Piper At The Gates Of Dawn-- Mono

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cgarges
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Piper At The Gates Of Dawn-- Mono

Post by cgarges » Sun Feb 10, 2008 6:25 pm

I just picked up one of the new reissues of Pink Floyd's Piper At The Gates Of Dawn. I've heard about the mono version before but had never heard it until a couple of days ago.

Holy crap, is it incredible! It's a totally different album. I can't believe how hugely superior these mixes are. It's not just a matter of pan positions changing, either. Totally different.

The version that I got was a very cool three-disc Dutch import with remastered versions of some of the early Joe Boyd singles and a couple of different takes of some of the improvisation-oriented tunes. It's also got a copy of one of Syd's art notebooks with some very cool stuff in it.

Anyone else check out the mono version of this terrific record?

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Post by RefD » Sun Feb 10, 2008 7:16 pm

i have the EMI reissue of the mono Piper from 1995.

it's pretty incredible.

i'll have to check this more recent one out, too.
?What need is there to weep over parts of life? The whole of it calls for tears.? -- Seneca

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Post by cgarges » Sun Feb 10, 2008 7:29 pm

This is the first time I've heard it. James Guthrie did the mastering and he did a terrific job as far as I'm concerned. I haven't listened to the stereo disc from this set yet, but I'll have to check out the mastering job on that one, too. It'll be interesting to compare. The early singles on this collection sound good.

Plus, there's an awesome picture of the Sound Techniques console in the booklet.

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Post by audiodrome » Sun Feb 17, 2008 7:11 am

RefD wrote:i have the EMI reissue of the mono Piper from 1995.

it's pretty incredible.

i'll have to check this more recent one out, too.
You really need to hear the new version - it's amazing! The 1997 mono edition was plagued with heavy noise reduction and harsh EQ.
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Post by RefD » Sun Feb 17, 2008 11:48 am

audiodrome wrote:
RefD wrote:i have the EMI reissue of the mono Piper from 1995.

it's pretty incredible.

i'll have to check this more recent one out, too.
You really need to hear the new version - it's amazing! The 1997 mono edition was plagued with heavy noise reduction and harsh EQ.
aye...i'd better get this, then!
?What need is there to weep over parts of life? The whole of it calls for tears.? -- Seneca

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Post by cgarges » Sun Feb 17, 2008 8:17 pm

Yeah, I didn't hear the '97 version, but this one sounds totally great to me. I wish I had some vinyl to compare it to. Aside from the post-'83 stuff, this is the only Floyd album I don't have on vinyl. I can't tell you why. Lame, I know.

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Post by jv » Mon Feb 18, 2008 8:21 am

I got that 3 disc set also. It's pretty amazing the differences between the mono and stereo versions- there are actually some things on the mono versions that are not in the stereo versions. Does anybody know when the stereo mix of that set was actually done? It sounds more "modern" than the mono mix. I did some googling on this before, and apparently there were some different stereo mixes of this made, like maybe one was done at the time, and another was done in the 70's (maybe when "A Nice Pair" was realeased?).

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Post by Johnny B » Wed Feb 20, 2008 8:42 pm

cgarges wrote:Yeah, I didn't hear the '97 version, but this one sounds totally great to me. I wish I had some vinyl to compare it to. Aside from the post-'83 stuff, this is the only Floyd album I don't have on vinyl. I can't tell you why. Lame, I know.
Probably because it's expensive? I'm glad to hear this new disc sounds really good. Maybe I will replace my 1997 CD after all. I was loath to buy it after hearing how bad the remastered Final Cut was.
jv wrote:I got that 3 disc set also. It's pretty amazing the differences between the mono and stereo versions- there are actually some things on the mono versions that are not in the stereo versions. Does anybody know when the stereo mix of that set was actually done? It sounds more "modern" than the mono mix. I did some googling on this before, and apparently there were some different stereo mixes of this made, like maybe one was done at the time, and another was done in the 70's (maybe when "A Nice Pair" was realeased?).
Interesting. I've never heard that, and I've done way too much reading on the Floyd. What I did read a while back (I think in Schaffner's book, A Saucerful of Secrets, I'd have to dig the book out, though, to verify) was that the mono mix was done first, with the band present and that Norman Smith did the stereo mix after, without the band. I've never noticed any difference between the mix on A Nice Pair and the CD version of the stereo Piper. That doesn't mean it wasn't mixed again, though. I'll have to see if I can dig anything up on this.

EDIT: Closest I could find was a reference to the version of "Jugband Blues" on the Canadian version of A Nice Pair being an alternate mix. Nothing about Piper. I'll keep looking...

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Post by asmara » Mon Mar 10, 2008 8:03 am

One of my most favourite records period. I had a bootleg mono version that was so so as far as fidelity and now I will need to get this latest version. I have been looking for the mono Saucerful of Secrets LP for quite some time. Anyone have it or know if a similar remastered version is forthcoming?

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Post by hautacam » Mon Mar 10, 2008 1:32 pm

I am curious to hear the differences between the mono and stereo versions. I will have to track down a mono copy now.

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