The Beatles — UK Canon

Home › Equipment

Year-by-year equipment

Studios, consoles, tape machines, microphones, instruments and amplifiers — across the band's recording lifespan.

Beatlemania (1962–1964)

Producer	George Martin
Engineer	Norman Smith
Tech / 2nd	Richard Langham, Geoff Emerick (2nd)
Studio	EMI Studios, Abbey Road — predominantly Studio Two
Tape	Twin-track BTR-2 (1962); Studer J37 four-track from late-1963
Console	REDD.37 / REDD.51 valve consoles
Microphones	Neumann U47, U48; AKG D19 (drums); STC 4038 (overheads)
Outboard / FX	EMI RS124 compressor (Altec 436B mod), EMT 140 plate reverb, STEED tape echo
Guitars	Rickenbacker 325 (Lennon), Gretsch Country Gent / Tennessean (Harrison), Höfner 500/1 violin bass (McCartney), Ludwig Oyster Black Pearl kit (Starr)
Amplifiers	Vox AC30 (TB & non-Top-Boost variants)

Folk-Rock & Maturity (1965)

Producer	George Martin
Engineer	Norman Smith
Tech / 2nd	Ken Scott, Phil McDonald (2nd)
Studio	EMI Studios, Abbey Road — Studio Two
Tape	Studer J37 four-track
Console	REDD.51
Microphones	Neumann U47, U48; AKG C12 (vocals); Coles 4038
Outboard / FX	EMI RS124 'Altec', EMT 140 plate, ADT begins (Townsend, mid-1966)
Guitars	Rickenbacker 360-12 (Harrison), Epiphone Casino (introduced — Lennon, McCartney, Harrison), Framus Hootenanny 12-string (Lennon)
Amplifiers	Vox AC30, Vox AC50/AC100

Rubber Soul (late 1965)

Producer	George Martin
Engineer	Norman Smith (his last LP)
Tech / 2nd	Ken Scott (2nd)
Studio	EMI Studios, Abbey Road — Studio Two
Tape	Studer J37 four-track
Console	REDD.51
Microphones	Neumann U47, U48; AKG C12; STC 4038 (drums)
Outboard / FX	EMI RS124, EMT 140 plate, fuzzbox prototypes
Guitars	Epiphone Casino, Rickenbacker 360-12, Gibson J-160E, sitar (Harrison — first Beatles sitar on 'Norwegian Wood')
Amplifiers	Vox AC30, Vox AC50, Fender Showman

Revolver (1966)

Producer	George Martin
Engineer	Geoff Emerick
Tech / 2nd	Phil McDonald (2nd)
Studio	EMI Studios, Abbey Road — Studio Three (largely)
Tape	Studer J37 four-track (with vari-speed, ADT)
Console	REDD.51
Microphones	Neumann U47/U48, AKG C12, STC 4038, close-miking pioneered (Emerick) on Ringo's bass drum
Outboard / FX	EMI RS124, EMT 140 plate, Fairchild 660 limiter, EMI Artificial Double Tracking (ADT), Leslie cabinet (vocals)
Guitars	Epiphone Casino, Gibson SG (Harrison), Rickenbacker 4001S bass (McCartney introduced)
Amplifiers	Vox AC100, Vox 7120, Fender Showman, Fender Bassman

Sgt Pepper's (1967)

Producer	George Martin
Engineer	Geoff Emerick
Tech / 2nd	Richard Lush, Ken Townsend (2nd)
Studio	EMI Studios, Abbey Road — Studio Two & Three; orchestral session at Studio One
Tape	Two synced Studer J37 four-tracks (ad-hoc 8-track)
Console	REDD.51 / REDD.37; tape-bouncing extensively
Microphones	Neumann U47/U48, AKG C12, STC 4038 (drums), close-mic technique throughout
Outboard / FX	EMI RS124, EMT 140 plate, Fairchild 660, ADT, varispeed pitch-shifting, tape phasing
Guitars	Epiphone Casino, Gibson SG, Fender Esquire (Harrison — 'Drive My Car' onward), Hammond organ, Mellotron Mark II (Lennon)
Amplifiers	Vox AC100, Vox UL730, Fender Showman, Fender Bassman, Selmer Goliath

Magical Mystery Tour (late 1967)

