Steve, Beach Boys "Surfin' USA" stereo/mono question.

[Angel]

Hi Steve,

Question for you. I'm sure you've heard the mono hit single mix of The Beach Boys "Surfin' USA". Can you tell me why it sounds so (for lack of a better word) funky? I mean, it almost sounds distorted, as does the "B" side "Shut Down". To me, the stereo versions sound a LOT better. Do you know why that would be? Usually I love listening to the original mono hits as well as the stereo mixes, but in this case, ugh.

Thanks, Steve.:)

[Steve Hoffman]

Well, "Surfin' USA" and "Shut Down" were originally mixed in mono with super heaving limiting, reducing the dynamic range down to about 2 db (and that ain't much).

This mix tape was used to cut the 45 RPM Capitol single that became such a smash hit. Later, when the LP was ready, these two mixes were just spliced into the mono album master, along with the Capitol mixed LP tracks. The rest of the mono album was mixed with a much lighter touch.

When it came time to do the stereo mix, the two songs were given the "light" treatment as well, so the stereo versions have much more dynamic range. Most of the other Beach Boys mono hit mixes avoided the obvious overcompressed sound of "Surfin' USA" and "Shut Down".

That help? ;)

[Angel]

Yes, that does help. Now I understand why my ears feel like they are imploding when I listen to the mono version of "Surfin' U.S.A."

I wonder what they were thinking, hitting the limiter that hard?:confused:

[Steve Hoffman]

They were thinking: The harder we hit it, the better it will sound on an AM Delco radio in a 1962 Chevy Impala Super Sport SS (color--Autumn Gold).

What they SHOULD have done, is just compressed it like that when cutting the 45 and save some dynamics in the actual mix. I doubt they thought about the LP version, or about "history". It was just another Kiddie record to Capitol...;)