Notice anything odd about these old video's?

[jaxson50]

Watch a few of these Youtube video's and look closely at the equipment these four lads are using.
What is missing?
How did they manage to pull this off without (answer below)


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BvLifS5ynJE&mode=related&search=
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yca2FXHrDw0&mode=related&search=
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tt1sN8AGBuw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ShrdKHeAel0&mode=related&search=
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w3rQvVhClk4&mode=related&search=
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qfzQyzZBd84&mode=related&search=
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_eD6VyQijMk&mode=related&search=
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Monitors? Huge stacks? mmmm

[sliding-tom]

Guess, you're talkin' about missing monitors? Sing in tune without them?
It's the way they came up.

[jaxson50]

True enough, that is how "they came up", as did their contemporaries, but few of their contemporaries had to deal with the noise of the screaming fans to overcome. (which was the main reason they quite live performances)
Imagine how well they would have sounded in live situations with today's technology.

[sliding-tom]

So that means I hit? First time I heard the live cuts from Shea Stadium years ago I was amazed how much they were in tune with their singing.

[jaxson50]

Sliding Tom, I have always been a big fan of the Beatles, I have no illusions that many if not most of their TV appearances were lip synced. But as you said with the Shea Stadium concert and the other live concerts that we now have the privilege of watching bits and pieces thanks to you tube, we can see that they had great harmony.
It amazes me that they pulled off their shows with so little gear. The average bar band has such better amps and PA, mixers etc.

[sliding-tom]

There was nothing else available at that time. P.A. technology wasn't even in its infancy. Check out the "Beatles Gear" book for more details or look for Dinky Dawson's "Life On The Road" - an interesting autobiography about the evolution of sound reinforcenment gear in the 60s and 70s.

[jaxson50]

I know very well what equipment was available, I played in many bands from 1968 to 1975 and watched the improvement in equipment over the years.
My dad played in Country & western bands when I was just a kid, one mic for all the singers was the norm.
I also attended many concerts and can testify that by 1966 many guitarist where playing with more then one amp and mic'ed into PA's. And even at that they didn't have the harmony of the Beatles. I remember watching The Grassroots and Iron Butterfly, The Seed's and the MidNighters and the Chambers Brothers, all playing with a stage packed with equipment, and while they were entertaining, they never came close to the tight harmonies the Beatles had live.
I have read the book, from what I can dig up The Beatles just weren't gear guy's. They focused on the basics, keeping tight timing, precise harmonies, practice practice practice.

[jaxson50]

sorry, double post

[PinkStrat]

I know very well what equipment was available, I played in many bands from 1968 to 1975 and watched the improvement in equipment over the years.
My dad played in Country & western bands when I was just a kid, one mic for all the singers was the norm.
I also attended many concerts and can testify that by 1966 many guitarist where playing with more then one amp and mic'ed into PA's. And even at that they didn't have the harmony of the Beatles. I remember watching The Grassroots and Iron Butterfly, The Seed's and the MidNighters and the Chambers Brothers, all playing with a stage packed with equipment, and while they were entertaining, they never came close to the tight harmonies the Beatles had live.
I have read the book, from what I can dig up The Beatles just weren't gear guy's. They focused on the basics, keeping tight timing, precise harmonies, practice practice practice.


No kidding I was a Candlestick Park in 1966 and their singing was incredible (even with all the girls screaming as white noise)

[PeeWee]

What kills me is that "sound" at that time consisted of a Shure Vocalmaster! I think Dean and I talked about this once before.......just amazing that these guys were playing to sold out stadiums using the exact PA system that we had in my first band back in '77! A friend remembered seeing The Byrds in '68 at the US Naval Acadamy and recalled that they, too, used Shure PA gear except that they had about 25 columns on each side of the stage. Amazing just how far things have come since "The Dark Ages" :D

[PeeWee]

What kills me is that "sound" at that time consisted of a Shure Vocalmaster! I think Dean and I talked about this once before.......just amazing that these guys were playing to sold out stadiums using the exact PA system that we had in my first band back in '77! A friend remembered seeing the Clarence White version of The Byrds in '68 at the US Naval Acadamy and recalled that they, too, used Shure PA gear except that they had about 25 columns on each side of the stage. Amazing just how far things have come since "The Dark Ages" :D

[jaxson50]

PinkStrat,
You lucky DAWG!! I stood outside Balboa Stadium, Aug 28th 1965 and tried to listened to the Beatles, the place was sold out of course, the mos expensive ticket was $5.50!
Yesterday I heard a interview with Peter Noone, who besides being the lead singer of Herman and the Hermits was also very close friends with the Beatles. He stated in the interview that George Harrison once told him the Beatles were never paid more the $25,000.00 for a show! I know most people will say, "yeah, but that was a lot of money in those days", but still, the biggest act on earth at the time only making $25K?
You saw the Beatles final public show at Candlestick in 1966, just a few years later Jimi Hendrix was demanding and getting $175,000.00 per show! (his manager took most of it). Of course Hendrix was worth what ever he could get.
And today someone like Britney Spears makes more in one show then the Beatles did in four years of touring, that's just wrong!!!!!

[jaxson50]

PeeWee. Ahh the good old days! When was the last time you saw a Fender Rhodes? I think Nora Jones uses one.
We have come a long way since slicing speakers to get a fuzz sound!
How lucky were we to live through that era of Rock history? We watched Pop music morph from Elvis, to Do Wa to the Twist era, then the Beatles hit the shore and BOOM! (if we could just delete Disco from our collective memory)
I keep asking myself, if those four young men had never met. If Paul had not meet George on the bus.
Listen to their recording of Carl Perkins "Every body's Trying To Be My Baby", recorded in mono, and still a fantastic rock statement, spoken in "pre-Beatle" rocknroll lingo. Lennon hits that sound better then anyone.