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Mono sounds you'd LIKE to hear....


Big Al

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What's the Nero software you're talking about? Maybe that would be an improvement over GoldWave.

It's the regular Nero used for burning CDrs. I used that "pan in" option for the Bill Evans with Gary McFarland session in the Evans box set. The stereo separation was way too wide (not a problem I often have) and the music sounded a lot better after I panned it in.

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by the way, was talking to my grandpa about my thory, how even if its a stereo lp once it gets inside yr head its folded down to mono, he said its just the opposite- the brain does processes the seperate sounds seperately, and the way human hearing works it gives you a sence of direction, and then he had to hang up but hell call me back and tell me more later

You should call Lou Donaldson and see what he thinks about it.

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What's the Nero software you're talking about? Maybe that would be an improvement over GoldWave.

It's the regular Nero used for burning CDrs. I used that "pan in" option for the Bill Evans with Gary McFarland session in the Evans box set. The stereo separation was way too wide (not a problem I often have) and the music sounded a lot better after I panned it in.

I'll check that out. I haven't used Nero to burn CDrs before. Thanks for the tip.

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I think the Monk session with Blakey on Atlantic and all the Monk sessions on Columbia are much preferable in mono. All of the stereo versions of these have Monk in one channel and I find it distracting. I tend to enjoy mono more, but mostly because I can "ignore" the mix and just heaar the music. Also, there are some mixes that just sound better to me in mono. An example of this is "Cape Verdean Blues' by Horace Silver. In the mono version, Silver's piano is much more up front, and it drives the music, where in the stereo version he's in one channel and the result leaves the piano much more in the background. I think the same is true with "Way Out West" by Sonny Rollins, where in the stereo version he's only in the one channel and I find it distracting. Same is true with the Art Pepper Contemporary recordings. Just a preference, not religion by any means.

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I have an original U.S. pressing of Sgt. Peppers in mono and I'm not that impressed by it. I prefer it in stereo. I've read (yes, over in Hoffmanville) that the U.K. mono is the one to get. I haven't heard it so I can't say. I've also heard that the Beatle's White Album is excellent in mono, but again I haven't heard it, but I'd like to.

Re: mono jazz, I like it. I have many mono jazz titles on lp but in most cases I haven't heard the stereo version so I've never compared them. I don't bother with that kind of obsession much. If I can get a clean original of a rare jazz title, I'll take whatever I can get. Some of those old jazz records are getting too hard to find to be that picky.

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I have an original U.S. pressing of Sgt. Peppers in mono and I'm not that impressed by it. I prefer it in stereo. I've read (yes, over in Hoffmanville) that the U.K. mono is the one to get. I haven't heard it so I can't say. I've also heard that the Beatle's White Album is excellent in mono, but again I haven't heard it, but I'd like to.

I prefer Pepper in mono, but to each his own.

As for the White Album, that was the first Beatles album for which the stereo mix was of primary importance. The mono version is very sloppy and has all the mistakes and out-of-whack levels that you typically hear on their earlier LPs in stereo. Worth hearing if you're obsessed, but stick with the stereo. IMHO.

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The problem isn't the stereo, it's the way that the stereo image is used, particularly in the early days. The stereo mix of Thelonious Monk with Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers had Monk in one channel, and the Messengers in the other- not a pleasant listening experience (especially with headphones), particularly as Monk goes long stretches without playing (bassist Spanky DeBrest is practically inaudible, too). The mono version is fuller, punchier and more integrated.

Same problem with early Beatles stereo: vocals in one channel; instruments in the other.

Yet all of the Monk/Messengers CD reissues, if I'm not mistaken, are in stereo. More marketable, for sure, but less listenable. I'd love to hear that I'm wrong about this. Anyone know of a mono CD Monk/Messengers?)

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But does stereo give one the environmental quality that experience in-the-world has? Can you hear a recording as though you were quite literally in the middle of it?

Not every producer is shooting for natural, real-world sound. I would say that the goal in most straight-ahead jazz albums is probably to record the group naturally.

The irony with early stereo recordings is that they often did not present a real world scenario. When has anyone gone to a club and heard the vocal from one side of the room and the instruments from another? Or things flying from one side of the room to another - other than chairs or glasses, if a fight broke out. Generally you hear most everything in the center, with subtle placement of details in one direction or another. Some recordings either capture this naturally or recreate it artificially. Stereo imaging did not become dependable until the early 70s. Up until then it was a crap shoot.

