Jeff Evans
I think Ben is a bit of a master on Beatles stuff. He really knows and understands a lot about them. And what is particularly hard is trying to recreate the Beatles sound. It is totally unique as far as I am concerned. Ben manages to get those electric guitars sounding so authentic which is damn hard I reckon. And the rest of the parts too.
Since reading the book Lennon by Tim Riley I have a very deep appreciation now not only about John himself but the whole band and its sound too.
There are just some sounds that would be nearly impossible to copy. Another one is All Along the Watchtower by Hendrix. That whole sound and groove is just strange to say the least. Imagine trying to get that down to perfection. It would be hard and I mean hard!
Thanks Jeff, it's not too hard now Jeff lol...but that's after 20 years of practice, practice, practice in regards to audio production, and of course research, research, research. The key to Beatle guitars, and I'm not going to give away the complete formula, but but the key is 2nd and 3rd harmonics...that's it. I also use a Vox emulator, but it's not a Beatle Vox emulator it's emulated from a 1980s one, apparently the GR4 one. The other key is knowing where to play the guitar parts on the fret board, this is where 31 years of musicianship comes into play.
Those sounds of Hendrix, and The Beatles, because Hendrix's sound is an extension of The Beatles sound due to the links between all the rock-avant-gardes ;) aren't that hard to emulate either...it has a lot to do with varispeed, which Reaper's is excellent for, understanding the analogue emulation paradigm...
http://meterplugs.com/blog/2016/12/15/do-plugins-have-a-loudness-sweet-spot.html this is what I've been saying for many years and many on this forum said I was mad :), but this sort of proves there is a difference in analogue engineering and digital engineering, those Waves Kramer Pye plugs are great, add that with Cakewalk's Tape, Tube and Console emulators, and finally the Pultec, and here is your 60's sound. Finally, the RS56 emulator is a key in getting those transients sweet in mastering. I still haven't given the complete formula though lol, also pumping up the verbs and delays with binaural tech, helps give fix the digital conundrum...again, you have to add in to make digital work...otherwise like most analogue engineers will tell you, digital sound flat compared to analogue.
Again, this is not the complete formula...there are secrets throughout the signal chain which need to be followed to create the sixties sounds using a complete digital system...and as I have been saying for nigh on 20 years, I can create these sounds for a fraction of the price of a studio, and I've done all this on headphones...1000 dollar headphones lol, but still headphones. Once we can get people to realize the creative possibilities of digital, and how limitless the digital is, even the most basic and crude of digital, music will again be a force to be reckoned with...of course we need to encourage kids to pick up an instrument again.
One day, I might give the whole formula in a series of how-to instruction videos to the world...at the moment however, it is still the only thing that gives me the edge...I have given enough information though, for someone to reverse engineer my technique :).
Peace and Love Neb