5.48pm

17 November 2011

I was always under the impression that they were retired after Rubber Soul (not including the early, Byrd-ish takes of "And Your Bird Can Sing ").
However, listen to this around 0:50...
If he had to dig one of them back out for any song, this one seems to be the most appropriate, no?
2.12am

9 August 2011

Run For Your Life , you might be right. Certainly has a 12 string sound in parts.
This video is titled "Guitar and Bass," and what you're calling 12-string is probably what ended up being played by the bass, no? I'd have to listen to the record to tell.
In any case, listening to that isolated 12 string/bass line is simply fabulous (not to mention the vocals). Thanks for posting it.
"Into the Sky with Diamonds" (the Beatles and the Race to the Moon – a history)
3.27am

1 December 2009

Definitely sounds like electric 12-string to me too! I think I can hear it in the final version - it's much harder to get a sonic grip on, but seems to be there, to these ears. Those isolated tracks are taken from the actual mixes, aren't they?
EDIT: OK, I've read the article on the recording of the song now, and the breakdown mentions Paul as playing 6-string bass, plus a reference to a "distorted bass part". Could THAT be what we're hearing? Could Paul McCartney have possibly had access to one of those Roger Mayer Octavia pedals, such as Jimi Hendrix used on occasion, to double the pitch of a 6-string bass, and we're hearing it kicking in during the "I don't know why/how..." parts?
This is a very intriguing possibility!
Someone said 'What were you gonna do when it's all finished,' and I said 'I don't know but it'd be good fun being a DJ.' And since then I've become a DJ, only by word of mouth, you know. SO any minute now you'll read, 'Ringo leaves to become a DJ' but it's not true. - Ringo Starr
6.47am

24 July 2013

It sounds like a 12 string, doesn't it? Don't think it's a Ricky though, it doesn't have the chime.
The part puts me in mind of the Crossroads theme... something that Paul must have watched too because he covered the tune! So maybe it's Paul playing. The way it's locked in with the bass may suggest this.
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