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{{Short description|Vinyl analog sound storage discs}}
{{Redirect-multi|2|Long Play|Long Player|the musical piece|Longplayer{{!}}''Longplayer''|other uses}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=October 2021}}

{{Infobox media
| name = LP
| logo = [[File:LPlogo.svg|80px|alt=Capital letters LP in a circle]]
| image = 12in-Vinyl-LP-Record-Angle.jpg
| caption = A 12-inch LP vinyl record<br />Top: the original LP logo as used by Columbia Records
| type = Audio playback
| encoding = Analog groove modulation
| capacity = Originally 23 minutes per side,<ref name="Ashford">{{cite web |url=https://www.unifiedmanufacturing.com/blog/what-is-the-history-of-the-12-inch-vinyl-record-format/ |website=UnifiedManufacturing |date=December 20, 2020 |first1=Jon |last1=Ashford |title=What is the history of the 12-inch vinyl record format? |access-date=2024-11-30}}</ref> later increased by several minutes, much longer possible with very low signal level
| read = Microgroove stylus (maximum tip radius {{convert|0.001|in|um|disp=or|abbr=on}})
| write = 
| standard = 
| owner = [[Columbia Records]]
| use = Audio storage
| dimensions = {{convert|12|in|cm}}, {{convert|10|in|cm}}, {{convert|90|-|240|g|abbr=on}}
| released = {{start date and age|1948}}
}}

The '''LP'''<!-- NOT a nickname: it was Columbia Records' official name for the format, commonly used in AE speech and writing until "album" (which IS a nickname) largely replaced it --> (from long playing<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/LP |title=Origin of LP |publisher=merriam-webster.com}}</ref> or long play) is an [[Analog recording|analog]] sound [[storage medium]], specifically a [[phonograph record]] format characterized by: a speed of {{frac|33|1|3}}&nbsp;[[rpm]]; a 12- or 10-inch (30- or 25-cm) diameter; use of the "microgroove" groove specification; and a vinyl (a copolymer of vinyl chloride acetate) composition disk. Introduced by [[Columbia Records]] in 1948, it was soon adopted as a new standard by the entire US record industry and, apart from a few relatively minor refinements and the important later addition of stereophonic sound in 1957,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://hifiplus.com/articles/the-history-of-the-lp/|title=The history of the LP}}</ref> it remained the standard format for record albums during a period in [[popular music]] known as the [[album era]].<ref name="Zipkin2020">{{cite web|last=Zipkin|first=Michele|date=April 8, 2020|url=https://thestacker.com/stories/3713/best-albums-last-decade-according-critics|title=Best albums from the last decade, according to critics|website=Stacker|access-date=June 3, 2020}}</ref> LP was originally a [[trademark]] of Columbia<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.discogs.com/label/269353-Columbia-Records-Inc |title=Columbia Records, Inc. |publisher=[[Discogs]] |quote=LP - Exclusive trade mark of Columbia Records Inc. |access-date=2024-08-19}}</ref> and competed against the smaller 7-inch sized [[Single (music)|"45" or "single"]] format by [[RCA Victor]], eventually ending up on top.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Evans |first=Mike |title=Vinyl: The Art of Making Records |year=2022 |isbn=9781645178163 |pages=54|publisher=Simon and Schuster }}</ref> Today in the [[vinyl revival]] era, a large majority of records are based on the LP format and hence the LP name continues to be in use today to refer to new records.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2023-12-28 |title=Vinyl fans and traders tell of love for LPs as sales soar |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-humber-67805193 |access-date=2024-05-05 |work=BBC News |language=en-GB}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Sisario |first=Ben |date=2021-10-21 |title=Vinyl Is Selling So Well That It's Getting Hard to Sell Vinyl |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/21/arts/music/vinyl-records-delays.html |access-date=2024-05-05 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

==Format advantages==
At the time the LP was introduced, nearly all phonograph records for home use were made of an abrasive (and therefore [[Noise|noisy]]) [[shellac]] compound, employed a much larger groove, and played at approximately 78 revolutions per minute (rpm), limiting the playing time of a 12-inch diameter record to less than five minutes per side. The new product was a 12- or 10-inch (30 or 25&nbsp;cm) fine-grooved disc made of [[PVC]] ("vinyl") and played with a smaller-tipped "microgroove" [[Phonograph#Stylus|stylus]] at a speed of {{frac|33|1|3}}&nbsp;rpm. Each side of a 12-inch LP could play for about 25 minutes, allowing for a total runtime of approximately 50 minutes.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://standardvinyl.com/vinyl-pressing/12-inch-records/ |title=Full-length LP records on 150 and 180 gram vinyl |website=Standard Vinyl |access-date=December 18, 2018}}</ref>

