The Beatles Remasters: Each album which is best the Mono or Stereo version?

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by Dr. Pepper, Sep 13, 2009.

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  1. Dr. Pepper

    Dr. Pepper What, me worry? Thread Starter

    Some folks asked me to convert this topic into a poll, so here it is.
     
  2. Please Please Me: stereo
    With The Beatles: mono
    A Hard Day's Night: mono
    Beatles For Sale: stereo
    Help!: mono
    Rubber Soul: mono
    Revolver: mono
    Sgt. Pepper: mono
    Magical Mistery Tour: stereo
    White Album: stereo

    Haven't given the Past Masters/Mono Masters set a good listen yet.

    Mono: 6
    Stereo: 4 (+ 2 albums never released in mono)

    Enough reason to own both boxed sets.
     
  3. apileocole

    apileocole Lush Life Gort

    Please Please Me (mono)
    With The Beatles (mono) - I'd go mono except Money in stereo
    A Hard Days Night (stereo)
    Beatles for Sale (stereo)
    Help! (mono) - close
    Rubber Soul (mono) - close
    Revolver (stereo)
    Sgt. Pepper (mono) - trade-offs... very minor pref here
    Magical Mystery Tour (stereo)
    White Album (stereo)

    Can't vote on Past Masters - different tracks and a trade off with the rest.
     
  4. The Master

    The Master Forum Resident

    Location:
    Torrance, CA, USA
    is there a way to differentiate the stereo Mixes for Help!, and Rubber soul? seeing as there are two different stereo mixes for them?

    --The Master
     
  5. Dr. Pepper

    Dr. Pepper What, me worry? Thread Starter

    I would have, but the polls only support 25 choices, and I used 24 with the way I did it. I needed two more slots and only had one. Also, I haven't heard of many folks saying the '65 stereo versions were the best though they are glad they were included with the mono box.
     
  6. George P

    George P Notable Member

    Location:
    NYC
    Are we talking mixes, sound quality or just which one do I prefer overall?
     
  7. ricks

    ricks Senior Member

    Location:
    127.0.0.1:443

    I'm went with mixes and what I prefer overall when making my choices. I think this poll may have more total selections then I've ever seen here.

    I'm surprised the mono WA isn't doing better. The rest is about as I'd have guessed.
     
  8. I'd pick the 1987 "Help!" and "Rubber Soul" mixes and I'd pick "Mono Masters" for the ones completely in mono.

    Otherwise a great job of being as definitive as possible.

    1) Please Please Me (Mono)-It just sounds more natural in mono.
    2) With The Beatles (Stereo)-I prefer most of the mono WTB except for a couple of tracks "Not a Second Time" and "Money" sound better in stereo.
    3) A Hard Day's Night (Mono)-All the way although i do like Paul's voice breaking with "If I Fell"--I'm sure it was accidental BUT it adds to the power of the song.
    4) Beatles for Sale (Stereo)-One of the biggest improvements and it sounds GREAT in stereo.
    5) Help! ( 1965-Stereo)-I realize Martin had issues with the mix for "Help!" but it always sounded quite good to me and the changes Martin made don't work for the album.
    6) Rubber Soul (1965-Mono)-The original stereo never bothered me all that much. Sure, it had the odd separation that Martin decided in retrospect he didn't like BUT I grew up on it (my brother had the album although it was the U.S. version although i later learned to love the UK version the following year) but the mono has more punch.
    7) Sgt. Pepper-(Stereo) -I like the differences between the two albums and like both but prefer the stereo for all the panning effects, etc.
    8) The Beatles (Stereo)-This is where the differences become smaller although there are mixing/sound effects and running time differences (Helter Skelter is missing the "blisters" info and is about a minute short).
    9) Past/Mono Masters-(mono)-The original mono masters have more punch although I like the stereo master for "Don't Let Me Down" and "Hey Jude" better (and the mono version has a longer fade out for the record--it runs 7:16).
     
  9. George P

    George P Notable Member

    Location:
    NYC
    Undecided about Revolver, Wayne?
     
  10. Leigh

    Leigh https://orf.media

    It would be interesting to see how the results of this poll vary for people who didn't grow up with the mono versions.
     
  11. bldg blok

    bldg blok Forum Resident

    Location:
    Elmira, NY
    I think that has a lot to do with it. For folks in the US...well, really the majority of folks everywhere, the Mono WA is unfamiliar. I love the fact that it's not so "known" to me, it's discovering it all over. The Mono WA will probably be the one I play most often for the foreseeable future, not because I feel it's decisively better, I think owning both is preferable, but because it's more fresh than the version I've spent 40+ years with.
     
