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Thread: Are Mono (Monaural) Recordings Overrated?

  1. #1
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    Are Mono (Monaural) Recordings Overrated?

    It's holiday time and the record companies are reaching into their vaults to issue boxed sets, many of which include original mono recordings -- Bob Dylan, Buffalo Springfield, Miles Davis and The Beatles, to name a few. They tout the "glory" and the "wonderfulness" of the original mono version. I admit that a few bands' recordings have better mono mixes than the stereo version (e.g. The Yardbirds phony Epic label stereo is "rechannelled"), but I question whether or not mono is better than stereo overall. Your thoughts?
    "I got murder in my heart for the judge."

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    Forum Member S. Cane's Avatar
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    Re: Are Mono (Monaural) Recordings Overrated?

    Maybe it's just a matter of nostalgia. All I can say is, they do sound pretty cool. I have several mono records and I love them.

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    Forum Member ch willie's Avatar
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    Re: Are Mono (Monaural) Recordings Overrated?

    While I prefer The Beatles early stuff to be in mono, the albums from Rubber Soul up are best in stereo. I just listened to the White Album in both stereo and mono. It sounded so much more like live in stereo, and just as important the instruments are more distinct and full.
    If we'd known we were going to be the Beatles, we'd have tried harder.--George Harrison

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    Forum Member OldStrummer's Avatar
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    Re: Are Mono (Monaural) Recordings Overrated?

    I have several Bluetooth speakers in my home, a Bose Mini II Soundlink and a Bang & Olfusen Beoplay A2. I also have a Bang & Olufsen stereo sound system. I use a Bluetooth speaker to stream from my computer. The sound quality is excellent. And it's monaural!

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    Forum Member Offshore Angler's Avatar
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    Re: Are Mono (Monaural) Recordings Overrated?

    If for nothing else, I like to listen to them to appreciate the mastery of the mixing that the engineers did. When you hear the early Beatles, or Nelson Riddle's orchestra behind Sinatra, and everything is clear, pops and lively, - man that took talent to make that happen! I doubt anyone could do that today.
    "No harmonic knowledge, no sense of time, a ghastly tone, unskilled vibrato, and so on. Chuck is one of the worst guitar players I know" -Gravity Jim

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    Re: Are Mono (Monaural) Recordings Overrated?

    Part 1: In my earliest of years that I can recall it was basically all mono. Your car radio had a single speaker in the dash. Radios in your home had a single speaker. Record players had a single speaker. IMO, mono was mono because it didn't have to be any better and still AM radio formats in it because it's best for the spoken word. Still, if you have a mono record playing on a stereo with two speakers that's technically stereo but to actually hear what's happening within the entire recording only one speaker would be necessary and with that you hear mono. Stereo recording in its basic form involved using two mics for a single recording one panned to the left the other to the right. With that if you have a left and right speaker control on your stereo when you single out the speakers you will have a slightly different sound for the left and right.

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    Re: Are Mono (Monaural) Recordings Overrated?

    Part II: I remember in the 70's that some records when you panned left would take out the bass and when you panned to the right would take out the lead or rhythm guitar. When you purchase mono recordings today it is in mono but you're not hearing a true mono play back unless you're listening on a mono device. As it was when I was a boy the difference in mono and stereo back then is like taking any cd in your music collection and listening to it through your smart phone speaker and still turning down the bass down some.

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    Re: Are Mono (Monaural) Recordings Overrated?

    Part III: Are they overrated? IMO I would say not for what they are intended to be which are a mono recording. Now, coming from my personal experience in the late 60's through 70's my opinion when I first saw something recreated in the mono format was why would anyone want to listen to mono? For someone who didn't bloom into stereo from mono I would say it's something they would want to experience but unless you have the ability to take a mono recording and listen to it on a mono device it is still being made better digitally or automatically remastered to some extent.

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    Re: Are Mono (Monaural) Recordings Overrated?

    Do recordings give you mono? I never knew that...

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