Although Lennon and Spector disagreed over the bass sound, Lennon was delighted with the producer's work on "Instant Karma". White's drums assumed the role of a lead instrument, positioned prominently in the mix. Spector biographer Richard Williams wrote in 1972: "No Beatles record had ever possessed such a unique sound; Spector had used echo to make the drums reverberate like someone slapping a wet fish on a marble slab, and the voices sounded hollow and decayed." Spector wanted to add a string section to the track in Los Angeles, but Lennon insisted that the recording was complete.