A Beatles Virtual Instrument

[zed]

Number 9. Number 9. Number 9.

9/9/9

nine nine nine

Today is the ninth day of the ninth month of the ninth year of the century.

Beatles albums have all been remastered and will be available in record stores on this day. I don't know about you guys, but I'm going out to buy the stereo box set.

And speaking of Beatles Virtual Instruments, Beatles Rock Band comes out today as well.

[Frodo]

Number 9. Number 9. Number 9.

9/9/9

nine nine nine

Today is the ninth day of the ninth month of the ninth year of the century.

Beatles albums have all been remastered and will be available in record stores on this day. I don't know about you guys, but I'm going out to buy the stereo box set.

And speaking of Beatles Virtual Instruments, Beatles Rock Band comes out today as well.

This is so nice to see-- don't have my copy yet, but pre-orders were quite brisk... Amazon sold out days ago and is awaiting for the second shipment. I'll be checking a few local stores later today to see what's out there.

[kgdrum]

Number 9. Number 9. Number 9.

9/9/9

nine nine nine

Today is the ninth day of the ninth month of the ninth year of the century.

Beatles albums have all been remastered and will be available in record stores on this day. I don't know about you guys, but I'm going out to buy the stereo box set.

get the Mono set!!!

[Frodo]

Cash outlay aside, there are excellent reasons to have both-- if you're a die-hard Beatle fan.

The beauty of the sound on the LOVE CD and for those tracks which were restored throughout the Anthology DVDs are strong votes for the stereo versions.

Because the group "thought" in mono initially offers some measure of how THEY expected their mixes to sound. I'm looking forward to both versions, but it might be an investment made over time in favor of buying more RAM and hard drives at the moment.

[kgdrum]

Because the group "thought" in mono initially offers some measure of how THEY expected their mixes to sound.

from what I have heard ,read and listened to most recordings of this era were recorded and mixed in Mono for AM radio airplay etc...they spent much more of the budget/resources for the mono mixes than the stereo mix's
stereo was treated more like a gimmick.
I have some mono LP's of Beatles Bob Dylan,Miles etc...they sound amazing in mono!
I still don't totally grasp how you hear so much spatial imaging,room placement etc.....in mono.

[Frodo]

I still don't totally grasp how you hear so much spatial imaging,room placement etc.....in mono.

I can't say that I fully understand it either, but mono mixes for me are easier to deal with because it focuses my attention towards fewer elements than might be at issue with a stereo mix. Without panning, the arrangement becomes more integral to the mix if some parts get in the way of what's important. At that point, I find that I tend to remove musical elements for the sake of the mix to create more "space" if it doesn't work in mono. Of course, if a group really knows what its doing then the arrangement is more likely to work fine.

One of the best ways for me to test a stereo mix is to pop it into mono. I learn so much more about EQ-ing and how to refine EQ settings this way. The perception of relative balance can also be refined in surprising ways in mono at low levels. I know this is nothing new-- but it continues to fascinate me.

I agree-- it's amazing how great those original mono LPs sound to this day. There's a lot to learn yet about how the best recordings were tracked back then. That these Beatle recordings contained enough info which has held up for all this time shows how well recorded those tracks were. I don't know the degree to which restoration software was used, but I do recall in some documentary where George Martin was running the mixes from tape during the LOVE project, saying how surprised he was at how fresh they still sounded. That he was running tape at the time sort of made me want to find more info on just what was done.

I know that they chose to use the old Redd console instead of a more modern board, but I'm really curious to find out more about what happened during and after the AD phase of the process.

[dosuna11]

I can't say that I fully understand it either, but mono mixes for me are easier to deal with because it focuses my attention towards fewer elements than might be at issue with a stereo mix. Without panning, the arrangement becomes more integral to the mix if some parts get in the way of what's important. At that point, I find that I tend to remove musical elements for the sake of the mix to create more "space" if it doesn't work in mono. Of course, if a group really knows what its doing then the arrangement is more likely to work fine.

