A gramophone is ... Definition, features, history and production

Some sophisticated music lovers prefer vinyl discs to CDs. Why? This question should be asked directly to the musical gourmet. But the devices for playing these very records are very entertaining. About gramophone, probably everyone heard, but the word "gramophone" in many causes indignation and absolute misunderstanding. The gramophone is what?

What is a gramophone?

The person speaking about the gramophone usually means the portable version of the gramophone, which got its name due to the French firm "Pathe". It was she who in Soviet times imported these devices into the territory of the Country of Soviets. The apparatus existed in order to play vinyl records. The mobility of this version of the player was ensured by the fact that it was configured as a suitcase with a handle, which makes it possible to carry it without much difficulty.

History of the gramophone

According to historical sources, to automate the music playing tried in the XIth century in ancient Persia - there was a body working at the expense of hydraulic power, invented by the scientists-brothers Banu Musa. After a while, these same brothers invented a mechanical flute capable of making sounds without the participation of a musician. Reliable descriptions of the mechanism of this invention have not survived to this day.

Since then, there have been many attempts to create a device that can produce sounds without the special help of a human hand. The most successful was the attempt of Thomas Edison: in 1877, a phonograph was invented. It was a completely imperfect device, giving a poor quality sound, and the plate on which it was recorded was short-lived.

The sound was recorded on a wax roller with a thin metal needle, which in no way could provide a good reproduction quality. Despite all these shortcomings, this was a real breakthrough. Since then, a huge number of different configurations of the phonograph have appeared, which were successfully used until the thirties of the twentieth century.

The first gramophones were massive and impractical. Due to the lack of volume control, listening to music in small rooms was even dangerous because of the high volume of the sound being played.

The very first gramophone appeared in 1907 thanks to one employee of the factory "Pate", who suggested that the phonograph horn be moved inside the hull, which ensured a small size. In the mass production of portable gramophones started the company DEKKA in 1913.

The word "gramophone" in the territory of the Soviet Union is used incorrectly. It can often be heard that the gramophone is a portable version of the gramophone, but the main problem with this statement is that these devices have different operating principles. Speaking of what people usually think about when the word "gramophone" is spoken, we are really talking about a portable gramophone. The principle of work was taken from the gramophone, and the appearance - at the device, whose name was borrowed.

The large factories that produced this device on the territory of the USSR:

• "Hammer" - in the Vyatka glades.
• Moscow gramophone factory.
• The Leningrad gramophone factory
• Leningrad factory "Gramplasttrest."
• Kolomna gramophone factory.

Over time, phonographs and gramophones began to be replaced by more modern electrophones.

The device of the gramophone

Inside the gramophone is a mechanism with a spring, responsible for the rotation of the substrate for the plates. The sound amplifier was a socket, hidden inside the case. The pickup consisted of a membrane, the vibrations of which transmitted sound, and needles. The membrane was the conductor of sound in the bell. The sound comes out of the hole under the metal head of the pickup. The engine had a centrifugal speed regulator; One plant was enough to play one side of the plate, less often two sides.

How to use the gramophone correctly?

It is important to understand that the gramophone and gramophone are not the same, therefore it is impossible to play the gramophone on the gramophone, as well as vice versa. Plates must always be wiped from dust, because dust interferes with the clear sound of the plates. It is also recommended to replace the needle after each listening, because a blunt needle can leave scratches on the plate, which inevitably leads to a "crack", through which you can learn the vinyl record.

The needle must never be placed perpendicularly to the plate - judges consider that the standard deviation will be 45-50 degrees, but this depends exclusively on the player's model. It is not superfluous that the tone arm moves smoothly - if it is pushed in a folded form, it must succumb and move. Weight tonearm also plays a role in the reproduction, because too heavy element can provide increased pressure on the plate, which distorts the true sound.

So similar, but so different

People often can not tell at once that the gramophone differs from the gramophone. The main difference is in the method of playing records. The gramophone recordings play from the edge to the center, while the gramophone plates are on the contrary - from the center to the edge. There are also differences in the method of recording the records directly.

Average price of a gramophone

How much does the gramophone cost? This is a controversial issue. Currently, the average price can vary depending on a number of different factors: the producer country, the year of production, the state. Internet stores that specialize in these music players can significantly inflate prices, and you can save a lot if you buy similar antique rarities on platforms that offer ads directly from live vendors, with which you can also negotiate a discount.

Buying an old gramophone with all the components can very well hit the budget of the average citizen. The average price for the device is twenty thousand rubles, for the same amount you can dial a variety of music records.

If you want to sell the device, then how much is the gramophone, it will depend only on you, the state of the gramophone and the availability of a solvent buyer, who is eager to purchase a device from you.

Under him we cried, loved and danced ...

In the USSR, the gramophone was an integral part of various activities: it was popular to dance to the music played by the gramophone. It was an indispensable attribute in every house, which was exhibited in a conspicuous place on public display. About this device there is a huge number of poems, songs and books. The story "How the gramophone of the cock from death saved" comes to mind . In each work he takes a special role.

The gramophone is a device that was universally used at the beginning of the twentieth century, and now it arouses the trepidation of the junkies. And despite the fact that time goes by, the technology is becoming obsolete, the older generation will remember with special love those times when they started a disc at the local house of culture, danced, fell in love and amused themselves to the sound of the music of the gramophone.