Want that Beatles sound

[dual0568]

I think "Obla-Di Obla-Da" is my favorite sounding song ever. I love how saturated and slightly distorted everything is, especially the vocals and bass. There's this sweet almost "mushy"(couldnt use the word "warm") tone the low midrange hasand the highs are so...saturated and unharsh...basically the opposite of Chris Lord Alge 4-8k harshness. Not that thats necessarily a bad thing, its just not the specific tone Im going for. Its sorta hard to articulate, anyone know what Im trying to say? :)

I've tried ALL the plugins and they can't get the kind of sound Im looking for. I had a Studer, but man, the damn thing kept breaking down and I got sick and tired of paying to get it maintenanced. I'd love to get the "Recording the Beatles" book, but it looks like its temporarily out of stock.

Greg Wells, has some pretty sweet tones on his site too...

[stevelindsay]

..... I would have thought that the "Fab Four" software instrument by EastWest was right up the alley for doing any kind of Beatle-esque stuff. Be interested to hear what you didn't like about it for that type of work...

[Kiwiburger]

Best modern bet would be to use Chandler gear - what's your budget like?

Chandler Limited | Products: TG1 Compressor -

Bear in mind that most of this stuff is solid state, and Abbey Road was the album when they changed to the solid state consol. The White Album would still have been a tube console. And for Abbey Road, they would still have used a lot of tube outboard like the Fairchild limiters.

You might like to check out good tube gear.

You are picking on probably the most expensive sounds to try to emulate properly - many have tried and failed.

Truth be told - i've come to the conclusion the secret of The Beatles sound is not so much to do with the recording gear as is made out. The Beatles sound like the Beatles, regardless of where they recorded. And they used a lot of different studios, with completely different gear, and still sounded like The Beatles.

What are your sound sources? Are you micing up an upright piano? Do you have a bass that sounds remotely like Macca's? Or are you using samples?

On a budget, i'm guessing tubes and transformers and compression in the tracking path would be a good start. Maybe something from summitaudio.com would get you into the ball park.

[narcoman]

Originally Posted by Kiwiburger

And they used a lot of different studios, with completely different gear, and still sounded like The Beatles.

nope - pretty much spent their entire career in S2 at Abbey Road.

[dual0568]

stevelindsay- hey there. I'm not trying to recreate the Beatles' instruments, just kind of that overall tone

Kiwiburger-Budget is $2000. Yea I definitely agree, the Beatles sound was because they were THE BEATLES . I think Lennon and Mccartney's voices had that characteristic where they're not too harsh in the 4-8k region, and also had superb mic technique (I've only encountered one singer like this). We have a Chandler TG2 and Tone Control, and while they're terrific, they colour the sound only slightly, while I want a more heavy-handed dosage. I don't have any experience with nice tube compressors, but have a Universal Audio 2-610 pre, which also isn't quite what I'm looking for either. 1176 doesn't do it. a Distressor KIND of gets there

This combination of plugins is kind of what I'm looking for in a hardware version:
Multiband compressor in the midrange/high end to smooth it out, make it less piercing
DUY Valve to "warm" (ugh) up the midrange a bit
Some subtle distortion from something like PSP Vintage Warmer, DUY Tape, Amp modeler, etc that will saturate the sound
Somethin like DUY Wide to provide some depth

[jamsmith]

Am I wrong to suggest the room their had something to do with their sound? That and Sir George Martin sitting behind the console

[Mr.HOLMES]

My opinion on this is.
You will never have it because it is not depending so much on the gear you use.

It is depending on the arrangement!!!!!!!! Very much!!!!!!
And yes at least only the Beatles would sound like the real thing because they are the real thing.

You will never sound like this!!
And yes it is much better to find your own sound as trying to bee a very third class poor Beatles cover.

Sorry I hate if people ask "How can I sound like....."

It has so much to do with how the track is composed and arranged.
It has nothing to do with gear this is very secondary.

Imagine the Voices the very good singing and a good drummer and the vibe which was between the fab four.
You will never get this because it is more as just using this or that.

And yes there was Sir Gorge Martin which as far as I know was a good arranger too and helped the Beatles.
In this old days there were so much creative people involved in the production.

All this is playing a role.
And deeply I am happy that we can not copy this....we have to look forward and creat new sounds which fit in our time.

[Kiwiburger]

Originally Posted by narcoman

nope - pretty much spent their entire career in S2 at Abbey Road.

EMI Pathe' Maconi Studios (Komm Gib Mir Diene Hand, Sie Leibt Dich, Can't Buy Me Love)

Regent Sound Studio (Fixing a Hole)

Olympic Sound Studios (Baby Your a Rich Man, All You Need is Love, Something, You Never Give me your money)

De Lane Lea Studios (It's All Too Much)

Chappell Recording Studios (Your Mother should Know)

EMI Studios Bombay (The Inner Light)

Trident Studios (Hey Jude, Dear Prudence, Honey Pie, Savoy Truffle, Martha My Dear, I want you)

Apple Studios - 3 Savile Row, London

Still sounded like The Beatles to me ...

