The first and only way to record sound since the Edison cylinder is done using a technique called monophonic recording. This meant the artist, band, or speaker who wanted to record their sound had to do so into one, central, microphone. The microphone was connected to a cutter stylus by a mechanism that converted the sound into physical waves, which the stylus then cut into the record. Monophonic technology used a stylus that cut into the vinyl in a back and forth motion, leading to a “signal contains no level and arrival time/phase information that would replicate or simulate directional cues, where all the audio signals are mixed together” (Sound Systems).

Stereophonic recording technology was invented in 1931 by an engineer working at EMI (the same studio The Beatles worked at), though it wouldn’t be until 1958 when the first vinyl records were mass produced (“Mass Produced Stereo Disk”). Stereo works by a similar process as mono, but it is recorded with “two independent audio signal channels, so that when it is played back on a suitable reproduction system, gives the listener an apparent depth and direction to the original sound source” (Sound Systems). Instead of just cutting back and forth, as done by mono recording, stereo styluses also cut up and down. It did, however, mean that the playback of the sounds was tricky, and required a sophisticated speaker system and stationary listeners to do so. So while this technology was marketed as creating a “richer and more full sound than mono”, it had limited popularity through the ‘60s and ‘70s.

During the time when The Beatles were growing up, most people only had mono-playback systems at home for vinyl records and in the car to listen to radio (“Do You Want To Know A Secret?”). George Martin has been quoting as saying “In 1967, very few people had stereo equipment. Almost everyone listened in mono; it was accepted as the standard. Stereo was strictly for the hi-fi freaks!” (Komara 319). As a result, they (and most major record companies) only mixed and released albums in monophonic sound, and “that’s the version of the music that preoccupied John, Paul, George and Ringo in the studio… the band labored over the mono mixes and showed little interest in the stereo versions” (“Do You Want To Know A Secret”). However, listen to any modern mixes of The Beatles, and you will more than likely find that it is in stereo. This is because in the early 2000s, record companies took many popular albums from the 1960s, originally released only in mono, and digitally produced “pseudo-stereo” versions.

 

To listen to a comparison between Mono and Stereo click this link, or go to the “Twist and Shout Comparison” tab above!