How It Was Recorded

Blondie · Album, 1978

Plastic Letters

This is an album-level record: the sources describe how the album as a whole was recorded, not one song. Where a detail belongs to a single song, the row says so.

Songs this record stands for: Denis. We found nothing specific to this song, so this album record is the closest account we have.

Lead vocalGuitarsBassDrum kitKeyboardsOutboard used while trackingVerified3Reported9

What the sources do and do not say

Single Mix Classic Tracks piece (Barbara Schultz, from the October 2018 issue) on Denis and the Plastic Letters sessions at Plaza Sound. Gear statements describe the album sessions rather than naming Denis, so all rows are album-level; drum miking is hedged. The API console and 3M 16-track are described as studio equipment without being tied to this record, so they are not rows. The Sound On Sound candidate covers Parallel Lines and was not used.

Lead vocal

Debbie Harry

Microphone

Neumann U 47

Verified

Engineer had Harry sing into this tube microphone in the vocal booth while the band tracked live.

Source: Mix, accessed 15 Nov 2026

No plugin suggested. Microphone-modelling plugins only work with their own matched hardware microphone, so there is no plugin to link. Placement and the room matter more than the model.

Guitars

Chris Stein

Microphone

Shure SM57

Reported

Dynamic microphone on the guitar amplifier, placed right up close to the speaker cone.

Position
Right up close to the speaker cone

Source: Mix, accessed 15 Nov 2026

No plugin suggested. Microphone-modelling plugins only work with their own matched hardware microphone, so there is no plugin to link. Placement and the room matter more than the model. The SM57 is still made and inexpensive: the real thing is the practical route.

Neumann U 87

Reported

Condenser microphone on the guitar amplifier, with a -10 dB pad in, moved further back for later overdubs.

Position
About 2 to 3 feet from the amp when tracking; 8 to 10 feet for overdubs
Settings
-10 dB pad in

Source: Mix, accessed 15 Nov 2026

No plugin suggested. Microphone-modelling plugins only work with their own matched hardware microphone, so there is no plugin to link. Placement and the room matter more than the model.

Bass

Frank Infante

Amplifier

Recorded direct (DI), no amplifier

Reported

The bass was split between an amp and a direct feed.

Source: Mix, accessed 15 Nov 2026

No plugin suggested. Recorded direct, so there is no amp to model. Leave the amp simulator off.

Microphone

Electro-Voice RE20

Reported

Named as the bass microphone.

Source: Mix, accessed 15 Nov 2026

No plugin suggested. Microphone-modelling plugins only work with their own matched hardware microphone, so there is no plugin to link. Placement and the room matter more than the model.

Drum kit

Clem Burke

Microphone

AKG D12

Reported

Engineer believes the blanketed bass drum was miked from inside with this microphone.

Source: Mix, accessed 15 Nov 2026

No plugin suggested. Microphone-modelling plugins only work with their own matched hardware microphone, so there is no plugin to link. Placement and the room matter more than the model.

Sennheiser MD 421

Reported

Engineer believes this microphone was placed on top of the snare drum.

Source: Mix, accessed 15 Nov 2026

No plugin suggested. Microphone-modelling plugins only work with their own matched hardware microphone, so there is no plugin to link. Placement and the room matter more than the model. The MD 421 is still made.

Neumann KM 56

Reported

Engineer believes this pencil microphone was used on the hi-hat.

Source: Mix, accessed 15 Nov 2026

No plugin suggested. Microphone-modelling plugins only work with their own matched hardware microphone, so there is no plugin to link. Placement and the room matter more than the model.

Neumann U 87

Reported

Engineer believes a pair of these served as left and right overheads for the toms and cymbals.

Source: Mix, accessed 15 Nov 2026

No plugin suggested. Microphone-modelling plugins only work with their own matched hardware microphone, so there is no plugin to link. Placement and the room matter more than the model.

Keyboards

Jimmy Destri

Amplifier

Recorded direct (DI), no amplifier

Reported

The keyboards were taken direct rather than miked.

Source: Mix, accessed 15 Nov 2026

No plugin suggested. Recorded direct, so there is no amp to model. Leave the amp simulator off.

Outboard used while tracking

Input chain

Teletronix LA-2A

Verified

Engineer used several of these tube compressor/limiters heavily during tracking; the parts are not stated.

Source: Mix, accessed 15 Nov 2026

Emulation of this unit

Universal Audio Teletronix LA-2A Leveler Collection

compressor

Universal Audio owns the Teletronix name; this is its own model of the LA-2A.

Get the plugin ↗What else it stands in for

Also worth a look: Waves CLA-2A Compressor / Limiter (Models an LA-2A from Chris Lord-Alge's collection. Cheaper and runs without UA hardware).

Pultec EQ (model not stated)

Verified

Engineer used several Pultec tube EQs heavily during tracking; the parts are not stated.

Source: Mix, accessed 15 Nov 2026

Emulation of this unit

Universal Audio Pultec Passive EQ Collection

equaliser

Models the Pultec EQP-1A, MEQ-5 and HLF-3C. The source does not say which Pultec was used.

Get the plugin ↗What else it stands in for

Also worth a look: Waves PuigTec EQs (EQP-1A and MEQ-5) (Models the Pultec EQP-1A and MEQ-5).

Sources

  1. Classic Tracks: Blondie's "Denis", Mix, 2018-10. Accessed 15 Nov 2026.
Verified

Stated by the engineer, producer or artist, or by the manufacturer.

Reported

Stated by a reputable secondary source.

Inferred

An educated suggestion, not a documented fact.

Disclosure: plugin links currently go straight to the maker and earn us nothing. If that changes, affiliate links will be marked here. Suggestions are chosen on fit, never on commission, and are kept separate from the recording facts. More.