...i play bass and pauls songs have some really amazing bass lines....coming up with those bass lines...playing and singing at the same time is reallyyy not easy as he made it look! What people forget is the thought and creative process all in a rush to come up with the bass line itself that is magic..that alone is pure talent!!!
Yeah, I found out when auditioning for a casuals band. My vocal range allowed me to sing the Paul parts. Had to learn the bass parts, too. The month of prep work before our first gig was like a master class. Only when one learns Paul's bass parts does full appreciation of what a musical giant he actually is.
On behalf of Beatles-guitar enthusiasts everywhere, thank you so much for making this video. Sir Paul’s Hofner 500 bass, his violin-shaped bass from the Beatle years, is indeed as Elvis Costello said, “something we expect to see” him with. So true! It’s an iconic link to Sir Paul and The Beatles. Great story. Appreciate you, Ramon, and your hard work.
Since I've always been interested in musical instruments, including pianos, I remember driving by that Steinway shop, when I was in Hamburg 30 years ago.
He dud his best work on the Rickenbacker. Hoffner would have gone nowhere if Paul hadn't played one. Paul wanted a Fender but couldn't afford it. In Hamburg he got the German made Hoffner. My guitarist bought a German Hoffner for $4000! I don't get the hype. An American Hoffner plays and sounds just as good. At a loud volume they feedback, howl, and boom. Paul played one so now we gotta have one. Hommie don't play that. It is easy to play with a pick because of the thin neck, and I play with a pick like Paul.
So as The Beatles go, the Rickenbacker bass was just as historic as the Hofner bass. Paul's would have been among the first Rickenbacker basses in England, if not the first.
But he wasnt too keen on it according to the Get Back movie lol. But when I was 13 I saw it on the MMT album fold out and I said I dont know what that thing is, but I wanted it.
As an aside, in other video I have watched, Hank Marvin reckons that the Fender Stratocaster Cliff Richard purchased for him to play (and which one of the three still has) was the very first one in the UK.
Being a left-handed guitarist is a pain, take it from someone who knows -- lack of choice etc.. The only advantage I can think of is that people who can't play, come over to your house and say: "Oh, you've got guitars. Can I have a go?" and then they see that your guitars are all left-handed and then they leave them alone.
CHECK THIS OUT,, I STARTED PLAYING GUITAR WHEN I WAS FIVE,, "LEFT HANDED" HAD RIGHT HANDED GUITARs, RE-STRUNG LEFT HANDED (big e string on top etc.) UNTIL I WAS 25 OR SO ,, HAD A LEFT HANDED AMERICAN STRAT, MY #1 GUITAR, ONCE OWNED A TEXAN (acoustic) EPIPHONE, right handed strung left hand,, SIMILAR TO McCartneys,, AWAYs USED "D" TUNING WITH HEAVEY GAGE MARTIN STRINGS,,(on that gutar), ABOUT THE TIME I WAS 25 ,I ALSO JUST FOR THE HELL OF It, STRUNG ONE OF MY RIGHT HANDED GUITARS, a Gibson 335 BACK TO RIGHT HANDED & STARTED LEARNING TO PLAY RIGHT HANDED "WHY NOT"!! AFTER ABOUT 5 YRS SHAZAAM! COULD PLAY LEFTY OR RIGHTY! 65YRS. OLD NOW STILL ENJOY PLAYING THOSE OLD BEATLE SONGS.......Lefty or righty, still love freaking people out!!!
@@johnwanderin3872 I think your scenario is the most common. That's why there are less left-handed guitars around in proportion to left-handed people. I play golf right-handed because my Dad's golf clubs were right-handed and that's all I knew. Mind you, I'm a terrible golfer.
New Falconer Records I play golf left handed like I normally am and I’m terrible at it too. Only things I do right handed are play guitar, shoot guns and have an orthodox stance while boxing.
This channel is excellent! I'm a big fan of music and guitars! The focused, no-nonsense narration is very enjoyable, and completely takes my mind off all of lifes problems. I must add, that in 1961 when my dad was 16, he visited Hamburg and the Top 10 Club. He noticed the band called Tony Sheridan and the Beat Brothers and bought the "My Bonnie" vinylrecord there and then. The Beat Brothers would of course turn out to have been John, George and Paul with Pete Best and Stuart Sutcliffe. I can't believe my dad was ever in the same room as John Lennon, and the record, sadly not autographed, but still in perfect condition, sits in my bookshelf now.
I find it somewhat funny that all the Beatle "experts" claim that they chose a certain guitar for a certain sound when in actuality which ever guitar was the closest is what made it on the track..
The playlist on the Hofner was removed in the 90’s. If I remember correctly he sent the bass to Mandolin Brothers Music Store in Staten Island, NY. It went there to be restored and, if I remember correctly, they had to take it off as due to the restoration.
Paul was the first bassist that I ever got into and it's always cool learning about his gear, so it was interesting to see that he played a Yamaha later in his career. Great vid, man, I'd love to see another bass one on someone like Roger Waters or Geddy Lee
You’ve skipped a couple, Rickenbacker also gave Paul a left handed 360/12 in 1964, which he had used in a few Beatles recordings as well as solo albums. In 1968, he ended up getting a left handed Fender Telecaster as seen in the album gatefold of the McCartney album as well as the promo film for Press. He also acquired a cigar box 4 string slide guitar in 2010 which he used in the Nirvana reunion track, Cut Me Some Slack.
McCartney never had a Ric 12 when he was in the Beatles. In February 1964 Francis Hall, head of Rickenbacker, brought a 360-12, right-handed, for John Lennon, who suggested Hall give it to George Harrison, which he did.
