeds?
Answer: 45 rpm

Question: By 1945 what was the total sale of 45s?
Answer: 200 million
Gramophone_record

Eventually the 12-inch (300 mm) 33 1⁄3 rpm LP prevailed as the predominant format for musical albums, and 10-inch LPs were no longer issued. The last Columbia Records reissue of any Frank Sinatra songs on a 10-inch LP record was an album called Hall of Fame, CL 2600, issued on October 26, 1956, containing six songs, one each by Tony Bennett, Rosemary Clooney, Johnnie Ray, Frank Sinatra, Doris Day, and Frankie Laine. The 10-inch LP however had a longer life in the United Kingdom, where important early British rock and roll albums such as Lonnie Donegan's Lonnie Donegan Showcase and Billy Fury's The Sound of Fury were released in that form. The 7-inch (175 mm) 45 rpm disc or "single" established a significant niche for shorter duration discs, typically containing one item on each side. The 45 rpm discs typically emulated the playing time of the former 78 rpm discs, while the 12-inch LP discs eventually provided up to one half-hour of recorded material per side.

Question: What format of LPs was discontinued?
Answer: 10-inch

Question: What was the significance of October 26th, 1956?
Answer: The last Columbia Records reissue of any Frank Sinatra songs on a 10-inch LP

Question: In which country did the 10 in LP exist the longest?
Answer: United Kingdom

Question: Which format offered up to 1/2 an hour of recordings per side?
Answer: 12-inch LP

Question: Did the 45 rpm or 12 inch disc offer longer playing time?
Answer: 12-inch LP
Gramophone_record

The 45 rpm discs also came in a variety known as extended play (EP), which achieved up to 10–15 minutes play at the expense of attenuating (and possibly compressing) the sound to reduce the width required by the groove. EP discs were cheaper to produce, and were used in cases where unit sales were likely to be more limited or to reissue LP albums on the smaller format for those people who had only 45 rpm players. LP albums could be purchased 1 EP at a time, with four items per EP, or in a boxed set with 3 EPs or 12 items. The large center hole on 45s allows for easier handling by jukebox mechanisms. EPs were generally discontinued by the late 1950s in the U.S. as three- and four-speed record players replaced the individual 45 players. One indication of the decline of the 45 rpm EP is that the last Columbia Records reissue of Frank Sinatra songs on 45 rpm EP records, called Frank Sinatra (Columbia B-2641) was issued on December 7, 1959. The EP lasted considerably longer in Europe, and was a popular format during the 1960s for recordings by artists such as Serge Gainsbourg and the Beatles.

Question: What do the initials EP stand for?
Answer: extended play

Question: Why were 45s more popular with jukeboxes?
Answer: The large center hole

Question: What format was phased out by the end of the 1950s?
Answer: EPs

Question: What was a benefit of EPs over LPs?
Answer: EP discs were cheaper
Gramophone_record

From the mid-1950s through the 1960s, in the U.S. the common home record player or "stereo" (after the introduction of stereo recording) would typically have had these features: a three- or four-speed player (78, 45, 33 1⁄3, and sometimes 16 2⁄3 rpm); with changer, a tall spindle that would hold several records and automatically drop a new record on top of the previous one when it had finished playing, a combination cartridge with both 78 and microgroove styli and a way to flip between the two; and some kind of adapter for playing the 45s with their larger center hole. The adapter could be a small solid circle that fit onto the bottom of the spindle (meaning only one 45 could be played at a time) or a larger adaptor that fit over the entire spindle, permitting a stack of 45s to be played.

Question: What three speeds were sound on most home stereos in the mid 1950's?
Answer: 78, 45, 33 1⁄3

Question: What feature of 45s required an adapter in most home stereos?
Answer: larger center hole.

Question: What feature was found on more home stereos that allowed continuous play between records?
Answer: changer

Question: What format was less common but could sometimes be found on home stereos?
Answer: 16 2⁄3 rpm
Gramophone_record

RCA 45s were also adapted to the smaller spindle of an LP player with a plastic snap-in insert known as a "spider". These inserts, commissioned by RCA president David Sarnoff and invented by Thomas Hutchison, were prevalent starting in the 1960s, selling in the tens of millions per year during the 45 rpm heyday. In countries outside the U.S., 45s often had the smaller album-sized holes, e.g., Australia and New Zealand, or as in the United Kingdom, especially before the 1970s, the disc had a small hole within a circular central section held only by three or four lands so that it could be easily punched out if desired (typically for use in jukeboxes).

