Beatles mono VINYL box set (Part #15)

Huh?

 

"Revolver", for me, was the biggest disappointment of the mono CD box. Right now it is by far the highlight of the mono LP box.

 

Yeah, I remember listening to Got To Get You Into My Life on the cd and thinking: hm, this mix isn't great and the playing seems sloppy. But with the new LP it just sounds coherent and great.
Same thing with Day Tripper for me: On the mono version I always found it annoying that the bass playing was dragging, like Paul had trouble playing it. On the 2014 version everything falls together nicely, and I suppose there was no digital timing correction
What mastering can do!

Edit: I don't mean to say the cd is generally bad.

 

I don't get that at all from listening to the mono cds.

 

You never know. I just scored a headshell for my 1977 Philips turntable. Mono cartridge, here I come!

 

Accuracy please...It's not that the bass drags in the whole song..just a falling out of the pocket 1 time through during the set-up riff to ending vamp.

 

I'm not sure, I thought somewhere towards the outro it happened again. The thing I find fascinating is: It never bothered me on the stereo version and it doesn't bother me on the 2014 mono. I take that as an example of how the mastering can have a great impact on the musical aspects of a recording.

Of course this is only one aspect of the mastering differences, and how I perceive it.

 

I finally got through all sides of the box. Too many late-night listening sessions to recall all of the details except for the standouts.
I need to start over. I will report back.

 

Finally got my turntable up and running over the weekend, and am spinning the Mono set at last. Have heard Pepper, WA and currently listening to Past Masters. I'm absolutely floored by how good these sound! I'm not an 'analogue snob' by any means, and love vinyl and CD equally, but there's something I can only describe as an 'immediacy' to these new transfers which isn't quite there with the CD versions. This might purely be down to the necessary changes inherent in the RIAA process, and the countless micro-resonances inherent in the physics of vinyl playback equipment, and the fact they followed original cutting and EQ notes, unlike the 2009 CD set. I also felt there was a slightly strange 'lack of atmosphere' in the digital versions - more present in the stereo 2009 CD sets than the mono, but still there. Like a very slight lack of ambience? But the end result is what counts here, and these are amazing! The breath of life is there in spades, dynamics are startling, tonality, pressing quality - everything! There really is a 'you are there' sense to the reproduction akin to listening to the masters I should imagine. I feel like I now own 'the real thing' rather than a (very well done) digital facsimile of the original recording. Sean Magee and everyone who had a hand in this set coming to fruition deserve the highest levels of praise for a job supremely well done! If only all new vinyl releases were given the same care! THIS is the golden standard! What a gift - this is something we all dreamed of but never thought would happen. This time last year we were convinced it'd be mono from the digital transfers done for the 2009 sets. Great days!

- John

P.S. Yes the mono button is switch on

 

reading your post now it seems we have the same spot...at the outrow...but it's the only place I ever noticed a pocket problem on Tripper..funny thing, if you have the Anthology DVD, watch Sir Paul's double-take at that spot...prooves he notices it to. Have fun!!

 

Loving this box, I finished all the LP's don't know which single one moved me the most yet. Just excellent overall, After some decades of Fab 4 listening my burnout on Beatles was restored back to fresh ears.

 

What kind of turntable is that - looks great!

 

Ta. It's a circa 1965 Garrard 301. Appropriate age to play the Beatles on too

John.

 

Cool!
1965 - but the base looks so modern?

 

Yeah the base was made about 3 weeks back. These decks were sold without plinths back when. I wanted something modern, and clean looking that complimented the 301s looks & the modern tonearm. Really pleased with it, and it sounds amazing

 

I didn't think the "Revolver" mono CD was particularly good. When it was released I asked the forum why it sounded so distorted and the replies were almost uniformly "it's supposed to sound that way". The new mono LP doesn't sound that way. I think it sounds great; again, the highlight of the new releases for me.

