How we source and rate

Each page shows how one record was made: the gear in the signal path for each instrument, in order. Every item links to where the claim comes from and the date we read it. If no source names a piece of gear, a setting or a microphone position, we leave it out rather than guess.

How the records are researched

Most records here were researched by machine: a program read the linked interviews and session write-ups in full and filed what they say. Every row links to its source and carries one of the three ratings above, so where something is not verified the row says so. If you find a row that does not match its source, follow the link and trust the source.

Song, album or habit

Sources do not always speak about one song. Some describe the sessions for a whole album; some describe what an engineer or player usually does. We keep the three apart. On a song page, a row marked “Album sessions” is stated for the album and not for that song. A row marked “Usual practice” is a person’s habit, is never stated for the record in question, and is always rated inferred. On an album page, “One song” marks a detail the source ties to a single track.

Where we found nothing specific to a song but do have an account of its album, the album page names the song as one it stands for, and search sends you there. Artist pages gather the usual-practice statements from all of that artist’s records in one list.

The right-hand column, “Get the sound”, is a separate layer. Those plugin suggestions are our own, each with a one-line reason and a rating of how close it gets. Where nothing does the job, we say so.

We describe sources in our own words and link to them. We do not reproduce article text, cover art or photographs; artwork tiles are placeholders.

Plugin links

Every plugin link currently goes straight to the maker’s own product page and earns us nothing. We plan to use affiliate links later. When we do, this page will list which programmes we belong to, and affected links will carry a disclosure.