==History==
{{see also|Album era}}
Despite some earlier experiments and attempts at commercial marketing, the Long Play format did not begin to enjoy commercial popularity until the early 1950s.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Keightley |first=Keir |date=2004 |title=Long Play: Adult-Oriented Popular Music and the Temporal Logics of the Post-War Sound Recording Industry in the USA |url=http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0163443704042258 |journal=Media, Culture & Society |language=en |volume=26 |issue=3 |pages=379 |doi=10.1177/0163443704042258 |issn=0163-4437|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

===Predecessors===
Starting in 1926, the [[Edison Records]] company experimented with issuing [[Edison Disc Record]]s in long play format of 24 minutes per side. The system and playback system (still mostly wind-up [[phonograph]]s) proved unreliable and was a commercial failure.<ref>[https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/index.php/resources/detail/429 "The Edison Long-Playing Record". Regents of the University of California.] ''[[Discography of American Historical Recordings]]''. Retrieved 26 March 2023.</ref>

==== Soundtrack discs ====
[[File:Neumann Cutting Machine 02.jpg|thumb|Neumann [[Disc cutting lathe|lathe]] with SX-74 cutting head]]

By mid-1931 all motion picture studios were recording on [[Sound-on-film|optical soundtracks]], but sets of soundtrack discs, mastered by dubbing from the optical tracks and scaled down to 12 inches to cut costs, were made as late as 1936 for distribution to theaters still equipped with disc-only sound projectors.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.picking.com/vitaphone-faq.html |title=Frequently Asked Questions |publisher=The Vitaphone Project |access-date=August 12, 2011}}</ref>

==== Radio transcription discs ====
Unless the quantity required was very small, pressed discs were a more economical medium for distributing high-quality audio than tape, and CD mastering was, in the early years of that technology, very expensive, so the use of LP-format transcription discs continued into the 1990s. The ''[[King Biscuit Flower Hour]]'' is a late example, as are [[Westwood One]]'s ''The Beatle Years'' and ''[[Doctor Demento]]'' programs, which were sent to stations on LP at least through 1992.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://randsesotericotr.podbean.com/types-of-transcriptions-and-radio-recordings/ |title=Rand's Esoteric OTR: Types of transcriptions and radio recordings |publisher=Randsesotericotr.podbean.com |access-date=August 12, 2011}}</ref>

==== RCA Victor ====
In September 1931, [[RCA Victor]] launched the first commercially available vinyl long-playing record, marketed as "Program-Transcription" records. These revolutionary discs were designed for playback at {{frac|33|1|3}}&nbsp;rpm and pressed on a 30&nbsp;cm diameter flexible plastic disc, with a duration of about ten minutes playing time per side.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://globalnews.ca/news/4931432/vinyl-record-mysteries-33-45-78/ |title=Strange speeds, big holes, and other answers to vinyl record mysteries |first=Alan |last=Cross |access-date=June 15, 2023 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220122172655/https://globalnews.ca/news/4931432/vinyl-record-mysteries-33-45-78/ |archive-date=January 22, 2022}}</ref> Victor's early introduction of a long-playing record was a commercial failure for several reasons including the lack of affordable, consumer playback equipment and consumer rejection during the [[Great Depression]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://ronpenndorf.com/journalofrecordedmusic5.html |title=Early Development of the LP |first=Ron |last=Penndorf |access-date=4 October 2006 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051105045015/http://ronpenndorf.com/journalofrecordedmusic5.html |archive-date=5 November 2005 }}</ref>

