Digital remaster of Pet Sounds
Posted by: JBD on 08 October 2006
I am in a position where I wish I could lend the records I buy home for a listen before I buy them. The big monster of digital remix has hit Pet Sounds by Beach Boys.
I found a record with both the mono and stereo version. I can`t stand listening to the stereo version.
The relation of pitch has been altered so that I get a headache when I listen to it.
Thank god that the mono version is the original!!
I wish I could spot the problem before I buy but even if I listen to the record in the shop it can be difficult because of the poor record players and system.
What can I do?
I found a record with both the mono and stereo version. I can`t stand listening to the stereo version.
The relation of pitch has been altered so that I get a headache when I listen to it.
Thank god that the mono version is the original!!
I wish I could spot the problem before I buy but even if I listen to the record in the shop it can be difficult because of the poor record players and system.
What can I do?
Posted on: 08 October 2006 by rupert bear
JBD - the stereo remix of Pet Sounds was originally done by their/Brian Wilson's master engineer Mark Linett for the PS Boxed Set of 1996 (then the 30th anniversary). The mono/stereo single CD came out in 1999-2000. As far as my ears tell me, the boxed set version is as good as could be achieved from the multi-track master tapes that were available (before their mixdown by Brian W to mono), and sounds very good with no pitch variations that I've heard. Apparently the very latest version (2006, for the 40th anniversary) isn't from such a pure source, though I haven't heard it. I'll check this out though.
Posted on: 08 October 2006 by rupert bear
From the boxed set booklet:
Until recently, the insurmountable difficulty in preparing a stereo mix of the Pet Sounds album lay in the fact that the individual instrumental and vocal tracks for each song existed on separate tapes. With the advent of digital recording technology, however, the problem has been overcome.
In 1966, Brian recorded his instrumental tracks on four-track tape. The instrumentation was spread out across the tracks so that Brian would have at least some degree of control over the mix when he created a final, mono instrumental track. The goal was never to facilitate the creation of a stereo track.
Once Brian had completed recording of the instrumental track, he would mix the tracks down to mono on a single track of another tape -- either a four-track tape (at Western Studios), leaving three tracks open for vocals, or an eight-track tape (at Columbia Studios), allowing him the luxury of up to seven tracks for vocals.
When vocal sessions were complete, the end result for any given song would be (1) a four-track tape that contained the instrumental track, and (2) either a four-track or an eight-track tape that contained the instrumental track mixed to mono on one track, with the vocals spread over the remaining three or seven tracks.
Therefore, the only way to create a true stereo mix, with a stereo instrumental track and stereo vocals, was to sync the vocal overdubs to the original instrumental master tracks. In 1996, engineer Mark Linett did just that for entire Pet Sounds album. "The original instrumental multi-track was transferred onto a digital multi-track," he explained, "and then, after carefully matching the tape speeds of the track and vocal tapes, the vocals were manually synchronized to the track using the [mono instrumental] track on the vocal tape as a guide. The result was a single multi-track master tape of each song with all the discrete tracks that Brian recorded in 1966 in sync."
Once the digital multi-tracks were prepared, Pet Sounds could be mixed into stereo.
"In mixing Pet Sounds in stereo," Linett wrote in the technical notes for the Pet Sounds Sessions boxed set, "every attempt was made to duplicate the feel and sound of the original mono mixes. Vocal and instrumental parts that Brian left off the record in 1966 were noted and duplicated, as were the fades. The one exception was the talking that can be heard under some parts of the original album. Even though this talking is now regarded by some to be part of the album, after consulting with Brian, it was decided to leave the background chatter out of the stereo mix."
Nevertheless, despite all of the effort that went into creating the stereo mixes, there are instances where the stereo mix of a song differs significantly from the mono mix. Most notably, the bridge section of Wouldn't It Be Nice is sung by Brian in the stereo mix, while on the original mono mix, it is sung by Mike.
The bridge originally was sung by Mike during the sessions for the song, and a mixdown was made of the song that included Mike's bridge vocal. But at some later point, Brian decided he was unhappy with Mike's vocal for the bridge and re-recorded it himself, in the process erasing Mike's vocals from the vocal multi-track tape. Then, after mixing down a version with his vocal in the bridge, he decided that he liked Mike's vocal better after all. He literally cut the bridge (with Mike's vocal) from the earlier mono mixdown and spliced it into the finished mono mix in place of his. However, that meant, when it came time for Linett to create a stereo mix three decades later, all that survived on the vocal multi-track was Brian's vocal for the section.
