2. music
  3. 1369958090

Horrible early stereo mix

Why don't record re-releases correct the horrible stereo separation from many early stereo recordings?
You know the records: half the band in the left channel; half the band in the right channel; nothing in the center.
All the early Beatles in stereo are like that. I just got a reissue of a Dinah Washington record. The fidelity is great but the stereo separation is crazy.
I know these recordings were probably mixed for a console stereo where the speakers were only 24" apart.
But why keep this awful flaw?
The only way I can listen to these records is to move my speakers together.
maxh
arh
366 posts
 
Many early masters are 3 or 4 track which make it impossible to do what you want. It wasn't until 8 track and 16 track came along which allowed placing each instrument on a separate track that allowed for placement of a track anywhere in the stereo plane
Alan
rrog
1,958 posts
 
I don't have a problem with those recordings. I kind of like the separated sound and I appreciate the recordings for what they are. Many early jazz recordings are that way also and there is something special about how natural those recordings sound.
tubegroover
2,320 posts
 
I've always noticed that on Dinah Washington recordings going back to my childhood, Mom was a huge fan and I came on board because, well I had little choice at the time. Her voice is always far left and sounds separate from the rest of the mix. For her recordings, mono would definitely sound better. I too appreciate the recordings for what they are. In the case of Dinah, her interpretations and voice make the shortcomings of the recordings a moot point to me.
Post removed 
tostadosunidos's avatar
tostadosunidos
1,197 posts
 
This reminds me of something a college friend said in the 70's. He was from Mexico City and he said that the city had installed a new stereo music system on the metro buses. But when he finally heard it he realized they were sending one channel to the north/south buses and the other channel to the east/west.

Now THAT could be off-putting.
More to discover