How To Record Beatles Guitars from 1962-1966

Continuing my series on Beatles recording techniques now focusing on the microphones that were in front of John and Georges amps for most of their time spent at Abbey Road.

[@chrisst8922]

This bloke is a pro. His delivery isn't some polished scripted presented thing. He's telling you his job and that's it. No bulshit.

[@TehSyneS]

its so damn good man!

[@thomaspick4123]

His tone is wonderful. His playing excellent. If only he lost 100 pounds, get a crew cut haircut, and a clean shave, I might consider hiring him. Question. When pointing a mic at a single speaker amp, I heard it should be off center, never aimed directly at the center of the speaker cone. If this is true, why?

[@thomaspick4123]

George Martin was a producer of joke records. I do not think he was a recording engineer. Those engineers were the ones who captured the tone and sonically shaped and mixed it with their warm outdated analog boards and effects. George Martin could perhaps write a cello line for Yesterday, a sad, depressing song. The old early Rollings Stones albums had some good raw playing, such as Brian Jones’s lead guitar playing. But, all that old Stones stuff was drenched in way too much reverb. It was sickeningly too sweet.

[@LiamHardyMusic]

@@thomaspick4123or maybe don’t be such a judgemental asshole?

[@frazerspooner7683]

That Gretsch sound is absolutely phenomenally close, the Roll Over Beethoven solo in particular was immaculate. Amazing work!

[@BoulevardRecording]

Thank you so much ! I love that guitar. It’s a new one made by Gretsch owned by Fender and they really knocked it out of the park

[@NoirL.A.]

in the early days the solo sound on 'HOUND DOG' was GEORGE's main inspiration for how he wanted his solos to sound on the early records. later he said in retrospect it was to brittle and not warm enough.

[@sejrec56]

I second that compliment!!

[@Johngonefishin]

Same goes for that J-160 sound, wasn't aware that they plugged them in on so many early songs like "Please Please Me". Good stuff, thanks.

[@josele003]

@@BoulevardRecording Sorry to disagree, but I had a Country Gent in the 60/70's and I remember the sound a little bit fatter than that, perhaps the strings? Think it had a little more body, although my amp was a deluxe rev.

[@voxsupreme]

Finally someone who seems to really understand the early Beatles Vox-sound: No distortion, just clean twangy notes. Thank You!

[@zenon459]

Unusual for a beatles fan, but i actually prefer early beatles over late, i'm a big tone guy and those rics and gretsches just sound so good

[@harveycan5820]

I've been listening to Beatles for Sale and the guitar sounds are pretty bad and leads are really weak, for the most part. The better ones I suspect were played by Paul. It was better on Help! but I was surprised at the guitar on B4S. Of course - - the songs and vocals are so amazing, they just carry the day.

[@jacobbeck5384]

Never seen anyone get this close to the actual sound, both in engineering and playing. Great attention to detail.

[@Ed-yj8ts]

For someone who has wondered how those guitar tones were recorded for the last 50 years, this is the holy grail. Thanks so much.

[@michael.wiegand]

That Gretsch tone. A lot of people associate Ricks with early Beatles, but the descending “She Loves You” riff on the Gretsch is absolutely it.

[@manfredkranz1910]

Agree in every respect!!!

[@beatler90]

John's rhythm part in 'All My Loving' was spot on! As a guitarist I know that it sounds fairly easy, but it's actually one of the most difficult rhythm guitar parts in Rock'n'Roll history - chapeau!

[@oldbluzguy]

As a child of the 60's and lifelong Beatles fan and musician this is so well done.

[@davidlove827]

Big, big respect for a recording man who's also an accomplished musician! My hat's off to you, sir.

[@yellowslender4191]

I’ve come to appreciate the Beatles more here lately, I’ve always looked at them as basic since EVERYONE knows them, but then I realized they’re the most popular band ever for a reason BECAUSE THEY’RE GOOD!!

[@claymor8241]

Wow who knew?

[@jimdavison5136]

Because they gigged relentlessly in the early day.

