The Beatles: STEREO or MONO? | Secrets and Changes Guide
HTML-код
- Опубликовано: 20 апр 2023
- We've been listening the beatles' recordings for so many years that we know the details and sounds of each recording so well. Vinyl, cassettes, CDs, streaming and other formats have standardized the stereo sound, but the Beatles always prioritized their recordings in mono. So today, we present a brief guide to some of the differences in the beatles' mono and stereo recordings.
Joseph Brennan List:
www.columbia.edu/~brennan/beat...
This might sound stupid but when the Beatles came out there was no stereo sound. We could not hear the bass at all. I remember when stereo was invented. We ran out to the department store and bought a stereo record player. I was amazed at how well Paul McCartney's bass sounded. I remember saying to my brother, "wow Paul Does know how to play the bass" I don't understand what you call mono and stereo and why anyone would want to listen to mono. My Mom played a classical record and it was amazing to hear the full quality of an orchestra!!
Stereo was available well before the Beatles came on the scene. They were doing stereo in movies since the 1940s.
There were thousands of stereo LPs manufactured since late 1957. Most teenage music was in mono because the teens of the time consumed their music either on those crappy mono Dansette players and/or portable AM radios.
Stereo LP at the time was mostly relegated to adult oriented titles like Jazz and Classical and showtunes.
@@01chippe 😂 "I remember when stereo was invented"
That doesn’t sound stupid at all. I buy mono records because I collect old records. It’s an inferior and obsolete recording method.
@@mraaronstewart1556 Then you must be really old. The first stereophonic broadcast was in the early 1930’s, and experiment by Bell labs. They were researching stereophonic sound since the very early 1900’s.
Stereo wasn’t invented. Since the beginning of mankind, we have always heard in stereo, as probably the beings from which we were descended did. The problem was how to capture and reproduce stereo sound.
@@01chippe I was making fun of the first comment homie, note the quotation marks, and the obvious laughing emoji...
Just purchased The Beatles in Mono Audio CD Box Set and I could not be happier. Their sound in mono seems a lot more natural and live. Definitely prefer most of the mono mixes over the stereo ones, especially sgt. peppers.
I'm with you on the Mono Audio box set, SpenBoy. I recently purchased the Beatles In Stereo box set and was hugely disappointed in the overwhelming sound separation that sounds especially irritating when listening with headphones. I could have done without the stereo versions altogether.
Especially sgt pepper?? I feel like sgt peppers production is where the Beatles started getting good in that regard. All pre-sgt pepper albums have the most annoying production and I can't listen to it unless it's with speakers, it almost entirely makes them unlistenable with headphones because of the "the entire band on one side with the singer on the other" stereo approach. Sgt pepper was really where they left that behind
is there also a mono version of past master volume one and two?
@@balbuenaedwinyes they’re available on the box set but they’re renamed Mono Masters instead of Past Masters.
John Lennon said you haven’t heard Sgt Pepper till you hear it in mono.
3:46 Sexiest riff ever. From the first time I heard it and 50 years later, still blows my musical mind.
Can’t get over how perfectly the drums go with the riff too. Sets the tone of the whole song 🤘🤘
Most within the Beatles enthusiasts , hold the Mono mixes with high regard, praise and respect. I’m glad we have them and we know The Beatles always preferred them. 😊
Yes I knew about all of these actually. I think one of my favorites is the mono paperback writer. The echo is a lot more up front and a bit different at the end of the song and when Paul says writer Ringo's drums can really be heard.
If I Fell's intro going from, double tracked in stereo mix, to the just the raw vocal on the mono mix, was just shocking.
Growing up with the CD, it was by default the stereo mix, that's why it's important for these mono boxsets to come out every now and then, so they aren't lost to time/being expensive.
The Hard Days Night CD was in mono
The variant for Don’t Pass Me By has been available in America since 1980 on Capitol’s version of the Rarities album, as has the Mono version of Helter Skelter.
