Beatles Duophonic Mixes

>I think the Duophonic version of
>"She Loves You" is the best
> version available of this song.

Agreed.

I;m serious though I really do like the 'fake duophonic crap' She Loves You best from 2nd Album. Much better than regular fake stereo version, or the lifeless mono mix.

 

You guys are nutz!

 

The duophonic "I Want To Hold Your Hand" sounds neat in the car. So does "You Can't Do That".

And I really love the echo drenched duophonic versions of "She's A Woman" and "I Feel Fine" much more than their true stereo mixes.

The rest, not so much.

 

I'll give you that one... the reverby mono 45 does have its charm. Must've sounded cool on a transistor radio.

 

I agree about "She Loves You". That Duophonic mix is indeed the most exciting version of the record, and I prefer it to the mono.

Gee, it looks like with the three YESTERDAY AND TODAY Duophonic tracks, there's enough for a whole album!

Harry

 

"Yes It Is" is not duophonic. It is a "highs boosted on one channel/lows boosted on the other" fake stereo that suggests it came from the UK instead of being done at the Capitol tower.

Duophonic didn't come from the echo chambers at Capitol. It's a process where the mono signal has a slight (variable) time delay between the channels and then put though a comb filter so the even harmonics are on one channel and the odd harmonics on the other. Sometimes reverb was also added.

The comb filter's effects often lead people to believe that one channel has the highs emphasized and the lows on the other but it's more complex than that. Since it's the harmonics that are being futzed with and not eq, you can't take "one" side of a Duophoinc mix and even it back out into mono.

As it was originally designed, Duophonic *could* be effective on instrumental orchestral pieces because the the time delay "spread" things out and the comb filter made the strings seem to come from one side while the brass came from the other. But sharp percussion and instruments that "fell between the cracks" harmonically made for strange effects. At it's best one could say it sounded like a REALLY BAD stereo mix.

But for things like folk music, vocals, and rock and roll? Ugh...total disaster.

 

Might of been mentioned but the easiest way to find Duphonic Capital Beatles music are those Pink and black Box set CD american reissues that Americans "Love" so much..eeeccchhh! John M.

 

Wasn't "She Loves You" on the US Blue Album a different fake stereo/duophonic version from the one on Second Album? I never did have a Capitol pressing of Red and Blue.

 

Surely that would be impossible.

 

No, it's entirely possible. I should have been a little clearer though. The resultant split time delayed signal was put through TWO comb filters, one for each channel, with each comb filter tuned to what was wanted as an end result.

 

I assume you meant to say "Red Album" as that's where "She Loves You" resides.

Yes, it's a different fake stereo from the Duophonic SECOND ALBUM release. The one on the US Red is a gentle nudging of the highs in the left and the lows in the right - almost not worth having it done.

That album also has another surprising fake stereo rendition of "A Hard Day's Night" instead of genuine stereo.

Harry

 

Yes It Is is most certainly Duophonic, done by Capitol, not Parlophone, for Beatles VI.

 

I really have to disagree.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2jjaS5-jwEY

Listen to this needledrop. All the sibilants and percussive sounds come from the center with reverb on one channel and some EQ manipulation. This isn't Duophonic. If it were, all the sibilants and percussion transients would be split between channels and it would have a "double tracked" effect with no "center." This is a non-Capitol "fake stereo."

 

Whatever it is, it sure sounds horrible.

 

Too lazy to dig it out and play it, but I am pretty certain that my copy has "A Hard Day's Night" in mono.

 

On this page you can compare clips of the capitol duophonic with the original UK stereo cuts...... http://www.beatledrops.com/revolver.html ..... (halfway down in the left hand column)

Along with a Dave Dexter interview. Did Mr. Dexter personally make the decision to go 'duophonic' on the Captiol Beatles releases?

 

Making Duophonic masters of mono only product was standard operating procedure at Capitol during the early to late 1960's, no matter the artist. What may have been Dexter's role regarding it's use for the Beatles was for him to NOT ask or demand EMI to provide stereo masters for all tracks they sent over for release.

Time was of the essence, and Capitol wanted those records out NOW so they ran with what they were given as soon as it came in. As a result you have cases like the "Yesterday...& Today" situation where the stereo mixes for the three Revolver tracks came in after the mono mixes were sent and the LP had already been mastered with those songs in Duophonic. However, the stereo mixes arrived before the pre-recorded tape versions and record club editions were mastered, which is why those songs have always appeared in stereo on those configurations from day one.

I often wondered about "Ticket To Ride." EMI *had* to have sent them a stereo mix when they shipped the LP masters of the "Help!" LP. Maybe Capitol prepared a Duophonic version of the song when the tape for the single came in thinking there would be no true stereo mix forthcoming and despite it actually arriving, they decided to use it anyway. Odd.

Considering the thought (if not truth) that mono was the main format of the target audience (kids,) one can see the rationale. But damn it made it tough for us fans back then.

 

This begs the question of why would Capitol master TTR in Duophonic, yet then mix the B-side to regular reprocessing? It's because they DIDN'T. BOTH tracks are Duophonic on Capitol LPs (and on the Capitol CD boxes, Yes It Is is even still Duophonic on Love Songs). The ONLY US Beatle LPs to contain tracks in normal reprocessing were The Early Beatles, Magical Mystery Tour & Yellow Submarine.

 

Hard to reason why the same thing didn't happen to "Help!" (the song)...

 

Because, unlike TTR, the Help 45 was a different take than the LP version (different vocal), so they couldn't just slap the 45 on there.

 

True, but its hard to believe Capitol would pay attention to that detail, but not the stereo mix of Ticket To Ride?

 

...... Good post.

 

You know, I listened to that before I posted, and at that time I thought it sounded like a fake stereo mix.

After YOUR post, I just listened again, and it sounded like maybe a slight shift of highs to the left side, but really, mostly mono.

Beatles recordings often do that to me - sound one way one time and then different the next time. Exasperating.

Harry

 

Some of those Capitol duophonic mixes sound horrible when you sum them to mono. I have a duophonic copy of Les Baxter's "Ritual of the Savage" and, when you sum it mono, it sounds like its blasting from inside of a phone booth. I guess that's why it carried the gentle warning "for stereo phonographs."

 

Hence "Duophonic For Stereo Phonographs" on cetain album front covers.