What did John Lennon do with his Fender VI

[rze99]

Anyone know? Whatever it was, he looked a bit sheepish about it.

 

[koen]

Did it go to eleven?

 

[tubegeek]

It's VI.

You're thinking of XII maybe?

 

[Fretting out]

VI

Oops I was TOO slow

 

[rze99]

Corrected

 

[Ed Driscoll]

I think both John and George took turns playing that as bass, perhaps sometimes simply on a temporary track, when Paul was playing keys or acoustic guitar.

You can see George playing it (or perhaps miming with it), when the Beatles performed "Hey Jude" on the David Frost Show in 1968:

 

[Fretting out]

The way it sounded he probably scattered it’s pieces across the earth so it could never make it’s grunt again

 

[wabashslim]

Read once that George used it on Drive My Car. The bass is definitely different on that track, both sound & style.

 

[WingedWords]

He was overheard saying that he actually really preferred the original bridge to a Mastery...

 

[soulgeezer]

What Did John Lennon Do with His Fender VI?...

Play it?

(This is a trick "chicken crossing the road" question, right? )

 

[String Tree]

I had heard that it was owned by Abby Road Studios and was available to whom ever wanted to play it, like so many other Instruments.

 

[String Tree]

Anyone know? Whatever it was, he looked a bit sheepish about it.
View attachment 772039

Be gittin' tha Camera out of me Face!

 

[AAT65]

Read once that George used it on Drive My Car. The bass is definitely different on that track, both sound & style.

I’m not sure... it’s George’s idea I believe but I’m pretty sure it’s George on guitar doubling Paul’s bass line an octave higher.
https://www.beatlesbible.com/songs/drive-my-car/

 

[Bassman8]

If that's sheepish I'd hate to see his annoyed look

 

[rze99]

So, no one has any idea what it was actually played on?

 

[milocj]

I think both he and George played it on some of the Let It Be tracks, but I've also heard that they had to have Paul overdub some of the tracks John played the VI on.

 

[nojazzhere]

I'll have to go back through my Beatles' Gear book, but I don't remember it being mentioned in more than passing, or what happened to it.
In that book, several things are said as to Yoko still owning things of John's, or Paul George or Ringo still having certain items.

 

[rze99]

Thanks chaps all very vague.

I guess he messed about with it on some tracks and it didn’t make the mix.

We’ve all done it!

 

[ben smith]

So, no one has any idea what it was actually played on?

yes, you can clearly hear it on helter skelter and it's john playing the bass not paul

 

[rze99]

yes, you can clearly hear it on helter skelter and it's john playing the bass not paul

Thanks. I’ll listen again. Always sounded like a Rickenbacker with flat wounds to me.