Is anyone recording mono nowadays?

foq1978 · #1 08-26-2011, 01:16 PM

I've listening to the Beatles mono recordings and comparing them to their stereo counterparts. They do sound different from each other! (I'm listening them through headphones, by the way).

Anyway, I was wondering: is anyone recording mono nowadays? Could it become fashionable, such as in vinyl? Or do you think it only applies to the Beatles because of their "fake stereo" technique (left/right hard panning)?

Roscoe East · #2 08-26-2011, 01:54 PM

I've been experimenting with mono mixes for an upcoming CD of a jazz trio I recorded with. Considering the recording is very much a "polaroid" -- a simple unadorned snapshot of what took place in the studio that day -- a very simple production aesthetic makes sense. And with just bass, drums, & saxophone, the only thing that's getting short shrift by collapsing into mono is the drum kit. But that's only really conspicuous with headphones.

The one thing that's stopping me from commiting to going forward and releasing these mono mixes is that collapsing the reverb returns into mono seems to really impact the front-to-back seperation between the instruments.

groooooove · #3 08-26-2011, 01:59 PM

i think charlie hunters last (or 2nd to last, a recent one regardless) record is in mono.

sometimes you'll find records that are in mono. new releases, i mean. i dont know why, it seems novelty-ish to me. regardless, i remember noticing the "in glorious mono" stamp on the charlie hunter after i heard it - and diddn't realize it.

JHAz · #4 08-26-2011, 02:02 PM

TO me, teh "problem," if any, with modern mono is that nobody has a mono system to listen to it on. Spreading it to stereo is not exactly the same as mono.

Of course, part of the reason the Beatles mono mixes sound different is that they mixed them separately (and reportedly took much more time with the mono mixes until later albums).

rllefebv · #5 08-26-2011, 02:16 PM

John Mellencamp - No Better Than This

From his website

"John recorded, No Better Than This, again produced by T Bone Burnett. He recorded at sequentially at historic facilities in the American South: The First African Baptist Church in Savannah, Sun Studio in Memphis, and in Room 414 of the Gunter Hotel in San Antonio where Robert Johnson, the enigmatic blues shaman has recorded more than 70 years earlier with Mellencamp's songs recorded on a 55 year old mono tape recorder using just one microphone. The album was released in August of 2010, and its production and the tour that spawned it are documented in It's About You, a documentary film by Kurt and Ian Markus that premiered at the SXSW Film Festival in March of 2010."

Great album, IMO...

-robert

foq1978 · #6 08-26-2011, 02:20 PM

@RoscoeEast: Nice. Can we listen to those early mixes somewhere? What's the deal with the mono sound of the drums on headphones? Hope the mono mixes are greenlighted

!

@groooooove: Thanks for the pointers. It seems that jazz uses mono aesthetically more frequently than rock / pop (which is understandable).

@JHAz: Didn't know that. Do you mean a mono recording would sound different, say, on my stereo than it would on a proper mono system? I thought the stereo system would simply play identical left and right channels.

Thank you all!

foq1978 · #7 08-26-2011, 02:21 PM

Thanks for the tip, robert!

bassbrad · #8 08-26-2011, 02:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by foq1978

@JHAz: Didn't know that. Do you mean a mono recording would sound different, say, on my stereo than it would on a proper mono system? I thought the stereo system would simply play identical left and right channels.

The effect of having 2 stereo placed speakers is very different than a true mono listening source as is a 2 or 3 way speaker as opposed to a single speaker.

foq1978 · #9 08-26-2011, 02:43 PM

@bassbrad: Interesting. what if I silent one of the stereo speakers. Still different?

**lowfreqgeek** · #10 08-26-2011, 02:57 PM

I've recorded my jazz-ish trio more or less mono, and with very good results. A single AKG C3000 on bass/drums, and a Beta58 on guitar, recorded to 2 tracks, but mixed down to mono. I'm still working out some things in my mic setup/recording technique, but I'm happy with the results so far.

bassbrad · #11 08-26-2011, 04:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by foq1978

@bassbrad: Interesting. what if I silent one of the stereo speakers. Still different?

To my ear yes. To be truly mono you need a single centrally placed source with a single or coaxial speaker.
MY perspective is this, first I grew up with mono on radio, tv and Mom's Hifi. When I heard those same things in stereo it blew my mind. I am also doing some work mixing music, I switch to "mono" to check levels, EQ and effects but when I go to a true mono source some things still change some changes are subtle and others are very apparent.

**colcifer** · #12 08-26-2011, 04:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by foq1978

I've listening to the Beatles mono recordings and comparing them to their stereo counterparts. They do sound different from each other! (I'm listening them through headphones, by the way).

Anyway, I was wondering: is anyone recording mono nowadays? Could it become fashionable, such as in vinyl? Or do you think it only applies to the Beatles because of their "fake stereo" technique (left/right hard panning)?

IIRC, they mixed mono and stereo versions rather than doing a stereo mix and than squashing the width. But then it's hard to get reliable information on anything to do with them...

Roscoe East · #13 08-29-2011, 06:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by foq1978

@RoscoeEast: Nice. Can we listen to those early mixes somewhere? What's the deal with the mono sound of the drums on headphones? Hope the mono mixes are greenlighted

Thanks. Don't worry, once the mix is done & the CD is pressed I'll be sure to shamelessly announce where folks can buy it every chance I get!

What I meant about headphones was simply that the bass & sax don't sound radically different in mono since they were tracked as mono sources and panned more-or-less up the middle anyway. But when the drums go from stereo to mono it's especially conspicuous on headphones because of the "vacuum effect" where the absence of hard-panned material makes everything sound like it's inside your head rather than surrounding your head.

foq1978 · #14 08-29-2011, 01:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lowfreqgeek

I've recorded my jazz-ish trio more or less mono, and with very good results. A single AKG C3000 on bass/drums, and a Beta58 on guitar, recorded to 2 tracks, but mixed down to mono. I'm still working out some things in my mic setup/recording technique, but I'm happy with the results so far.

Nice. Can we hear it somewhere?

**lowfreqgeek** · #15 08-29-2011, 01:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by foq1978

Nice. Can we hear it somewhere?

I wish I could share it, but at this point the other guys are not willing to let this stuff get out for various reasons, so I have to respect that.

I might be able to put together a few snippets, though.

foq1978 · #16 08-29-2011, 02:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lowfreqgeek

I wish I could share it, but at this point the other guys are not willing to let this stuff get out for various reasons, so I have to respect that.

I might be able to put together a few snippets, though.

I completely understand. Let us know when it's ready, then!

Good luck.

Emibass · #17 08-31-2011, 11:53 AM

Is anyone recording mono nowdays???

Yes, assuming recording

Mixing?

Not much

foq1978 · #18 08-31-2011, 06:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Emibass

Is anyone recording mono nowdays???

Yes, assuming recording

Mixing?

Not much

Sorry. It should be:

- Anyone releasing mono albums nowadays?

Simorchid · #19 09-01-2011, 05:04 AM

Californication by Red Hot Chili Peppers was essentially mixed in mono. 11 years ago but still a modern album.