The Sailor Jerry Blog

06/19/2008

Mono or Stereo: Which is Better?

Stereo Recordings are great. The way you can pan things around really aid in bring forth a deeper and more complex sound and I think overall this format is superior... hence being the most popular.

However, there's a wealth of classic records that were recorded in Mono. Hell, most Kinks stuff wasn't recorded in Stereo: they were one of the bands that lagged behind in the Hi-Fi race.

The thing is, when there's a record released in both formats it's sometimes hard to tell which is better. The stereo, "DELUXE EDITION" of the Who's 'My Generation' sounds considerably better than the original to my ears. The drums aren't buried beneath the vocals/guitar and it ends up sounding a lot more powerful.

But one case for the power of Mono is the Pretty Things' "S.F. Sorrow" and the first track "S.F. Sorrow Is Born" in particular. On the stereo mix, the recording achieves a "trippier" effect, but on the mono version the drums/rhythm is more direct and gives the song a bit more balls (See below for an example).

Both mixes of the song are amazing. Really it's all down to personal taste and this whole post is a little "stream of consciousness" in it's format. Just one of the many pointless things to think about!