If you're interested in playing along to The Beatles' "Please Please Me" album

[oakforest5961]

If you're interested in playing along to The Beatles' "Please Please Me" album, this web page is really useful:

https://andrewmessner.net/2019/04/17/please-please-me-album-pitch-analysis

Only one of the songs on the album has the recording at concert pitch (A = 440Hz). All of the others are flat in comparison, and by differing amounts. That web page lists what the writer reckons are the A reference values for each song. If you have a tuner that can be recalibrated for a different reference value for A, then you just set the tuner to the value given on the web page for the song, tune your bass as normal using the tuner, then play along - it'll sound in tune.

I've had a Korg CA-30 tuner for I forget how many years. I remember thinking when I got it that the ability to recalibrate it to A not being 440Hz was something that I would never need to use, but I have been proved wrong - it was really useful to quickly retune my bass and get playing.

[Baxlin]

Brilliant, thanks.

Unfortunately my tuner only goes from 435 to 446, but I’m going to have a go!

(I have a gold label copy of this LP,  only mono though, wish it was in stereo)

Edited November 8, 2020 by Baxlin

[BigRedX]

Are the songs don't use A=440 still in fairly standard "guitar" keys?

Normally when old recordings don't use A=440 it's either because the studio tuning reference is different, but then all the tracks should be out by the same amount, or because they have been vary-speeded at mix-down to improve the feel, but that tends to involve making them faster rather than slower.

I'm just wondering if instead of being slightly flat they should actually be considered to be not quite a semi-tone sharp?

[stewblack]

Rather than retune the bass I think I'll use this to alter the pitch of the songs, just for rehearsal purposes. 

Thank you 

[Beedster]

Given the intonation on most 60s bass tracks, I imagine if you get your tuning 100% to the guitars/vocals it’ll sound nothing like the recorded bass