Vinyl record come in speeds that turn 33 1/3, 45 or 78 revolutions per minute on a turntable hence the number designation for each. The 33 1/3 and 78 records have a diameter of either 10″ or 12″ whereas the 45 record has a diameter of 7″.
Vinyl records have traditionally been marketed as 33 1/3 LP (Long Play or Long Playing), 45 EP (Extended Play or single) and 78. While the 33 1/3 records had entire albums on them hence the LP designation, the 45 and 78 sizes had one song on each side of the record.
While there have been other sizes of records along the way, these 3 sizes are the ones that sold the most and were the ones found most frequently in record stores back in the day.
Let’s delve deeper into the subject of these three record sizes and we’ll also briefly discuss the other lesser known sizes and speeds that once existed, too.
78, 33 1/3 and 45 vinyl record fact table
The three main types of vinyl records traditionally produced were 33 1/4 long playing (LP) albums and 45 singles that features one song on each side and the less popular and long defunct 78s. Interestingly only the 33 1/3 and 45s were made from vinyl and had smaller grooves. 78s were made from shellac early on before switching in some cases to vinyl or wax and had larger grooves.
Here are some facts regarding the three popular record speeds:
| Record speed | Specs | Usage | History |
| 78 | Rotates 78 times per minute. | One song was featured on either side of the record. Each side could feature a song of 3 – 5 minutes in length so they were constrained by how many songs a record could hold. | The first popular type of record that was first sold in 1898 but became especially popular around 1925 onwards. Was widely sold until the late 1950s at which point 33 1/3 and 45 RPM records had taken over. |
| 33 1/3 | Rotates 33 1/3 times per minute. | Known as an LP for “Long Play” or “Long Playing” because an entire album could be featured with multiple songs on both sides of the record. Typically 22 minutes of music is possible on each side. | It was introduced by RCA in 1931 but the 33 1/3 size didn’t catch on until Columbia commercialized them in 1948 by designing a record player with this speed. Even then, people were used to listening to songs on the radio for free so at first, only radio stations bought them. Eventually they became the long established standard for full albums at least until cassette tapes became popular. |
| 45 | Rotates 45 times per minute. | Known as a “single” or EP (Extended Play), 1 song was typically included on each side of the record. A 45 can hold a single song of 3 – 5 minutes in length. | Introduced in 1949 by RCA after they’d seen the popularity and potential of the 33 1/3 speed machine introduced the year before by Columbia. The 45 became the standard size for jukebox records which helped to give the 45s credibility. |
Record size and speed comparison
The original 78 RPM record was typically made of shellac and had a very different look and feel than either the 33 1/4 and 45s that followed. Whereas the latter two records were made from vinyl and were thin, sleek and flexible with many grooves on it, the 78 was thicker, solid and fairly smooth.
By the 1950s, the 33 1/3 record was the established size for full albums and the 45 was the size for single records.
You can see the comparison of each above along with other commonly used mediums for music: The cassette tape and Compact Disc or CD.
What other size and speed of records existed?
While 33 1/3, 45 and 78 RPM were the most commercially known and successful record speeds, other smaller record sizes of various speeds have been designed over the years.
Records in sizes of 2″ – 13″ in diameter have been released often by a particular band or company that can be very difficult to find. They normally played at 33 1/3 RPM so the size difference was more a novelty.
There have also been a number of different records produced that operate at various speeds such as 3, 4 1/6, 8 1/3, 16 2/3, 24, 60, 77.92, 80 and 130 RPM.
While most of these never caught on for the most part, several records did exist for a time that saw commercial popularity:
4 1/6 and 8 1/3 RPM – Both speeds were known for audio books for the blind. The 4 1/6 speed records were test records that don’t seem to have been commercially produced but the 8 1/3 speed albums were commercially available for many years before being discontinued.
16 2/3 RPM – Speaking albums where people were talking as well as some early musical albums were recorded at this speed. Music tends not to work well at this low speed so if you find a 16 2/3 record it’s likely to be a spoken word record. These records were 9″ in diameter.
Why was there a difference in record speeds?
Within reason, the faster a record rotates, the better the sound. In order to optimize sound quality, different speeds of records were therefore designed. Over time, manufacturers also wanted to put their own stamp on records that they sold and came up with different speed and record size designs that they could then produce and sell.
Let’s take a closer look at the three main speeds used for records and the derivation of each:
78 RPM
Early phonograph and record players used a motor rated at 3,600 RPM which enabled the turntable to reach 78.26 RPM so that’s how the 78 RPM record came to be. The technology at the time produced a record player capable of rotating 78 times per minute.
The 78 record had a small hole in the very center to sit snugly in place on the record player. The records had very large grooves in them.
Each side of a 78 could hold a song no more than 5 minutes in length so the technology was very constrained. At the time, the major customers were radio stations who thus had to hold hundreds if not thousands of 78s to complete their music library.
Plus each record had to be changed frequently given that a side ran for no more than 5 minutes.
