interesting i didn't know this
https://forums.stevehoffman.tv/threads/ ... 63.928539/
Delta Mono - The Beatles at EMI in early 1963
Re: Delta Mono - The Beatles at EMI in early 1963
Delta what?
Excuse the obscure heading, but it's a good idea to first understand the recording process for the Beatles early 1963 sessions at EMI (this thread will cover the February 11th sessions for the Please Please Me album, and the March 5th sessions for the third single From Me To You, plus mixing and overdub sessions).
In the Compleat Beatles documentary, George Martin stated that there was no real mixing needed for the Beatles first album as it was recorded 'direct to stereo'. But that's only half the story - it was also recorded 'direct to mono' at the same time. This was done by capturing the session on two tape machines simultaneously. The mixing desk would feed the sound to the twin-track machine in 'wide stereo' (usually instruments on one track, vocals on the other) and also to a mono machine in 'collapsed mono'. If all went well, you would end up with completed mono and stereo masters with very little post-production work needed. It didn't quite end up that way for the album, but the delta mono (annotated on recording sheets by a triangle, actually the Greek symbol for Delta) technique also carried over to the subsequent 'mixing' sessions.
What really got me interested in this subject was From Me To You. Though I had long been familiar with session sheets stating 'to twin-track and mono', I had believed that none of the mono tapes were ever used, with everything (stereo and mono mixes) being remixed from the twin-track tape. But From Me To You threw up a problem. Because the harmonica overdub was recorded on both tracks of the twin-track tape, it's impossible to create the released mono mix from that tape. Though I assume the intention was for the twin-track and mono tapes to match in terms of overall mix, this particular recording proved that this wasn't always the case. It's a similar situation with Ask Me Why (covered in the previous thread) - you can't make the mono single mix from the twin-track tape (for all intents and purposes, the stereo 'mix'), as the delta mono tape (the 'live session mix') is balanced slightly differently to the twin-track tape.
But it's not just about the recording process. I plan on discussing the songs and performances themselves, plus relevant background information. So with the technical explanation out of the way, here's a rundown of the sessions:
February 11th session #1
There's A Place
I Saw Her Standing There (aka 'Seventeen')
February 11th session #2
A Taste Of Honey
Do You Want To Know A Secret
A Taste Of Honey (overdubs)
Do You Want To Know A Secret (overdubs)
There's A Place (overdubs)
I Saw Her Standing There (overdubs)
Misery
February 11th session #3
Hold Me Tight
Anna
Boys
Chains
Baby It's You
Twist And Shout
February 20th, overdub session
Misery (George Martin overdub)
Baby It's You (George Martin overdub)
February 25th, mixing sessions
'mixing' of LP tracks
March 5th sessions
From Me To You
Thank You Girl
One After 909
March 13th, overdub session
Thank You Girl (harmonica overdub)
Most of these session tapes are widely available unofficially (some taken from twin-track, some delta mono), with some of the outtakes also included on the 'official' Bootleg 1963 release. The released master takes will be the primary focus here, though other takes will be discussed where relevant. The one session we have no outtakes from is the third session on February 11th (so no early Hold Me Tight, alas).
Session #1 coming up...
Excuse the obscure heading, but it's a good idea to first understand the recording process for the Beatles early 1963 sessions at EMI (this thread will cover the February 11th sessions for the Please Please Me album, and the March 5th sessions for the third single From Me To You, plus mixing and overdub sessions).
In the Compleat Beatles documentary, George Martin stated that there was no real mixing needed for the Beatles first album as it was recorded 'direct to stereo'. But that's only half the story - it was also recorded 'direct to mono' at the same time. This was done by capturing the session on two tape machines simultaneously. The mixing desk would feed the sound to the twin-track machine in 'wide stereo' (usually instruments on one track, vocals on the other) and also to a mono machine in 'collapsed mono'. If all went well, you would end up with completed mono and stereo masters with very little post-production work needed. It didn't quite end up that way for the album, but the delta mono (annotated on recording sheets by a triangle, actually the Greek symbol for Delta) technique also carried over to the subsequent 'mixing' sessions.
What really got me interested in this subject was From Me To You. Though I had long been familiar with session sheets stating 'to twin-track and mono', I had believed that none of the mono tapes were ever used, with everything (stereo and mono mixes) being remixed from the twin-track tape. But From Me To You threw up a problem. Because the harmonica overdub was recorded on both tracks of the twin-track tape, it's impossible to create the released mono mix from that tape. Though I assume the intention was for the twin-track and mono tapes to match in terms of overall mix, this particular recording proved that this wasn't always the case. It's a similar situation with Ask Me Why (covered in the previous thread) - you can't make the mono single mix from the twin-track tape (for all intents and purposes, the stereo 'mix'), as the delta mono tape (the 'live session mix') is balanced slightly differently to the twin-track tape.
But it's not just about the recording process. I plan on discussing the songs and performances themselves, plus relevant background information. So with the technical explanation out of the way, here's a rundown of the sessions:
February 11th session #1
There's A Place
I Saw Her Standing There (aka 'Seventeen')
February 11th session #2
A Taste Of Honey
Do You Want To Know A Secret
A Taste Of Honey (overdubs)
Do You Want To Know A Secret (overdubs)
There's A Place (overdubs)
I Saw Her Standing There (overdubs)
Misery
February 11th session #3
Hold Me Tight
Anna
Boys
Chains
Baby It's You
Twist And Shout
February 20th, overdub session
Misery (George Martin overdub)
Baby It's You (George Martin overdub)
February 25th, mixing sessions
'mixing' of LP tracks
March 5th sessions
From Me To You
Thank You Girl
One After 909
March 13th, overdub session
Thank You Girl (harmonica overdub)
Most of these session tapes are widely available unofficially (some taken from twin-track, some delta mono), with some of the outtakes also included on the 'official' Bootleg 1963 release. The released master takes will be the primary focus here, though other takes will be discussed where relevant. The one session we have no outtakes from is the third session on February 11th (so no early Hold Me Tight, alas).
Session #1 coming up...
Chris
Re: Delta Mono - The Beatles at EMI in early 1963
Very interesting subject!
I have to admit I never heard about the delta mono, though I had always explained all the session tapes we have came from a mono machine that was "running parallel".
I have the great Recording The Beatles book, and could not find an answer on this. Maybe the info is there and it's just too long and hard to search through?
I have to admit I never heard about the delta mono, though I had always explained all the session tapes we have came from a mono machine that was "running parallel".
I have the great Recording The Beatles book, and could not find an answer on this. Maybe the info is there and it's just too long and hard to search through?