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The Beatles personally supervised the mono mixes until their stereo-only release "Abbey Road". During the 1960s, the stereo audio systems weren't as prevalent,

The Beatles personally supervised the mono mixes until their stereo-only release "Abbey Road". During the 1960s, the stereo audio systems weren't as prevalent, so the band delegated stereo mixes to their producer George Martin. These mixes tend to separate instruments completely on the Left and Right tracks. Perhaps Martin hoped that this would produce an effect of the instruments coming from many places. Personally, I feel this is gimmicky at best, and disintegrated at worst especially when listening on headphones. In September 9, 2009, EMI released their then-latest remasters of the Beatles studio discography. In fact, they released two versions: stereo and mono. If I recall correctly, the mono box set sold out quickly, and had to be reissued. This suggests that audiophiles perceive providence in the mono releases. If you want to listen to the Beatles as the band has intended, you should listen to the mono mixes on vinyl.

klodolph 5y ago
> Perhaps Martin hoped that this would produce an effect of the instruments coming from many places. Personally, I feel this is gimmicky at best, and disintegrated at worst especially when listening on headphones. This is not how it happened. Stereo record players started appearing in the late 1950s and were seen as somewhat a gimmick at first. The equipment for producing stereo records was not like it is today. You might use a four-track tape machine to record the band, and mix it on a console which had a three-way switch for each channel: left, center, and right. Sgt. Pepper came out in 1967 and was produced on such equipment, although the studio was able to synchronize two tape machines together (and they also bounced mixes to tape to build up layers). They just didn’t have pan pots on their mixing consoles back then. By the time Abbey Road came out in 1969, the studio had moved to eight-track machines which could more easily be synchronized, you could find a basic “pan” knob on your mixing console, and no mono mix of the record was made.

klodolph 5y ago

> Perhaps Martin hoped that this would produce an effect of the instruments coming from many places. Personally, I feel this is gimmicky at best, and disintegrated at worst especially when listening on headphones. This is not how it happened. Stereo record players started appearing in the late 1950s and were seen as somewhat a gimmick at first. The equipment for producing stereo records was not like it is today. You might use a four-track tape machine to record the band, and mix it on a console which had a three-way switch for each channel: left, center, and right. Sgt. Pepper came out in 1967 and was produced on such equipment, although the studio was able to synchronize two tape machines together (and they also bounced mixes to tape to build up layers). They just didn’t have pan pots on their mixing consoles back then. By the time Abbey Road came out in 1969, the studio had moved to eight-track machines which could more easily be synchronized, you could find a basic “pan” knob on your mixing console, and no mono mix of the record was made.