Log In
Register
5.36pm
23 June 2018
Offline
Rubber Soul marked the transition from McCartney’s Hofner to his newly acquired Rickenbacker 4001. Being a bass player, I like to roughly divide the discography between the Hofner, Please Please Me through Help plus Let It Be , and the Rickenbacker, Revolver through Abbey Road . I became curious on how much the Rickenbacker was used on the final recordings so I decided to do a little research. I found a quote from Harrison who recalled the Rickenbacker’s first use on the recording of “Think For Yourself “, recorded on the 8th of November 1965. Using Harrison’s memory as my starting point, I wrote down recording dates of all Rubber Soul period songs and cross referenced them back to that date and made educated guess about which bass was being used. I thought I’d share this with anyone who was interested. Just for a reference Paul received his Rickenbacker on the 30th of August 1965.
Drive My Car [13 October 1965], Hofner
Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flow) [12, 21 October 1965], Hofner
You Won’t See Me [11 November 1965], *Rickenbacker or Hofner
Nowhere Man [21,22 October 1965], Hofner
Think For Yourself [8 November 1965), *Rickenbacker or Hofner
The Word [10 November 1965], *Rickenbacker or Hofner
Michelle [3 November 1965], *Rickenbacker or Hofner
What Goes On [4 November 1965], Hofner
Girl [11 November 1965],*Rickenbacker or Hofner
I’m Looking Through You [24 October, 6, 10, 11 November 1965], *Rickenbacker or Hofner
In My Life [18, 22 October 1965, Hofner
Wait [17 June, 11 November], Hofner
If I Needed Someone [16,18 October 1965], Hofner
Run For Your Life [12 October 1965], Hofner
Extra Rubber Soul Period Songs
12-Bar Original [4 November 1965], Hofner
We Can Work It Out [20, 29 October 1965], Hofner
Day Tripper [16 October 1965], Hofner
*=unsure which bass
If Harrison’s memory is correct, it appears that the Hofner was the main bass used during Rubber Soul . “Think For Yourself ” presents a challenge in that there are two basslines. I do not know whether the Rickenbacker was used only for the fuzz bass line or for both lines. The other four songs: “You Won’t See Me “, “The Word “, “Girl” and “I’m Looking Through You ” are the only other songs that could feature the Rickenbacker as they were recorded after November 8. I did this research purely for entertainment and wonder and hope that anyone who read it found in interesting.
The following people thank Hofner95 for this post:
Pineapple Records, PauliesGirl, Beatlebug, Dark Overlord2.20pm
9 March 2017
Offline I used to be really into this kind of stuff. Although George claims that he first used the bass on Think For Yourself , Paul had the bass the entire time during the Rubber Soul sessions (he got it after the Hollywood Bowl performance) and he’s seen playing his Rickenbacker on Michelle on the 3rd, 5 days before Think For Yourself so George made a mistake on that one.
The following people thank Dark Overlord for this post:
Beatlebug, Hofner95If you're reading this, you are looking for something to do.
12.35am
Moderators
27 November 2016
Offline
It sounds very much to me like he’s using the Rickenbacker on The Word .
The following people thank The Hole Got Fixed for this post:
Hofner95#AppleHoley2024: Make America Great For The First Time
2016 awards: 
2017 awards: 
2018 awards:
2019 awards: 
2020 awards:
2021 awards:
10.03pm
23 June 2018
Offline Dark Overlord said
I used to be really into this kind of stuff. Although George claims that he first used the bass on Think For Yourself , Paul had the bass the entire time during the Rubber Soul sessions (he got it after the Hollywood Bowl performance) and he’s seen playing his Rickenbacker on Michelle on the 3rd, 5 days before Think For Yourself so George made a mistake on that one.
Thanks for linking those photos. I have seen those pictures before, those pictures are still the only time I’ve seen a bass capo. I’ve edited the post to reflect that on “Michelle “. It appears that George was misremembering the dates, unless for some reason he switched back to the Hofner after those photos.
9.25am
Moderators
15 February 2015
Offline 
They all went completely capo-crazy on Rubber Soul … 
The following people thank Beatlebug for this post:
Von Bontee([{BRACKETS!}])
New to Forumpool? You can introduce yourself here.
If you love The Beatles Bible, and you have adblock, don't forget to white-list this site! 
12.36pm
28 March 2014
Offline And yet, he kept playing the Hofner live in concert! 
Other than seeing him play the Rick in the Hello Goodbye & I Am The Walrus videos, he even went back to the Hofner on the Rooftop concert. 
BEATLES Music gives me Eargasms! 
9.20am
30 July 2015
Offline One should not forget that there was also a Fender Jazzbass available – often seen in studio pics. I don´t know when they aquired it, nor for what songs (albums) it has been used, but they defintely used it!
(any help?)
The 6-string Fender bass was usually played by John or George when they had to substitute for Paul on bass, I don´t think Paul ever used it.
1.10pm
9 March 2017
Offline They didn’t have Fender basses until 1968 when they recorded the White Album .
The following people thank Dark Overlord for this post:
sir walter raleighIf you're reading this, you are looking for something to do.
1 Guest(s)