The Beatles Bible - Topic: Question about Studio Mic'ing

DrBeatle on Question about Studio Mic'ing

Thu, 20 Dec 2012 23:45:44 +0000

That rings a bell! Thanks!

RunForYourLife on Question about Studio Mic'ing

Thu, 20 Dec 2012 22:10:55 +0000

As others have mentioned, Geoff Emerick details it in Here, There and Everywhere.

It was an attempt to get an "underwater" effect on some vocals in "Yellow Submarine". He put the microphone into a condom and placed it into a tiny bowl of water. It didn't work as they'd hoped, and it didn't appear on the final record (I don't think the mic was damaged).

DrBeatle on Question about Studio Mic'ing

Thu, 13 Dec 2012 14:06:22 +0000

Yeah, I was pretty sure it wasn't for a sound effect but for an actual vocal effect. I thought it was on Revolver...I'll have a dig through my books to see if I can figure it out.

Ben Ramon on Question about Studio Mic'ing

Thu, 13 Dec 2012 11:31:54 +0000

I know that John blowing bubbles in a glass of water through a straw was one of the nautical sound effects in Yellow Submarine, could it have been then? I've always just assumed the mic was recording normally, rather than in the water.

EDIT: found it, on this rather sensationalist celebrity-oriented website which seems more interested in the appropriation of a condom than anything else:

http://www.starpulse.com/news/.....ord_song_u

The source seems to be Emerick, so I'm assuming it's from Here, There and Everywhere, which I've not read.

Funny Paper on Question about Studio Mic'ing

Thu, 13 Dec 2012 03:20:39 +0000

Maybe that's how they got that underwater bubbly sound in "Octopus's Garden"

DrBeatle on Question about Studio Mic'ing

Thu, 13 Dec 2012 00:31:32 +0000

I remember reading years ago that one of the innovative ways George Martin and his engineers mic'ed the Beatles to get a sound they wanted was to suspend a small microphone (wrapped in plastic) into a glass of water and record the vocals through that. I remember reading that George was taking a big risk doing this because it was a very expensive mic and he was risking the wrath of the higher-ups at EMI if something happened to it.

I cannot for the life of me remember which song it was for, though! I know it's one of the loads ...