Standard Play Records and Other Vinyl Record Formats

Standard Play Records (78s)

Standard play records aren’t standard anymore. In fact, standard play records technically aren’t even “vinyl” records. Most commonly referred to as 78s because of their play-speed of 78 rotations per minute, standard play records were the first mass produced format of analogue recording and were actually made of shellac rather than vinyl. These albums held about 5 minutes of music per side and were 10 inches in diameter.

You can still find 78s at garage sales and thrift shops but they are not manufactured anymore – for good reason. 78s have a tendency to break easily and have infamously poor sound quality/surface noise. The majority of vinyl record players and turntables made in the last 40 years do not play 78s and you need a special stylus to play them because of the larger-than-usual grooves.

Other Vinyl Record Formats

• 12″ (30 cm) 45 rpm 12″ (30 cm) EP single, Maxi Single and EP format
• 10″ (25 cm) 33⅓ rpm LP format
• 10″ (25 cm) 45 rpm EP format
• 7″ (17.5 cm) 33⅓ rpm EP format
• Picture discs and shaped discs at 12″ (30 cm), 10″ (25 cm) or 7″ (17.5 cm)
• Specialty sizes, such as 5″ (12 cm), 6″ (15 cm), 8″ (20 cm), 9″ (23 cm), 11″ 28 cm), or even 13″ (33   cm)
• Flexidiscs, often square 7″s (17.5 cm)