Great work as always Ramon. Plenty of stuff I didn't know there. A few additions. Others have mentioned the Gibson Everly Bros Paul used around 1973, but he also had a left-handed Fender Telecaster in sunburst. I've also seen him use a right-handed Telecaster (or a copy) with the horn sawn off which looks very odd indeed.
Still can't believe the 2 major songwriters of pop-rock started in the same local, amateur band. And I still can't understand how their shy side guitarist happened to become a major songwriter as well. That plus their luck at being employed at Abbey road studios and not crappy Decca, and by George Martin and not the mediocre Decca producers the Stones got. I guess why it happened is only a mystery for us, not for them. They probably didn't realize how unlikely this whole miracle was.
Loog Oldham got the Stones a unique at the time deal where they produced their own records independently and licensed them to Decca, so they weren't using their producers or studios except when it suited them. Some of those classic Stones singles were even recorded in America.
It would be cool to see Paul McCartney play "Come Together" on that red guitar with the custom paint job on it, especially given the theme behind the paint job.
Wow, that's an impressive bit of research on McCartney's instruments. Being a McCartney fan, I've owned a few of these basses over the years, the Rickenbackers have always been the easiest to get a good sound from and the secret has been using flat wound strings. For me, Pyramids have been the smoothest tone wise and easy feeling. Pyramids are from Germany and come in short scale (30") and long/regular scale (34"). They're fantastic! Great video, thanks for sharing!
Btw When the Höfner was restored, the setlist was removed and new strap buttons were put on due to the dog clip kind of ruining the wood on the bridge. He also had the höfner going out of tune problem fixed at the same time as well
In 1964 I was 12 years old. The (30 inch scale) neck on Paul's Hoffner looked so long, and sleek, and sexy. But, you have to remember the guys in those "British Invasion" bands were only 5 foot 6 to 5 foot 9. And most British bass players were guitar players first, so they were accustomed to a short scale neck, and playing with a pick. American musicians were bigger. And a lot of the American bass players at that time were 6 foot tall Black guys, that were accustomed to a stand up bass, playing with their fingers, so the 36 inch scale bass was perfect. Leo Fender felt the 36 inch scale sounded the best too. So a 300 Lbs Hell's Angel biker could ride a 50 cc motor scooter, but he would look ridiculous, and he would't be very comfortable. Just like Joe Pesci would look ridiculous, and uncomfortable holding a 5 foot Terminator canon. For 50 years I've owned Fender Basses, and I am 6 foot 2, but there is another important factor in bass size. The length of my palm (from wrist to fingers) is 1.5 inches longer than the length of my fingers. I was a friend of Jaco Pastorius (a whole other story). Jaco's fingers were 1.5 inches longer than his palms. So he could spread his fingers 3 inches wider than me. He used to pull on my fingers to try to stretch them! lol Obviously this effects playing style. It was impossible for me to reach his chords. But, just playing notes, he could easily reach twice as many without moving his hand, while I was moving my hand constantly. That's not a problem for most bass lines; but for super fast parts short fingers it is a disadvantage.
+Victor Centofanti. That's a good point about the height of British invasion musicians. World War II food rationing really took a toll on that whole generation. So many of them were below average height. Roger Daltrey says as much in his autobiography.
That Hofner (both of them actually) sounded fab indeed! I played a new one (reissue) at Sam Ash and was amazed at the tone and how light it was!? Paul is an amazing melodic bass player, one of the best of course. His choice of notes and runs are atypical but beautiful in the way they always fall into place and sound spot on perfect. Genious really.
In documentary about the making of Give My Regards to Broadstreet Paul is playing a left-handed Telecaster, with I think 3 pickups. He also a special, custom made guitar he played on a television performance around the time of Off The Ground
Thanks for the work, it was a Great video! You didn't mention what year Paul bought the Cavern Bass. I 'm guessing it was made in 1959 and he bought it in 1960. I could research the dates that they were in Hamburg. The pickups in those days were not very good (a lot of noise and hum); that's probably why Hoffner put 2 pickups at the neck, for more volume. And that is probably why Paul replaced the pickups later (to make the bass useful again). When pickups got better, they could split them and each pickup would provide a different sound, depending on where on the string it was placed. What younger people don't remember were the amps. One side of the line was connected to the chassis (ground) and the other line was the HOT. There were no polarizing plugs in those days. You could plug an amp in, then unplug it, flip the plug over and plug it back in with the connectors reversed. So if your bass amp was plugged one way, and the mic amp was plugged in the opposite way, and your lips touched the mic while you were playing; you would get one hell of a shock. I think that was the first thing musicians learn in those days; make sure all the amps are plugged in the same way! Another thing about the tube amps in those days was the power in watts: 8, 10 , 12, 15 watts; with a 10" or 12" speaker. The smallest practice amp today has more power than that. Imaging playing in a club with a practice amp at low volume. Life was rough back then! LOL
I like how Paul played his instruments for quite a while before getting new ones and he seemed to always go back to them. George and John seemed to get a new guitar every month lol
Nice video. I have one correction at 21:04 though. It's actually just a Yamaha BB1200, not a BB1200S. The BB1200S was the active variant, he only played the passive version.
Judging by the give away poster that came with Band on the Run album, I believe Paul played his Jazz bass on that album. The album was recorded in Nigeria and any instruments they had would have had to be brought with them. The poster consists of many snapshots made by Linda while they were there in Nigeria. The only bass pictured is the Fender.
There are pics of Paul in the Ram era with a Gibson Firebird - is that a fluke? Just a guitar that was lying around the stu? Thanks for all of the effort you put into these vids!
