Beatles sound Quality, purple,orange, ect

[avole]

Have a look at the wikipedia entry for MMT. According to them, the Capitol masters were fake stereo.

Mind you, Wikipedia can be wrong...

 

[beatcomber]

Have a look at the wikipedia entry for MMT. According to them, the Capitol masters were fake stereo.

Mind you, Wikipedia can be wrong...

Wiki is correct, and confirms what I posted, ie: only three songs are not in true stereo:

The first side of the LP was the film soundtrack (like earlier British Beatles soundtrack albums), and the second side was a collection of A-side and B-sides released in 1967, with the songs "Penny Lane", "Baby, You're a Rich Man" and "All You Need Is Love" presented in duophonic, fake "processed" stereo, sound.

 

[empirelvr]

The fake stereo tracks are "Penny Lane," "Baby You're a Rich Man" and "All You Need is Love." Capitol only had the mono single masters for those songs (no UK stereo release at the time either), so they converted them to fake stereo. I'm not sure how/why they got a stereo master for "Strawberry Fields Forever," since that was only issued in mono in the UK at that time (on a 45).

Capitol got a stereo mix of "Strawberry Fields Forever" because a stereo mix had been made when it was slated to be included on "Sgt. Pepper." "Penny Lane" (also to be on "Pepper" originally) didn't get that treatment because halfway through the mono mixing it was decided to be issued as a single and therefore stricken from the "Pepper" lineup.

There is strong evidence that the three reprocessed stereo tracks from "MMT" were done in England at EMI, not by Capitol in the U.S. The rechanneled cuts sound nothing like what Capitol was doing for rechanneled stereo in late 1967 (they are not Duophonic), but matches sonically the "fake stereo" portion of "I Am The Walrus" which was mixed at Abbey Road.

 

[beatcomber]

Capitol got a stereo mix of "Strawberry Fields Forever" because a stereo mix had been made when it was slated to be included on "Sgt. Pepper." "Penny Lane" (also to be on "Pepper" originally) didn't get that treatment because halfway through the mono mixing it was decided to be issued as a single and therefore stricken from the "Pepper" lineup.

Good knowledge!

There is strong evidence that the three reprocessed stereo tracks from "MMT" were done in England at EMI, not by Capitol in the U.S. The rechanneled cuts sound nothing like what Capitol was doing for rechanneled stereo in late 1967, but matches sonically the "fake stereo" portion of "I Am The Walrus" which was mixed at Abbey Road.

Hmm, that sorta makes sense. Abbey Road had done a fake stereo mix of "She Loves You" the year before for the "Collection of Beatles Oldies" album, and it's similar to the MMT fake stereo. The same goes for "Love Me Do" and "PS I Love You" on the UK "Please Please Me" album from '63. Like the MMT tracks, those tracks aren't Duophonic (ie: run through the echo chamber at the Capitol tower in stereo) but have the treble filtered on one side and the bass filtered on the other side.

 

[empirelvr]

Like the MMT tracks, those tracks aren't Duophonic (ie: run through the echo chamber at the Capitol tower in stereo)

That isn't what Duophonic was, though it was a (small) part of it. (I commented earlier on this thread about exactly what that process was.)

 

[ggrey]

I will listen later when I move down to my lair, but I have a Parlaphone silver/black stereo MMT that I love listening to and have never heard any "strange changes" to the stereo imaging from start to finish. Maybe its because thats always been the way I have heard and know it to sound...??

How would I know if it were true stereo or faux? :scratch2:

 

[beatcomber]

That isn't what Duophonic was, though it was a (small) part of it. (I commented earlier on this thread about exactly what that process was.)

Got it! I just singled out the Capitol echo to distinguish the types of rechannelling (if that makes sense!).

I will listen later when I move down to my lair, but I have a Parlaphone silver/black stereo MMT that I love listening to and have never heard any "strange changes" to the stereo imaging from start to finish. Maybe its because thats always been the way I have heard and know it to sound...??

How would I know if it were true stereo or faux? :scratch2:

It's there in every stereo version. Put on headphones and it becomes very obvious:

In the original (1967) stereo release, at around two minutes through the song, the mix changes from true stereo to "fake stereo". This came about because the radio broadcast had been added 'live', off-air, into the mono mix-down and so was unavailable for inclusion in the stereo mix; hence, fake stereo from the mono mix was created for this portion of the song.

The radio is present on the mono mix because the studio console accidentally acted as a receiver and printed the broadcast to the mono master! Lennon liked it, so it stayed; it was a happy accident.