Question: Wy did records outside of the US often have small holes with the ability to punch out the center?
Answer: for use in jukeboxes

Question: What were the plastic inserts which would adapt 45s to the smaller spindle of an LP player called?
Answer: spider

Question: What invention did Thomas Hutchinson introduce?
Answer: spider

Question: Whom were the adaptable inserts for 45s to LPs commissioned by?
Answer: RCA president David Sarnoff

Question: How many spiders were sold in the 45 rpm heydays?
Answer: tens of millions per year
Gramophone_record

The term "high fidelity" was coined in the 1920s by some manufacturers of radio receivers and phonographs to differentiate their better-sounding products claimed as providing "perfect" sound reproduction. The term began to be used by some audio engineers and consumers through the 1930s and 1940s. After 1949 a variety of improvements in recording and playback technologies, especially stereo recordings, which became widely available in 1958, gave a boost to the "hi-fi" classification of products, leading to sales of individual components for the home such as amplifiers, loudspeakers, phonographs, and tape players. High Fidelity and Audio were two magazines that hi-fi consumers and engineers could read for reviews of playback equipment and recordings.

Question: What term was coined to differentiate better sounding products in the 1920s?
Answer: high fidelity

Question: What magazines provided reviews for audio equipment?
Answer: High Fidelity and Audio

Question: What happened in 1958 that changed the home music scene?
Answer: variety of improvements in recording and playback technologies

Question: During what years did the term HiFi take off with engineers?
Answer: 1930s and 1940s

Question: What term would be used when one said they produced perfect sound reproduction?
Answer: high fidelity
Gramophone_record

Stereophonic sound recording, which attempts to provide a more natural listening experience by reproducing the spatial locations of sound sources in the horizontal plane, was the natural extension to monophonic recording, and attracted various alternative engineering attempts. The ultimately dominant "45/45" stereophonic record system was invented by Alan Blumlein of EMI in 1931 and patented the same year. EMI cut the first stereo test discs using the system in 1933 (see Bell Labs Stereo Experiments of 1933) although the system was not exploited commercially until much later.

Question: What did Alan Blumlein event?
Answer: stereophonic record system

Question: When did EMI create the first stereo discs?
Answer: 1933

Question: What was the benefit of 45/45 stereo sound?
Answer: more natural listening experience

Question: What year was stereo sound patented? 
Answer: 1931

Question: How was the commercial success of stereo sound in the 1930s?
Answer: was not exploited commercially until much later.
Gramophone_record

The development of quadraphonic records was announced in 1971. These recorded four separate sound signals. This was achieved on the two stereo channels by electronic matrixing, where the additional channels were combined into the main signal. When the records were played, phase-detection circuits in the amplifiers were able to decode the signals into four separate channels. There were two main systems of matrixed quadraphonic records produced, confusingly named SQ (by CBS) and QS (by Sansui). They proved commercially unsuccessful, but were an important precursor to later surround-sound systems, as seen in SACD and home cinema today.

Question: What did quadraphonic recording feature?
Answer: recorded four separate sound signals.

Question: What was the newest break through in home sound systems in 1971?
Answer: development of quadraphonic records

Question: How would the commercial success of quadraphonic records be defined?
Answer: commercially unsuccessful

Question: What did developments in quadraphonic recordings inspire?
Answer: later surround-sound systems
Gramophone_record

A different format, CD-4 (not to be confused with compact disc), by RCA, encoded the front-rear difference information on an ultrasonic carrier, which required a special wideband cartridge to capture it on carefully calibrated pickup arm/turntable combinations. CD-4 was even less successful than the two matrixed formats. (A further problem was that no cutting heads were available that could handle the HF information. That was remedied by cutting at half the speed. Later, the special half-speed cutting heads and equalization techniques were employed to get a wider frequency response in stereo with reduced distortion and greater headroom.)