[@claymor8241]

@@jimdavison5136 So did tons of bands, the vast majority of which never even made enough to properly live on, until they gave up and wandered off back to the dead end jobs they had to get to keep their girlfriends, who had got tired of subbing them and not having holidays or a nice home like their friends but would soon lose interest anyway now that the skinny nonchalant muso up on stage is in his 30s stacking shelves in the supermarket where those friends do their shopping That’s the thing about music, hard work sometimes helps but it guarantees absolutely nothing, and those who ‘make it’ often do so with very little effort.

[@PhatLvis]

Nice playing. Got the Lennon choppy rhythm down. And even George's pickin'.

[@zenon459]

Lennon was very cocky with his strumming, i use that same technique cause it can really bring out some thundering rhythm tracks

[@jimk518]

You got the touch, buddy. Well done !!!!! Not many people can play what you just played. Great job with the mics. Wow.

[@blakemcnamara9105]

What's also important to note is that in the early days, they usually sang and played at the same time while recording along with the drums and bass too so it was basically a live recording.

[@ActivateBeastMode1]

Gretsch guitars seem to be an acquired taste nowadays but I don't think many can deny how beautiful they are

[@Andy-cz4xw]

I really want that 325. One day, one day :)

[@pgroove163]

I played one in a store recently.. like I was playing a toy.. the fretboard was really small for my hands.. ended up playing and really liking though a Rickenbacker 625..

[@anderson-may5174]

When you have this many beatle fans praising you on how close you got to these early guitar tones, you know you’re doing something right. Honestly you got George’s tones from with The Beatles right on the money

[@general-cromwell6639]

Finally seeing those with the technical skills to show that the beatles were not just a foursome of blokes from Liverpool that could play instruments and sing songs.

[@alaindoyon2365]

It's been a long time since somebody have make me feel as intelligent as you can do. Wich is a damn good sign of interst for a guy very able to transmit that complicated things! You just maid my day as I am coughing my lungs from the fu***** Covid!!!!

[@scottdittrich]

You're the man Clay! A wealth of knowledge here friends!

[@Boleskinebeatz]

These videos are great, well done. I had the pleasure of working in Abbey Road year before last doing live sound for three bands in studio two. A totally surreal experience as it’s hardly changed at all. We had a lot less time to set up that I was told and I was amazed that when I threw up the faders, it all sounded great with no feedback issues… that is one amazing room. Got shown all the early valve preamps and mic cupboard. At one point I was gently leaning on a 24 track machine chatting to the engineer in the control room when he pointed out it was the machine used to record Dark Side of the Moon! 😳

[@NGH99999]

Just discovered this channel tonight, and man oh man is it a hidden treasure. Thank you for sharing your knowledge.

[@rafasounds2010]

Very cool, congrats. I've often thought that the EMI engineers were brilliant in the way that they dealt with such different technology in very creative ways. That's one reason those records sound so good, like Piper at the Gates of Dawn for example, apart from all the Beatles stuff. Those sound textures can't be recreated, but you get very, very close, sir.

[@RS-pp7ng]

These are by far my favourite engineering videos in a long time. Being an engineer and Beatles maniac, this is just pure gold! Thank you so much for doing this man. All the best.

[@ManchesterBlackSheep]

Stumbled across you and absolutely love your style and what you're teaching. Such a lovely, refreshing change from so many of the full-of-themselves presenters you usually get on this type of video. Great stuff, many thanks for sharing.

[@bobbystereo936]

GD!!! That tone is spot on. Almost like listening to the master tapes or taking a time machine.

[@andreacosta74]

Wow! I heard finally “She loves you” in stereo

[@boulderbobb]

Very well done. I have a mid 60s Ac30. The normal channel is the John Channel and the top boost channel is the George Channel. I love the way you use the flatwounds on the Gibson j160e

[@codymeng1580]

Hell yeah as a huge Beatles fan these are going to be so helpful when I’m recording my band thank you for making these.

[@ScrewballMcAdams]

@1:04 Beautiful pic of Paul playing what appears to be his original Hofner, and look at the Beatles logo on the kick drum..WAY different. And all of them wearing a tie for a recording session or rehearsal. Absolutely classic.

