The Beatles - Apple Rooftop Concert Full Video

JezWynd

LastMantra said:

I can totally appreciate what the Beatles done for popular music. Plus they worked they're asses off to get there. Unlike a lot of new bands. 
I can also see how exciting this kind of thing was at the time. 
To me tho that sounds pretty crap. They could have had a wee practice before hand 

Looks pretty chilly on that roof. Maybe they had cold fingers. This is some of the best live playing rock n roll there is. Up there with Janis at Monterey (another example of some less than perfect playing that nevertheless is a stunning performance).

ICBM

JezWynd said:

Looks pretty chilly on that roof. Maybe they had cold fingers.

It must have been. London on January 30th is never warm, even on a sunny day. George in particular looks frozen!

MajorDude

Blueingreen said:

RandallFlagg said:

For me, this final year of The Beatles was McCartney at his absolute arrogant, bullish, brilliant song writing peak, he looks great too. Watching them play together on 'I've Got Feeling' is mesmerising.

Always wondered why Macca didn't grow a beard again when he was older.  He's one of those guys who started to look a bit womanish when he started to age.  A beard would have fixed that, and he can obviously grow a good one.

True that, possibly because having to dye the beard as well would've proved to be too high maintenance?
I love this session though.

ICBM

spark240 said:

Im wondering  what the volume was actually like on the street ?

In case anyone else is as much of a geek as me , I spent a while looking at pics and following cables, and here's what was being used:

John and George - one Fender Twin Reverb, 85W. (The two behind John - the third one at an angle behind George is for the second keyboard.)

Paul - Fender Bassman 50 and 4x12" cab.

Billy Preston - Fender Rhodes and 'suitcase' amp/stand, which was a solid-state power section of 50W (or just possibly 80W if it was absolutely brand-new, they changed in very late '68 or early '69) driving four 12" speakers.

PA - Fender 100W solid-state PA amp (and this is brand new, it's still got the dealer tag attached to the handle) driving two 4x12" columns, one of which is balanced precariously pointing down over the edge of the roof!

Monitors - two old Vox 4x10" columns lying on their sides. I can't see what's driving them but there's some sort of mixer amp, possibly a WEM, next to the Fender - they're only rated for 40W each anyway, so it can't be more than about 80W.

So that's a grand total of between 400 and 500W, through twenty 12" speakers and eight 10"s - but even so they would really have been no louder than an average pub or wedding band.

RandallFlagg

ICBM said:

spark240 said:

Im wondering  what the volume was actually like on the street ?

In case anyone else is as much of a geek as me , I spent a while looking at pics and following cables, and here's what was being used:

John and George - one Fender Twin Reverb, 85W. (The two behind John - the third one at an angle behind George is for the second keyboard.)

Paul - Fender Bassman 50 and 4x12" cab.

Billy Preston - Fender Rhodes and 'suitcase' amp/stand, which was a solid-state power section of 50W (or just possibly 80W if it was absolutely brand-new, they changed in very late '68 or early '69) driving four 12" speakers.

PA - Fender 100W solid-state PA amp (and this is brand new, it's still got the dealer tag attached to the handle) driving two 4x12" columns, one of which is balanced precariously pointing down over the edge of the roof!

Monitors - two old Vox 4x10" columns lying on their sides. I can't see what's driving them but there's some sort of mixer amp, possibly a WEM, next to the Fender - they're only rated for 40W each anyway, so it can't be more than about 80W.

So that's a grand total of between 400 and 500W, through twenty 12" speakers and eight 10"s - but even so they would really have been no louder than an average pub or wedding band.

Outstanding observations and Beatles gear geekery, this should have been in the Beatles Gear book!

Top marks!

notanon

I love it at 6:25 in where Lennon forgets the words :-)

notanon

I remember when I was first learning Lennon's part on 'I've got a feeling' where he uses the pedal notes - cramp inducing. Harrison's telecaster is excellent tone and his one fret one string guitar solo :-) Love it!

Rabs

ROOG said:

Thanks for that @Rabs guess I needed reminding of how good they were every now and again!

Exactly why I posted it..Ive seen it before.. Several times but not for a while.  These things pop up on YouTube from time to time and then get taken down again. I has the same feeling as you so I thought others might too so thought id post it while its still up  

RandallFlagg

notanon said:

I remember when I was first learning Lennon's part on 'I've got a feeling' where he uses the pedal notes - cramp inducing. Harrison's telecaster is excellent tone and his one fret one string guitar solo :-) Love it!

I know that main riff of “I've Got A Feeling” with the A on the top string held with the little finger is a pain in the arse. John Lennon churns the riff away with ease in the chilly January London air.

RandallFlagg

It's high time we had some Giles Martin type magic applied to restore the Let It Be film to HD vision and sound and a proper re-release.

