Editing Revolver (Beatles album) (section)

== Production techniques ==
=== Studio aesthetic ===
{{quote box|quote= ''Revolver'' very rapidly became the album where the Beatles would say, "OK, that sounds great, now let's play [the recording] backwards or speeded up or slowed down." They tried everything backwards, just to see what things sounded like.{{sfn|Hertsgaard|1996|pp=177–78}}{{sfn|Lewisohn|2005|p=74}}|source= – EMI recording engineer [[Geoff Emerick]]|width=25%|align=left|style=padding:8px;}}
The sessions for ''Revolver'' furthered the spirit of studio experimentation that was evident on ''Rubber Soul''.{{sfn|Kruth|2015|pp=195–96}}{{sfn|Howard|2004|pp=20, 23}} With the Beatles increasingly involved in the production of their music, Martin's role as producer had changed to one of a facilitator and collaborator, whereby the band now relied on him to make their ideas a reality.<ref name="Sheffield/RS 50th">{{cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/features/celebrating-revolver-beatles-first-on-purpose-masterpiece-w432935 |first=Rob|last=Sheffield|title=Celebrating 'Revolver': Beatles' First On-Purpose Masterpiece|magazine=[[Rolling Stone]]|date=5 August 2016|access-date=24 June 2017}}</ref>{{sfn|The Beatles|2000|p=206}}{{refn|group=nb|The change in the dynamic between the Beatles and Martin began in 1964.{{sfn|Millard|2012|p=179}} Speaking about his role in 1966, Martin said: "I've changed from being the [[Gaffer (boss)|gaffer]] to four Herberts from Liverpool to what I am now, clinging on to the last vestiges of recording power."<ref name="Sheffield/RS 50th" />}} According to Rodriguez, ''Revolver'' marked the first time the Beatles integrated studio technology into the "conception of the recordings they made".{{sfn|Rodriguez|2012|p=xii}} He views this approach as reflective of the group's waning interest in live performance before crowds of screaming fans, "in favor of creating soundscapes without limitation" in a studio environment.{{sfn|Rodriguez|2012|p=xiv}} For the first time at EMI Studios, the company's [[Multitrack recording|four-track]] tape machines were placed in the studio's control room, alongside the producer and balance engineer, rather than in a dedicated machine room.{{sfn|Emerick|Massey|2006|pp=48, 86}} The Beatles' new [[recording engineer]] on the project was nineteen-year-old [[Geoff Emerick]],{{sfn|Hertsgaard|1996|p=179}} whom author and critic [[Ian MacDonald]] describes as an "English audio experimentalist" in the tradition of [[Joe Meek]].{{sfn|MacDonald|2005|p=190fn}}{{refn|group=nb|In the 1950s, Meek had pioneered many recording techniques and had experimented with close-miking,<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Cleveland|first=Barry|title=Why modern audio recording might not exist without British DIY audio pioneer Joe Meek|url=http://tapeop.com/articles/100/joe-meek/|magazine=[[Tape Op]]|access-date=25 May 2017|date=March 2014}}</ref> a sound-capture technique favoured by Emerick.{{sfn|Hertsgaard|1996|p=179}} Meek's preeminence was usurped by the Beatles and other British rock 'n' roll bands in 1963.{{sfn|Prendergast|2003|p=189}}}} Emerick recalled that no preproduction or rehearsal process took place for ''Revolver''; instead, the band used the studio to create each song from what was often just an outline of a composition.{{sfn|Emerick|Massey|2006|pp=117–18}} Speaking shortly before the start of the sessions, Lennon said that they had considered making the album a continuous flow of tracks, without gaps to differentiate between each song.<ref name="Sutherland/NMEOrig" />{{refn|group=nb|This technique was instead used for the first time on a pop album when the Beatles released their follow-up to ''Revolver'', ''[[Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band]]''.{{sfn|Womack|2007|p=170}} Author and critic [[Tim Riley (music critic)|Tim Riley]] nevertheless identifies the segues from "[[I'm Only Sleeping]]" to "[[Love You To]]" and "[[Doctor Robert]]" to "[[I Want to Tell You]]" as anticipating the "continuous stream of sound" achieved on ''Sgt. Pepper''.{{sfn|Riley|2002|p=196}}}}

[[File:Abbey road studios.jpg|thumb|right|[[EMI]]'s [[Abbey Road Studios]] (pictured in 2005). Most of the sessions for ''Revolver'' took place in the complex's intimate Studio 3.]]
The group's willingness to experiment was also evident in their dedication to finding or inventing sounds that captured the heightened perception they experienced through hallucinogenic drugs.{{sfn|Case|2010|pp=30–31}}{{sfn|Turner|2016|p=414}} The album made liberal use of [[Dynamic range compression|compression]] and [[Equalization (audio)|tonal equalisation]].{{sfn|Ingham|2006|p=40}} Emerick said that the Beatles encouraged the studio staff to break from standard recording practices,{{sfn|Jones|2016|p=31}} adding: "It was implanted when we started ''Revolver'' that every instrument should sound unlike itself: a piano shouldn't sound like a piano, a guitar shouldn't sound like a guitar."<ref name="Irvin/Tomorrow">Irvin, Jim. "Into Tomorrow". In: {{harvnb|''Mojo Special Limited Edition''|2002|p=45}}.</ref>

