Elton John · Album, 1973
Goodbye Yellow Brick Road
14 sourced items across 6 sectionsVerified3Reported11
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: Bennie and the Jets, Candle in the Wind, Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting. 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
Album record from Sound On Sound Classic Tracks with engineer David Hentschel. Most microphone choices are Hentschel's hedged recollection of the Château d'Hérouville set-up for the album, not tied to the title track; only the Mu-Tron pedal remark is about the title song. The overhead and hi-hat microphones are given only as alternatives or unnamed and are left out, as are studio compressors and plates listed without a stated use. The Honky Cat Mix article is about another album and was not used.
Lead vocal
1 item
Elton John
Microphone
The real chain
Neumann U 67
Reported
Hentschel believes a Neumann 67 was the microphone on Elton John's lead vocal during the Château 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.
Guitar (Davey Johnstone)
2 items
Davey Johnstone
Microphone
The real chain
AKG C12A
Reported
Hentschel believes an AKG C12A was on the guitar amplifier at the Château.
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
Mu-Tron Effects pedal (model not stated)
ReportedOne song
Hentschel says Johnstone's effects pedal on the title track may have been a Mu-Tron, and its transients caused distortion when the track was cut to disc, so it was remixed with limiting.
Source: Sound On Sound, accessed 15 Nov 2026
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Approximate
Native Instruments Guitar Rig 7 Pro
amp and cabinet simulator
Includes a range of modelled pedals. Whether this exact pedal is among them was not checked.
Bass (Dee Murray)
3 items
Dee Murray
Amplifier
The real chain
Recorded direct (DI), no amplifier
Reported
Hentschel believes the bass was also recorded through a DI alongside the miked cabinet.
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.
The real chain
Ampeg Cabinet (model not stated)
Reported
Hentschel recalls Murray's bass cabinet as an Ampeg, and says it would have been miked.
Source: Sound On Sound, accessed 15 Nov 2026
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Covers this kind of unit
IK Multimedia AmpliTube 5
amp and cabinet simulator
An amp and cabinet simulator that covers a wide range of amplifiers and speaker cabinets of this kind. It is not a model of this unit, so pick the nearest one in it by ear.
Also worth a look 1
- Native Instruments Guitar Rig 7 Pro (An amp and cabinet simulator that covers a wide range of amplifiers and speaker cabinets of this kind. It is not a model of this unit, so pick the nearest one in it by ear)
Microphone
The real chain
Neumann U 67
Reported
Hentschel believes a Neumann 67 was on the bass cabinet.
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.
Drums (Nigel Olsson)
3 items
Nigel Olsson
Microphone
The real chain
AKG D12
Verified
Used on the bass drum, which had its front skin removed.
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
Neumann KM 56
Reported
Hentschel believes a small Neumann KM 56 pencil condenser was on 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 real chain
AKG C28
Reported
Hentschel believes long AKG C28 microphones were used on the toms.
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.
Piano and synthesiser
2 items
Elton John
Instrument
The real chain
ARP 2500
Verified
Hentschel recorded his overture part leading into 'Funeral For A Friend' on the ARP 2500, played one part at a time.
Source: Sound On Sound, accessed 15 Nov 2026
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Emulation of this unit
Cherry Audio VM2500 Collection (for Voltage Modular)
instrument
A module-by-module recreation of the ARP 2500, though it uses patch cables in place of the original matrix switches. It runs inside Cherry Audio's Voltage Modular host.
Also worth a look 1
- Korg KORG Collection (Includes a model of the ARP 2600, the smaller semi-modular that followed the 2500 from the same maker)
Microphone
The real chain
Neumann U 67
Reported
Hentschel believes two Neumann 67s were on the piano.
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.
Tape and mix
3 items
Input chain
The real chain
Ampex 16-track tape machine (model not stated)
Reported
The studio was equipped with a 16-track Ampex machine.
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)
The real chain
MCI 416
Reported
The Château studio's control room console during the album's tracking.
Source: Sound On Sound, accessed 15 Nov 2026
Get the sound · our suggestion
Covers this kind of unit
Metric Halo MBSI Channel Strip
channel strip
Models the channel strip of a custom MCI desk built for Criteria Studios in the 1970s: the same maker and decade, but a different circuit, so it is not a model of this unit.
Mix effects
The real chain
Sound Techniques 20-input desk (model not stated)
Verified
The whole album was mixed on this old desk at Trident after the overdubs.
Source: Sound On Sound, accessed 15 Nov 2026
Get the sound · our suggestion
No plugin suggested. The source does not name the model, so no specific plugin can be suggested.
Sources
- Classic Tracks: Elton John: 'Goodbye Yellow Brick Road', Sound On Sound, 2011-10. 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.
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.