Why do 45rpm 12" re-issues sound so good !?

Because they go round faster and have more space for the groove. Man.

Because more vinyl passes under the stylus tip / cutting head per second, which enables the cutting of higher frequencies (which impact on the whole frequency band - read up about 'supertweeters'), and because cutting less music per side than an LP allows the cutting engineer to use more lateral space on the disc, which allows a higher cutting level and more bass end.

The 45RPM packages by Analogue Productions and Music Matters etc are made with super vinyl, the best mastering, total care and attention and at a good pressing plant. I am sure this also contributes to the outstanding sound they produce.

Just imagine how fine 78 vinyl pressings would sound!

Well you don't have to imagine because fresh vinyl pressings are the basis for EMI's re-issues of original 78 recordings where the metal masters still exist, which is almost always!

Arguably the quality of the LP - an obviously compromised medium - never matched the quality of the 78 rpm direct cut system ...

One clear indication of this is that 78s often contained enough difficult tracking for the recording to require significant attenuation of the frequency response and dynamic range for the LP to be able to carry the transfer without significant distortion. Fortunately the CD allows for the full quality of the 78 rpm recording system to be once again appreciated in replay, after the dim fifty or sixty years of the wretched LP!

[Only slightly tongue in cheek!]

ATB from George

Interesting, thanks guys ...

Just like the Redbook CD standard was constrained by computing power, laser/servo pickup technology etc available at the time (and cost of same) and the desire to have a "small" disc, the 33rpm standard was constrained by the desire to have a long recording time on each side of a disc that remained manageable in size. Life is full of compromises.

Question. Are albums the length they are because of the size of LPs, or was the size of LPs driven by the required size for the ideal/average album length?

Here's a lengthy cut-and-paste from Vinylrevival. Have to say, I raised an eyebrow at the part about 'quieter' tracks towards the end of each side, but it seems plausible enough:

The sound quality of vinyl has more to do with the mastering of the vinyl than with the rotational speed of the record. A good mastering engineer can make both a 33 and 45 version of the album sound good. The problem area with a 33 rpm vinyl album is during the second half of a side, as the needle gets closer to the label, there is less land to encode the audio information of the sound, the sound waves get squashed, there is not as much resolution, it gets much more difficult to capture high frequency information without distortion. Lowering the volume of the inner tracks can help them sound better, thus you did tend to find quieter songs as the last songs on the side of an album in the past. Mastering at 45 RPM helps to alleviate this problem, making the second half of the 12″ vinyl side better able to capture audio without having to lower the volume of the songs.

It’s really basic physics, 1/2 way into a 45 RPM side is comparable to the outside of the 33 RPM record in terms of the amount of land available to encode information. 1/2 inch from the label, the end of a 45 RPM side, is comparable to the middle of the 33 RPM side, kind of where the physical limitations of the vinyl format start to become audible as distortion. Thus the beauty of a 45 RPM 12″, you have an entire side of useful land to encode audio without having to worry so much about distortion and the physical limitations of the vinyl medium itself.

quote:

Originally posted by winkyincanada:

Question. Are albums the length they are because of the size of LPs...

Yeah, I guess so.

Conversely, since the arrival of the compact disc, albums have definitely grown in length, of course. However, these last few years, I've possibly noticed a growing trend for shorter albums, often comfortably under 45 minutes. Just been listening to the last Beck album (on cd) and it clocks in at 33m 44s.

quote:

Just been listening to the last Beck album (on cd) and it clocks in at 33m 44s.

Boredom threshold?