These videos are wonderful. Thank you so much for posting them. - but I have admit. I have a few neurons that short out every time you say “the” Wings.
Lovely work here. Still, I'd like to ask you to give thought to some bass histories. Wyman, Entwistle and Suire come to mind quickly. But, thank you for producing this!
Omg, the best channel on the TH-cam platform I have been waiting for ages Thanks oh by the way you said Paul mccartney on drums at 3:36 recheck it again
He says "Flat wound strings", ie guitar strings that haven't got metal (usually nickel or bronze, I think) wound around them...they're far easier on the fingers, but sound less "punchy", smoother.
i have or do own one of each the same basses and guitars in this video over 25 years of playing and recording and there all left handed i even played one of paul's back up Rickenbacker basses at Abbey Road in 2000. there all great and fun to play. i know way paul likes them...cause they always get the job done and look cool while doing it;)
Very interesting. No doubt Macca is among of the best musicians ever. Only one question. You just forgot to mention one guitar he used during his US tour in the 70's. He was using Ovation during those concerts.
@@TheGuitarShow Miles Davis said that the first thing he noticed about Pop musicians was that they knew nothing about music. Paul McCartney can't read or write music. What joke. All this fuss over over grown-ups who still listen to children's music.
@@autodidact537 When Miles Davis wanted to record with Jimi Hendrix, Hendrix wanted to use McCartney as the bass player, sent him a telegram asking him if he was interested, a telegram that McCartney never received.
I've actually played a Hofner violin bass. They look cool, but I found the short-scale length did not suit my preferred method of play. I would love it if they made a version of the Beatle bass with a 34' scale. My bass of choice would be a Thunderbird. I think it's endearing how many of Paul's favorite guitars were given to him by Linda. By the way, didn't Paul play a Firebird for the "Maybe I'm Amazed" solo?
Never get tired of Beatles stuff! Too bad Paul never made it to the Rickenbacker factory. It's about a mile from where I live. I think it's a historical landmark by now. Great video & thanks!
@@robm9460 I don't think so. I know my brother tried to do that at the Fender factory they had for a while in Santa Ana and he almost go arrested. That was over 50 years ago!
At 14:00 you can see the bridge hasn't been plugged and recut so the intonation is all wrong. I think this was like this all the way through to let it be and even Abbey Rd. Didn't they have guitar techs?
This video is showing the sticker on Paul’s bass, which reminds me a video. A video in which Faul was asking John what’s about this sticker on the bass. And John explains that this are the songs from an old show.
Thanks for this. Since you mentioned Paul's father, it might have been worth mentioning his name (James; known as "Jim") - sounds kind of strange that you omit that. (And the Fun Fact that Paul's first name is actually "James"). It might also be worth mentioning that Stu Sutcliffe had little-to-no musical ability (which is different from mentioning that he "barely knew how to play the bass"); might also be worth mentioning that Lennon persuaded Sutcliffe to buy a bass because of their friendship, and that the funds for buying the bass came from Sutcliffe winning the John Moore prize for painting. I think that these kinds of things add 'colour' to the descriptions.
I really love the look of that old Kay bass with the big headstock. Speaking of which another cool looking bass I've always loved are the old Ampeg basses with the violin type scroll headstock. I think some company like Eastwood does a copy of those. They look the part! Stay safe man. Thanks.
I heard that McCartney (himself?) sanded down the upper bout on the Rickenbacker too agressively and change the shape of it although presumably it wasn't an accident. Certainly looks different at 17:25 compared to 17:36
I find it weird that on the cavern bass hofner put switches that said “solo” and “rhythm” did the whole company not know that bass had a completely different role than the guitar and that rhythm bass playing isn’t a thing?
Derrick Oneal Macca, dropped bass chords in the bridge on I want to hold your hand. His playing on later tracks like Something, Hey Bulldog and Come Together, could also pass as soloing.
That was still in the very early days of electric guitars and basses, and of Rock and Roll itself. Hofner may have labelled that switch in that way to make the bass seem all that more versatile or featured filled to young and inexpierienced/inspiring players. Weird switches and weirdly named controls were very common for many early electric guitar brands and models.
TH-cam videos of the 1986 Prince's Trust Concert show Paul playing a 1982 Alvarez 5051.Built to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the St. Louis Music Company the 6 string accoustic had no soundhole . Although a later run had holes cut into the grated area of the body from which the sound was produced .
#The Guitar Show … You forgot the Black Special Gibson Acoustic Guitar with Star Inlays on the fret that was used on the set of T.V. Special "James Paul McCartney". That was quite a guitar and is my opinion a classic. All My Best !
A very, VERY interesting video. Thank you very much. Now it's a big ask.....but could you do a similar video in relation to Ringo Starr's drums and percussion ?
Thanks - it was a trickey one to do, theres some stuff I missed out - such as the Leftie non reverse firebird and the ovation but time constraits meant I had to exclude them.
Great video about the essential Macca guitars. The Firebird was a rental during RAM, the Blackstar & 160E were used very rarely and the only one that would merit inclusion is the Everly's acoustic, which while used during the Flowers Tour 89-90, was another of those background guitars. This video was excellent to introduce neophytes to the historical guitars and some of the latter day pieces.
The Black RickenBacker 5 String i owned it for a bit in 1999 used it on some studio stuff it's more less a 4001 but with a 5th String. and think you mean his black star gibson. Rickenbacker never calls guitars by name just number..But hey if you want to call the Black 5 string Rickenbacker bass i owned in 1999 "The BlackStar" Rickenbacker more Power to you.
The ZENITH was an upscale Epiphone archtop model from the early 1930's onward. The British importers of Hofner guitars must have discovered that "Zenith" wasn't a registered trademark in the UK and decided to use the name for their rebranded Hofners.