In their search for new sounds, the band incorporated musical instruments such as the Indian [[Tanpura|tambura]] and [[tabla]], and [[clavichord]], [[vibraphone]] and [[tack piano]] into their work for the first time.{{sfn|Babiuk|2002|pp=182, 184, 185}} The guitar sound on the album was more robust than before, through the use of new [[Fender Musical Instruments Corporation|Fender]] amplifiers; the choice of guitars, which included Harrison using a [[Gibson SG]] as his preferred instrument; and the introduction of [[Fairchild 660]] limiters for recording.<ref name="Scapelliti/GW">{{cite web|url=http://www.guitarworld.com/guide-recording-equipment-songs-and-instruments-featured-beatles-revolver-album|first=Christopher|last=Scapelliti|title=The Beatles' 'Revolver': Guide to the Songs, Instruments and Recording Equipment|publisher=[[Guitar World|guitarworld.com]]|date=5 August 2016|access-date=25 June 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170617200000/http://www.guitarworld.com/guide-recording-equipment-songs-and-instruments-featured-beatles-revolver-album|archive-date=17 June 2017|url-status=live}}</ref> With no expectations of being able to re-create their new music within the confines of their live shows,{{sfn|Turner|2016|p=404}}{{sfn|Hodgson|2010|p=viii}} the Beatles increasingly used outside contributors while making the album.{{sfn|Rodriguez|2012|p=112}} This included the band's first use of a [[horn section]],<ref name="Sheffield/RS 50th" /> on "[[Got to Get You into My Life]]",{{sfn|Rodriguez|2012|p=112}} and the first time they incorporated [[sound effects]] extensively,{{sfn|Reising|2006|p=112}} during a party-style overdubbing session for "[[Yellow Submarine (song)|Yellow Submarine]]".{{sfn|Winn|2009|pp=22–23}}

=== Innovations ===
{{quote box|quote= There are sounds [on ''Revolver''] that nobody else has done yet – I mean nobody&nbsp;... ever.{{sfn|Schaffner|1978|p=60}}|source= – Paul McCartney, 1966|width=25%|align=left|style=padding:8px;}}
Author Mark Brend writes that, with ''Revolver'', the Beatles advanced Meek's strategy of employing the [[Recording studio as an instrument|recording studio as a musical instrument]] and "formalized this approach into what is now an accepted option for pop music making".{{sfn|Brend|2005|pp=55–56}} A key production technique they used was [[automatic double tracking]] (ADT), which EMI technical engineer [[Ken Townsend]] invented on 6 April. This technique employed two linked [[tape recorder]]s to automatically create a doubled vocal track.{{sfn|Lewisohn|2005|p=70}} The standard method had been to double the vocal by singing the same piece twice onto a [[multitrack recording|multitrack]] tape, a task Lennon particularly disliked.{{sfn|Rodriguez|2012|pp=100–01}} The Beatles were delighted with the invention, and used it extensively on ''Revolver''.{{sfn|Rodriguez|2012|pp=100–01}}{{sfn|Howard|2004|pp=22–23}} ADT soon became a standard pop production technique, and led to related developments such as the artificial [[chorus effect]].{{sfn|Bishop|2010|p=202}}

The band's most experimental work during the sessions was channelled into the first song they attempted, "Tomorrow Never Knows".{{sfn|Ingham|2006|p=40}} Lennon sang his vocal for the song through the twin revolving speakers inside a [[Leslie speaker|Leslie]] cabinet, which was designed for use with a [[Hammond organ]].{{sfn|Rodriguez|2012|p=107}}{{sfn|Turner|2016|pp=143–44}} The effect was employed throughout the initial take of the song but only during the second half of the remake.{{sfn|Rodriguez|2012|p=107}}{{sfn|Turner|2016|p=144}} According to author [[Andy Babiuk]], "Tomorrow Never Knows" marked the first time that a vocal was recorded using a microphone wired into the input of a Leslie speaker.{{sfn|Babiuk|2002|p=184}} Much of the backing track for the song consists of a series of prepared [[tape loop]]s,{{sfn|Lewisohn|2005|p=70}} an idea that originated with McCartney and was influenced by the work of avant-garde artists such as [[Karlheinz Stockhausen]] who regularly experimented with [[magnetic tape]] and [[musique concrète]] techniques.{{sfn|MacDonald|2005|pp=190fn, 224–25}}{{sfn|Rodriguez|2012|pp=71–72}} The Beatles each prepared loops at home,<ref>{{Harvard citation no brackets|MacDonald|2005|p=190}}; {{Harvard citation no brackets|Schaffner|1978|p=64}}; {{Harvard citation no brackets|Winn|2009|p=8}}; {{Harvard citation no brackets|Turner|1999|p=116}}; {{Harvard citation no brackets|Case|2010|p=30}}.</ref> and a selection of these sounds were then added to the musical backing of "Tomorrow Never Knows".{{sfn|Lewisohn|2005|p=72}}{{refn|group=nb|While Emerick said that McCartney was solely responsible for creating the tape loops,{{sfn|Emerick|Massey|2006|pp=111–12}} Martin credited all four members of the band.{{sfn|Martin|Pearson|1994|p=80}} Rodriguez acknowledges McCartney as the initiator, and the likelihood that the other Beatles contributed.{{sfn|Rodriguez|2012|p=108}}}} The process was carried out live, with multiple tape recorders running simultaneously, and some of the longer loops extending out of the control room and down the corridor.{{sfn|MacDonald|2005|p=191}}

