Duran Duran · Album, 1984
Seven and the Ragged Tiger
13 sourced items across 6 sectionsVerified9Reported3Inferred1
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: New Moon on Monday, The Reflex, Union of the Snake. We found nothing specific to these songs, so this album record is the closest account we have.
What the sources do and do not say
The one article read in full is the SOS Classic Tracks piece, mostly Ian Little recalling the Seven and the Ragged Tiger sessions. The mic list and console describe the demo sessions in a French chateau with the RAK mobile; Little says The Reflex was then started from scratch at AIR Montserrat, so those rows are album-level and not claims about the final track. Only the Drawmer-gated pad is tied to The Reflex. Jupiter 8 and Fairlight are mentioned for Nick Rhodes' synths but with no clear role, so omitted.
Lead and backing vocals
2 items
Simon Le Bon
Microphone
The real chain
Neumann U 87
Verified
Lead vocal microphone, and also used for Andy Taylor's backing vocals, in the French chateau sessions.
Source: Sound On Sound, accessed 15 Nov 2026
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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.
Input chain
The real chain
Eventide Harmonizer (model not stated)
InferredUsual practice
Usual practice, not stated for this record: Applied to Simon Le Bon's voice to blur his pitch, a small shift up, down or both, alongside delays, reverbs and perhaps chorus.
- Settings
- very small percentage pitch-shift up or down or both
A suggestion, not a documented fact: Ian Little describes this as usual practice; it is not stated for this record.
Source: Sound On Sound, accessed 15 Nov 2026
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Covers this kind of unit
Eventide H910 Harmonizer
multi-effect
Eventide's own plugin of the H910, its first Harmonizer. The source does not name the model, so this stands for the maker's family of units: it is not a model of the one on the record.
Also worth a look 1
- Eventide H3000 Factory Mk II (Eventide's own plugin of the later H3000 Harmonizer. The source does not name the model, so this stands for the maker's family of units: it is not a model of the one on the record)
Guitar
2 items
Andy Taylor
Amplifier
The real chain
Recorded direct (DI), no amplifier
Verified
The guitar was also taken direct, with Andy Taylor's effects inserted on that line, during the French chateau sessions.
Source: Sound On Sound, accessed 15 Nov 2026
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No plugin suggested. Recorded direct, so there is no amp to model. Leave the amp simulator off.
Microphone
The real chain
Shure SM57
Verified
Microphone on the guitar amp during the French chateau sessions.
Source: Sound On Sound, accessed 15 Nov 2026
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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.
Bass
1 item
John Taylor
Microphone
The real chain
Shure SM57
Verified
Microphone on the bass amp during the French chateau sessions.
Source: Sound On Sound, accessed 15 Nov 2026
Get the sound · our suggestion
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.
Drum kit
5 items
Roger Taylor
Instrument
The real chain
Linn LinnDrum
Reported
Little recalls programming grooves on it now and then in the South of France when ideas dried up, though he does not remember using it much.
Source: Sound On Sound, accessed 15 Nov 2026
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Emulation of this unit
Aly James Lab VProm
drum instrument
An emulation of Linn's LM-1 and LinnDrum, built around their sound chips.
Microphone
The real chain
AKG 414 (variant not stated)
Verified
Microphone placed inside the bass drum during the French chateau sessions.
- Position
- inside the bass drum
Source: Sound On Sound, accessed 15 Nov 2026
Get the sound · our suggestion
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 real chain
Shure SM57
Verified
Microphone placed in front of the bass drum during the French chateau sessions.
- Position
- in front of the bass drum
Source: Sound On Sound, accessed 15 Nov 2026
Get the sound · our suggestion
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.
The real chain
AKG C451
Verified
Pencil microphone on top of the snare during the French chateau sessions.
- Position
- on top of the snare
Source: Sound On Sound, accessed 15 Nov 2026
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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 real chain
Shure SM57
Verified
Microphone under the snare to capture the rattle during the French chateau sessions.
- Position
- underneath the snare
Source: Sound On Sound, accessed 15 Nov 2026
Get the sound · our suggestion
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.
Gated pad synth
1 item
Nick Rhodes
Input chain
The real chain
Drawmer Gate (model not stated)
VerifiedOne song
A held pad synth sound was run through it and triggered externally by a percussive part, such as a side-stick, to give a pulsed synth; Little says the effect can be heard on The Reflex.
Source: Sound On Sound, accessed 15 Nov 2026
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No plugin suggested. The source does not name the model, so no specific plugin can be suggested.
Recording chain, French chateau sessions
2 items
Input chain
The real chain
API Console (model not stated)
Reported
Console in the RAK mobile truck behind which Little sat while recording the chateau jam sessions.
Source: Sound On Sound, accessed 15 Nov 2026
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Close match
Universal Audio API Vision Channel Strip Collection
channel strip
Models the channel strip of API's Vision console, built from the same module family.
The real chain
3M M79
Reported
Two-inch tape machine to which Little recorded the chateau jam sessions.
- Settings
- 15ips
Source: Sound On Sound, accessed 15 Nov 2026
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Approximate
Slate Digital Virtual Tape Machines
tape
Models two Studer machines, not this recorder. It gives the general behaviour of analogue multitrack tape.
Also worth a look 1
- Universal Audio Studer A800 Tape Recorder (Models a Studer A800, not this recorder. It gives the general behaviour of analogue multitrack tape)
Sources
- Classic Tracks: Duran Duran 'The Reflex', Sound On Sound, 2004-07. Accessed 15 Nov 2026.
What the ratings mean
Stated by the engineer, producer or artist, or by the manufacturer.
Stated by a reputable secondary source.
An educated suggestion, not a documented fact.
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