 

Gorgeous Tone Arm!
Very Very Nice.
the beave

 

I FINALLY got to get you into my........oops sorry, got to get INTO the box this weekend while the Wifey took the Grandkiddies to the Picture show.
I only got through three Lp's but I need time to catch up....bloody ell, part 15, I havent' read through all of 12 or 13 or 14 for that matter. THERE JUST ISN'T ENOUGH HOURS FOR ALL YOU HOFFMAN BEATLE-ITES!
Whew, got that out of the way.
So, Sgt Pepper first. Sounded very good. First time I heard the mono and the mix works well.
Next up was Please Please Me. Oops, Where is the Bass?????? Uh, where is the Bass??????
Really, we're going to go through THIS again???? I was waiting to be 'enveloped' in sound and all I got was something that sounded thin.......where is THE BASS????? Oh, and then onto side two.......BLOODY ELL PT. 2 pressed off centre! I thought there was a quote from Sean saying this type of thing was NOT going to happen again?
Then onto 'With The Beatles'. Side one, thin sounding again and damn, if BOTH sides are pressed OFF CENTRE!
Listen, I've got 7 damned Beatles Boxes, so it's not like I don't like them but remember 'Ultra Rare Trax' Vol. One?? Do You Remember how your JAW DROPPED when you heard the first couple of notes from Pauls Bass before the song started???? That nice Beautiful RICH SOUND is not here. At least on the first two albums.
So far not a good start for the Beave's Beatles Box. (3 'b's there). So, even at $244, this is NOT turning out to be any type of 'bargain'. I might just have to flip it and get my money back.
But we'll wait until we go through some more albumd.
the beave

Hey, is EMI accepting/replacing defectives like they did on the Rainblo box defects??
If so, can some kind soul shoot me or the group the info. And if it was threaded before my apologies, with a Wife pre menopausal, babysitting 3 grandkids, on a weekend where 'Aunt Flo' came knocking, I'm just lucky I made it through the three albums and the weekend alive.
Ore LiveR than you'll ever B

 

hey beave......yea, on the original swingin pig label...lots of cool stuff, I got them all. My Sgt Pepper mono on that label, sold as a seperate album (by a couple of guyys fom Boston calling themselves Fab & Gear), apparently from radio spot tapes, sounds very good, but without the segque's between tracks...dosn't bother me...... Sorry about your situtation..that's why I sent my box back. I'll pick it up again when there's a price drop. In closing, this has nothing to do with the work of Mr. Berkowitz and Magee). The new masterings are audiophile for sure, but the vinyl itself is not..... No excuse for $400.00!!!!!!!!!

 

Part 15. And I'm clocking in

 

Wow, 15 parts.

When I heard the mono CD remasters I instantly realized they did NO mastering at all, just straight transfers, even though they were "mastered" when the original LPs were released.

Maybe they thought the cutting engineers tweaks were revisionist to the work of the remix engineers? If so that was a mistake or laziness.

When the cutting engineer sits and listens to a final compiled tape he/she can gauge the relative EQs of each song and figure out what songs need what tweak so everything is consistent and you don't have a dull song next to a bright song. 14 songs mixed over 2 weeks are going to have different overall EQs because hearing changes through the day.

Now, the new mono vinyl actually IS "mastered" per the cutting engineers notes. Those little 1 or 2 db adjustments at certain EQ points make all the difference. It's a delicate task to make the cymbals shimmer but not sound brittle or make the bass strong but not bloated and cloudy.

 

Hello Lance..(were you in a group called ORLEANS?)....not to differ to much with your assessment, but I kind of like the idea of cutting something flat so I can play at home "re-master" man. Not to say the CD's were cut absolutely flat.. There are statements from the mastering engineers that some tweaking was done, although no limiting was applied. There was a person who posted here who made a great point that the notes for the VINYL were references, but maybe not a rule of thumb as to what to do.....For all we know they could have used different adjustments. One thing for sure, the new l.p.'s were mastered via solid state as opposed to tubes and that changes things. I like Sean Magee's answer to my question as to their goals with this new set and he said it was his intention to make them sound like the original U.K. Lp's AND the master tapes. The C.D.'s are a totally different animal and they really want us to listen to them as such.... on a different note:. Wells Kelly..one of the greatest drummers I've ever heard (wrote some great tunes too like Dancin in the Moon.light)..totally original concept of playing a groove. I mention this because if you were in ORLEANS with him I had to tell you this...

 

I don't get it either. The playing is totally sloppy on the CD, which was nicely mastered, but all of the sudden it becomes cohesive on vinyl.

 

Strange to me that most here were singing the praises of the mono CD box in 2009 and now it's being criticized.