The difference between 33, 45, and 78 RPM?
This is a bit embarrassing, please bear with me because I know nothing about this stuff. I want to buy an old vintage record player and a bunch of records, but I'm looking on ebay and it states whether the records are 33 or 45 or 78 RPM. I have no idea what this means, and how do I know which are compatible with a record player? Are they all compatible? Is one of the RPM better than another? Please help me out, thanks!!
Those numbers refer to how many revolutions the turntable should make per minute to play the record properly. There should be some indication on the record player what speeds it can play at. Playing a record at the wrong speed would make it sound funny, like the Voice of God or the Chipmunks. I think older records were done at 78, and singles were at 45 and later albums were at 33. The 78s might sound a bit rough just because they were made at a time when recording technology was less advanced, but that doesn’t mean they are bad records.