How To Record Bass Like The Beatles In 1964
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- Опубликовано: 24 авг 2024
- A video explaining how Norman Smith recorded bass with The Beatles around the time of "Beatles for Sale." With an AKG D20 microphone with Clay Blair from Boulevard Recording.
Gear: 1967 Hofner 500/1 Violin Bass, 1965 Vox AC100 Head, 1966 Fender Showman 2X15 Cab, Chandler Limited REDD 47 Preamp, Chandler Limited RS124 Limiter, Telefunken U48
Performed and narrated by Clay Blair
Video and editing by Scott Dittrich
www.boulevardrecording.com
www.boulevardrecordingacademy.com
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The amount this guys knows about how the Beatles recorded their music is mind-blowing. I doubt Paul or Ringo know what they did as well as this guy does.
They’ve admitted as much. 😂
Don't be a dolt. They were quick learners, don't insult them. They learnt how to play piano very quickly. It was the 1960s & we at least weren't killing anyone. Americans not a clue.
@@seltaeb3302 Oh yeah, nobody was lynching black men in the 60s ... "nobody was killing anybody" right? Get a clue bro
@@seltaeb3302 it was a lighthearted joke, nobody was insulting your country. Calm down
@@seltaeb3302 I think at that point they had plenty to concern themselves with executing a great musical performace and they mostly left the recording techniques to the guys in the white coats. I, for one, am glad that they did.
Wow I've never seen anybody who'd go to such lengths to sound like The Beatles in the studio. Kudos to your work, I'm actually learning quite a lot. Cheers !
It’s dorky I know but it got me into recording !
@@BoulevardRecording not dorky at all, we all appreciate this a million!
The bass playing on Rubber Soul really spotlights Paul’s talent - and I never realized it until the album was brought out in digital form - Amazing.
That's when the engineers got the hang of recording the bass properly. Prior to that, everything was dictated by the English recording techs, who wore lab coats (!) and forbade anyone from a truly bass-ey bass sound. Bless Geoff Emerick, Norman Smith (this was his last Beatle record he engineered), Alan Parsons who broke all the rules. I believe Paul started to use his Rick on RS, which was truly a "grown-up" bass. Before you get too upset, I had an uncle in Germany buy me a Hofner in 1964. It was just like Paul's. There's a reason 99% of session players back then used Fenders, lol. the Hofner was light, small and looked cool. But how Paul got decent music out of that Hofner speaks to his talent. Terrible intonation, silly controls, a bridge that moved around, and saddle pieces that could not keep my E string in place! Anyway, the bass on the recordings prior to Rubber Soul were not well recorded. The English engineers back then thought a solid bass sound on a record would make the needle skip. Honest.
Flatwound strings and a pick help get Paul's sound, regardless of the bass guitar.
@@slogans777 - That’s very interesting and makes sense. It wasn’t only the technology I was talking about, it was Paul’s playing the bass almost as a lead instrument that I never realized.
I’m a big jazz fan too - It’s almost the way Jeff Hamilton plays the drums too - like a lead instrument - very creative people. Paul may be a bit arrogant, but his talent is undeniable.
Paul throughout his career was able to go back to the Hofner for a certain tone...the hofners thud and are great when Paul plays bouncey lines...the small Hofner sounds more like a double bass then a P bass
And playing the high notes down low on the neck on a Hofner is so cool sounding 👍
To be honest I'd love my recordings to sound like that early stuff.
It's pretty easy. I don't understand why people would need videos to learn this way of playing. Just listen to Beatles recordings and you've got it.
@@ukebox00oftheworld63 yeah no
@@ukebox00oftheworld63 yea let’s see the music you put out, I’m sure it’s on Beatles early stuff level
@@ukebox00oftheworld63 Many amateurs,like myself use videos like this to learn more : )
@@TanguyBlanchard Well, yea it is
Holy I didn't know they weren't using headphones. That's nuts
me with a focusrite: I can do that
LMAO
i don't have flat strings unfortunately, so my bass has a really twangy sound (i cant get it to sound "plucky" like paul's unless im super clever with the mixing somehow)...
You coul’d try with some IRs and plugins, even if you don’t get it 100% right, you’ll learn a lot from the excercise :)) cheers!
