Your Quest for Beatles tones

[lennon211]

After a PM hit me last week asking how I was going about getting some specific tones for some Beatles songs, it got me thinking: how do all of you do it? Is there a specific period of the Beatles sound that you can get easily? Is there a song that is a benchmark for you?

Last night, in an effort to avoid wedding stuff, I escaped to my basement to play some music. My recent listening led me toward late Beatles. In an effort to put together something that would hit what I needed, I used my '59 Bassman RI, Vox overdrive pedal and generic Epi Casino. As simple as it was, this rig worked very well, getting me some great sounds reflecting the White Album and beyond. I'm looking forward to trying this out with my SG and '62 Tele RI.

Early Beatles is much easier. Basically it's taking the selected instrument and working with the amp (AC-30 Handwired LTD Edition) to tweak the tone. This works with about 98% of the material.

Is there something that you do to get the tone "there"?

[paologregorio]

I think its the painter, not the brush, though good gear's required, and it's probably much easier with similar gear.

[JakeK]

After a PM hit me last week asking how I was going about getting some specific tones for some Beatles songs, it got me thinking: how do all of you do it? Is there a specific period of the Beatles sound that you can get easily? Is there a song that is a benchmark for you?

Tee hee, I was that PM

I can get my Beatles' tones with my 1997 (which will cover ALL of John's tones, plugged in Gibson J-160E, Ric 325 or Epi Casino), and with the Deluxe Reverb, can get a very good simulation of the sounds used on "White Album", "Let It Be" and "Abbey Road". Playing "Hey Bulldog" and "Revolution" with a Fuzz Face just NAILS the sound. I have heard that the Epi Casino and the Ric 1997 have similar sounds, so maybe that's why nailing John's Casino sounds are so easy.

With the neck pickup of the 1997 and a compressor, I get a great sound for "She Loves You", "I Want to Hold Your Hand", "I Feel Fine" and other songs John may have used the J-160E plugged in on. With both pickups to get and/or just the bridge pickup of the 1997, I can get great sounds for "You Can't Do That", "Long Tall Sally", "She's a Woman", "You're Gonna Lose That Girl", "Day Tripper". Since I have a blackface Fender amp, like the Beatles did in '66-'68 getting the tones for "Paperback Writer", "She Said, She Said", "Getting Better" and "It's All Too Much" aren't hard at all.

It's safe to say that the 360/12V64 can get a very close approximation of the sound George got on his 360/12OS. It has been said the Janglebox can help get George's tone, but (like the Byrds) the Beatles' may have used a tube compressor. Compression and flatwound strings really help nail George's 12-string tone, for me.

[deaconblues]

I'd love to know if anyone is able to get that shimmery, compressed tone from the Sgt. Pepper days (think the leads on "Got to Get You Into My Life" and "Fixing a Hole") and what they're using. I'm guessing a P90-equipped guitar is the first step. I've heard that the sound is actually due to multiple four-track mix-downs.

[jps]

A key ingredient in getting the sound is eating Honey Nut BeatleOs for breakfast.

[JakeK]

I'd love to know if anyone is able to get that shimmery, compressed tone from the Sgt. Pepper days (think the leads on "Got to Get You Into My Life" and "Fixing a Hole") and what they're using. I'm guessing a P90-equipped guitar is the first step. I've heard that the sound is actually due to multiple four-track mix-downs.

I keep listening to the "Fixing a Hole" solo, but (to me), it sounds like a tube compressor and perhaps the Tone Bender. George remembers playing the lead on "Fixing", and a lot of reports venture out and say it was his Strat that did the work. It was possibly this same setup for "Got to Get You Into My Life", too.

The amps for matching the sounds with The Beatles is tough when it gets to "Rubber Soul". The Beatles (John and George, at least) were using their Vox AC-100's, but had reverted to their AC-30's, too. Paul, on the other hand, was recording both (all) his basslines and (some, possibly all) his guitar parts through a Blackface Fender Bassman (and used the Bassman for his work through "The White Album"). During "Revolver", not only did the band use various prototype VOX amps (nothing an AC-30 can't nail for guitar, I'm sure), but they also received two Blackface Fender Showman amps (nothing a reissue Twin Reverb can't nail).