These "Program Transcription" discs, as Victor called them, played at {{frac|33|1|3}}&nbsp;rpm and used a somewhat finer and more closely spaced groove than typical 78 rpm records. They were to be played with a special "Chromium Orange" chrome-plated steel needle. The 10-inch discs, mostly used for popular and light classical music, were normally pressed in shellac, but the 12-inch discs, mostly used for "serious" classical music, were pressed in Victor's new vinyl-based "Victrolac" compound, which provided a much quieter playing surface. These records could hold up to 15 minutes per side. [[Beethoven's Fifth Symphony]], performed by the [[Philadelphia Orchestra]] under [[Leopold Stokowski]], was the first 12-inch recording issued.<ref>{{cite news |title=Phonograph Disks Run for Half-Hour|url=https://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=FA0C1EF6385D1B7A93CAA81782D85F458385F9 |newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|language=en-US|url-status=live|page= 48|date=September 18, 1931|access-date=June 22, 2022|archivedate=June 22, 2022|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20220622190505/https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1931/09/18/98058839.html?pdf_redirect=true&site=false}}</ref><ref name=NYtimes9.20.31>{{cite news|author=Compton Pakenham|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1931/09/20/archives/newly-recorded-music-victor-long-playing-disk-recently-developed.html|title=Newly Recorded Music|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|language=en-US|url-status=live|page=X10|date=September 20, 1931|access-date=June 22, 2022|archive-date=June 22, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220622193527/https://www.nytimes.com/1931/09/20/archives/newly-recorded-music-victor-long-playing-disk-recently-developed.html}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/40s/1948/Billboard%201948-06-05.pdf|title=Not So New|magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|The Billboard]]|via=World Radio History|language=en-US|url-status=live|page=17|date=June 5, 1948|accessdate=June 22, 2022|archivedate=January 27, 2021|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20210127005106/https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/40s/1948/Billboard%201948-06-05.pdf}}</ref> Compton Pakensham, reviewing the event in ''[[The New York Times]]'', wrote, "What we were not prepared for was the quality of reproduction ... incomparably fuller."<ref name=NYtimes9.20.31/>

===Development of LP===
[[CBS Laboratories]] head research scientist [[Peter Carl Goldmark|Peter Goldmark]] led Columbia's team to develop a phonograph record that would hold at least 20 minutes per side.<ref>Goldmark, Peter. ''Maverick inventor; My Turbulent Years at CBS''. New York: Saturday Review Press, 1973.</ref> Although Goldmark was the chief scientist who selected the team, he delegated most of the experimental work to William S. Bachman, whom Goldmark had lured from General Electric, and [[Howard H. Scott]].<ref>{{cite news |author=Ben Sisario |author-link=Ben Sisario |title=Howard H. Scott, a Developer of the LP, Dies at 92 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/07/arts/music/howard-h-scott-a-developer-of-the-lp-dies-at-92.html |quote=Howard H. Scott, who was part of the team at Columbia Records that introduced the long-playing vinyl record in 1948 before going on to produce albums with the New York Philharmonic, Glenn Gould, Isaac Stern and many other giants of classical music, died on Sept. 22 in Reading, Pa. He was 92. ... |newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|date=October 6, 2012 |access-date=October 8, 2012}}</ref>

Research began in 1939, was suspended during [[World War II]], and resumed in 1945.<ref name=Billboard6.26.48>{{cite web|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/40s/1948/Billboard%201948-06-26.pdf|title=Columbia Diskery, CBS Show Microgroove Platters to Press; Tell How It Began|magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]|language=en-US|url-status=live|page=3|date=June 26, 1948|access-date=June 22, 2022|archivedate=January 22, 2021|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20210122051256/https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/40s/1948/Billboard%201948-06-26.pdf}}.</ref> [[Columbia Records]] unveiled the LP at a press conference in the [[Waldorf Astoria]] on June 21, 1948, in two formats: {{convert|10|in|cm|abbr=off}} in diameter, matching that of [[Gramophone record|78&nbsp;rpm]] singles, and {{convert|12|in|cm|abbr=off}} in diameter.<ref name=Billboard6.26.48/><ref name="LoC">[https://blogs.loc.gov/now-see-hear/2019/04/inside-the-archival-box-the-first-long-playing-disc/ ''The First Long-Playing Disc''] Library of Congress (Congress.gov) (accessdate June 21, 2021)</ref><ref>Marmorstein, Gary. ''The Label: The Story of Columbia Records.'' New York: Thunder's Mouth Press; p. 165.</ref> The initial release of 133 recordings were: 85 12-inch classical LPs (ML 4001 to 4085), 26 10-inch classics (ML 2001 to 2026), eighteen 10-inch popular numbers (CL 6001 to 6018), and four 10-inch juvenile records (JL 8001 to 8004). According to the 1949 Columbia catalog, issued September 1948, the first twelve-inch LP was [[Mendelssohn]]'s [[Violin Concerto (Mendelssohn)|Concerto in E Minor]] by [[Nathan Milstein]] on the violin with the [[New York Philharmonic]], conducted by [[Bruno Walter]] (ML 4001). Three ten-inch series were released: 'popular', starting with the reissue of ''[[The Voice of Frank Sinatra]]'' (CL 6001); 'classical', numbering from [[Beethoven's 8th symphony]] (ML 2001), and 'juvenile', commencing with ''Nursery Songs'' by [[Gene Kelly]] (JL 8001). Also released at this time were a pair of 2-LP sets, [[Puccini]]'s  ''[[La Bohème]]'' (SL-1) and [[Humperdinck]]'s ''[[Hansel and Gretel (opera)|Hansel and Gretel]]'' (SL-2). All 12-inch pressings were of 220 grams vinyl. Columbia may have planned for the [[Bach]] album ML 4002 to be the first since the releases came in alphabetical order by composer (the first 54 LPS, ML 4002 thru ML 4055, are in order from Bach to [[Tchaikovsky]])  Nathan Milstein was very popular in the 1940s, however, so his performance of the Mendelssohn concerto was moved to ML 4001.<ref>Columbia Record Catalog 1949 dated September 15, 1948</ref>

