Missing Track Through Amp

[NTL]

I was listening to Sgt. Peppers through my amp (Fender rumble 100) using the CD In connection and I noticed there is occasionally a track missing. For example the guitar solo at 1:16 in Fixing a Hole does not come through. The guitar part is actually missing for the entire song. Other than the missing track the song sounds normal.

Another pretty obvious example is the vocal track is completely gone in Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite (and yes it is there when playing through other speakers).

Any ideas why this would be happening? Is it the cable connecting to my amp?

[ggunn]

Originally Posted by NTL

I was listening to Sgt. Peppers through my amp (Fender rumble 100) using the CD In connection and I noticed there is occasionally a track missing. For example the guitar solo at 1:16 in Fixing a Hole does not come through. The guitar part is actually missing for the entire song. Other than the missing track the song sounds normal.

Another pretty obvious example is the vocal track is completely gone in Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite (and yes it is there when playing through other speakers).

Any ideas why this would be happening? Is it the cable connecting to my amp?

It's not the cable. Sometimes a track is mixed panned hard left and flip phase panned hard right, so that when you combine the left and right channels (which is what those CD IN connections do on a mono amp), that track disappears through cancellation. If you unplug one of the CD leads, you'll hear those "missing" tracks.

Blame George Martin. ;^)

[T-Bird]

Hi.

Originally Posted by ggunn

It's not the cable. Sometimes a track is mixed panned hard left and flip phase panned hard right, so that when you combine the left and right channels (which is what those CD IN connections do on a mono amp), that track disappears through cancellation. If you unplug one of the CD leads, you'll hear those "missing" tracks.

Blame George Martin. ;^)

^This.

Back in the day when Stereo was the best thing since sliced bread (I wasn't there to witness it, obviously), the producers/engineers often made absolutely sure that the record would sound like crap if played through a system that had a mono cartiridge and/or a mono amp.

Regards
Sam

[ggunn]

Originally Posted by T-Bird

Hi.



^This.

Back in the day when Stereo was the best thing since sliced bread (I wasn't there to witness it, obviously), the producers/engineers often made absolutely sure that the record would sound like crap if played through a system that had a mono cartridge and/or a mono amp.

Regards
Sam

I doubt that was Martin's intent; more likely it was an effect he liked. A track that is mixed that way sometimes sounds like it is coming from a point outside the L-R speaker space.

BTW, I was there to witness the mono to stereo migration, by cracky!

[T-Bird]

Hi.

Originally Posted by ggunn

I doubt that was Martin's intent; more likely it was an effect he liked. A track that is mixed that way sometimes sounds like it is coming from a point outside the L-R speaker space.

I didn't mean Martin misused the new technology in order to increase stereo system sales, he was a true recording engineering genius, but lookin at my reply now, that's the way it's most likely to be interpreted. My bad.

Originally Posted by ggunn

BTW, I was there to witness the mono to stereo migration, by cracky!

Lucky You.

But then again, it seems that I'm unable to appreciate the things (progress? ) that I have witnessed, so If I was there back when, I'm not sure that it would be such a big deal.

Regards
Sam

[JTE]

I read once (decades ago in "Musician" magazine, the ONLY music mag that ever really mattered) that when the master tapes were sent to the US for pressing by Capitol, the engineers didn't realize the tapes needed to be mixed, so they mastered them as-is, which caused some of the funny things like the rhythm guitar and lead vocals being alone on one side.

So when you plug into your RCA inputs on the amp, it looses one side? If you reverse the leads going into the RCA jacks, does that side come through and the other disappear? It sound like either the jack or its connection to the circuit board may be bad. Check it out and let us know.

John

[ggunn]

Originally Posted by JTE

I read once (decades ago in "Musician" magazine, the ONLY music mag that ever really mattered) that when the master tapes were sent to the US for pressing by Capitol, the engineers didn't realize the tapes needed to be mixed, so they mastered them as-is, which caused some of the funny things like the rhythm guitar and lead vocals being alone on one side.

I have my doubts about that one. If it was all on two tracks, all they could have done by mixing them would be to make it mono; what would have been the point of that? When stereo first got rolling, there was no consensus as to what it should be beyond different stuff coming out of the two speakers. There was a lot of experimentation. If it is Sgt. Pepper's you are talking about, I am even more skeptical. As the OP said, if you mix the two master tracks, some individual tracks disappear because they are recorded phase flipped L&R.