RECORDING May 2022 - 22

Diggin' Into
GET BACK
The fifth Beatle
I've always loved Billy Preston. He's
so young in Get Back! Plus, he fits in
so well. He always had a great feel,
whether with The Beatles or his solo
career (if you haven't done so, look
him up). Watching him play with The
Beatles is refreshing. His being there
as a sideman freed them to try different
things and not feel like they had to
cover all the bases. It makes me wonder
what they would have sounded like
working with other musicians?
How do I get those sounds?
Believe me that I understand and empathize
when you read about all this
OG gear and say, " All that vintage
gear is expensive! " I get it (quit yelling
at me!). There are options-some are
still expensive. Instead of a Fairchild,
today, a great go-to variable mu compressor
is the Manley Vari-Mu. That
said, aside from all the plugins, there
are other hardware options. The AnaMod
670 Stereo
Limiter
is an excellent
Fairchild emulation that won't break
the bank. If money is no object, check
out the AT-101 from Analogue Tube-
but bring some coin. There are others,
but these are the ones I've personally
heard. As for the U67, as mentioned,
Neumann does make a reissue. It
sounds excellent, but it's not exactly
cheap. The Warm Audio WA-67 is a
great sounding mic for the money that
won't break the bank. If you want the
sound of the preamps and compressors
used at Apple Studios and Abbey Road,
Chandler Limited is THE choice, and
Wade Goeke is THE guy for all things
EMI. So much so that Abbey Road commissions
and uses Chandler products
on many of The Beatles reissue projects
and mixes. For plugins, Waves offers
the extensive Abbey Road Collection.
For instruments, Epiphone Casinos, Fender
Twins and Ludwig drums are plentiful, as
are Rickenbacker and Hofner basses.
For many people, especially songwriters,
The Beatles were elusive music-making
machines. For comparison, Adele who's
immensely talented and popular today-
has released four albums over 13 years,
totaling about 50 songs with numerous
co-writes plus the occasional cover. The
Beatles' core catalog contains thirteen
albums (if you count Magical Mystery
Tour) with 213 released songs (188
originals and 25 covers) in nine years.
That's a high bar.
It's comforting to those of us who spend
so many sleepless nights working on music
to see The Beatles in Get Back-day after
day, slugging it out in the studio, balancing
everything and everyone around them.
I, for one, felt like I could relate. Since
they are such a significant influence on
my career, that certainly feels reassuring.
Watch the film, check out the book, listen to
the box set. You'll be glad you did.
*Many thanks to Paul Vnuk Jr. and the fine
folks at Recording Magazine for letting
me wax poetic on this, Carl Verheyen
for the guitar insight and Mom for
introducing me to The Beatles ☺
IT'S A WRAP
The Beatles on Apple Corps Ltd.'s rooftop: Jan 30th, 1969 by Ethan A. Russell ©Apple Corps Ltd
22 RECORDING May 2022

RECORDING May 2022

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