===Public reception===
When the LP was introduced in 1948, the 78 was the conventional format for phonograph records. By 1952, 78s still accounted for slightly more than half of the units sold in the United States, and just under half of the dollar sales. The [[Single (music)|45]], oriented toward the single song, accounted for just over 30% of unit sales and just over 25% of dollar sales. The LP represented not quite 17% of unit sales and just over 26% of dollar sales.<ref>"[https://books.google.com/books?id=uR8EAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA47 78 Speed On Way Out; LP-45 Trend Gaining]", ''The Billboard'', August 2, 1952, p. 47.</ref>

Ten years after their introduction, the share of unit sales for LPs in the US was almost 25%, and of dollar sales 58%. Most of the remainder was taken up by the 45; 78s accounted for only 2% of unit sales and 1% of dollar sales.<ref>{{cite news |author=Robert Shelton |title=Happy Tunes on Cash Registers |newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1958/03/16/archives/happy-tunes-on-cash-registers-record-industry-sees-tape-and-stereo.html|date=March 16, 1958 |page=XX14}}</ref>

The popularity of the LP ushered in the "[[album era]]" of English-language popular music, beginning in the late 1950s, as performers took advantage of the longer playing time to create coherent themes or concept albums. "The rise of the LP as a form—as an artistic entity, as they used to say—has complicated how we perceive and remember what was once the most evanescent of the arts", [[Robert Christgau]] wrote in ''[[Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies]]'' (1981). "The album may prove a '70s totem—briefer configurations were making a comeback by decade's end. But for the '70s it will remain the basic musical unit, and that's OK with me. I've found over the years that the long-playing record, with its twenty-minute sides and four-to-six compositions/performances per side, suits my habits of concentration perfectly."<ref name="CG">{{cite book |last=Christgau |first=Robert |author-link=Robert Christgau |year=1981 |title=Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies |publisher=[[Ticknor & Fields]] |isbn=978-0899190259 |chapter=The Criteria |chapter-url=https://www.robertchristgau.com/xg/bk-cg70/criteria.php |via=robertchristgau.com |access-date=April 6, 2019 |title-link=Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies}}</ref>

Although the popularity of LPs (as well as 45s) began to decline in the late 1970s with the advent of [[Compact Cassette]]s, and later in the 1980s with the advent of digital [[compact disc]]s,<ref>{{Cite web |last=Perry |first=Mark |date=2022-09-23 |title=Animated Chart of the Day: Recorded Music Sales by Format Share, 1973 to 2022 |url=https://www.aei.org/carpe-diem/animated-chart-of-the-day-recorded-music-sales-by-format-share-1973-to-2022/ |access-date=2024-02-07 |website=American Enterprise Institute |language=en-US}}</ref> the LP survives as a format to the present day. Vinyl LP records enjoyed a [[vinyl revival|resurgence in popularity]] throughout the 2010s<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.laweekly.com/music/why-cds-may-actually-sound-better-than-vinyl-5352162 |title=Why CDs May Actually Sound Better Than Vinyl |first=Chris |last=Kornelis |date=January 27, 2015 |work=L.A. Weekly}}</ref><ref>[http://www.express.co.uk/entertainment/music/445174/What-a-record-The-UK-album-chart-reaches-its-1-000th-No1-and-counting 1 What a record! The UK album chart reaches its 1,000th No1... and counting], Express, Adrian Lee, November 26, 2013</ref> and US vinyl sales in 2017<ref>{{cite web |title=Infographic: The LP is Back! |url=https://www.statista.com/chart/1465/vinyl-lp-sales-in-the-us/ |access-date=July 16, 2017 |website=Statista Infographics|date=January 6, 2014 }}</ref> reached 15.6 million and 27 million for 2020.<ref name=":0">[http://www.riaa.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/RIAA-2018-Year-End-Music-Industry-Revenue-Report.pdf RIAA 2018 Year-End Music Industry Revenue Report]</ref> In 2022, US vinyl sales reached 41 million units, surpassing sales of the Compact Disc for the first time since 1987, once again making the LP the highest selling physical format there.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2023-03-13 |title=Vinyl records outsell CDs for first time in decades |language=en-GB |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/64919126 |access-date=2023-06-28}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Beaumont-Thomas |first=Ben |date=2020-09-14 |title=Vinyl records outsell CDs in US for first time since 1980s |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2020/sep/14/vinyl-records-outsell-cds-in-us-for-first-time-since-1980s |access-date=2024-01-25 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}</ref>

