Vinyl 101

Arts Library, UCSB

CARE AND HANDLING

Please handle records with care! Many in our collection are irreplaceable, and they are easily damaged by scratches, fingerprints, and dust. Do not touch the record surface; handle the record only by its edges and, if necessary, use the center label area for support. Dust particles on the surface can cause permanent damage by being ground into the groove as the record plays. If you see dust on the surface, please use a preener (ask for one at the Music Service Desk) to remove the particles by gently wiping in the direction of the groove. We will be happy to do this for you.

TO PLAY

1. Lift the cover of the turntable.

2. Carefully remove the record from its sleeve and place it on the turntable, centering it on the spindle with the side you wish to play facing upwards.

3. Turn the turntable power knob to "on" and press the start button. (You should already have turned on the listening room power switch and the amplifier, and pressed the amplifier "phon" button.) The record will begin to rotate.

4. Lift the tone arm from its cradle, and then gently lower it until the stylus contacts the beginning of the desired band on the rotating record surface. If the tone arm does not lower all the way, use the lever beside the tone arm cradle. Never push or slide the tone arm across the record while the stylus is in contact! This will seriously damage both the stylus and the record.

5. When playing concludes, carefully raise the tone arm off the record and return it to its cradle, again using the lever if necessary.

Please ask at the Music Service Desk if you have any questions.

GLOSSARY

Band

Analogous to a track on a CD. On the record surface, a space visibly separates one band from the next. Each band holds one musical work, or one movement or section of it.

Groove

The spiral track inscribed on the record. A stylus tracks through the groove as the record plays, and the groove patterns are converted to electrical signals and amplified to produce musical sounds.

LP

Short for "long-playing," LP is another name for 12-inch vinyl records, which rotate at 33 1/3 rpm (revolutions per minute) while playing. From the 1920s up to the introduction of the commercial LP in 1948, 78-rpm records (made from shellac rather than vinyl) were standard; since they rotate much faster, their playing time is much shorter. LPs, unlike CDs, are playable on both sides of the disk.

Preener

A soft brush used to gently wipe dust particles from the record surface.

Stylus

The needle in the cartridge on the tone arm that travels through the groove of the record as it plays. The groove patterns are converted to electrical signals and amplified to produce musical sounds.

Tone arm

The pivoting device on the turntable that holds the stylus and moves toward the center of the record as it plays.

Turntable

The circular surface, or platter, on which the record rotates as it plays. Also the name for the entire playback machine.