This comment from "Recording The Beatles" sums up what I was trying to say (regarding Fixing a Hole being recorded at Regent):

"The resulting track perfectly illustrated the relative portability of "The Beatles sound": using a variety of equipment, engineers and locations, they still managed to achieve their characteristic, recognizable sound ... "

FWIW - Regent 'only' had a Pultec EQP-1a, a UA LA-2A and a custom stereo limiter.

[bigbone]

Originally Posted by Mr.HOLMES

My opinion on this is.
You will never have it because it is not depending so much on the gear you use.

It is depending on the arrangement!!!!!!!! Very much!!!!!!
And yes at least only the Beatles would sound like the real thing because they are the real thing.

You will never sound like this!!
And yes it is much better to find your own sound as trying to bee a very third class poor Beatles cover.

yes. yes and yes...........

[vernier]

Beatles is straight forward.

Neumann mic and analog recorder.

Tubes help. Can't have too many.

[Kiwiburger]

Originally Posted by jamsmith

Am I wrong to suggest the room their had something to do with their sound? That and Sir George Martin sitting behind the console

Edited:

They used many different rooms and chambers, or a rooftop for that matter. Obviously a part of the sound, but not essential to "The Beatles" sound.

And GM is a brilliant arranger, but didn't work on all Beatles songs - especially in that later period.

[vernier]

I can't stand the depressing White album ...its the one I don't even own.

[dual0568]

Whoa there, I'm not trying to cop all Beatles' tones per se. Listen to the song, it has a very specific sound to it that isn't on alllll Beatles stuff. It's a sound I'd associate to some but not all of recordings in the 60's

[Mr.HOLMES]

Originally Posted by vernier

Beatles is straight forward.

Neumann mic and analog recorder.

Tubes help. Can't have too many.

This is crap... those advises are stupid.

The Beatles would have made good music even in my shitty little project studio. So yes they had the money for Abbey Road....

Gearslutz get it in your heads.....PLEASE
First comes a great arrangement and great musicians before you can record or mix anything.

The Equipment you use is playing a role of 10%
The Beatles would sound great anyway even with a AKG microphone or what ever you will use.

Or to say it with the words of a big Pop Diva as the engineer asked:
Eng: Which Microphone do you prefer.
Diva: Mr.Miller it doesn't matter it sounds good anyway.

[MWP]

Check out Hamburg58's post on the work in progress forum.
He did a very nice job doing a copy of Here there and everywhere.
He talks about how it was recorded.

Here's the link,
Beatles Revolver Session Out Take


MWP

[Kiwiburger]

With all due respect, this is Gearslutz - were are focusing on that "10%" that is not arrangement and performance.

Listening to Ob-la-di right now ...

To my ears it's the bass tone and the compression that stands out, with a bit grit.

Possibly a big factor in the bass sound is that Macca doubled the original bass part with an octave lower part ...

[boot_me]

I enjoyed that link... thanks.
I wanted to mention that Abby Road has some plug-ins for sale. I think their limiter that was used during the Beatles time period has been re-created supposedly. Spendy plugs, but not bad comparatively to some I've seen.

Abbey Road Plug-Ins - Home

I learn so much from you folks...
thanks
boot_me

[narcoman]

Originally Posted by Kiwiburger

EMI Pathe' Maconi Studios (Komm Gib Mir Diene Hand, Sie Leibt Dich, Can't Buy Me Love)

Regent Sound Studio (Fixing a Hole)

Olympic Sound Studios (Baby Your a Rich Man, All You Need is Love, Something, You Never Give me your money)

De Lane Lea Studios (It's All Too Much)

Chappell Recording Studios (Your Mother should Know)

EMI Studios Bombay (The Inner Light)

Trident Studios (Hey Jude, Dear Prudence, Honey Pie, Savoy Truffle, Martha My Dear, I want you)

Apple Studios - 3 Savile Row, London

Still sounded like The Beatles to me ...

This comment from "Recording The Beatles" sums up what I was trying to say (regarding Fixing a Hole being recorded at Regent):

"The resulting track perfectly illustrated the relative portability of "The Beatles sound": using a variety of equipment, engineers and locations, they still managed to achieve their characteristic, recognizable sound ... "

FWIW - Regent 'only' had a Pultec EQP-1a, a UA LA-2A and a custom stereo limiter.

Most of those, apart from Hey Jude, are partials. Fixing a Hole, for example, was mostly cut at abbey road. Hey Jude was done elsewhere because they wanted 8 track. "Cant buy me love" had some tracking done but the drums were redone and the vocals, guitar solo and rhythm were replaced at Abbey Road.(the book says cymbal overdubs, but Norm says otherwise).

I think the other thing is that the Beatles sounded very different album to album.

[dual0568]

Abbey Road plugins didnt do it. Also using a soundelux e47

[anguswoodhead]

I may be going out on a limb here - but I do like the Beatles and I dig there tunes and they were at the cutting edge of recording in there time BUT I don't particularly like the sound of there recordings.
I much prefer the vibe and tones of 70's soul and funk - I know shoot me down but just my personal opinion. People get so heated when talking about the Beatles and there music - move on guys. Hee hee.

