Location and Time
EMI Studio 2
10:00am – 1:00pm
Songs
Love Me Do
P.S. I Love You
Please Please Me (demo)
Personnel
John Lennon – guitar, vocals
Paul McCartney – bass, vocals
George Harrison – guitar
Ringo Starr – maracas. tambourine
Andy White – session drummer
George Martin – Producer
Ron Richards – Assistant Producer
Norman Smith – Balance Engineer
Chris Neal – Assistant Engineer / Tape Operator
Instruments and Amplification
The following list is according to Jerry Hammack in The Beatles Recording Reference Manual: Volume 1, along with other sources listed below.
Format:
Year • Brand Model [Finish / Variant] — Type (Player) – Notes
Guitars
- 1957 Gretsch G6128 Duo Jet [Jet Black] – Electric Guitar (George Harrison)
- 1958 Rickenbacker 325 Capri with Bigsby B5 – Hallow-body electric guitar (John Lennon) 1
- 1961 Höfner 500/1 ‘Cavern’ [Sunburst] – Violin‑style Bass Guitar (Paul McCartney)
- 1962 Gretsch Chet Atkins Country Gentleman [Walnut] – Hallow-body Electric Guitar (George Harrison) 2
- Often alternated with his 1957 Duo Jet during late‑1962 sessions. It is disputed which guitar he had during this session.
- Gibson J-160E – Electro-acoustic Guitar (John Lennon, George Harrison) 3
Guitar Amplifiers
- 1960 Fender Deluxe ‘Narrow Panel’ 5E3 [Tweed] – 5 W Guitar Amplifier (John Lennon) 4
- c. 1960 Gibson GA-40T Les Paul, 16 W Electric Guitar Amplifier with Tremolo (George Harrison)
- 1962 JMI Vox AC30/6 Twin – 30 W Guitar Amplifier (John Lennon, George Harrison)
- Leak ‘Point One’ Preamplifier – Valve Hi-Fi Preamplifier (Paul McCartney) 5
- Leak TL/12 Plus Power Amp + Tannoy 15″ Dual‑Concentric Cabinet — 12 W Bass Amplifier (Paul McCartney) 6
- Temporarily pulled from the Echo Chamber One due to Paul’s noisy amp.
Percussion
- 1956 Ludwig ‘Buddy Rich Super Classic’ Kit [Black Diamond Pearl] – Drum Kit (Andy White) 7
- 14″ x 22″ Bass Drum
- 9″ x 13″ Rack Tom
- 16″ x 16″ Floor Tom
- 14″ x 5.5″ Snare
- Cymbals
- 20″ ride
- 18″ crash
- 14″ hi-hats
- Latin Style Wooden Maracas – Hand Percussion (Ringo Starr)
- 6” Single-row Tambourine – Hand Percussion (Ringo Starr)
Other Instruments
- Hohner Chromonica 64 (Key of C) – Chromatic Harmonica (John Lennon)
*Based on known gear but not fully verified for this session.
Studio Gear
This is the standard setup used in the 1962 to 1964 era, unless noted.
The following list is according to Jerry Hammack in The Beatles Recording Reference Manual: Volume 1, along with other sources listed below.
Control Room
- REDD.37 valve console
- BTR-2 mono tape machine
- BTR-3 twin-track tape machine
- Altec 605A monitors
- EMI RS141 Leak TL, 25 Plus amplifier
- EMI RLS10
Outboard Signal Processors
- EMI RS114 Limiter
- EMI RS124 Altec Compressor
- EMI RS127 Presence Box
- EMI RS144 4-Way Mixer / Premix
- EMI RS92 Neumann Mic Equaliser
Effects
- Echo Chamber
- STEED send tape echo, echo delay
Microphones
- Neumann U 48 (vocals, electric guitar amplifiers, acoustic guitar, acoustic and electric keyboards)
- Neumann U 47/48 (vocals, electric guitar amplifiers, acoustic and electric keyboards)
- Neumann KM 54 (electric guitar amplifiers)
- STC 4038 (drum overhead)
- STC 4033-A (bass drum)
- STC 4033-A (bass guitar amplifier)
Session Notes
Mixing Techniques
- P.S. I Love YouI has Superimpositions with McCartney on lead vocals, Harrison and Lennon on backing vocals.
- Love Me Do features Superimpositions with McCartney and Lennon on vocals, handclaps, and harmonica.
- Please Please Me has Superimpositions with McCartney and Lennon on vocals, Harrison on backing vocals.
Additional Notes
- This session followed by their previous studio appearance on 4 September 1962.
- Following the underwhelming 4 September session, producer George Martin brought in session drummer Andy White to re-record Love Me Do and P.S. I Love You. This was a difficult moment for Ringo Starr, who had officially joined the band just weeks earlier. He played tambourine on Love Me Do and maracas on P.S. I Love You, while White handled the drum kit.
- This version of Love Me Do, with Andy White on drums and Ringo on tambourine, became the standard single release in most countries, replacing the earlier 4 September take.
- P.S. I Love You was tracked in full during this session and is notable for its early use of superimposed vocals and percussion, a technique the Beatles and EMI engineers would refine in later recordings.
- A demo of Please Please Me was also attempted during the session. George Martin felt the song had potential but suggested speeding it up and revisiting it later – setting the stage for their first major breakthrough in November.
- Despite the tension surrounding Ringo’s role, this session produced The Beatles’ first official single pairing, marking a major milestone in their studio career.
Fab Four Mix Notes
Working within Constraints: Recording The Beatles on September 11, 1962
Media
Sources
Books
All the Songs: The Story Behind Every Beatles Release (Jean Michel Guedson, Philippe Margotin)
The Beatles Recording Reference Manual: Volume 1 (Jerry Hammack)
The Beatles Recording Techniques (Jerry Hammack)
The Complete Beatles Recording Sessions (Mark Lewisohn)
Here There Everywhere: My Life Recording the Beatles (Geoff Emerick)
Websites
- It is disputed if the Bigsby B5 vibrato was on Lennon’s Rickenbacker at this session. Lennon later modified his 325 by removing the Kauffman Vibrola for the Bigsby, along with installing the gold pick guard and Horner knobs.
All You Need to Know About John Lennon’s Favorite Rickenbacker Model (Guitar Player) ↩︎ - Instrument attribution disputed; Harrison was photographed with both the Duo Jet and Country Gentleman during 1962. ↩︎
- Purchased 10 September, 1962 at Rushworth’s; first used the very next day. ↩︎
- Loan gear supplied temporarily by EMI staff. ↩︎
- Loan gear supplied temporarily by EMI staff. ↩︎
- Loan gear supplied temporarily by EMI staff. ↩︎
- Nate D. Sanders Auctions ↩︎
