Mixing The Beatles in the Early 1960's

[@musicdreamerish]

My god, I would watch these Beatles recording shows only and constantly if I could. Damn, make tons of these. Do songs from each album. I WANT MORE

[@LosFicosMusic]

Great Job wow Finally someone teaching how to mix like the 60s

[@LosFicosMusic]

DUDE you need to do more 1960 tutorials. Take over MAN!

[@gdrugg2006]

really insane how spot on it sounds. that guy is a fantastic drummer! awesome vocals as well!

[@3replybiz]

In 1996 I used to work at a film editors and sound studio. They had a studio designed for the basement by a man called Keith Slaughter, who was ex-EMI. He is on the credits for a couple of songs on Sgt Pepper as second engineer (two engineers for stereo in those days.) He told me that he personally saw George Martin hit play and record on two 4 track machines as simultaneously as possible. The machines were not synchronised in any way. In order to play them back in sync, you might have had to record a 1KHz 'plop' to tape at they were recording and then line it up with the play head for replaying, but that part is a guess from me. He also repeated the story about the notice at EMI that said that sports-jackets (ie casual clothes) could be worn at times at the weekend. He then made a remark about our big big big boss doing something about the standard of dress at our facility. Even in the early days of 4 track you would have had to allow more spare tracks to double-track the vocal parts, which meant bouncing down all the other parts. Engineers frequently used the technique of the live mix a lot, which is a lost art. A track like 'Downtown' recorded at ATV in London, was a completely live recording. Every session player in the studio band had a mic and these were mixed stereo to 2 tracks. Another track was used for the backing singers and the last for the lead singer.

[@ericdee6802]

Pete Ham former Badfinger guitarist was a genius in the studio, George Harrison was blown away with his abilities with sound engineering. Thank a million for showing us this, pretty Friggen interesting.

[@JeffKain]

Extremely informative and useful technique, Clay. Extremely relevant to all of us Beatles' enthusiasts and students of the classic sixties' genre. Your skill and talent is impressive. Thank you, Clay.

[@LanceHall]

This is great stuff. Overdubs for twin-track were done live while doing a straight tape-to-tape copy. During the second album overdubs got so messy that George Martin decided to move them to 4-track for the next album.

[@Davidm1956]

Very good. A couple of points - On early sessions The Beatles didn't use headphones so a lot of the bleed came from those big mother speakers they used as monitors. Also drum mikes went to the desk via a passive mixer. Amazing to think that much of the Beatle music we listen to was recorded live, overdubs were usually just solos and harmonies.

[@iutubsacs]

Whats a passive mixer? Also, if you know, how did the recording setup work in those days in terms of multiple mics? Like, did you have, say, 3 mics routed to a device that combined the signals before tape? And then one tape channel resulted with the combination, without quality loss? Or did each of the 3 mics record live on 3 tapes which then had to be combined on one tape channel?

[@rickdomina]

Oh man, This is so awesome. You NAILED the sound. WOWZA. Loving every video. Thank you for the most fun youtube ever.

[@James-eg3nf]

I love the live sound of the early recordings, especially the bleed-through on the vocal mics. Another thing I really like about the early recording (esp. on Please Please Me) is what I can only describe as an early form of ducking, though not as extreme. For an example of this, listen to "Chains". You can clearly hear the drums almost completely dropping out during the vocals on the right channel, but they immediately pop back in. I'm not convinced this was intentional, so it may have simply been the type of compressors they were using. In any case, it's a glorious sound that was not present in their later albums. Does anyone have more info on this?

[@kalebaldwin5398]

It's a combination of bleed from the vocal mics and very slow-reacting tube compression. It's more noticeable on PPM because the vocals were recorded live, and not double-tracked. With The Beatles and A Hard Day's Night have the same "ducking" effect on many tracks (especially "Any Time at All" and "When I Get Home"). Beatles for Sale and Help! don't have it, but some tracks on Rubber Soul have very noticeable bleed, like "Run For Your Life" (which I believe was the sound of John's earphones being picked up as he came closer to the mic),

[@James-eg3nf]

@@kalebaldwin5398 Makes a lot of sense. In general I prefer slow compression, so that's probably why it sounds so good to me.

