Paul's bass for Rubber Soul and other questions

[JakeK]

What bass did Paul did use for Rubber Soul? I know nothing about bass tones and all that, but it sounds nice and punchy, as most people says a Ric bass would. You can hear the basslines clearer in the mix where as you could never really hear it up until that point.

I read somewhere that George played the bass on "She Said, She Said" because Paul lost his temper or something because John did like how he was playing. Is this true?

What special effects could Paul have used for the fuzz bass sound on "Think for Yourself"? Could he have used the Keith Richards "Satisfaction" Gibson Masetro pedal?

[Scastles]

Jake, it was George on bass for 'She Said, She Said'.

On 'Think for Yourself', McCartney actually laid down two bass track. One straight, and then overlaid the 'fuzz' using, from what I've read, a prototype of the Vox Tone Bender. The Vox wasn't available to the public until '67. It's possible the fuzz was the result of the 'homemade' fuzz box versions EMI had created, but supposedly the prototype Vox was delivered to the Beatles in early '65. This is just from what I've read.

[JakeK]

Interesting stuff about "Think for Yourself", thanks!

But "She Said, She Said"...GEORGE on bass? I never read anything like that! Could he have been using that Burns Nu-Sonic bass that he had present during the "Paperback Writer" sessions? Did Paul really get ****** off and leave like they said?

[beefandbones]

I think Rubber Soul is mostly the Hofner, but my guess is that he discovered the limitations of the Hofner and the versatility of the Rickenbacker at some point during the sessions. I suspect it may have happened during the recording of Michelle on November 3. Think For Yourself was started on November 8, and personally, I can't imagine recording a fuzz bass line with my Hofner.

Yeah, it's possible that George played the bass on She Said She Said. It was the last song recorded for the album, and according to a number of accounts, Paul left before the session was over. Someone (Ian McDonald?) noted that the bass on SSSS is much more conservative in style than the bass on the rest of Revolver. However, Lewisohn notes that the rhythm track for the song consists of two guitars, bass and drums.

Oh to have been a fly on the wall...

[rickboy88]

Hi all. According to "Beatles Gear" (Andy Babiuk), page 172 (bottom) states "McCartney used his new left-handed Rickenbacker 4001S bass almost exclusively on the Rubber Soul sessions."

He enjoyed playing it of course, but also liked the way it stayed in tune better than the Hofner. It is serial number DA 23 (January 1964).

They started on the Rubber Soul recordings in October 1965, and McCartney had received the 4001S from Francis and John Hall in late August that year when the Beatles were renting Burt Lancaster's house.

[beefandbones]

I believe I'm just reiterating an idea I've read in a book somewhere, but it's really interesting how much difference the engineer can make. That we can discuss whether Paul used a short-scale hollow-bodied bass with humbuckers on Rubber Soul or a longer-scale neck-through solid-body with single coils, is really a testament to Norman Smith's ability to get a certain sound. OnceGeoff Emerick took over the engineer's chair and began experimenting with recording techniques, suddenly we hear that unmistakable sound of a Rickenbacker bass!