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Originally Posted by Leto
I've always wondered what instruments the Beatles used, and what influence it may have had on their music. Does anybody know?
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It's a bit OT, but I do know to an extent. I know the guitars they used anyway, being a guitarist myself. Paul, as discussed, famously used a Hofner 'violin' bass; today these are sometimes known as Beatle basses because of it. He also used a Rickenbacker for the Beatles' later material. The Beatles as a whole made extensive use of Rickenbackers, which contributed mightily to their popularity today. George switched it up a lot, and used Gibsons, Fenders and Gretsch guitars as well; he used a Rickenbacker for a while, as did John (I've heard that John bought his as a result of his experience with George's, but I don't know if that's actually true) and used a Rickenbacker twelve string on a number of their albums. John is also famous for using an Epiphone Casino and Paul had an Epi acoustic; Epiphone makes signature replications of both instruments today. I have no idea what all went into Ringo's kit or what sort of pianos they used, as I'm not particularly knowledgeable regarding either instrument.
Of course, the Beatles were also fond of incorporating non-traditional instruments into their work, particularly the later stuff. George was quite an accomplished sitar player and his sitar can be heard Within You Without and, more famously, Across the Universe. John liked anything with a keyboard and used a mellotron and a harmonium for a number of their recordings. Some of these instruments (the sitar probably being the best example) played a big role in the Beatles sound, particularly late in their career when they started to really explore musically. As a result, they've become rather more common in rock.
So, yeah. That's about as much as I know about the instrumentation the Beatles used, although I'm sure someone can add to it. Maybe someone knows something about Ringo's drumming; aside from the fact that he played drums, I really can't say anymore on the matter.