When stereo came out it was like the flood gates opening, the sound was so different and it would suck you into the music. However, over the years as technology improved now it's hard to say just what the band really played and how much was changed through electronic manipulation. Personally, I just listen to the music because I enjoy it, don't see any reason to pick it apart.
Stereo works best for modern music i think old rock should just be left as stereo
Surprised the entire American vinyl version of "Rubber Soul" is not even mentioned. I grew up listening to that and loved that I could hear ow each song was constructed by listening to one track at a time.
The mono “White Album”’s “Helter Skelter” ends after the first fade-out. Only the stereo version has Ringo’s iconic “AH GAHT BLISTAHS ON MAH FINGAHS!!”
“Revolution 9” on the mono version has a far different mix (and I believe is shorter as well).
Its there on the 2017 remix tho!
It’s not Helter Skelter without that bit, unfortunately they ruined the effect in the new remix for me.
I believe Revolution 9 was a fold-down of the stereo mix, given the complexity of mixing the sound effects.
This presentation is very good but the first 3 Beatles albums are better in mono. Beatles for Sale can be argued, sounds better in stereo. However, Rubber Soul has that vocals on the right channel & the instruments on the left in stereo so the mono version is the best Rubber Soul. Singles like "Paperback Writer" & "Revolution" sound amazing in mono. By the White album (although the UK released it in mono) Yellow Submarine, Abbey Road & Let It Be, stereo became the industry standard.
Please Please Me / Early Beatles = Mono
With the Beatles / Meet the Beatles = Mono
Hard Days Night / Something New = Stereo
Beatles for Sales /Beatles 65 & Beatles VI = 2009 Stereo / 2006 Capital Stereo / 2014 Capital Stereo
Help! = Stereo
Rubber Soul = 2009 Mono or 2014 Capital US Mono
Revolver = Mono/Stereo
Sgt Pepper = 2009 Mono or 2017 Stereo
Magical Mystery Tour = 2009 Mono
Yellow Submarine = 1999/2012 Songtrack Stereo
White Album = 2018 Stereo
Abbey Road 2009 Stereo / 2019 Stereo
Let it Be = 2022 Stereo / Let it be..naked = 2003 Stereo (non-phil spector / no orchestra version, very dry and high quality)
Beatles 1 (2015 Stereo Mixes) (for songs missing above, especially hits/singles with updated 2015 Stereo mixes)
Past/Mono Masters Vol 2 (2009 Mono) for Inner Light and Old Brown Shoe not in Beatles 1 or other albums.
That's pretty much 99% of beatles songs, in my opinion best quality.
Great mono/stereo sound analysis Charles, and I pretty much agree with you. I think the 2017 stereo Sgt. Pepper has the edge over the both the 2014 & 2009 mono versions. I' not that much of a fan of Let It Be Naked as it sounds too sterile, and I liked the talking between songs and the live feel of both Let It Be and Get Back.
I think the latest 2022 Phil Spector/Stereo mixes Giles did are pretty good. I prefer the Naked version of Long Winding Road...and I used to always prefer the 2003 mix of let it be...hearing it with beatles in background instead of Spector's band was always quite special in the headphones...however I will say, Giles did a fantastic job giving us that phil spector sound in 2022 without overshadowing The Beatles too much like before in the original 1970/71 mix. Dare I say because of Giles I actually prefer the Phil Spector versions now. Across the Universe 2022 mix is also very well done. @@denniswood1437
Agree completely, though the mono version of the White album is pretty amazing.
Blue Jay Way doesn't have a chorus effect - it's the track playing backwards underneath itself.
It does, it’s caused by adt
The backwards effects are only on the stereo version.
The one I noticed the most that’s not on here is Lucy in the sky with diamonds. The mono version starts with a lower key than the stereo
On the original United Artists mono LP the mistake mentioned at 3:18 is there. It has single track vocals for John and Paul. It sounds like the UK version uses the second track vocal to fix the problem.
