Oh my...there goes $239.99 (Beatles mono box) (3 Viewers)
- Thread starter mjp
- Start date
nervas
more crickets than friends
They are listed as a pre-sell, seller says he/she has 3.
So I guess the seller has pre-ordered from somewhere and is now jacking up the price by over $100.00!
So I guess the seller has pre-ordered from somewhere and is now jacking up the price by over $100.00!
mjp
Founding member
I would think anyone who really wants them would just Google "Beatles mono box" and find them at a retailer. But you never know.
Six months from now I would expect to see a lot of those on eBay, and for a lot more than $350. Once they ship people will start writing reviews, and that will be the first some people hear of it. But they'll all be long gone.
That happened to me with the fucking Stooges Fun House boxed set, and I still can't find an affordable copy.
Six months from now I would expect to see a lot of those on eBay, and for a lot more than $350. Once they ship people will start writing reviews, and that will be the first some people hear of it. But they'll all be long gone.
That happened to me with the fucking Stooges Fun House boxed set, and I still can't find an affordable copy.
nervas
more crickets than friends
You know mjp, if I had been posting here about 3-4 years ago, I would have sold you an affordable copy. I sold my second copy of the Fun House boxed set for about $200.. Well, maybe at the time it seemed non-affordable, but I'd probably snatch up another if I saw for $200.00. And of course, there were only 3,000 of those.
I finally took the time to view/listen to these. It is so very odd; the stark contrast between the pre-September '66 shows and this one. The people in the street appear to be in a total state of either indifference or total awe. They are dead silent in either case. Little did they know it would be their last live show.
Funny thing is; the Beatles all seem to be really enjoying it - John in particular. And he spends a fair bit of time face-checking Paul; knowing that being tight required he and Paul to be in total synch. And they really are. There's a great deal of repect Lennon is showing Paul right there. Somehow it wasn't enough...
Ouch; Amazon has dropped the price on the stereo set to $179 with free shipping. I'm only interested in the mono set, and that's long gone @$240; but I've got mine locked in.
mjp
Founding member
If the stereo remasters are vastly better than what's been available, they're going to sell a lot of those. The buzz over the mono set - and the fact that it won't even be available by the time people start reading reviews of it - is probably going to sell a lot of the stereo sets.
I don't want stereo versions of the mono albums, and $179 is 5 or 6 times too much to pay for the three albums that were originally stereo. I just wonder if these new remasters are going to trickle down to the single album CDs or just stay in the boxes?
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And what the fuck is going on here? $179.00 - $624.98
I don't want stereo versions of the mono albums, and $179 is 5 or 6 times too much to pay for the three albums that were originally stereo. I just wonder if these new remasters are going to trickle down to the single album CDs or just stay in the boxes?
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And what the fuck is going on here? $179.00 - $624.98
I read somewhere (reputable) that these will be available in single-CD form as well. Not sure if that's both mono and stereo or not, but likely the stereo ones would, anyway.
mjp
Founding member
I just read that the stereo Help! and Rubber Soul mixes are going to be from 1987, and the Yellow Submarine mix is from 1999. So they are not going to be original stereo mixes in every case. But some of those original stereo mixes were pretty claustrophobic, so no great loss there.
This very long discussion on Amazon has some interesting information, and features a guy who really likes to type, and feels very passionately that the stereo set is a disservice.
This very long discussion on Amazon has some interesting information, and features a guy who really likes to type, and feels very passionately that the stereo set is a disservice.
Bukfan
"The law is wrong; I am right"
Yes, the stereo set will also be released as single-CD's for $12.99 a piece.
There's 13 discs in the set (plus a bonus CD) for $179. If you buy all 13 as single-CD's instead, the price will be about the same ($168.87). Of course, you won't get all of the extra material such as a poster etc.
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He may like to type, but he's not wrong. I own the '99 Yellow Submarine re-issue, and other than Hey Bulldog (it's distorted; probably just too much gain on the master), the fidelity is much better than the originals.
Anyway, I could give a rat's ass about the stereo versions. Mono is where it's at, brother!
LickTheStar
Sad Flower in the Sand
Now is the big deal on the mono versions because that's how the albums were originally released? I wasn't alive for any of this crazy stuff, so to me stereo SOUNDS like a better option... But I've never had anything but...
Basically, the mono mixes are more representative of the way it was intended to be heard.
