Paul McCartney's Tone? (Without Spending $70 for Pyramids)

[BassistSVT]

I'm going to be using a Hofner Icon violin bass, so I'm sure that will be as close as I can get (again, without spending a ton).

What strings can I use (and amp settings, actually), in order to capture Paul's tone, preferably somewhere in the "Please, Please Me" up until the "Rubber Soul" era?

 

[Exploiter8]

I found this link kind of informing...

Link Removed

Oops! That's more Abbey Road era, sorry.

 

[JimmyM]

any flatwounds will do the job except ti's.

 

[bigtexashonk]

Compression can help.

 

[becker4567]

LaBella makes Pauls original strings. I think they are called Beatle Flats. In any case, their Deep Talk'in flats are darn near perfect. I use them on my Rogue violin bass.

 

[deliciouspesto]

the tone isn't due to one factor, but many. Remember that in the let it be era he used rotosound 88s.

Get a flatwound, go for a soft thuddy sound, use a good bit of compression, and get the feel of the music down rather than seeking the tone.

 

[JimmyM]

the tone isn't due to one factor, but many. Remember that in the let it be era he used rotosound 88s.

Get a flatwound, go for a soft thuddy sound, use a good bit of compression, and get the feel of the music down rather than seeking the tone.

right on.

 

[El Tookay]

the tone isn't due to one factor, but many. Remember that in the let it be era he used rotosound 88s.

Get a flatwound, go for a soft thuddy sound, use a good bit of compression, and get the feel of the music down rather than seeking the tone.

And, FWIW, Paul used his Rick to record pretty much everything from 'Taxman" on. The Hofners were for live shows, and sat in the cases from Shea Stadium till the Apple Records roof.

 

[Ric5]

Play with a pick use rounds and palm mute = McCartney tone

Or just let your rounds go dead.

 

[Ric5]

And, FWIW, Paul used his Rick to record pretty much everything from 'Taxman" on. The Hofners were for live shows, and sat in the cases from Shea Stadium till the Apple Records roof.

Taxman was George Harrison playing a jazz bass.

 

[JimmyM]

And, FWIW, Paul used his Rick to record pretty much everything from 'Taxman" on. The Hofners were for live shows, and sat in the cases from Shea Stadium till the Apple Records roof.

he also used a jazz bass on a lot of the white album and abbey road. and then in wings he used the ric and a yamaha bb something or other. then he went back to the hofner and a wal 5 string. nowadays i think he plays nothing but the hofner. but every track he played, he always sounded like paul mccartney. somehow or another, he can get his sound on any bass he plays.

 

[chanson]

Why not just get the Pyramids? They'll last forever and sound better as time goes on

 

[electracoyote]

Well, I just put a set of LaBella's on one of my student's Brice violin bass, and *bang*, there it is.

+1 to pick, PM, touch, etc.

 

[Bassamatic]

Are the LaBellas available in short scale?? I have the TIs on my Club Bass and they are nice to play but don't have the right sound.

ALSO - on the Hofner site they mention that heavy strings can damage the neck. How is the tension on the LaBellas?

 

[SurferJoe46]

Was it the Hofner on "Girl"?

I tried to get that tone and all I could do - and it never worked on my Ps - was to take a slab of sponge and jam it under the strings near the bridge on my SR500 to get that typical Hofner "Thunk" tone (can I use the words "Hofner" and "tone" in the same sentence?).

No resonance, no sustain and no highs and I think you can come close.

I was thinking about jamming some rags into my speakers to get the Hofner tone, but that was just asking for a lot of speaker damage.

Maybe a horse blanket over the fronts of the speakers would be OK though.

 

[Rob Martinez]

La Bella Beatle Flats for the Hofner, lights, that is McCartney uses, I use them on my Hofner Icon and get an excellent 60s tone, I only use the neck PU.

 

[warnergt]

Was it the Hofner on "Girl"?

I tried to get that tone and all I could do - and it never worked on my Ps - was to take a slab of sponge and jam it under the strings near the bridge on my SR500 to get that typical Hofner "Thunk" tone (can I use the words "Hofner" and "tone" in the same sentence?).

No resonance, no sustain and no highs and I think you can come close.

I was thinking about jamming some rags into my speakers to get the Hofner tone, but that was just asking for a lot of speaker damage.

Maybe a horse blanket over the fronts of the speakers would be OK though.

Hey, funny but very much true. You raise an interesting point.
Everybody talks about achieving the Paul McCartney tone but few
talk about the sponge he uses to mute his bass. Take a look at this video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Imb4tYOk8GE
At about 3:00, the sponge is clearly visible.

Maybe you need one of these:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=130358865805

 

[SurferJoe46]

Got it :::

 

[JimmyM]

Hey, funny but very much true. You raise an interesting point.
Everybody talks about achieving the Paul McCartney tone but few
talk about the sponge he uses to mute his bass. Take a look at this video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Imb4tYOk8GE
At about 3:00, the sponge is clearly visible.

Maybe you need one of these:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=130358865805

revolution was the only time i ever saw him with a sponge on his bass. doesn't mean he didn't use one in the studio, though. but that was its first public appearance.

as for girl, i'm pretty postive that's a hofner with an old set of flats, and i believe only the first pickup. the hofner really is a unique bass and has a sound quality all its own, although the cheap clones of it also get that tone. i have a jay turser beatle bass copy that can nail it. but again, put the ric or the jazz or yammy in his hands and he'd find a way to get a tone close to that anyway. it's very much also about the way you play.

 

[electracoyote]

but again, put the ric or the jazz or yammy in his hands and he'd find a way to get a tone close to that anyway. it's very much also about the way you play.

It's true. Without researching it, I don't know how you guys can tell what bass he's playing on what track. Only rarely do I hear a McCartney tone that sounds a little different from the rest, but on the vast majority, no matter what bass he plays, they all sound the same to me.