BEATLES MONO HAUL FROM A BIN AT THE TIP
fryer_motherfunk
123 Posts
I dont find that much interesting stuff round edinburgh but i just went to the tip and found these (ALL MONO) Beatles LPs including a MONO white album. Anyone got an idea what they are worth, monos were different mix downs were they not.
Comments
The Stereo pressings are more desirable upto Revolver then it flips and the Mono's become more sought after.
They've got to be near mint to get top dollar!
The mono white album sounds really really nice.
Nice find!
What is "the tip" ?
it's "where we're goin' to" and what we bout to do? "bout to rip...some brothers use the word funky too loosely"
This doesn't sound right.
By the time the "white album" came out (late '68), the industry had already stopped putting out separate mono and stereo records.
Not that I'm trying to bust any balls or anything, but chronologically that doesn't make sense. I'm not doubting you, but I'm just keeping that in mind. Was this a special mono mixdown for the deejays or something? 'Cause the labels would have already switched over to all stereo by then.
they only pressed the mono in the UK, and as to why they did at that point who knows.
Yes. The mono White Album is interesting in a number of spots.
A lot of collectors also look for the original UK Stereo pressing of the White Album, since the one in the U.S. was messed with by Capitol Records and the first pressings in the UK are truer to what the group wanted. Oddly enough, most of the world since then has heard the "treated version".
Depending on condition, the mono pressings are of value to Beatles and mono collectors. It used to be the other way around, since everyone back then bought mono and stereo pressings initially were for "the elite". In the U.S., mono pressings stopped in 1968 and every repressing/label variation would come out in stereo, while the 45's would remain in mono up until the baby blue Capitol Starline series in the early 80's. In the UK and Japan, and I believe France, mono pressings were reissued in the early 80's, I remember going into Tower when I was 12 and seeing everything in mono, and I remember thinking "who would buy this crap for 17 bucks?" Had I been a bit wiser, or had rich parents, I would have told them to buy them all in triplicate.
Point is, some of the mono pressings were reissued briefly, so definitely check labels and covers (even the matrix numbers) to see which pressings you have, and head to a website like RareBeatles.com and see which ones you have. The mono pressings that are generally in demand:
Revolver
Sgt. Pepper
Magical Mystery Tour
The Beatles
Each one of these have been given the Dr. Ebbett's treatment, which means if you need to find it or hear it without having to pay, just do a Google search. But fans want the originals, especially if they are in top notch quality since most people who had mono phonographs (i.e. kids/teenagers) didn't care about using it as a vegetable tray.
I believe there is a Yellow Submarine[/b] mono pressing in the UK, but it's a folddown of the stereo mix, which isn't of much value.
One theory was that in the U.S., they wanted everyone who didn't have a stereo system to upgrade. Of course, anyone could play a stereo album on a mono phonograph, but it was more about consumerism than anything and it worked. FM radio was on the rise, people wanted quality and stereo records were catching up in the pop and rock worlds (it had always been favored among classical and jazz collectors). Eventually it was phased out, at least on albums. Mono mixes were still the norm on promo 45's, but that was for AM radio purposes. One thing that was becoming a regular practice was creating "narrow stereo" mixes of certain songs. You could find these mixes on stock or promo 45's, and were created because when a mono mix was not available, some AM stations found that when the stereo mix was reduced, it would create unusual phasing effects which would result in something that didn't sound good. The drums would sound like they were in an empty parking garage, you'd only hear the reverb of the vocals, stuff that was technically wrong for the radio.
Anyway, a "narrow stereo" mix basically means it sounds almost mono, as the mix is not as open as the stereo mix, everything is almost mixed completely in the center. If any of you have bought 45's released in 70's and wondered why some mixes sounded very dry compared to the album mix, now you know. Here's an example, Steely Dan's "Do It Again". On the radio today you will generally hear the album mixes of hit singles, very rarely the 45 mixes unless it's on a specialty show. Exception to the rule: the sloppy edit of Chicago Transit Authority's "Beginnings".
This 45 mix doesn't have the synth solo, and there are elements that are pushed to the forefront, common for most mixes made specifically for AM radio.
But thebig money guys tend to stick to buying from a handful of skilled knowledgable Beatles sellers.
The difference in price between a vg+ and a NM soul records aint much. But for Beatles records it can be huge. Be prepared to grade your records very conservativly and describe them in detail, because people are not paying big bucks for records with flaws.
It can make sense sometimes to sell or consign them to a Beatles expert.
It's like the major-label albums in the mid-to-late 90s that came out in Cassette format. It's all about accessibility, and the Beatles in 1968 were going to make $$$ even in the 8-track market.
Fryer, there are several sites on the Interwebs that cater to over-analytical Beatles nuts that deal with masturbatory minutae like 1st, 2nd, and 3rd State Butchers and specific pressing plant wonkery.
My suggestion: list absolutely every stat you can think of in the auction listing. Do this not only so you can keep the bullshit questions to a minimum, but also so the prospective buyer feels like you understand him and that you're "in" with their clique. Specialized collectors, like all addicts, want to talk to others that share their paranoia. Ostensibly, they gain a limited but precious sense of normalcy about the compulsion that dominates their lives.
Over-analytical as they may be, if you're selling something that has some level of demand, you should at least know of the variations. You don't have to collect them all, but to at least be aware of it. Let the potential buyer you had taken the time to do the research, and as smug as you might think you are, let them know it's this or that.
I agree with you in that even if you think you have put in everything you could in the record's description, someone will ask about something that you either overlooked or didn't know. I remember wanting an album by Stanley Crouch, and I had asked the dealer a question about it, and the answer I got made me believe that the dealer was Crouch himself. The guy was as bitter, but direct and to the point as he is in his writings. I wanted to know if the album was distributed by Atlantic or was it a different pressing, and the answer I got was "shit man, do you want the Frickin' record or not?" That kind of answer is a lot better than those who want to know how wide the track separation is, if the Capitol logo on the bottom ring is on the left or the right, if it's a Capitol Record Club pressing, and what would happen if the record stands in a kitchen with a floor that is about 80 degrees F.
The research and the information discovered in determining these things, I find that to be of interest. Someone cared enough to look, ask, and figure things out. I'm all about the wonkery.
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