The inclusion of reversed tape sounds on "Rain" (specifically, a portion of Lennon's vocal part) marked the first pop release to use this technique, although the Beatles had first used it in some of the tape loops and the overdubbed guitar solo on "Tomorrow Never Knows".{{sfn|Reising|LeBlanc|2009|pp=94, 95}} The backwards (or [[Backmasking|backmasked]]) guitar solo on "[[I'm Only Sleeping]]" was similarly unprecedented in pop music,<ref name="GilmoreAcidTest" /><ref name="McCormick/Tele" /> in that Harrison deliberately composed and recorded his guitar parts with a view to how the notes would sound when the tape direction was corrected.{{sfn|Rodriguez|2012|p=131}}{{sfn|Brend|2005|p=56}} Experimentation with backwards sounds was a key aspect of the ''Revolver'' sessions,{{sfn|Ingham|2006|p=191}} as was the use of the Leslie speaker effect.{{sfn|MacDonald|2005|p=197}} The band's interest in the tones that resulted from varying tape speed (or [[varispeed]]ing) extended to recording a basic track at a faster [[tempo]] than they intended the song to sound on disc.{{sfn|Rodriguez|2012|pp=130–31}}{{sfn|Reising|LeBlanc|2009|pp=95–96}}

[[File:Fairchild Model 670 Compressor.jpg|thumb|right|A [[Fairchild Recording Equipment Corporation|Fairchild]] 670 stereo [[Dynamic range compression|compressor]]. Fairchild's mono equivalent, the [[Fairchild 660|660]], was used extensively during the ''Revolver'' sessions and contributed to the robust sounds captured on the album.<ref name="Scapelliti/GW" />]]
During the sessions, Emerick recorded McCartney's bass guitar amplifier via a loudspeaker, which Townsend had reconfigured to serve as a microphone, in order to give the bass more prominence than on previous Beatles releases.{{sfn|Hertsgaard|1996|p=180}} Although this particular technique was used only on the two songs selected for the May 1966 single,{{sfn|Rodriguez|2012|p=119}} an enhanced bass sound was a feature of much of the album.{{sfn|Ingham|2006|p=191}}{{sfn|Perone|2012|p=84}} Emerick also ensured a greater presence for Starr's [[bass drum]], by inserting an item of clothing inside the structure, to dampen the sound,{{sfn|Hertsgaard|1996|p=179}} and then moving the microphone to just 3 inches from the [[drumhead]] and compressing the signal through a Fairchild limiter.{{sfn|Rodriguez|2012|pp=105–06}} MacDonald writes that, despite EMI Studios being technically inferior to many recording facilities in the United States, Starr's drumming on the album soon led to studios there "being torn apart and put back together again", as engineers sought to replicate the innovative sounds achieved by the Beatles.{{sfn|MacDonald|2005|pp=189–90}} The preference for close-miking instruments extended to the orchestral strings used on "[[Eleanor Rigby]]", to achieve McCartney's request for a "really biting" sound,{{sfn|Emerick|Massey|2006|p=127}} and the horns on "Got to Get You into My Life".{{sfn|Rodriguez|2012|pp=113, 134}} This was another break from convention, and the cause for alarm among the classically trained string players.{{sfn|Lewisohn|2005|pp=77, 79}}{{sfn|Hertsgaard|1996|p=188}}

According to authors Kevin Ryan and [[Brian Kehew]], ADT, backwards recording and close-miked drums were among the nine techniques that the ''Revolver'' sessions introduced into the recording world for the first time.{{sfn|Turner|2016|p=405}} Ryan and Kehew quote Emerick as saying: "I know for a fact that, from the day it came out, ''Revolver'' changed the way that everyone else made records."{{sfn|Turner|2016|p=405}}{{refn|group=nb|American producer [[Tony Visconti]] has cited the album as a work that "showed how the studio could be used as an instrument" and partly inspired his relocation to London in the late 1960s, "to learn how people made records like this".<ref>{{cite web|first=Julian|last=Marszalek |url=http://thequietus.com/articles/10534-tony-visconti-favourite-albums?page=2 |title=Prophets, Seers & Sages: Tony Visconti's Favourite Albums |work=[[The Quietus]]|date=31 October 2012|access-date=24 June 2017}}</ref>}}