Did the Beatles use mandolin?

**Elliot Luber** · Jul-20-2006, 12:51pm

I was struck by Paul's comments at the George Harrison memorial concert about how they all would sit together and play ukeleles after dinner. Did the Beatles use mandolin at all, and how did or how might this have affected their music?

**AlanN** · Jul-20-2006, 1:06pm

Don't know, but there was a photo of Paul disembarking a plane with his first wife in one arm and a tater bug in the other. Wonder which one he preferred?

**Elliot Luber** · Jul-20-2006, 1:23pm

Depends on which wife. :-)

**Amandalyn** · Jul-20-2006, 1:38pm

I Have seen a pic of George Harrison with a mandolin. ( can't seem to find right now), but here's one that's been on the cafe before- PROOF!

**mandobob** · Jul-20-2006, 2:24pm

I know GH had an electric mando by a guy made Hamburger (Detroit?), but that was in the 90's I think. I have asked this very question, and one reply I remember was that it was the OTHER Beatle George (Martin) that nixed the idea.
Not sure he would have had that veto power if one of lads felt strongly enough about it.

**Tom C** · Jul-20-2006, 2:54pm

**Christian McKee** · Jul-20-2006, 5:00pm

Limited info about George's 5-string can be found at www.hamburguitar.com. It's a nice looking instrument...

Christian

**Jim Garber** · Jul-20-2006, 8:31pm

Originally Posted by (Tom C @ July 20 2006, 15:54)

You know, of course that that was Photoshopped from the original (from the Ed Sullivan appearance). original here.

Jim

**Tom C** · Jul-21-2006, 8:16am

Duh....Of course

**AlanN** · Jul-21-2006, 9:03am

Whoever did the photoshop even got the correct hand positions in there. Nice job.

**Jacob** · Jul-21-2006, 9:20am

George used a Vox mando guitar, a short scale 12 string model.
IIRC, it's tuned an octave above normal 12 string guitar.

**Jim Garber** · Jul-21-2006, 10:34am

Originally Posted by (AlanN @ July 21 2006, 10:03)

Whoever did the photoshop even got the correct hand positions in there. Nice job.

I have a feeling that they copied the hand positions from the original instrument players. George's esp looks odd.

BTW I think that that mandolin is either a Monteleone or a Dawg model.

Jim

**jefflester** · Jul-21-2006, 2:17pm

Hamburger pic from emando

**kww** · Jul-21-2006, 7:48pm

What makes a Vox mando guitar a "mando guitar" instead of an electic bandurria, a 12-string small guitar tuned one octave higher than a standard guitar?

**evanreilly** · Jul-22-2006, 7:38am

Didn't a 'Bill Munroe' play on one of their albums?

**Jason Kessler** · Jul-22-2006, 9:42am

To answer the original question: I'm fairly convinced that there is no mandolin to be heard on any Beatles cut.

**Elliot Luber** · Jul-22-2006, 11:46am

They were such experimenters. I mean you can hear BBC recordings of King Lear in their songs, but they totally overlooked the mandolin. Ah, what might have been!

**Amandalyn** · Jul-23-2006, 5:36pm

Well, since there's no mandolin played by the Beatles on their recordings, How about which Beatle tunes are best suited for the mandolin? Which ones do you play? Should we make this be a separate thread?

**Wadefox** · Jul-23-2006, 8:00pm

Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds and Norwegian Wood both sound good on mandolin.

**jefflester** · Jul-24-2006, 6:26pm

I came across mando tab for You've Got to Hide Your Love Away somewhere, though I can't remember where.

**jmcgann** · Jul-24-2006, 7:26pm

I don't have the recording handy but there might be some mando tremolo under a verse or two of "The Continuing Story of Bungalow Bill" on the White Album...

**mandoisland** · Jul-25-2006, 1:53pm

AlanN wrote about a picture of Paul with bowlback - I remembered this from an issue of Mandolin World News (Vol V, Issue 1, Spring '80) - I just made a scan:

**Jim Broyles** · Jul-25-2006, 4:20pm

I've Just Seen a Face and I'm Looking Through You, both sound good on a mando. You can even do them bluegrass and they sound cool.

**Ted Eschliman** · Jul-25-2006, 5:34pm

Those of us old enough to remember can't forget the controversial John & Oko Bed-in...

**AlanN** · Aug-14-2006, 6:23am

Originally Posted by (jefflester @ July 24 2006, 19:26)

I came across mando tab for You've Got to Hide Your Love Away somewhere, though I can't remember where.

Niles wrote out Jimmy Gaudreau's break to this tune, done when he (Jimmy) was in Adcock's pop band. They did it up in bluegrass time, and it had a bounce to it.

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