Recently I downloaded a digital transfer of the original 4-track tape master of the Beatles Sgt. Pepper album. (Google is Wonderful!) Just for fun I remixed several of the songs to try to duplicate the sound on the original LP.
In the process I discovered some things about the recording I had never heard before. For instance, at 3 minutes into “A Day In the Life” there is a sneeze on the piano and shaker track that you can actually hear in the final mix. There is also a conductor counting on the vocal track during both of the orchestra build sections that was muted in the final mix. You can even hear Paul McCartney counting to himself before he starts singing the middle section of that song.
On the 4-track master of the title song, track 1 is the entire rhythm track (guitar, bass, piano, drums), track 2 alternates between lead guitar licks and brass ensemble, track 3 is all the vocals premixed with reverb, and track 4 is the crowd reactions.
Remixing these songs made me remember how difficult it used to be to record and remix on analog tape machines with a limited number of tracks. When material on a track changed during the mix (like going back and forth from guitar to brass) the engineer would have to adjust volume, panning, EQ, reverb, and other processing instantaneously as the tape rolled. They did this without any of the automation that engineers today take for granted.
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