You Still Believe In Me (stereo mix) -
Whereas the mono mix of You Still Believe in Me features a double-tracked lead vocal from Brian, the stereo mix contains only a single lead vocal. "The only major piece that we didn't find," Linett reported, "was the doubled vocal for You Still Believe in Me. That's probably a missing tape."
Until recently, the insurmountable difficulty in preparing a stereo mix of the Pet Sounds album lay in the fact that the individual instrumental and vocal tracks for each song existed on separate tapes. With the advent of digital recording technology, however, the problem has been overcome.
In 1966, Brian recorded his instrumental tracks on four-track tape. The instrumentation was spread out across the tracks so that Brian would have at least some degree of control over the mix when he created a final, mono instrumental track. The goal was never to facilitate the creation of a stereo track.
Once Brian had completed recording of the instrumental track, he would mix the tracks down to mono on a single track of another tape -- either a four-track tape (at Western Studios), leaving three tracks open for vocals, or an eight-track tape (at Columbia Studios), allowing him the luxury of up to seven tracks for vocals.
When vocal sessions were complete, the end result for any given song would be (1) a four-track tape that contained the instrumental track, and (2) either a four-track or an eight-track tape that contained the instrumental track mixed to mono on one track, with the vocals spread over the remaining three or seven tracks.
Therefore, the only way to create a true stereo mix, with a stereo instrumental track and stereo vocals, was to sync the vocal overdubs to the original instrumental master tracks. In 1996, engineer Mark Linett did just that for entire Pet Sounds album. "The original instrumental multi-track was transferred onto a digital multi-track," he explained, "and then, after carefully matching the tape speeds of the track and vocal tapes, the vocals were manually synchronized to the track using the [mono instrumental] track on the vocal tape as a guide. The result was a single multi-track master tape of each song with all the discrete tracks that Brian recorded in 1966 in sync."
Once the digital multi-tracks were prepared, Pet Sounds could be mixed into stereo.
"In mixing Pet Sounds in stereo," Linett wrote in the technical notes for the Pet Sounds Sessions boxed set, "every attempt was made to duplicate the feel and sound of the original mono mixes. Vocal and instrumental parts that Brian left off the record in 1966 were noted and duplicated, as were the fades. The one exception was the talking that can be heard under some parts of the original album. Even though this talking is now regarded by some to be part of the album, after consulting with Brian, it was decided to leave the background chatter out of the stereo mix."
Nevertheless, despite all of the effort that went into creating the stereo mixes, there are instances where the stereo mix of a song differs significantly from the mono mix. Most notably, the bridge section of Wouldn't It Be Nice is sung by Brian in the stereo mix, while on the original mono mix, it is sung by Mike.
The bridge originally was sung by Mike during the sessions for the song, and a mixdown was made of the song that included Mike's bridge vocal. But at some later point, Brian decided he was unhappy with Mike's vocal for the bridge and re-recorded it himself, in the process erasing Mike's vocals from the vocal multi-track tape. Then, after mixing down a version with his vocal in the bridge, he decided that he liked Mike's vocal better after all. He literally cut the bridge (with Mike's vocal) from the earlier mono mixdown and spliced it into the finished mono mix in place of his. However, that meant, when it came time for Linett to create a stereo mix three decades later, all that survived on the vocal multi-track was Brian's vocal for the section.
You Still Believe In Me (stereo mix) -
Whereas the mono mix of You Still Believe in Me features a double-tracked lead vocal from Brian, the stereo mix contains only a single lead vocal. "The only major piece that we didn't find," Linett reported, "was the doubled vocal for You Still Believe in Me. That's probably a missing tape."
Posted on: 08 October 2006 by rupert bear
Even more interesting, in terms of tempo/pitch, is that the boxed set includes for the one and only time the original speed (slower) of 'Caroline No' BEFORE IT WAS SPEEDED UP FOR THE LP! It's much better too.
Posted on: 08 October 2006 by JBD
Thank you for your reply! I will have a listen to the 1999-2000 version if I can find it. I do luckily have and older stereo version of Pet Sounds on record. It is more to my liking!