Fans looking to re-live the iconic music from The Beatles as it was first heard by the world in the ‘60s are undoubtedly flocking to the newly released The Beatles in Mono limited edition vinyl box set. Released this week in a 14-LP collection of 180-gram vinyl, newly mastered from the analogue master tapes, each album is available both individually and within the lavish, limited and gorgeous box set edition with a 108-page hardbound book. You can pick it up right here, or try your luck at winning the Beatles in Mono vinyl box set from CraveOnline!
Up until 1968, each Beatles album was given a unique mono and stereo mix, but the group always regarded the mono as primary. This week, The Beatles’ nine U.K. albums, the American-compiled Magical Mystery Tour, and the Mono Masters collection of non-album tracks have been released in mono on 180-gram vinyl LPs with faithfully replicated artwork. Details on how to win the full vinyl set are below:
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In an audiophile-minded undertaking, The Beatles’ acclaimed 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.
Manufactured for the world at Optimal Media in Germany, The Beatles’ albums are presented in their original glory, both sonically and in their packaging. The boxed collection’s exclusive 12-inch by 12-inch hardbound book features new essays and a detailed history of the mastering process by award-winning radio producer and author Kevin Howlett. The book is illustrated with many rare studio photos of The Beatles, fascinating archive documents, and articles and advertisements sourced from 1960s publications.
The set is available now at the official Beatles site.
