How It Was Recorded

Gary Wright · Album, 1975

The Dream Weaver

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: Dream Weaver, Love Is Alive. We found nothing specific to these songs, so this album record is the closest account we have.

Lead vocalMinimoog bassDrums and rhythm machineRhodes and stringsReported14

What the sources do and do not say

One Mix Classic Tracks article (Matt Hurwitz, originally December 2009) with engineer Jay Lewis and Gary Wright; read in full. The drum mics, bass amp and vocal chain are described for the album sessions rather than tied explicitly to this song, so they are album-level. The Rhythm Ace row is album-level; the Quad 8 console and 3M 16-track are named but have no stated function on this song so are left out.

Lead vocal

Gary Wright

Microphone

Neumann U 87

Reported

Microphone used for Wright's vocal overdubs on the album.

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.

Minimoog bass

Gary Wright

Instrument

Moog Minimoog

Reported

Wright played the bass parts on a Minimoog during tracking; most were later replaced in overdubs.

Source: Mix, accessed 15 Nov 2026

Emulation of this unit

Arturia Mini V

instrument

Model of the Minimoog Model D.

Get the plugin ↗What else it stands in for

Also worth a look: Universal Audio Moog Minimoog (Minimoog model made with Moog).

Amplifier

Unidentified Bass amplifier (model not stated)

Reported

Amp the Minimoog was played live through, then miked, for depth and so the band could feel the bass.

Source: Mix, accessed 15 Nov 2026

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.

Get the plugin ↗What else it stands in for

Also worth a look: 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).

Recorded direct (DI), no amplifier

Reported

A direct signal from the keyboard was taken as well and blended with the miked amp.

Source: Mix, accessed 15 Nov 2026

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

Drums and rhythm machine

Jim Keltner; Andy Newmark

Instrument

Univox Rhythm Ace

Reported

Drum machine used to keep the beat on the demos, which stayed as a part of the final recordings.

Source: Mix, accessed 15 Nov 2026

Covers this kind of unit

Roland Roland Cloud

instrument

Includes Roland's software CR-78, a later preset rhythm box of the same kind, with analogue drum sounds playing set patterns; it is not a model of this unit.

Get the plugin ↗What else it stands in for

Microphone

Shure SM57

Reported

Snare microphone in Lewis's basic drum setup.

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.

Electro-Voice RE20

Reported

Kick drum microphone in the same setup.

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

Microphone shared between the tom-toms in the same setup.

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.

Beyer M500

Reported

Ribbon microphone Lewis preferred for the floor toms.

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.

Rhodes and strings

David Foster; Gary Wright

Instrument

Fender Rhodes

ReportedOne song

Electric piano played by David Foster, described as the signature part of this song.

Source: Mix, accessed 15 Nov 2026

Emulation of this unit

Arturia Stage-73 V

instrument

A physical model of the Rhodes Stage and Suitcase electric pianos.

Get the plugin ↗What else it stands in for

ARP String Ensemble

ReportedOne song

Source of the high string part that was overdubbed on this song.

Source: Mix, accessed 15 Nov 2026

Emulation of this unit

Arturia Solina V

instrument

An emulation of the Solina String Ensemble.

Get the plugin ↗What else it stands in for

Moog Minimoog

ReportedOne song

Used to make the tinkling chimes whoosh, starting from a preset-booklet 'Tinkling Bells' sound that Wright then adjusted.

Source: Mix, accessed 15 Nov 2026

Emulation of this unit

Arturia Mini V

instrument

Model of the Minimoog Model D.

Get the plugin ↗What else it stands in for

Also worth a look: Universal Audio Moog Minimoog (Minimoog model made with Moog).

Amplifier

Unidentified Leslie speaker (model not stated)

ReportedOne song

Fast-spinning speaker that the other split of the ARP strings was sent to in the studio, miked in stereo.

Source: Mix, accessed 15 Nov 2026

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.

Get the plugin ↗What else it stands in for

Also worth a look: 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).

Input chain

Unidentified Flanger (model not stated)

ReportedOne song

Flanger that one split of the ARP string signal was fed through at the desk to give the shimmering sound.

Source: Mix, accessed 15 Nov 2026

No plugin suggested. The source does not name the model, so no specific plugin can be suggested.

Sources

  1. Classic Tracks: Gary Wright's "Dream Weaver", Mix, 2023-09-05. 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.