A LOT of Beatles that is chalked up to the Ric sounds like the Jazz to me. A Day in the Life sounds like a Jazz, to me.
(can of worms)
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Paul Mccartney tone on Abbey Road
- Thread starter sarlscharisma
- Start date
A LOT of Beatles that is chalked up to the Ric sounds like the Jazz to me. A Day in the Life sounds like a Jazz, to me.
(can of worms)
Stick_Player
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You haven't listened close enough. Invalid Link Removed
That's the real bass track.
One can find all the separate tracks on youtube. Download them.
Drums
Bass
Guitar
Piano
Vocals
Get yourself a FREE copy of Audacity.
Import the individual tracks into Audacity, Mix to taste. Be George Martin for a day. Get convinced.
Now who actually played the the bass? Your guess is as good as anyone's.
I read an interview of the engineer who worked on Abby Road album. He said the Beatles wanted more of an American sound, meaning bigger and wider . The engineer said that to achieve that sound they basically just overdriven all the amps , pushed them to the limits so to speak. I know this doesn't help much but I found it interesting.
McCartney custom-ordered a left-handed Höfner model 500/1 "violin" bass during one of the group's early residences in Hamburg. This model, with two pickups very close to the neck and almost touching each other, was replaced in 1963 by a newer model, whose pickups were spaced much further apart, in a more conventional manner. McCartney continued to use his early model, although very rarely, until the Let It Be sessions, when it was stolen from Twickenham Film Studios; he continues to use his second Höfner today. In 1965 he switched to a Rickenbacker model 4001S, most likely during the recording of Rubber Soul (as seen in pictures from those sessions),[6] but certainly by the recording of "Paperback Writer". It would be the principal choice for the remainder of The Beatles' career. He briefly used a left-handed Fender Jazz Bass during sessions for The Beatles (The White Album) and again for Abbey Road.[7] He returned to the Höfner during rehearsals and recording of Let It Be and played it during the rooftop concert. He also used his original Höfner, refinished in three-tone sunburst and with upgraded electronics. It can be seen in footage from Let It Be and in the "Revolution" promo video.
George Harrison and John Lennon both played a Fender VI oto back some songs on which McCartney played piano or guitar. George Harrison was photographed at Abbey Road in 1966 playing a right-handed Red Burns Nu-Sonic Bass during the "Paperback Writer" and "Rain" recording sessions. Harrison also played a right-handed Fender Jazz Bass on two songs from Abbey Road.
George Harrison and John Lennon both played a Fender VI oto back some songs on which McCartney played piano or guitar. George Harrison was photographed at Abbey Road in 1966 playing a right-handed Red Burns Nu-Sonic Bass during the "Paperback Writer" and "Rain" recording sessions. Harrison also played a right-handed Fender Jazz Bass on two songs from Abbey Road.
Stick_Player
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McCartney returned to his Höfner?
Just to be clear: Let It Be preceded Abbey Road. Probably used the Rickenbacker, Höfner, and Fender on Abbey Road, as well.
Stick_Player
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Abbey Road: "Supposedly", the very last pictures in studio, as they recorded Come Together. Later/earlier that day they did the cover photos.
Fine, I think it's Paul playing on Oh! Darling, but I wasn't there, so how can I know? On the album, the track is punchy, resonant, dominant, and as tuneful as any classic McCartney line. In fact, for me, it's one of his best. So that's why I think it's him. But maybe I'm wrong; maybe John or George suddenly stepped up and nailed a masterpiece on the bass.
Regardless of who played it, I know what I hear. The album does not contain the track that's posted above from YouTube. Not possible. The notes are different, and the mistakes stick out like a sore thumb.
Maybe the YouTube (Rock Band) track is from some straight take that included the flubs, and the final master blended more than one take? In any case, anyone with an ear can tell you the YouTube track and the master are not identical.
It was probably easier for the Rock Band producers to use straight takes, because the final masters hold lots of mix downs that would make it impossible to separate instruments. And maybe the engineers and George Martin didn't keep all the one-instrument-only splices they ended up using for the masters. Or something like that. In any case no way they are the same.
Come on TBers: back me up on this. Take seven minutes, listen to the YouTube and then the album cut. Crank it up. Tell me I'm right.
Regardless of who played it, I know what I hear. The album does not contain the track that's posted above from YouTube. Not possible. The notes are different, and the mistakes stick out like a sore thumb.
