Beatles - Mono VS Stereo

[Erik Rupp]

I heard a back to back comparison between the Mono and Stereo versions of a few of these songs, and I thought that overall they sounded better in mono.

I'm just wondering if anyone here got the mono set and has compared them to the stereo mixes.

I'm not big on some of those early stereo jobs where the drums and vocals are on one side and the guitars and bass are on the other (or some other combination like that).

[Bob Forsythe]

Technology of the day. Wasn't like any radio station back in the '60s was offering stereo, and take my word for it, wasn't like any "stereo" record player could do justice to albums done in stereo.

I think that's the reason many of us blew out our hearing due to cranking up the volume .

=Bob

[Erik Rupp]

My gripe about the, "Stereo," versions of these albums is that, in a way, it's fake stereo. They only had four tracks, and they hard panned them - making for a very odd sounding recording with the drums all the way to one side and the guitars all the way to the other. The mono mixes actually have much more presence for these.

I wish they'd put out the mono versions individually, because that's the way the first four albums were really intended, and it's the way they sound the best.