Mono or Stereo?

[MikeL]

I just bought "The Capitol Albums" volume one by the Beatles, and the CDs include both the stereo and mono versions of the songs from the first four American releases.  I'm just wondering what do people here prefer, mono or stereo?  Personally, I like the mono versions better.

 

 

[The Ultimatemost High]

Stereo.  I have two ears.  :)

[MikeL]

I guess that means Van Gogh would have preferred mono:)  Can't say what his favorite band would have been, though.

The Ultimatemost High said:

Stereo.  I have two ears.  :)

[The Ultimatemost High]

Heh.  Yeah, that’s just a dumb joke.  But stereo experimentation in the 60’s has an appeal.  I think it made psychedelia that much more entertaining.  

[MikeL]

You're right, it does work better for songs that are more produced.

 

What you said about having two ears made me think of Van Gogh, so I couldn't resist:)  Maybe I should have made a reference to Paul Stanley, because he was born with a cauliflower ear.

The Ultimatemost High said:

Heh.  Yeah, that’s just a dumb joke.  But stereo experimentation in the 60’s has an appeal.  I think it made psychedelia that much more entertaining.  

[The Ultimatemost High]

Really?  I didn’t know that about Paul.  I just went searching for photos and you can never see his ears.  He even wears a headband over them.

[MikeL]

He kept it very carefully hidden with his hair, and years later he underwent a series of operations to get this problem fixed.  I first read about this in Chris Lendt's book, "Kiss and Sell."

The Ultimatemost High said:

Really?  I didn’t know that about Paul.  I just went searching for photos and you can never see his ears.  He even wears a headband over them.

[Phillip Jaggar]

Mono for DJing, Stereo for home listening. Having to hear a shitty 60's stereo recording in a club sucks, especially bands like Mitch Ryder and the Detroit Wheels, and a few Beatles songs are horrid when played in a club. But I do agree stereo did do wonders for some psychedelia.

[Mole]

Mono generally. Seems more often the actual band are involved in a mono mix, whereas the stereo is done later by an engineer. Not always the case obviously, but generally. I guess later in the 60s people started to actually think more about stereo separation - advances in multitrack technology obviously makes a difference. 2 and 4 track stereo is pretty limited for obvious reasons.

[Lord Muck!!]

Does mono sound better in stereo...??

[MikeL]

LOL!

Lord Muck!! said:

Does mono sound better in stereo...??

[Brother Panti-Christ]

The Beatles in mono is amazing, though I have a soft spot for lots of their stereo mixes. Back in the 80's I stumbled onto a mono version of the White Album and I was pleasantly surprised how much cooler it sounded then the stereo mixes I had heard my entire life. And back in the day they would spend a whole lot more time mixing the Mono versions since that was what would be played on radio and TV.

[Marty Shane, Pacifiction Records]

I put this question in the DJ group forum and this is the kind of input I was looking for, much thanks!

Phillip Jaggar said:

Mono for DJing, Stereo for home listening. Having to hear a shitty 60's stereo recording in a club sucks, especially bands like Mitch Ryder and the Detroit Wheels, and a few Beatles songs are horrid when played in a club. But I do agree stereo did do wonders for some psychedelia.