Most Ric Based Beatle Songs

[cowboy_joe]

David--I don't disagree with any of your claims, but do you have a good source of these session photos you mention? As a relative newcomer to the ranks of Beatle gear freaks, I'm still trying to scrape together pictures and first hand accounts of who played what and such.

Has anyone ever sat down together and studied what instruments got the most actual use on albums? I would guess that Paul's Hofner shows up the most, probably followed by John's (George's) J160e.

[geschwader]

There are photos from the July 1, 1963 She Loves You session, as well as the July 11, 1964 Lucky Stars (Summer Spin) in Mark Lewisohn's book The Complete Beatles Chronicle. I'll need to track down more shots from my library — I'll post them if I can find jpegs.

[levykev]

Rain (bass)

[geschwader]

As far as most used — despite our love of Rics — the single most played guitar on recordings would almost certainly be the J-160E.

[kog]

I would agree with you, David, on the usage of the J-160E. Really took me by surprise to read that somewhere, and then to relisten to all those old songs and actually HEAR it.

I was also surprised at how much Harrison used his Tennessean. I'd always thought his "main guitar" during the early years with the Country Gent and then EVERYTHING in 1964 seemed to be his Rick.

[teeder]

Penny Lane & Baby You're a Rich Man (Bass)
IMO, I wish Macca used the Rick on all of their stuff! No offense to Hofners, because I like them, but they just don't sound like the Ricky.

[cowboy_joe]

I have a reissue J160e and it is a very nice guitar, though I'm not too wild about it's electric abilities, it is interesting that it makes John Lennon look like a big P90 fan, the J160 plugged in, the Casino, the Les Paul Special's....

I do think there is something to be said for the fact that Lennon used his 325 almost exclusively live, for better or worse. I rather like the 325 on I Feel Fine from Shea Stadium. I'm also surprised that from the pictures I've seen, Lennon managed to stretch his fingers to play a lot of those closed, 4 note chords that work so well on the 325 on the fat Gibson neck.

[geschwader]

As for the J-160E as an electric guitar, remember that the original ones were made with laminated tops, in order to make them less prone to feedback. And John was running it through an AC-30 TB. He played that guitar very near the bridge, which helped the brightness and attack through the amp. The newer ones (I also own one) are actually much better acoustic guitars due to the solid Sitka top, but may not have quite the electric sound of the originals. It would be fun to do a side-by-side comparison.

[lawton]

And what's funny to me is that the better guitars from an acoustic perspective (IMO), the solid top J-160E Standard that's put together just like a J-45 (x-braced, etc.), are less expensive than the available reproductions of the '60s model of this guitar (the Lennon re-issues), which have ladder bracing and laminated tops (and sound like dogs unplugged).

I did find it interesting, though, that my J-160E arrived (new) with an official Gibson Montana rubbery-plastic sound-hole plug in the case. I guess they're expecting buyers to plug in (play electric) and, as a result, have to struggle with the feedback issue.

[cowboy_joe]

I'm thinking about getting my J160e fitted with a proper acoustic pickup, and getting a push pull pot switch to go between it and the P90.

While were talking about the good old Gibson Jumbo, how did John and George string theirs? Heavy guage Pyramid flats, like the electric guitars? I tried electric strings on mine, but wasn't happy with the acoustic properties--I can't imagine that John was the type of guy to make frequent string changes just for the sake of tone.

[beefandbones]

I've always thought it was interesting that Paul picked up the Rickenbacker bass at just about the exact same time John and George stopped using their Rickenbacker guitars. There's not one recording of them all using their Ricks at once.

In light of Paul's more recent statements about people 'expecting' to see him with the Hofner, recognizing the instrument's 'trademark' quality, I wonder if, at the time, part of the appeal of the Rickenbacker bass was its brand value as a Beatles 'trademark'...

Prolly not.

[geschwader]

Joseph — I've had the same thought about adding a Fishman pickup to my J-160E and using one of the existing pots to act as a switch. Given the nice acoustic sound of these new models, it would probably be nice — and still not lose the distinctive P90 (actually a P100) sound. In the Studio, I've found it interesting to record the J-160E with a condenser mic in one channel and run the P100 direct into another. Gives a nice "doubling" effect, but with two very different sounds.

[revolver323]

Speaking of Paul and the Ric, There are a couple of videos on MySpace of "Rain" and "Paperback Writer" and Paul is using the Hofner in both of them. Of course they are both lip synced, but I thought that was interesting. Maybe even that far back, he was conscious of people "expecting to see the Hofner." And at the end of the "Penny Lane" video -- the one where they're in the field riding horses and having tea, the "Servants" bring their instruments, which include the Hofner.

[westtexasrickenbacker]

All of Sgt. Peppers, from the bass perspective.

Paperback Writer, All my Loving, Hard Day's Night, I Want to Hold Your Hand, She Love You... so many.

Who knows this for certain? I would almost bet my life that the bass from "Come Together" is pure 4001 , but I have read some posts on other boards stating it was the Hofner with Rotosound tapewounds.

To me, all of Abbey Road sounds like 4001 except, of course, 'Here comes the Sun'.