Recording a band without bass

[RAMI]

The ones that sound like they dont are most likely John playing the Fender VI that they acquired around 1967.

Hmmm....I'd still like someone to name me a few songs that don't have bass or sound like they don't have bass.

 

[grimtraveller]

Hell most of the time the Beatles never had any bass. Paul played guitar more often.

Back in the mid 70s when I first discovered the Beatles, I used to record some of their albums from one mono cassette to another with a transistor wire {they were like gold dust at school !}, a few were done in stereo on my Dad's music centre, but because they were crappilly recorded and played on an increasingly lame cassette {though I loved it}, I rarely heard the bass on Beatlemusic. When I got my own stereo and bought the actual records, it came as a shock that the Beatles songs not only had bass, but very powerful and audible bass. Especially from 'Revolver' onwards when the bass was first recorded separately. But even before 1966, though not particular inventive, the bass is there, pretty prominent. You can hum the bass lines of many early Beatle songs. Actually, they make lovely little tunes in and of themselves.There's not many songs in which McCartney doesn't play bass, George's three Indianesque songs, orchestral and acoustic stuff like "Eleanor Rigby", "Yesterday", "She's leaving home", "Revolution 9", "Goodnight", "Julia" and other bits like "Dig it", "I'll follow the sun", "I will" {where he hums the bass part} and "Wild honey pie" where there is no actual bass guitar. Harrison and Lennon weigh in with bass a few times, mainly around the White album/Let it be period on stuff like "Helter skelter", "Birthday", "Honey pie", "Let it be", "Back in the USSR" and "Long and winding road". According to McCartney, Harrison played bass on "She said she said". On the other hand McCartney does play guitar on at least 33 Beatle tunes ranging from blistering solos on stuff like "Good morning, good morning" and "Taxman" to acoustic rhythm pieces. But they all contributed a wide array of instruments, not to mention the many many sessionists that helped colour their ideas at a time when rock was looking to break out of it's 3 chord restrictions and poppy format.

And all that has nothing to do with the topic at hand but makes for a nice diversion !
An interesting band to listen to that started off with no bass player is Lifetime, initially the great bright hope of the then nascent jazz rock ideal. Their first album and some of the high points on their second has the organist filling in the bass parts, a bit like Ray Manzarek of the Doors did.