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Paul McCartney and his Basses

#41
-=DanAtkinson=- said:
It's interesting that there is so much debate on which bass Paul used on which track. The Hofner, Ric, and Jazz are all drastically different in design/construction. But it is very difficult to identify them by ear.

Paul always sounds like Paul, because the tone is in the fingers...and heart. Not so much in the instrument. And certainly not in the species of wood, the type of bridge, the nut, etc.
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Macca's tone is very much about his technique, first and foremost. His use of the pick and palm muting are among the biggest factor in getting his sound.

But there's a point at which selecting a specific instrument is also going to affect the tone. The bass tone on "Yer Blues" from The White Album would be pretty tough to get with the Hofner. And did Macca have an instrument that could get that springy sound on "With a little help from my friends" with a bass other than the Rick? It's debatable. Especially since tone shaping and recording technology in the mid 1960's were limited in their capabilities.
 
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#45
ShoeManiac said:
Macca's tone is very much about his technique, first and foremost. His use of the pick and palm muting are among the biggest factor in getting his sound.

But there's a point at which selecting a specific instrument is also going to affect the tone. The bass tone on "Yer Blues" from The White Album would be pretty tough to get with the Hofner. And did Macca have an instrument that could get that springy sound on "With a little help from my friends" with a bass other than the Rick? It's debatable. Especially since tone shaping and recording technology in the mid 1960's were limited in their capabilities.
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Funny thing. I've spent part of this evening getting the bass part down to With a Little Help from My Friends -- on my Hofner Ignition. So take that, all you gear experts.

Bass off, Treble off, bass pot about 65%, treble pot about 10%. LaBella Deep Talkin' 0.050 - 0100 flats, 1.0 mm teardrop pick. No palm muting (for a change); instead, a very firm, precise, glancing pick stroke with the tip only, about an inch up the neck from the neck pickup. Amp gain up high, pick pressure is light. To my ears it gets the pluck, fluidity, and warmth of that line we all love so much.

Isn't that why we love Sir Paul? His bass lines don't just carry the song, they are the song.
 
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#51
Crg2 said:
Nope. That's Paul.
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Well, even if Paul played the solo, it's an electic guitar and not a bass.

Just so we are talking about the same thing, the "solo" in my mind is the melody played at the 1:26 mark and occurs again at the end of the song. You can hear Paul's bass beind the solo which is played on the lower register of an electric guitar. I've always understood that this guitar part was played by George Harrison and was "suggested" by George Martin.

- Steve
 
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#52
Steve Boisen said:
Well, even if Paul played the solo, it's an electic guitar and not a bass.

Just so we are talking about the same thing, the "solo" in my mind is the melody played at the 1:26 mark and occurs again at the end of the song. You can hear Paul's bass beind the solo which is played on the lower register of an electric guitar. I've always understood that this guitar part was played by George Harrison and was "suggested" by George Martin.

- Steve
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It's his Ric bass. Get out a Ric bass, and try it. Sounds similar instantly.
 
#55
Yes, George Martin wrote that solo for "Michelle", and George Harrison played it on guitar.

Fascinating thread!

Just as a sidebar: It has to be absolutely crazy being Paul or Ringo. Imagine encountering this kind of scrutiny and thinking, "I've forgotten more about myself than I even realized." :D
I remember a video interview with Ringo where he was asked about a specific Beatles song and he couldn't remember which album it was on! :D
 
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#56
Crg2 said:
I'm confused. Aren't the bass parts in "Paperback Writer" and "Drive my Car", and the "Michelle" solo, all about the 4001?

It's why I play a 4003.
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The Paperback writer bassline was played by George Harrison on a Burns bass according to Bass Guitar Magazine (UK) when the review for the Burns reissue ran. There was a pic within the article of George playing one at the session.
This news freaked me out as Paperback Writer is my fave Beatles bass tone and the reason I bought a 4001 many years ago!
 
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#57
miles'tone said:
The Paperback writer bassline was played by George Harrison on a Burns bass according to Bass Guitar Magazine (UK) when the review for the Burns reissue ran. There was a pic within the article of George playing one at the session.
This news freaked me out as Paperback Writer is my fave Beatles bass tone and the reason I bought a 4001 many years ago!
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You touched on another interesting thing about the Beatles: They switched instruments so frequently that I'm consistently surprised by learning who played what.
 
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#58
miles'tone said:
The Paperback writer bassline was played by George Harrison on a Burns bass according to Bass Guitar Magazine (UK) when the review for the Burns reissue ran. There was a pic within the article of George playing one at the session.
This news freaked me out as Paperback Writer is my fave Beatles bass tone and the reason I bought a 4001 many years ago!
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well, always take with caution what bass magazines say unless it's an interview: I had one that was saying that Sgt pepper was released one year before Revolver and that abbey road was recorded before let it be.
 
#60
Just addressing the mute on a violin bass point made a while back: If you go back to post #7 you can see some foam wedged under the strings of his violin bass for some of the let it be sessions.

BTW, does anyone know what settings he prefers on his hofner in terms of the switches and PU selection? I'm guessing its mainly the neck PU, but does he play on the rythm or solo settings?
 

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