• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join free Log in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

Mccartney's sound

#21
Another part of the technique side of things: from studio photos, it looks like McCartney was using the bridge pup solo'ed, but picking way high above the neck pup over the fretboard.

I love playing that song, and can come reasonably close to the recorded tone. The secret? I'm playing it on a Ric 4001!
 
#23
bovinehost said:
Who was talking about turning the treble up? What? Treble is for guitarists.
Click to expand...

To put it even stronger: according to the "Beatles Gear" book, Macca played his rick either through a Vox AC 100 bass amp with a 2x15 speaker cab or plugged straight into the table. He preffered to solo the neck pickup because he always used the neck pickup on his Höfner too. And apparently, he has superhuman power in his hands because the action was way too high to have a playable instrument but talk about TONE. When it comes to having a virtually unplayable instrument and playing it like he did, puts him in the same league as Stevie Ray Vaughan.

And if you guys want to see Macca playing his ricky and laying down a killer bassline...

Invalid Link Removed
 
#24
If you want to know how McCartney really did it, read Geoff Emerick's "Here There And Everywhere," which explains--in excruciating detail--the way Sgt. Pepper was recorded. He has very high praise for McCartney's musicianship.
 
#25
That video was amazing! I haven't seen that much old Beatles footage but it was awesome to see how they recorded back then... I wish my band were talented enough to just knock something out live with limited equipment, not to mention have fun doing it...
 
#27
Winemule said:
If you want to know how McCartney really did it, read Geoff Emerick's "Here There And Everywhere," which explains--in excruciating detail--the way Sgt. Pepper was recorded. He has very high praise for McCartney's musicianship.
Click to expand...


Yes. Amazing book. It will turn your head around regarding The Beatles.
 
#28
If'n I were to do it...

I would slightly scoop the mids, and only use the "neck" pickup and use a pick. Flats would probably help as well. You might also want to think about muting the strings some, using foam.

I don't ever recall seeing him muting the strings before using the Rick, but you can clearly see the foam on Hofner #1 in the Revolution clip (which was done around a year after Pepper was recorded). And as the Rick has a mute built into the bridge...
 
#29
I have a 4001 CS with black nylon tapewound strings on it just for that McCartney thump.
And it comes very close.

To me THAT is the classic Rickenbacker tone, not the clangy thing so many people go for.

both pickups on, played with a pick, tone all up on the bass into a good tube amp mic'ed from a few feet back in a good room.
Altec compressor.

and by then, he often put bass on last or nearly so, so it wouldn't be bounced much.

But the recording isn't the big part.
it's the bass and strings and the way he plays it.
 
#31
Speaking of Geoff Emerick, he came to one of our shows a couple weeks ago. If you don't know, I play in a Beatles trib band. Just a little pressure:rolleyes:
To add to my personal pressure being a bass player, the great Chuck Rainey was there too.

It was very cool, Chuck caught my eye as they were leaving and gave me a thumbs-up, and Geoff said he really enjoyed the show and gave us passes to a Q&A he was giving the next day.
 
#32
iamthebassman said:
Speaking of Geoff Emerick, he came to one of our shows a couple weeks ago. If you don't know, I play in a Beatles trib band. Just a little pressure:rolleyes:
To add to my personal pressure being a bass player, the great Chuck Rainey was there too.

It was very cool, Chuck caught my eye as they were leaving and gave me a thumbs-up, and Geoff said he really enjoyed the show and gave us passes to a Q&A he was giving the next day.
Click to expand...

That is very cool. Did you make it to the Q&A?

I've got to check out Here There & Everywhere.
 
#34
Drignoll said:
Another part of the technique side of things: from studio photos, it looks like McCartney was using the bridge pup solo'ed, but picking way high above the neck pup over the fretboard.
Click to expand...

There has been some talk about this at the Ric Resource forum and others I've seen. Some think that his bass may have been wired differently, as his tone with the Ric doesn't add up to a solo'd treble pickup. It is a tone more like the neck pickup.
 
#36
tightbidness said:
Is this the promo film for Hey Bulldog? Does anyone know if it's possible to purchase this on DVD, and possibly promos for Paperback Writer, Strawberry Fields, Revolution, etc.
Click to expand...

Link Removed

This DVD box contains them all. PLUS the most rare live performances. For example 'Yesterday" performed with the full band.
 
#38
In Here There and Everywhere I believe he mentioned that the bass on Sgt. Pepper was recording by using a speaker as a mike. I forget how Geoff actually pulled it off but that was definitely one of the parts of his tone on that album anyway. Maybe a gear head will come along and remind me how exactly it was done. :confused:
 
#39
Blazer said:
Link Removed

This DVD box contains them all. PLUS the most rare live performances. For example 'Yesterday" performed with the full band.
Click to expand...

Is there a version of the Anthology that includes the promos as seperate entities? On my box set Anthology during Revolution for example there is a voice over by John at one point (which is cool, don't get me wrong). Also I haven't come across Hey Bulldog.
 
#40
apollo11 said:
There has been some talk about this at the Ric Resource forum and others I've seen. Some think that his bass may have been wired differently, as his tone with the Ric doesn't add up to a solo'd treble pickup. It is a tone more like the neck pickup.
Click to expand...
Check out the Anthology track of "Being For The Benefit Of Mr. Kite..." As far as I'm aware, the Hofner wasn't used on Sgt Pepper at all. If you listen to the between take piddling, you'll hear a muted bass sound, very similar to a Hofner sound. You'll never get that sound with compression, with all your tone turned down or anything with a solo'd bridge pickup on a Rick 4001.
 

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back