[Kiwiburger]

If it's a bit of grit and analog phase smearing you want, why not consider some parallel distortion with something like a Classic Sansamp. Something that would give you a lot of choice over the harmonic content. By varying the time delay offset, perhaps experimenting with polarity - you would probably be able to add something you like.

The way any distortion reacts is totally source dependant. So probably your mix is never going to sound like Ob-la-di, even if you recreated the exact same chain of stuff they used.

[gregohb]

Originally Posted by Kiwiburger

EMI Pathe' Maconi Studios (Komm Gib Mir Diene Hand, Sie Leibt Dich, Can't Buy Me Love)

Regent Sound Studio (Fixing a Hole)

Olympic Sound Studios (Baby Your a Rich Man, All You Need is Love, Something, You Never Give me your money)

De Lane Lea Studios (It's All Too Much)

Chappell Recording Studios (Your Mother should Know)

EMI Studios Bombay (The Inner Light)

Trident Studios (Hey Jude, Dear Prudence, Honey Pie, Savoy Truffle, Martha My Dear, I want you)

Apple Studios - 3 Savile Row, London

Still sounded like The Beatles to me ...

This comment from "Recording The Beatles" sums up what I was trying to say (regarding Fixing a Hole being recorded at Regent):

"The resulting track perfectly illustrated the relative portability of "The Beatles sound": using a variety of equipment, engineers and locations, they still managed to achieve their characteristic, recognizable sound ... "

FWIW - Regent 'only' had a Pultec EQP-1a, a UA LA-2A and a custom stereo limiter.

The entire movie "Let It Be" was filmed in another studio.

For all the details about the Beatles and recording, you should check out the $100 book "Recording the Beatles". Its an amazing book.

[vernier]

FWIW - Regent 'only' had a Pultec EQP-1a, a UA LA-2A and a custom stereo limiter.

I've often wondered if Pultecs were used elsewhere ...figured they were just in American studios.

[dual0568]

Originally Posted by Kiwiburger

If it's a bit of grit and analog phase smearing you want, why not consider some parallel distortion with something like a Classic Sansamp. Something that would give you a lot of choice over the harmonic content. By varying the time delay offset, perhaps experimenting with polarity - you would probably be able to add something you like.

The way any distortion reacts is totally source dependant. So probably your mix is never going to sound like Ob-la-di, even if you recreated the exact same chain of stuff they used.

Great idea, I'll try messing with fx pedals. I know I'll never get exactly that kind of tone I just wanna try that general direction...think jon brion

[jimmyjimjim]

Obladi-oblada wasn't recorded by The Beatles. It was placed on the record by CIA/FBI/MI6/MI5 so the youth would turn their back on the group.

God, what a lousy song.

Other than that:
Jam: mr. Martin sat to the side of the console, not behind it.

Yes, Abbey Road and it's equipment was very much a part of The Beatles.

Even the tracks recorded elsewhere was recorded very much using their methology, and was mixed(including chambers, fx, EQ's, compressors and plates) at AR! Except Hey Jude.

And no, they did not use Sans Amp.

[peeceebee]

IMO 3/4 of a recordings "sound" comes from the source, i.e. the players and THEIR gear-

[loudmusic25]

If its just 'tone' you're looking for, then LA2A, Pultec, U-67 plus great performance, lots of talent etc,


On a side note and FWIW:

I once had a guy tell me the only way to get the Beatles sound was with British Electricity. "There's something about the power back home that produces a different sound"

Hmm

[Mr. Liszt]

Originally Posted by Mr.HOLMES

My opinion on this is.
You will never have it because it is not depending so much on the gear you use.

It is depending on the arrangement!!!!!!!! Very much!!!!!!
And yes at least only the Beatles would sound like the real thing because they are the real thing.

You will never sound like this!!
And yes it is much better to find your own sound as trying to bee a very third class poor Beatles cover.

Sorry I hate if people ask "How can I sound like....."

It has so much to do with how the track is composed and arranged.
It has nothing to do with gear this is very secondary.

Imagine the Voices the very good singing and a good drummer and the vibe which was between the fab four.
You will never get this because it is more as just using this or that.

And yes there was Sir Gorge Martin which as far as I know was a good arranger too and helped the Beatles.
In this old days there were so much creative people involved in the production.

All this is playing a role.
And deeply I am happy that we can not copy this....we have to look forward and creat new sounds which fit in our time.

Originally Posted by Mr.HOLMES

This is crap... those advises are stupid.

The Beatles would have made good music even in my shitty little project studio. So yes they had the money for Abbey Road....

Gearslutz get it in your heads.....PLEASE
First comes a great arrangement and great musicians before you can record or mix anything.

The Equipment you use is playing a role of 10%
The Beatles would sound great anyway even with a AKG microphone or what ever you will use.

Or to say it with the words of a big Pop Diva as the engineer asked:
Eng: Which Microphone do you prefer.
Diva: Mr.Miller it doesn't matter it sounds good anyway.

Yes, but not many want to do it the hard way, lol.

Don't agree on the 10% though. I think it's more like 5%.

[vernier]

The gear used is a significant part of the outcome.