HOW THE BEATLES CRAFTED THE GUITAR AND BASS TONES THAT FOREVER CHANGED AND SHAPED THE SOUND OF ROCK MUSIC
BY CHRIS GILL
PLEASE PLEASE ME
Please Please Me (UK), 1963
GEORGE HARRISON
Guitar: 1957 Gretsch 6128 Duo Jet Amp: 1962 Vox AC30 combo with two Celestion T530 12-inch speakers
JOHN LENNON
Guitar: 1958 Rickenbacker 325 Capri Amp: 1962 Vox AC15 combo with two Goodmans 12-inch speakers
PAUL McCARTNEY
Bass: 1961 Hofner 500/1 Amp: Leak Point One preamp, Leak TL-12 Plus power amp, 1x15 cabinet with Tannoy Dual-Concert speaker
THE BEATLES’ DEBUT single “Love Me Do” enjoyed only moderate success, but their follow-up, “Please Please Me” was the band’s first bonafide hit. Like most of the other material the Beatles recorded in the early Sixties using two-track recorders, the recording primarily captures the band performing live, with George Harrison’s Gretsch Duo Jet dominating the instrumental accompaniment. The melodic hook features Harrison’s Gretsch and John Lennon’s overdubbed harmonica playing in unison. This technique of combining and layering instruments together was something the Beatles employed often throughout their career.
The guitar tones are very clean, with Harrison taking advantage of his Duo Jet’s low-end twang (picking near the bridge) while Lennon’s rhythm part is subdued and low in the mix. The Quad QCII bass amp Paul McCartney usually used for live performances at the time was not considered up to snuff for the recording, so he plugged into the studio’s Leak preamp and power amp instead. Harrison and Lennon owned 1962 Vox 2x12 combo amps with fawn-colored covering, with Lennon playing though an AC15 and Harrison using an AC30 with an add-on treble boost circuit that became known as Top Boost on later Vox AC30 models, which Harrison used to brighten his guitar’s treble frequencies.
A HARD DAY’S NIGHT
A Hard Day’s Night, 1964
HARRISON
Guitar: 1963 Rickenbacker 360/12 electric 12-string Amp: 1963 Vox AC50 Mk I head and 2x12 cabinet with two Celestion T530 12-inch speakers and Goodmans Midax horn
LENNON
Guitars: 1963 Rickenbacker 325, 1962 Gibson J-160E acoustic-electric Amp: 1963 Vox AC50 Mk I head and 2x12 cabinet with two Celestion T530 12-inch speakers and Goodmans Midax horn
McCARTNEY
Bass: 1963