Question: What was a major issue with CD-4 technology?
Answer: no cutting heads were available that could handle the HF information

Question: How widespread was the success of CD-4 format? 
Answer: even less successful than the two matrixed formats

Question: What format was less successful than quadraphonic?
Answer: CD-4

Question: What were potential benefits of the CD-4 format?
Answer: reduced distortion and greater headroom

Question: Who created the CD-4 format?
Answer: RCA
Gramophone_record

Under the direction of recording engineer C. Robert Fine, Mercury Records initiated a minimalist single microphone monaural recording technique in 1951. The first record, a Chicago Symphony Orchestra performance of Pictures at an Exhibition, conducted by Rafael Kubelik, was described as "being in the living presence of the orchestra" by The New York Times music critic. The series of records was then named Mercury Living Presence. In 1955, Mercury began three-channel stereo recordings, still based on the principle of the single microphone. The center (single) microphone was of paramount importance, with the two side mics adding depth and space. Record masters were cut directly from a three-track to two-track mixdown console, with all editing of the master tapes done on the original three-tracks. In 1961, Mercury enhanced this technique with three-microphone stereo recordings using 35 mm magnetic film instead of half-inch tape for recording. The greater thickness and width of 35 mm magnetic film prevented tape layer print-through and pre-echo and gained extended frequency range and transient response. The Mercury Living Presence recordings were remastered to CD in the 1990s by the original producer, Wilma Cozart Fine, using the same method of 3-to-2 mix directly to the master recorder.

Question: For which company did C. Robert Fine work for?
Answer: Mercury Records

Question: What benefits were found in using the 35mm magnetic film?
Answer: prevented tape layer print-through and pre-echo and gained extended frequency range and transient response

Question: Who developed the 3-to-2 mix to create lifelike recordings?
Answer: Mercury

Question: Which microphone hold the most importance in 3 microphone recording?
Answer: The center

Question: In which year did Mercury begin 3 channel stereo recording?
Answer: 1955
Gramophone_record

Through the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s, various methods to improve the dynamic range of mass-produced records involved highly advanced disc cutting equipment. These techniques, marketed, to name two, as the CBS DisComputer and Teldec Direct Metal Mastering, were used to reduce inner-groove distortion. RCA Victor introduced another system to reduce dynamic range and achieve a groove with less surface noise under the commercial name of Dynagroove. Two main elements were combined: another disk material with less surface noise in the groove and dynamic compression for masking background noise. Sometimes this was called "diaphragming" the source material and not favoured by some music lovers for its unnatural side effects. Both elements were reflected in the brandname of Dynagroove, described elsewhere in more detail. It also used the earlier advanced method of forward-looking control on groove spacing with respect to volume of sound and position on the disk. Lower recorded volume used closer spacing; higher recorded volume used wider spacing, especially with lower frequencies. Also, the higher track density at lower volumes enabled disk recordings to end farther away from the disk center than usual, helping to reduce endtrack distortion even further.

Question: What technique were used to reduce inner-groove distortion?
Answer: CBS DisComputer and Teldec Direct Metal Mastering

Question: Who developed the Dynagroove format?
Answer: RCA Victor

Question: Why did some music lovers frown upon diaphragming? 
Answer: unnatural side effects

Question: What did closer groove spacing result in?
Answer: Lower recorded volume

Question: What would be found with higher recorded volumes?
Answer: wider spacing
Gramophone_record

Also in the late 1970s, "direct-to-disc" records were produced, aimed at an audiophile niche market. These completely bypassed the use of magnetic tape in favor of a "purist" transcription directly to the master lacquer disc. Also during this period, half-speed mastered and "original master" records were released, using expensive state-of-the-art technology. A further late 1970s development was the Disco Eye-Cued system used mainly on Motown 12-inch singles released between 1978 and 1980. The introduction, drum-breaks, or choruses of a track were indicated by widely separated grooves, giving a visual cue to DJs mixing the records. The appearance of these records is similar to an LP, but they only contain one track each side.

