Flexible discs - universal media that is back from the past
5-7 years ago, the idea of buying or producing a vinyl record seemed completely out of place. Anyway, today vinyl can be easily found on the shelves of specialized stores, and buying records , a player or other accessories on the topic is taken for granted. Contrary to popular belief about the decline of the era of vinyl, sales of records are growing. A fresh example for the USA - out of 10 new albums sold on physical media last year, one - was on vinyl.
On the other hand, flexible records well known in the Soviet Union, at first glance, ceased to exist more than 15 years ago. Then the company Evatone - a pioneer of the mass market of flexible plates - stopped the production of a once very popular product. However, enthusiasts still use this medium.
For example, the Australian rock band Tame Impala last fall released a collectible version of their album on a flexible record; label Joyful Noise has released a whole line of albums; and Third Man Records sells headphones with flexible discs.
We offer to learn a little about the history of the carrier and its possible "revival".
Piotrm00 / PD Photo
Flexible plates can be both unilateral and bilateral. They are made in different colors - there are blue, white, green, yellow or completely transparent specimens. The production process of a flexible plate is similar to the manufacture of traditional vinyl. In the case of a flexible plate, it is a thin flexible sheet of PVC film. In the process of stamping the sheet is cut to the final size and acquires the usual form of the plate.
A significant advantage (but also a problem) of flexible plates is their weight. It is from 4.5 to 6.5 grams, which is many times lighter than classic vinyl (especially shellac records). Due to this, the plate may cease to rotate under the weight of the needle of the player. Therefore, flexible plates are sometimes placed on top of regular vinyl to prevent “chewing”.
Another important difference between the two formats is the sound quality. Flexible plates can produce much more noise, the nature of which is microscopic cracks on the surface of the carrier. It all depends on the quality of production.
There were no official channels for acquaintance with rock-and-roll from Soviet citizens, therefore, by analogy with samizdat, an underground market of records appeared in the country. The role of the unique carrier was taken by X-rays , which ensured the popularity of the so-called “music on the ribs” - the photographs showed the chest cells and the patients' skulls.
Photo by Dmitry Rozhkov / CC BY-SA
At its core, “music on the ribs” is the first case of a mass agiotage around the format of a flexible plate. Of course, in such a performance, the sound quality of such carriers was quite low, but later the carrier was supported by the All-Union Recording Studio “Melody” - from 1964 in the USSR, the monthly magazine “Krugozor” began to appear.
Supplement to it were flexible records with songs of Soviet pop stars and recordings of programs. In 1968, a children's addition to the "Horizon" - "Kolobok" appeared, each number of which was also accompanied by flexible records with fairy tales and music.
The magazine was popular - new numbers quickly bought up and became a scarce commodity. It was decided to abandon the release of records only in 1992. In the same year, "Gingerbread Man" ceased to exist.
The first mass production of flexible records appeared in the 1950s in the UK. The quality of these carriers was very low. The carrier was able to move to a new level when Evatone managed to create a more sophisticated product from a technical point of view and launched its mass production in 1962. The technology was based on the developments of the company's founder, Evan Evans, and his son. They constructed press equipment that was capable of producing thousands of copies per hour.
The patented product is called "Evatone Soundsheet". In its production polyvinyl chloride was used. The cost price of flexible plates was much lower than the standard ones, and thanks to their flexibility and ease, they were easier to store and transport.
Despite all the shortcomings, they were more convenient than shellac disks and quickly found their place as bonus materials, for example for magazines. The popularity of the format allowed Evatone to expand from a dozen employees (1960) to more than two hundred by 1982.
Photo by Jonathan Lin / CC BY-SA
A significant contribution to the popularization of the format was made by the Beatles Christmas albums. The limited edition of the discs contained unique recordings and audio messages from musicians to their admirers. The tradition continued from 1963 to 1969, and more recently, in December 2017, Apple Corps Limited released a themed box set.
It is believed that a partial transition to flexible media contributed to the success of David Bowie’s legendary album “The Rise of Falls and the Spiders of Mars” in 1972. Under the conditions of high demand, music label RCA Records was worried about the lack of vinyl and the possibility of timely delivery of the required number of copies to stores. In this situation, it was decided to use the format of flexible plates, which the label itself proposed in 1969, it was called Dynaflex .