@@starbender5468 Palm muting is always fun too, that's my go-to sound.
try to get a very muffled sound from compression and youre halfway there
You can ! The bass is the meat of the sound. Everything else is just extra :-)
Glad that people like you and Lenny Kravitz keep this great art alive nothing sounded so cool as those early and mid-60s recordings thank you
That bass tone is incredible! So clean!
intellegent and detailed precise info for those of us who love Beatles Abbey road recording methods , keep making more videos!
A joy listening to your ultra cognitive knowledge. I was hooked to the Beatles in 1963....
I am a drummer and the Beatles drum sound in Revolver through the White Album, got me hooked on drums and chasing that sound. Those CYMBALS!!! Best recordings ever!!!
Premier Zyns...I think
@@TheMusicalElitist Yes, and A Zildjians and Ringo had a 602 Paiste 20 as well in the later years
The dynamics and movement in Paul's bass playing gave Beatles recordings their distinctive flavor-I recall becoming aware of how talented Paul is from an early video, his bassline was just so clever.
I'm 76, don't understand but maybe one percent of the technical references in your videos but am hooked nevertheless! Your analysis is fascinating and so well presented. Thanks so much and greetings from Southeast Kentucky!
Wow, incredible video! So much information in there - I noticed the new vid production improvements too, great stuff!
For four lads from Liverpool who couldn’t read music and learned their instruments by ear they were full of experimental notions as they grew at their craft which is why they are the greatest as they pioneered the art of music making
Not gonna lie. I clicked because I thought you were Peter Jackson. I stayed for the good content.
Appreciate it. I’m not him, he’s some 30 years my senior but thanks for not being rude about it.
I initially thought that too. I was wondering how well Peter Jackson could play bass.
I so appreciate your knowledge of the Abbey Road console equipment, particularly identifying the board units.Thank you!
The Beatles almost always considered the room, or recording environment. I'm not sure how many times, but several times they've talked about it. They also would change the entire room they'd record in to get the ambience they wanted. I also saw one interview were Paul showed the very place they were recording, and he walked into another room, explaining how they'd go into that section to get the reverberation off the walls. And yet a different time, Paul mentioned the sound of the Abbey road studio place
All (100%) of the 200+ Beatles songs on their major albums, from day one until the final sessions, were recorded at EMI (which is "Abbey Road"). 90%+ of songs were done in Studio 2, a few in #3 and a few in #1. Only "Hey Jude" was recorded away at the old Trident London. I've also heard them speak about changing rooms for a certain track of a song to one of the other rooms for acoustics. In the exhaustive and meticulously kept EMI Session Notes / Ledger (now out of print hard back book), those tracks of each take of each song are documented but also some of the rare times they changed from their main Studio (room) #2, was also due to prior scheduling of other sessions.
Great video! Great explanation of how the U48 in figure-8 caught the room sound.
Nice video great work I love how authentic you were able to recreate most of the aspects of the recording
Brilliant - I'm 56, just got me a clone violin bass from the 1960s (Japanese), decent stuff. I used to have a vintage 1960s Hofner in Rome where i grew up during the 1970s and I hated it - I wanted more modern stuff (isn't that typical). Who knows what happened to it. I don't know. Life is weird! Great stuff of yours here - Fil
That is amazing. So much detail and knowledge. I thought this was going to be about gear and tone, but the details of distance of mikes, angles and stuff takes to a whole new level
Fantastic video! Thank you for being so informative
Very cool! And good playing too! :D
i think i just found my favorite channel.
If you listen carefully to the early Beatles recordings, you will hear that the takes have been heavily tampered with, cut, glued, erased but not quite, (some erased tracks are still audible), etc. This is due to the equipment of the time, long before the digital age.
Which song has this! I am actually curious to hear it.
@@CannibalWHORE22 Just listen to the Beatles 62-66, (the actual CD, not the MP3) with headphones and you will hear how the tapes of almost every track have been heavily tampered with. It's not a secret, the digital edition just reveals the limitations of the production techniques of then.
@@agentdouble-bylamomie Good to know. Thanks I will keep an ear out
@@CannibalWHORE22 she loves you easily heard on the last verse there’s an obvious edit the tone changes. Yes they did edit quite a bit
@@CannibalWHORE22 Eight Days A Week
awesome insight into The Beatles recording!
Amazing work!
Damn, this was a really cool deep dive! 🤘
Great video. Thank you!