Question: How did Disco Eye-Cued system benefit DJs?
Answer: visual cue to DJs mixing the records

Question: How did Disco Eye-Cued sysems differ from LPs?
Answer: only contain one track each side

Question: When was the Disco Eye-Cued System developed?
Answer: late 1970s

Question: What were direct to disc recordings expected to product?
Answer: a "purist" transcription

Question: When were 'half speed' and 'digitally remastered' recordings being released?
Answer: late 1970s
Gramophone_record

The mid-1970s saw the introduction of dbx-encoded records, again for the audiophile niche market. These were completely incompatible with standard record playback preamplifiers, relying on the dbx compandor encoding/decoding scheme to greatly increase dynamic range (dbx encoded disks were recorded with the dynamic range compressed by a factor of two in dB: quiet sounds were meant to be played back at low gain and loud sounds were meant to be played back at high gain, via automatic gain control in the playback equipment; this reduced the effect of surface noise on quiet passages). A similar and very short-lived scheme involved using the CBS-developed "CX" noise reduction encoding/decoding scheme.

Question: What was required for quality playback of DBX recordings?
Answer: automatic gain control

Question: When were DBX recordings released?
Answer: mid-1970s

Question: How compatible were DBX encoded recordings with prior technologies?
Answer: completely incompatible with

Question: What was the intention of DBX encoded recordings?
Answer: reduced the effect of surface noise on quiet passages

Question: What did CBS develop in order to reduce outside noise?
Answer: "CX" noise reduction
Gramophone_record

ELPJ, a Japanese-based company, sells a laser turntable that uses a laser to read vinyl discs optically, without physical contact. The laser turntable eliminates record wear and the possibility of accidental scratches, which degrade the sound, but its expense limits use primarily to digital archiving of analog records, and the laser does not play back colored vinyl or picture discs. Various other laser-based turntables were tried during the 1990s, but while a laser reads the groove very accurately, since it does not touch the record, the dust that vinyl attracts due to static electric charge is not mechanically pushed out of the groove, worsening sound quality in casual use compared to conventional stylus playback.

Question: What company out of Japan offered laser turntables that read vinyl discs optically?
Answer: ELPJ

Question: What was a benedit of laser read discs?
Answer: eliminates record wear

Question: What was a drawback of laser read discs?
Answer: degrade the sound

Question: What was the primary use of laser read discs?
Answer: archiving of analog records

Question: What was a major issue for laser read discs?
Answer: dust
Gramophone_record

In some ways similar to the laser turntable is the IRENE scanning machine for disc records, which images with microphotography in two dimensions, invented by a team of physicists at Lawrence Berkeley Laboratories. IRENE will retrieve the information from a laterally modulated monaural grooved sound source without touching the medium itself, but cannot read vertically modulated information. This excludes grooved recordings such as cylinders and some radio transcriptions that feature a hill-and-dale format of recording, and stereophonic or quadraphonic grooved recordings, which utilize a combination of the two as well as supersonic encoding for quadraphonic.

Question: Who is Irene?
Answer: scanning machine for disc records

Question: Where was IRENE developed?
Answer: Lawrence Berkeley Laboratories

Question: What is the primary use of IRENE?
Answer: retrieve the information

Question: Can IRENE read vertically modulated information?
Answer: cannot read vertically modulated information

Question: Does IRENE require the  ability to touch the media?
Answer: without touching the medium
Gramophone_record

Terms such as "long-play" (LP) and "extended-play" (EP) describe multi-track records that play much longer than the single-item-per-side records, which typically do not go much past four minutes per side. An LP can play for up to 30 minutes per side, though most played for about 22 minutes per side, bringing the total playing time of a typical LP recording to about forty-five minutes. Many pre-1952 LPs, however, played for about 15 minutes per side. The 7-inch 45 rpm format normally contains one item per side but a 7-inch EP could achieve recording times of 10 to 15 minutes at the expense of attenuating and compressing the sound to reduce the width required by the groove. EP discs were generally used to make available tracks not on singles including tracks on LPs albums in a smaller, less expensive format for those who had only 45 rpm players. The large center hole on 7-inch 45 rpm records allows for easier handling by jukebox mechanisms. The term "album", originally used to mean a "book" with liner notes, holding several 78 rpm records each in its own "page" or sleeve, no longer has any relation to the physical format: a single LP record, or nowadays more typically a compact disc.

