This Saturday is Record Store Day 2019, and to celebrate, budget turntable manufacturer Crosley is releasing a turntable. A really, really weird one.
You've heard of 45s, EPs and LPs but have you heard of Triple Inchophones? For Record Store Day on April 13, Crosley is resurrecting the little-known 3-inch vinyl format with its RSD3 player.
The $70 RSD3 is a mini belt-drive turntable, or "8-ban," which includes an AT3600 moving-magnet cartridge and offers adjustable pitch control and built-in speakers. The player includes a headphone output that can be used as an aux out port with the included RCA adapter.
The 3-inch record player comes with a copy of the Foo Fighters Big Me record, but additional 3-inch records will be available for Record Store Day and throughout 2019. Releases include Bad Religion's My Sanity, Rancid's Ruby Soho, Culture Abuse's Dip, The Interrupters' She's Kerosene, Jack White's Love Interruption, The White Stripes' Candy Cane Children, the Raconteurs' Store Bought Bones and Dead Weather's Be Still.
The 8-ban player was invented in Japan in the early 2000s but it's unclear if the records will play on a regular turntable.
Don't expect the format to sound very good, though, as recording engineer Bob Weston told Ars Technica that the tiny 3-inch diameter approaches the laws of physics: "I think it's neat as a novelty. But I hope no one is buying for sound quality."
The Crosley RSD3 will only be available on the day from independent retailers, though you can expect that a few will be floating around for a while afterward.