I love both stereo and mono because you get different versions of all the Beatles songs from older recordings. my favorite stereo and mono versions of songs are the she’s leaving home and I love Lucy in the sky with diamonds with John Lennon‘s water bowl affect which you can only hear in the mono but you can’t hear it in stereo. and I also love baby you’re a Rich Man with that wonderful piano affect think it’s a tremolo effect which is great and I love the longer fade out of all you need is love as well as baby you’re rich man and I love the stereo version too.And I also love got to get you into my life but the stereo and mono mixes.
Why are the mono mixes of most Beatles songs unavailable on streaming services and RUclips?
They are all available on Apple Music on the Beatles US Albums Boxset, and they sound brilliant. You will have to put together your own playlist to get the British track listings however, as these are the US album versions.
yeah it's really frustating!
I think it's eventually gonna be a non issue since the new remixed box sets always seem to include the original mono mixes (most recent one, Revolver, did so). Strangely way enough, the White Album box set on streaming and spotify doesn't have the mono mix
Here's to hoping all other albums that are remixed also come with their mono mix! And also the White Album mono, please
When they issued the 9-9-09 box sets, I bought both the stereo and mono boxes. Some of them, particularly Pepper, were like altogether different albums.
The Beatles The Best
Ive always liked the mono version of the Beatles songs..and other bands too, like stones, animals.
Although I do like the song thank you girl in a stereo format which I think is great. and from me to you there’s no harmonica at the beginning of this song in stereo but it appears only in mono but you didn’t hear the harmonica in the middle light of this song. and I love the different echo effects on paperback writer both mono and stereo are fantastic.
It seems to me that with 'From me to you' and 'Paperback Writer' you are getting confused by later stereo rebuilds that incorporate features of the original mono mixes. Or perhaps they are Parlophone/Capitol differences.
The finger snaps at the end of Here, There And Everywhere are missing on the mono mix.
The Please Please Me difference was mixed up, mono indicated in stereo and vice versa. That being said, I will always prefer the stereo mixes. As I can clearly hear what's going on.
Thank you!
At least I can hear the Beatles in stereo and not throw up, unlike what happened on the only time I dared to listen to Pet Sounds in stereo…
Miss your videos. Hope you guys will be back soon
I Am the Walrus is significantly different in mono and stereo as well. The mono mix leans much more heavily on the string interludes between the verses adding a kind of tension that compliments the darkness of the song. Since finding a copy of the mono CD box during the pandemic, this is the only way for me. Some may prefer stereo, I grew up on it so I understand, but this is what the Beatles thought and in later cases intended their albums to sound like, and that’s good enough for me
My thoughts exactly! Ringo's drums are even muted in one of the interludes, which adds an interesting twist to the song's flow.
Great!
Thank you for telling us the differences between stereo and mono. Actually I like both The Beatles' stereo and mono versions for different reasons. One example that I can think of is in the stereo version of "Within You Without You". On the stereo version, you hear laughing at the tail end of the song where it's fairly quiet, while in the mono version, the laughing is more noisy. Also, another example that I can think of is the song, "Helter Skelter". Here's a list of differences for the song: On the mono version, the vocals are much louder than on the stereo version, you hear laughing at the beginning of the mono version while on the stereo version there's no laughing at all, you hear beeping sounds throughout the song on the mono version and not on the stereo version. Finally, as many Beatles' experts know, the drumming at the end of "Helter Skelter" is different. On the mono version, once the song fades out, it does not come back like on the stereo version. Therefore, you don't get to hear Ringo Starr exclaim, "I've got blisters on my fingers!" Once again, I enjoyed this video, and look forward to seeing more in the future.
I only noticed that the other day when I was listening to Helter Skelter in mono that the dummy fade out at the end is missing.