Maybe the YouTube (Rock Band) track is from some straight take that included the flubs, and the final master blended more than one take? In any case, anyone with an ear can tell you the YouTube track and the master are not identical.
It was probably easier for the Rock Band producers to use straight takes, because the final masters hold lots of mix downs that would make it impossible to separate instruments. And maybe the engineers and George Martin didn't keep all the one-instrument-only splices they ended up using for the masters. Or something like that. In any case no way they are the same.
Come on TBers: back me up on this. Take seven minutes, listen to the YouTube and then the album cut. Crank it up. Tell me I'm right.
Stick_Player
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Do what I did...
1) Put the recording, from the album, into Audacity.
2) Download any one of the many "isolated bass" tracks, from Beatles Garage Band, found on youtube - or, if you can rip the bass track yourself, from Garage Band.
3) Line up the tracks.
4) Play.
That's the bass track from Abbey Road.
From the "Recording the Beatles" book, the authors (Kevin Ryan and Brian Kehew) strongly suggest it was Lennon on bass and McCartney on piano - the reverse of what Lewisohn states.
"Though it has been previously suggested that John played piano and Paul played bass, a closer look may point toward a reversal of those roles. Not only did Paul play piano during performances of the song at Apple while John played bass, but computer isolation of the Abbey Road version reveals leakage of a guide vocal by Paul (inaudible in the final mix) on the piano track. The bass performance also has several glitches and timing issues that the fastidious McCartney would have likely been compelled to fix had he played the part himself." ~ excerpt from page 513.
Even after all that, Kevin Ryan and Brian Kehew make no claim as to who played the bass on Oh! Darling.
It's been said that if Paul was playing piano on a track, George or John played bass, but I have no problem believing that Paul would have redone the bass part if he wasn't satisfied with the others performance . After all , Oh Darling was Paul's song and by this point in their career (and with the absence of their manager, Brian Epstein ) Paul was playing the role of manager and seemed to have the final say of what went down in the studio.
9:46 AM 2/3/2013
I've been following this thread with interest, so I decided to take Stick Player's advice and mix it for myself. Since not all of you have the tools for this, I've posted the results, along with some quick analysis.
I first downloaded the thomas528491 isolated bass track from youtube at:
Years ago, I played this song in one of my cover bands, and sat down to try to learn it note for note at that time. I've always loved the 5 chord at the start of the 2nd verse (00:36), but this is something guitar players tend to do more than bass players, IMO.
Some clams / notes that are atypical for McCartney lines:
00:52 - missed note on the 1
01:08 - flubbed note ("told")
01:16 - late note ("know")
01:29 - late note ("need")
01:39 - Always thought this harmonic was piano only, but it's clear it's bass too
02:21 - Great how the bass follows the drum fill - (IMO) evidence the bass was added after the drum track was completed.
02:39 - Wrong note is subsequently "covered"
03:06 - Tentative feel on the fill
I'm no expert, but this sounds like Paul to me. Maybe a Jazz bass - doesn't sound like Rick to me.
I've been following this thread with interest, so I decided to take Stick Player's advice and mix it for myself. Since not all of you have the tools for this, I've posted the results, along with some quick analysis.
I first downloaded the thomas528491 isolated bass track from youtube at:
Years ago, I played this song in one of my cover bands, and sat down to try to learn it note for note at that time. I've always loved the 5 chord at the start of the 2nd verse (00:36), but this is something guitar players tend to do more than bass players, IMO.
Some clams / notes that are atypical for McCartney lines:
00:52 - missed note on the 1
01:08 - flubbed note ("told")
01:16 - late note ("know")
01:29 - late note ("need")
01:39 - Always thought this harmonic was piano only, but it's clear it's bass too
02:21 - Great how the bass follows the drum fill - (IMO) evidence the bass was added after the drum track was completed.
02:39 - Wrong note is subsequently "covered"
03:06 - Tentative feel on the fill
I'm no expert, but this sounds like Paul to me. Maybe a Jazz bass - doesn't sound like Rick to me.
Of course I did see on Larry King Live when Paul was asked "did you think your songs would be staples like Sinatra's songs"? He said "yes , of course, I knew they were going to be around a long time" even with that said, he probably did not think to much about it. He never was into technical thinking , just feeling . Half the time he didn't even know what amp he had, just plug and play was his motto.
