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Paul Mccartney tone on Abbey Road

#23
warnergt said:
There used to be a great site listing all the Beatles gear here:
Invalid Link Removed
but it seems to have gone away.

You can still catch the cached data here:
http://cc.bingj.com/cache.aspx?q=ab...2&mkt=en-US&setlang=en-US&w=a2740aca,54663997

On Abbey Road, it lists the following:
Come Together - Paul Rickenbacker 4001S
Something - Paul Hofner 500/1
Maxwell's Silver Hammer - George Fender Bass VI
Oh! Darling - Paul Fender Jazz Bass
Octopus's Garden - Paul Rickenbacker 4001S
I Want You (She's So Heavy) - Paul Hofner 500/1
Here Comes The Sun - Paul Rickenbacker 4001S
Because - Paul Rickenbacker 4001S
You Never Give Me Your Money - Paul Rickenbacker 4001S
Sun King - Paul Fender Jazz Bass
Mean Mr Mustard - Paul Fender Jazz Bass
Polythene Pam - Paul Rickenbacker 4001S
She Came In Through The Bathroom Window - Paul Rickenbacker 4001S
Golden Slumbers - George Fender Jazz Bass
Carry That Weight - George Fender Jazz Bass
The End - Paul Rickenbacker 4001S
Her Majesty - NA
Click to expand...

The RotoSound website says he used the Tru Bass 88 strings on all of Abbey Road? So does this mean he had at least 3 (maybe 4) basses strung with the 88s? I've only seen the Höfner strung with 88s, but that was during the Get Back sessions (January 1969) although the Abbey Road sessions started in February 1969.
 
#24
winterburn69 said:
The RotoSound website says he used the Tru Bass 88 strings on all of Abbey Road? So does this mean he had at least 3 (maybe 4) basses strung with the 88s? I've only seen the Höfner strung with 88s, but that was during the Get Back sessions (January 1969) although the Abbey Road sessions started in February 1969.
Click to expand...


Like you, I too have only seen the one Hofner strung with 88s. AFAIK, the photographic evidence shows only the Hofner with the 88s as well... Although I thought I'd seen a photo of a fretless Ric with what could be 88s... But that would likely be well after The Beatles broke up.
 
#30
Paul does indeed drop is low E string to D on "Something". Right at around 1:40 or 1:41 you can clearly hear a low D right before the guitar solo. The last three notes of that run are
E-D-C. That D note is a low D...it's a bit out of tune too!!

"While My Guitar Gently Weeps" and "Glass Onion" (from the White album) are the J bass I think. The tone is very different, kinda grindy and distorted.

Search youtube for isolated bass parts of various Beatles tunes. Takes some time, but there are some gems on there.
 
#33
ScottTunes said:
Like you, I too have only seen the one Hofner strung with 88s. AFAIK, the photographic evidence shows only the Hofner with the 88s as well... Although I thought I'd seen a photo of a fretless Ric with what could be 88s... But that would likely be well after The Beatles broke up.
Click to expand...

Actually, I thought I saw black strings with yellow silk ends on All You Need is Love and I am the Walrus, in which he had the Ric in hand.
 
#34
Abbey Road

Recorded: February 22 to August 20, 1969
Location: Abbey Road, Olympic and Trident
Released: September 26, 1969 (Apple)


Sir Paul used a 1963 Hofner bass, Rickenbacker 4001S and also a Fender VI and Jazz Bass and a Moog was used along with a bass on "Mean Mr. Mustard."
Abbey Road was the first and only Beatles album recorded with a solid state console.
 
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#35
In a Guitar Player interview from the late 70's Duane Eddy said he was in the studio at the time The Beatles were recording Abbey Road. He said it was Eric Clapton who played the lead on "Something." I mentioned that years ago on one of those old alt.beatles forums and nearly got run out of town! :) My logic was that he was remembering an event that had happened only 8 years ago but many still said that Mr. Eddy didn't know what he was talking about. I always thought the tone on that lead was similar to the tone Clapton got on "Gently Weeps".
 
#36
warnergt said:
There used to be a great site listing all the Beatles gear here:
Invalid Link Removed
but it seems to have gone away.

You can still catch the cached data here:
http://cc.bingj.com/cache.aspx?q=abbey+road+wanadoo&d=4998654776382592&mkt=en-US&setlang=en-US&w=a2740aca,54663997

On Abbey Road, it lists the following:
Come Together - Paul Rickenbacker 4001S
Something - Paul Hofner 500/1
Maxwell's Silver Hammer - George Fender Bass VI
Oh! Darling - Paul Fender Jazz Bass
Octopus's Garden - Paul Rickenbacker 4001S
I Want You (She's So Heavy) - Paul Hofner 500/1
Here Comes The Sun - Paul Rickenbacker 4001S
Because - Paul Rickenbacker 4001S
You Never Give Me Your Money - Paul Rickenbacker 4001S
Sun King - Paul Fender Jazz Bass
Mean Mr Mustard - Paul Fender Jazz Bass
Polythene Pam - Paul Rickenbacker 4001S
She Came In Through The Bathroom Window - Paul Rickenbacker 4001S
Golden Slumbers - George Fender Jazz Bass
Carry That Weight - George Fender Jazz Bass
The End - Paul Rickenbacker 4001S
Her Majesty - NA
Click to expand...


I belive this is quite right.
 
#38
oboylebass said:
Paul does indeed drop is low E string to D on "Something". Right at around 1:40 or 1:41 you can clearly hear a low D right before the guitar solo. The last three notes of that run are
E-D-C. That D note is a low D...it's a bit out of tune too!!

"While My Guitar Gently Weeps" and "Glass Onion" (from the White album) are the J bass I think. The tone is very different, kinda grindy and distorted.

Search youtube for isolated bass parts of various Beatles tunes. Takes some time, but there are some gems on there.
Click to expand...

No, the run is C-B-A-G-F-E and then landing on C when the solo starts. But his E string was tune a little "flat", because his Rick had some intonation problems (that's why the 0-fret was added later on).
Check it out:
This guy playing
 
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#40
In the Paul McCartney Bassmaster series book by Bacon and Morgan, the authors include a track-by-track discography which includes the recording month, bass player, and instrument used. The compilation was supposedly pieced together from research (presumably photographs, session notes and personnel), and in a few cases author opinion.

Their conclusion is that Paul played all of the bass lines on Abbey Road himself, and that he used the Rickenbacker 4001S for all but three songs, on which he used his 2nd Hofner with the normal pickup spacing:
Oh! Darling
Octopus's Garden
I Want You (She's So Heavy)

If the Fender Bass VI was used anywhere on Abbey Road, it is a mystery where it was used. By contrast, everyone agrees that Lennon and Harrison used it on both the White Album and Let It Be whenever McCartney was busy with piano or guitar. IIRC, McCartney is not known to have ever recorded with it.

Furthermore, while there is a photograph of McCartney holding a left-handed Fender Jazz bass during the White Album sessions, it is likely just a pose with the new toy from the care package Fender had sent to them. There is no proof it was ever used for recording.
 

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