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I have an original U.S. pressing of Sgt. Peppers in mono and I'm not that impressed by it. I prefer it in stereo. I've read (yes, over in Hoffmanville) that the U.K. mono is the one to get. I haven't heard it so I can't say...

I have both US and UK mono Peppers. They have the same mix but are mastered differently. US has a little more compression and more of the mid-rangey sound. The UK is less compressed and has more highs. I like them both.

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The problem isn't the stereo, it's the way that the stereo image is used, particularly in the early days. The stereo mix of Thelonious Monk with Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers had Monk in one channel, and the Messengers in the other- not a pleasant listening experience (especially with headphones), particularly as Monk goes long stretches without playing (bassist Spanky DeBrest is practically inaudible, too). The mono version is fuller, punchier and more integrated.

Same problem with early Beatles stereo: vocals in one channel; instruments in the other.

Yet all of the Monk/Messengers CD reissues, if I'm not mistaken, are in stereo. More marketable, for sure, but less listenable. I'd love to hear that I'm wrong about this. Anyone know of a mono CD Monk/Messengers?)

The mid-nineties Rhino version in the slipcase. Can't check it right now, I think it's mono, or very narrowed stereo.

B00000HZF0.01._SCLZZZZZZZ_.jpg

Edited by jazzbo
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I have an original U.S. pressing of Sgt. Peppers in mono and I'm not that impressed by it. I prefer it in stereo. I've read (yes, over in Hoffmanville) that the U.K. mono is the one to get. I haven't heard it so I can't say...

I have both US and UK mono Peppers. They have the same mix but are mastered differently. US has a little more compression and more of the mid-rangey sound. The UK is less compressed and has more highs. I like them both.

Thanks for that info. That'll keep me from spending much on a mono Pepper if I ever run across one.

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The thing I like better about Pepper in mono - and most 60s rock/pop in mono, for that matter - is that there is a better balance between the instruments and vocals. "Lucy in the Sky," "Fixing a Hole," and "Lovely Rita," for starters, have a much ballsier sound when everything kicks in. The stereo mix overall is vocal heavy and parts of it are very lopsided. On the other hand, "Getting Better" and "She's Leaving Home" sound great in stereo, because they are balanced well.

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The problem isn't the stereo, it's the way that the stereo image is used, particularly in the early days. The stereo mix of Thelonious Monk with Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers had Monk in one channel, and the Messengers in the other- not a pleasant listening experience (especially with headphones), particularly as Monk goes long stretches without playing (bassist Spanky DeBrest is practically inaudible, too). The mono version is fuller, punchier and more integrated.

Same problem with early Beatles stereo: vocals in one channel; instruments in the other.

Yet all of the Monk/Messengers CD reissues, if I'm not mistaken, are in stereo. More marketable, for sure, but less listenable. I'd love to hear that I'm wrong about this. Anyone know of a mono CD Monk/Messengers?)

The mid-nineties Rhino version in the slipcase. Can't check it right now, I think it's mono, or very narrowed stereo.

B00000HZF0.01._SCLZZZZZZZ_.jpg

Listening to that right now. Can't tell if this is mono or a very narrow stereo spread, but it may as well be mono. Either way, a MUCH better listening experience over its stereo counterpart.

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I have an original U.S. pressing of Sgt. Peppers in mono and I'm not that impressed by it. I prefer it in stereo. I've read (yes, over in Hoffmanville) that the U.K. mono is the one to get. I haven't heard it so I can't say...

I have both US and UK mono Peppers. They have the same mix but are mastered differently. US has a little more compression and more of the mid-rangey sound. The UK is less compressed and has more highs. I like them both.

Thanks for that info. That'll keep me from spending much on a mono Pepper if I ever run across one.

Just download the damn thing and give it a listen. They ain't ever gonna re-release the mono version.

Edited by RDK
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Just download the damn thing and give it a listen. They ain't ever gonna re-release the mono version.

I believe that within the next five years or so, the fab four's catalog will be completely overhauled, and they'll release everything - mono, stereo, and odd mixes for the US. Paul will need the money.

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