Mono was the standard back when these albums were first released, so everyone spent most of their time and effort perfecting the mono mixes. Stereo was still in its early stages, so the stereo mix was more of an afterthought. I've read that the band was very involved with the mono mixes but not really at all with the stereo mixes.
mjp
Founding member
Early stereo mixes of everything were novelties, and they exaggerated the separation so people could stand in their living rooms with their new stereo "sets" and their friends and say, "Hear that? Hear how the sound comes from both sides?!" It wasn't stereo like you're used to now.
In many cases on the Beatles records, vocals were paned all the way to one side and music to the other. That just sounds weird, especially when you listen to it on headphones, which is how most people take their music these days. And as Purple keeps pointing out, it wasn't the way the Beatles wanted it the music to be heard, since they sat there and worked on the mono mixes with George Martin.
In many cases on the Beatles records, vocals were paned all the way to one side and music to the other. That just sounds weird, especially when you listen to it on headphones, which is how most people take their music these days. And as Purple keeps pointing out, it wasn't the way the Beatles wanted it the music to be heard, since they sat there and worked on the mono mixes with George Martin.
I thought I had re-iterated that point sufficiently. And when one of the Beatles says You haven't heard Sgt. Pepper until you've heard the mono mix, well, that's good enough for me.
mjp
Founding member
Sold out at Tower now too. Looks like the last place to get it is at The Beatles store.
(And it's back at Amazon.)
(And it's back at Amazon.)
What's odd about that listing on "The Beatles Store" website is that the White Album is nowhere to be found in the contents of the mono set. They show plenty of images in the montage of the set that includes White Album photos, but no mention of the tracks in the track listing.
But $269 ain't a bad price for something that may never be made again.
Oh hell, you know it will. But it won't be a first edition.
But $269 ain't a bad price for something that may never be made again.
Oh hell, you know it will. But it won't be a first edition.
There was an article in USA Today about it.
Remastered Beatles catalog comes together, real soon
Whatever mono sets are left will probably be gone soon.
Remastered Beatles catalog comes together, real soon
Whatever mono sets are left will probably be gone soon.
I just received an e-mail from amazon regarding the mono boxed set. Apparently, while the mono set will remain a limited-production item, it will no longer be capped at 10,000 sets. In other words, they're making more. How many more, it did not say. But if you want one, now's the time to strike.
mjp
Founding member
There was conflicting talk about that when they were first announced. It seems like a cynical move to have a numbered set of 10,000, then a further unnumbered set (cheaper, I can only imagine).
I would never pay a premium for a "numbered" CD box set if I had the option to buy it unnumbered. Who gives a shit? Maybe the unnumbered boxes won't have the cover facsimiles or inserts...who knows.
Either way, I'm counting the days until this fucker is dropped on the doorstep.
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From the 8/31 LA Examiner:
"EMI is continuing to manufacture and supply retailers with the limited edition The Beatles Mono Box Set, an EMI spokesperson told us on Monday. More are definitely coming and the set will be back in stock.
As we've mentioned previously, significantly more than 10,000 of the mono sets have been made for the U.S. alone. The Beatles Mono Box Set, by the way, is manufactured and assembled in Japan."
So perhaps limited in this case means limited to how many they can sell. ;)
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Later that same day...
Dear Valued Customer,
Your item, The Beatles Mono Box Set (CD) / The Beatles (Artist), has just processed in our distribution center. Your order may take an additional 5-7 business days to ship after all items in the order are processed.
So I guess they "processed" it and then set it aside on a shelf to age gracefully for a few days? "We shall sell no box before its time!" Well, at least it's on the way. In 5-7 days.
I would never pay a premium for a "numbered" CD box set if I had the option to buy it unnumbered. Who gives a shit? Maybe the unnumbered boxes won't have the cover facsimiles or inserts...who knows.
Either way, I'm counting the days until this fucker is dropped on the doorstep.
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From the 8/31 LA Examiner:
"EMI is continuing to manufacture and supply retailers with the limited edition The Beatles Mono Box Set, an EMI spokesperson told us on Monday. More are definitely coming and the set will be back in stock.
As we've mentioned previously, significantly more than 10,000 of the mono sets have been made for the U.S. alone. The Beatles Mono Box Set, by the way, is manufactured and assembled in Japan."
So perhaps limited in this case means limited to how many they can sell. ;)
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Later that same day...
Dear Valued Customer,
Your item, The Beatles Mono Box Set (CD) / The Beatles (Artist), has just processed in our distribution center. Your order may take an additional 5-7 business days to ship after all items in the order are processed.
