Beatles Stereo versus Mono remasters

musicismylife78

Obviously the stereo remasters are new and different, but whats the difference between the mono remasters and stereo? Havent the beatles albums ONLY been mono all these years? So whats the big fuss about the mono remasters?

From the reviews I have read, the general consensus is, the stereo is great, but I have heard time and time again, people saying the mono remasters are better than the stereo?

Why even bother getting the mono versions, isnt that the only ones that have ever been out?

aspoonfulweighsaton

The monos will definitely sound better than the stereos, but the difference in the old mono vs the new mono is simply the remastering. They took 4 years to clean up and improve the sound and you can easily tell if you do a side by side comparison.

keeponrockin

Knowing you you will just get the music for free anyways, so why not get both?

youngster

I was checking the Beatles vinyl my dad gave me from the 60's and the label's on them all say stereo. So, if the original vinyl from Capital Records was in stereo, how does everyone know what the mono will sound like? Are they just guessing it will sound better or were there mono versions back then as well?

DewieCox

aspoonfulweighsaton wrote:

The monos will definitely sound better than the stereos, but the difference in the old mono vs the new mono is simply the remastering. They took 4 years to clean up and improve the sound and you can easily tell if you do a side by side comparison.

You sure about that? That's definitely the case with the originals, but now that the stereos are gettin the deserved treatment, unless they are botched(which they weren't) they sound better, taking any history people have with the albums out of the equation of course.

Better Dan

There are other sites that can explain this better, but basically the mono versions are not the ones that have been on CD all these years, those have been stereo releases.

The Beatles were heavily involved in the mixing of the mono releases, which is why it is considered the definitive version of their music. The stereo mixes were done by other engineers without the involvement of the band and often have some big differences, including different vocal takes (Help!), instrument takes, and even tempos (The mono She's Leaving Home is faster than the stereo version, for example). Sound effects also differ between the two. John Lennon has said that Sgt Pepper is much better in Mono and their producer had the opinion that the first two albums were horrible in stereo.

There are many, many articles and discussions on the topic but here's an excerpt from one I just found at
http://lfpress.ca/newsstand/Today/Music ... 1-sun.html

"The Beatles did mono and stereo mixes weeks or months apart -- often adding or subtracting music and effects in the process -- many of these versions vary significantly from their stereo counterparts. The song Help! has a different vocal line. Got to Get You Into My Life is longer. Helter Skelter is shorter. Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds has phasing. And so on. In fact, listening to the rich mono versions of Sgt. Pepper and The White Album, you can almost understand why Lennon supposedly preferred them to stereo."

Hope I didn't make things more confusing... :?

Better Dan

cropduster82 wrote:

I was checking the Beatles vinyl my dad gave me from the 60's and the label's on them all say stereo. So, if the original vinyl from Capital Records was in stereo, how does everyone know what the mono will sound like? Are they just guessing it will sound better or were there mono versions back then as well?

They were originally released in mono back then as well.

BrokenGlass

I personally don't get the hype over the mono versions at all. I've listened to these songs since they were new (I'm 51), and I have them on vinyl, I had them on 8 tracks and cassettes, I had them on the original crap 1988 cds. The stereo remasters are a revelation - like hearing the songs for the first time, as if you're sitting at the mixing board in the studio next to George Martin. I have also listened to some of the mono remasters for comparison. I chose Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds,for example,since I also read that John and George Martin said that the mono Sgt. Pepper album sounded more true. The comparison between the new stereo remaster and the new mono remaster is like listening to HD audio versus listening to a song playing on a Victrola through a tin can on a string. Again, just my personal opinion, but I think the mono remasters sound primitive and muddy compared to the stereo remasters. The separation of instrumentation and vocals on the stereo remasters is what makes these sound so sonic and fun to listen to. Like I said, I've listened to these songs HUNDREDS of times, and I keep hearing things that I never heard before in the stereo remasters.

Evacuation Rules

The stereo versions are for listening in headphones.
The mono versions are for listening in the the car or through loudspeakers.

Byrnzie

DS114969 wrote:

There are other sites that can explain this better, but basically the mono versions are not the ones that have been on CD all these years, those have been stereo releases.

The Beatles were heavily involved in the mixing of the mono releases, which is why it is considered the definitive version of their music. The stereo mixes were done by other engineers without the involvement of the band and often have some big differences, including different vocal takes (Help!), instrument takes, and even tempos (The mono She's Leaving Home is faster than the stereo version, for example). Sound effects also differ between the two. John Lennon has said that Sgt Pepper is much better in Mono and their producer had the opinion that the first two albums were horrible in stereo.

There are many, many articles and discussions on the topic but here's an excerpt from one I just found at
http://lfpress.ca/newsstand/Today/Music ... 1-sun.html

"The Beatles did mono and stereo mixes weeks or months apart -- often adding or subtracting music and effects in the process -- many of these versions vary significantly from their stereo counterparts. The song Help! has a different vocal line. Got to Get You Into My Life is longer. Helter Skelter is shorter. Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds has phasing. And so on. In fact, listening to the rich mono versions of Sgt. Pepper and The White Album, you can almost understand why Lennon supposedly preferred them to stereo."

Hope I didn't make things more confusing... :?

Thanks for clearing that up. :ugeek:

I'm listening to The White Album in Mono now. I used to play it practically every night for about 2 years on an old cassette player when I worked a night shift in a plastics factory. For some reason it sounds a lot better now. :P

Shawn Smith Collective

http://onethirtybpm.com/2009/09/10/the- ... vs-stereo/

notforconsumption

I ve heard there's a very serious improvement from the 80s cds.Really nice clean job.

And that some of the early records dont sound good on stereo because it was an early kind of "stereo" where basically the guitar comes from one speaker and singing from the other or something like that.