Stereo/Mono -- how to play in mono??
Sun_Fortune
1,374 Posts
Okay, I finally get why people dig mono so much. Late on the train but oh well. Is there a way to listen to a stereo/mono record in mono without getting a mono hifi or something? My headphones have a switch, is there a similar thing for a dj mixer or something? Any help will be appreciated. warmest,fortune
Comments
ah, more or less. It sounds as if there is some compression or some dope way the tracks are compressed when I listen to shit with my headphones in mono. want to know if I can get that on dj/production set up. I guess more spefically, I really should know what exactly happens when a stereo signaled is played in mono or on a mono system. Does that clear anything up? Im really jet lagged/.
It sounds more like a 45, you know. Harder, crisper. Especially with those records in the sixites that were spread as far apart as possible. IMO.
Why would you want to play stereo records in mono? You are weirder than me
thats the ticket then!^^^ i have my reasons....
And believe it or not, there are even records that were originally mixed in mono and then later converted to stereo, as in the case of Ike Turners 'a black mans soul' on Pompeii ('electronically enhanced to stereo'). Has anyone found a mono recording of this LP?
What he said. Listening to a stereo record in mono is missing the point of having the differnt mono mix. that said, I know there are some older stereos that have a switch that will play stereo in mono.
as some others mentioned, you wont get that effect just by converting a stereo record to mono because those 60s monos were mixed for mono in a different way than for stereo. just to make your dj mixer headphone connector to suply a mono signal shouldnt be that hard. get a stereo plug (that fits the socket on your dj mixer) and a mono socket (where you can plug your headphones on) and then do the following:
wire the left and mass plus right and mass output of the stereo plug to the mono pin (left and right here) and the mass (two masses here) of the socket. should work, but wont have the effect you'd like to have
I don't think a mono version exists since it says in the back cover that only five of the tracks were recorded in mono. Seven tracks were stereo to begin with. They just elekcronically enhanced those five songs to make a stereo release.
Should I transcribe the article about mono recordings from an old issue of Listener[/b] magazine?
It will be from this issue:
I'm trying to find a transcription online, since the magazine never had an online presence and I'm hoping it's on some audiophile forum.
Actually if you are recording mono LPs via stereo you'll do better recording as stereo but only saving one channel for the mono. I've found if you combine them you get the static and noise from BOTH channels (since a lot of it is not the same) as opposed to half the noise from just one channel.
I do vinyl transfers as well, and one thing I learned from that $13,000 Laser Turntable (no, I don't have one) is that even a record in mono can benefit from being heard on one or the other channel, and then centering that. In other words, one side of the groove may be dirtier than the other, so if you're not someone who wants to get technical with declicking, you can test out the first 30 seconds of a song and see which side of the groove is cleaner.
Because even if you record a mono record in stereo, so that you're hearing distinct crackle and surface noise, turning that into mono will sometimes compress it as well. That compression isn't exclusive to when you convert a stereo track into mono, you're compressing the surface noise as well.
SO... if one is recording a mono record in stereo on an audio recording program, one can go back and forth between hearing what side of the groove is cleaner, the left, or the right. If you notice a difference, pick the better one. For example, let's say it's the left channel. Completely "silence" the right channel. Now you have the left side with audio, right side without. Turn that into a "mono" track.
Or you can cut and paste the left track with audio to the right side that was just "silenced". Now you have something that comes close to how people used to listen to mono records, without stereo "ambience" (i.e. crackle and surface noise)
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EDIT: This technique is good for 45's, especially those that were heavily played on kiddie phonographs and jukeboxes, since the needles were not always properly aligned. That can fuck up the groove, but if a record can be rescued digitally, find out what side of the groove sounds better, and record that. I'm sure I'm not the only one who has discovered that with some records, there may be heavy static on one side and not the other. With a stereo album (or converting quad to stereo), you're out of luck until you find a new copy. With mono though, for those who may use CD turntables or the Serato thing, they can clean it up and get something much crisper.
interesting suggestion. you'd pass that to vestax and others. that would definetly make sense if you have the right vinyl to make different sounds just of one single record. i like that idea.