By Jackson Weinheimer
When The Beatles got their start in the early 1960's, mono was considered to be the standard for music. The music that The Beatles listened to was in mono and almost all of their fans listened to their music in mono. At that time stereo was considered to be something for "high end audiophiles" who were usually more interested in classical or jazz music.
Because of this, The Beatles and their production team didn't spend much time on their stereo mixes. They really spent the majority of their time mixing the mono versions of their songs. In contrast the stereo versions were sort of "thrown together" in a rather "experimental" fashion.
Many of their stereo mixes (especially from the earlier songs) sound quite disconcerting by today's standards. Many of them have all of the vocals on one side and all of the drums on the other for example! This is particularly an issue when listening on headphones (another important point is that nearly as many people listened to music on headphones in the 1960s as they do today).
With the release of The Beatles in Mono Box Set many Beatles fans are able to hear their songs in mono for the very first time (up until now only the stereo mixes for many of their songs have been available on CD).
Two examples of songs that I think sound far better in mono than they do in stereo are 1965's "Day Tripper" (which can be heard in mono on the Mono Masters compilation included in the Mono Box Set) and 1966's "Eleanor Rigby" (which can be heard in mono on the mono version of Revolver included in The Beatles in Mono Box Set).
In the stereo version of "Day Tripper" the vocals are panned hard right and the drums are panned hard left. This is extremely annoying when listening on headphones. Obviously with the mono version, everything is mixed right up the middle. This gives it a much "powerful" sound.
In the stereo version of "Eleanor Rigby" the vocals on the verse are hard right while the strings are in the center (and basically nothing is on the left.) This is a very lopsided mix which is why I think it sounds better in mono.
"Eleanor Rigby" in Mono.
"Day Tripper" in Mono.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jackson_Weinheimer
http://EzineArticles.com/?Beatles-Songs-That-Are-Better-in-Mono---Day-Tripper-and-Eleanor-Rigby&id=3162841
Sunday, November 1, 2009
Jimi Hendrix 40 Years Later
By Chris JW Adams
Forty years ago the flower power movement was in full swing and nearing its end as we entered the 1970's. Pink Floyd were entertaining crowds with their new breed of LSD inspired rock music with their incredible (even in the early days) light show Britannia Row. Eric Clapton was God and Jimi Hendrix was wowing audiences with his incredible fret board acrobatics.
So what were the ingredients of Hendrix's success. Before becoming an overnight sensation in London, Hendrix played guitar in backing bands where he was hardly allowed to play his axe at all compared to what was about to happen.
Chas Chandler recognized his talent and offered to take him to London where he was teamed up with bassist Noel Redding and drummer Mitch Mitchell to form The Jimi Hendrix Experience. Hendrix revolutionised the way guitar was played and perceived. His 'turn everything up, full-on' blazing technique was his trademark.
Hendrix played left-handed using mostly Fender Stratocaster guitars upside down because he never had a left-handed one made. His techniques involved a big sound and lots of feedback. Many people who have seen Hendrix live more than once will tell you that one night he would be just amazing, that they had never seen anything like it and another night he would be terrible. Like his track Manic Depression, he was very unpredictable. On a good night he was an incredible performer, his guitar could be totally out of tune but he would bend the strings into tune. In doing this, it was like he was totally connected to the music.
Hendrix's favourite make of amplifier was Sun but these had a tendency to burn out when played at full blast for any length of time. So Hendrix used the more robust Marshall's.
Hendrix's father was a brass player. It has been said that much of the swells and turns in Hendrix's technique are mimicking the sounds of brass instruments. So it can be said that a chance meeting, when the time was right by a man with the right connections and an untapped raw talent changed the course of music history.
Chris Adams studied Hendrix every day for many years as a teenager. Now Chris has been playing guitar for over thirty years and you can still hear the Hendrix in his playing. Chris is signed to Tree records. http://chrisadams.tv and http://myspace.com/chrisadams7.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Chris_JW_Adams
http://EzineArticles.com/?Jimi-Hendrix-40-Years-Later&id=3150937
Forty years ago the flower power movement was in full swing and nearing its end as we entered the 1970's. Pink Floyd were entertaining crowds with their new breed of LSD inspired rock music with their incredible (even in the early days) light show Britannia Row. Eric Clapton was God and Jimi Hendrix was wowing audiences with his incredible fret board acrobatics.
So what were the ingredients of Hendrix's success. Before becoming an overnight sensation in London, Hendrix played guitar in backing bands where he was hardly allowed to play his axe at all compared to what was about to happen.
Chas Chandler recognized his talent and offered to take him to London where he was teamed up with bassist Noel Redding and drummer Mitch Mitchell to form The Jimi Hendrix Experience. Hendrix revolutionised the way guitar was played and perceived. His 'turn everything up, full-on' blazing technique was his trademark.
Hendrix played left-handed using mostly Fender Stratocaster guitars upside down because he never had a left-handed one made. His techniques involved a big sound and lots of feedback. Many people who have seen Hendrix live more than once will tell you that one night he would be just amazing, that they had never seen anything like it and another night he would be terrible. Like his track Manic Depression, he was very unpredictable. On a good night he was an incredible performer, his guitar could be totally out of tune but he would bend the strings into tune. In doing this, it was like he was totally connected to the music.
Hendrix's favourite make of amplifier was Sun but these had a tendency to burn out when played at full blast for any length of time. So Hendrix used the more robust Marshall's.
Hendrix's father was a brass player. It has been said that much of the swells and turns in Hendrix's technique are mimicking the sounds of brass instruments. So it can be said that a chance meeting, when the time was right by a man with the right connections and an untapped raw talent changed the course of music history.
Chris Adams studied Hendrix every day for many years as a teenager. Now Chris has been playing guitar for over thirty years and you can still hear the Hendrix in his playing. Chris is signed to Tree records. http://chrisadams.tv and http://myspace.com/chrisadams7.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Chris_JW_Adams
http://EzineArticles.com/?Jimi-Hendrix-40-Years-Later&id=3150937
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