What you have to put in your head is the mono mix were mixed by them, the stereo was mixed by George Martin with little to no input from The Beatles until Abbey Road, when mono stopped being made. BTW the American mono mix of Im Only Sleeping has different guitar effects, not on either British mixes
rules
Este video no había sido subido antes??
I remember when Al Gore invented stereo. He was so excited he was beside himself.
Paul with a capo on his Ric bass never seen that pic.wonder what they were working on?
I listened to the Beatles in mono on headphones. Does mono sound bad on headphones? At first I thought there was something wrong with my discs, but they appear authentic. It sounds compressed and like the music is coming out of a box. Maybe I am just used to stereo. I will listen to it on computer speakers.
I'm sorry but I have to correct several errors this video made. I've been aware of all these differences since 2011 on RUclips when I was already well into The Beatles as a child but when I heard about the differences in the recording department since the 2009 CD remasters came out it completely blew my mind. The mistakes you made are the following:
-On "Please Please Me" you got the audio examples mixed up. The stereo version has the mistake in the last verse which you probably didn't expose because of copyright but you did expose the "Come on" where John chuckles that's all in the stereo version whereas in mono he sings correctly and normally. I actually read and already knew about that Joseph Brennan page that the mixes used for the stereo/mono versions of "Please Please Me" specifically were actually two entirely different performances or takes minus the harmonica overdub that was out of synch on the stereo version. Kind of like "Love Me Do" having two different versions but that's another story. When it comes to mono/stereo difference, "Please Please Me" is the only song to have this case of two different takes used for the different mixes, not mistakes on one version that were fixed or corrected on the other version as was often the case.
-With "From Me To You" you exposed the correct respective audios for stereo and then mono but you got the explanation mixed up as it is the opposite from "Thank You Girl", the mono version has harmonica in the intro that was actually tacked on from the solo break and the stereo version was the original intro performance of just the guitar riff and vocals. The reason why the mono version was the more familiar version was because there was no stereo version available of this single in the UK at least since the release of Past Masters on CD in the 80s up till the 2009 remasters.
-The only thing I'd like to say of "Thank You Girl" is that the mono version didn't "replace" the harmonica in stereo with backing vocals as there were already backing vocals in the other version as well, plus the sound clips you showed from the middle eight weren't the same section to compare!
-In "If I Fell" Paul McCartney didn't sing anything "right" the second time as it was the sound engineers including George Martin who corrected it from the original take by splicing in the part Paul sings "vain" in the first bridge where it cracks the second time for the mono version whereas in the stereo version the mistake remained.
-If the original speed of "She's Leaving Home" was in the key of F in mono and therefore faster than the version in stereo which is in the key of E most of the people knew for a long time without knowing the real speed which was slowed down, how could Geoff Emerick have sped anything up?
-The "chorus" effects in the stereo version of "Blue Jay Way" aren't chorus effects. It is the whole track fading in played backwards which was eliminated from the mono version.
All the rest were correct.
To be quite honest, sound "effects", additional sounds or instruments, tempos, etc...have nothing to do with stereo or mono. The difference between monophonic (mono) and stereophonic (stereo) sound is the number of channels used to record and playback audio. Mono signals are recorded and played back using a single audio channel, while stereo sounds are recorded and played back using two audio channels. As a listener, the most noticeable difference is that stereo sounds are capable of producing the perception of width, whereas mono sounds are not. This is not to be confused with a technique once referred to as Duophonic! This is a technically enhanced mixing of a monophonic recording to stimulate a stereo recording (The Beach Boys had this done on some of their early albums due to Brian Wilson suffering quite a bit of hearing loss in his right ear - he produced their early albums in monophonic sound because he couldn't "hear" stereo).
Good comment! Stereo and mono to me was separating the sounds or not in two speakers. I do not like the stereo separation of sounds in the early albums especially with having the drums on one side(YUCK!). IMO, The Beatles stereo recordings improved with Sgt. Pepper and beyond. The Beatles themselves preferred the mono recordings. They were always involved with the mixing in the mono recordings and left the stereo mixing to Martin even with Sgt. Peppers. I heard Martin say that The Beatles weren't around for the Pepper's stereo mixing.
