How To Record Bass Like The Beatles In 1964
In addition to being a bass player, I’m also an engineer. I love old microphones and such. I thought this was a cool video detailing how Paul McCartney got his bass sound in his days at Abbey Road.
Love that Hofner tone!
Joshua Sailor is a session bassist, producer and engineer on the West Coast. Currently working with Cloud Microphones on the "Get Lifted" Web Series, showcasing how to use Cloudlifters in studio, live and podcasting situations. You can contact him at [email protected].
Did the Beatles record vocals and instruments “live” when recording, or did they dub vocals after the instrument tracks were recorded?
Paul went through four basses during his Beatles’ years and they were two Hofners (his original 1961 model and his 1962 model, the one he still plays), a Rickenbacker 4001S bass and a Fender Jazz Bass, all of which were specially-made left-handed models, so conveniently, he didn’t have to restring any of them. He did briefly use Stuart Sutcliffe’s Hofner President bass, but he was not allowed to change the strings around.
I have also seen him play a Gibson EB2 bass, a Yamaha BB1200 bass, a Wal 5-string bass, Bill Black’s double bass, a Kay Maestro bass and he has also owned a fretless version of his left-handed Rickenbacker bass and a customized Union Jack Hofner 500/1 bass for Her Majesty’s Diamond Jubilee of 2012.