Max length of a 45

Hi All,
I was wondering--what is the most amount of content time that can be placed on a 45 rpm record?
I know the Beatles "Hey Jude" runs 7 minutes 11 seconds-- Thanks, Ron Rich

Yes==please--but note if an EP--Thanks, Ron

I have an A&M 45 from the 80's that is close to 9 min on the B side.
It's a live track and sounds kinda 'weak'.
Sorry I can't remember the name of the band at the moment.
It'll come to me in the middle of the night now, watch.

I just had a 45 record made. Sound quality is fine up to 6 minutes. Anything over 6 minutes, the quality deteriorates and the presses that exist today generally won't handle them. it's 4:30 for 45 rpm and 6:00 for 33 & 1/3. these are general lengths (times) where quality becomes an issue.

Also, vinyl records cost lots of money to make!!!!

Thanks for the info ! We settled on a 9.4 minute "time out feature" on the new, Replacement, "Seeburg MCU". This seems to work very well--Ron Rich

The problem is not the record presses. It is the playback stylus. The playing time is not the problem, because a recording with very little low frequency content can have a longer playing time by cutting the grooves closer together. The problem is the distance from the record spindle. A 45 can be cut closer to the spindle without losing high frequency response because of the higher rotation speed.

I have two 45 rpm records that are 4" in diameter and are recorded to a diameter of 2.75". The high frequencies are limited to about 10 KHz. I also have two 33 rpm records with a half hour playing time on each side. They are recordings of old radio programs, with two 15 minute programs on each side. Because those programs had a limited frequency response of about 300 Hz to 4 KHz, they were able to reduce the groove spacing and cut closer to the center.

I also have a stereo 7" 33 rpm with a 20 minute playing time on each side. They reduced the recorded level on the record to achieve this.

I have The Doors LA Woman 7:49 on a 45.

Richard Harris - Macarthur Park, 45RPM - 7:20

When I listened to this on my makeshift setup, with a laptop, pyle turntable, and ion preamp/mixer, it didn't sound too badly, but when I tried it on my jukebox, the extended time really had an effect on the volume of various parts of the song. Throughout most of the song, the volume was low, but as the instrumental parts, the volume got higher. The quality itself wasn't too great, and even though richard harris wasn't a singer, I've heard youtube audio of the song that sounded a lot better than this 45. This song should have been split between two sides of the record or edited for time.

Meatloaf's "Paradise by the Dashboard Light" is 7:55. That's one sure way to get your 25¢ worth!

Somewhere on the internet, I saw a photo of a Led zeppelin 45 that said 8:00. Correct or not, who knows.

malakai wrote:Richard Harris - Macarthur Park, 45RPM - 7:20

When I listened to this on my makeshift setup, with a laptop, pyle turntable, and ion preamp/mixer, it didn't sound too badly, but when I tried it on my jukebox, the extended time really had an effect on the volume of various parts of the song. Throughout most of the song, the volume was low, but as the instrumental parts, the volume got higher. The quality itself wasn't too great, and even though richard harris wasn't a singer, I've heard youtube audio of the song that sounded a lot better than this 45. This song should have been split between two sides of the record or edited for time.

Whoever made the master compressed the sound to make it fit on the record. The instrumentals sound louder because the compressor relaxed the compression during those periods.

I actually created an account, in part to bump up this two-year old thread..


Eurythmics, Here Comes The Rain Again / Paint A Roumor (RCA, PB-13725). The B-side is listed at 8:00. Haven't listened to it, but the run-out is SO small that it may not be able to be played (in full, at least) in a juke..