Super nerdy!! Love it!!🇨🇦👍❤️
Hey man, I got to know your channel today, and I already love your work, I'm from a small town of Brazil, and I'm trying to set up a totally independent studio, I'm sure your videos will help me get a lot of cool tones, thank you bro
This series is great! Thanks for making it
Sounds gorgeous. That hofner is a jewel too. Nice
Outstanding video, I just discovered you folks, had to subscribe. Great to finding someone getting to the nuts and bolts of the recordings the Beatles did.🇺🇸✌️
Thanks Clay!
Excellent video! Thank you!
Brilliant break-down!!👏👏👏
We need more of these videos NOWWWWWWW!!!!! Excellent work!
i just brought one a 1995 korean model super good condition = just getting a case and bass amp next !
awesome video! straight to the point but at the same time very detailed with relevant content
Not a Beatles fan, but I love learning about recording technique. It is amazing to see the impact that they made on the musical world. Might have to try some of these techniques just to see what I can make!
This was excellent. Thanks for posting.
Nicely done. Liked and subbed.
Great job!
Superb video sir! Fantastic knowledge there... 🙏 👏👏
This is truly a great idea
What a beautiful bass sound you got there. I’d be so happy to have that.
I wish there was a video like this but for Ronnie Lane's bass in Small Faces recordings
Very Impressive!
Love it
This is fascinating stuff! I will like and subscribe! Thanks!
Excellent work
Excellent video!!
Great video to learn a lot from! Hope someday I'll be able to recreate the remarkable 60s sound.
Gr8 vid
As I havent got a studio,I just use flat wounds and put some sponge at the bridge to mute the strings. Hofner 60s recording sound sorted
well done fantastic .
Fascinating !
Nice one!
Not to be the wise guy but I've been recording bass amps 6+ feet out for over 40 years... ..had no access to anything like the wonderful Chandler RI Redd gear back then but an LA2A would suffice and may times the 1176's... not sure i gave much thought to which/when but do remember getting a bit of the 1176 "crust" to help lift the bass out of the mix at times.
I love your videos (caught one a few months back) and plan to watch more in the future. ..and I learned something I never knew.. I thought you glitched when said they used a 4033 at around 0:33, thought you must have meant the 4038 but sure enough, i googled and STC did make a 4033a which I wasn't aware of... at first I thought you jumped numbers and morphed the AT 4033 into the STC/Coles mic. I love finding out how little I still know and still love to learn anything I may have missed back then.
You make a great point and doing a great service at a time when it seems that there's a ridiculous, sensory overload in the excessive number of "pro-sumer" mics /outboard gear choices.. ..to the point of redundance IMO. This forum fueled quest for "the right gear" seems to confuse more than clarify the simplicty of recording.
Demonstrating how the room was used should help a lot of us... ...getting the mic off point blank and learning to use the room to get size, character, and depth of field for the mix is something I don't see many talking about.. .. and you are pointing out that "isolation" was not something that was an essential part of any of these great old recordings that we still look to for reference at times. I love what you pointed out by showing how it was done in a live room. I think those huge wall monitors were even blasting for vocals while recording. (assuming that the figure eight pattern they sang around was positioned with the null facing the big monitors) but even so, sometimes if you lose the close mics, and just learn how to "let it bleed"...that alone can bring your recordings up a level even more so than buying new gear can.
Didn't men to write War and Peace but as a final observation about the "gear hype" I feel lots of us get lost in... I sometime think with just a good compressor or two, i could come closer to making a world class sounding record with nothing but 6-7 relatively inexpensive dynamics, like some 57's, maybe like an RE20 and a pair of MD21 omni's, then another dynamic that may have a bit more open top... like an MD441...and seriously come out sounding better than I could with a bathtub full of these $1000 to $3000 LDC's that there seem to be more to choose from than what's on the breakfast cereal isle at the supermarket. I guess my point is these great recordings were simply done with what was available at the time...granted, it was a Fairchild, U-67's 47's, etc...but if all they had was my 7 mic list above, it would have still sounded like the Beatles.... they didn't have 1000's of gear choices like we do... just to go to "tape". Just a good room, good songs, and good ears. Peace.
You are a genius !!
fantastic. thank you!
Thanks a lot for this video!
Good info here... thanks
Awesome, Thk You 👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼
Peace brother 😎🙏🏼
I went out and got the first 6 Beatles albums on vinyl the way I had them as a kid and I should have listened to my friend who said to get the Capitol CD package where Pauls bass was a lot more present. There is no bass at all on the original vinyl recordings. I saw an interview with George Martin who said in the vinyl days you couldn't make the bass intense or the needle would jump out of the grooves.