Question: What terms are used for recording with more than one track?
Answer: long-play" (LP) and "extended-play" (EP

Question: What is a typical max playing time of an LP?
Answer: forty-five minutes

Question: Which format is cheaper, LP or EP?
Answer: LPs

Question: Which format held recordings ranging from 10 to 15 minutes?
Answer: 7-inch EP

Question: What was a normal play time per side for LPs?
Answer: 22 minutes
Gramophone_record

In March 1949, as RCA released the 45, Columbia released several hundred 7 inch 33 1/3 rpm small spindle hole singles. This format was soon dropped as it became clear that the RCA 45 was the single of choice and the Columbia 12 inch LP would be the 'album' of choice. The first release of the 45 came in seven colors: black 47-xxxx popular series, yellow 47-xxxx juvenile series, green (teal) 48-xxxx country series, deep red 49-xxxx classical series, bright red (cerise) 50-xxxx blues/spiritual series, light blue 51-xxxx international series, dark blue 52-xxxx light classics. All colors were soon dropped in favor of black because of production problems. However, yellow and deep red were continued until about 1952. The first 45 rpm record created for sale was "PeeWee the Piccolo" RCA 47-0147 pressed in yellow translucent vinyl at the Sherman Avenue plant, Indianapolis Dec. 7, 1948, R.O. Price, plant manager.

Question: Which colors of 45 were available as late as 1952 before being discontinued?
Answer: yellow and deep red

Question: PeeWee the Piccolo was what?
Answer: The first 45 rpm record created for sale

Question: What significance does Dec 7/ 1948 hold?
Answer: The first 45 rpm record created for sale

Question: How many colors were 45s available in when first released?
Answer: seven colors

Question: When did RCA release the 45?
Answer: March 1949
Gramophone_record

The normal commercial disc is engraved with two sound-bearing concentric spiral grooves, one on each side, running from the outside edge towards the center. The last part of the spiral meets an earlier part to form a circle. The sound is encoded by fine variations in the edges of the groove that cause a stylus (needle) placed in it to vibrate at acoustic frequencies when the disc is rotated at the correct speed. Generally, the outer and inner parts of the groove bear no intended sound (an exception is Split Enz's Mental Notes).

Question: In which direction does the groove in a normal disc run?
Answer: outside edge towards the center

Question: How is sound encoded on a commercial disc?
Answer: by fine variations

Question: Does it matter at which speed a disc is spun?
Answer: correct speed

Question: Do all grooves bear data?
Answer: no
Gramophone_record

Towards the center, at the end of the groove, there is another wide-pitched section known as the lead-out. At the very end of this section the groove joins itself to form a complete circle, called the lock groove; when the stylus reaches this point, it circles repeatedly until lifted from the record. On some recordings (for example Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band by The Beatles, Super Trouper by Abba and Atom Heart Mother by Pink Floyd), the sound continues on the lock groove, which gives a strange repeating effect. Automatic turntables rely on the position or angular velocity of the arm, as it reaches the wider spacing in the groove, to trigger a mechanism that lifts the arm off the record. Precisely because of this mechanism, most automatic turntables are incapable of playing any audio in the lock groove, since they will lift the arm before it reaches that groove.

Question: What is a 'lead out'?
Answer: wide-pitched section

Question: What is the center where the data joins to complete a circle?
Answer: lock groove

Question: Do turntables play music on lock grooves?
Answer: most automatic turntables are incapable

Question: What do most automatic turn tables do when they meet a lock groove?
Answer: lift the arm

Question: Where do you find a lead out?
Answer: Towards the center, at the end of the groove
Gramophone_record

When auto-changing turntables were commonplace, records were typically pressed with a raised (or ridged) outer edge and a raised label area, allowing records to be stacked onto each other without the delicate grooves coming into contact, reducing the risk of damage. Auto-changers included a mechanism to support a stack of several records above the turntable itself, dropping them one at a time onto the active turntable to be played in order. Many longer sound recordings, such as complete operas, were interleaved across several 10-inch or 12-inch discs for use with auto-changing mechanisms, so that the first disk of a three-disk recording would carry sides 1 and 6 of the program, while the second disk would carry sides 2 and 5, and the third, sides 3 and 4, allowing sides 1, 2, and 3 to be played automatically; then the whole stack reversed to play sides 4, 5, and 6.

