Beatles bass sound, circa Revovler

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I read, either in The Beatles Recording Sessions or George Martin's All You Need Is Ears, that McCarntney's distinct bass sound on Revolver was achieved in part by using a 10 inch speaker as a microphone. The way I understood it was you could just wire a speaker and plug it into a mic jack, the speaker cone would vibrate same as a diaphram. I wish I could remember which book I got it from so that some of you technically savvy guys could check it out.
 
It was in The Beatles Recording Sessions book. Ken Townsend, technical engineer, came up with the idea of using a loudspeaker as a microphone and positioning it directly in front of the bass amplifier speaker. The book goes on to say that Mr. Townsend was reprimanded for mis-matching impedances.

I've never tried it but they used it to boost the sound of Paul McCartney's bass on Paperback Writer. They recorded Rain on the same day so it probably got the same treatment. I don't know if they used it on other songs from the Revolver sessions.
 
Has anyone out there tried this? Any suggestions on exactly how to do it? I attempted it a few years ago and the signal was too low.
 
hilarious,i've never heard that expression(the nickel)i always thought paul had one of theee rock and roll bass sound of all time,some elusive tone that you could come close to but never emulate.i always assumed it had to do with those fat tube amps from the sixties,in combination with a hohner bass and a killer picking technique.anyone know the overall tone?in that there special recording studio thingie book,do they talk about the amp set upor is that direct,is this george martin with classical recording crossing into pop,or was it just paul just plugging in and playing?ever notice the greatest studio stories with the most monumental sounds always endup saying"i wasn't trying to do anything special or creative,i thought you were supposed to do it this way........"i did read that for tomorrow never knows john wanted to or attempted to record a swirling voice effect by suspending him by a rope from the ceiling and try to record him spinning around the room.i guess they eventually settled on putting his voice through a leslie speaker.better to rotate the amplified voice than to rotate the source creating the voice ,or,ummm.blah blah.......
 
The Recording Sessions book doesn't give many technical details but based on articles and photos I believe that McCartney's bass was recorded using an amplifier (Vox and Fender) and a microphone. During the Rubber Soul sessions he started using a Rickenbacker 4001S bass which helped him get that distinctive sound. (I wish I could talk to George Martin or Geoff Emerick for just five minutes!)
 
he used a rick all the way back then?wow i guess i underestimated them.you mean fender and vox simultaneously?you know? like some funky stereo sound?ever hear his tone on the white album?especially everybody's got somethin to hide cept for me and my monkey or helter skelter?i do know that john paul jones described getting a stereo bass rigged up with an 8 string bass the octave higher 4 strings go through one bassman amp and the lower strings through yet another bassman,sounds cool,but i am trying to picture it.he must of had to do some re-routing.do any bassists still use the bassman for the bass?most i=of the time these great old tube amps that were originally created for bass players ,end up being the most amazing tone for guitars.i had once played a gig through a friends setup,it was a bassman head,through an old 4x10 bassman cab,the guitar was a rare tele with some fat humbuckers,no effects ,straight tone,turned way up,pushed to the point of being crunchy crispy,that thing was a monster!!!!!playing that felt like being on a 1957 indian bike opened up full throttle somewhere out on the highway!!i used to own an ampeg v-4,the thing must of weighed at least 75 -100 lbs,just a head,another vintage tube amp intended for bass players,i bought this thing in a used furniture store in s.f. for 128$ they didn't even know what it was!!but yet the best amp i have ever played through!!!i used to plug into a marshall cab 4x12,at 4 ohms,i could bush this thing all the way up at full volume and still get the most pristene shimmering tone ever,i regret losing that monster!!i used to find the best equipment for always less than 150$!!!but back to bass tones,as of more recent out of the trend for retro vintage amps and charging far too much money,bass players are back to playing the old retro tube amps,and once again,the bass sounds are getting funkier and definitely more unique in the recording realm and live especially.has anyone ever played with those amp simulator sound modeling toys?i have a boss br-8 digital 8-track,and it has the cosm modeling insert in the effects,and wow,i am actually able to fine tune some great bass amp configurations!!!they have lots of presets,but,when you do your own tweaking it ends up being more rewarding.out of convenience yes this is the fastest,to be able to load down a bunch of amps in one box,but i cannot get the sought after paul tone,or ya know,umm geezer butler from black sabbath,what was he playing through?i definitely like a little growl that sounds like the bass becomes this 10 story suspension bridge cables,and the cabinet is the size of the empire state.back to the paul tone,which gets closest ,the vox or the fender?rick or hofner?is this even relative?i seek too much.
 
Paul used a Vox amplifier until the White Album when he switched to a Fender Bassman. Engineer Geoff Emerick used an AKG C12 microphone until he started using direct injection on the Abbey Road album. Paul's Rickenbacker was mono and was equipped with a string mute which he sometimes used. He also played a Fender Jazz Bass on some White Album and Abbey Road tracks but I don't know which ones. For the Let It Be sessions Paul returned to his Hofner. I own both a Hofner and a Rickenbacker and they both sound great but it's the Rick that gives that McCartney Sound.
 
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