33 1/3 RPM
The advantage of the 33 1/3 was newer technology made it possible to design and manufacturer thinner records than the 78 which meant they were cheaper, lighter and took up less space which was a big advantage to radio stations who might store hundreds or thousands of records at a time.
Another advantage? 33 1/3 RPM albums were 10″ or 12″ in size and could hold an entire album of songs on it, usually about 44 minutes of music in total. Great for DJs who wanted to play an entire side of an album and take a break in between.
Like the 78, the 33 1/3 had a small hole in the very center of the record to sit snugly in place on the record player. The grooves of the 33 1/3 RPM record were smaller than those on the 78.
Once consumers saw the 33 1/3 speed record player offered by Columbia in 1948 (it played 78s, too), they realized they could buy entire albums and listen to them on demand at home when they wanted. The demand for the 33 1/3 grew as record players became commonly owned by consumers.
45 RPM
RCA introduced the 45 to compete with the 33 1/3 offered by Columbia but ultimately, 45s ended up dominating the single song market only. Unlike the 78 and 33 1/3 which were designed based on available technology at the time, the 45 was designed by RCA through a calculation that showed that a constant rate of 45 revolutions per minute was the ideal speed at which to maximize sound.
Or so they said.
While it has been reported that the 45 revolutions per minute speed offers optimum sound based on the speed, others suggest that RCA designers were simply told to come up with a different speed to differentiate themselves from the 33 1/3 records made by Columbia.
There might be some science behind the first thought though…
Because a 45 has higher RPM than a 33 1/3, the sound is higher quality with more detail and less distortion since the faster rate of turn of the 45 allows the grooves of the record to be less concerned with curve distortion than with a larger 33 1/3.
A 33 1/3 album always rotates at 33 1/3 revolutions per minute and a 45 rotates at 45 RPM. But the first song on a 33 1/3 is played on the very outer part of the album. It sees the stylus travel farther around the record than say the last song on the album which plays on the very inside of the record. The curvature of the 33 1/3 is extreme for the last song or two which increases distortion and reduces high frequency sounds.
This isn’t as big a problem for the 45 because it’s rotating faster and the curvature is less severe since you’re only playing one song on a much smaller 7″ record!
Unlike the 78 and 33 1/3, most 45s generally had a large round hole punched out from the center of the record. This required either using a round plastic insert that would fit snugly in the center of the album or using a plastic insert that some record players came standard with.
The 45 did end up pushing out the 78 sized record from the market in the 1950s as consumers chose the 45 and 33 1/3 album size moving forward. At this point, the 78 largely disappeared from use.
The final tradeoff?
- 45 records have better sound but are only capable of storing 1 song on each side of the record.
- 33 1/3 records have lower sound quality but are capable of storing more music – usually up to about 22 minutes on each side – than the 45.
How do record players handle different record speeds?
The main distinguishing feature between a 78, 33 1/3 and 45 record is the size and speed of rotation. The 33 1/3 was the biggest in diameter, the 78 was slightly smaller and the 45 was the smallest by far.
Record players were designed to turn at different speeds and you would simply select the speed based on what record you were playing.
Some record players had a switch where you just selected the speed of revolutions required – 33 1/3, 45 or 78 – whereas other machines had a dial to select the speed.
How do I know where to start my record?
One of the interesting aspects of a record is figuring out how to start playing the song. Some record players came with a manual tonearm where you would physically lift the tonearm and gently place the stylus (needle) at the outer edge of the record to play a song.
Later record players had an auto start feature which when pressed, would automatically lift the tonearm, start the turntable rotating and place the stylus on the record to play the first song.
If you’re doing the process manually however, there are a few things to note.
For a 45 single, it was easy to start the song since there was only 1 song on each side of the record. You just lowered the stylus at the outer part of the record to play the song.
But what if you were listening to a 33 1/3 LP full album and for argument’s sake, wanted to only listen to the 2nd song or the last song on one side of the record? How would you accomplish this?
You had to manually lift the tonearm and gently place the stylus at the start of that particular song to play it. You would look closely at the record and look for a small gap on the grooves at the beginning of the song you wanted to listen to since the gap represents the dead air (i.e. no sound) between the previous song and the one you wanted to listen to.
When you got good at it, you’d hit the exact dead spot and the song would begin playing a second or so later. But if you misjudged it, you might start the song a few seconds late or get the last few seconds of the previous song.
It’s so different than listening to a Compact Disc with a digital reader than automatically skips to the desired song when using the song selection feature!
Summary
The most commonly sold record speeds were the 33 1/3 LP full album record, the 45 single or EP record and the original 78 record album. By the time vinyl records were replaced by the CD, only the 33 1/3 and 45 RPM records were still widely sold. The 78 had died out decades earlier.
If you’d like to learn more about the stylus (needle), check out my article called How Often Should You Replace A Record Player Stylus (Needle) as it will wear out over time!
You may also want to learn a bit more about how vinyl records were traditionally made and how more environmentally friendly records are now being produced as they make a comeback.