@@ktcarl - Everything you stated is correct and I much prefer the original mono recordings, although (as you said) from Sgt. Pepper on, the stereo LPs were great!
It’s should be called the difference between the mono mix and the stereo mix
I appreciate these differences, but when I could afford to buy a stereo record player around 1967 it was like being able to hear music for the first time! and when playing mono again it was like.... hey! could i actually listen to this? It's self explanitory, stereo was an advancement, why would you want to?
Money off of With the Beatles has a different intro with added guitar in the intro, in stereo. The end of Please Please Me in stereo has way too much reverb... something I never thought I'd say.
I didn’t see any comparison of Please Please Me where the harmonica in the Stereo mix is out of synch.
There is also no mention of the extra verse of the mono “I’ll Cry Instead”, which is about 30 seconds longer than the stereo mix.
The extra verse of the mono "I'll Cry Instead" is just the first verse being repeated so as to make the song longer. I prefer the version without that last verse.
Some songs are better in Mono & some songs are better in Stereo?, that's The Beatles for you & yes I agree that the Mono versions of their albums should still be available!, "Paperback Writer" from 1966 sounds best in Mono cos of the vocals,echo & longer fadeout ending & Helter Skelter on The White Album is best in Stereo cos the Mono version sounds incomplete without the classic ending... "I'VE GOT BLISTERS ON MY FINGERS", it simply ain't The White Album without it on the Mono version, also "Thank You Girl" was only ever released & heard in Mono in Australia for many years until finally in 2009 when the remastered "Past Masters" double album was released, love the extra harmonica on the stereo mix!, just wished "She Loves You" was mixed in Stereo although the German version was?, God bless The Beatles.🎶✌️☮️❤️🎸👍😊
Stereo was invented in the 1930s many of the Hollywood filming studios used stereo, Elvis P, The Beatles and the Rolling stones all preferred mono.
I heard Help in mono and I feel it is superior.
Just got the Mono Boxset a few months back, and after listening to only those versions of the albums, went back to the stereo versions, and actually found it jarring (not in a good way). For the most part, with the exception of Beatles For Sale, Help and parts of Revolver, the Beatles sound so much better in mono to my ears. They sound much more rock and roll, especially on Rubber Soul, Sgt. Peppers and the White Album.
Stereo ftw, baby!
Please Please Me / Early Beatles = Mono
With the Beatles / Meet the Beatles = Mono
Hard Days Night / Something New = Stereo
Beatles for Sales /Beatles 65 & Beatles VI = 2009 Stereo / 2006 Capital Stereo / 2014 Capital Stereo
Help! = Stereo
Rubber Soul = 2009 Mono or 2014 Capital US Mono
Revolver = Mono/Stereo
Sgt Pepper = 2009 Mono or 2017 Stereo
Magical Mystery Tour = 2009 Mono
Yellow Submarine = 1999/2012 Songtrack Stereo
White Album = 2018 Stereo
Abbey Road 2009 Stereo / 2019 Stereo
Let it Be = 2022 Stereo / Let it be..naked = 2003 Stereo (non-phil spector / no orchestra version, very dry and high quality)
Beatles 1 (2015 Stereo Mixes) (for songs missing above, especially hits/singles with updated 2015 Stereo mixes)
Past/Mono Masters Vol 2 (2009 Mono) for Inner Light and Old Brown Shoe not in Beatles 1 or other albums.
That's pretty much 99% of beatles songs, in my opinion best quality.
How come they released one mono and one stereo version if their lps? I dont remember that. Could you go to a shop and ask for, give me Beatles for sale, mono version? Or Help, stereo version?
