Bad stereo mixes

[mikeweil]

In the early years of stereo some engineers audibly had no idea of how to make a proper stereo mix. Today I encountered another bad example:

Chris Connor and the rhythm section on the left channel, woodinds, brass and strings on the right, with a lot more presence, often overpowering the voice. Using the balance control only partly remedies the problem, as there is still much of the brass leaking over to the let channel. I'm close to buying an original mono pressing - anybody here happens to have one to spare me a similarly bad mono mix?

And please, go ahead to post other badly mixed stereo albums  - I'm afraid  Atlantic will lead the pack ....

[mikeweil]

The stereo release had Monk on one channel and the rest of the band on the other, nothing in the center - simply unlistenable. Fortunately the more recent CD reissues corrected this.

[Scott Dolan]

Reminds me of some of the early Beatles stereo mixes. Though in fairness they worked well enough. 

When the Sgt. Pepper remix came out last year, it did kinda show how bad the original mixes were. Though the music was so experimental that it sounded "right". 

Edited May 1, 2018 by Scott Dolan

[Brad]

Speaking of the Beatles, about a month ago I was listening to one of their albums in stereo (one of the ones that was remastered when the mono box came out) and it sounded jarring. I then listened to another album in mono and that sounded right (at least to me). 

[Scott Dolan]

That's because they spent almost all of their time on the mono mixes back then as stereo still hadn't become the norm in the U.K. 

In the liner notes for the Sgt. Pepper's box it essentially said they wrapped the mono mix sessions and were barely around for the stereo mix. 

[Clunky]

2 hours ago, mikeweil said:

The stereo release had Monk on one channel and the rest of the band on the other, nothing in the center - simply unlistenable. Fortunately the more recent CD reissues corrected this.

This must be the worst example I've come across. I miss the mono button on my old amp that with one touch rendered this set listenable!

 

[mikeweil]

Just now, Clunky said:

I miss the mono button on my old amp that with one touch rendered this set listenable!

 

That was a great feature! Had a Teleton amp for some years that even had a blend poti from stereo to mono. Works great on albums with ping-pong stereo effects, too.

[Scott Dolan]

I agree. 

Mono switches have to be the most missed feature of modern stereo amps. 

[medjuck]

It was sort of fun to have the vocals in one channel and the instruments in the other on the early Beatles stereo releases. 

Edited May 1, 2018 by medjuck

[Scott Dolan]

Kinda. 

I remember the first time I listened to Strawberry Fields all the way through on the right channel, and then all the way through on the left channel. Pretty amazing how it seemed like two completely different tunes. 

[mikeweil]

7 hours ago, medjuck said:

It was sort of fun to have the vocals in one channel and the instruments in the other on the early Beatles stereo releases. 

Nice for singing along .....

[paul secor]

I recall hearing an early Dylan album in stereo (can't recall which one) with his vocals on one channel and his guitar on the other - very strange.