The Beatles recorded "Not Guilty" in August 1968 during sessions for the White Album. The recording was produced by George Martin and engineered by Ken Scott. The song as presented to the group was difficult to learn due to its time signature changes, and during the first 18 takes on 7 August they focused only on the introduction; after a further 27 takes, recording was abandoned until the next day. The sessions eventually ran to 99 takes, many of which were incomplete performances. Initial takes featured keyboard accompaniment from an electric piano, but this was replaced by a harpsichord that was installed in Abbey Road Studio 1. The recording marked the first time that Harrison used his Gibson Les Paul guitar known as "Lucy", which was a gift from his friend Eric Clapton.