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INSTRUMENT GUIDE
By Ed Ward
From wine goblets to a mellotron, here are some of the instruments Paul McCartney performed with in his Abbey Road concert.
Epiphone Texan Acoustic Guitar
From Epiphone's "budget" line, the Gibson Texan, model FT-79N, was acquired by McCartney in late 1964 and, according to the manufacturer, had a list price of $175 at the time. Guitar expert Rik Elswit says, "The Texan's mahogany back and sides give it a nice jangle," as can be heard on many mid-period Beatles recordings. McCartney composed and recorded "Yesterday" with the Texan in 1965.
Martin D-28 Acoustic Guitar
Simply put, the Holy Grail of acoustics. The "D" stands for dreadnought, which describes the large bulge the guitar makes below the sound hole, ensuring a rich, full sound thanks to the rosewood back and sides; it's the ideal rhythm guitar. Both McCartney and John Lennon owned these handmade, flat-top guitars and used them while working on THE WHITE ALBUM, including on the recording of "Blackbird."
Epiphone Casino Electric Guitar
McCartney was the first member of the Beatles to purchase an Epiphone Casino. The model ES-230 TD, with its sunburst coloring, was an early version that had a Gibson-shaped headstock rather the hourglass shape common to later models. It produces a nice, loud sound thanks to tightly wound pickups and a hollow body. Elswit notes that the Beatles "weren't vintage guitar buffs like a lot of the English blues guys," but they still managed to craft a unique sound.
Höfner 500/1 Bass
With the Fender Precision out of his price range, McCartney bought the German-made, violin-shaped Höfner for about 30 pounds in 1961, when the Beatles were performing in Hamburg. The bass's symmetry, which suited it to both right- and left-handed players, may have also influenced his purchase. McCartney ordered a second one in 1963, to use as a spare, but it became his principal instrument and a Beatles icon, commonly referred to as the Beatle Bass.
Mellotron
The mellotron's keys control tape loops of a number of different instruments -- strings, flutes, choirs -- which can be mixed to produce a variety of sounds and then played like a normal keyboard. Its response was slow and it needed constant servicing, but it was essential for progressive rockers of the late 1960s. Although surpassed by cheaper synthesizers, its retro value is such that it's now being made again! In 1994, McCartney bought the FX Console model featured on the recording of "Strawberry Fields Forever."
Bill Black's Double Bass
Bill Black was the bassist in Elvis, Scotty and Bill, the act that toured the South after Elvis Presley made his first recordings in 1954. Black played with Elvis until 1958 and went on to have hits with the Bill Black Combo. The late Linda McCartney bought Black's double bass, believed to be a Kay Maestro M-1 model, as a present for Paul. He used the vintage bass on "Free as a Bird" and "Real Love," songs he recorded in 1995 with the two remaining members of the Beatles, George Harrison and Ringo Starr.
Wine Goblets
It takes good crystal to make a wineglass "sing," and varying the amount of liquid in each glass will result in a different note. Richard Puckeridge is credited as the first to add the technique of rubbing the glasses' rims with the fingertips to produce sound in a concert in the mid-1740s. Subsequently, Benjamin Franklin invented the armonica or glass harmonica, an instrument of nested bowls over a trough of water that worked on the same principle. Both Beethoven and Mozart composed light works for the instrument, but it faded from fashion in the early 19th century.
Top banner photos: Paul McCartney |
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McCartney was knighted by the Queen of England in 1997. |
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The Beatles recorded at Abbey Road from 1962 to 1969. |
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The CD is available from Amazon.com. |
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