Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

growing up in socal and being a beach boys fan--as much as a 10-year kid could have been--i thought i knew what "electric guitars" were s'posed to sound like, and it was fender, all the way.

i've long been curious, but never thought to post the question until now, about the instrumentation (rhythm guitar?) on "i wanna hold your hand."

i'd describe it as sort of a "honking" sound. my wife just got me the "beatles gear" book and i've learned that the lads were playing gretsch (duo-jet or country gentleman) and ric 325 when the song was recorded.

so, i'm concluding that the rhythm guitar part is john's ric 325 thru one of their vox amps. a long way from the early '60s fender sound and unlike anything i had heard before.

how far off am i? many thanks, eljayski

i think there were some discussions and threads about this song, and which guitars, on the Beatles discussion pages here on the RRF, not too long ago. IIRC, it is hotly debated (and undecided) about which guitar Lennon played.

Maybe Kris (the Beatles moderator/host) will want to move or combine this thread over to the prior one ?

Larry, I think the "honking" you're referring to may be the muffled tone John's 325 - it was recorded with his tone rolled off.