[@jonnygardiner4073]

I've played Ac30s and Ac15s for years and have always scratched my head as to how The Beatles made those amps sound the way they did. Mic on the baffle explains a lot. That may be the most important element in the sound, aside from the playing. It's interesting a/bing your sound with the latest stereo mixes. Listen to "It won't be long". Your sound is close but their mix is bolder. It's an incredible sound. Nothing beats The Beatles. Thanks so much for your video. Awesome.

[@paulallen3557]

Had seen you play bass before but didn't know you had such a nice touch on the guitar. Really nice playing!

[@jeanroy8283]

The more I find new videos on youtube like yours, I understand why I dont play guitar anymore, you are a great guitar player! Thanks for your great video of the best band ever!

[@BoulevardRecording]

That’s silly you should play guitar I’m not half the guitar player Harrison was ! Just a good copy cat

[@rjmprod]

Clay, I didn't know you were that accomplished on guitar...very impressive you have the guitar parts down pat......Very impressed from a guy that studied the recording and guitar/bass parts for years....! thanks again for turning me on to Jeff Z.

[@keyscook]

Right on - Such a joy to have all that killer gear to experiment with. Thanks a bunch - Cheers from Seattle!

[@rcjward]

I admire your perseverance and commitment to the level of detailed information you’ve managed to learn and convey. Not useless but in fact very important information. Thanks so much!

[@MLFranklin]

I love that you also have the right guitars and techniques. Spot on. So cool to watch this.

[@keithpowers494]

Thank you Mr. Clay Blair. Would love to have you record us some day when we are good enough.

[@glennkphotog]

Great and super informative video. I'm a boomer and played bass back in the day, and like the fact that these videos go to the source -- the instruments, amps and mics in the room where the guys played. And your teaching style is spot on for me. Thank you. And very nice playing on the Gretsch and other guitars!

[@Andycannonmusic]

Loving this video! very close on tones. My dad passed down a 63' vox ac15 twin to my brother. We have played in bands for years and got the amp refurbished. Kept it as original as possible. It sounds like no other amp when cranked. I'm not a vintage amp guy as such but those amps have something.

[@jonamodeo1584]

I love all your videos, great playing chops, and engineering information. Your ears are incredible. Thanks for sharing your talents.

[@harrisholt12]

Honestly you’ve just earned a subscriber my man! I’ve never seen videos that got this detailed in the Beatles, until now. Keep it up man!

[@Back2TheBike]

Acoustic archaeology. Clever stuff. Fascinating.

[@pirateradio808]

I've watched two of these tonight, and I just gotta say thank you so much for making them. The depth of your research into the Beatles sessions is obvious and your playing with the songs is fantastic. I am fairly obsessed with having authentic Beatles gear available as much as I can afford: I've got 3 Gretsch guitars, a vintage 1965 Rickenbacker (albeit the 360 instead of John's mini guitar), an Epiphone Casino, and a VOX-AC 15 (fawn, with a Celestion Blue). My general feeling is that the VOX with a Celestion Blue will get you 85% of the way to a Beatles guitar sound, everything else is a bonus.

[@akimmbo]

Super job. It's obvious you put a lot of time into researching the sounds...and they are actually the 'CLOSEST' to the Beatle sounds of so many videos I've watched of this sort (ON emulating sounds of different players). Respect to you. my friend 👍👍

[@reeserichardson]

We need a guitar/drum/bass White Album sounds video!!

[@BoulevardRecording]

Will be doing those once we get some of the Let it Be stuff out of the way !

[@reeserichardson]

@@BoulevardRecording Killer, I'm really looking forward to the Let it be stuff too!

[@stevemartin6192]

Incredible content to think we are receiving this amazing information for nothing, thank you sir

[@CHayden07]

Dig the Mike Viola sweater! Fantastic work man, your videos are a masterclass. ✌️

[@champ1061]

Holy crap. These tones are spot on. Well done. And what the hell, I am going to try my next session mic'ing between the speakers on the amp.

[@masque1313]

very nice video! thanks for sharing and great to see the history of what they did still being studied and shared.

