Finally heard the original mono mixes, from the remastered set of a couple of years ago, and was totally blown away by how much better they are than the stereo mixes I've been listening to all my life. Not just a bit better, but massively, ridiculously better, to my ears at least. Stuff like Paperback Writer just roars out of the speakers (well, speaker, actually!) the drums are loud and trashy, their is sooooo much more ambience on all the tracks (the exact opposite of what you'd sort of expect). And of course some, like Lucy in the Sky, are just massively different--phasing on the entire lead vocal for example. I know what I'm asking Father Christmas for, this year, that's for sure.

Anyone else had this kind of revelation?

And now the question: is it just because they spent more time on the mono mixes, which is well-documented. Or is mono actually a better medium for rock n roll than stereo? Discuss.

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"Ignorance more frequently begets confidence than does knowledge" Charles Darwin.

Need to hear these!

I guess its a different skill set (paricularly mid Fs) to get the balance between instruments as you don't have the luxury of panning sounds to get separation.

For this remaster set didn't they set out to recreate the original mixes as closely as possible although essentialy remixing using some tasteful digital cleaning up first of the master tapes. So it is possible these mixes are better than the original mono mixes (which you rightly say were done over 4 days or say compared to the stereo one day mixes). Much better than the 2006 Love CD which was pants IMO.

An aside....
I fondly remember listening to the original stereo mixes in Woolworths when I was kid as you got to hear the individual components (e.g. BVs or drums) really clearly with 30 feet or more between the speakers. Like a magician showing you how to do the trick and yet still confounding you at the same time.

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although essentialy remixing using some tasteful digital cleaning up first of the master tapes

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My understanding is that there was no actual remixing, just remastering ie taking the original mono (two track??? one track???) tapes and remastering them: bit of cleaning, bit of compression, bit of eq and limiting etc. to get as close to the vinyl as possible. So they didn't go back to the multitracks at all. (What was mono mastered on, 1/2" single track???)

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"Ignorance more frequently begets confidence than does knowledge" Charles Darwin.

you are correct sir!

http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/oct09/articles/beatlesremasters.htm>
The amount of restoration that could be done was, of course, limited by the fact that they were working only with the master recordings — even though, in some cases, it would theoretically have been possible to go back to the multitracks for a cleaner fix.

= minimal tweaking from the original mixes (bit of Cedar, EQ & limiting)

Hardly surprising the mono mixes were better, though, is it? 60's stereo imaging wasn't exactly subtle(!)

(I agree with your comment on paperback writer, especially... brilliant song, brilliant in mono)

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www.thediplomatz.com

Current SOS -

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On 7th October, 1968, Ken Scott made mono mixes of the 'While My Guitar Gently Weeps' backing track that had been recorded on 5th September, and he did so again on 14th October when he also took care of the then-still-less important stereo mix.

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