Mickey Vidakovich that’s so true. The cd’s really sound fantastic
Or get modern analog remasters on vinyl, now we can make bass in vinyl sounds way more in front.
Great video
So this is cool.. there is a big difference between staple pickups which was on the era of Paul’s bass and blade pickups which came later like Clays bass. I’ve owned both and there is noticeably a difference. So off you really want the sound you gotta use staple pickups
Super cool video. Especially for me as a newbie in recording and uploading it on my new channel here on RUclips 😊😊
fantastic. thanks!
nailed it.
Interesting video...thanks
Fantastic video, you got a new sub.
This is all in the Recording Sessions book Lewisohn wrote in the 80's. Plus others. Nice to see in video.
I took that book to school with me and read it under my text books :-)
@@BoulevardRecording Same. I know it like a preacher knows scripture!
HEy man, epic videos! You're a true legend! I wonder if you ever consider doing a vid on how to achieve the McCartney sounds in Logic pro using only the EQ and plug ins?
Thank you ! I have no idea how to
Use logic ! But I would if I could !
Good stuff. Best bass sound I've ever heard in my band days was a Hofner through the Ampeg SVT tube amp.
That’s a big rig !!
Nice. Thanks!
yeah man ! love your geek outs ! dudes .respect.
Great video. Maybe you can do one on the overdriving of the desk for the Revolution guitar sound - though one EMI engineer of that vintage now denies that the desk was responsible for the sound.
The Beatles, as their sessions sheets - many of which are reproduced in a book of a similar name, show - used reduction mixes all the time. They liked the second generation (or more) degraded sound, praising it as 'shiny' and so... were never really at a loss for tracks except perhaps in the VERY early days of Twin Track.
Paul used nylon wrapped metal bass strings too, it's a massive part of his sound!
Yes on Abbey Road and Let It Be he sure did !
cool. thx a lot
i hate the way the low bass got lost between Meet the Beatles to Revolver
Awesome vid. Sounds spot on. How does this play out when going DI into the Chandler Redd? Is it close sounding? I heard Beatles went DI for bass mostly on one of their albums I forget which and am wondering if its possible to achieve such a sound as you did going DI. Thanks in advance for any more info.
Love all this info.....dunno what i'll do with it though.....i cant afford all that gear......
During the Help! sessions, he started using a 1962 Bassman, for both his bass and his electric guitar. And in 1966, during the Revolver sessions, he used the Bassman as well as a Vox UL4120 amp (the bass version of the UL730 and UL7120 used by George and John).
He received his Rickenbacker during their 2nd U.S. tour, and put it to great use on Rubber Soul, most notably on "Think for Yourself". I don't think the Hofner was used much, if at all (other than "Wait", which was leftover from the Help! sessions). All Revolver-era tracks that featured Paul on bass (including "Paperback Writer" and "Rain") featured the Ric, even though he continued to use the Hofner for promo videos and on tour.
That’s correct ! The UL430 is what he was using I don’t think they used the 4120 except for tours.
I love the clarity and how much more information you have on the intricate studio work ! Bytheby, what type of strings and size are you using on your Hofner? All My Best !
Pyramids !
@@BoulevardRecording Thanks ! I appreciate it !
Now, just add the rs124 compressor from waves and you're set hehe
Correction to the geezer's video: The tape machines used on the Beatles early recordings & LPs (1962-1965) were not the Studer J37s, but were EMI-custom built BTR monotrack & 2 track reel to reel recorders (which tape op Geoff Emerick manned and Norman 'Normal' Smith recorded on to)...we used to ask Normal when we could get a Motown sound, and he'd say "it's up to the brass upstairs." And BTW, I never used a pick in the studio before early 1966...carry on // paul 🎸
Geezer ? I’m 33 pal. And yes he did use a pick there’s plenty of photo evidence of that and he’s heard talking about a “plec” (plectrum) in outtakes. They used BTR machines and a Telefunken machine until January 1964. Thanks, Geezer
Also, first song on Please Please Me " I Saw Her Standing There" is a pick my friend. He certainly did all over that record and many! On some slower songs like "Till There Was You." Or "Love Me Do" he did not use a pick but for the most part he did. Paul remembers this stuff about as well as you "hear" no pick before 1966 ;)
@@BoulevardRecording Geezer is used in the north as a sarcastically endearing term. I didn't say 'old geezer.' We used the BTR exclusively on all recordings through 1965 except Can't Buy Me Love & twice when Normal had trouble with the BTR/2, & we used the BTR to ADT from 1964-1965 all the way through A Day in the Life in conjunction with the Studers. In the early days, I used my thumb with an acrylic nail to pick & my index finger to strum/pick (watch me on Ed Sullivan). Often, what looked like a pick was actually my acrylic thumb nail/forefinger (although for the super uptempo stuff like Please, yeah, I probably picked up a pick, so it wouldn't cramp my hand rehearsin it again & again). Paul
👍🏼 Geezer It is he must’ve had very long nails, there’s a lot of pick and percussive sounds on that first Lp. You can very much hear a pick pluck the strings if you solo the vocal mics, the Hofner is a very acoustically loud bass and you can hear the U48 picking up their strumming and plucking. Never heard Paul had an acrylic nail film 1966. To say he never played a pick on the Hofner is basically that. Come 66 it was all about the Rickenbacker until The White Album.