[@georgejones5659]

Great playing. I would love to see the whole recording session. The playing and the sound are excellent. Thanks

[@michaelinloes776]

When I had an AC30 I always hung a mic in between the speakers because I drove the treble pretty hard to get more drive out of the amp and it always sounded surprisingly great. Glad to know I'm not totally insane

[@stevennichols5]

This is what I needed

[@michaelnc4450]

Great info! Thanks for taking your time to post your videos!!!

[@ksharpe10]

Tonejunkie who does alot of presets for all the Amp modeller units, recently accidently miked the Baffle on a 3 speaker amp, which he thought was a 4 speaker, anyway the Baffle miced tone is a very interesting and Good sounding preset. Like YOU SAID very BRIGHT sounding. I looked up the Chandler and the RS124 , Tube Preamp and RS124 Compressor, almost the First thing it said was PUNCHY which is what I always hear in the beatles Electric sounds, thinking Slow Down style. Their sound did change a bit in 65, and of course 66, with Guitar changes and Amp. changes. And maybe Geoff Emerick's Changes/mics maybe/placements.

[@rickdomina]

AMAZING series! You have a great channel of treasures. Thank you!

[@Roystothecoolkid]

Fantastic video man! You completely nailed all the tones. Really loved that accurate tone of that 325 and it's really neat to see a in depth video of this. Thanks for the video bud

[@fromrjwithlove9819]

You, sir, are the man. I've been recording a track looking for this exact video, and better yet I've found a very reliable source!

[@TrumanBest]

I’m really curious when you’re gonna post a video on how they recorded and mixed the vocals

[@BoulevardRecording]

How about we do that next ? If you watch my Beatles mix video there’s a lot of insight into that mentioned

[@nuclearferrets]

Could be going into the more psychedelic era here though. Lennon slapback delay and all that :)

[@TrumanBest]

@@BoulevardRecording Awesome! Can't wait :)

[@Ed-yj8ts]

Holy cow! You captured that sound!

[@manfredkranz1910]

You did a very, very good Job. Congratulations!!!

[@mikeyboo5603]

Today, everyone does tutorials like this, but you know wtf you're talking about, and you got every part down cold!

[@BoulevardRecording]

Cheers !

[@tyronewhitehead3123]

Wow love this a great insight into the Beatles recording sessions 🎸🥁

[@ScrewballMcAdams]

Just a fabulous analysis and demo. Thank you!

[@Johnny-cn6li]

Interesting guitar tone change by George on It Won't Be Long. At around 59 seconds John sings "the tears" George strums the C chord with both pickups on and without missing a beat switches to the bridge pickup. In the stereo 2009 remastered recording it's heard in the left channel.

[@Silas-wh3xd]

Finally a new beatles recording video! Please do more more beatles recording videos! A late beatles era mixing video would be amazing!

[@Meddled]

That tone at 5:20, the slightly out-of-intimated clucking hen sound, is spot on John Lennon rhythm tone.

[@MilesTippett]

I would love a vid on the Revolver guitar sound! Especially the really bright fuzzy stuff.

[@snippletrap]

And pepper bright chiming sounds too

[@robertclymer6948]

thanks for the info, I glad I know how they got their sound. Bravo on your Beatles playing skills too. Outstanding video.

[@noahreichard4522]

This man is a legend! Love watching guys fawn over this stuff as much as me.

[@michaelstephen9093]

That was fun and interesting! Thanks for taking the time to put it together.

[@Janne19691]

Awesome work and knowledge! Very interesting to hear about all the techniques used in the production of The Beatles. 👍

[@stinkboneorien1270]

Read what happened to John's incredible Rickenbacker (wall of sound) during "I Want to Hold Your Hand" in the book "Hearing Aids to the Beatles: A Musician's Perspective" on Amazon. There was an extra component to that sound which has never been perfeclty duplicated.

[@ryKirwan1]

Really enjoy these vids Clay. Great info! Always something new to learn 🎤🎸🎧👍🏻

[@matthewotooleis]

I bought your Abbey Road course a few months ago. Great stuff man!