@@royscarbrough7593 I think he just turned it over and put a lefty nut on it. The non-reverse Firebird was only made for a short time, it's a different shape from the standard Firebird.
@@gnarlybird Thanks. I play lefty and my first electric was a non-reverse Firebird. I flipped it over and it just didn't feel right. Very weird balance hanging off the strap. I'd love to have a real lefty firebird from that period.
First time I heard the Beatles I was struck by how pleasingly prominent the bass was. Up until then very few records had such a powerful depth.
Agreed
...i play bass and pauls songs have some really amazing bass lines....coming up with those bass lines...playing and singing at the same time is reallyyy not easy as he made it look!
What people forget is the thought and creative process all in a rush to come up with the bass line itself that is magic..that alone is pure talent!!!
Thanks for the great comment
Pauls bass lines are rather complicated and not at all easy to play. I found that out right off the start.
Yeah, I found out when auditioning for a casuals band. My vocal range allowed me to sing the Paul parts. Had to learn the bass parts, too. The month of prep work before our first gig was like a master class. Only when one learns Paul's bass parts does full appreciation of what a musical giant he actually is.
his fav Bass player is mine the late James Jamerson
My God that was DEEP, one wonders where that stolen Bass is these days. It must be priceless, just like the playlist Bass.
Thanks
The banker hid it in his mac
@@kevindoran9389 but he never wears one!
It was sold at Sotheby's on the 28:08:86 for 9.500 Pounds, new owner Hard Rock Cafe.
someone probably destroyed it after they stole it
On behalf of Beatles-guitar enthusiasts everywhere, thank you so much for making this video. Sir Paul’s Hofner 500 bass, his violin-shaped bass from the Beatle years, is indeed as Elvis Costello said, “something we expect to see” him with. So true! It’s an iconic link to Sir Paul and The Beatles. Great story. Appreciate you, Ramon, and your hard work.
It's a pleasure
Since I've always been interested in musical instruments, including pianos, I remember driving by that Steinway shop, when I was in Hamburg 30 years ago.
He dud his best work on the Rickenbacker. Hoffner would have gone nowhere if Paul hadn't played one. Paul wanted a Fender but couldn't afford it. In Hamburg he got the German made Hoffner. My guitarist bought a German Hoffner for $4000! I don't get the hype. An American Hoffner plays and sounds just as good. At a loud volume they feedback, howl, and boom. Paul played one so now we gotta have one. Hommie don't play that. It is easy to play with a pick because of the thin neck, and I play with a pick like Paul.
So as The Beatles go, the Rickenbacker bass was just as historic as the Hofner bass. Paul's would have been among the first Rickenbacker basses in England, if not the first.
But he wasnt too keen on it according to the Get Back movie lol. But when I was 13 I saw it on the MMT album fold out and I said I dont know what that thing is, but I wanted it.
He had to replace the nut which he eventually had done and used the hell out of it in "Wings".
As an aside, in other video I have watched, Hank Marvin reckons that the Fender Stratocaster Cliff Richard purchased for him to play (and which one of the three still has) was the very first one in the UK.
Paul would sound good with farm wire strapped to a fence post
Is that a threat?
You would sound good with duct tape on ya gob and your hands removed so don’t talk about my paulie like that
I had a dog named Corby
@@stephenmccarthy1597 I lived on a street called Corby Street, number 38 aha
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 Yes he would.
Being a left-handed guitarist is a pain, take it from someone who knows -- lack of choice etc.. The only advantage I can think of is that people who can't play, come over to your house and say: "Oh, you've got guitars. Can I have a go?" and then they see that your guitars are all left-handed and then they leave them alone.
CHECK THIS OUT,, I STARTED PLAYING GUITAR WHEN I WAS FIVE,, "LEFT HANDED" HAD RIGHT HANDED GUITARs, RE-STRUNG LEFT HANDED (big e string on top etc.) UNTIL I WAS 25 OR SO ,, HAD A LEFT HANDED AMERICAN STRAT, MY #1 GUITAR, ONCE OWNED A TEXAN (acoustic) EPIPHONE, right handed strung left hand,, SIMILAR TO McCartneys,, AWAYs USED "D" TUNING WITH HEAVEY GAGE MARTIN STRINGS,,(on that gutar), ABOUT THE TIME I WAS 25 ,I ALSO JUST FOR THE HELL OF It, STRUNG ONE OF MY RIGHT HANDED GUITARS, a Gibson 335 BACK TO RIGHT HANDED & STARTED LEARNING TO PLAY RIGHT HANDED "WHY NOT"!! AFTER ABOUT 5 YRS SHAZAAM! COULD PLAY LEFTY OR RIGHTY! 65YRS. OLD NOW STILL ENJOY PLAYING THOSE OLD BEATLE SONGS.......Lefty or righty, still love freaking people out!!!
"Huh, I play righty, but i'll try your lefty guitars, shouldn't be too hard"
I’m left handed but play guitar right handed. Maybe it’s because I grew up in a house with right handed guitars or maybe I got lucky.
@@johnwanderin3872 I think your scenario is the most common. That's why there are less left-handed guitars around in proportion to left-handed people. I play golf right-handed because my Dad's golf clubs were right-handed and that's all I knew. Mind you, I'm a terrible golfer.
New Falconer Records I play golf left handed like I normally am and I’m terrible at it too. Only things I do right handed are play guitar, shoot guns and have an orthodox stance while boxing.
This channel is excellent! I'm a big fan of music and guitars! The focused, no-nonsense narration is very enjoyable, and completely takes my mind off all of lifes problems.