Yes, stereo was somewhat of a novelty, and most fans didn't have the equipment to fully appreciate it because they typically had only one speaker. It was similar to how SACDs were in the early 00s, except SACDs never really caught on, as hardly anyone wants to buy four speakers and a subwoofer just to listen to music :)
Stereo had been out since the 1940s Paul and Paula single release in the United States when they started using stereo on singles in the late 1950s.
Thank You Girl is much better in mono.
The second, "way that you do," missing in the stereo version gives it more pizzaz. Makes the song sound more lively.
I like them both at the same time. One side stereo, the other side mono.
I want my Beatle albums in mono because that's how they came to me originally back in the day. I don't mind the Singles sounding different from album cuts that was to be expected, but full stereo albums just aren't what I heard played by them back in the 60s.
Especially the early material. For example, 'No Reply' sounds much more powerful in mono when the piano kicks in during the chorus. I'd say stick with mono until 'Rubber Soul'. After that, it gets a little tho :)
@@dlovas My Rubber Soul and Revolver were both still in mono. That's how I originally heard them. I'm American so the Capitol Records versions of the albums was what I got. First Stereo album for me was Sgt Pepper. Then all the others after that as well. Also Capitol finally stopped the abhorrent practice of changing the running order of songs as the Beatles were releasing them on the British album versions. If we had known how Capitol was screwing us back in the day we'd have been furious with them but the world was still a big place back then and what went on on one side of the pond wasn't known over on the other. So we no longer had to wait in some cases up to six months before another album was out with songs that should have been on the last one like the albums were released in The U.K. If we'd known what Capitol was doing to us we'd probably have burned the place to the ground. EMI in Britain who owned Capitol Records were reluctant to tell them how to do things for some strange reason.
All of With The Beatles is way better in mono
Slow down by The Beatles what's my favorite model 45 I thought it was a great release even though the single hit number 23 in the United States.
In nowhere man’s mono mix the reverb on the vocals is almost none existent which is great.
Mono fed your ears, stereo fed your mind. ATMOS will feed your whole being
There was a dollar cost difference between mono and stereo I the sixties dingle 45s were mono
1:08
a stereo recording *caaaaaaaaan* have different things in each chennel. It's not required
Stereo
I remember Rod Hill well, he made multiple mistakes in the 82 championship game against Washington!!
This is BS The Beatles recorded in mono until 1968 when thy got an 8 thack 4 the white album Jeff Emerick wrote about this in his book he said it took only 3hts to mix the stero version for the US matket as opposed to 3 weeks for the mono He calls the stereo mix of all thi stuff a disctace
For anyone who wants to listen to the mono mixes, the best way to do it is by turning off one of the loudspeakers on a stereo setup and sitting in front of the one speaker that is playing. Doing this makes the sound much clearer. Mono should not be heard through headphones, it sounds awful.
All these years I was surprised by the Beatles’ claim that the mono mixes were better. No one EVER said why! There are real improvements in some stereo versions! 5:25 No excuse not listening to the original version of She’s Leaving Home, given they routinely varied speeds during production. I am 67 and I know my hearing is shit. Why on earth wouldn’t Geoff Emerick? Kids, that was an entire semi-tone screw-up! 🤯 And by the way, F*CK YT for making fan Beatles videos takedown paranoid. This must change! Particularly with The Beatles, despite their notorious publishing paranoia. One meager second per song example? “Hello Right Hand? This is the Left Hand! Can we get Paul McCartney on the phone?”
Capitol records "Full dimension stereo" is the ONLY way the Beatles AND The Beach Boys should be heard. All this "remastered" crap is just a clever way to sell more albums.
The stereo mixes rule! The mono mixes sound dull and lifeless.
If I fell is in D. Paul cracks on a G because he sings it in chest. There is a natural break beween F# and G in the tenor voice. For Paul it was just a one time thing. Usually he would switch and add more head to his tone in that range, therefore not having any problem hitting that note.
Sadly though If I Fell is usually played with the stereo version, that has the crack.