[mediumbluemetal]

Hey guys--I've made a VERY interesting observation about "I Know I'm Not Wrong" on Tusk.

As I mentioned in a previous post, I have two copies of Tusk on vinyl. One is an original pressing, and the other is the 2013 reissue. The original pressing had the "mono" version of "Wrong," and the new reissue of Tusk played the "stereo" version of "Wrong" that's on most CD releases and digital downloads. (I use the terms "mono" and "stereo" lightly because even the "mono" version has stereo sound and stereo effects, it just lacks the stereo effects you can distinctly hear on CDs).

Yesterday, I did a major upgrade to my turntable. I replaced the cheap MM cartridge with a Denon 103 MC cartridge, and I moved from a built-in preamp to a standalone Cambridge Audio MC preamp. Tusk has always sounded amazing on vinyl, and I loaded the reissue copy to listen to on the new setup. Much to my amazement, the stereo effects on the new reissue copy have TOTALLY VANISHED! What?

That's right. My 2013 reissue of Tusk now sounds EXACTLY like my original pressing of Tusk with regards to "Wrong." What the hell is that about? All of the extra sound effects from the stereo/CD version are now totally absent. How is that possible? I played with the counterweight, adding and subtracting tracking force. I played with the anti-skate settings, going all the way from 0 to 4. No amount of adjusting would produce the missing sound effects.

I took the Tusk reissue to an old linear tracking turntable that I have just to verify that I didn't somehow install the new cartridge incorrectly, and sure enough, the stereo mix is totally absent, even on another player. How is that possible? If it weren't so much work, I'd reinstall the old cheapo MM cartridge in my primary turntable just to see if it would still pick up the stereo effects.

So here's my new interpretation of the "mono" versus "stereo" mix debate regarding "I Know I'm Not Wrong." After this experience, my hypothesis is that all Tusk pressings--including the originals from 1979--originally came with stereo sound, just like CDs and digital downloads today. And somehow, for whatever reason, that extra stereo mix track must be super fragile, and it either A) gets ground/worn off by the stylus, or B) it can only be detected by certain styli.

My thought is that the stereo effects are somehow ground off. And I say this because my old cartridge/stylus played mono on the old LP and stereo on the new LP. Obviously if there was any stereo effect left on the old LP, the same stylus could have picked it up.

I am totally shocked though. This puts a whole new perspective on the debate about which version of the song was original. I maintain that the song ALWAYS was meant to have the stereo effects, but for whatever reason, the stereo effects get worn off after only a few plays. I'd LOVE to hear other thoughts on this.