The pinnacle technology of the time is better than the 1st use of the newest technology. There was a lot of experience in mixing in the mono world. I feel the simple use of location in the mix (example drums) did not lead the listener to far away from centerpiece horn or vocal. A good song sounds good in any style as it has so much power and merit. Much less of "fix it in the mix" back then. Side by side comparison of the A releases vs the later release of the unreleased material shows why the one's released were chosen. Now that magic is the stuff that makes this job so much fun.

[zed]

Unbelievable!!

I just woke up and called my local music store. They had tonnes of copies of these box sets, including 200 of the mono box sets. They have only been open for 3 and a half hours and they are completely SOLD OUT. Geeeezzz.

Apparently most of them were sold through pre-order. I guess I should have gotten myself on that list.

But, each of the individual CDs is available in large quantities, and they are actually cheaper than those in the box set. I can save $20 by just buying all the CDs individually, and apparently all that would be missing is the box, and an extra DVD with the mini-documentaries which are actually included on each CD. (EDIT >>> I just remembered that the white album is probably twice the price, so the savings are much less than $20),

Mono CDs are not available individually, unfortunately. So that is not an option.

And yes, I love and appreciate those mono Beatles recordings. I think some of those early mono mixes are phenomenal. But when we get to all the psychedelic stuff, the mono mixes seem to lose their cool. Hearing the white album without stereo separation feels like you are missing a really important element of the song.

[Frodo]

Unbelievable!!

I just woke up and called my local music store. They had tonnes of copies of these box sets, including 200 of the mono box sets. They have only been open for 3 and a half hours and they are completely SOLD OUT. Geeeezzz.

Okay-- I'm getting nervous!

Apparently most of them were sold through pre-order. I guess I should have gotten myself on that list.

I've been thinking the same thing, but while this is an important release it's incredible to see how robustly it's being gobbled up!

But, each of the individual CDs is available in large quantities, and they are actually cheaper than those in the box set. I can save $20 by just buying all the CDs individually, and apparently all that would be missing is the box, and an extra DVD with the mini-documentaries which are actually included on each CD. (EDIT >>> I just remembered that the white album is probably twice the price, so the savings are much less than $20),

Mono CDs are not available individually, unfortunately. So that is not an option.

And yes, I love and appreciate those mono Beatles recordings. I think some of those early mono mixes are phenomenal. But when we get to all the psychedelic stuff, the mono mixes seem to lose their cool. Hearing the white album without stereo separation feels like you are missing a really important element of the song.

Darn it, Mr. Zed. I'm trying so hard to be frugal here, but you've convinced me that I won't be satisfied with anything less than everything!

[dosuna11]

Darn it, Mr. Zed. I'm trying so hard to be frugal here, but you've convinced me that I won't be satisfied with anything less than everything!

All you need is love!

[Frodo]

Darn it, Mr. Zed. I'm trying so hard to be frugal here, but you've convinced me that I won't be satisfied with anything less than everything!

All you need is love!

It's easy!

[mhschmieder]

I've heard the same thing; that it's already too late for the Mono Box and that they won't be available individually (grr!). Only 10,000 made?

[zed]

I've heard the same thing; that it's already too late for the Mono Box and that they won't be available individually (grr!). Only 10,000 made?

I read somewhere that they are already aware that the demand was much higher than expected and have scheduled a second pressing of the Mono Box set. So it should be available again later this fall.

[David Polich]

I picked up Sgt. Pepper's and Abbey Road today at Borders.

Gonna start my morning tomorrow by listening to them.

Should be delicious...

[Frodo]

Why does this not surprise me?

http://cgi.ebay.com/THE-BEATLES-LIMITED ... 1881wt_914


In other news, Amazon now has active shopping cart buttons up for the second pre-order of the box sets--

Stereo= $179 USD, ships 2-4 weeks

Mono= $229 USD, ships 3-6 weeks

Now--- Amazon also has an import version for $484.49 USD ($624.98 list).

Back in the day of vinyl, "import" was a huge watchword--but for CDs? Hmm. Sounds like $300+ for shipping to me, but I'd be concerned about region codes as well.