What a lot of people (people on this forum know this, I'm sure) don't know is that the Beatles DID use effects in the studio. Starting from "Revolver", I'm venturing to believe that the distorted sounds were Tone Benders. There are people who believe the "Taxman" solo was Paul playing his Casino through a cranked Vox amp. (Matt, maybe you can make a comparison of the "Taxman" solo with your Casino through a cranked AC-30, then possibly with a Tone Bender without the AC-30 cranked, then the guitar and pedal through to your Bassman). We can't know for sure what guitars John, George and Paul were using by 1966.

The guitar sounds of The Beatles remain a mystery. And, for me, the fun of experimenting with different amps, guitars, pedals and settings is the player's ears.

The bass sounds are easy are a different story entirely. "Please Please Me" and half of "With the Beatles" and related singles were Paul's '61 Höfner, the other half of "With the Beatles", as well as the entire albums of "Hard Day's Night", "Beatles for Sale" and "Help!" and all related singles were Paul's '62 Höfner, "Revolver", "Sgt Pepper", "Magical Mystery Tour"/"Yellow Submarine" and all related singles were the Ric 4001S.

The bass on "The White Album" is fairly easy to identify. The Jazz bass had a distinct sound from the Ric. Now, only recording notes about the bass player will give you an idea on what bass was used. If it was John or George, it would be a Fender Bass VI and if it was Paul, you could listen to the tone of the bass and figure out if it was the Jazz or the Ric. "Revolution" (the single verison, anyway, possibly the album version, too), as we've assumed, was Paul on his '61 Höfner and "Hey Jude" was George on the Bass VI.

"Let It Be" was mostly Paul on the '62 Höfner, but if he was on piano, George or John would use the Bass VI, and thankfully, we have footage to determine when Paul was using the Höfner, and when the Bass VI was used. "For You Blue" and "Two of Us" (although George used the neck pickup of his Tele to recreate one for the latter) strangely, has no basslines (and, while it was earlier, I don't think "I've Just Seen a Face" had one either).

The only troubling bass sounds were on "Rubber Soul" and "Abbey Road". As Francesco Fai demonstrated, the Höfner and the Ric both have a very similar tone (he made two videos of "Come Together" one with a a 4001C64S, and another with a Höfner Beatle bass, with pickups aligned like Paul's '62). I'm guessing that Paul was very happy with the 4001S during "Rubber Soul", and possibly made frequent use of that bass on "Rubber Soul", although some tracks ("Drive My Car", "Norweigian Wood", "Run for Your Life", "If I Needed Someone" and the single "Day Tripper"/"We Can Work It Out"), have me thinking he might have pulled out the Höfner before it's temporary retirement.

But the root of what I'm getting at is that one has to trust his/her ears in getting the sounds of The Beatles, be it guitar or bass.

[8mileshigher]

Jake -- thanks for posting all the details of which equipment for nailing which Beatle song.... I think I'm going to print that message and stick it in my folder with Beatles songs/charts and sheet music for future reference.
Regards.

[soundmasterg]

Keep in mind that Revolver, and Sgt. Peppers, were the Vox hybrid amps, like the 7120, 430, etc., which have a transistor preamp and a tube power amp. MMT was the Vox solid state amps like the Defiant, Conquerer, etc, though Peppers could have used these also. An AC30 can't really do those tones very well, though it does it better than a Fender for example. These Vox hybrid and SS amps had a MRB circuit in it that would give an interesting fuzz tone, used for example on She Said, She Said among others.

Also, on Rubber Soul and after, Paul was using a blond Bassman rather than a Blackface Bassman...not quite the same thing. These have some brownface and blackface elements in them and sound very nice. I believe the Vox AC100 was still around so it could have been used for bass.

