THE BEATLES Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band MONO Vinyl LP 2014 SEALED RARE

$

230

THE BEATLES Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band Mono Vinyl LP 2014 SEALED.

Pressed by Optimal in Germany

Shipped with USPS Media Mail and Signature Confirmation.

Condition is Brand New Factory Sealed

The Beatles get back to mono; 180-gram LP pressed in Germany by Optimal Media

Newly remastered for vinyl from the analogue tapes by Sean Magee and Steve Berkowitz

Cut to lacquer on a VMS80 lathe

"The EMI representative told me that after absorbing the criticism heaped on the digitially sourced stereo box - including the extensive AnalogPlanet coverage, which was correctly construed as constructive criticism - the decision was made to produce the mono LPs using an all-analog mastering chain. ... Berkowitz told me that in his opinion and in the opinions of many, the mono mixes were the more important reissues and I agree." - Michael Fremer, AnalogPlanet .

A seriously audiophile-minded undertaking! The Beatles in mono is how most listeners first heard the Fab 4's first recordings, when mono was the predominant audio format. Up until 1968, each Beatles album was given a unique mono and stereo mix, but the group always regarded the mono as primary.

Now from The Beatles In Mono vinyl box set comes Rubber Soul, compiled and mastered from the original analog tapes.

Released in 1965, Rubber Soul signified a sea change for the Beatles. The record marked the emergence of John Lennon and Paul McCartney's distinctive identities as songwriters. It featured an original ("Nowhere Man") that went beyond the band's commonplace love themes. And its sound departed from the echo-laden nature of its predecessors, an intentional move that offset it from the multiple bands that had been copying the Beatles' style. Still, Rubber Soul retained a constant: It was yet another watershed collection of pop and rock by a group that redefined the genres as it went along.

As mentioned in the quote at the top, analog expert and viny guru Michael Fremer, of AnalogPlanet, says EMI representatives heard and responded to criticisms concerning digitally sourced mastering used to produce The Beatles Stereo Box Set on vinyl. For the mono version, the decision was made to use an all-analog mastering chain to the degree possible.

"It's important to remember that the tapes have aged — some as much as fifty years — and the monitoring, playback and mastering equipment have changed as well, even though the work was done in the very same room in which the originals were mastered. Solid state has replaced tubes in the cutting chain," writes Fremer.

The Beatles' mono albums have been newly mastered for vinyl from quarter-inch master tapes at Abbey Road Studios by Grammy-winning engineer Sean Magee and Grammy-winning mastering supervisor Steve Berkowitz. While The Beatles In Mono CD boxed set released in 2009 was created from digital remasters, for this new vinyl project, Magee and Berkowitz cut the records without using any digital technology. Instead, they employed the same procedures used in the 1960s, guided by the original albums and by detailed transfer notes made by the original cutting engineers.

Working in the same room at Abbey Road where most of The Beatles' albums were initially cut, the pair first dedicated weeks to concentrated listening, fastidiously comparing the master tapes with first pressings of the mono records made in the 1960s. Using a rigorously tested Studer A80 machine to play back the precious tapes, the new vinyl was cut on a 1980s-era VMS80 lathe.

Fremer says the lathe was equipped with a Neumann SX-74 cutter head. The originals were cut on a Scully lathe, perhaps with a Westrex cutter head.

This is really a deluxe reissue project, done properly, and with careful attention to detail. Beatles collectors and even casual fans of the Lads from Liverpool will be transfixed. Treat yourself!

Features:

• 180g Vinyl

• Mono

• Remastered at Abbey Road Studios

• Newly mastered for vinyl from quarter-inch master tapes by GRAMMY®-winning engineer Sean Magee and GRAMMY®-winning mastering supervisor Steve Berkowitz

• Faithfully replicated artwork

• Newly mastered from the analogue master tapes

• Manufactured at Optimal Media in Germany