So I guess they "processed" it and then set it aside on a shelf to age gracefully for a few days? "We shall sell no box before its time!" Well, at least it's on the way. In 5-7 days.
nervas
more crickets than friends
Well that really sucks to learn they will make more. Wait I'm getting ahead of myself. If they make more, that aren't numbered for a lower price, I may try and take mine back to exchange. I certainly would not have paid more for a numbered edition. Unless it had Sir Paul's sig or something, but not just for a number.
Nervas: I thought you ordered the stereo set?
nervas
more crickets than friends
Nope, I was able to get the mono set thru Best Buy. It was the pre-order, but they just took the money from my credit card about 1 week ago, and now the best buy link is dead, so I'm hoping I got one. However as I said above, I'd rather have paid a lower price for a the non-numbered set.
mjp
Founding member
Who knows. If they continue to manufacture it, the price will come down, that's inevitable. But the more I read the more I'm not sure the first 10,000 are actually numbered. There was a lot of misinformation out there about this thing. I guess we'll find out next week.
Even if the price goes down, it's still going to be in the $200 range, and the individual stereo discs are still going to to be the mass market replacement for the 1980's CD masters. So to me it doesn't really matter how it all shakes out, the fruit of the beast is still the mono remasters, and the box is apparently the only way to get them.
On a completely unrelated note, someone already asked me, "When are you going to rip those mono Beatles CDs for me?"
Even if the price goes down, it's still going to be in the $200 range, and the individual stereo discs are still going to to be the mass market replacement for the 1980's CD masters. So to me it doesn't really matter how it all shakes out, the fruit of the beast is still the mono remasters, and the box is apparently the only way to get them.
On a completely unrelated note, someone already asked me, "When are you going to rip those mono Beatles CDs for me?"
nervas
more crickets than friends
As I said at the beginning of this post, sometimes I can't even tell the difference between stereo and mono. However, I do own the above blue box set of LP's. So I would imagine these are in mono? Therefore the box set I receive next week, will be very similar to what these already sound like?
Is that a fair assesment?
My understanding of the blue box set is that the first four are in mono, but the rest are in mock stereo (likely the last three, Yellow Sub, Abbey Road, and Let it Be are in true stereo, as that's the only way they were produced).
But, the new discs should sound much better than these. That's the word on the interweb street, as it were.
I'm waiting mostly for the mono Revolver and Sgt. Pepper. I have an Italian boot CD of Revolver in mono, but it isn't much.
But, the new discs should sound much better than these. That's the word on the interweb street, as it were.
I'm waiting mostly for the mono Revolver and Sgt. Pepper. I have an Italian boot CD of Revolver in mono, but it isn't much.
here's a review of the box set. sounds like a good job was done on 'em...
http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/13425-stereo-box-in-mono/
http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/13425-stereo-box-in-mono/
A thorough and, from what I know, rather factual review. Good stuff, for sure.
Sorry for the double post, but amazon just informed me that my order for the mono boxed set shipped and is due on Thursday.
Be back after I change me knickers.
Be back after I change me knickers.
nervas
more crickets than friends
I'm faithfully tracking my shipment on UPS.com. It's out for delivery as of 6:04am, so any minute that sucker should be dropped off at my doorstep. Hopefully my ever so loving girl will pick it up and safely secure it inside. We have had a box stolen right off the front door before!
Gerard K H Love
Appreciate your friends
Wow I just found that set just sitting on the floor in L.A.
Always Always have shipments like this sent to your work address. That's what I do, and I've never had a problem. Well, until today.
mjp
Founding member
There's a pretty in depth interview by CNN with the guys who did the remastering. If you're into that kind of thing.
The best news in the interview (to an audio geek) is that the mono remasters were not limited during transfer. Limiting and compressing make everything sound like the same non-dynamic wall of noise sludge drone (as the kids say), so I was glad to read that.
I don't expect to see the box here for another week or so. I am subject to slow-boat cheapskate shipping.
The best news in the interview (to an audio geek) is that the mono remasters were not limited during transfer. Limiting and compressing make everything sound like the same non-dynamic wall of noise sludge drone (as the kids say), so I was glad to read that.
I don't expect to see the box here for another week or so. I am subject to slow-boat cheapskate shipping.
What the hell?! I preordered the mono box set about a month ago, and today they decided to send me this email:
Well, those bastards are never getting one red penny from me again.
Well, those bastards are never getting one red penny from me again.
