"Wouldn’t It Be Nice" - Beach Boys

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   The DCC Pet Sounds from 1993 has a really good mono "Wouldn't It Be Nice" in spite of a little warble that occurs right on the 

introduction. 

There are multiple stand-alone versions of Pet Sounds with the 1996 box set stereo remix included alongside the original mono 

album. The first one appeared in 1999 and, as Ron mentioned, includes the Brian Wilson sung bridge. Then it was re-issued in 

2001 with Mike Love's bridge from the original mono mix synchronized (and not very well at that) to the rest of the stereo 

multi-tracks. Disc One of the 2016 50th Anniversary 2-CD set includes the same 2001 stereo attempt with a copy of the mono album 

mix sourced from the tape copy prepared by Brother Records in 1972 to make the Pet Sounds/Carl and The Passions 2-LP release. 

When it comes to the mono mix of Pet Sounds there seems to be a noticeable loss of fidelity post-1993 DCC release that would 

suggest the original master tape used to create the bulk of that disc may have deteriorated and a higher generation mono tape (separate from the 1972 tape)

was used for the 1996 box set, the 1999 CD, and the 2001 CD. 

Edited by LunarLaugh

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LunarLaugh Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Music Fan Joined: 13 February 2020 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 4	Post Options Post Reply Quote LunarLaugh Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 08 February 2025 at 3:54pm
	The DCC Pet Sounds from 1993 has a really good mono "Wouldn't It Be Nice" in spite of a little warble that occurs right on the introduction. There are multiple stand-alone versions of Pet Sounds with the 1996 box set stereo remix included alongside the original mono album. The first one appeared in 1999 and, as Ron mentioned, includes the Brian Wilson sung bridge. Then it was re-issued in 2001 with Mike Love's bridge from the original mono mix synchronized (and not very well at that) to the rest of the stereo multi-tracks. Disc One of the 2016 50th Anniversary 2-CD set includes the same 2001 stereo attempt with a copy of the mono album mix sourced from the tape copy prepared by Brother Records in 1972 to make the Pet Sounds/Carl and The Passions 2-LP release. When it comes to the mono mix of Pet Sounds there seems to be a noticeable loss of fidelity post-1993 DCC release that would suggest the original master tape used to create the bulk of that disc may have deteriorated and a higher generation mono tape (separate from the 1972 tape) was used for the 1996 box set, the 1999 CD, and the 2001 CD. Edited by LunarLaugh
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crapfromthepast Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Music Fan Joined: 14 September 2006 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 25	Post Options Post Reply Quote crapfromthepast Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 10 February 2025 at 4:40pm
	I got to listen to the DCC Pet Sounds and the Razor & Tie 2-CD Greatest Hits (clearly the same analog transfer as DCC Pet Sounds but not a digital clone). They're EQ'd with a little more bass (at the expense of midrange) than the mono versions I listed above. It's apparent in a level-matched A/B test, which you can perform easily in Audacity. Ultimately, I wasn't very impressed with the DCC/R&T discs for "Wouldn't It Be Nice". I found the mastering to be a little muddy/squishy, and I felt that the EQ choice detracts from the vocals. It's certainly not a night-and-day difference (as is used to justify the high price tag of those discs in the used market). I also noticed a low-frequency hum on the intro of the DCC/R&T mastering, which is not on the Motown mastering or any of the discs based on it. Just my opinion. Edited by crapfromthepast
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LunarLaugh Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Music Fan Joined: 13 February 2020 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 4	Post Options Post Reply Quote LunarLaugh Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 12 February 2025 at 10:56am
	At some point, whomever was compiling the parts together for the digital master of Pet Sounds for CD in the late '80s replaced some of the instrumental introductions on the master mono mixes with the mono instrumental mix on the instrumental track of the multi-tracks tapes containing the vocals (once Brian achieved the desired instrumental take, he would mix it down to mono on one track of an 8 track tape, leaving seven tracks open for vocal overdubs). This was done to make tape noise less apparent on the higher resolution compact disc format without needing to overbake the sound with noise reduction (which they DID also use to a degree). This may explain why some mono Pet Sounds tracks have noisy introductions (such as the aforementioned tape warble and buzz) on certain releases and others do not. You can most clearly hear such an edit on the mono "God Only Knows" as the two tape sources they put together were not running at quite at the same speed. Quite a few mono CD appearances of God Only Knows (and at least one of the mono reissue vinyl issues of Pet Sounds) contain this edit.
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