Mirror Spock: Abbey Road MONO mix (not folded)

[powerPC]

Abbey Road MONO (a new remix for mono — not a stereo fold-down)

Back when Mirror Spock came onto the scene (late 1990’s – early 2000’s), before our current remixing gurus were around, I bought quite a few CDs from him and was always very happy with the sound quality. MS was a true audio pioneer and at the time, his ability to extract individual instruments and vocals, then isolate or remix them, was revolutionary. As some of you probably recall, purchasing one of his titles put you on his mailing list of what were then his current and upcoming projects… He usually went into great detail on what was done track-by-track and I always looked forward to his explanations and what would come next. Looking back all these years later, I wish I had thought to save these descriptions for future reference, as none of the inserts or packaging he would send with purchased CDs contained any trace of description as to the process that went into creating it… just the cover & tray art, and disc label with tracklist info.

BootlegZone usually had all the information I would want to know, but we now all know what good that does at this point in time. Now a couple of decades have passed and all I have are my very dusty recollections of what I have on these discs… maybe by sharing them here, someone else may can fill in the missing information gaps for a more complete picture? (anyone else who has this disc, please share any info you have)

Anyway, here’s one of my FAVORITE releases from Mirror Spock: Abbey Road in MONO… but completely remixed into mono by MS (NOT a simple fold-down of the stereo mix). The sound is smooth as a prom queen’s thighs, and the mix is done VERY well; I find the listening experience sublime. And the mix of Oh! Darling is COMPLETELY unique! This is one of those discs that I just cannot recommend enough, get it — you won’t regret it!

I ripped this directly from my personal CD copy (and the artwork scans as well).

Ripped to AIFF with Apple Music (iTunes) 1.0.6.10, encoded to FLAC with xACT 2.50 (sorry, that's all I have at my disposal)

hxxps://mega.nz/file/O44X3KbY#HqhQbQsgR ... IdIn6lIl4M

[RunoutGroove]

Thanks for that. I like MS, especially Revolver Mono to Stereo.

[Kwai Chang]

Thank you, powerPC!
This is an album I've wanted to exist for a long time. I consider the mono format to be the only discipline ever to exist in the the music industry. It required decision making superpower that not only took longer to mix...but, sold for 25%(approx) LESS at retail levels. I had always hoped Steve Wilson might be allowed to mix albums into mono with this being my suggestion for a mono remix debut. I know that day is not forthcoming. This is the next best thing. I'm very excited.
Thanks, again!
KC

[r9453]

Thanks PC, I wonder what source he used for his mix. I have three copies of this, each with a different Limited Edition Number on the disc scan, --1--, --10-- and --11--

[powerPC]

@r9453, I wish I knew his original source... I'm fairly certain that's one of the "details" that he disclosed all those years ago. I do know that he took great care to use what were considered the "best" sources for his work, but beyond that I don't know.

@KC, well said sir!

@RunoutGroove, yes his whole Mono Mixes In Stereo series is amazing!

[Josh]

powerPC - I have never heard these mono to stereo mixes. How would you say that they compare to Lord Reith's or MasterJedi's mixes? Both of them are masters of their craft.

[Kwai Chang]

Does anyone know if Mirror Spock created this before or after the ROCKBAND game made MOGG files and biks available? I'm sure his technique was discussed in the original notes that accompanied the disc. It seems like this mono mix was created before the ROCKBAND game which makes it a bit more impressive. The effort at least hints at the potential friendliness to a mono mix of Abbey Road that might be as justified as the White Album or Sgt. Peppers! So, if this is pre-ROCKBAND, then did Mirror Spock just stop creating or were his products ongoing after this disc. Also, was the disc available from him directly or was he a regular vendor at the Pasadena City College Flea Market(or his own local equivalent)?
Any help is appreciated! Thank you in advance.
(AND, thank you, powerPC...I thought this was a noble effort)
KC

[powerPC]

@Josh I’m not qualified to say how this compares to the others; MS came much sooner than the others, so I am inclined to believe the later attempts are probably of better sonic quality. (the skills of Lord Reith and Masterjedi are unsurpassed in my opinion)

@KC this was DEFINITELY before the Beatles Rock Band came along. He didn’t have the multi-track stems to work from (they weren’t available then), but as I understand it, he had developed a technique to extract and isolate things on his own. If he’d had the RB stems to work with, the result would probably be a bit better. He continued doing releases for a few years, but as I understand it, he’s in “semi-retirement” I’ve heard.

Just my opinion, I can’t speak for MS but I’ve always admired his work.

[paul62]

Here's my Abbey Road (mono mix from stereo), made nearly five years ago using the '87 CD (ripped by me using EAC), Adobe Audition (to reduce the volume of the centre by 3dB, an important step) and Audacity (to fold the amended stereo mix to mono). I did quite a few of these, back then.

hxxps://gofile.io/d/nW2w8S

Here's the EAC log, as well:
hxxps://gofile.io/d/QSojSh

[Kwai Chang]

Thank you, powerPC, for your reply!
Thank you, paul62, for your remix!
I love Abbey Road and I love mono...when there is 'dedication' in the recipe!
KC