The ABBA group also used this format in the late 70s - for live recordings of one of their tours. They came out in limited editions and relied as a gift to children participating in the distribution of books and magazines of the publishing house Jultidningsförlaget. At the same time, the British band The Human League released the disc “Flexi Disc” with the single “Dignity of Labor”, which, as the name implies, was created specifically for flexible media.
In the 60s, 70s, and 80s, publishers and magazines used this medium to distribute promotions and bonus materials. In the early 1960s, the Japanese comic book publisher Asahi Sonorama published a magazine, with an annex to which was the so-called “Sonosheet”. Individual copies are now sold on eBay for $ 40 apiece.
In the 80s several magazines were published at once, distributing flexible records as a promo for new artists. One of them was Keyboard Magazine . Flexipop , a journal that worked until 1983, served as another prominent representative of the era.
One of the typical stories of the 80s is a McDonald's contest using records and a remake of the track “Life Is a Rock”. The company distributed 80 million records on which the choir read the McDonald's menu to the melody of the original composition.
All the records, except for one, contained unsuccessful attempts by the performers - they could not repeat the entire list of dishes without getting lost (this was how it sounded ). According to the rules of the competition, the owner of a single disc with a successful attempt was relied on $ 1 million (and he received it).
Another use of flexible records - voice cards . This approach was even used in the presidential campaign of Richard Nixon. More than a million politician speeches were sent to voters in key states. Now the similarity of audio cards for various purposes offers the company Pirates Press.
The carrier found himself in the educational and humanitarian spheres. Evatone and the publication Talking Books began to produce multimedia materials on flexible records for visually impaired people in the late 60s. The customer was the Library of Congress.
She distributed thousands of copies to 40 magazines. This collaboration lasted until the cessation of the mass production of flexible plates. By the end of the 80s, the Library was one of the largest customers for Evatone.
Flexible records were also used to record the sounds of nature. The National Geographic Society of the United States has released a collection of records with sounds made by birds. On the carrier you can hear jay singing, the nightingale whistle and the sounds of dozens of other species of birds.
In 1979, National Geographic distributed a record of the song of the humpback whales made by scientist Roger Payne with a magazine. Now these records can be found at various online auctions. At one time, the recording told the world about the plight of the whales and helped in the fight against illegal whaling.
Photo Staffan Vilcans / CC BY-SA
One of the most amazing applications of technology has been the distribution of computer programs. The first patents for the use of flexible plates as a carrier for games and software were issued in the early 1970s.
Since the mid-70s, magazines for gamers have included applications for the ZX Spectrum, Commodore 64, and other microcomputers. These applications were recorded in Floppy-ROM format. The data from the plate was transmitted using an intermediate recording on an audio cassette (read about the ZX Spectrum on the GT here ).
So, vinyl is experiencing a rebirth . The same can be said about flexible records. In 2010, Pirates Press built its own production of these carriers. They make records by order of independent labels and major artists, including Foo Fighters and Jack White.
According to Eric Mueller, founder of the company, traditional vinyl records are rising in price, and it would not occur to anyone to use them for promotions, and flexible records still remain, if not the most, but rather cheap carrier. Musicians use it for marketing purposes, offering individual tracks to listen to.
The recent launch of the production of flexible records by PizzaDischi, an independent record company from Italy, in collaboration with European Slimer Records, speaks in favor of the fact that the format has not become obsolete.
Obviously, the format has a listener - on eBay, Amazon, and other online platforms, hundreds of flexible records are sold. More importantly for the future carrier, he has an interested party who is ready to support his existence.
It's about novice performers. The release of the album on a physical medium requires funds, but at the same time helps the artists to draw the attention of friends and the near circle of acquaintances to their work. Music blog author Derren Robbins (Darren Robbins) claims that releasing 1000 bilateral flexible records costs about $ 1,250. To solve this problem, the musicians even collect money for Kickstarter.
Given the interest in the format from both listeners and authors and producers, as well as compatibility with turntables for vinyl, flexible records have every chance of a “partial” revival in the form of an interesting addition to thematic publications and a physical medium that allows you to get acquainted with creativity new performers.
PS Some more historical and thematic materials from our “ Hi-Fi World ”:
On these days, Audiomania is conducting CyberNebel . It will last until January 31 inclusive. More than 400 products with fair discounts up to 50% participate in the sale.