[@MrBallynally2]

There is something about the texture of the recordings in the late 1950s and early 1960s that's hard to beat. Those limitations actually created an advantage. They were using a lot of natural compression through desk and tape, in conjunction with top class compressors and mics, into a mono track. A lot of trial and error w mic placement etc. To me, those early Beatles recordings are the best and even the fake stereo versions and somewhat washed reverb cannot diminish the quality. And yes, Chains clearly displays all those things.In the later years things do become more transparant, especially on Abbey rd, but something was lost imo..

[@mikethebloodthirsty]

@@MrBallynally2 I agree totally, the quality of sound was amazing. These days it's option paralysis overload. All you needed was a good song, good musicians and a good producer/engineer, all focussed on the song. Music now is more focused on production, you can take a turd and polish it.

[@musicdreamerish]

Holy crap, my new favorite channel, I am devouring this stuff.

[@jackbrowning511]

I dig your work on the Beatles, very authentic; Thank You!

[@bobmccarroll7876]

Great videos. Thank you for taking the time to explain everything so clearly. Cheers, Bob.

[@BoulevardRecording]

Glad you like them!

[@timothyglenn6449]

Would love to see a recording to mixing process for each track (Vocals, Guitars, Bass, drums.) Would be super helpful. Wasn't sure if you had already applied effects before this video.

[@jackbrowning511]

Truly amazing in the reproduction of the Beatles, loved, thank you!

[@sorenkongshoj]

Awesome video! This is exactly what I've been looking for on KZbin for years :) Can't wait for the next video. Keep up the good work!

[@terrycoker2862]

This is the coolest thing I’ve ever seen....Technology is so amazing now but, I really appreciate how they worked with what they had in 1962...

[@jerrykoger6356]

Clay - LOVED this tutorial and now I'm a subscriber and can't wait to visit your channel. I'm just a home recordist with a "mild" obsesasion with the Beatles. A buddy and I have spent the last several years recreating Beatles songs from "Love Me Do" to "Real Love" and we've managed to cover over 150 of thier songs. You asked for requests of Beatle songs for you to tackle and I have two: "Strawbeery Fields" and "Penny Lane". "Fields" is rioh with intruiging sounds, and "Pennny Lane" is a cacophony of more normal musical instruments. I've done both and would love your take on these two: how they did it in the 60s and how you'd do it today. Plus "in My Life".

[@BoulevardRecording]

Thanks Jerry !

[@TrumanBest]

you have a great voice! really did a good job on those vocals :)

[@chadwickdalejohnson]

I rarely comment on videos - but wow this amazing! Please keep making more of these Beatle videos!!!

[@MrBallynally2]

You can get close with a modern mix but no plug in will replace the quality of the physical elements used in the recording. It is why the recordings sound so good and can't really be replicated. That texture is unique.

[@livingthedream137]

These videos are incredible!!!!

[@RicardoPabloMusic]

:) Wow. What a great video!!! Really having a great time watching this video. Keep on that with more videos like this one!!!

[@davecriddle8685]

Fantastic - thanks for doing these vids!

[@gdholmfirth]

Very interesting. Amazing what electronics you have today to work with. I have studied the Beatles and their mixes since 1964. At one point I was an engineer at a record company in Nashville.

[@SPARKLEJET]

Very helpful, informative, and, awesome. Thanks!

[@jaredsorce]

This is awesome thank you!

[@tapangasoul6928]

really appreciate how you also speak on plug ins and digital production.

[@patrii9100]

Great great great video!! Keep it up Clay!

[@kafesociety1759]

Thanks Clay, fantastic. Stay safe.

[@MoneyCrespin]

Really cool video! Thanks for doing these! I would really love to see one on paperback writer! How they did that vocal effect/steed is clever, and I’m trying to figure it out. Thanks again!

[@SharpMoto]

Would you show how in my life was recorded and mixed? And guitar recording sounds good can’t wait

[@BoulevardRecording]

That's a fun idea ! We may do that, we may do Day Tripper from that era. But it would be fun to show people how the piano solo on "IML" was recorded at half speed.

[@zekielswheel]

@@BoulevardRecording Yes, please do the piano solo. Really want to know how to do that in a digital DAW / implement it for other songs!

[@BeesWaxMinder]

Complete with speeded up piano!

[@Stevesk0011]

I did a cover of it on my channel. Recorded at the music studio at my local library.

