It's Official! The Beatles Remasters Thread (Part 16)

I can see in my crystal ball in the year 2015: Now Available! "50th Anniversary CLASSIC mixes of Help! & Rubber Soul!"
- no longer will fans have to pay inflated prices for the OOP mono box just to get the true 1965 stereo mixes of these albums!

 

I'll politely disagree. If we had any real influence, they wouldn't be using the '87 Help/RS mixes, and they wouldn't be peak limiting the stereo masters.

 

A mono single 1/4 inch tape head and not two stereo 1/8 inch tape heads that can cause phase problems on a mono tape.

 

Many of the people here on the forum vented their rage based on speculation that ultimately turned out to not be true. Undoubtedly, this must have been upsetting to people involved in the project such as Mr.Rouse,Mr Hicks & Mr.Martin(jr.)

 

Point taken. I guess I should have said "a voice in the music community" rather than influence. Although, who knows, the reason the mono wasn't compressed and the stereo only had light limiting could have been at least partially because of this site.

 

What part of the speculation wasn't true?

Some of us didn't like the idea of using a 1986 digital transfer for 2 of the stereo albums and we have been informed that that is exactly what they did use.

The problem with maintaining too much secrecy in the age of the internet and large message boards like this one is that speculation is going to be a given and in the lack of information, rumor and gossip will run rampant.

 

Maybe the degree of influence was about -1dB.

 

I'm sure someone will beat me to it, but I've come to appreciate the distinction myself via the generous input of this forum, so I'll pass along what I've learned.

A mono recording/playback head, as was originally used for mono mixes/masters, assumes the entire width of the tape is used for a single track of signal (say that 10 times).

As these are relatively uncommon these days, stereo tape decks are often substituted when remastering legacy recordings. A stereo/2-track head assumes the width of the tape accommodates 2 channels of signal. Perfectly calibrated, they can playback a mono recording with no problems (in theory), but any slight mis-calibration (e.g. azimuth) between the tape and the playback heads will result in less-than optimal results, such as phase issues between the two channels.

Apparently, stereo decks were used when mastering the 87 CDs. This has been "corrected" for the upcoming remasters, to ensure authentic mono reproduction.

Did I pass?

 

Thanks to Mr. Rouse for clearing up those issues, it was a classy gesture on his part! Plus it's always good to see an end to a lot of the speculation that goes on here

I'm glad so much effort went into the initial transfer of the tapes (full track heads for mono, cleaning rollers and heads between songs), these should sound fantastic

 

What were they supposed to use? That's what format the mixes are on.

Nice to get confirmation on the crossfades.

 

Mr. Rouse,

Thanks to you and your team for bringing the vast majority of Beatles fans what I expect to be the best presentation of their catalog on CD. It seems that you all took great care and paid as much attention to the details and agonized over every decision like any true Beatles fans would. I'm certain that trying to appeal both to the older crowd and new generations of fans lead to a lot of sleepless nights. Having been in a position to make tough decisions many times in my job, I can imagine there was not one decision made lightly.

You must know that not everyone will be enthusiastic for a number of reasons -- some more legitimate than others, I suspect -- but I think anyone with an understanding of the pressure and logistics of the situation you faced can appreciate that you went above and beyond to present a definitive Beatles collection that both respects the past and looks forward to the future. I expect that between the remasters and Rock Band, coming generations of young adults will experience the timeless wonder of The Beatles in a way that changes how they look at music. I know that was my experience with the '87 CD's when I was 12. I only wish such a lavish set was around then!

Thanks for all the hard work, for your openness with fans and interviewers alike, for the attention to detail, for releasing the monos for us diehard fans, for even attempting to give Beatles fans everything they've been asking for for decades. I'm convinced that the remasters I'm drooling in anticipation over have been as carefully and thoughtfully assembled as any of could have reasonably hoped.

Take care, and I look forward to what you crazy folks have in store for us in years to come!

Regards,
Brent

 

I'm not refering specifically to the use of the 1987 remixes of "Help" & "Rubber Soul", but to other bits of incorrect speculation that were an inevitable byproduct of EMI's secrecy.

 

In a nutshell without reading all these, original stereo mixes will be on on mono box? The 87 stereo, Rs Help, which I do not care for, are on the Stereo box?

 

No, they're like five minutes each, or so. Not long, but not a minute and a half.

 

Correct.

 

Thanks for asking. Glad I'm not the only one...

 

Sort of. Definitely the White Album, Abbey Road, Let It Be, and Past Masters, but, also, A Hard Day's Night and Beatles For Sale. Those sound better to me in stereo for some reason.

 

Thanks, well that stinks IMO

 

Thanks

 

So....will the mono box have 2 copies of Help and RS? I.e., the mono mixes and "bonus" original stereo mixes of the two albums?

 

Yup!

Especially now that I know they blew Rubber Soul and Help for the stereo box.

For stereo I'll probably buy AHDN, BFS, Revolver, Sgt. Pepper, and The White Album - and wait on the verdict for Abbey Road since I have the Black Triangle.

It's all really beside the point, since I already have all the best versions on vinyl!

 

Yup, the Help and RS CDs in the mono box contain both the 1965 Mono and 1965 Stereo mixes.

 

Okay...I was pissed initially when I misread the original post and thought they skipped the original stereo mixes entirely. Good for the engineers getting them released, albeit in an inconvenient fashion for those buying the Stereo box.

Do any of the cynics out there think that they did this just so the stereo die-hards would have to consider the mono box for completeness's sake?

 

It sort of happened already for some of us - I'm happy with the Capitol versions I grew up with that came out in the Vol. 2 Capitol box. Still, I would like to hear the original UK mixes at some point.