I must add, that in 1961 when my dad was 16, he visited Hamburg and the Top 10 Club. He noticed the band called Tony Sheridan and the Beat Brothers and bought the "My Bonnie" vinylrecord there and then. The Beat Brothers would of course turn out to have been John, George and Paul with Pete Best and Stuart Sutcliffe. I can't believe my dad was ever in the same room as John Lennon, and the record, sadly not autographed, but still in perfect condition, sits in my bookshelf now.
Thanks so much Lloyd!
Seems everyone was waiting for this one
Lol they were!!
You were waiting for this one, mate, if anyone was..
I find it somewhat funny that all the Beatle "experts" claim that they chose a certain guitar for a certain sound when in actuality which ever guitar was the closest is what made it on the track..
Yeah, and that's the sound we're trying to get.
The playlist on the Hofner was removed in the 90’s. If I remember correctly he sent the bass to Mandolin Brothers Music Store in Staten Island, NY. It went there to be restored and, if I remember correctly, they had to take it off as due to the restoration.
Thanks for the info Harry
Paul was the first bassist that I ever got into and it's always cool learning about his gear, so it was interesting to see that he played a Yamaha later in his career. Great vid, man, I'd love to see another bass one on someone like Roger Waters or Geddy Lee
Thanks for the suggestions Andrew... I'll get to it soon
The Guitar Show No rush, man, great video. The amount of research that went into this is really damn impressive, keep up the awesome vids
Geddy has a book about his basses, but a vid could be a good companion piece.
Lee Kovalskyj I have the book and it’s definitely a great one to flip though, and an additional video would be awesome
You’ve skipped a couple, Rickenbacker also gave Paul a left handed 360/12 in 1964, which he had used in a few Beatles recordings as well as solo albums. In 1968, he ended up getting a left handed Fender Telecaster as seen in the album gatefold of the McCartney album as well as the promo film for Press. He also acquired a cigar box 4 string slide guitar in 2010 which he used in the Nirvana reunion track, Cut Me Some Slack.
Thanks yes unfortunately in editing I dropped out a few... In fact 5mins worth of instruments... Maybe in should upload that at some point.
McCartney never had a Ric 12 when he was in the Beatles. In February 1964 Francis Hall, head of Rickenbacker, brought a 360-12, right-handed, for John Lennon, who suggested Hall give it to George Harrison, which he did.
Pierre DuBois he did have one, if you see the promo film for All The Best you see him with it
@@PaulinaAngel Like I said, he didn't have one in the Beatles, and certainly never got one in 1964.Obviously he got one later.
Pierre DuBois if it wasn’t in 64 then it was in 65 because he used it during as early as the Rubber Soul sessions
The mind boggles at the thought of the research that must have gone into this (all of these vids, actually). Superb!
I agree! Excellent channel.
Thank you
Sir I’ve been waiting for days! Great video man! Paul is a living legend!
Pleasure Chris
Great work as always Ramon. Plenty of stuff I didn't know there. A few additions. Others have mentioned the Gibson Everly Bros Paul used around 1973, but he also had a left-handed Fender Telecaster in sunburst. I've also seen him use a right-handed Telecaster (or a copy) with the horn sawn off which looks very odd indeed.
luvmacca.tumblr.com/post/157911394170 Then there are the Ovation acoustics Paul used during during the Wings over the World Tour in 1975/76
Billy
Love these historic reviews of Beatles guitars. I've never heard of The Wings though.
Fantastic, Man. I just loved it. Many greetings from Mexico city.
Thanks so much
Still can't believe the 2 major songwriters of pop-rock started in the same local, amateur band. And I still can't understand how their shy side guitarist happened to become a major songwriter as well. That plus their luck at being employed at Abbey road studios and not crappy Decca, and by George Martin and not the mediocre Decca producers the Stones got. I guess why it happened is only a mystery for us, not for them. They probably didn't realize how unlikely this whole miracle was.
Loog Oldham got the Stones a unique at the time deal where they produced their own records independently and licensed them to Decca, so they weren't using their producers or studios except when it suited them. Some of those classic Stones singles were even recorded in America.
It would be cool to see Paul McCartney play "Come Together" on that red guitar with the custom paint job on it, especially given the theme behind the paint job.
His first hofner violin style bass has been recovered a few days ago.
Wow, that's an impressive bit of research on McCartney's instruments.
Being a McCartney fan, I've owned a few of these basses over the years, the Rickenbackers have always been the easiest to get a good sound from and the secret has been using flat wound strings.
For me, Pyramids have been the smoothest tone wise and easy feeling. Pyramids are from Germany and come in short scale (30") and long/regular scale (34"). They're fantastic!
Great video, thanks for sharing!
Pleasure and thanks for a great comment
The adjustable bridge mounted string mute on the Rick 4001 and 4003, give that Lucy in The Skies, Piggies "thunk" sound I love.