On the other hand, flexible records well known in the Soviet Union, at first glance, ceased to exist more than 15 years ago. Then the company Evatone - a pioneer of the mass market of flexible plates - stopped the production of a once very popular product. However, enthusiasts still use this medium.
For example, the Australian rock band Tame Impala last fall released a collectible version of their album on a flexible record; label Joyful Noise has released a whole line of albums; and Third Man Records sells headphones with flexible discs.
We offer to learn a little about the history of the carrier and its possible "revival".
Piotrm00 / PD Photo
Flexible plates can be both unilateral and bilateral. They are made in different colors - there are blue, white, green, yellow or completely transparent specimens. The production process of a flexible plate is similar to the manufacture of traditional vinyl. In the case of a flexible plate, it is a thin flexible sheet of PVC film. In the process of stamping the sheet is cut to the final size and acquires the usual form of the plate.
A significant advantage (but also a problem) of flexible plates is their weight. It is from 4.5 to 6.5 grams, which is many times lighter than classic vinyl (especially shellac records). Due to this, the plate may cease to rotate under the weight of the needle of the player. Therefore, flexible plates are sometimes placed on top of regular vinyl to prevent “chewing”.
Another important difference between the two formats is the sound quality. Flexible plates can produce much more noise, the nature of which is microscopic cracks on the surface of the carrier. It all depends on the quality of production.
Soviet Union: “music on the ribs” and “horizon”
There were no official channels for acquaintance with rock-and-roll from Soviet citizens, therefore, by analogy with samizdat, an underground market of records appeared in the country. The role of the unique carrier was taken by X-rays , which ensured the popularity of the so-called “music on the ribs” - the photographs showed the chest cells and the patients' skulls.
Photo by Dmitry Rozhkov / CC BY-SA
At its core, “music on the ribs” is the first case of a mass agiotage around the format of a flexible plate. Of course, in such a performance, the sound quality of such carriers was quite low, but later the carrier was supported by the All-Union Recording Studio “Melody” - from 1964 in the USSR, the monthly magazine “Krugozor” began to appear.
Supplement to it were flexible records with songs of Soviet pop stars and recordings of programs. In 1968, a children's addition to the "Horizon" - "Kolobok" appeared, each number of which was also accompanied by flexible records with fairy tales and music.
The magazine was popular - new numbers quickly bought up and became a scarce commodity. It was decided to abandon the release of records only in 1992. In the same year, "Gingerbread Man" ceased to exist.
Flexible plates abroad
The first mass production of flexible records appeared in the 1950s in the UK. The quality of these carriers was very low. The carrier was able to move to a new level when Evatone managed to create a more sophisticated product from a technical point of view and launched its mass production in 1962. The technology was based on the developments of the company's founder, Evan Evans, and his son. They constructed press equipment that was capable of producing thousands of copies per hour.
The patented product is called "Evatone Soundsheet". In its production polyvinyl chloride was used. The cost price of flexible plates was much lower than the standard ones, and thanks to their flexibility and ease, they were easier to store and transport.
Despite all the shortcomings, they were more convenient than shellac disks and quickly found their place as bonus materials, for example for magazines. The popularity of the format allowed Evatone to expand from a dozen employees (1960) to more than two hundred by 1982.
Photo by Jonathan Lin / CC BY-SA
A significant contribution to the popularization of the format was made by the Beatles Christmas albums. The limited edition of the discs contained unique recordings and audio messages from musicians to their admirers. The tradition continued from 1963 to 1969, and more recently, in December 2017, Apple Corps Limited released a themed box set.
It is believed that a partial transition to flexible media contributed to the success of David Bowie’s legendary album “The Rise of Falls and the Spiders of Mars” in 1972. Under the conditions of high demand, music label RCA Records was worried about the lack of vinyl and the possibility of timely delivery of the required number of copies to stores. In this situation, it was decided to use the format of flexible plates, which the label itself proposed in 1969, it was called Dynaflex .
The ABBA group also used this format in the late 70s - for live recordings of one of their tours. They came out in limited editions and relied as a gift to children participating in the distribution of books and magazines of the publishing house Jultidningsförlaget. At the same time, the British band The Human League released the disc “Flexi Disc” with the single “Dignity of Labor”, which, as the name implies, was created specifically for flexible media.
