A Hard Day's Night - The Beatles - Full Instrumental Recreation (4K)

Описание: When you get your hands on a Rickenbacker 12-string, there's one song that you gotta play first!

And what a song it is! This is about as well as I can cover "A Hard Day's Night." I studied it all - the opening chord, the solo, George's isolated lead, all the Rock band stuff. What an energetic, driving rock song! Peak Beatles.

For that classic, controversial opening chord, I tried a ton of variations before settling on what you see here. I tried "F with a G on top," I experimented with a few versions of the piano chord and bass note, I played the Rickenbacker through different amp settings, etc. After all that tinkering I ended up at almost an identical conclusion with this video -    • The Most FAMOUS Chord EVER? | Friday Fretw...  .

Only two changes - I moved the piano chord down an octave, and I played Paul's D on bass up an octave. I'm not at all certain if this is what's on the record, but it sounds damn close to me! The only other insight I have is, I suspect the chord itself is enhanced a little by overdubs, at least for George's part. I hear slightly different EQ settings on the Rickenbacker for the opening chord (more bass and mid-rangey) than the rest of the song (almost entirely treble). If it's not an overdub, there might've at least been some enhancement to the opening chord in the mixing process. I got this result through heavy compression on the RS124 Compressor, plus the AC30TB setting on my Valvetronix. Is it close enough? Listen and decide for yourself!

The solo was SO MUCH FUN to recreate. George Martin famously slowed down the backing track and doubled George's Rickenbacker lead on piano, speeding it up for the record with stunning results. I'm not sure if I'm the first person to include this or not, but I also hear Paul's bass doubling the entire solo (it's most obvious when you listen to those the extra 7 notes Paul sneaks into the mix post-solo, but I do also hear the bass throughout the solo too in the Rock Band isolations). Not sure if this is new or controversial, but I absolutely hear it in the Beatles' mix. It's very McCartney to throw in a little quirky riff of his own on the end, which is one of my favorite buried Beatles Easter eggs. For reference, here's the solo from the album at "normal" speed -   / ahdn-solo-normal-speed  .

Ringo and John keep the song's pulsating, driving rhythm moving. John plays the hell out of the J-160E, with goosebump-inducing results. Ringo is solid as a rock, with insane playing on bongos from Norman Smith (I only did two takes, my palms couldn't take any more). Also, how about that cowbell! What a wonderful band.

I intend to make this my first cover of the entire "A Hard Day's Night" album. Progress will be a little slower than "Please Please Me," given the more complex playing and overdubbing (and I really want to nail these songs). That means I'm skipping around a little chronologically, but FYI, I do intend to go back to "With The Beatles" after this. I just can't resist giving this Rickenbacker a spin. Despite my lifelong Beatles fandom, this is the first time I've owned a Rickenbacker 12-string. I'm totally in love with this guitar, a 2018 360-12c63 (thanks, Aaron!), strung with Pyramid .11's and compressed to heavenly ends. It. Is. Glorious.

Enjoy! More to come!

Instruments:
Gibson J-160E 1962 Custom Shop Reissue (Pyramid .11 Flats)
2018 Rickenbacker 360-12c63, strung w/Pyramid .11 flats
Hofner Contemporary Series violin bass
Ludwig Classic Maple 20/12/14 Black Oyster Pearl
Yamaha P121 Keyboard
Vox Valvetronix VT100X Guitar Combo Amp (yes, I upgraded)
PreSonus Studio 1824C Interface (6 microphones used)
Cad Audio Stage7 7-Piece Drum Microphones (toms, snare & bass drum)
MXL V250 Condenser Mic: drum overhead mic & acoustic guitar
Drums recorded and mixed with PreSonus Studio One
Shure SM57 (under hi-hat, bass)

Waves Abbey Road Plugins:
Abbey Road Plates Stereo
Abbey Road RS124 Compressor Stereo
J37 Tape Stereo
RS56 Passive EQ Stereo

Video Equipment:
Camera: Canon M50
Edited with Adobe Premiere Pro on HP Envy 32'' All in One

Feel free to leave comments, I'll respond to as many as I can.