Beatles Microphones
Here is the most complete collection of Beatles microphones. Here are the microphones that the Beatles used in their live shows, films and in the studio.
Trying to find out the actual information is a somewhat daunting task. I have searched high and low and now I can present the actual and factual information about the Microphones that the Beatles used. There is so much erroneous info on the web and I have done my best to present the real facts.
Don’t forget the Beatles played over 1400 concerts and probably had no control over the P.A. equipment so there are some strange models out there.
Probably the most iconic performance was the Feb 9th, 1964 North American debut on the Ed Sullivan show.
The microphones are rare indeed. That famous microphone is an AKG C60 fitted with a W60 windscreen
They played their first US concert in Washington at the Washington Colosseum in Feb 1964. That same mike was used at the Philadelphia Convention Hall later that year.
I have a lot of trouble identifying the microphones use when the Beatles played Carnegie Hall in Feb 64. It looks a lot like the Electro-Voice 655 If you know, please drop me a line. I had thought that it could be an EV654 but that one doesn’t have the rings.
Another AKG microphone was seen on the John on Morecambe and Wise show in 1963. It appears to be an AKG C28
In the Movie ” A Hard Day’s Night” the Beatles sing into the AKG D19C
The AKG D19 was also used in the EMI ( Abbey Road) studio and seen in the Twickenham seen featured in Let It Be.
When the Beatles played Melbourne in 1964, they used the Sennheiser MD421.
One other AKG that is employed a lot is the AKG D24E .
The AKG D24E was featured in 1963 at the Royal Variety Performance, The Shea Stadium show, Their fourth Ed Sullivan appearance, and And later at the Budokan.
The Beatles were also seen with the AKG-D202. Below we see John from their final concert at Candlestick Park and George from the Hey Jude video both using the AKG-D202.
Shure microphones were also being used. Such as the 545S. The Beatles used these at the 1966 Shea Stadium show. They used foam windscreens.
The Shure 556S ( or close model) was used at the Hammersmith Odeon Christmas shows in 1964
Another microphone that was seen a few times was the AKG D160
One of the most popular vocal microphones in the’60s was the Electro-Voice 664. Here we see The Beatles in Busch Stadium using them.
It has taken a while but I finally identified the microphone that we see the Beatles when they performed in Milan, Italy
George and Paul were performing in Italy with the Davoli Krundaal Model 613. The microphones appear to be taped to keep them from tilting.
Way back in the beginning The Beatles used these mics as seen below.
IN THE STUDIO
The workhorse of EMI’s Abbey Road studios was the Neumann U47. It was used both for vocals and instruments. The AKG D19 was used for vocals and drums.
Depending on the song John used different harmonicas.” Marine band type of (diatonic) harmonicas for example on a “Hard Day’s Night” used one tuned in “C”. This is a blues style of playing called “cross harp” where the harmonica is tuned to the 4th above the root. So for a song in the key of G, you need a C harp. On “Love me do” and “Please Please me” he used a Chromatic harmonica in the key of C.
We see the Neumann M49 was also used in the studio.
In the early days, we see Ringo set up with an STC-Coles 4038 overhead and an STC Coles 4033a on the bass drum.
This is a later session. Ringo was mic’ed with a couple of AKG D19s and an AKG D20 on the bass drum.
According to Abbey Road Studios, the legendary RCA 44BX Ribbon Microphone was used to record John Lennon’s vocals on ” Yer Blues” This classic microphone was developed in the 1930 and production was stopped in 1955. It was developed as a broadcaster’s microphone. You often see them with a radio station call letter plate attached to the top of them
Although this was a simulated recording session from the movie HELP two AKG-D20s appear above John and Paul.
The Let It Be Microphones
This next microphone has been wrongly identified on numerous sites on the web. It was used from the early days but is best remembered from the Roof Top Concert. This is the AKG C30.
The Beatles used the longest attachments with windshields
The AKG C 28, C29, C30 came with the V28C pre-amp and the C28 capsule. VR28 extension tube 33 cm and the VR30 100cm.
The AKG C 28, C29, C30 came with the V28C pre-amp and the C28 capsule. VR28 extension tube 33 cm and the VR30 100cm.
The microphone that we see the most in Let it be is the Neumann KM56 with the W188 ( not 100% sure of the model) windshield.
The microphones used at the Twickenham studios differ from the ones we see in Apples’ studio.
Twickenham was a TV and film studio so we see a lot of the BBC’s favourite microphones like the STC/Coles 4037A and 4037B. The A is the long version and the B is the short version.
The Beatles requested that a P.A. system be set up at Twickenham. This is why we see several microphones paired together with masking tape. The Shure 545SD and the STC 4037 were the P.A mics and the AKG D19 were used to record the sound. We often see this in live concert films. The reason is simple. The venue mix is optimized for the venue and is not generally good for recording. So the film or recording crew would tape their microphones together with the house mics
The microphones seen below have been hard to identify. They may be a Shure 545SD with foam windshields. The foam appears to be taped with masking tape. Anyone who knows for sure please send a message through the contact page.
We also see AKG D224E and Neumanns used to record drums and guitars etc. The Neumann could be U67
Although this is not a microphone, it is the tape recorder used at Twickenham. It belonged to George Harrison. The model is a 3M M23. This recorder used one-inch tape and was able to record 8 independent tracks. EMI studios were not keeping up with technology. The Beatles used 4 track machines until 1968.
Although we are concentrated on microphones many people ask about the headphones seen in the Sgt Pepper sessions. They are a British make and very rare known as S.G. Brown Type “Super K”.
Don’t forget to check out the gear that The Beatles used on BEATLES FAB GEAR
This is an ongoing project so keep checking for updates.
For more info on microphones visit this site Coutant
Here is a most fascinating site by Martin Mitchell with more detailed microphone information.
We also have a YouTube channel.
