Other than the question of speed 45 or 33 for a 12" singles were aimed at the disco market especialy the longer tracks so as they sounded better (wider groves etc) why is it that SOME 12" singles only use 1/2 of the playing surface for one track, what's that all about, defeats the object so to speak.

On a bit of trivia the first 12" single i recolect although it technicaly wasn't a 12" single was a track on the Bob Dylan album Blonde on Blonde the track "Sad eyed Lady of the Lowland" was the whole of one side of a disc on the double disc album, Was this a first or do you know something i don't? Rik

Other than the question of speed 45 or 33 for a 12" singles were aimed at the disco market especialy the longer tracks so as they sounded better (wider groves etc) why is it that SOME 12" singles only use 1/2 of the playing surface for one track, what's that all about, defeats the object so to speak.

Classic example of this is Garfield Flemming - Don't Send Me Away on Beckett.

Total waste of vinyl.

There were loads back when 12s first came out, about 3 inches grooves and the rest run out..................think it was just record companys trying to cash in on the "new" 12inch fad. So they could charge 30% more for the same record that was on 45

Cheers Paul

Classic example of this is Garfield Flemming - Don't Send Me Away on Beckett.

Total waste of vinyl.

What a good example, a lot of the 12" SINGLES of G F came with a built in JUMP so stuck with the 7"

Classic Quality sound, love it

Other than the question of speed 45 or 33 for a 12" singles were aimed at the disco market especialy the longer tracks so as they sounded better (wider groves etc) why is it that SOME 12" singles only use 1/2 of the playing surface for one track, what's that all about, defeats the object so to speak.

I think the 12" format was utilized to enhance the bass parts of the track to give it the 'disco' vibe.

To increase the bass elements, the stylus needs to move a little more from side-to-side and hence the width of the groove increases. Keeping the same space between the grooves, the total physical space needed for the recording is greater, hence the use of the 12" format. The total length of the entire track, if laid out in a straight line, would not be any longer.

Imagine coiling a piece of string around in a (7") spiral, and then increasing the string's girth slightly; the size of the spiral would enlarge, in proportion to the increase in the girth of the string. As the increase wouldn't be anywhere near enough to increase the diameter of the spiral by 171.428 %, it would not fill an entire 12" record.

Edited April 18, 200916 yr by Simon T