Greg

[lyle_from_minneapolis]

Wish I had me this to play with...

http://www.soundsonline.com/Fab-Four-Vi ... W-170.html

[iamthebassman]

The only troubling bass sounds were on "Rubber Soul" and "Abbey Road". As Francesco Fai demonstrated, the Höfner and the Ric both have a very similar tone (he made two videos of "Come Together" one with a a 4001C64S, and another with a Höfner Beatle bass, with pickups aligned like Paul's '62). I'm guessing that Paul was very happy with the 4001S during "Rubber Soul", and possibly made frequent use of that bass on "Rubber Soul", although some tracks ("Drive My Car", "Norweigian Wood", "Run for Your Life", "If I Needed Someone" and the single "Day Tripper"/"We Can Work It Out"), have me thinking he might have pulled out the Höfner before it's temporary retirement.

But the root of what I'm getting at is that one has to trust his/her ears in getting the sounds of The Beatles, be it guitar or bass.

And of course, on Abbey Road, George played "his"(righty) Fender Jazz on a song or two.

I have always used the bass to get a certain sound rather than the amp. Live I run my Ampeg flat, with the bass running thru a Submarine Bass Preamp which is handy for minor tone tweaks. The amp is just for my on-stage monitoring of course, the PA does the work, and our soundman doesn't adjust my signal except for room dynamics, and adding mucho compression.I use a Hofner '63, Rick 4001S, and Fender Jazz.

[revolver323]

I have always used the bass to get a certain sound rather than the amp.

My philosphy also. My Genz-Benz is set flat for all my basses -- two Laklands, a Hofner Icon and an OLP Tony Levin sig. ALso, like Ronn, I use the amp for stage fill and to give me more bottom than I'd get from a wedge monitor. The basses go through a Radial Bassbone to the board. I heard a video of me using the Hofner with sound taken straight off the board and it had that Beatles flavor. I run the Icon in "Paul" Mode -- front pickup only, SOLO switch engaged.

[vynesmusic]

The bass on "The White Album" is fairly easy to identify. The Jazz bass had a distinct sound from the Ric. Now, only recording notes about the bass player will give you an idea on what bass was used. If it was John or George, it would be a Fender Bass VI and if it was Paul, you could listen to the tone of the bass and figure out if it was the Jazz or the Ric. "Revolution" (the single verison, anyway, possibly the album version, too), as we've assumed, was Paul on his '61 Höfner and "Hey Jude" was George on the Bass VI.

"Let It Be" was mostly Paul on the '62 Höfner, but if he was on piano, George or John would use the Bass VI, and thankfully, we have footage to determine when Paul was using the Höfner, and when the Bass VI was used. "For You Blue" and "Two of Us" (although George used the neck pickup of his Tele to recreate one for the latter) strangely, has no basslines (and, while it was earlier, I don't think "I've Just Seen a Face" had one either).

Vynesmusic, here.....this post was an education......Did McCartney actually use a jazz bass? I realized after closely watching the film of "Hey Jude' that it was, I thought, John playing a Fender bass VI, one of my favorite instruments EVER.....but maybe John played the Bass VI on "Let it Be".....it was a rush to see my heroes using the Bass VI....

Paul and producer George Martin changed electric bass forever....Paul by GENIUS and musicality, Martin through redefining drums and bass in the mix of a recorded song.....

[FretlessOnly]

George plays the Fender Bass VI in the Hey Jude viddy. John did play bass on Let it Be, although it may have been a Jazz or the VI (see below).

I believe that the most prevalent use of the Fender Jazz by McCartney (and prevalent is a relative term here) is on the White Album. For example, Glass Onion sounds like a Fender Jazz to me, but Goerge and John used the Fender VI during this period also. They also had a right-handed Jazz to add to the confusion. Despite looking through Lewisohn's and Babuik's books on the subject, I can't cite tunes on which McCartney certainly used the left-handed Fender Jazz.

[iamthebassman]

The 2 Fender Jazz Basses are used on "The White Album" and "Abbey Road".

[kkawachi]

While my Guitar Gently weeps I think is a McCartney Lefty J Bass track, as well as Glass Onion.