[@RRiley6]

These are great. Please do more.

[@jonamodeo1584]

So professionally done and educational .Thanks so much !

[@jesseharradine9861]

Oh damnnn, the end tease... can't wait for the future ones too. Awesome stuff Clay!

[@rewind2play]

That was epic...

[@Silas-wh3xd]

Great video! More Beatles mixing videos please!

[@catface101]

Another fantastic video, thanks so much!

[@ConCon4444]

Just found you guys, this is awesome! Keep up the good work.

[@BoulevardRecording]

Thank you !

[@champ1061]

Mind = blown. Your attention to detail is exemplary. Subscribed.

[@MSMediaRotterdam]

My first impression is, that we don't need that much technology to record a band properly anyway. A good rehearsed band, the right placement of microphones and no more than about 24 tracks should be more than enough. To my humble opinion, the trouble with recording studio's and artists nowadays seems to be the rigid ambition to deliver a 'perfect' audio product. Why? If so many artists and music lovers like the old style recordings of the fities/sixties, why don't we use a modern version of the setup used at the time? Not too long ago I recorded a band with three microphones and three tracks. That was it. The guys *loved* it and it sounded pretty well; also to the mastering engineer's ears and standards. That sounded like a compliment to me.

[@ozwaldmusic]

Also insane playing and singing man spot on

[@MattPurcellSongs]

Great stuff mate. Thanks. Gear Fab.

[@ChockBR]

Come back, we all need you! And how about a "how to record guitar like The Beatles" next, please? Or the bass tone on Abbey Road and/or The White Album, if it is any different from the Sgt. Pepper's tone.

[@BoulevardRecording]

Studio has been so busy but i am about to make a guitar video soon and yes we have an Abbey Road video coming out in a few months through Produce Like a Pro. White Album will be next !

[@teacherlucas9982]

Take me back man, take me back ♡

[@dancas6518]

You rock friend. Keep it up!

[@BoulevardRecording]

Thank you so much ! More coming very soon.

[@PontiacS.]

Pretty Good Beatles imitation in the intro.

[@ozwaldmusic]

Damn this was rad . We do a ton of Beatles covers but go for a bit of a shift on a lot of them but would get closer if we could at times! Been using the j37 forever but some great great tips here

[@ITBprod.fr80]

c'est exellent !!! merci pour le partage et encore Bravo ^^

[@justiceforall6412]

You have one hell of a sharp ear guy. Amazing!

[@anthonygibney4003]

Fantastic video. Thanks. Looking forward to the next one. 😊

[@gregjhart]

Fabulous, you are a wealth of information, Well done!

[@KarolMamot]

Great work, thank You. It would be interesting if you would look into the Byrds recordings in details. For me the jingle jangle Mc Guinn’s guitar has unbelievable vibe. You can hear it is “American” sound. Would be great to hear how they did it.

[@BoulevardRecording]

I have some theories !!! Most of it done here in LA. I would say likely something very American on those guitars like LA2A’s or 1176’s !

[@richardspeziale]

i read somewhere the early Byrds recordings done by the 'Wrecking Crew'...

[@KarolMamot]

@@richardspeziale Yes. First album. But starting from "Turn Turn Turn", recording was done by them.

[@richardspeziale]

@@KarolMamot ahhhh - that's it. THANK YOU! i guess the "Crew" then moved on to The Monkees and Paul Revere and the Raiders....

[@TheVinylBeatles]

That was really great

[@chicknurch]

Have you thought about doing a video where you show all the plugins you’re using and maybe a starting point/preset for how to get an early beatles type sound? I have the waves abbey road plugins and my band is about to record some songs similar to the early 60s stuff, but we dont really know where to start to get a similar vibe. Thanks, and this was a great video!

[@RichardKnappenMusic]

Hello B.R., Do you take requests??? I think it would be way cool (and convenient) to have signal path flow chart for each of your demos for easy reference... Especially for those of us who have the Abbey Road plugins... Great work, good ear, and thank you!

[@aleksanderzurawski2683]

Please keep making these videos!

[@YoMyNamesJakeG]

Very cool stuff! Question about the chamber plugin though. If you're trying to replicate a 4 track, I noticed you had the chamber on a 5th track in your mix. How did engineers back in the day mix the chamber verb back in when they were mixing on only 4 channels?