In the 60s, 70s, and 80s, publishers and magazines used this medium to distribute promotions and bonus materials. In the early 1960s, the Japanese comic book publisher Asahi Sonorama published a magazine, with an annex to which was the so-called “Sonosheet”. Individual copies are now sold on eBay for $ 40 apiece.
In the 80s several magazines were published at once, distributing flexible records as a promo for new artists. One of them was Keyboard Magazine . Flexipop , a journal that worked until 1983, served as another prominent representative of the era.
Not just for music
One of the typical stories of the 80s is a McDonald's contest using records and a remake of the track “Life Is a Rock”. The company distributed 80 million records on which the choir read the McDonald's menu to the melody of the original composition.
All the records, except for one, contained unsuccessful attempts by the performers - they could not repeat the entire list of dishes without getting lost (this was how it sounded ). According to the rules of the competition, the owner of a single disc with a successful attempt was relied on $ 1 million (and he received it).
Another use of flexible records - voice cards . This approach was even used in the presidential campaign of Richard Nixon. More than a million politician speeches were sent to voters in key states. Now the similarity of audio cards for various purposes offers the company Pirates Press.
The carrier found himself in the educational and humanitarian spheres. Evatone and the publication Talking Books began to produce multimedia materials on flexible records for visually impaired people in the late 60s. The customer was the Library of Congress.
She distributed thousands of copies to 40 magazines. This collaboration lasted until the cessation of the mass production of flexible plates. By the end of the 80s, the Library was one of the largest customers for Evatone.
Flexible records were also used to record the sounds of nature. The National Geographic Society of the United States has released a collection of records with sounds made by birds. On the carrier you can hear jay singing, the nightingale whistle and the sounds of dozens of other species of birds.
In 1979, National Geographic distributed a record of the song of the humpback whales made by scientist Roger Payne with a magazine. Now these records can be found at various online auctions. At one time, the recording told the world about the plight of the whales and helped in the fight against illegal whaling.
Photo Staffan Vilcans / CC BY-SAOne of the most amazing applications of technology has been the distribution of computer programs. The first patents for the use of flexible plates as a carrier for games and software were issued in the early 1970s.
Since the mid-70s, magazines for gamers have included applications for the ZX Spectrum, Commodore 64, and other microcomputers. These applications were recorded in Floppy-ROM format. The data from the plate was transmitted using an intermediate recording on an audio cassette (read about the ZX Spectrum on the GT here ).
Present and future
So, vinyl is experiencing a rebirth . The same can be said about flexible records. In 2010, Pirates Press built its own production of these carriers. They make records by order of independent labels and major artists, including Foo Fighters and Jack White.
According to Eric Mueller, founder of the company, traditional vinyl records are rising in price, and it would not occur to anyone to use them for promotions, and flexible records still remain, if not the most, but rather cheap carrier. Musicians use it for marketing purposes, offering individual tracks to listen to.
The recent launch of the production of flexible records by PizzaDischi, an independent record company from Italy, in collaboration with European Slimer Records, speaks in favor of the fact that the format has not become obsolete.
Obviously, the format has a listener - on eBay, Amazon, and other online platforms, hundreds of flexible records are sold. More importantly for the future carrier, he has an interested party who is ready to support his existence.
It's about novice performers. The release of the album on a physical medium requires funds, but at the same time helps the artists to draw the attention of friends and the near circle of acquaintances to their work. Music blog author Derren Robbins (Darren Robbins) claims that releasing 1000 bilateral flexible records costs about $ 1,250. To solve this problem, the musicians even collect money for Kickstarter.
Given the interest in the format from both listeners and authors and producers, as well as compatibility with turntables for vinyl, flexible records have every chance of a “partial” revival in the form of an interesting addition to thematic publications and a physical medium that allows you to get acquainted with creativity new performers.
PS Some more historical and thematic materials from our “ Hi-Fi World ”:
- 100 questions about vinyl: where to begin acquaintance with this topic
- Customize the turntable
- Vinyl: New is well forgotten old
- Soviet legend: the history of the plant "Radiotekhnika"
- "How rock and roll sounded": the story of the brand Marshall
On these days, Audiomania is conducting CyberNebel . It will last until January 31 inclusive. More than 400 products with fair discounts up to 50% participate in the sale.
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/409723/