Question: Where were records made with raised label areas?
Answer: reducing the risk of damage

Question: Are longer recordings, as found in operas, made for use with auto-changing systems?
Answer: interleaved across several 10-inch or 12-inch discs for use with auto-changing mechanisms

Question: Do grooves on records touch when stacked?
Answer: allowing records to be stacked onto each other without the delicate grooves coming into contact

Question: Do records touch when in auto changers?
Answer: Auto-changers included a mechanism to support a stack
Gramophone_record

New or "virgin" heavy/heavyweight (180–220 g) vinyl is commonly used for modern audiophile vinyl releases in all genres. Many collectors prefer to have heavyweight vinyl albums, which have been reported to have better sound than normal vinyl because of their higher tolerance against deformation caused by normal play. 180 g vinyl is more expensive to produce only because it uses more vinyl. Manufacturing processes are identical regardless of weight. In fact, pressing lightweight records requires more care. An exception is the propensity of 200 g pressings to be slightly more prone to non-fill, when the vinyl biscuit does not sufficiently fill a deep groove during pressing (percussion or vocal amplitude changes are the usual locations of these artifacts). This flaw causes a grinding or scratching sound at the non-fill point.

Question: What is the most used material for modern audiophile vinyl releases?
Answer: New or "virgin" heavy/heavyweight (180–220 g) vinyl

Question: What is the material preference of collectors?
Answer: heavyweight vinyl

Question: How does the manufacturing process differ between heavyweight and normal vinyl?
Answer: Manufacturing processes are identical

Question: Would would a non filled area in a vinyl press cause when listening to a record?
Answer: grinding or scratching sound

Question: Which pressing of vinyl require more attention to detail, lightweight or heavyweight?
Answer: lightweight records requires more care
Gramophone_record

The "orange peel" effect on vinyl records is caused by worn molds. Rather than having the proper mirror-like finish, the surface of the record will have a texture that looks like orange peel. This introduces noise into the record, particularly in the lower frequency range. With direct metal mastering (DMM), the master disc is cut on a copper-coated disc, which can also have a minor "orange peel" effect on the disc itself. As this "orange peel" originates in the master rather than being introduced in the pressing stage, there is no ill effect as there is no physical distortion of the groove.

Question: What is an effect of using worn molds when casting records?
Answer: The "orange peel" effect

Question: What is the expected finish of a vinyl record?
Answer: mirror-like

Question: What is the effect on a copy if a master as an orange peel effect?
Answer: there is no ill effect

Question: On what frequencies is an orange peel effect most noticeable?
Answer: lower frequency range

Question: What material is on a direct metal mastering disc?
Answer: copper
Gramophone_record

Vinyl records do not break easily, but the soft material is easily scratched. 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 over and over. This is the origin of the phrase "like a broken record" or "like a scratched record", which is often used to describe a person or thing that continually repeats itself. Locked grooves are not uncommon and were even heard occasionally in radio broadcasts.

Question: What causes clicks and pops on vinyl records?
Answer: Dust and scratches

Question: What is the cause of lock grooves on vinyl records?
Answer: Dust and scratches

Question: Where does the saying "Like a broken record" originate?
Answer: locked groove

Question: How easily do vinyl records break?
Answer: Vinyl records do not break easily

Question: What is a common damage to vinyl records?
Answer: easily scratched.
Gramophone_record

Vinyl records can be warped by heat, improper storage, exposure to sunlight, or manufacturing defects such as excessively tight plastic shrinkwrap 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. "wow" (once-per-revolution pitch variation) could result from warp, or from a spindle hole that was not precisely centered. Standard practice for LPs was to place the LP in a paper or plastic inner cover. This, if placed within the outer cardboard cover so that the opening was entirely within the outer cover, was said to reduce ingress of dust onto the record surface. Singles, with rare exceptions, had simple paper covers with no inner cover.