 

[icenine]

How would I know if it were true stereo or faux? :scratch2:

Just spend some big bucks on the German Horzu MMT and you can sleep peacefully in the knowledge that you have the complete side two in true stereo.

Or just go out and buy the 2009 remaster cd which if I am not mistaken is true stereo with the exception of the I Am The Walrus fake stereo part.

 

[GreatTone]

Thanks for the debunking, guys. So, early Beatles stereos are quite common. Good to know when an "expert" is full of crap.

I'll stick to my Stones knitting in the future.

Sorry, I wasn't calling what you said into question, as I don't know much about Beatles vinyl. I was just curious who the NoVA vinyl expert was...thx

 

[KentTeffeteller]

Yes, get thee the West German Horzu MMT for side two in true stereo and most of side one. The West German Apple version is cheaper and easier to find and still excellent. Originally, the MMT soundtrack was to be an EP only. Capitol insisted on a LP issue due to their poor sales of previous EP discs. And after brisk UK sales of Imported US LP copies, EMI-Parlophone relented and issued the US version of Magical Mystery Tour on LP.

 

[beatcomber]

And after brisk UK sales of Imported US LP copies, EMI-Parlophone relented and issued the US version of Magical Mystery Tour on LP.

...in 1976, if I remember correctly.

 

[empirelvr]

The radio is present on the mono mix because the studio console accidentally acted as a receiver and printed the broadcast to the mono master! Lennon liked it, so it stayed; it was a happy accident.

John Lennon has been on record in numerous places saying the mixing in of the audio from the BBC was intentional and not an accident. According to him there was a tuner in the control room that was always set to the BBC. He decided during the mixing of "I Am The Walrus" to have it patched into the board and mixed it in. In fact, if you listen close enough, you can hear "tuning noises" where John fiddled with the tuning knob as he mixed in the radio audio.

 

[beatcomber]

John Lennon has been on record in numerous places saying the mixing in of the audio from the BBC was intentional and not an accident. According to him there was a tuner in the control room that was always set to the BBC. He decided during the mixing of "I Am The Walrus" to have it patched into the board and mixed it in. In fact, if you listen close enough, you can hear "tuning noises" where John fiddled with the tuning knob as he mixed in the radio audio.

I'm not poo-pooing the story, but I've never heard that. Why would there be a radio tuner inside a recording studio?

 

[goldwax]

Yes, get thee the West German Horzu MMT for side two in true stereo and most of side one. The West German Apple version is cheaper and easier to find and still excellent.

This is true--I got the German Apple version for $15 or $20 on eBay two or three years ago. Cover is only VG+, but the vinyl is NM. Sounds great!

 

[empirelvr]

I'm not poo-pooing the story, but I've never heard that. Why would there be a radio tuner inside a recording studio?

There usually is! (I've never been in a studio that didn't have one.)

For the Abbey Road studios, it was probably vital to have one because of WWII. Since England was a target of the Hitler's bombs, it'd be wise to keep a radio always tuned to the BBC around to know what was going on and if and when to get to a shelter during a raid. (Since the studios were soundproofed, you might not hear air raid sirens going off.)

Check this link to hear John talking about it specifically: http://www.denniselsas.com/john-lennon/ (His explanation starts at around 4:00 in.)

 

[beatcomber]

For the Abbey Road studios, it was probably vital to have one because of WWII. Since England was a target of the Hitler's bombs, it'd be wise to keep a radio always tuned to the BBC around to know what was going on and if and when to get to a shelter during a raid.

But the war ended 22 years before "I Am the Walrus" was recorded!

 

[Doug G.]

So the Brits like tradition.

\:^)

Doug

 

[empirelvr]

So the Brits like tradition.

\:^)

Doug

That's an understatement. EMI studios policy about things like that moved at a glacial place. Remember: this was a studio that didn't go 8-track until almost ALL the other studios in Great Britian had long converted to that format.

 

[Doug G.]

Those three songs are true stereo on the 1987 CD.

And I love the bass in "Baby You're a Rich Man".

I was bowled over the first time I heard it (the true bass) because the stereo I had when the album first came out couldn't reproduce it.

Doug

 

[piece-it pete]

I just wanted to report back on the new pressing purple Capitol Revolver.

Got a chance to hear it on a very good system (thanks Big Steve!). Flat as a pancake. Dead quiet. Sadly a bit bright...

Pete