Julia- The Beatles (Guitar Cover)

Julia is a song John wrote about his late mother, who was hit by a car when he was 17. The track closes side one of the White Album, and features just John on acoustic guitar. He employs the travis-picking technique he learned from Donovan in India

Go to 0:35 to skip past my 'which guitar was used' theory

John recorded it on October 13, 1968, four days after his 28th birthday. In the beginning of Take One (made up of two rehearsal takes) John plays it without a capo and strums, then switches to fingerpicking. You can hear these early takes on the 2018 White Album box set:

He struggles with the fingerpicking, and after he finishes the take George Martin can be heard saying 'Is George's Gibson in the studio near you?'
John responds 'Yes, it's much better'

This was buried in the audio, but I lifted up George Martin's voice in Pro Tools and included it at the beginning of this video. It's very interesting, because it implies that John started out on his sanded-down 1964 Gibson J-160 for the reharsals (take one) and then switched to GEORGE's Gibson

There are TWO possibilities as to which guitar George Martin was referring to:
George's 1962 Gibson J-160e
or George's 1968 Gibson J-200

George's main acoustic from Please Please Me until Magical Mystery Tour was a 1962 J-160e. In July 1968 he acquired the J-200 at Manny's in NYC and stopped using the J-160. John can be seen playing both his own J-160 AND George's J-160 in White Album session photos. So it's plausible John switched from his own J-160 to George's sunburst J-160 for Julia

But my best guess is that George Martin was referring to Harrison's J-200, because it had been George's main acoustic for over three months at that point. Not only that, but the tone of the acoustic guitar changes dramatically after these rehearsals, when John puts on the capo on the 2nd fret and begins take two. This take can be heard on Anthology 3:

Comparing take one and take two, you can hear the acoustic guitar sounds very different. Not only because John put a capo on the 2nd fret, but there is a lot more low end in the Anthology clip. The J-200 has a much boomier sound, while the J160 is more mid-focused

Whichever guitar John chose for take two, it had to be a different one than the acoustic he started with in the early rehearsals. Take 3 is the one you hear on the album, and John then double-tracked his vocals and acoustic over take 3

He did a sloppy job of double-tracking the acoustic guitar, which I actually really like.
The overdubbed guitar also seems to include some light tape flanging on it

For my cover, I'm using a 1970's Ibanez Jamboree 698, which is a Japanese copy of a Gibson J-200. I did do a comparison with my 1966 J-160, playing Julia on both guitars. The boomy low end, more spongey high end and mid response of the J-200 was just like the record

I included some light tape flanging on the second guitar, using my Waves Abbey Road J37 tape plug-in. And of course, I put a capo on the 2nd fret of each guitar

Interesting Notes:
0:48 the overdubbed guitar enters, playing a little late (bottom screen, left channel audio)
0:55 the dubbed guitar plays an off time note on the A string
1:08 the original guitar (top screen) plays the low E-A-D strings in succession quickly, instead of following the prescribed travis picking pattern
3:22 The song ends with both guitars playing 332000 (Cmaj7). The dubbed guitar plays the high B and E strings a little later

MY GEAR:
1970's Ibanez Jamboree 698 (MIJ J200)
Neumann TLM-103
Waves Abbey Road Plug-ins

#thebeatles #whitealbum #guitarcover

[sampopkin]

Check out my description to read more about my theory that John used GEORGE's Gibson J-200 on this song!

[JacobKMusics]

The chords in the bridge send shivers down my spine

[sambakery]

I can't believe I never thought of this. Yes I am very glad you did this one. The travis-picking technique really is the best thing that happened to John as a guitarist. He mastered it. This song is one of the few that proves that.

[thedrumdon]

This and Prudence are probably my two favorite acoustic songs all time - thank you Sam!

[TheMujiFuji]

Thanks to Donovan for teaching and to John for putting in the 3 days….Travis picking is hard. You’re a beauty Sam > great work!

[larryogintz]

Wonderfully played. It showcases just how good John was at chording. It is truly an acoustic masterpiece.

[davidapatrickmoore]

And there are really people over the age of 50 who wonder out loud, "PEOPLE still think about the BEATLES!!!" Answer: "Yes they do." And this is only one of over 100 songs why. Thanks for the video.

[NatePhilipsMusic]

What a cool chord progression... I forgot how cool this song is!

[joshgoldstein]

The most beautiful song on the White Album imo. Great cover too, as always.

[jackbenjamin]

One of my favourite Lennon songs. Great playing, Sam!

[davidmontis]

Had a feeling you were going to cover this one! Even got the shirt to go with it! Fantastic!

[WalrusD]

Tracking the gradual change in gear for each band member was fascinating, but John and George never abandoned their trusty J-160s. 💙

[guilhermevideira]

Perfect as usual! I love this song, one of my favourites In the White Album!

[robertoluiz]

Great job Sam!
It seems similar chords for both for Dear Prudence and Happiness is a warm gun!

[RobertH]

From one guitarist to another, you are my favorite guitar player on YouTube. I really enjoy seeing your passion for The Beatles’ music. I’ve learned quite a few songs just from watching you.

[NUKE.]

Awesome finger-picking and interesting bits on the guitar type used.

[LucaColaMusic]

Such a beautiful song, and so perfectly executed. That Ibanez sounds great, awesome video!

[harrisonho]

Awesome cover, Sam! I always wondered which acoustic guitar John used, whether it was his Martin, Gibson J-160E, or J-200. It's definitely a beautiful song to end on for Disc 1 of the White Album!

[aminahmed]

What a fantastic video game have a wonderful weekend Sam ❤😊

[alessandroecgranato]

This song is perfect. And this cover is also amazing. Such an accurate fingerpicking. They say it's the fingerpicking style that Donovan taught John Lennon. Congrats!