Here is a list the formats we accept for source recording, along with an image (images not to scale) and description of each. Click on the name of the format to be taken to the ordering page. Still not sure what format you have? Contact us
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LP (33 1/3, vinyl, microgroove) - Is your record 12 inches (or 10 inches) in diameter? Does it spin at 33 1/3 rpm? It is probably an LP (Long Playing) microgroove record. LPs are made of a flexible material (vinyl) that does not shatter on impact (like the old shellac 78s). LP records are 'pressed' in an industrial process and made in large numbers (not to be confused with one-of-a-kind or studio records that are produced in a different process). Some people call these colloqually (and incorrectly) '78s'. |
| LPs do not spin at 78rpm, are vinyl (not breakable shellac) and have much longer play (thus the name, Long Play - LP). LPs are the most common type of record found in collections. |
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Home made records (78 rpm, 45 rpm or 33 1/3 rpm such as "Recordio", "Wilcox Gay", "Voice-O-Graph", "Silvertone", "Federal Perma", etc.) - Are your records family (one-of-a-kind) records? Made by some type of recorder (at home, in a department store, at USO, etc.)? With a generic (brand name) label and hand written information? They fit our "home-made-records" category. The diameter can vary from 5 to 12 inches. They can spin at any rpm speed (we'll figure it out and process at correct rpm). The material can be soft as cardboard or hard as metal (and anything in between). |
| Please see our Gallery of Home Made Records (records we have received and processed at our studio). Common mistake: calling these records '45s' (and submitting them for transfer as 45s). Please avoid this mistake as there are significant differences in processing (and pricing), we can not process home-made-records as 45s (we will process them under the correct classification and price). |
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USO records (sponsored by "Pepsi", "Coca Cola", USO), Automat Recording Machine records - These records were made for 'your man in service' during (and after) World War II. Or they were made in a department store or by a home recorder. The diameter can be anything between 5 and 12 inches. They can spin at any rpm speed (we'll figure it out and process at correct rpm). The material can be soft as cardboard or hard as metal (and anything in between). Please see our Gallery of Home Made Records (records we have received and processed at our studio). |
| Common mistake: calling these records '45s' (and submitting them for transfer as 45s). Please avoid this mistake as there are significant differences in processing (and pricing). We can not process home-made-records as 45s (we will process them under the correct classification and price). |
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Studio produced records (lacquers, acetates, glass substrate, demos, one-off records) - Was the record produced in a studio? It may be a lacquer, an acetate, a studio demo, or an one-off record. The substrate may be made out of glass (or aluminum). It may have a 'Professional Recording Studio' label. It may spin at any rpm speed (we'll figure it out and process at correct rpm) and it may play from the outside in or from the inside out. |
| Please see our Gallery of Studio Produced Records (records we have received and processed at our studio). |
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Commercially released 78rpm records - Are your records 10 inch in diameter? Are they thick, hard (non-bendable), heavy and breakable (shellac)? Do they have professionally printed labels (with the name of the record company, artist and song)? Were they pressed (in the 1930's-1950's) in thousands of copies? Are they in a binder ("album")? Common mistake: sending 'Home Made Records', 'Studio Produced Records' or LPs under the "Commercially Released 78rpm' category. |
| Please avoid this mistake as there are significant differences in processing (and pricing). We will process records under correct classification and price. |
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16-inch Records (Transcriptions) (33 1/3 rpm or 78 rpm, such as "U.S. Armed Forces Radio Service" broadcasts) - Is your record 16 (or 17) inches in diameter? It is a Transcription. |
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45 rpm records (7-inch "jukebox-type" records) - These are the typical 7-inch "jukebox-type" 45rpm records: big hole in the middle (regular hole possible), mass produced, with a colorful label. They have one song on each side. Common mistake: sending discs that fit our 'home-made-records' category as 45rpms. Please avoid this mistake as there are significant differences in processing (and pricing) between formats. |
| We can not process home-made-records as 45s (we will process them under the correct classification and price). |
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12-Inch Singles and 45RPM Extended Play (EP) records (DJ, Disco, Dance, Mix records that fit the definition of a 12-Inch Single) - Usually DJs and people who have '12-inch Singles' and '45RPM Extended Play (EP)' records know what they are. To the untrained eye, 12-inch singles look exactly like a 12-inch LP record. The difference lies in the fact that 12-Inch Singles have wider groove spacing (and play only about 10-12 minutes per side). This gives better sound quality and is the preferred format by DJs for Dance, Disco, Techno, and Club music. |
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Dubplates ("dubplate specials": reggae, dancehall, dubstep, drum and bass, soca, chutney, hip hop, etc.) - Usually DJs and people who have 'dubplates' know what they are. Dubplates can be 7, 10 or 12 inches in diameter and are usually issued in small quantities, for DJ or band use. |
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Edison Diamond Discs, Edison "Recreations", other 78rpm Acoustical Discs - 78rpm (or 80rpm and other) records marked with the Edison trademark, made from 1912 to 1929. Also under this category: Acoustical Discs - records produced with the sound being piped in with a sound horn, without the use of microphones. These are all records made before aprox. 1925 (when microphones were invented). |
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Edison Red (plastic) discs - These records are marked with the EDISON trade name and are made of a thin, red plastic material. They spin at a lower rpm speed than most records (therefore thay can be long) and appear to have been produced by dictation equipment. |
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Vertical Cut records - The early records were cut using the vertical cut recording process (also known as the Hill and Dale process). Edison, Pathe and many small record companies are cut vertically. Unless you know a bit about the history of your record you probably will not know if your record was cut vertically. If you do, great, select this category. If you don't, not to worry, we will determine if your record was cut vertically and will process (and price) correctly. |
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16 2/3 rpm (or 16rpm) records - They look exactly like 12-inch LPs, but they are marked as 16 R.P.M. (or 16 2/3 RPM) records. |
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8 1/3 rpm (or 8rpm) records - The National Library Service for the Blind issued many 8RPM 'Talking Books'. Most 8rpm records are 10-inch in diameter, but there are some 12-inch and 7-inch. This format was developed by the American Foundation for the Blind. |
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Unusual record formats - Records that do not fit any of the above categories. |
