What songs did Paul McCartney use his RIC bass?
Moderators: rickenbrother, ajish4
I've been dying to know how they recorded "Rain" for a while now - it's one of the coolest bass tracks of all time, IM(very)HO.
As I've said before, the Stone Roses get a similar tone (to my ears)to Rain on their first album, but using a 4005.
As I've said before, the Stone Roses get a similar tone (to my ears)to Rain on their first album, but using a 4005.
"The only worthwhile conquests are those wrested from ignorance"
-Napoleon
-Napoleon
From what I've read, a lot of Abbey Road is the Hofner. They were still in their 'Get Back' phase and really trying to record and produce 'like they used to...'. That, to McCartney, meant getting the Hofner out and using that. Don't forget that John and George played bass on a few tunes during those last two years. I've read extensively that George played a Fender Jazz bass on the 'Golden Slumbers'. If you buy the new Beatles Anthology DVD, the extra disk has a section where Paul, George, Ringo, and George Martin are figuring that out, But, if you listen to it...Jazz bass.
And, keep the flatwound son the Hofner. They sound great!!!
And, keep the flatwound son the Hofner. They sound great!!!
From what I've read, Paul was given a Fender Jazz and used it with the Hofner on Abbey Road. It was a right handed bass that he played restrung left handed. George preferred that bass because he could restring it righty when he played bass. The Rickenbacker had just been stripped down to a natural color and was not used much at that time. McCartney then used the Rickenbacker for all the live solo gigs,and the Fender sometimes in the studio.
I recently went back to playing a Rickenbacker bass. Its like meeting an old friend again
Bob-- I'm with ya on "Yer Blues". I've never associated McCartney's bass lines on that song with anything other than a Ric with dull-thud flatwounds on it. If he really did play a Jazz bass on that recording, then it has to be the only Jazz bass like that in the history of music. It's pushing credulity to the utter limit to imagine a J-bass producing a tone like that. But McCartney was/is a magician with a bass (just listen to how good he could make that Hofner sound) and I guess anything's possible where he's concerned.
I agree and have allways thought that was the Rick on "Yer Blues", but this was discussed over at Voxtalks (archived 03-13-2003) and Tom Hartman says he was there and saw him using the jazz. There is a picture, but it is now just a box with a red x in it. Not that I'm against jazz basses, but it broke my heart to find out that wasn't the Rick on that song.
Is everybody ready?