[@BoulevardRecording]

The consoles had 8 channels so they would bring it back on one of those if instruments/mics weren't being taken up and believe those consoles had echo returns.

[@YoMyNamesJakeG]

@@BoulevardRecording cool! good to know. Love these videos and looking forward to the guitar and abbey road drum videos!

[@chuckandkonnie2415]

Excellent and comprehensive video.

[@frandesalvo2450]

Clay! Great video! +1 on Beatles recording guitar technics!

[@mikeglasgow6656]

You were speaking of SGT PEPPER in another video. I was wondering if you heard about THE ANALOUGES playing it live. If not. Give it a listen. They are from the Netherlands and doing it all in a second language. Amazing

[@BoulevardRecording]

They’re great I’ve seen many KZbin’s !

[@duijvelduijvel]

great video man, thx a lot....

[@RichardKnappenMusic]

Perfect!

[@therealmattstarr]

Right on Clay, awesome video!

[@BoulevardRecording]

Thanks dude !

[@Marco-HidalgoMusicRecords]

16:51 Was it a good meal???? lmao!! joking aside I love your Beatles recording videos!! Thanks dude

[@phuzbrain]

Clay, what do you think of the Waves Puigchild plugin? As for a Pepper song... I would like you to do Good Morning. I dig the rhythm guitar work and wonder if Lennon is playing a Casino or a Strat?

[@BoulevardRecording]

Michael I like the Puigchild for some things ! It’s a specific Fairchild that he owns and I believe was modded. The UAD to me more represents what I’ve experienced when using real Fairchild’s. That being said, they’re all different.

[@BoulevardRecording]

Guarantee that’s Lennon on a Casino! Is that Harrison or McCartney on the solo ? Sounds like McCartney to me

[@phuzbrain]

@@BoulevardRecording Definitely Paul on the solo

[@jamesdoctor8079]

Boulevard Recording what do you like the puigchild on, drums?

[@Cugelclever]

Love your content. Keep it up.

[@Anonymous-dh4fl]

Great vid , definitely learned a thing or two

[@johnholmes912]

the mixing was done as much in the physical space(mike positioning etc) as on the desk; it was "simpler" and better

[@bradmott8546]

Hey man! Firstly, loving your work! Being an absolutely huge Beatles fan myself! Secondly...could you tell me/show how you got the vocal effect on the come together track you did with Warren please? Was absolutely bang on!

[@Beatledave7]

Very much enjoy your video series demonstrating some of these Beatles recording techniques, very interesting & well done thanks Clay! Is it possible to list the Chamber presets you like so people not on Pro Tools can set them up on their plugin? I went to the dropbox file & as I'm using Logic couldn't access the files. Thanks Clay keep up the great work!

[@drutgat2]

Here is an idea for those of us who cannot afford all the Waves and UAD stuff - do a video (or three separate videos) on how to approximate Early, Mid, and Late period Beatles' recordings using Free VSTs.

[@BoulevardRecording]

The Waves stuff is relatively cheap compared to UAD. Id highly recommend looking into their sales. I dont use VST's so i cannot help you there. But the Waves stuff is a no brainer!

[@jerrykoger6356]

Agree that it's best to watch for Waves sales. They have them all the time and I've managed to pick up all the Abbey Road plug-ins for $29-$49.

[@RS-pp7ng]

very tasty tones there man.

[@michaelbonanno7476]

Hey Clay…. I was wondering how or even if the guitars were EQ’ed. Thanks!

[@blindpink]

Need to hear your recordings.....!!!!

[@matthewotooleis]

Great videos man. Can you post your Chamber presets somewhere please. Oh and I’m chasing that Paperback Writer STEED Vocal sound too!

[@iutubsacs]

At around 4:20: still sounds great. No, it sounds like a fking nightmare! :))) go back 10 seconds and hear it change again. It's why mono blows the stereo out of the water on early albums and some of the mid period.

[@chrischoir3594]

Did the Beatles use Protools? is that how they got their awesome warm sound?

[@TheMentalblockrock]

exactly! a LOT of their sound was analogue console and analogue tape -THAT"S where the magic was - NO NEED FOR PLUG-INS in 1962!!!!

