Origin of Vinyl Records and the Turntable
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Origin of Vinyl Records and the Turntable

Even though vinyl records now serve as a nostalgic piece of history, it originated in the late 19th century. The act and or concept of recording sound all came about with the invention of the phonograph by Thomas Edison in 1877. This device used a rotating cylinder wrapped in tinfoil to capture and then reproduce sound. At this time people went crazy for it. 

Just look at silly little Thomas, with his cute little sound invention. 


Then we later see it evolved into looking like this: 


Emile Berliner revolutionized Thomas Edison’s invention into a flat disc format in the late 1880s. It is known as the gramophone record. It featured sound information engraved in a spiral groove on a flat disc surface. The sound then came out from the top, and was pretty loud for the time it was invented. 

Isn’t it just beautiful? It’s what we see in every old movie. This made you feel nostalgic huh? Maybe a little old? Yeah, I feel you. 


Now we can move on to the early 20th century.  Shellac was the primary material for making records, which was not very durable. Then in the mid-20th century, vinyls started to boom and became the dominant format. It was more durable, had longer playback times, and better sound quality. Obviously, just better overall. But we all knew that already. 

By the 1950s vinyl took over. It started to experience a golden age, where it highlighted the heyday of rock and roll, jazz, and other popular music genres. However, we can see this golden age start to emerge again in recent years. It has brought collectors warmth, nostalgia, and a tangible connection to music history. I know you're one of these people because so am I, but no one needs to know that lol. Vinyl record history is pretty cool right! Maybe a little boring, but cool right! Right? Dont’t answer that. We all know vinyl records are beautiful lol, and it’ll just keep growing and evolving!

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