new vid - wooooot!
Nice video! The mic in front of the kick in the first picture is an AKG D20, not a STC 4033.
How to record bass like the early Beatles? Easy. Get yerself a Hoffy 501, use the neck pickup only and string it with flatwounds so it has as much sustain as a fart. Long long time Beatles fan here and I was so very happy when McCartney switched to a Ric.
Re your comments about recording the room 'accidentally' with the vocal mics', Norman Smith says he deliberately put room mics up to capture the room as well as the instrument mics. Whether this is true, I don't know. Great series of videos, thanks!
Thank you !! I believe he did later on but they simply didn’t have the channels done ambient mics on the early REDD consoles. They had 8 inputs to be bussed down to 2 tracks and eventually 4
@@BoulevardRecording So how did they use the 8? 2 on drums, 2 on guitars, 1 on bass, 2 for vocals...spare one for the room?
Super interesting. +1 sub
Thanks!
Also, could you do this for Queen (in particular to get John deacon's sound)?
Hay Clay I have a bass like the one in the video and for the life of me I can't find out the year it was made look all over would you happen to know
thanks Dale
what? I thought he used Dingwall bass straight into darkglass and interface....wow thanks you opened my eyes
😂
Thanks a lot for the video! I own a 1967 Hofner, same than the one of you but i've never get that sound. Could you tell something about the amp tone settings?
Glad to see you have flat wound strings on your Höfner!
According to the Höfner booklet that comes with the "Beatles Bass," Paul used the bridge pickup in Solo mode. I've experimented with this myself, and found this to be the case, as the neck pickup or both together is/are quite muddy.
that in the earlier recordings, the 4038 was used solo. I know that Glyn Johns recorded Paul's bass with a Neumnan U67 (in figure 8), and also recorded John and George's (and Paul's) guitars with a U67 as well; however, I don't know which pattern, on the guitars, but I'm guessing cardioid. Personally, I'm a big fan of using ribbon mics or LDC mics in figure 8 on bass cabinets.
As far as vocals are concerned, whether or not the pattern was figure 8 or cardioid is a good question. Certainly if two locals were recorded facing each other on the same mic, it would have to be figure 8 (or omni if using a U47). Solo vocals though, it's difficult to say. I'm sure somebody knows.
Not sure what they put in their booklets but this ones from 1967 and I’ve owned several 62-63 reissues and it’s always been this position. Same as Paul still uses on his Hofner (plenty of photographic evidence although his control panel is upside down now)
@@BoulevardRecording Höfner says in their booklet that they make no distinction between left and right-handed controls. As a left-handed player of 39 years, I can tell you that this is both good and bad: good; the potentiometers will function as they are supposed to: louder when turned clockwise; bad; on a left-handed Höfner, everything is reversed. Get's confusing. Paul might have flipped his so that the the position of the knobs and switches coincided with those of the pickups. I reviewed some photos, and it appears that the switches were like you said. One thing I'm certain of, is that Paul, as most guitar and bass players back then, usually played with the volume control rolled back a bit; usually only turned up for solos or just to increase volume a little.
Could somebody please explain what a baffle was?
I can't find any other description of it bar this video.
It's a screen covered in absorbent material and positioned to reduce sound leaking into other mics.
Now the question is: how to replicate the blend of room mic+cab mic in a live setting, e.g. using modern effects pedals.
I think it would quite be lost in translation in a live setting.
*Loaned by my firend Ed Maxwell*
Nice