How It Was Recorded

Hoobastank · Album, 2004

The Reason

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: The Reason. We found nothing specific to this song, so this album record is the closest account we have.

DrumsStudio chain (album sessions)Verified1Reported3Inferred1

What the sources do and do not say

Album record. The GRAMMY.com panel write-up names Mike Plotnikoff's preferred vintage gear in narrative only, with no function per unit and nothing tied to the title song. The Yamaha profile covers Chris Hesse's drums and Pro Tools editing; the kit is described as his general stage and studio kit. No microphone models, settings or positions are stated.

Drums

Chris Hesse

Instrument

Yamaha Absolute Maple Custom drum kit

InferredUsual practice

Usual practice, not stated for this record: Hesse's drum kit for stage and studio, with 22" kick, 14"x6" copper snare, three rack toms and a 16" floor tom.

A suggestion, not a documented fact: The article says Hesse relies on this kit on stage and in the studio; it does not say which kit was on the album sessions.

Source: Yamaha All Access, accessed 15 Nov 2026

Approximate

Toontrack Superior Drummer 3

drum instrument

A sampled drum instrument. It does not claim to be this kit or drum.

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Input chain

Avid Pro Tools

Verified

Hesse says the drum takes were dumped into Pro Tools and then edited heavily on The Reason.

Source: Yamaha All Access, accessed 15 Nov 2026

The plugin used on the record

Avid Pro Tools

DAW

The DAW used on the record.

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Studio chain (album sessions)

Microphone

Unidentified Tube microphone (model not stated)

Reported

Tube mics were among the vintage gear the engineer cited for warm sound on the album; which sources they recorded is not stated.

Source: GRAMMY.com, 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.

Input chain

Neve Console (model not stated)

Reported

Named as one of the vintage pieces the engineer preferred for a warm sound on the album.

Source: GRAMMY.com, accessed 15 Nov 2026

Approximate

Waves NLS Non-Linear Summer

console emulation

Adds the summing character of three desks, one of them a Neve. The source does not name the console model, so this is only a family resemblance.

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Neve 1073

Reported

Named as one of the vintage pre-amps (circa 1973-74) the engineer preferred for a warm sound on the album.

Source: GRAMMY.com, accessed 15 Nov 2026

Emulation of this unit

Universal Audio Neve 1073 Preamp & EQ Collection

preamp and EQ

Made with AMS Neve as a model of the 1073 preamp and equaliser.

Get the plugin ↗What else it stands in for

Also worth a look: Waves Scheps 73 (Models the 1073's preamp and equaliser, made with Andrew Scheps).

Sources

  1. Yamaha All Access: Chris Hesse (Issue 8, Summer 2004), Yamaha All Access, 2004. Accessed 15 Nov 2026.
  2. "The Reason" Behind A Smash Record, GRAMMY.com, 2014-12-03. 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.