Danny1969

ICBM said:

spark240 said:

Im wondering  what the volume was actually like on the street ?

In case anyone else is as much of a geek as me , I spent a while looking at pics and following cables, and here's what was being used:

John and George - one Fender Twin Reverb, 85W. (The two behind John - the third one at an angle behind George is for the second keyboard.)

Paul - Fender Bassman 50 and 4x12" cab.

Billy Preston - Fender Rhodes and 'suitcase' amp/stand, which was a solid-state power section of 50W (or just possibly 80W if it was absolutely brand-new, they changed in very late '68 or early '69) driving four 12" speakers.

PA - Fender 100W solid-state PA amp (and this is brand new, it's still got the dealer tag attached to the handle) driving two 4x12" columns, one of which is balanced precariously pointing down over the edge of the roof!

Monitors - two old Vox 4x10" columns lying on their sides. I can't see what's driving them but there's some sort of mixer amp, possibly a WEM, next to the Fender - they're only rated for 40W each anyway, so it can't be more than about 80W.

So that's a grand total of between 400 and 500W, through twenty 12" speakers and eight 10"s - but even so they would really have been no louder than an average pub or wedding band.

What vocal mics are they using ? I've always though they look great with no mic lead in view I guess it comes out the bottom of the stand. Very small as well

guitars4you

ICBM said:

Blueingreen said:

Many younger folk won't realise that a big chunk of the conservative (small c) establishment at the time would have loathed The Beatles and all they stood for, and those feelings would have been very well represented in the senior ranks of the police force.  Whatever younger and more junior bobbies might have felt about the band they would be aware that most of their bosses would want this nipped in the bud.

Yes, I’d agree with that - they were still thought of as troublemakers by a large section of the establishment, even though in some ways they had almost become part of it, much to Lennon’s annoyance - but one of the things I find most interesting about the film is the number of older people in it who are clearly positive about it, not just the ones they picked for comments but the numbers visible in the background as well.

Not just seen in that way by the establishment, but also amongst many 'traditional' musicians - My granddad, was an ex pro - Violin first then Sax - Played with dots and played within many dance bands, big bands, were sometimes you did not know your fellow band members until you got to the gig, or indeed what you might be playing

My dad recalls my granddad telling him 'that it won't last - They can barely play their instruments' - This was when he first heard the Beatles chart

ICBM

Rabs said:

Exactly why I posted it..Ive seen it before.. Several times but not for a while.  These things pop up on YouTube from time to time and then get taken down again. I has the same feeling as you so I thought others might too so thought id post it while its still up  

I've only seen it once before and a long time ago, so much appreciated. It is actually possible to find downloadable versions online, as I have now discovered .

Danny1969 said:

What vocal mics are they using ? I've always though they look great with no mic lead in view I guess it comes out the bottom of the stand. Very small as well

Ah! Good question... my geekery does not extent that far. Yet .

But yes, they're going to be basically just a mic capsule attached to a stand.

ICBM

Danny1969 said:

What vocal mics are they using ? I've always though they look great with no mic lead in view I guess it comes out the bottom of the stand. Very small as well

And the answer is...

AKG C30A .

https://repforums.prosoundweb.com/index.php?topic=24049.0

guitars4you

ICBM said:

spark240 said:

Im wondering  what the volume was actually like on the street ?

In case anyone else is as much of a geek as me , I spent a while looking at pics and following cables, and here's what was being used:

John and George - one Fender Twin Reverb, 85W. (The two behind John - the third one at an angle behind George is for the second keyboard.)

Paul - Fender Bassman 50 and 4x12" cab.

Billy Preston - Fender Rhodes and 'suitcase' amp/stand, which was a solid-state power section of 50W (or just possibly 80W if it was absolutely brand-new, they changed in very late '68 or early '69) driving four 12" speakers.

PA - Fender 100W solid-state PA amp (and this is brand new, it's still got the dealer tag attached to the handle) driving two 4x12" columns, one of which is balanced precariously pointing down over the edge of the roof!

Monitors - two old Vox 4x10" columns lying on their sides. I can't see what's driving them but there's some sort of mixer amp, possibly a WEM, next to the Fender - they're only rated for 40W each anyway, so it can't be more than about 80W.

So that's a grand total of between 400 and 500W, through twenty 12" speakers and eight 10"s - but even so they would really have been no louder than an average pub or wedding band.