==Competing formats==
{{Seealso|Single (music)}}
[[Reel-to-reel audio tape recording|Reel-to-reel magnetic tape recorders]] posed a new challenge to the LP in the 1950s, but the higher cost of pre-recorded tapes was one of several factors that confined tape to a niche market. [[8-track tape|Cartridge]] and [[cassette tape]]s were more convenient and less expensive than reel-to-reel tapes, and they became popular for use in automobiles beginning in the mid-1960s. The LP was not seriously challenged as the primary medium for listening to recorded music at home until the 1970s, however, when the audio quality of the cassette was greatly improved by better tape formulations and noise-reduction systems. By 1983, cassettes were outselling LPs in the US.<ref name="riaa">{{cite web |url=https://www.riaa.com/market/releases/statover.htm |title=Statistical Overview |website=riaa.com |access-date=December 31, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/19971210103031/http://www.riaa.com/market/releases/statover.htm |archive-date=December 10, 1997 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

[[Compact disc|The Compact Disc]] (CD) was introduced in 1982. It offered a recording that was, theoretically, almost noiseless and not audibly degraded by repeated playing or slight scuffs and scratches. At first, the much higher prices of CDs and CD players limited their target market to affluent [[early adopter]]s and [[audiophile]]s; but prices came down, and by 1988, CDs outsold LPs. The CD became the top-selling format, over cassettes, in 1992.<ref name="riaa"/>

Along with phonograph records in other formats, some of which were made of other materials, LPs are now widely referred to simply as "vinyl". Since the late 1990s there has been a [[vinyl revival]].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/07/nyregion/07vinyl.html |work=The New York Times |title=Vinyl Records and Turntables Are Gaining Sales |first=Patrick |last=McGeehan |date=December 7, 2009 |access-date=May 11, 2010}}</ref> Demand has increased in niche markets, particularly among audiophiles, DJs, and fans of indie music, but most music sales as of 2018 came from online downloads and online streaming because of their availability, convenience, and price.<ref name=":0"/>

==Playing time==
With the advent of [[sound film]] or "talkies", the need for greater storage space made {{frac|33|1|3}}&nbsp;rpm records more appealing. Soundtracks – played on records synchronized to movie projectors in theatres – could not fit onto the five minutes per side that 78s offered.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://aes2.org/publications/par/num/ |title=Pro Audio Reference |at=33 1/3 rpm record |access-date=2024-08-08}}</ref> When initially introduced, 12-inch LPs played for a maximum of about 23 minutes per side,<ref name="Ashford" /> 10-inch records for around 15.{{citation needed|date=August 2019}} They were not an immediate success, however, as they were released during the height of the Great Depression, and seemed frivolous to the many impoverished of the time. It was not until "microgroove" was developed by Columbia Records in 1948 that Long Players (LPs) reached their maximum playtime, which has continued to modern times.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://blog.thesoundofvinyl.us/news/why-do-records-spin-33-rpm |title=Why Do Records Spin at 33 1/3 RPM? |date=June 12, 2017 |website=The Sound of Vinyl Blog |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171205180806/http://blog.thesoundofvinyl.us/news/why-do-records-spin-33-rpm |archive-date=December 5, 2017 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

