The Beatles Secret Weapon: A Nylon String Classical Acoustic
By: Ivan Munoz & Graham Alexander
So we all know that, along with the songwriting, harmonies, and catchy pop arrangements, a key piece to the puzzle of The Beatles’ sound comes from their instruments; and they definitely had a very unique arsenal of them with one-of –a-kind sounds. John’s super short scale Rickenbacker 325, Paul’s Hofner bass built by German violin makers, George’s sitar, or Ringo’s remarkably rare 6 ½” deep snare drum.
There is, however, one instrument they used quite a bit that doesn’t get mentioned nearly as much as it should; and that’s this one:
Spanish, nylon, classical, or folk, whatever you like to call it, the distinct sound of this guitar is instantly recognizable in its soft and dulcet tones with a gentle attack and percussive response.
This particular Beatle guitar, a Ramriez “Rondalla” model, came into Harrison’s hands in 1963 by way of their friend Klaus Voormann - (the same Klaus Voormann who would go on to design the Revolver cover!) - who purchased the guitar in Madrid, Spain before ultimately passing it along to Harrison. George took to the instrument, in part, due to a budding fascination with Andrés Segovia, a renowned Spanish classical guitarist.
From then on the sound of the Beatles, especially the early years, would have yet another color in the palette of sound from which they drew. Here at Victor, we listened to and discussed all these songs and have compiled a complete list of Beatle songs that feature this instrument and the role it plays!
With The Beatles
All My Loving - Rhythm guitar 2.
Till There Was You - Intro riff, lead guitar, guitar solo.
A Hard Day’s Night
And I Love Her - Intro riff, lead guitar, guitar solo.
Any Time At All - Rhythm guitar.
Things We Said Today - Rhythm guitar.
I’ll Be Back - Intro riff, rhythm guitar 2.
Beatles For Sale
No Reply - Rhythm guitar.
I’ll Follow The Sun - Rhythm guitar.
Help!
You’ve Got To Hide Your Love Away - Rhythm guitar (adding body by doubling Lennon’s 12-string acoustic Framus Hootenany).
I Need You - Rhythm guitar.
It’s Only Love - Rhythm guitar.
I’ve Just Seen A Face - Intro riff (lower harmony), rhythm guitar.
Rubber Soul
Michelle - Intro riff, rhythm guitar.
Girl - Rhythm guitar 2, plays eighth notes on chords throughout.
Revolver
Yellow Submarine - Rhythm guitar doubling steel string.
Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band
Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds - Rhythm guitar in pre-chorus.
The White Album
The Continuing Story of Bungalow Bill - Featured as a mellotron sample in intro and before chorus, rhythm guitar.
Yellow Submarine
All Together Now - Rhythm guitar 2.
Singles
Yes It Is (1965) - Rhythm guitar, this song was recorded on the same day as I Need You, featured earlier in the list, so clearly they were in a classical guitar mood that day.
Honorable Mentions:
Christmas Time Is Here Again (1967) - Rhythm guitar, plays lead riff in break after Ringo sings “O-U-T- spells out”.
A José Ramirez “GH” model, a reissue of George’s secret weapon, the classical nylon string guitar.
This means that a classical guitar appears in 19 official Beatles songs of their commercially released 213 song catalogue, meaning it’s in approximately 9% of their songs! To put that into perspective, there are only 18 songs in their catalogue, which feature the Rickenbacker electric 12 string, widely considered to be one of their many signature sounds. This means the classical guitar is more prominent as the 12 string; interesting – how cool is that?
So next time you listen to The Beatles, keep an ear out for that nylon string guitar, it might just surprise you how often you hear it!
If there’s anything you feel we’re missing or would like to debate, please leave a comment or drop us a line!
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About The Author
Ivan Munoz is a musician, bassist, singer, musicians advocate, and member of the Victor Talking Machine Company. Along with this Ivan can be found devoting his time to various musical projects, compositions, and working on musical instruments. Click the photo for more!
