Intro: In this project Maia and I will be building a simple recored player and researching the way recored players work and sound the way works. We will be experimenting with different materials and seeing which produces the best sound.
The Process: First we started with making the needle and the cone, we used a sewing needle and a piece of paper at first. We taped the needle to the opening of the paper cone stared. We started out by placing a Barbara Streisand record on the pencil and holding it up with our hands then spinning the record. That did not work very well because the pencil would move a little which caused the needle to skip the rings on the record so you could hardly make out any music because the static was so loud. But even that sound made us extremely exited. I knew that we would have to come up with alternative system for the 'turn table'. Maia remembered that Mike Strong had a turn table in his classroom so we asked him if we could use it. Once we explained what we were trying to do to him he seemed to get exited he said that he knew just what we could use for a turn table he, he got out a potters wheel. And drilled a whole in the middle of the post on the potters wheel then he placed the record over the hole and skewed it in. When he turned it on the record spun a little crooked and there was a lot of background noise but it worked a lot better then just slinging it with our hands. It was so cool and a really crazy and inventive idea. The next day we wanted to make some more little adjustments. We changed the cone instead of using printer paper we used a card stock tray that I found and Maia formed it into a cone shape using duct tape. I figured that this change would gel with the static because it was thicker and would decrease the vibrations and static that our hands would make. It was really fun to play with. It felt like we were communicating with spirits because it sounded so distorted. Next we had the idea to unscrew the record and figure out way it the recored spun so weird. We found that the plastic pegs that we had placed to raise up the record were sling on top of each other making it uneven we taped those two pieces together then taped that peg onto the base of the potters wheel. That worked much better. We also started experimenting with attaching the cone to things so we would not have to hold it, but that didn't really work out.
The way a actual vinyl recored is made is, lacquer is coated in a metal, such as silver or nickel, to produce a metal master. When the metal master is separated from the lacquer, the resulting disc has ridges instead of grooves. The metal master is then used to create a metal record, also called the mother, which is then used to form the stamper. Stampers are just negative versions of the original recording that will be used to make the actual vinyl records.
Next, the stamper is placed in a hydraulic press. Steam from the press softens the plastic as the stampers push an impression of the master recording onto it. Finally, the disc is stiffened using cool water.
The needle one of the most important parts of the record player. It is made from a diamond or other hard material, shaped like a cone and suspended by a flexible strip of metal. Maybe thats why our record did not work that well because the needle was not flexibly enough. The pointed end is the only piece that touches the top of the record and it rides around the spiraling grooves of the disk, picking up the vibrations recored negatively on the record which are reversed and turned back into sound waves that travel through the phonograph cone.With the needle or stylus placed in the outermost groove of the record, the tone arm follows the groove as it spirals inward, traveling across the record in an arc as the record spins beneath it. As this happens, the vibrations travel along the needle and is amplified through cone.
Looking Back:
With more time I think that we could have made it much better. The process was very unique because it was kind of unexpected that we were going to end up using a potters wheel to create the record play. I think this a unique way to make one that has never been done before. Im so glad we talked to Mike about it. I wish kind of wish that I had researched more before we started this project because I feel we could have made it better if we knew exactly how they worked. I am still very happy with the way it turned out. I have always wanted a recored and they have always fascinated me so it was fun to get a deeper understanding of the way they work.
The Process: First we started with making the needle and the cone, we used a sewing needle and a piece of paper at first. We taped the needle to the opening of the paper cone stared. We started out by placing a Barbara Streisand record on the pencil and holding it up with our hands then spinning the record. That did not work very well because the pencil would move a little which caused the needle to skip the rings on the record so you could hardly make out any music because the static was so loud. But even that sound made us extremely exited. I knew that we would have to come up with alternative system for the 'turn table'. Maia remembered that Mike Strong had a turn table in his classroom so we asked him if we could use it. Once we explained what we were trying to do to him he seemed to get exited he said that he knew just what we could use for a turn table he, he got out a potters wheel. And drilled a whole in the middle of the post on the potters wheel then he placed the record over the hole and skewed it in. When he turned it on the record spun a little crooked and there was a lot of background noise but it worked a lot better then just slinging it with our hands. It was so cool and a really crazy and inventive idea. The next day we wanted to make some more little adjustments. We changed the cone instead of using printer paper we used a card stock tray that I found and Maia formed it into a cone shape using duct tape. I figured that this change would gel with the static because it was thicker and would decrease the vibrations and static that our hands would make. It was really fun to play with. It felt like we were communicating with spirits because it sounded so distorted. Next we had the idea to unscrew the record and figure out way it the recored spun so weird. We found that the plastic pegs that we had placed to raise up the record were sling on top of each other making it uneven we taped those two pieces together then taped that peg onto the base of the potters wheel. That worked much better. We also started experimenting with attaching the cone to things so we would not have to hold it, but that didn't really work out.
The way a actual vinyl recored is made is, lacquer is coated in a metal, such as silver or nickel, to produce a metal master. When the metal master is separated from the lacquer, the resulting disc has ridges instead of grooves. The metal master is then used to create a metal record, also called the mother, which is then used to form the stamper. Stampers are just negative versions of the original recording that will be used to make the actual vinyl records.
Next, the stamper is placed in a hydraulic press. Steam from the press softens the plastic as the stampers push an impression of the master recording onto it. Finally, the disc is stiffened using cool water.
The needle one of the most important parts of the record player. It is made from a diamond or other hard material, shaped like a cone and suspended by a flexible strip of metal. Maybe thats why our record did not work that well because the needle was not flexibly enough. The pointed end is the only piece that touches the top of the record and it rides around the spiraling grooves of the disk, picking up the vibrations recored negatively on the record which are reversed and turned back into sound waves that travel through the phonograph cone.With the needle or stylus placed in the outermost groove of the record, the tone arm follows the groove as it spirals inward, traveling across the record in an arc as the record spins beneath it. As this happens, the vibrations travel along the needle and is amplified through cone.
Looking Back:
With more time I think that we could have made it much better. The process was very unique because it was kind of unexpected that we were going to end up using a potters wheel to create the record play. I think this a unique way to make one that has never been done before. Im so glad we talked to Mike about it. I wish kind of wish that I had researched more before we started this project because I feel we could have made it better if we knew exactly how they worked. I am still very happy with the way it turned out. I have always wanted a recored and they have always fascinated me so it was fun to get a deeper understanding of the way they work.