Btw When the Höfner was restored, the setlist was removed and new strap buttons were put on due to the dog clip kind of ruining the wood on the bridge. He also had the höfner going out of tune problem fixed at the same time as well
Yes I heard he took to the Madolin Brothers to gave that done shame they didn't lacquer over the set list thanks
In 1964 I was 12 years old. The (30 inch scale) neck on Paul's Hoffner looked so long, and sleek, and sexy. But, you have to remember the guys in those "British Invasion" bands were only 5 foot 6 to 5 foot 9. And most British bass players were guitar players first, so they were accustomed to a short scale neck, and playing with a pick. American musicians were bigger. And a lot of the American bass players at that time were 6 foot tall Black guys, that were accustomed to a stand up bass, playing with their fingers, so the 36 inch scale bass was perfect. Leo Fender felt the 36 inch scale sounded the best too. So a 300 Lbs Hell's Angel biker could ride a 50 cc motor scooter, but he would look ridiculous, and he would't be very comfortable. Just like Joe Pesci would look ridiculous, and uncomfortable holding a 5 foot Terminator canon. For 50 years I've owned Fender Basses, and I am 6 foot 2, but there is another important factor in bass size. The length of my palm (from wrist to fingers) is 1.5 inches longer than the length of my fingers. I was a friend of Jaco Pastorius (a whole other story). Jaco's fingers were 1.5 inches longer than his palms. So he could spread his fingers 3 inches wider than me. He used to pull on my fingers to try to stretch them! lol Obviously this effects playing style. It was impossible for me to reach his chords. But, just playing notes, he could easily reach twice as many without moving his hand, while I was moving my hand constantly. That's not a problem for most bass lines; but for super fast parts short fingers it is a disadvantage.
Amazing comment thanks 🙏🙏🙏🙏
+Victor Centofanti. That's a good point about the height of British invasion musicians. World War II food rationing really took a toll on that whole generation. So many of them were below average height. Roger Daltrey says as much in his autobiography.
That’s true for the original Paul but Billy is listed at 5’ 11”. Another reason the Beatles stopped touring after 66 I bet.
Kyle Bollendorf you’re funny
That was very interesting, thanks.
That Hofner (both of them actually) sounded fab indeed! I played a new one (reissue) at Sam Ash and was amazed at the tone and how light it was!? Paul is an amazing melodic bass player, one of the best of course. His choice of notes and runs are atypical but beautiful in the way they always fall into place and sound spot on perfect. Genious really.
Very well said Sean
Fantastic video once again Ramon. I really enjoy this series you do. 👍
Thanks Mike
Love these “History of” vids, awesome man. Thanks.
Pleasure Richard
Astounding account of Paul’s guitars. Well done 🇨🇦😊
In documentary about the making of Give My Regards to Broadstreet Paul is playing a left-handed Telecaster, with I think 3 pickups. He also a special, custom made guitar he played on a television performance around the time of Off The Ground
Thanks for this 👍
The are also pictures of Paul playing an upside-down Firebird. I think during the Ram sessions.
Very nice video. Paul is a genius.
Thanks for all those wonderful details, I would have never guessed Paul had/went thru so many different guitars.
Thanks for the work, it was a Great video! You didn't mention what year Paul bought the Cavern Bass. I 'm guessing it was made in 1959 and he bought it in 1960. I could research the dates that they were in Hamburg. The pickups in those days were not very good (a lot of noise and hum); that's probably why Hoffner put 2 pickups at the neck, for more volume. And that is probably why Paul replaced the pickups later (to make the bass useful again). When pickups got better, they could split them and each pickup would provide a different sound, depending on where on the string it was placed. What younger people don't remember were the amps. One side of the line was connected to the chassis (ground) and the other line was the HOT. There were no polarizing plugs in those days. You could plug an amp in, then unplug it, flip the plug over and plug it back in with the connectors reversed. So if your bass amp was plugged one way, and the mic amp was plugged in the opposite way, and your lips touched the mic while you were playing; you would get one hell of a shock. I think that was the first thing musicians learn in those days; make sure all the amps are plugged in the same way! Another thing about the tube amps in those days was the power in watts: 8, 10 , 12, 15 watts; with a 10" or 12" speaker. The smallest practice amp today has more power than that. Imaging playing in a club with a practice amp at low volume. Life was rough back then! LOL
Pleasure Victor thanks for the comment
1961
I like how Paul played his instruments for quite a while before getting new ones and he seemed to always go back to them. George and John seemed to get a new guitar every month lol
They got lots of instruments but they had their main ones they used regularly
Great video of paul and his guitars.❤
Nice video. I have one correction at 21:04 though. It's actually just a Yamaha BB1200, not a BB1200S. The BB1200S was the active variant, he only played the passive version.
This is an excellent piece!
Thanks Mark
Judging by the give away poster that came with Band on the Run album, I believe Paul played his Jazz bass on that album. The album was recorded in Nigeria and any instruments they had would have had to be brought with them. The poster consists of many snapshots made by Linda while they were there in Nigeria. The only bass pictured is the Fender.
Thank you so much for such details about Paul Basses and guitars, appreciate your work!
Pleasure thanks
There are pics of Paul in the Ram era with a Gibson Firebird - is that a fluke? Just a guitar that was lying around the stu?
Thanks for all of the effort you put into these vids!
What a rich retrospect, what a pleasure to watch it. Thanks for the work input in that.
I don't know guitar lingo but I like looking at pictures of Paul
Same he’s cute
Me too, lol
The first song Paul used the Rick 4001S on Michelle,and all of Rubber Soul before Revolver …
I love that rickenbacker sound.
These videos are wonderful. Thank you so much for posting them. - but I have admit. I have a few neurons that short out every time you say “the” Wings.
Sorry opps! Lol
Great job Ramon. Really enjoy these videos a lot 👍
Pleasure Shaun
thanks very interesting ! On a side note his second band was Wings not The Wings ;)
Lovely work here.
Still, I'd like to ask you to give thought to some bass histories. Wyman, Entwistle and Suire come to mind quickly.
But, thank you for producing this!
Pleasure I'll try to do them
There's a photo of McCartney with a non reverse Gibson Firebird (3 or 5) on one of his album covers (maybe Ram?).
Yes, he plays it on the solo of the "Ram" version of "Maybe I'm Amazed".
