NO BAND HAS
had more pages written about them than the Beatles. There are books that examine every day of the band’s history, large volumes about their recordings and books devoted entirely to their gear. Yet for all that has been written about them, there is still much mystery about the finer details, such as what exact guitars and amps they used to record specific songs.
We set out to answer that last question by closely examining a select group of songs spanning the Beatles’ entire recording history. A big part of the challenge is that a great amount of conflicting info exists, even among the experts. Even the members of the Beatles, producer George Martin and engineers like Geoff Emerick have provided conflicting accounts, and sometimes those people have contradicted themselves. Photos taken during the recording sessions provide helpful hints, but all too often crucial details are missing, and the best anyone can do is speculate. Internet forums are frankly a hell-hole of highly opinionated alpha characters who insist they have golden ears but are usually pulling utter BS out of their golden rears.
What follows is our best attempt to determine the guitars, basses, amps and effects that the Beatles actually used. This information is not perfect and in many cases is highly speculative (such as the amp that Lennon used to record his solo on “The End”). However, we hope it will provide a good guideline for guitarists who want to decode the magical mystery of the iconic sounds that the Beatles’ crafted over an incredibly prolific seven-year period.
PLEASE PLEASE ME
Please Please Me (UK), 1963
GEORGE HARRISON
Guitar: 1957 Gretsch 6128 Duo Jet
Amp: 1962 Vox AC30 combo with two Celestion T530 12-inch speakers
JOHN LENNON
Guitar: 1958 Rickenbacker 325 Capri
Amp: 1962 Vox AC15 combo with two Goodmans 12-inch speakers
PAUL McCARTNEY
Bass: 1961 Hofner 500/1
Amp: Leak Point One preamp, Leak TL-12 Plus power amp, 1x15 cabinet with Tannoy Dual-Concert speaker
single “Love Me Do” enjoyed only moderate success, but their follow-up, “Please Please Me” was the band’s first bonafide hit. Like most of the other material the Beatles recorded in the early Sixties using two-track recorders, the recording primarily captures the band performing live, with George Harrison’s Gretsch Duo Jet
