Recording
The sessions for the Beatles version of "If I Needed Someone" were produced by George Martin, and engineered by Norman Smith. The second engineer was Ken Scott.
The rhythm track for the song was recorded in Abbey Road Studio Two, in a single take on Saturday 16 October 1965, squeezed in just before midnight in a session that had primarily been spent recording their next single, Day Tripper. McCartney's bass part was played on a 1964 left-handed Rickenbacker 4001S bass. Harrison's distinctive chiming guitar riff was played on his 1965 Rickenbacker 360-12, with a capo fixed at the seventh fret.
Returning to the studio on the afternoon of Monday 18 October 1965, they overdubbed Harrison's lead vocal and Lennon and McCartney's backing vocals. Starr added a tambourine.
A mono mix of the song was made on Monday 25 October, and a stereo mix on Tuesday, 26 October — the day the Beatles collected their MBEs from Buckingham Palace. Both these mixes can be found in The Beatles In Mono box set.
George Martin created another stereo mix in 1987 for the release of Rubber Soul on CD. This mix can be found on The Beatles Stereo Box Set.
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