How It Was Recorded

Peter Gabriel · Album, 1986

So

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

Lead vocalDemo drum machineDemo chordsRecording machines, console and effectsVerified8Reported2

What the sources do and do not say

No article on 'Big Time' itself was found, so this is an album record for So drawn from Kevin Killen's accounts of the Ashcombe House sessions. Statements that belong only to 'Sledgehammer' (drum miking, bass and guitar rigs, backing vocals) were left out. Killen's Mix account of the vocal chain is about Gabriel's voice on the album generally, not tied to this track.

Lead vocal

Peter Gabriel

Microphone

Neumann U 47

Verified

Killen says a tube 47 was the microphone used to record Gabriel's voice on the album sessions.

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.

Input chain

Decca Compressor (model not stated)

Verified

Killen describes Gabriel's old Decca compressor, likened to an LA-2A, as part of the vocal chain, set for very little compression.

Settings
Set for a minimum amount of compression

Source: Mix, accessed 15 Nov 2026

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

Demo drum machine

Instrument

Linn 9000

Verified

Killen says Gabriel's original demos of his songs for the album used a Linn 9000 drum pattern.

Source: Sound On Sound, accessed 15 Nov 2026

Close match

Aly James Lab VProm

drum instrument

Emulates Linn's earlier LM-1 and LinnDrum. The 9000 is a later machine.

Get the plugin ↗What else it stands in for

Demo chords

Peter Gabriel

Instrument

Sequential Circuits Prophet 5

Reported

Killen says Gabriel's demo chord progressions were played on either the Prophet 5 or the CP70, so this is one of two alternatives. (recalled with uncertainty)

Source: Sound On Sound, accessed 15 Nov 2026

Emulation of this unit

Arturia Prophet-5 V

instrument

An emulation of the Prophet-5.

Get the plugin ↗What else it stands in for

Also worth a look: u-he Repro (Includes Repro-5, a component-level model of the Prophet-5).

Yamaha CP70

Reported

Killen says Gabriel's demo chord progressions were played on either the CP70 or the Prophet 5, so this is one of two alternatives. (recalled with uncertainty)

Source: Sound On Sound, accessed 15 Nov 2026

Emulation of this unit

Arturia CP-70 V

instrument

An emulation of the Yamaha CP-70 electric grand.

Get the plugin ↗What else it stands in for

Recording machines, console and effects

Input chain

Studer A80

Verified

Killen says the stock Studer A80 was the A machine during the initial tracking sessions.

Source: Sound On Sound, accessed 15 Nov 2026

Emulation of this unit

Slate Digital Virtual Tape Machines

tape

Models a Studer A827 multitrack and an A80 mastering machine.

Get the plugin ↗What else it stands in for

Also worth a look: Universal Audio Studer A800 Tape Recorder (Models the related Studer A800).

Mitsubishi 32-track digital tape machine (model not stated)

Verified

Killen says a Mitsubishi 32-track digital machine was brought in to hold a consolidated digital master of the analogue reels.

Source: Sound On Sound, accessed 15 Nov 2026

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

Mix effects

SSL Console (model not stated)

Verified

Killen says he stored the running mixes on the SSL and documented them so they could be recalled for later overdubs.

Source: Mix, accessed 15 Nov 2026

Close match

Solid State Logic SSL Native Channel Strip 2

channel strip

SSL's own channel-strip plugin. It is not a model of this particular desk.

Get the plugin ↗What else it stands in for

Also worth a look: Waves SSL E-Channel (Models the 4000 E channel strip; the source does not make this the same desk).

AMS DMX 1580

Verified

Killen says signal was sent to the AMS for delay and then on into a further delay when chaining effects.

Source: Mix, accessed 15 Nov 2026

No plugin suggested. No plugin equivalent mapped yet.

Deltalab DL2

Verified

Killen says the Deltalab DL2, fitted with an extra delay module, was an example of a second delay in a chain, giving close to a second of delay.

Source: Mix, accessed 15 Nov 2026

No plugin suggested. No plugin equivalent mapped yet.

Sources

  1. Kevin Killen: On Recording Peter Gabriel, Elvis Costello and More, Mix, 1999-05. Accessed 15 Nov 2026.
  2. Classic Tracks: Peter Gabriel 'Sledgehammer', Sound On Sound, 2014-08. 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.

Songs from this album