Peter Jackson’s three part Get Back docu-series shines the light of day on hundreds of hours’ worth of film and audio for fans to enjoy. If you’re an engineer and a fan who’s watching it, we’ve got an extra added bonus game to play…
While most of us know that the magic happens before the mic, any engineer watching Get Back won’t have missed the sheer breadth of lovely vintage gear used on the infamous sessions for Let It Be. Of all the recording gear, the mics are perhaps the most conspicuous, but do you know what each one is?
On Drums
Kick - AKG D20 cardioid dynamic, precursor to the all conquering D12 and D112 after it.
Snare - AKG C28 or C60 small diaphragm condenser or D24 cardioid dynamic. The snare mic appears for only a few frames and is hard to make out, but appears to be an end-fire mic of some kind. On the roof, this mic has a spherical grille or windscreen which could be the D24 or C60/W60 combo that will be known to American readers as the Ed Sullivan mic.
The D24 is identical to the D19 (see below) apart from the spherical mesh grille.
Overhead and Floor Tom - Neumann U67/U87 Valve and FET multi-pattern large diaphragm condenser mics. The valve U67 is often mistaken for the ubiquitous solid state U87, the latter being introduced in 1967.
Overhead - Neumann KM54 valve cardioid or KM56 side address valve multi-pattern small diaphragm condenser mic. This mic is positioned lower than the other overhead, possibly as more of a spot mic for the middle tom.
Overhead - unidentified end-fire mic used at Shepperton Studio. This mic looks like it could be an AKG C28 in the AKG pivot mount or similar AKG preamp body and capsule combo.
On Bass
There are no clear shots of the bass cabinet in the film, although varying accounts cite the Abbey Road staples of U47s or D19s being used on Beatles records. Certainly in Get Back, once the group move into their Saville Row studio, the bass appears to be DI’d.
On Guitar
Neumann U67/U87 valve and FET multi-pattern large diaphragm condenser mics both for electric guitar cabs and on acoustic.
On Vocals
Shure Unidyne III 545 cardioid dynamic mic, seen in Shepperton Studio, the unpainted progenitor of the world famous SM57.
AKG D19 Another appearance of one of the most commonly used Beatle mics. This cardioid dynamic mic was an Abbey Road favourite, being pressed into service on everything from overhead and piano, to acoustic guitar. Much of the recording gear in the Shepperton Studio scenes appears to have been borrowed from Abbey Road and the band themselves.
Neumann KM54 cardioid or KM56 side address valve multi-pattern small diaphragm condenser mic. Fitted with the “Close Speaking Windshield” as seen on the Let It Be cover.
AKG C30 small diaphragm condenser mic. Seen in Saville Row, both in the studio and on the rooftop gig. This broadcast favourite in the UK at the time comprised of the V28C preamp body and CK28 capsule on the end of a VR30 100cm extension tube. Known as C28 when unextended and C29 with the short extension. These may have been provided and rigged by the film crew owing to the low profile.
Piano
Neumann KM54 valve cardioid or KM56 side address valve multi-pattern small diaphragm condenser mic.
Neumann U67/U87 valve and FET multi-pattern large diaphragm condenser mics.
AKG D19 and D24 dynamic cardioid mics.
Hammond Organ/Lowrey Organ/Rhodes Piano
There are no clear shots of the mics used on the Lowrey or Rhodes. A U67 or U87 is visible in one scene on the Hammond’s Leslie speaker, and this certainly would have been in keeping with the other mics used on cabinets. It looks like the rest of the time the Leslie speaker is mic’d from behind with the non-louvred panel removed.
On the rooftop gig, there is an unidentifiable end-fire mic on the Rhodes cabinet.
Film Crew
AKG D25 cardioid dynamic on boom, this mic was the shockmounted version of the D20 with a remote connector, popular in UK film and television studios at the time.
STC 4021 omni dynamic mic known as the “Apple and Biscuit” in British film and broadcast circles. Seen dotted around the studio and rigged in the Saville Row control room ceiling to pick up dialogue. Uber-Nerd fact: designed in the 1930s, this mic is notable as the pictographic mic shape used in countless schematic diagrams and manuals.
STC 4037C omni dynamic mic seen in the film taped to the recording mics, to Ringo’s cymbal stand at Shepperton Studio, and on the “voxpops” shot in the street. Known as “The Stick” in broadcast circles, the longer “A” model was also popular in the UK as a news reporter mic.
Have We Missed Anything?
Some of the mics and techniques used in the film are well known, such as an embryonic version of Glyn Johns’ famous 3 mic set up, and the use of mics wrapped in tights on the roof to stop the wind! If there’s anything we’ve missed let us know in the comments.
Photo by Odin Reyna from Pexels