Question: What causes warping in vinyl records?
Answer: heat, improper storage, exposure to sunlight, or manufacturing defects

Question: What is a cause of once per revolution pitch variation?
Answer: warp, or from a spindle hole that was not precisely centered

Question: What method was used to protect a vinyl record?
Answer: place the LP in a paper or plastic inner cover

Question: What were often found with a paper outter cover and no inner cover?
Answer: Singles

Question: What happens if a vinyl comes with a bit of warp?
Answer: A small degree of warp was common,
Gramophone_record

A further limitation of the gramophone record is that fidelity steadily declines as playback progresses; there is more vinyl per second available for fine reproduction of high frequencies at the large-diameter beginning of the groove than exist at the smaller-diameters close to the end of the side. At the start of a groove on an LP there are 510 mm of vinyl per second traveling past the stylus while the ending of the groove gives 200–210 mm of vinyl per second — less than half the linear resolution. Distortion towards the end of the side is likely to become more apparent as record wear increases.*

Question: When is distortion most common on a gramophone record?
Answer: Distortion towards the end of the side

Question: What happens as a record wears?
Answer: Distortion

Question: What is a drawback of using gramophones?
Answer: fidelity steadily declines as playback progresses

Question: How much vinyl can be found at the start of an LP?
Answer: 510 mm

Question: Where can you find only 200-210mm of vinyl?
Answer: ending of the groove
Gramophone_record

Tonearm skating forces and other perturbations are also picked up by the stylus. This is a form of frequency multiplexing as the control signal (restoring force) used to keep the stylus in the groove is carried by the same mechanism as the sound itself. Subsonic frequencies below about 20 Hz in the audio signal are dominated by tracking effects, which is one form of unwanted rumble ("tracking noise") and merges with audible frequencies in the deep bass range up to about 100 Hz. High fidelity sound equipment can reproduce tracking noise and rumble. During a quiet passage, woofer speaker cones can sometimes be seen to vibrate with the subsonic tracking of the stylus, at frequencies as low as just above 0.5 Hz (the frequency at which a 33 1⁄3 rpm record turns on the turntable; 5⁄9 Hz exactly on an ideal turntable). Another reason for very low frequency material can be a warped disk: its undulations produce frequencies of only a few hertz and present day amplifiers have large power bandwidths. For this reason, many stereo receivers contained a switchable subsonic filter. Some subsonic content is directly out of phase in each channel. If played back on a mono subwoofer system, the noise will cancel, significantly reducing the amount of rumble that is reproduced.

Question: What would be a cause of low frequency sounds when listening?
Answer: warped disk

Question: What is a feature many stereos contain to fight back against unwanted noises?
Answer: subsonic filter

Question: What is a sounds commonly heard when listening to a vinyl that is unintentional.
Answer: Tonearm skating

Question: Which frequencies are you most likely to hear tonearm skating?
Answer: frequencies below about 20 Hz

Question: Are there any visual signs of tracking when listening to a record?
Answer: cones can sometimes be seen to vibrate with the subsonic tracking
Gramophone_record

Due to recording mastering and manufacturing limitations, both high and low frequencies were removed from the first recorded signals by various formulae. With low frequencies, the stylus must swing a long way from side to side, requiring the groove to be wide, taking up more space and limiting the playing time of the record. At high frequencies, hiss, pops, and ticks are significant. These problems can be reduced by using equalization to an agreed standard. During recording the amplitude of low frequencies is reduced, thus reducing the groove width required, and the amplitude at high frequencies is increased. The playback equipment boosts bass and cuts treble so as to restore the tonal balance in the original signal; this also reduces the high frequency noise. Thus more music will fit on the record, and noise is reduced.

Question: What is a limitation of low frequency recordings?
Answer: limiting the playing time

Question: What kinds of unwanted sounds are often heard at high frequencies?
Answer: hiss, pops, and ticks

Question: What is done during recordings to help reduce unwanted sounds?
Answer: amplitude of low frequencies is reduced

Question: What is a benefit of using equalization devices?
Answer: problems can be reduced

Question: What is done to high frequency  sounds to lessen sound issues?
Answer: amplitude at high frequencies is increased