Economics and tastes initially determined which kind of music was available on each format. Recording company executives believed upscale classical music fans would be eager to hear a [[Symphony No. 5 (Beethoven)|Beethoven symphony]] or a [[Piano Concerto No. 24 (Mozart)|Mozart concerto]] without having to flip over multiple, four-minute-per-side 78s, and that pop music fans, who were used to listening to one song at a time, would find the shorter time of the 10-inch LP sufficient. As a result, the 12-inch format was reserved solely for higher-priced classical recordings and [[Cast recording|Broadway shows]]. Popular music continued to appear only on 10-inch records.{{citation needed|date=June 2022}} However, by the mid-1950s, the 10-inch LP, like its similarly sized 78 rpm cousin, lost the [[format war]] and was discontinued.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.collectorsweekly.com/records/10-inch|title=10 Inch Vinyl Records|publisher=[[Collectors Weekly]]|language=en-US|url-status=live|date=November 23, 2013|access-date=March 30, 2023|archive-date=December 25, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221225053621/https://www.collectorsweekly.com/records/10-inch}}</ref>

==Groove==
The close spacing of the spiral groove that allowed more playing time on a {{frac|33|1|3}}&nbsp;rpm microgroove LP also allowed a faint [[pre-echo]] of upcoming loud sounds. The cutting stylus unavoidably transferred some of the subsequent groove's signal to the previous groove. It was discernible by some listeners throughout certain recordings, and a quiet passage followed by a loud sound would allow anyone to hear a faint pre-echo of the loud sound 1.8 seconds ahead of time.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://audacityteam.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=26&t=102&start=0&st=0&sk=t&sd=a&view=print |website=Audacity Forum |title=Pre-echo when recording vinyl record |format=Forum Discussion |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090609184049/http://audacityteam.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=26&t=102&start=0&st=0&sk=t&sd=a&view=print |archive-date=June 9, 2009}}</ref>

==Further advances in LP==
{{multiple image
| style="width:200px;"| direction = vertical
| image1 = Disco de vinilo - A todo color.jpg
| image2 = Disco de vinilo de color amarillo.jpg
| footer = LPs [[record press|pressed]] in multicolored vinyl ([[Sotano Beat A Todo Color]], a various-artists compilation) and clear yellow vinyl ([[Les Gray#Singles|Rock On Elvis]] by [[Les Gray|Tulsa McLean]]), both from [[Argentina]].}}

The following are some significant advances in the format:

* Helium-cooled cutting heads that could withstand higher levels of high frequencies (Neumann SX68); previously, the cutting engineer had to reduce the HF content of the signal sent to the record cutting head, otherwise the delicate coils could burn out
* Elliptical [[Magnetic cartridge|stylus]] marketed by several manufacturers at the end of the 1960s
* Cartridges that operate at lower tracking forces (2.0 grams / 20&nbsp;mN), beginning from the mid-1960s
* [[Half-speed mastering|Half-speed]] and one-third-speed record cutting, which extends the usable bandwidth of the record
* Longer-lasting, antistatic record compounds (e.g.: [[Dynaflex (RCA)|RCA Dynaflex]], Q-540)
* More advanced stylus tip shapes (Shibata, Van den Hul, MicroLine, etc.)
* [[Direct metal mastering]]
* Noise-reduction ([[CX (audio)|CX]] encoding, [[Dbx (noise reduction)#dbx on vinyl|dbx]] encoding), starting from 1973
* In the 1970s, [[quadraphonic sound]] (four-channel) records became available in both [[Quadraphonic sound#Discrete (4–4–4) formats|discrete]] and [[Quadraphonic sound#Matrix (4–2–4) formats|matrix]] formats. These did not achieve the popularity of stereo records due to the expense of consumer playback equipment, competing and incompatible quad recording standards, and a lack of quality in most quad-remix releases.<ref>{{cite web |title=Analog Quadraphonic Formats |url=http://vinylfanatics.com/analoglovers/page11.html|access-date=April 8, 2015}}</ref>

==See also==
{{portal|Record production}}
* [[Album cover]]
* [[Conservation and restoration of vinyl discs]]
* [[Extended play]] (EP)

==References==
{{Reflist|2}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|LP records}}
* [http://www.elektra60.com/news/dreams-of-vinyl/ "Dreams of Vinyl: The Story of the LP Record" by Jac Holzman]

{{Audio format}}
{{Grooved track audio|Dvd record=[[Dvd record Audio]] 28 Juny 1988}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:LP Record}}
[[Category:1948 in music]]
[[Category:1948 in technology]]
[[Category:Album types]]
[[Category:Audio storage]]
[[Category:Audiovisual introductions in 1948]]
[[Category:Products introduced in 1948]]
[[Category:Recorded music]]