@@jltrem maybe im amazed is on mccartney 1970 maybe his main electric during 1970 to 1975
Omg, the best channel on the TH-cam platform
I have been waiting for ages
Thanks oh by the way you said Paul mccartney on drums at 3:36 recheck it again
Opps thanks I know he played drums on a few gigs but you are right it was an error thanks!!
@@TheGuitarShow Your welcome, keep up the great work and is that beatles amps video coming out soon......
@@cathanmccann1769 this week!
@@TheGuitarShow yeahhhhhhy
Now we are learning💖
Would someone write down what does he say at 12:46 "McCartney sometimes use a ....". I dont get it! Thank you
He says "Flat wound strings", ie guitar strings that haven't got metal (usually nickel or bronze, I think) wound around them...they're far easier on the fingers, but sound less "punchy", smoother.
Lucas O'heyze I got that part. What I didnt get was “foam mute” (?)
@@arturomonforte A foam mute is a piece of foam that is put under the strings near the bridge. It makes the bass/guitar sound rather different.
Surumursu thank you very much
You put lots of time and effort in your videos and I applaud you for that!!!😃👍☮️❤️
Thank you so much!
Paul used his Jazz Bass on Yer Blues? I always thought he was using the rick.
He used it on while my guitar air gently weeps too
@@DevinLatulippe Is that a lost track or something?
What a great musician and legacy . great video
i have or do own one of each the same basses and guitars in this video over 25 years of playing and recording and there all left handed i even played one of paul's back up Rickenbacker basses at Abbey Road in 2000. there all great and fun to play. i know way paul likes them...cause they always get the job done and look cool while doing it;)
Great overview. Amazing Paul restrung so many of his basses. A true master of his craft.
Thanks Ken
Later, he also used 5-string bass!
Very interesting. No doubt Macca is among of the best musicians ever. Only one question. You just forgot to mention one guitar he used during his US tour in the 70's. He was using Ovation during those concerts.
That's right he did indeed I had 5 mins extra info on other guitars which I'll upload at some point. Thanks for watching
@@TheGuitarShow Miles Davis said that the first thing he noticed about Pop musicians was that they knew nothing about music. Paul McCartney can't read or write music. What joke. All this fuss over over grown-ups who still listen to children's music.
@@autodidact537 Sounds like sour grapes.
@@TheGuitarShow I also recall a 1964 picture of him playing a guild. possibly someone else's. seemed to be strung for right hand
@@autodidact537 When Miles Davis wanted to record with Jimi Hendrix, Hendrix wanted to use McCartney as the bass player, sent him a telegram asking him if he was interested, a telegram that McCartney never received.
@14:00, from what I heard in past, epiphone ‘gifted’ the guitar playing Beatles the casinos. Only one modded is one John sanded down later years.
Thanks for this info
Another great video Ramon!
Thanks Billy
setlist is not on hofner bass anymore but great video. I recommend beatles gear book. Its amazing
It's a great book thanks
10:21 UPDATE it was last seen at Savile Row (Get Back episode 2).
I'm a left handed Guitarist as well.
Me too (actually i'm an ambidextrous guitar player)
Same. Isn’t fun trying to get new guitars
I've actually played a Hofner violin bass. They look cool, but I found the short-scale length did not suit my preferred method of play. I would love it if they made a version of the Beatle bass with a 34' scale. My bass of choice would be a Thunderbird.
I think it's endearing how many of Paul's favorite guitars were given to him by Linda.
By the way, didn't Paul play a Firebird for the "Maybe I'm Amazed" solo?
Nice
Never get tired of Beatles stuff! Too bad Paul never made it to the Rickenbacker factory. It's about a mile from where I live. I think it's a historical landmark by now. Great video & thanks!
That's cool have you been there?
@@TheGuitarShow I've driven by the plant but they don't offer tours or anything. It's a business and they treat it as such. It's been there forever.
Have you ever been there?
Can you go dumpster diving there on weekends?
@@robm9460 I don't think so. I know my brother tried to do that at the Fender factory they had for a while in Santa Ana and he almost go arrested. That was over 50 years ago!
Paul owned a Non Reverse Gibson Firebird VII during the making of McCartney Ram. It's featured on the solo of Maybe I'm Amazed.
You are right Robert, thanks for this
Could you please specify the 5 Hofners list:
- Hofner 61
- Hofner 63
- Hofner Jubilee Union Jack
.?
.?
Thank you
I think he said Reissues of the cavern bass
To my knowledge it’s a replica of the 63 and the 61 Cavern bass
A thorough look at the tools used by this amazing musician 🎶
Thanks 🎸🙏
@@TheGuitarShow I’m a musician and am producing a nostalgic series of my own 🎬 I invite you to check it out, I’d like to hear your thoughts ❤️
@@josefnocera4414 many thanks I will. Thanks for the invite
How in the world do you find all this information? Incredible!
Thanks
He got a lot of it from John Crowley's Fab Guitars of the Beatles website.
At 14:00 you can see the bridge hasn't been plugged and recut so the intonation is all wrong. I think this was like this all the way through to let it be and even Abbey Rd. Didn't they have guitar techs?
I think the roadies doubled as techs and they would take them to music shops for more technical work.
@@TheGuitarShow yeah but the bridges were never recut for lh intonation. That's my point.
@@planespeaking I see
Very nice research! Love McCartney.
Thanks
This video is showing the sticker on Paul’s bass, which reminds me a video. A video in which Faul was asking John what’s about this sticker on the bass. And John explains that this are the songs from an old show.
He borrowed Lennon 's Hofner club 40 for a spell looked cool in his hands
How can the know the exact date they purchased a particular instrument?
Thanks for this.