[@MrBallynally2]

I think plug in effects like reverb and delay can work really well, as long as the physical aspects in the recording are in place, ie, great mics, compressors, mixing consoles and tape which were analog and can't be improved upon imo. However, i am not a fan of the washed reverb chamber and/or plate sound they used back then. In fact, i believe modern plug ins can do a better job creating an ambience on top of the natural acoustics of a room..

[@TheMentalblockrock]

@@MrBallynally2 The Beatles never used Plug-ins or Pro-Tools and they did have access to the large studio 2 that has a natural large room sound (designed originally for recording orchestras etc).

[@petercastle4381]

Clay love your Beatles theme. I demoed the plugins I have 8gb and 1tb hard drive it starts buffering after 4 red 37-51 on tracks. What is the best buffer settings and how much Ram you recommend and cpu. What is your set up to run it so smoothly?Is there a way to use it you recommend.

[@TheOompahRoundabout]

That was great!

[@EugeneAllanSchwimmer]

Could you do a video using the new Waves RS124 compressor plugin, showing and emulating the way the EMI engineers used it on specific Beatles recordings?

[@BoulevardRecording]

Check my RS124 video on my channel

[@CesitarLabarthe]

What about mixing getting better or Sergeant Pepper...?? I am messed up with waves plug-ins. How can I send you my mix and I would like to know your opinion and if there’s something we can do with that. Thank you very much

[@KevinWickerProductions]

"Being For The Benefit of Mr. Kite" You may have to utilize the old methods; like slicing up a lotta tape for the end section. Nobody has attempted it, that I know of.

[@LosFicosMusic]

I need those presets DUDE!

[@tjtanner500]

For context I grew up with the premise of one mic per channel. In the 60s was it say 5 mics fed into each channel? Did they achieve volume balance via mic placement. Did each mic have a gain control to assist with trying to achieve the right balance?

[@BoulevardRecording]

Not often were there 1 mics per channel with a 4 track machine. If if was a vocal only channel perhaps. But even when they recorded Let It Be on an 8 track tape machine, for the most part that whole album was done on a REDD desk, they would use what were called “groups” basically busses and those mics would Goto Group 1 or Channel 1 on the tape machine. Much like modern consoles use

[@Roland314]

Interesting, but at 2:30 you claim that they didn't learn how to sync two tapes until Sgt Pepper. I assume this refers to bouncing down, which is when several tracks from one tape are copied into a single track on another. This technique is actually first used in April of 1966 when they recorded "Tomorrow Never Knows." I can't recall if it's used elsewhere on Revolver, but I defer to the expert, Scott Foreman, who does excellent research on how these songs were mixed and produced.

[@BoulevardRecording]

Roland314 hi. No not referring to bouncing. They bounced down even on the very first LP please please me. On Sgt Peppers they synced 2 Studer 4 track machines so they could do the score on “a day in the life” with the 60hz mains. Very very primitive but they tied the transport to the mains and were able to get them to start playing at the same time

[@chrismcdermott7766]

great job

[@YayaBolender]

Amazing!

[@norwegiansniper9713]

It’s time you recreate the white album sounds

[@elirosen1391]

Will there be any videos on post Sgt. Pepper guitar sounds?

[@drutgat2]

Please do a lot more Beatles' stuff.

[@jesseharradine9861]

awesome!!

[@rk-fc5vm]

This is absurd. I have never heard a re-creation sound this accurate before

[@drferrusca]

Excelente es unico despues de escuchar a otros desde mexico un beatlemaniaco

[@ChristianTrigoso2000]

Una pregunta por qué the Beatles en sus mezclas suenan tan presentes que ningún estudio que yo sepa lo halla echo tan presente como el estudio Abbey road

[@davidlamie7980]

Hello what brand is the big mixing console in your studio? Beautiful Cool

[@BoulevardRecording]

API 3288. It was just burnt up in a fire unfortunately in November it’s in rough shape.

[@jeffblack5024]

I'm a bit OCD about allowing that Redd to go into the ... er ... red. You don't seem to have any inhibitions. Should I let the needles hit the overdrive like that?

[@BoulevardRecording]

Use your ears to judge the waves plugins seem to have a low threshold on red lining

[@jacobgonzalez4419]

What mic did you use to track vocals?

[@danielboaro182]

Nice!