[@zersetzung1504]

Worth noting that Norman hurricane Smith contributed a lot to their sound during those years

[@nickwebb9290]

Totally agree with your comment Zer. He’s sadly somewhat overlooked by many people.

[@Doctor_Robert]

I had no idea they used those J-160E's so much in the early days!

[@oranjuly]

Fantastic. And nice Mike Viola shirt. He’s one of the greats.

[@BoulevardRecording]

Yes he is !!

[@Giofelippi]

The sound of the J160 plugged is one of the most unique things on earth. Is doesn’t sound like an acoustic, but also doesn’t sound like an electric, it’s just somewhere between those

[@BoulevardRecording]

Absolutely

[@TomStrahle]

Great insights, guitars, amps, mics, great job! Any good old pics of the amp settings anywhere? Was at Abbey Road Studio 2 a couple years ago. It was amazing.

[@Hydatius]

I would love to see a video on Ringo's drums for Abbey Road, if you can. I don't think that any recorded drums have sounded better than Ringo's on that album (and it wasn't just the fact that he actually splurged and bought new sheep-skin heads!). The new remix in surround sound really brings out the genius of that entire recording session. Keep up the good work. Amazing insights. Thanks so much.

[@BoulevardRecording]

Here ya go ! promixacademy.com/course/re-recording-the-beatles-abbey-road/

[@JohanSegeborn]

Great video! Cheers!

[@doudua]

Great to-the-point, no-frills video, man! Hooked on it!

[@bassplayersayer]

I wish I could afford those Neumann mics,....all of em !!!!!!! Rock on !!!!!!!!!!!

[@blashuvec]

I can't wait for a series on drums!!

[@BoulevardRecording]

Check my channel we did one on early drums ! More to come and soon !

[@danielmarsala7774]

Hey Man, thanx for sharing those great videos . I was wondering if, to complete what we can learn in them about the mics placing, you were also planning to make a video about the amps settings ? Thank you !

[@petes3305]

An illuminating, informative and educational video; Well researched and well produced. Great playing too. Well done Sir!

[@bjrowling9198]

Nice playing too!

[@brent3760]

Dude, you know your stuff! Crazy cool! The Beatles are why I love music. The Beatles will always be so special to my heart. Love them. Would love to jam and record some stuff with you. Ringo's sounds are the reason I play drums!

[@htwrk2]

Thanks Blair! I'm a nerd and a geek and appreciate all this info, very interesting!

[@fullfatdeano]

Holy Moly - love this - great explanation & amazing guitar playing :-)

[@michaelfraser4767]

This is terrific! One of the major components of John's rhythm playing is the use of passing chords (essentially the six open strings) as he moved between chords in the song. One of the best examples of this is in 'Nowhere Man', but it's evident on pretty much all of his playing. You've absolutely nailed that aspect.

[@andymacc]

Would really love to know if you’ve ever tried to reproduce the intro to Hide Your Love Away or George’s My Sweet Lord. If so I’m all ears. You’re the man to ask

[@gornpop]

Thanks for this great series and the nicest surprise was the Mike Viola Godmuffin sweatshirt. So nice to see a fellow Weirdo these days! Best, Gordon

[@BoulevardRecording]

Hell yea !

[@colemckittrick]

Love the videos! Not even super super into the early Beatles stuff, I just love learning about the way they did it. I’d honestly watch any of these videos no matter any topic or band!

[@James-hb6ee]

Love George's Gretsch tone. That's why I play a Gretsch today. :)

[@5150show]

Absolutely brilliant. Thank you

[@BeesWaxMinder]

Do a Video where you IMPROVE the tones they got BUT only use gear they had available at the time!

[@RiotHomeRecording]

Love your studio setup!

[@BoulevardRecording]

Thank you !!

[@hughmcnaul]

What kinda people actually downvote videos like these?!?? People baffle me.Great job and thanks for sharing!

[@sirpazuzu]

so informative, great information - and EXTRA "COOL POINTS" FOR THE MIKE VIOLA SHIRT!!! HELL YEAH!