LP, 45 or 78? A Vinyl Format Guide for Jacksonville, FL
Measure the record and look at the hole, and you have your answer in three seconds. Twelve inches with a small hole is an LP, and seven inches with a large hole is a 45. Ten inches of something heavy and rigid is a 78. Paul has been buying all three since 2001, and the question comes up on nearly every house call we make across Duval County. People who sell vinyl records for cash usually ask it while holding a box they inherited.
How to Tell the Three Formats Apart by Sight
Size does most of the work here. An LP is twelve inches across and holds about twenty minutes a side, which is why albums live there. A 45 is seven inches and carries one song a side, which is why jukeboxes were full of them. A 78 is usually ten inches, and at a glance it looks close enough to an LP that people mix the two up.
The center hole settles any doubt that remains, since LPs and 78s have a small spindle hole, roughly a quarter inch across. A 45 has a wide hole about an inch and a half wide. That is why the plastic adapters exist, and why a shoebox of 45s has a few rattling loose in the bottom. If the hole is big, you are holding a 45.
Weight and feel separate the LP from the 78, and nobody tells you this part. Vinyl has a slight flex, so a twelve-inch LP bends a little under thumb pressure. A 78 has almost no give, feels heavier for its size, and sounds duller when tapped because it is shellac. Handle one, and you will never confuse them again.
Why 78s Need Different Handling
Shellac is brittle in a way vinyl simply is not. A 78 that slides off a table does not warp; it shatters, and the pieces cannot be repaired. We have arrived at Jacksonville homes to find 78s stored flat under a stack of LPs. The bottom three had cracked clean through from the weight above them. Stand them upright and handle them one at a time.
Age is the other factor. Most 78s in circulation were pressed before the 1960s. Their sleeves are often older than the people selling them, and usually in poor shape. Paper from that era goes brittle, tears at the edges, and stains through. A torn sleeve is no reason to throw out the record inside, since we grade the two separately. A good record in a ruined sleeve still has a value.
Cleaning is where 78s get destroyed by good intentions. Some fluids that are fine on vinyl will strip the surface off shellac. Water left sitting in the grooves does its own damage. Leave them dusty and let a buyer look, because what the format is worth depends on far more than a clean surface, as any 78 rpm records price guide will show.
What a 12-Inch Single Is, and Why DJs Have Stacks of Them
Found a Box of Records and Not Sure What’s Inside?
Not sure whether your collection contains LPs, 45s, or 78s? Share a rough count and a few artist names from the labels. Paul can help you decide whether your records are worth an in-person visit.
Call or text Paul Robinson at 904-299-3683The Four Formats Side by Side
Keep this near the boxes while you sort. Most of the confusion resolves with two measurements and a look at the label.
| Format | Size | Speed | Typical content |
| LP | 12 inch | 33 rpm | Full album, around 20 minutes a side |
| 12-inch single | 12 inch | 45 or 33 rpm | One or two tracks, wide grooves |
| 45 | 7 inch | 45 rpm | One song a side, large center hole |
| 78 | 10 inch | 78 rpm | One song a side, shellac, pre-1960s |
Speed is printed on most labels in small type near the spindle hole. If the label has worn away, size and the hole will still get you there. The sound differences between the two common speeds are covered in the difference between 45s and 33s.
Which Formats We Buy and What We Pass On
We buy all four, and that is worth saying plainly, because sellers routinely assume the small records and the old ones are worthless. Soul and R&B on 45 can be as strong as anything in a collection. A stack of jazz 78s is not automatically a stack of coasters. We buy LPs, 45s, 78s and twelve-inch singles across jazz, blues, soul, R&B, rock, punk, metal and alternative.
Format is not what decides it. Genre and condition do. Country, big band, swing and mainstream pop sit outside our list, whatever they are pressed on. So do exercise, motivational, comedy and political albums. A rare LP in those categories is still outside it, and a common 45 in a genre we buy is often the better call.
Have a collection with a bit of everything in it? Call or text Paul Robinson at 904-299-3683 with the rough count, the main genres, and the formats you’re seeing. We’ll set up a house call across Jacksonville and the Beaches, grade on site, and pay on the spot.
Worried the Shelf Has Already Cost You Money?
Our buyer can tell you what survived and what did not, in person, before you touch a cloth or move a box. The collection stays exactly where it is until you decide what to do with it.
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