Styrene questions

chas_kit

chas_kit

G45 Legend
Joined
Apr 25, 2011
Location
Hudson Valley, NY
I've come across some styrene 45s that are scratched and scuffed but play just fine. There must be different formulations of styrene, some more durable?

I'd be curious to note the different styrene plants and if anyone feels one plant manufactured better styrene 45s than the others.

Monarch in Los Angeles
PRC Recording Co., Richmond, Indiana
Bestway Products in Mountainside, New Jersey (Bell records)
Shelley in Huntington Station, New York

what others am I missing?

Also if anyone knows of video of styrene records being manufactured.
 
Columbia plants in New York (New Jersey location), Indianapolis and Santa Maria, CA.
Generally it depended on the quality of the vinyl pellets used for injection moulding. Recycled vinyl = lesser quality.
 
Maybe some plants had different formulas for the styrene. Monarchs are typically fragile in my experience, while the Original Sinners on Discotech, for example, plays well despite plenty of wear.
 
I can't help it - I have to praise styrene at every opportunity. I like it considerably better than vinyl. There is less surface noise, and less low frequency rumble - vinyl has a distinct resonance that muddies the sound. Styrene does not deteriorate chemically (at least in the first 50 years). Some vinyl does, particularly colored vinyl. Styrene does not go cloudy with age or when stored in the wrong type of sleeve (at least in my experience). Styrene generally does not attract or grow mold. If any mold does appear it is very easy to remove, it does not eat the playing surface. There is no such thing as "recycled styrene" with bits of paper embedded into it. About half my vinyl 45s are recycled to some degree, and mold can eat the recycled paper particles unless you store the discs at low humidity. I don't seem to have any warped styrene records. Coincidence?

Styrene is a beautiful material, and if all my records were styrene I would be more than happy. The only downside is if the styrene record has been mistreated, such as being played with a heavy or worn stylus, or scuffed, or polished roughly with a cloth. For some strange reason, very many styrene 45s have a small dent on the edge of the label on each side, even when the record is otherwise mint.

I don't know for sure, but I think it's probable that differences in styrene quality or surface noise may be due to the fact that some were played with 25lb tonearms, and some weren't?
 
Did Columbia in Santa Maria manufacture styrene records? I read somewhere that plant was vinyl-only.

Styrene does play without the surface noise most vinyl has.

I haven't heard of styrene being recycled for records, like vinyl commonly was.

I definitely have come across different types of styrene, some more brittle than others, so there must be variations in chemical composition. Certain styrene 45s are more resistant to wear than others. That's what I'm trying to pin down.
 
Styrene injection molded records were considered inferior to vinyl pressings.
RCA tested both styrene and vinyl manufactured discs; they rejected styrene outright in the mid 1950s.
Columbia, in a cost saving decision to compete with RCA selected styrene, despite the observations that:
Styrene discs wore out quickly,
Were easily damaged via playback (diamond stylus / needles were not the norm, heavier sapphire needles were most common in the average consumers' record players).
Suffered cue burn and groove distortion with repeated playback
Radio stations led the vinyl charge due to styrene imperfections, that is why Columbia pressed promotional copies on vinyl in several instances, whereas the stock / consumer copy was the cheaper option. Management at the time gambled that a consumer would buy a second copy of a 45 if the first copy wore out (I read that in an industry mag, cant recall the title).
1960s era Mercury / Smash / Phillips label pressings done at Richmond are often distorted and noisy, due to the low grade quality of the pellets

Santa Maria pressed styrene discs, for example, the Something Wild 45 was done there. Saw the paperwork for the pressing.
And, yes, styrene discs can warp. I have a few garage 45s that are warped, but unlike vinyl pressings, unwarping a styrene disc is nearly impossible with current day methods.
 
I've bought some collections that contained warped styrene discs as MT said. It seems to take a much higher temperature to warp them, however. I has a small box of 45s I brought down to Los Angels one time, and the box ended up getting very hot. There were four vinyl pressings and one styrene 45. All the vinyl was melted, but the styrene was fine. One odd problem I find with styrene discs is sometimes they can play fine for, maybe, half the recording, then the second half the sound very groove worn; or visa versa. I wonder if that is from a molding issue in the process?
 
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