Big holes in the middle of 45 rpm records

All the old record players, stereograms etc used to be able to take a stack of records. Used to watch transfixed as one record finished, the arm went back to the home position, another one dropped and the arm went back to the record...rinse...repeat.

 

These suckers were more or less permanent. Taking them out would damage the record.

 

Yep. I don't recall seeing many of the pyramid-shaped ones though. Our player came with both types. Ron

 

Sure makes you feel old to see "new" info you already knew over 50 years ago.

 

That hole is large due to the RCA Victor 45 RPM changer design, which launched with the 45 RPM system in 1949. Code named Madame X in development.

 

Oh man, I hate running across a box of singles with those things in there. They are tricky to remove.

 

My Dual adapter looks like that flat Garrard.

My first "serious" record player (the first stereo one, at least) was a Motorola suitcase style beast that had a round adapter that fit over the spindle.

I also have a Webcor that came with a box of the metal adapters. I put one in a record and actually broke the record trying to get it out. I guess they were meant to be permanent.

 

Have you seen the movie American Pie?

 

I have found those metal inserts easier to install and remove than the plastic ones. It did take a little practice to get used to it...takes two hands to remove. Push up with one hand and pull out, while pushing down the other side of the insert with the other hand. Simple. I like the way the metals ones look better than the yellow ones, but its subjective.

By the way, I just found a nice tweak for playing 45s, which are sometimes much thinner than LPs. Just used a standard Herbies audio mat when playing 45s. It raises the VTA to about be in-line with the VTA settings for LPs. So far, I find my 45s sound much better owing to getting the VTA right. I much prefer using a mat rather than dealing with changing VTA settings.

 

That's a good idea!

 

*cringe* That is so bad for the vinyl...

 

Yeah? When I was a kid I put my 45s on my HANDLEBARS when I took them over to a friends on my bike. Record sleeves? Those got torn up pretty quick. Face it records faced abuse without considering the bloody turntable. My first stereo had a 5" hard plastic turntable. My records were a scratched skippy horror show. And a quarter on the tone arm. Ever wonder why some records are sick expensive to buy in decent shape from the 50s-60s? Attrition. Millions sold, millions worn and abused.
How I treated records didn't change until I was sixteen and got my first stereo.

 

I always assumed it had to do with jukeboxes. Probably hard to manufacture a jukebox capable of getting a record on to a LP-sized spindle every three minutes.

 

Yep, I remember those all too well. We used to refer to them as "dinks". Maybe that was regional. Anyway, I was always sure that someday I would crack a record trying to get these wretched things in place. Never did though. Now I kind of miss the nostalgia of it. Nice to see one of 'em again.

 

Why can't new record manufacturers get the hole in the CENTER of both sides of the lp as reliably as Germany and Japan used to do?

 

Can't you see there's more than one record there? It's "vinyls"!! Sheesh!

 

Oh now you've done it- Steve is going to come down on you so hard!

 

In The Netherlands we mostly had big holes on singles.

 

I was under the impression that most of Europe used the larger holes (it probably varied between countries/pressing plants). We used to refer to those larger holes as 'continental centres' in Britain.

 

Why were a lot of the UK's pressed with what look like 'knock out' centers?

 

Like this, right?