kick a dead horse: McCartney bass

[bluesman]

I have a set of black tape Roto Sound's on my Precision bass. They do sound meaty & thick!

[RefD]

flat-wound strings were common back then, so that may have been a factor.

Rotosound make a big deal about how 'Tru Bass' black nylon strings were used on Abbey Road, which I guess they wouldn't do if there wasn't some truth behind it. I got a set for my short scale Tokai EB copy and they certainly have the macca thunk.

I haven't stumped up for the Beatles book yet (and now the ? is falling against the $ - oh noes!! ) so I don't know if the Tru Bass strings get a mention in there ...

I read somewhere else that La Bella strings were likely to be Sir Paul's more usual choice back in the day, and I see La Bella now make a set specifically recommended for the Hofner 'Beatle' bass: http://www.juststrings.com/labellaelect ... ofner.html - but also make a black nylon set too .... just to confuse matters further

the few shots i've seen of him playing bass for those sessions were the Ric bass with metal strings, not nylon tape-wound.

it's entirely possible they were used at some point, but some of the more rockin' sounds were definitely not nylon.

[kdarr]

I remember reading years ago that he used Pyramid strings on his Hofners.

[<|>]

[RefD]

he's been quoted as saying he uses "long, shiny ones".

[JGriffin]

he's been quoted as saying he uses "long, shiny ones".

McCartney (and, when he was alive, Lennon) always seem to go a little too far with the "I don't know what kind of gear I use" act.

[RefD]

he's been quoted as saying he uses "long, shiny ones".

McCartney (and, when he was alive, Lennon) always seem to go a little too far with the "I don't know what kind of gear I use" act.

McCartney didn't seem to be like that on that special he did in 2006 at Abbey Road studio 2, however.

in fact, (for him) he bordered on gear nerd territory when it came to demonstrating the the Studer (?) 4-track and the Mellotron.

[JGriffin]

he's been quoted as saying he uses "long, shiny ones".

McCartney (and, when he was alive, Lennon) always seem to go a little too far with the "I don't know what kind of gear I use" act.

McCartney didn't seem to be like that on that special he did in 2006 at Abbey Road studio 2, however.

in fact, (for him) he bordered on gear nerd territory when it came to demonstrating the the Studer (?) 4-track and the Mellotron.

Which is what tipped me off that he was faking it.

[RefD]

he's been quoted as saying he uses "long, shiny ones".

McCartney (and, when he was alive, Lennon) always seem to go a little too far with the "I don't know what kind of gear I use" act.

McCartney didn't seem to be like that on that special he did in 2006 at Abbey Road studio 2, however.

in fact, (for him) he bordered on gear nerd territory when it came to demonstrating the the Studer (?) 4-track and the Mellotron.

Which is what tipped me off that he was faking it.

well, consider he came up at a time when getting a good sound was a big secret and everyone guarded their methods very closely.

[curtiswyant]

Good evening, and welcome to slaggers.

flatwounds definitely. I think a Rick bass was used a lot more than everyone let on, although I haven't read the Beatles recordin book. Don't forget that a sweet melodic bass line will interact differently with the mix compared to a boring line. I think they were aiming at the Motown sound, both melodically and tonally, so the bass tends to have its own little pocket, and doesn't fight with the bass/snare, knowing when NOT to play especially. Although McCartney did tend to wank a little, but so did George with his Indian music and John...oh John.


Ok.

[bluesman]

The key to Paul's sound lies in Paul's hands.

[losthighway]

There's no doubt that a tracks sound is first and foremost influenced by the musician playing it. I don't find it all that hard to write sweet bass lines (or steal Mc's). I just was never able to get that crazy tone.

[bluesman]

I think also that Paul used a pick & palm muted a lot.

[RefD]

I think also that Paul used a pick & palm muted a lot.

yup, and he still plays that way.

[Chaconne]

The style of play is 90% of it.
Sure - to sound exactly like it you need exactly the same gear - but who wants that?

Macca was influenced a lot by Karol Kaye, and you can hear this on Pet Sounds. She used a Fender, with a foam mute, but mainly played with a pick with lots of controlled palm mute, and often used melodic figurations in the upper registers - or used notes in thier higher positions - sometimes they cut through better -

I found the Danelectro DC bass to be an excelent replacement for a hofner - if you play this with pick and palm mute its instant sixties.

I had to do a lot of shopping to get a Fender with a similar sound - but found that the vintage re-issues do the trick - but mainly its practice using heavy picking with controlled palm muting to control note lengths - and heavy compression - as mentioned above.

Its worth getting tabs - just to see what he is doing.

Sure its can get a little sweet, but a world away from todays 'dissapearing basslines under a wall of srtummed fuzz'

[alex matson]

What would Marnie Stern do?