  12. turniton1181

    turniton1181 Past the Audition

    Location:
    New Jersey, USA
    I'm one of those people - and the only clear-cut "winner" for me was the stereo Beatles For Sale - kills the mono in almost every respect for me.

    Going back and forth between the stereo and mono box this past week I think each album has some tracks that I prefer in stereo, others in mono. It could literally be 50/50 for most of them; and for some you just have to get both!
     
  13. bldg blok

    bldg blok Forum Resident

    Location:
    Elmira, NY
    No way I can dispute that. The EMI folks did a superb job on the Mono box, but the Mono mix for BFS...there's only so much that can be done with it apparently.
     
  14. I am in agreement with much of this poll. My only real tossups were the White album and Please Please Me....
     
  15. dlokazip

    dlokazip Forum Transient

    Location:
    Austin, TX, USA
    This one always puzzles me.

    In 1987, when the mono CDs came out, "Money" was the song that converted me. I had a cassette of Rock And Roll Music Vol.1 and I was struck by how much better the mono CD version sounded. It was like, "Oh! That's why they released the CDs in mono."

    After hearing about how many people preferred the stereo version, I figured that maybe it was my cassette that sounded bad, but I've since heard vinyl copies and the Dr. Ebbetts needledrop of WTB. Nope. The mono version sounds better to me.

    Go figure.
     
  16. zen

    zen Senior Member

    Agreed.

    Next up, With The Beatles!!! :D
     
  17. Dr. Pepper

    Dr. Pepper What, me worry? Thread Starter

    My list from the first thread - most folks seem to agree so far
    Please Please Me: mono
    With The Beatles: mono
    A Hard Day's Night: mono
    Beatles For Sale: stereo
    Help!: mono
    Rubber Soul: mono
    Revolver: stereo
    Sgt. Pepper: mono
    Magical Mistery Tour: mono
    White Album: stereo
    Past Masters Vol. one: mono
    Past Masters Volume two: Stereo
     
  18. Modern_Mannequin

    Modern_Mannequin Active Member

    Location:
    Northeast USA
    Is anyone here ripping the albums to their PC, then making a playlist with the "best" tracks (whether they be mono or stereo)? I think I may do that, though I hope it's not too jarring to listen to an album that way. Might need to use some Replay Gain as well to keep down jarring volume changes.
     
  19. Traxinet

    Traxinet Active Member

    Location:
    Los Angeles
    Is this a question of purely of remastering quality and not mix quality? Like, if I prefer Rubber Soul in mono but think that the stereo remaster is epic, I would vote for the latter?
     
  20. apileocole

    apileocole Lush Life Gort

    I prefer mono for both but I like the original stereo better than the remixes. Awkwardness and all, the vibe is right sonically whereas the '80s remix with '80s gear just sounds too "CD" to me. Subtly - more a "feel" than anything. Too late for them to remix, too insignificant of differences to offer a new perspective.

    We'll go with what the OP says but my impression was that you'd vote for the mix you think does it best not the mastering. So mono in your example.
     
  21. Dr. Pepper

    Dr. Pepper What, me worry? Thread Starter

    Thanks for handing this question off to me. I guess, I'd say I'm looking for the version that you find the most enjoyable and will listen to the most.
     
  22. Bump!

    For those of us who haven't heard all the mono and all the stereo versions, and who don't plan to purchase two copies of everything, this poll is most useful!

    If you have heard both versions of some / all of these albums, the forum could use your input as to your preferences!

    Thanks.
     
  23. Grant

    Grant Life is a rock, but the radio rolled me!

    When it comes right down to it, all of my picks are mono across the board. However, with Past Masters, I cherry pick what I like. And, I do love the stereo White Album.
     
    andy75 likes this.
  24. Grant

    Grant Life is a rock, but the radio rolled me!

    I was hoping we'd get a clearer picture of how the people who weren't familiar with the monos reacted when they first heard them.
     
  25. Leigh

    Leigh https://orf.media

    I'm only one data point, but I don't like them in general. Especially for albums like Pepper and the White Album where there is all sorts of stereo wizardry going on in the mix. I grew up with the stereo versions and so much of the experience is lost for me when I listen to the mono.

    Some of the earlier stuff I only recently got because I always kind of felt the early Beatles was girly love-love-love stuff ;) but now I'm giving it a serious listen for the first time. Not sure how my opinion will go on stereo vs. mono for those. I can see a strong argument for Rubber Soul mono with the stereo mix really basically dual mono anyway.

    I just grew up when stereo was the only way, and being an imaging nut, can't stand that flat narrow soundstage!
     
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