Since you mentioned Paul's father, it might have been worth mentioning his name (James; known as "Jim") - sounds kind of strange that you omit that. (And the Fun Fact that Paul's first name is actually "James").
It might also be worth mentioning that Stu Sutcliffe had little-to-no musical ability (which is different from mentioning that he "barely knew how to play the bass"); might also be worth mentioning that Lennon persuaded Sutcliffe to buy a bass because of their friendship, and that the funds for buying the bass came from Sutcliffe winning the John Moore prize for painting.
I think that these kinds of things add 'colour' to the descriptions.
I really love the look of that old Kay bass with the big headstock. Speaking of which another cool looking bass I've always loved are the old Ampeg basses with the violin type scroll headstock. I think some company like Eastwood does a copy of those. They look the part! Stay safe man. Thanks.
Thanks bro
I heard that McCartney (himself?) sanded down the upper bout on the Rickenbacker too agressively and change the shape of it although presumably it wasn't an accident. Certainly looks different at 17:25 compared to 17:36
I find it weird that on the cavern bass hofner put switches that said “solo” and “rhythm” did the whole company not know that bass had a completely different role than the guitar and that rhythm bass playing isn’t a thing?
Maybe it was a German translation thing or rock n roll was not fully understood then. Great point thanks
Derrick Oneal Macca, dropped bass chords in the bridge on I want to hold your hand. His playing on later tracks like Something, Hey Bulldog and Come Together, could also pass as soloing.
It’s not the roles in the band it’s the pickup position ... similar to rhythm / treble on the les Paul selector poker chip plate ;)
That was still in the very early days of electric guitars and basses, and of Rock and Roll itself. Hofner may have labelled that switch in that way to make the bass seem all that more versatile or featured filled to young and inexpierienced/inspiring players. Weird switches and weirdly named controls were very common for many early electric guitar brands and models.
Awesome thanks! great vid.
Pleasure thanks
Wonderful, thanks.
Pleasure
Nicely done! I really enjoyed watching this!
Many thanks indeed
TH-cam videos of the 1986 Prince's Trust Concert show Paul playing a 1982 Alvarez 5051.Built to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the St. Louis Music Company the 6 string accoustic had no soundhole . Although a later run had holes cut into the grated area of the body from which the sound was produced .
Thanks to Paul. Many punk bassists used Rickbenbacker 4001.
"The" Wings... "Free LIKE A Bird"...
Paul McCarthy
Some liberties were taken with the pronunciation of those words.
Fabulous Doco on PM's instruments. Well spoken
Great work. Also maybe add in the non reverse Firebird VII played on the RAM sessions?
Thanks David - let me check that
Good info. What a great background in music Paul had as a child.
What about his Fender Stratocaster?
21:42 he also used it for the coming up live at 1979 japan
#The Guitar Show … You forgot the Black Special Gibson Acoustic Guitar with Star Inlays on the fret that was used on the set of T.V. Special "James Paul McCartney". That was quite a guitar and is my opinion a classic. All My Best !
...you covered all the basses ! Thanks
Pleasure Kevin
A very, VERY interesting video. Thank you very much.
Now it's a big ask.....but could you do a similar video in relation to Ringo Starr's drums and percussion ?
a few days late, but I've been waiting for this
Thanks - it was a trickey one to do, theres some stuff I missed out - such as the Leftie non reverse firebird and the ovation but time constraits meant I had to exclude them.
Can't rush a good and detailed job. Love the upload.
@@sunshinecoolwater3960 many thanks
"the" wings???
You missed a few such as his Gibson Everly Brothers J-185, Square shoulder Gibson J-160e,1989 Rickenbacker Blackstar 5 string bass among others
Yes that's true also the ovation acoustic and firebird...
@Daniel Doran its nice... With the bigsby?
Great video about the essential Macca guitars. The Firebird was a rental during RAM, the Blackstar & 160E were used very rarely and the only one that would merit inclusion is the Everly's acoustic, which while used during the Flowers Tour 89-90, was another of those background guitars. This video was excellent to introduce neophytes to the historical guitars and some of the latter day pieces.
The Black RickenBacker 5 String i owned it for a bit in 1999 used it on some studio stuff it's more less a 4001 but with a 5th String. and think you mean his black star gibson. Rickenbacker never calls guitars by name just number..But hey if you want to call the Black 5 string Rickenbacker bass i owned in 1999 "The BlackStar" Rickenbacker more Power to you.
@@anthonylakich1727... The black star Gibson is the Everly Brothers model.
Wow...well done, you!
Thanks
the photo of the hofner 500/5 is a photo of the bass I currently own
Very nice indeed!!!
The ZENITH was an upscale Epiphone archtop model from the early 1930's onward. The British importers of Hofner guitars must have discovered that "Zenith" wasn't a registered trademark in the UK and decided to use the name for their rebranded Hofners.
Thanks Scott
You missed one. On RAM, he plays a Gibson non-reverse Firebird.
True! The Maybe I'm Amazed guitar
Yes I commented on this before... Unfortunately it got left on the cutting room floor due to time constraints
Where did he get a lefty Firebird? I didn't think Gibson made one? Has to be a story there.
@@royscarbrough7593 I think he just turned it over and put a lefty nut on it. The non-reverse Firebird was only made for a short time, it's a different shape from the standard Firebird.
@@gnarlybird Thanks. I play lefty and my first electric was a non-reverse Firebird. I flipped it over and it just didn't feel right. Very weird balance hanging off the strap. I'd love to have a real lefty firebird from that period.
At 20:50 - is that Ralph McTell with Paul?
Someone once asked Paul what kind of strings he used, he replied "long shiny ones".
Very fun and informative video. Thank you.