Producer	George Martin
Engineer	Geoff Emerick
Tech / 2nd	Ken Scott on some sessions
Studio	EMI Studios + Olympic Sound Studios (Barnes) for some MMT/All You Need Is Love work
Tape	Synced J37 four-tracks; first Beatles use of 8-track Studer A80 imminent
Console	REDD.51 + Helios at Olympic
Microphones	U47/U48, AKG C12, ribbon mics (4038)
Outboard / FX	EMI RS124, EMT 140, Fairchild 660, ADT, tape phasing, Leslie cabinet
Guitars	Epiphone Casino, Fender Stratocaster (Harrison — psychedelic 'Rocky' Strat), Mellotron, clavioline
Amplifiers	Vox AC100, Vox UL730, Fender Showman, Fender Bassman

The White Album (1968)

Producer	George Martin (with Chris Thomas covering)
Engineer	Ken Scott (early), Geoff Emerick walked off — replaced
Tech / 2nd	John Smith, Mike Sheady, Barry Sheffield (Trident)
Studio	EMI Studios + Trident Studios (Soho — first Beatles 8-track sessions: 'Hey Jude' onward)
Tape	Studer A80 8-track (Trident), 4-track at EMI until late 1968
Console	REDD/TG12345 prototype; Trident A-Range
Microphones	U47/U48, AKG C12, U67 introduced
Outboard / FX	EMI RS124, EMT 140 & 250 (Trident), Fairchild 660, ADT, tape flanging, fuzz, wah (Vox/CryBaby)
Guitars	Epiphone Casino, Fender Strat (Rocky), Gibson J-200 acoustic, Martin D-28, Fender Telecaster Bass
Amplifiers	Fender Twin Reverb, Fender Bassman, Vox UL730

Yellow Submarine (1969)

Producer	George Martin
Engineer	Geoff Emerick (1967 sessions); George Martin orchestral score side B
Tech / 2nd	Phil McDonald, Ken Scott
Studio	EMI Studios — Studio Two/Three (for the band tracks); CTS for orchestral score
Tape	Studer J37 four-track
Console	REDD.51
Microphones	U47/U48, AKG C12, STC 4038
Outboard / FX	EMI RS124, EMT 140, Fairchild 660, ADT, Leslie
Guitars	Epiphone Casino, Hammond organ, Mellotron, harpsichord (Martin)
Amplifiers	Vox AC100, Fender Showman

Abbey Road (1969)

Producer	George Martin
Engineer	Geoff Emerick (returned), Phil McDonald, Glyn Johns
Tech / 2nd	Alan Parsons, John Kurlander (2nd)
Studio	EMI Studios — Studio Two & Three (last Beatles LP recorded as a band)
Tape	Studer J37 8-track (1969 upgrade), TG12345 console under construction
Console	EMI TG12345 transistor console (debuted on Abbey Road); some sessions on REDD.51
Microphones	U47, U67, AKG C12, AKG D19/D20 (drums), STC 4038
Outboard / FX	EMI RS124, EMT 140, Fairchild 660, ADT, compression on every channel (TG)
Guitars	Gibson Les Paul Standard 'Lucy' (Harrison), Fender Rosewood Telecaster (Harrison), Epiphone Casino, Moog Series III synthesizer
Amplifiers	Fender Twin Reverb, Fender Bassman, Vox UL730, Leslie

Let It Be (1969–70)

Producer	George Martin (sessions); Phil Spector (post-production overdubs March/April 1970)
Engineer	Glyn Johns, Phil McDonald (sessions); Peter Bown, Phil Spector engineers (post)
Tech / 2nd	Alan Parsons (2nd, sessions)
Studio	Twickenham Film Stages (Jan 1969 — 'Get Back' rehearsals); Apple Studio basement, 3 Savile Row (Jan 1969 sessions, rooftop concert 30 Jan); EMI Studios (early 1970 fixes)
Tape	Studer J37 8-track at Apple
Console	Custom Apple/Helios console (heavily problematic), later EMI TG12345
Microphones	U47, U67, AKG C12, AKG D19, AKG D20
Outboard / FX	Apple's hand-built outboard (faulty), then EMI standard kit; Spector added strings/choir at EMI March 1970
Guitars	Fender Rosewood Telecaster (Harrison), Gibson Les Paul 'Lucy' (Harrison), Hofner 500/1 (McCartney returned), Epiphone Casino (Lennon), Höfner Hofner Beatle bass + Fender VI bass (Lennon on rooftop)
Amplifiers	Fender Twin Reverb, Fender Bassman, Vox UL730, Hammond C3 / Fender Rhodes (Billy Preston)