Some good ID work there - The Fender connection with The Beatles was a fairly recent affair - Don Randall had been badgering The Beatles/Brian Epstein for sometime about a potential endorse deal, without any joy - Following a meeting between Don, John, Paul in late 1968, a deal was set-up - I recall The Fender Rhodes, a 6 string bass, a Jazz Bass and of course the Rosewood Tele - There might have been a PA and a few other items, but can't recall the finer detail

ICBM

guitars4you said:

Some good ID work there - The Fender connection with The Beatles was a fairly recent affair - Don Randall had been badgering The Beatles/Brian Epstein for sometime about a potential endorse deal, without any joy - Following a meeting between Don, John, Paul in late 1968, a deal was set-up - I recall The Fender Rhodes, a 6 string bass, a Jazz Bass and of course the Rosewood Tele - There might have been a PA and a few other items, but can't recall the finer detail

The PA is definitely in evidence there - the amps are actually very, very rare now... apparently terribly unreliable so even if anyone else bought them, almost none will have survived. A Google image search doesn't bring up a single example, and the Beatles rooftop gig is the only time I've ever seen one in a pic at all. The whole series of solid-state amps only lasted about a year, and Fender actually went back to valves afterwards, even for PA amps - I owned a mid-70s PA100 at one point, and I think they updated it to the 135W power section at the same time as the Twin, Showman and Bassman in 1976.

I learned a bit more about the Rhodes 'suitcase' amp while doing the geekery for that post too . I've only ever seen one of the mid-70s version - apparently the earliest one from '66 to '69 was 'electrically delicate' too, according to the Rhodes website (like most first-generation solid-state gear), and was replaced by the more robust 80W version around the start of '69, so it could be one of those if it was brand new. The way to visually tell the difference would be the type of connector on the cable to the piano, and none of the pictures which show it are that good resolution!

richardhomer

Watched this last night - I love them anyway - but was amazed rewatching it just how good they were. 

guitars4you

ICBM said:

guitars4you said:

Some good ID work there - The Fender connection with The Beatles was a fairly recent affair - Don Randall had been badgering The Beatles/Brian Epstein for sometime about a potential endorse deal, without any joy - Following a meeting between Don, John, Paul in late 1968, a deal was set-up - I recall The Fender Rhodes, a 6 string bass, a Jazz Bass and of course the Rosewood Tele - There might have been a PA and a few other items, but can't recall the finer detail

The PA is definitely in evidence there - the amps are actually very, very rare now... apparently terribly unreliable so even if anyone else bought them, almost none will have survived. A Google image search doesn't bring up a single example, and the Beatles rooftop gig is the only time I've ever seen one in a pic at all. The whole series of solid-state amps only lasted about a year, and Fender actually went back to valves afterwards, even for PA amps - I owned a mid-70s PA100 at one point, and I think they updated it to the 135W power section at the same time as the Twin, Showman and Bassman in 1976.

I learned a bit more about the Rhodes 'suitcase' amp while doing the geekery for that post too . I've only ever seen one of the mid-70s version - apparently the earliest one from '66 to '69 was 'electrically delicate' too, according to the Rhodes website (like most first-generation solid-state gear), and was replaced by the more robust 80W version around the start of '69, so it could be one of those if it was brand new. The way to visually tell the difference would be the type of connector on the cable to the piano, and none of the pictures which show it are that good resolution!

Don't think I've ever seen a suitcase rig in the flesh - I recall how heavy a Rhodes is, especially with the lid on - So assume the Suitcase is ultra heavy - Is it one piece unit - Or break down into 2/3 parts

I recall some of those amps in a late 60's catalogue I had/have

Can't recall Paul ever playing a Fender Jazz, but it appears he was given one as part of this Fender deal - Don't think George was to hot on liking that Tele as he sold it shortly after 

Trude

RandallFlagg said:

It's high time we had some Giles Martin type magic applied to restore the Let It Be film to HD vision and sound and a proper re-release.

Peter Jackson is in the process of doing exactly this, so stay tuned!

ICBM

guitars4you said:

Don't think I've ever seen a suitcase rig in the flesh - I recall how heavy a Rhodes is, especially with the lid on - So assume the Suitcase is ultra heavy - Is it one piece unit - Or break down into 2/3 parts

One piece - from memory about the same weight as the Rhodes, but it's a long time ago. Both pretty heavy!

 It's an interesting arrangement - four 12" speakers, but two of them face forwards and two of them point at the player's knees. The amp section doesn't weigh much though, it's a fairly small solid-state chassis.

This knackered one shows how it's arranged -



The rectangular holes at the left are just for cooling, the amp section is on that side.

By the way, the reason these early Fender solid-state amps were so unreliable, is because according to Don Randall they had inadequate heatsinking for the primitive transistors, which were prone to thermal runaway. So in fact, on a London rooftop in January was probably the best place to run them!

guitars4you said:

Can't recall Paul ever playing a Fender Jazz, but it appears he was given one as part of this Fender deal

Ah - no, my earlier post was wrong. Edited!