technically speaking, what is 'fake' stereo? (Duophonic, Electronically Re-processed, etc.)*

I know this is an old post, but does anyone have some specific examples of this?

 

There are lots of budget comps of Patsy Cline's early stuff that use fake stereo as is, many early CBS CD's of MOR Greatest Hits comps originally issued on LP in mono and fake stereo as Johnny Mathis, Doris Day, etc. plus Harry Belafonte's Calypso CD on RCA use the fake stereo master mono'd down. There are several tracks on the fake stereo Mitch Miller Greatest Hits LP in true stereo but everything is mono'd down on the CD of the LP including the true stereo tracks such as March of the River Kwai.

 

The Beach Boys Little Deuce Coupe Analogue Productions SACD is Duophonic.

 

How is this possible? The LP and all prior CDS were fully true stereo.

 

Oxenholme claimed that this is Duophonic but apparently this is true stereo

 

I have a rechanneled Boo Boo Stick Beat by Chet Atkins on the 1990s Essential Chet Atkins CD on RCA

 

"409" has never been in true stereo.

 

Right. Ya got me.

 

Make that four people. Thanks!

 

Five!!

 

One track, 409, is duophonic.

 

Interesting that the date of that UK compilation is 1982 - there was an earlier compilation from around 1977 or so called '20 Golden Greats' - I guess they were too lazy to remaster or find the true stereo/mono versions where applicable and just cobbled it together using the same fake stereo tracks from that earlier compilation! The practices back then were pretty shoddy, considering people were paying good money for these compilations - that whole range of UK released '20 Golden Greats' was littered with fake stereo versions and terrible ones at that - the 1969 track 'I Can Hear Music' by the Beach Boys which is readily available in true stereo was featured in fake stereo on the 1978 20 Golden Greats compilation in such terrible, mutilated sound quality, it sounded like it had been recorded off AM radio! Fortunately when they re-released the same compilation on CD in 1987, they properly mastered all of the tracks from their true mono and stereo masters...

 

I don't think anything from the Surfin' Safari era / sessions ever ended up in true stereo except for the outtake Land Ahoy.

A few years ago I did see this mono and stereo Surfin' Safari two-fer here and there -- both CD and on vinyl -- and it piqued my interest, but then I thought there would be now way a true stereo remix would be released without it being talked about here, so I passed.

 

I'm playing some mono LPs today using a Y-connector interconnects, and find myself eyeing a couple of late-70's Bing Crosby Reader's Digest box sets I inherited from my parents.

Pressed by RCA, they feature the dreaded "Electronically Re-recorded to Simulate Stereo" warning on the labels.

So I've impulsively started spinning some sides from 1949 and it doesn't sound half bad. The only obvious thing that seems a bit dicey is that the lead vocals sound a too forward.

What effect does summing to mono have on whatever bizarre stuff they do to "simulate stereo" with mono music? Is listening corrected back to mono this way a possible improvement, or am I just adding distortion on top of distortion?

 

Distortion on top of distortion.

 

I love the Beatles "You Can't Do That" in fake Stereo/Duophonic) mix on the Beatles Second Album...can't say that about any of the Beach Boys Fake Stereo/Duophonic Albums...YCDT -Highs on one channel/Lows on the other...

 

Oh yea, I remember those days...but I loved the true stereo albums!

 

I recently picked up Chuck Berry's After School Session LP for cheap, but in my hurry missed that it had been "Electronically Altered For Stereo."

Can't find I year for the reissue, but after reading this thread I'm afraid to spin it...

 

Oh, I despise that one. Sounds too boxy and muffled to me.

 

true, but it brings me back to 64'...love it.

 

The duophonic versions of Dance, Dance, Dance - The Little Girl I Once Knew - Good Vibrations - Ten Little Indians are so dissimilar in sound I wonder if the process really is black box.

The Little Girl I Once Knew - on a UK Starline LP and Good Vibrations - on a UK Music For Pleasure LP - are particularly interesting and very much worth an open minded listen. I find both very much more pleasant to listen to than the more commonly available monaural.

 

I have an album from the late 50 (Miles Davis' Newport concert). "Electronically rechanneled stereo." It sounds ok, but the applause sounds odd,,, almost like rain. Was thinking I could play it in mono mode and it would sound much better. I sum the two channels with double Y RCA cables on my system. Kinda thinking it would sound better.

What are your thoughts?

 

It depends on what Fake Stereo system was used. If the Stereo was only created by alternating Attenuation and Boosting of frequencies then it might help. If any delay was added then summing it will probably make it sound much worse. But go ahead: Try it!