Why not mix an album in mono?

  • Thread starter Thread starter curtiswyant
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So what's a 'mock stereo' mix? Is that just a quicky rough spread across the L/R span?
 
Monkey Allen said:
So what's a 'mock stereo' mix? Is that just a quicky rough spread across the L/R span?

No, a mock stereo mix is a regular ole stereo mix done by a guy named Mark who lives in Boston.
 
Mock or faux stereo is when for instance the bass drum is in the left speaker, the snare in the right etc. "Regular" stereo is using XY or MS paired mics.....


.... I think. :)
 
No, that IS a stereo drum mix.

As I understand it, mock stereo is when you take a mono signal and artificially make it seem like stereo. Either by cloning it and moving it back or forward a few ms. Or eq'ing the 2 signals differently. I thought that was answered in this thread already.
 
Willis was going on about some fella called Mark from Boston
 
RAMI said:
No, that IS a stereo drum mix.

As I understand it, mock stereo is when you take a mono signal and artificially make it seem like stereo. Either by cloning it and moving it back or forward a few ms. Or eq'ing the 2 signals differently. I thought that was answered in this thread already.

I feel like a dill. I must have confused myself somewhere along the line because only five minutes before my last post, I started a thread using your definition of faux stereo. I must have been thinking of "beatles" stereo :D. where the panning is a special effect, rather than a tool for spatial image replication.
 
You folks are making me feel very old, because I assumed that everyone knew this stuff by virtue of being around when the changes occurred. I forget how old I am!

Stereo records became available in the mid-fifties, although it was a novelty at the time because most people had monaural record players (and you could damage a stereo record by playing it with a monaural stylus). Therefore, until at least the late sixties, long-playing records (LPs) were offered in both mono and stereo versions. The recording process itself - to tape - was often two- or three-track even in the early fifties.

"Faux" or "electronically reprocessed for stereo" records were made in cases where multitrack masters were not available. It's pretty much what it says it is: Changing the sound of the two sides by EQ and delay. And, generally, it sounds like poop.

The Beach Boys were generally offered only in monaural because Brian Wilson was/is deaf in one ear, and he insisted on being involved in the mixing!

ALL of the Beatles LPs were recorded on multitrack tapes and offered in both monaural and stereo versions (except perhaps White Album and Let it Be [stereo only] - I don't remember).
 
Monkey Allen said:
Willis was going on about some fella called Mark from Boston

Picture Cliff Clavin(Cheers) lookin' for a guy named Mark.

"Anyone here seen Mock? I'm lookin' for Mock."

Ah forget it!
 
I guessed you were making a reference to something or other. I never watched Cheers ever
 
mix in mono

Why would i want to mix in mono? Why would someone care about what someone did years ago? Who is asking these questions? Probably a bunch of tired old men. You know i am terrible at almost everything i do, but one thing i am great at is telling who is an artist and who is a bitter hobbyist. And i have to say anyone who would disregard a form of art because its "old" or "old fashioned" doesnt know art. Maybe in your circle of friends you are the best musician or artist, but in the big wide world you wouldnt even be counted. Recording is a from of art that mostly involves music. Music is of course a snapshot or a series of depicted emotions. The recording preserves the emotion hopefully in a way that suits the feel or mood the artist wants. So if all that is true why would doing something to achieve a certain effect be bad? Hey when are people going to stand up to the dumb ass rat race? Some guy earlier said that people these days expect certain things in music. Certain sounds certain songs certain tones. Fuck people man. Who cares what people think? I know entertainment involves some audience interaction, so completely leaving out the audience is impossible. But try to see it this way, Do you really want to feed the norm and feed the lack of attention span people have these days? Not me. If anything i want to make people bend their personal rules because the songs are so undeniable. Maybe they arent used to liking something in mono. Fuck them. Make a song that makes them LOVE mono. Music these days is predictable and boring even when the band is screaming into the mic and everything is distorted and naked zombie women are dancing on stage. Even that is bland and common. So i say go deeper. Be truly different in how you approach what music should be. Dont let stupid bullshit get in the way of whats real. I think if anyone follows this advice they may have a few people mocking them at first but then people will come around and respect them in time. Theres a ton of that in the history of both music and art (paintings, architecture). Im not pissed at people who shit on anything that isnt modern and shiny and cutting edge. I would just like to say YOU FUCKERS ARE RUINING IT FOR US REAL MUSICIANS!
 
And you felt compelled to inflict that ridiculous diatribe on us because of what?

And who the hell are YOU to dictate who is a real musician and who isn't?

Sheesh, get back on yer meds, dude.
 
A frickin' three page thread about technology that was outdated 40 years ago, on a Home Recording Forum topped off by that refreshing bit of stupid puked from No Friends keyboard.

I love this place.
 
Monkey Allen said:
I guessed you were making a reference to something or other. I never watched Cheers ever

I see the problem now. You're from the land down under, where women glow and men plunder. Can't you hear, can't you hear the thunder? You better run, you better take cover.
 
Just mix to mono if you feel like it.

It's not breaking any rules, laws or standards.
Some may think it's an artistic esthetic.
Some may think it's a sign of pure laziness.
As long as your mix translates the way you want, who cares what people think? :eek:
 
The Beatles themselves mixed the album in mono and the LP was originally released as such alongside a stereo mix prepared by Abbey Road engineers (with the mono version now out-of-print). The two mixes are fundamentally different. For example, the stereo "She's Leaving Home" was mixed at a lower pitch than the original recording and plays at a slower tempo. Similarly, the mono version of "Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds" is considerably slower than the stereo version and features much heavier gating and reverb effects. Paul McCartney's yelling voice in the coda section of "Sgt. Pepper (Reprise)" (just before the segue into "A Day In The Life") can plainly be heard in the mono version, but is inaudible in the stereo version. Also in the stereo mix, the famous segue at the end of "Good Morning, Good Morning" (the chicken-clucking sound which becomes a guitar noise) is timed differently and a crowd noise tape comes in later during the intro to "Sgt. Pepper (Reprise)." Other variations between the two mixes abound.

Courtesy of Wikimedia.
 
hey rock star...you sound like my older brother!

he was saying all this sht about how this one sounded different than that one...he didn't like this version...it sounded different??
i thought he heard them maybe one too many times, a little crazy? :p

then later reading all these books you realize all this mixing sht went on...and they actually are totally different mixes...he was right! :eek:
 
ez_willis said:
I see the problem now. You're from the land down under, where women glow and men plunder. Can't you hear, can't you hear the thunder? You better run, you better take cover.

We also watch lightening crack over cane fields :D
 
Rock Star 87 said:
Similarly, the mono version of "Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds" is considerably slower than the stereo version and features much heavier gating and reverb effects.


Uhh, those BBC engineers were pretty slick but I've never seen anything that mentioned them having noise gates in the early years. The first ones I remember seeing was in the 70's, Valley People's Keypex.

And for anyone to say that mixing in mono is wrong simply because we all have "stereo systems"?!? You'd better watch playing those mono records on them, the Stereo Police will come get you and you'll NEVER see the light of day again!!

Mike
 
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