Poll: Sgt pepper mono vs stereo

It'd work out best on LP, I think. I'm not aware of any LPs that that have stereo/mono opposing sides (though... anyone know of a mispress that came out like this?! )

Oddly, my copy of The Beatles Movie Medley single, has has the 'A' in mono and the 'B' (I'm Happy Just To Dance With You) in stereo! Discogs lists one of the US pressings as being the reverse of this ('A' side- stereo' but nothing about the UK one being m/s..) Just gave mine a quick spin to be sure.

I think there may be yet another Beatles thread soon to appear here...

Actually- we were both wrong! I've just A/B'd them and the stereo plays a fraction faster/higher.

Probably around half a semi-tone; not a world of difference, but there we are.

 

Indeed it does.... GOOD REPLY!!

 

So wich version of SLH is acually at the correct speed?
ADITL is my all time favourite song. Even the mono luddites seem to prefer the stereo mix for this song so i wlll hve to vote stereo.

 

I always thought the mono sounded sped-up, but I just did an A/B comparison, accompanying it with my digital keyboard.
I can't be completely certain, but the mono seems correct in the key of F. The stereo sounds slowed-down to E.

 

I've read about this recently..

It's been said that the strings were recorded in F and the tape was slowed so the strings came out as E- while the vocals were recorded.

Assuming this to be the case, the mono version was sped up to bring the vocals up in pitch - leaving the strings as recorded.

The stereo, on the other hand didn't get sped up to the original pitch of the orchestral backing and the vocal is as it was recorded - in normal pitch, leaving the strings lowered.

Although....

Was the vocal recorded BEFORE the tape was slowed down? OR was the song recorded in E then raised in pitch? It could be why it's different on the two mixes (could be that they forgot they sped it up for the mono, when the stereo was come to be done later..?)

I've read about this in threads in the past, but don't know if there's any evidence to support them starting in the key of F and slowing the tape for the vox. If it was, then the intended/correct one would be the mono that we have.

 

stereo for me...
although i like the harshness of the mono-version also

 

I absolutely love those backing vocals and they're sorely missed in an otherwise hard-hitting mono LP. This, and other differences between the stereo and mono, make it impossible for me to choose one over the other, and for that I am very grateful!

 

I can't choose. Love 'em both.

 

The Panda said: ↑
Both have strong points. The only way to hear the Pepper reprise is mono, but since Fixing a Hole is my favorite song on the lp and the mono buries those gorgeous backing vocals on the third verse, the stereo has the edge for me.

There still there and more forward than you think, it's just much easier to pick them out in the stereo.

 

I don't. It's my favorite Beatles song in mono.

 

I stand corrected by OneStepBeyond, who dutifully checked, re. the chipmunk-y Paul. Both WIm64 and SLH are correctly or BETTER pitched (my taste) on the mono version. I still stand by the rest of my rant though.

Another poster underlined that the right-panned Paul solo voice on the opening track, in stereo, was annoying to him /her. While it indeed does not sound very well recorded or mixed (not loud enough for the purpose I'd say), I think the placement makes sense in that MC Paul to the right sort of presents Sgt Pepper and his LHCB, who then come on to the far left ("We're Sgt Pepper's..."). Another one of those instances that were begging for stereo imaging I guess, since stereo was in full swing...

 

Really? There are people here who would prefer the mono version of a stereo demonstration disc. I expected a bigger blow-out.

 

It depends on how you look at it. There were so many reduction mixes (bouncing down multiple tracks of material to one) done for Sgt. Pepper that much of the "mix" was done on the fly with one or more Beatles there waiting to put a new part on top. They'd then mix the result to mono right there and stereo later. So, while, technically, the Beatles were (sometimes) present for the "mono mix" and (mostly) absent for the "stereo mix," in actuality they were present for the majority of blending the sounds together (or, at the very least, heard the result quickly after on playback while recording other parts) for what wound up being both versions.

I'm not clear on how many Pepper mono mixes there were really present for, anyway.

I think the only song where no bounce downs were used was the Reprise.

 

+1

 

Stereo = overcooked

 

I don't think many people would prefer a mono version of a stereo mix. Mono is never better just because it's mono. It's the mix, the mix, the mix!

 

Fo me, its mono, but thre are tunes in stereo that soun better. However, LSD is far superior in mono IMO...you just can't beat those phased vocals!

 

I think the point is that THEY considered the mono versions to be the ones. To paraphrase McCartney, they just weren't that interested in stereo. When they were given test pressings, they were mono. We know George (H) preferred mono (even in the publicity for the 20th anniversary of 'Sgt. Pepper' he was saying he didn't like it in stereo), as did Lennon (mentioned it several times in interviews, even in the seventies). Even if they weren't at the mix sessions, THEY preferred mono. The reason they were involved in the stereo mixing for 'The Beatles' is that time was running out to get the album out on time (or as close to it as possible), which is why every studio was used for mixing at the same time (THIRTY tracks to do, don't forget).

 

Which is why they totally abandoned mono the moment it became the slightly-less dominant way music was delivered over the radio, I suppose.

I wasn't aware that the poll was which version the Beatles liked the best. Lennon liked Two Virgins, too. Doesn't mean I have to prefer it over music.

 

That's why stereo is better. The mono is F'd up

 

Stereo by a mile. However I rather like the odd snippet that appeared in 5.1 on the Yellow Submarine blu-ray.

 

huh?

 

Mono version gets me high.

 

How can it be overcooked when it was done much quicker than the mono mix?

 

They sound like they were recorded on a cheap cassette deck that is not aligned properly. Not very hard to beat....IMO.