MONO on 12" Records ?

[disco-disc]

Why / when would anyone play the MONO side of a 12" record ?
The early 12" disco discs sometimes had a Stereo side and a MONO side....Presume the MONO side is obsolete these days ???

[Soulpreacher]

I remember some one told me it was to do with Radio stations. Can not remember all the details, some thing like one side was for AM, other side for FM stations?

[BrunoRepublic]

Originally Posted by starsky

Why / when would anyone play the MONO side of a 12" record ?
The early 12" disco discs sometimes had a Stereo side and a MONO side....Presume the MONO side is obsolete these days ???

First and foremost, for AM radio, which still had actual music on it back in the day.

Second, because many clubs did (and a few still do have) mono sound systems. In a crowded dance club, you're seldom at a point where you can hear both speakers equally, so channel separation is moot. Having a mono version ensured that there were no phase or mix problems if the two channels were summed or if one wasn't present. Case in point: a club that I frequent often has their system hooked up wrong, so only one channel comes through. When they play Pet Shop Boys' "What Have I Done To Deserve This?", which starts off with Neil singing in one channel and Dusty in the other, you only hear one of them. Rather embarrassing, really.

AFAIK, most mono b-sides are merely "fold-down" versions of the stereo, and not completely different mixes as is the case with many 60s recordings. Many of those mono versions (particularly with The Beatles) are highly sought-after now because they're different and often better-crafted mixes, but only the stereo has been available since around 1970, because people wrongly assume that stereo is always better.

[Noman]

Originally Posted by Graham_Start

only the stereo has been available since around 1970, because people wrongly assume that stereo is always better.

Must have been around since the early 60´s?
(I baught a Quadraphonic system in the early 70's.)

[BrunoRepublic]

Originally Posted by Noman

Must have been around since the early 60´s?
(I baught a Quadraphonic system in the early 70's.)

Stereo goes back to the 50s (well technically it was first done in the 30s), but only became standard -- particularly with pop/rock records -- in the mid 60s.

Quad was around from 1970 - 1975, but never really took off due to there being different standards for encoding it in vinyl (each requiring additional equipment), difficulty in decoding it, and unimpressive quad mixes.

[BrunoRepublic]

Originally Posted by Noman

Must have been around since the early 60´s?
(I baught a Quadraphonic system in the early 70's.)

Just to clarify, what I meant was that for recordings where there were different mono/stereo versions, most of the mono versions were deleted around 1970.

For example, The Beatles "Sgt Peppers" album is much better in mono (except "A Day In The Life"). Better instrument balance, punchier sound, nifty flanging effects that are absent in the stereo version, and many other differences. But aside from a brief re-issue in the UK in 1982, it's been out-of-print since the early 70s.

[Noman]

OK You mean no "special" Mono mixes from around -70.
(And no Quad mixes after -75 )

[QUINNY]

Dare I say it, but for P.A. purposes (e.g. discotheques) mono often sounds better than stereo and many, many live sound engineers still don't worry about stereo too much. For some, stereo FX/placement are still considered gimmicks and with X thousand watts of sound pumping into a relatively small space, they (stereo/FX etc) can all but get lost.

Also, it is a little trick among good recording engineers to listen to a mix in mono to get a better feel for correct levels, especially on FX. Stereo can play some very odd psycho-acoustic tricks on the brain, especially if sounds are panned to the extremes of the stereo spectrum.

Therefore I'd say there was absolutely no good reason not to play a mono 12".

[BrunoRepublic]

Originally Posted by Noman

OK You mean no "special" Mono mixes from around -70.
(And no Quad mixes after -75 )

With a few exceptions, yes. Using The Beatles as a benchmark, the "white album" was the last to have a dedicated mono mix, and that was only released in the UK in, what, '68?

Curiously, McCartney did a different mono mix of his "Ram" album in 1971, but this was promo-only (presumably for AM radio stations) and is now worth a fortune.

More recently, Smashing Pumpkins "Adore" album was remixed for mono on vinyl just a couple of years ago, IIRC.

Most records today are mixed in near-mono anyway, with only spatial effects and minor instrumentation being panned more than a few degrees away from center. The days of wiiiiiide stereo mixes are over. They usually sound dreadful in headphones (again, consider almost any stereo Beatles songs before the "white album").

[disco-disc]

Hey THANKS for the enlightenment guys esp. Graham and Q...
I will have to start listening more closely to the Mono sides...

[KoolChris]

Originally Posted by Graham_Start

Most records today are mixed in near-mono anyway, with only spatial effects and minor instrumentation being panned more than a few degrees away from center. The days of wiiiiiide stereo mixes are over. They usually sound dreadful in headphones (again, consider almost any stereo Beatles songs before the "white album").

Thanks, guys, for some really interesting data. Having been raised on the Beatles in my younger years, and having frequently used headphones, at the time, for those LPs and other current stuff, I had never until recently noticed the differences in stereo balancing between older Beatles recordings and , say, disco releases. I was shocked by relistening to those Beatles records I still have some years ago, and finding how so "extreme" the stereo effects were. That's something I love when most of the track is more "central" balanced, and some instrument or voice pops up from the side, especially if it moves around (footsteps on "Music must change" by the Who, f'r instance); but it does sound strange when you feel like part of the orchestra is playing in your left ear, and the singer(s)/other instruments exclusively in your right...